Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1915-07-29

Penrod was very tired OF II. a tiny
knot Of green ribbon finished of the
braid and kept IT from unraveling, and
beneath the ribbon there was a 1nai
wisp Of hair which was just long
enough to repose upon Penrod's desk
when yictorine leaned back III her
seat It was there now. Thoughtful
Iy he took. the braid between thumb
and f~orefinger and, without disturbing
Victorine, dipped the end Of 1t and the
green ribbon Into the inkwell Of his
desk. He brought hair and ribbon
forth dripping purple Ink and partially
dried them on a blotter, though, a mo-
ment later, when Yictorine Leaned for
ward, they were still able to add a
few picturesque touches to the plaid
waist.
Rudolph Krauss, across the aisle
from Penrod, watched the operation
with protuberant. eyes, Fascinated. In
spfred to imitation, he took a piece Of
chalk from his pocket and wrote
rats" across the shoulder blades of
the boy In front OF him, then looked
across appealingly to Penrod for to-
kens Of congratulation. Penrod yawned
Half the members of the class pass
ed out to a recitation room, the en-
pnrpled Victorine among them, and
Miss Spence started the remaining half
through the ordeal Of trial by mathe-s
mates. Several boys and girls were
sent to the blackboard, and Penrod,
spared for the moment, followed their
| operations q little while with his eyes,
but not with his mind; then, sinking
deeper In his seat, Imply abandoned
but saw nothing. The routine Of the
arithmetic lesson reached his ears In
familiar, meaningless sounds, but he
heard nothing, and yet, this time. he
was profoundly occupied. He had
drifted away from the painful land of
facts, and foated now In a new sea
of fancy which he had just discovered
Maturity forgets the marvellous real
ness Of a boys day dreams, how color
full they glow, rosy and living, and
how opaque the curtain closing down
between the dreamer and the actual
world. That curtain Is almost sound
proof, too. and causes more throat
4 trouble among parents than is sus,
pected.
The nervous monotony OF the school
room inspires a sometimes unbearable.
longing for something astonishing to.
happen, and as every boys fundamen-
tai desire is to do something astonish-
ing himself, SO as to be the center of
all human interest and awe, 1t was nat
ural that Penrod should discover In.
fancy the delightful secret Of self levi
tation. He found, in this curious SCI
ries OF imaginings, during the lesson
in arithmetic, that the atmosphere may
be naYigated as by a swimmer under
water, but with Infinitely greater ease
and with perfect comfort in breathing.
In his mind he extended his arms
gracefully, at a level with his shout
ders, and delicately padded the air
with his hands, which at once caused
him to be drawn up out of his seat and
elevated gently to a position about mid
way between the floor and the ceiling,
where he came to IN equilibrium and
foated; a sensation not the less ex-
quiEite because of the screams OF his
fellow pupils, appalled, by the miracle.
Miss Spence herself was amazed and
frightened, but be only smiled down
carelessly upon her when she com
manded him to return to earth, aud
then, when she climbed upon d desk
to pull him down, he quietly padded
himself a little higher, leaving his toes
Just out Of her reach. Next he swan
through O few slow so1nersaults to
show his mastery Of the new art, and,
with the shouting Of the dumfounded
scholars ringing III his ears, turned on
his side and fioated swiftly out of the
window, Immediately rising above the
~housetops, while people in the street
below him shrieked, and a trolley car
stopped dead In wonder.
With almost no exertion he padded
himself, many yards at a stroke, to
the girls private school where Mario
RE Jones was a puptl-Marjorie Jones
of the amber curls and the golden
voicel Long before the Pageant OF
the Table Round, she had offered Pen
rod q hundred proofs that she consid.
cred him wholly undesirable and In.
eligible. AT the Friday afternoon
dancing class she consistently melted
and led the laughter at him whenever
Professor Bartet singled him out for
admonition In matters Of feet and de
corum. And but yesterday she had
chided him for his slavish lack OF
memory In daring to offer her greeting
on the way to Sunday school We'll,
expect you must forgot I told you
never to speak to me againi II 7 was
a boy I'd be too proud to come hang
ing around people that don't speak to
me, wen if I was the worst boy In
TOWN. So she fouted him. But now
as he ioated In through the window Of
her classroom and swan gently along
the ceiling like an escaped toy balloon
she fell upon her knees beside her lit
tie desk and, lifting up her arms to,
ward him, cried with love and admira-
jffans stSs1E A