The Lakeland evening telegram., 1914-05-28
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES,
LYING IN AMBUSH
BY CARL JENKINS.

|
eight.
When girl nineteen years old in
dsts on keeping even two tame rab
bits around the family country home
that family is In for trouble.
A family cat can be Seated" 6
family dog can be hit with the broom
stick; a family goat can be Drained
with the ak and then argued with
But what can be done with tame rab
bits?
They are in the kitchen under the
cooks feet. They are to be found up
stairs under or on the beds. They
gnaw the tender bark from young
trees. Their presence attracts pass
ting dogs, and then there Is a wild
skurrN and sQhealing.
Those rabbits must be guarded and
fed.
They must be hunted up at sundown
and cooped. When they get to fight
Ing among themselves at midnight and
wake up the family and cause the man
Of the house to swear by the whis-
keTs Of his father and the girl-owner
10 scream 10 them from her window
when the rabbit named Caesar fights
with the rabbit named Tom, and
causes succession Of shrieks, no one
can blame the man OF the house from
calling out to his daughter through
the darkness.
BY thunder. young lady, this is the
last night those varmints will raise a
row around this house,"
They are not varmints!" comes the
reply.
They are worse, and I'll wiring their
blamed necks the first thing in the
morning."
And the girl steals softly down
stairs and tells Caesar that he must
amend his conduct or be turned loose
to shift for himself. and after a time
the row is Quieted, and the moon goes
back to her Job of sailing around the
earth. When morning comes there Is
no wringing OF necks It's mean
man that will twist rabbits head
OF.
And so the incident is forgotten un-
I'll next time, and Miss Viola keeps
right on with the nuisance, and de-
votes more time to those eight rabbits
than would make l6 young men very
happy.
There was a change on the way.
however Miss Viola Rathbone got up
one morning to discover that two OF
her rabbits had escaped. No, they
had not escaped They had been taken
from the hutch by human hands and
the door carefully closed again She
ran into the house to give the alarm
and to add In hysterical voice
Father, want that negro Sam
For what9"
Because he took the rabbits"
UNI"
When he was working here he
was always telling how nice rabbit /
,tew was"
did he leave his old hat behind to
ihow that he was the thief?"
'Of course not, but he got the rab-
,its."
Perhaps so"
Perhaps 1t is so, and | want you to
telephone the constable to come over
lere right away"
Il never mix up in rabbit cases.
but | do" and away she went to !
he telephone and ordered the officer /
0 appear forthwith.
He came and listened
why do you think 1t was Sam2"
e asked
"Because he knew about the rab- :
its"
"But 30 do !"
"And he just loves rabbit soup"
Ditto"
But II you arrest him you can
care him into confessing"
but cant arrest him. He Is
,orking hundred miles away"
Then, II he didn't take the rabbits,
rho did?" demanded the indignant
irl.
"Tramps, guess"
Yes, you guess, and that Is to be
ne end OF IT,"
7 guess 1t is. Three tramps went
ito camp down the road last night
his morning | spied around bit, and
found fur and bones"
And you didn't make an arrest!"
Can you swear that they we're the
IT and bones of your rabbits?"
"Of course, CAM"
"All right, then. You go before the
stice Of the peace and swear out
arrant and I'll overhaul the fellows
efOre noon"
Miss Viola didn't 20. She decided
at other creatures had fur and bones
,sides her rabbits, and that the Jus
&c would so hold She reasoned.
'wever, that If one gang Of tramps
I'd come along and stolen two OF her
bbits a larger gang might be looked
r any time who would steal four.
ID maybe the whole of the flock
ar father had no interest nor care. {
ID her mother no words of condol-
ce, but she was old enough and big
ough % protect her own unr