The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-07-06
CHAPTER !.
Capt. TiEkletoes.

was on its way from mass at Saint
Louis Cathedral, Sister Anastasia lead
ing the sedate procession with the larg-
er girls, and Sister Laurie at the rear
with the smaller ones. Aurelie was
the smallest one of all. She chung
tightly to Sister Laure's skirts, for IN
the asylum, one saw nothing like this.
All ROYAL Street was filled with bawl-
ing Mardi Gras maskers ringing bells,
footing horns and humping into the
Holy Family as though, on such a
morning, there should not be such a
thing as an orphan in the whole round
world. And on the corner Aureile,
very frightened, looked up into the
eyes of an old man who stared down
at her with crafty and deliberate intent,
and then stumped after the procession
on his wooden peg-leg, bound round
with shiny brass band, as if now the
matter was settled, and of all the Or
phans. big ones, middle-sized ones and
smaller ones, light mixed, dark
mixed"-and some almost black-there
was Just one he wanted, and that was
the ittlest one of all!
Many, many years after, a black
eyed and vivacious young woman,
whom all the land had read about,
starting on her wedding journey, threw
her arm about silvery-headed, one
legged old rebel and kissing him, said:
Now, Uncle Michigan, before we
say good-by, tell me the real reason
you stole me-"
The old rebel chuckled as he had
done a thousand times at this same
vexed question. We'll, you had on
little blue wammus and little blue
pants and | done reckoned you was
a boy! So l followed you right up
close, and when lot of them Mardy
Graws come along blowing horns and
bumped into the convent sisters every
way, just grabbed you up and stump
ed off, for ! says: BY Mighty, this is
the one Capt. Tinkletoes'll want-this
littlest one with the little blue pants
So off to the woods we wentI'
Then she dubbed with fond, re-
proving laughter. Now. don't be silly
That story is awfully silly! But, I'm
Gle Mich, I'm glad you stole me-then
is when everything began to happenT"
Well, let us see Aurelie off on her
honeymoon, while We go back twenty
years TO the morning when Uncle
Michigan seized her out of the demon
allied Holy Family and stumped off
to the French Market lugger landing
in old New Orleans, where he put her
on Etienne Guillimet's crab boat bound
for Barataria Bay He gave her a
praline to suck lest she cry, and turned
a crab basket over her head. and not
until the Caminada had wheezed some
miles up the yellow Mississippi and
turned off through a canal leading to
the wild Louisiana swamps did he take
the basket off.
Aurelie still sucked the praline I'M
blinkingly Never such a feast with
the decorous Holy Family. Her first
TASTE OF the wicked World was good.
When the Cajun captain saw the
child he was amazed.
BY damn, old man-whose ees
Oh" said Uncle Michigan, scratch
ing a match evasively on his wooden
leg. "A baby done goin' down to
its wimmin folks-'way off past John
the-Fool and Africa and them camps. |
It's a right lonesome country"
But if Capt. Etienne and the Cajun |
crew had remembered they might have |
known that, long before the lower
lakes were reached, a trapper's pirogue |
shot out from the overhanging jungle, !
and Uncle Michigan handed down the |
child TO another old man who sat it |
before him in the tiny canoe and stared |
at it with incredulous alteration. The
Caminada wheezed off to the south,
and all about the mighty woods grew
still with only the hoot of an owl in
the twilight gloom under the moss
hung cypress. The little old man still |
stared at the child. who looked back
yet fearless.
Done Gomez he breathed in his
exultation: Done Gomez
He took her in his arms and held
her OF. in his eyes the light of the
Magi as they stood in the door of
Bethlehem. And when Michigan pad
died on to where a great bar of the
sunset broke through the forest he saw
the child in a golden light and laughed T
his happiness. "A little child shall lead
EN-! Michigan, here l be, an old fool
reb off in the swamps with the frogs
and owls and snakes and gators. wait
in for the child to come lead 'em to
occupy the land-and here it ber
But Michigan was silent. He had
made an awful discovery.
They went on past the evil spikes of
the cypress lifting out of the black
water where once giant gar stirred
the depths; and once an alligator
crossed slowly before them; and once
4 gray shark swan lithely in the salt
tide setting up from the gulf; and
once far off an owl called. and from
1 palmetto overhanging the canoe a
snake fell by the childs
tide, but she seemed without fear. And
n the last rosy light a snowy egret
'ailed above them, and on a shell ridge '
, four-point buck watched until the
'wampers' pirogue had stolen into the
black wet forest.
They came to a tiny garden at the
md of canal filled with purple hya-
:inth, and all about the matched fence
he green cane grew. The lean hound
pups came to greet them from under ,
he palmetto hut, and the old man ,
fitted the child and set her there !
Imong them.
"Yere's home" he said. "And we're :
'ouH grow up to lead 'em. LeeIl I
.ome on his big white horse, and I
,tonewall a-chargin' and rarin'; and {
lie Jeb Stuart and Col. Marmaduke of 7
ny ole bat'ry. And up and up'r come !
he old gray lines jest as it's done /
'een revealed to me, and this little
andr' /.
..n