Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1914-07-09

consequence.
After he had extracted the singing
barb he laboriously and stealthily
crawled out, dragging his pole and
line. Back of the house he sat down
on a stump to think things over.
Did you ever know time to go SO
fast?" Mrs. Jones had chirruped
YES" his mother had responded.
we shall close the cottage and go
back to Chicago next week. Bobby's
school begins the week after"
Bobby was nine. AS he sat on the
stump with the apple orchard in front
of him he saw instead of it the long
staircase with the monitor at the top
and felt the slippery shininess of a
stack of brand-new school books, He
knew just how the pages would stick
together in their abOminable new
ness and how weird the unfamiliar
contents would look.
He felt cramped, bound down, domi-
mated. All the delightful buoyancy
which had been ais for three months
had vanished and big balls OF lead
weighed down his toes and fingers
and shoulders. He dropped as be-
meath the weight of the world. He felt
very old and very tired. Once, un-
der his breath, he said: "Darnl" as
ne kicked the stump ON which he sat.
His eye fell on the recumbent fish,
pole and another pang lacerated his
heart. No more for him the shiny
sweetness of the dear little bass he
had been catching And. those trees
in the woods full Of gree nuts! And
the ripening grapes! And the sumac
and sassafras bushes already begin
ming to hint of red and orange glorles.
And the rabbits!
With one bound Bobby made for
the rabbit hutches. Eagerly lifting
out the two half grown black and
white Dummies, he stuffed them into
his pockets. Then, grabbing up the
fish pole, he looked hurriedly round.
A new light was in his eyes. There
was determination about his mouth.
He headed for the kitchen
Cookies, Norah!" he begged. Lots
of them"
"Yeh won't have no appetite for
supper" said Norah, handing over
Bobbys perquisites.
His lips frightened, for little she
knew! Supper indeed!
Crawling under the fence because
he was on desperate expedition that
made a gate unbeftting his progress.
Bobby struck out for the woods. Once
his feet had touched the Indian trail
he halted his mad rush
They never would find him! None
of the grown-ups ever walked the In
dian trail because their hair caught
in the branches and their lace skirts
in the prickly wild smilax. Their feet
did not know the delight Of the
stretches of brown hemlOck needles
nor their noses the smell of woodsy
things. Bobby's nostrils twitched like
those of his rabbits as he shifted bal
samic fragrance.
He walked and walked, finding the
fishpole difficult to carry when taken
in combination with a narrow path
and eager, reaching bushes. He had
walked farther on the trail than he
had done before all summer and the
trees were bigger and closer together.
It was even gloomy, for now the sun
had gone down outside. The quick
dusk In among the trees chilled his
spirits.
He stood still and listened. Not
sound. If you want to realize how
scary absolute silence is you should
be a little boy of nine, far from
home
Wait! There was a noise-oh,
what was that awful noise? 1t was
the blood pounding in Bobby's tenn
pies,
He dragged out the Dummies and
Rugged them closer. They were warm,
and their fur was soft as they cud-
died at his neck. He took few slow
steps. A branch cracked up above.
Bobby stared feverishingly into the
gloom overhead. 1t might be a pan.
Their or lion or tiger! Dreadful
thought!
Turning, he crashed through under