Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1911-05-04
and animals in this locality"

end the name Carroll Denton"
The villain! How dare he!" ex-
| claimed the girl al she looked at the
boy.
He's an awful fellow" was the
reply. when l told him how you
bluffed me out Of the rabbit up there
he Just CRASHED his teeth. He only
wanted Ave rabbits at first, but now
he says he'll catch a hundred. He's
cross-eyed and red-headed, and he's
got an awful temper on him"
Miss Gertrude was absent from the
room four or Ave minutes, and then
returned with a reply for the awful
man. 1t read:
sir: l reiterate that you are .
villain"
That was all. No "sincerely."-no
"respectfully"-no your very ob't
servant" Even the initials "a. A."
were lacking.
Mr.. Ainsley was away from home.
and when the mother learned what
had happened she said:
You were always that way from
a child, and you can't help 1t, ! sup
pose. but l hope you won't carry 1t
too far in this case. Calling a man a
villain Is SANDER, unless he Is q VII
lain
But Of course he Isl" was the re-
ply. Would any one but a villain
hire a boy to murder a poor rabbit?
a quail Ill-Ill-!"
Miss Gertrude clenched her hands
and breathed hard and left 1t to be
understood that something very ter
rible would happen to the 1ross-eyed
and red.headed man. Next morning
she went up to tho woods again. She
went in the forenoon because she sus-
pected that boy would set snares over
night and visit them early. She walked
the paths and found four, and the
wires we're thrown far away. they
had shared no victims.
As she was on her way home she
met the young man Of the day before.
She looked at him more closely this
time, and she liked his appearance.
Surely he was a gentleman. The boy
was not seen until mid -afternoon. Then
he brought another note, and as he de-
Iivered 1t he said:
Il was lying up there in a brush
heap this forenoon when you destroyed
the snares, and oh, wasn't the awful
man awful mad when | told him OF
it,"
And the note read:
Miss Ainsley: l must again politely
request that you cease to NEEDLE with
my affairs"
The same name was signed as to
the other, but the sincerely was
lacking. Carroll Denton was no longer
sincere. He was grumpy.
A reply was sent as promptly as be
fore. 1t consisted Of a few stirring
words:
And l must repeat that you are q
villain"
1t was afternoon Of the next day
when Miss Gertrude went up to the
woods again. Almost at once she be-
held a robin with a broken wing fut-
tering about. She had picked 1t up
and seated herself on a log and was
crying over II when a soft voice at her
elbow said:
please give 1t to me. thing I can
do something for It,"
1t was the young man. He took the
bird, made a brief examination and
said:
THE wing is broken, but ! can use
splints and make 1t sound again after
a bit. Nature is very kind to animals
orl htrIo IIAHn chat ola u,otA u,nn,t
hear Of this. She'll say l used a club
on the bird and call me more villains
What old maid" was asked, forget
ting that she was facing a stranger
"A Miss Ainsley. She's close on my
trail"
"Why-why, ! am the only Miss
| Ainsley. and | am not an old maid
You can't be the-the villain!"
Then Of course It came out. The
|, boy had lied for revenge. There wal
no old maid, and there was no cross
, eyed, red.headed man. Mr.. Denton
! was a naturalist, and he wanted hi
: specimens alive and sound that h,
might study their habits. He wal
q merciful to a degree. Miss Gertrud,
, heard his explanations with blushini
. cheeks and downcast eyes, and at tn,
3 end she was generous enough to re
l ply:
Well, that makes a difference"
And It did. The naturalist found hi
E way to the house to tell her how tn,
I robin was getting along. and the da!
a the bird new away on the restores
, wing he said TO himself that he ha.
9 discovered a specimen" worth al