St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1911-07-05
BILLY BOYU
By MAITLAND L. OSBORNE

and gk0Om1ly WaIcue0 6GlS0Hzxar8
i frantic endeavor to dig out mole
Time was when Billy. would have sec
onded BelshazzaTs efforts-but today
he would scarce have turned his head
to watch circus parade. The somberI
black pail of utter desolation had set
tied over him and life, which once;
had seemed SO fair Knocked him with,
its uselessness :.
For Billy was In love, and bis love
was scorned. Haunted, derided and REL
fused-and at Billy's age such things
count The iron had struck deep into
his soul and broken on, and the barbs
still ranked.
That he had reached the epochal age.
OF ten before attaining the grand pas
sion shows at least that he did not
wear his heart upon his sleeve. Pre-,
viously he had sauntered idly along.
the primrose path of dalliance, in
dulged in tentative f1irtations with his
nurse, his kindergarten teacher, and
the pink-cheeked fairy with the f1axen
curls who waved him generous kisses
with her chubby hands from the ad-
Joining lawn.
Once across the intervening hedge,
ne had shared with her stick of ex-
ceedingly sticky candy; at another
time he had graciously allowed her
to inspect the burned finger that Wis
ibly attested his patriotic observance
OF the glorious Fourth inwardly
elated by her gasp of feminine horror
when he undid the wrappings of the
injured member.
Then had INTERVIEWED period during
which he viewed the advances Of the
gentler sex with calm disdain. merg-
ing at times on distinct disfavor-as,
for instance, when ELUSIVE feminine
visitors of uncertain age, abiding to
him as "the little DEAR" drew him in
wardly raging against his fate, within
their detested embrace and kissed his
freckled face.
J. On the evening Of his tenth birthday
he had had party-such party!
with oceans Of pink lemonade and con-
tinents Of angel cake, mountain ranges
of ice cream, isthmuses Of lady-fngers
and island OF cookies, principalities of
! pound cake and kingdoms of candy suf-
fcient to allure the gloating gaze of
the expectant guests-and cause a le-
gion of little 'tummies' to ache in con-
cert
At the party she appeared, pink
checked, adorable dimpled, demure,
looking for all the world as though
she might have wandered, just awak-
ened, from some huge gilt frame in the
picture gallery-the type of little girl
that one instinctivelyr longs surrepti-
tiously to pinch to convince ones self
of her reality; also she isped enchant-
ingly, and at her advent Billy beheld
his preconceived ideas of femininity
take instant flight.
| But you must dance with the other
little girls Also" protested his mother,
gently guiding his reluctant steps
where duty pointed, "and I'm afraid
Bessie's mamma would not like to
have her eat more than four dishes of
ice cream in one evening"
Bessie-divine name!
After a months devotion on his
part, Bessie had passed him on the
avenue that forenoon, seated in the
donkey cart of the snub-nosed boy
across the street, haughtily uncon-
scious of his existence, while he of the
snub nose had grinned at him often
sively as they passed
True, Billy had sauntered casually
across the street later in the day and
gravely pumme1led the snub-nosed one
in the seclusion of the coach house
till he howled for mercy, but this con-
summation Of righteous vengeance was
at best vicarious punishment for the
tickle Bessie. So now, when Belshaz-
Ear cooked an inquiring ear in his d.
ro0%i0n ord uuhfnaA roiIJxr
gIoomily disdained his invitation to as
sist in excavating the mole. and with
hands thrust deeply In his pocket
viewed life darkly through disillusion-
ed eyes.
Appeared presently around the cor
ner of the house Billy's big uncle Jack,
likewise engulfed in gloom, with hands
in pockets and unlighted pipe despond-
emily as1ant, who seated himself be-
side Billy upon the steps and watched
Belshazzar's efforts dejectedly.
An Uncle Jack unsociable, untalka-
tive and downcast of men was distinctly
new to Billy's experience that he view
ed the phenomenon with wonder
ment Could 1t be possible that the
barbed shafts Of jealousy had like
wise entered his soul? With chin in
hand Billy pondered upon the problem
in silence.
All! he had 1t. The cause Of Uncle /
Jacks woe was plain to him. Around
the tickle, the inconstant Bessie re-
volved an attendant satellite yclept
Aunt Agatha, after whom Billy had
lately observed his Uncle Jack dangling |
quite disgracefully, though why Billy !
could mot understand oorfafuIv 81, - -7,-
not pretty-that is, from Billy's stand
point lacking the adorable Bessie's |
pink cheeks and infanti1e plumpness,
likewise her bewitching lisp
Then, too. she blushed If spoken to
suddenly. which Billy regarded as |
foolish habit, and once In the early I
stages of their acquaintance when he |
had shown her a little green snake no