The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1912-07-10

e ~
aFather, you shan do somethingl
You have been cheated. You have
surrendered your land. tell you my
dell has been rooted out and destroy
ed! We must do something
Eyes, eertainly-yes, of course. You
see, my dear
| And Miss Hattie walked straight
out Of the library, and straight out Of
the house. and straight down the path
to the dell-less dell. She meant to
see somebody and raise a row. She
was goting to demand this and that.
Her cheeks burned and her eyes
flashed. and the wonder was that the
] old goat. belonging mile away, but
ont for roam, dared to do what he
did. Miss Hattie had blue ribbon
I belt about her waist. The goat didn't
like IT. He lowered his head, roared
as well as he could, and minute la
ter there was a girl up an apple tree
and a goat looking all around in a
puzzled way. He don't go home and
give it up. He didn't go away at
all. He was there to see the thing
through.
The girl up the tree could have
screamed for help, and Aunt Jane
would have come with the broom, and
the cook with the mop, but just as she
was thinking of it the young man from
1.-THE Oaks" came wandering that
way to see what the workmen had
done. He wasn't bad to look at as he
wandered along and planned how he
would improve this and that spot, but
the situation was not in the least ro-
mantle.
Would the goat go for him? MOI!
He wore no blue ribbon. Would he
halt and turn back? 1t was ques-
tion. Didn't HIS demeanor show that
he meant to inspect that very apple
tree and make sure Of the kind and
quality of fruit? If the goat would
only charge him and knock him un-
conscious-not fatally injure him, but
render him dead to the world for two
minutes-ju just long enough for a girl
up a tree to descend with dignity and
gain the shelter of the house! But
he wouldn't. He never even gave the
young man a second glance. Nearer
-nearer-nearer- And then
came voice:
go away, sir!"
"Who-what!" he exclaimed with a
start.
go at once, sir!"
Can that be the goat speaking to
me?"
Its grill Go back to the house!"
"But-but where is the girl?"
The young mans wonderment was
genuine. He was looking in every di-
rection but the right one. Right then
and there Miss Hattie mentally called
him a pudding-head, but he was mas
ter of the situation, and she had to
explain:
I'm up tree. was afraid Of the
goat. Please scare him away and
then walk in another direction"
Certainly certainly"
The goat was-given a whack with a
handy club, but neither he nor Mr..
Carney had travelled thirty feet when
there was yell. fall and thud.
Dear me. but ] regret-I beg par
don-I hope"
"You--you stole our land!" ex.
claimed TIE girl as she scrambled to-
her feet as gracefully as possible.
Eyes, you stole our land, and you have
stolen my dell, and you knew I was
up tree, and hate you--hate you'll
With that she was of to the house,
walking with what dignity she could,
and she left a young man and an old
goat behind her to wonder who she
was.
The goat hasn't found out yet. This
young man went at 1t right of. He
had to call on the professor and he
had to call and apologize about that
dell, which he had taken for a crows
roost-and make another call for
apology for being alive or something,
and months and months later, when
he asked certain question he was
answered:
Yes, after years and years, maybe.
! believe you knew was up that ap.
pie tree all the time, and you must
take your punishment"