The Harrison times., 1911-07-22
Peanut Brittle
By DONALD ALLEN

| Next day as Throop sat on one Of
| the verandas smoking, some one
! crowded between the chairs and
leaned over his knee with a merry
chuckle, 1t was the little girl of the
! train.
Got that peanut-brittle YETI" she
! asked.
Gracious, no! | didn't think I'd
ever meet you again, and haven't
seen any candy stores around here"
"Oh, but they have it, There's a
place back Of the hotel called the grot-
to. found it the first thing this
morning. Lots of peanut-hrittle there.
Just made yesterday"
Then come right along and you
shall have your pound"
Yes but let me whisper to you
first, They charge double price. Will
that make any difference to your"
She was told with laugh that 1t
wouldn't, and hand in hand they
tripped away. AS a child wise beyond
her years she asked no impertinent
questions; as gentleman. Throop
asked none. Her mother, and perhaps
her father as well, were staying at the
same hotel.
The next day 1t was not peanut-brit-
tie, but long walk. The next day it
was some more Of the sweet stuff and
visit" on the veranda. On the next,
as the child had not appeared up to
mid-afternoon, the lonesome man went
wandering over the grounds in search
Of her. He was told by one Of the
caretakers Of the grounds that she had
taken a certain path an hour before.
but she could come to no harm.
The man followed the path for al
most half a mile up the mountain, and
then he got a sight Of the child. She
had scrambled up the rugged face Of
a cliff thirty feet high, and stood cow
ering there. He saw at once that she
was in fear, and he called out to her
to stand still until he reached her side
In two minutes of climbing he was
within ten feet Of her. Then she said
in voice that quavered just trihe;
Lonesome Man, it isn't that I'm
afraid to come down, but there's big
snake here!"
What kind Of a snake?'
81 don't know, but every time !
move he goes buz-z-z-z with his tall"
Then don't move-on your life
don't move. ! will come up another
way"
And scrambling down, he made his
escalade at point fifty feet away, and
in a few minutes was above the girl.
Within three feet Of her, and coiled to
strike and keeping up a constant rat.
Ting, was a deadly snake. When the
man recognized the species his heart
came into his throat and choked him
for a moment Then he called in a
voice hardly above whisper:
Don't move, and don't try to answer
me! Keep just as still as you possibly
can. There's lady down below beck
oning to you, but never mind her I'm
going to drop a big stone on the snake.
Don't be scared, dearie, now it's com.
ing"
The stone hit the serpent fairly and
crushed out its life in a second. Half
a minute later Throop was down be.
side the child. She was swaying and
tottering as his hands reached out.
| Che uac uncOnScious nc he reached
the path with her to find lady hold
ing out her arms in mute appeal, but
unable to utter a sound. She had
somehow understood the peril of the
child.
TONI"
"Gracie!"
He laid down the burden and stepped
back and looked at the woman.
Tom-husband-you were all wrong
to go away" she sobbed.
That's our Oracle, named after me.
She was only year oId when you
you"
And he opened his arms and she
sobbed on his breast. They were still
clinging to each other when they
heard voice saying:
Men do cry sometimes-so there!
And, mamma, II you and the Lone
some Man will only get married ! can
have heaps of peanut-brittle every day
as long as ! live"