Little Falls herald., 1914-11-20

(; crease QlS anect10n Tor her. In return
he punched her in her soft ribs and
: Annie tapped a frayed gray ear al
T: him.
BY the time the pony had been fed
/ and so0thed to Quietness and the
chickens had gone to bed for the night,
! the captain locked the barn door and
wearily trudged into his cosy house to
prepare his evening meal
Sitting there over his platter of fried
ham and eggs there came a happy
/ thought.
'"Thunderat10nr' he exclaimed glee-
fully. III do that not soul in Lit
,, tie River will ever know what became
of the critter, and shan't tell Get
ting off before daylight is just the
thing. Let me see, the paper said the
p; circus was to play in Sandville Friday
and Saturday, and tomorrow's Friday.
better turn in now. I've got a-plenty
to .do!'
At 2 o'clock the next morning Cap
tain Perley Tuttle locked the door Of
his bachelor abode and went to his sta
bic. By the light of a lantern the
drowsy elephant was coaxed out into
the barnyard, where she submitted to
having a blanket tossed across her
broad back. On top Of this Captain
Tuttle lashed spare wagon seat from
the blackboard and tied it with many
an intricate sailor knot. Two ropes
were slipped over Annie's short tusks,
securely knotted, and then Captain
Tuttle was ready for business.
To mount upon Annle's high back
was another problem, but the captain
solved it in his own ingenious way.
Annie stood patiently before the barn
door:
Captain Tuttle closed the doors, went
upstairs and opened the doors to the
hayloft, extinguished his lantern,
caught hold of the rope and pulley
hanging at the end Of the hosting
beam, slid down the rope and landed
squarely on the seat above Annie's
Quivering body.
The beast moved uneasily under his
weight, but when he picked up the
guiding ropes and sawed at them,
while he prodded her with a broom
handle, Annie swung slowly about
and moved majestically through the
darkness toward the open gate.
"She steers as easy as the old Paler-
mo-" muttered the delighted captain
as Annie padded heavily down the
road toward the stretch of woods that
lay between Little River and Sand
vile. "I'll be out Of deep water long
before these here landlubbers are
awake, and I guess none Of 'em will be
laffin' at Captain Perley Tuttle be-
cause he had to take the elephant back
all on account of Heppy Tewks' con-
trapted notions about menageries. The
elephant will be gone and there won't
be soul know how or when. Gee up.
there. Annie: Port your helm: Ho-
upr'
Annie logged slowly along the dark
road, while the captain kept a wealth
er eye on the light streak in the east,
where the dawn was coming in swift
pursuit Of night. =: :ss* s s=..5=
Captain Tuttle chuckled when he ap:.l
proac ched the little cottage where Hep
py Tewks lived. 1t was light enough
to distinguish objects, and he was
and somewhat disconnected
when he discovered the dumpy little !!
form Of Heppy stepping around the
dew drenched garden
She uttered shrill sQueal of fright !
when she saw the great gray bulk !:
with the captain sitting atop come !:
close to the palings Of her fence.
She was wearing crisp calico wrap
per, and her hair was curled close to !
her head with the dampness of the
morning. She was quite pretty and !,
had a lively manner.
"Whatever!' she shrieked as she |
rushed to the fence. "Perley Tuttle,
you'll be killed sure as fate! Are you ;
crazy, to go riding of on that dreadful
..a
The captain lighted his pipe and |
pufed slowly at it, while Annie MUNICH /
ed the fresh green buds from Heppy's !
Rose Of Sharon trees along the fence.
"Just going for little morning ride,
Heppy," said the captain soothingly.
''Now, don't get excited, and it amt
necessary to spread the news from Old
Mans mountain down to the grist
MILL" he added warningly. "1'm 60
ing to buy that wedding ring today,
Heppy," he added bashfully.
Heppy laughed hysterically. ''Wed-
ing ring! There won't be any wedding
at all, Perley Tuttle, if you don't get
rid Of that there beastv' She pointed
a quivering finger at Annie and turned
away. .z.
"Hee-up!' shouted the captain, try
ing to pull Annie away from the Rose
OF Sharon buds.
That command must have possessed
some especial significance for Annie, !
tho cirous o1onhanf for az IF in PQ. !