The Washington herald., 1911-07-02
A Runaway Celebration

boys could reach him, the man threw himself
IN the dust and eXtinguishcd the portions oi
his clothes that were on fire
The boys ran on after the wagon which was
now mass of flames INC intervening dis
tancc rapidly wIdcncd, however, until the
hind wheel slipped into a gully by the road.
side, and over went the wagon with a crash
It famed merriy for few seconds, and
then vanished in lurid bazc. as terrific
explosion shook Shooters Hill to its very
foundations. The bottle of powder had blown
up.
The scattered fragments of wood and lcath-
cr were bursting into flame as the boys
reached the spot, followed on limp by
Moses Picks, who seemed to be more scared
than hurt.
tion," said Jerry, rucfully. 1T will be a
cold day when | play highwayman again"
"IIn companions did not reply; they gazed
sOrrowfully on the ruin of their hopes.
Moses was just breaking out in IA torrent
OF angry threats. when tumut was heard
on top OF the hill, and down the slope came
deputation IRON oplam Corners-men,
women and children-headcd by Squire Pen
man himself.
Where is my money, you rascaly" cried
the latter, catching hold of Moses. Where
is it-quick?"
Moses was too frightened to reply. but
Jerry Arkel darted suddenly in among the
burning debris, and snatchcd charred wood
on box. gaping open at the cracks; The
squire took it eagerly from Jerry hands.
The contents are all right, he exclaimed
after brief inspection. That box holds
eight hundred dollars in silver. had to send
to town for the money to pay off my quarry
hands, and l thought | might as well get
the six hundred dollars in cash that | owed
John Harmon for his piece of land. But how
did this happen, anyhow, boys?'
The story was told in disconnected frag-
ments, and when it became clear that thief
had been concealed in the wagon when it
was halted by the amateur highwaymen, a
search was quickly made for the hapless IN
dividual.
He could not have been burned very Sc
verely, for no trace of him was found then
or afterward The spot where he had rolled
in the dust was examined with interest.
"The fellow had the squire's box in his
arms when | fell on him." declared Moses.
He must have known what was in it, for
saw him hanging around down at Glenville
this afternoon"
The excitement being over, the ,wreckage
was left to burn itself out. and the whole
party marched back to the village, Moses
The cherished anticipations for the morrow
had fled.
But Topham Corners had glorious Fourth
of July celebration after all. Early IN the
morning Squire Penman drove down to Glen
vile AMI ordered by telegraph a huge box
of fireworks and firecrackers OF every des-
cription.
lie reached the village with them at noon,
and during the remainder of the day pande-
monium and din reigned supreme.
"The boys saved my money explained the
SQUIRE "and they deserve to tLve good
time"
This argument none could gainsay; for,
though it was manifestly wrong for the boys
TO play the highwayman trick on Moses
Picks, Il was clear as daylight that their act
was all that prevented the thief from get
ting away with the box Of money:
The rascal must have followed the wagon
at a distance until darkness allowed him to
slip in unperceived.
Moses Picks loss was made good by one
of the sauire's second hand wagons; but the
story of his cowardice-which the boys al
lowed to spread abroad-made him an OBJ
iect of rdicule, and from that time on no
more was heard of Moses wonderful ad-
ventures during the war.