Connecticut western news., 1915-08-05
CHAPTER XVII.
"LittIe GentIeman."


HWM rod pursued his honewarc
w. way; no great distance, but
long enough for several one
sided conflicts with malign insulters
made of thin air. You better not call
me thatr' he muttered You Just try
it. and you'll get what other people
got when they tried it You better
not ack fresh with me. oh, you will
will your" He delivered n vicious
kick full upon the shins Of an iron
fence post, which suffered little
though Penrod instantly regretted his
indiscretion. "Oofl" he granted. hop.
ping, and went on after bestowing a
look of awful hostility upon the fence
post. Il guess you'll know better next
time" he sid in parting to this an
tagonist "YOu just let me catch you
around here again and ZIP His
voice sank to inarticulate but ominous
murmurings. He was in a dangerous
mood.
Nearing home, however, his belliger-
ent spirit was diverted to happier in
terests by the discovery that some
workmen had left caldron of tar in
the cross street close by his fathers
stable. He tested it, but found it in
edible; also as a substitute for profess
siOnal chewing gum it was unsatisfac-
tory, being insutficiently boiled down
and too thin, though of a pleasant,
lukeWarm temperature. But it had an
excess of one quality-it was sticky.
1t was the stickiest tar Penrod had
ever used for any purposes whatsoever,
and nothing upon which he wiped his
hands served to rid them of it, neither
his polka dotted shirtwaist nor his
knickerbockers; neither the fence nor
even Duke, Who came unthinkingly
wagging out ~ greet him and retired
wiser.
Nevertheless tar is tar. Much can
be done with it. no matter what its
condition. So Penrod fingered by the
caldron, though from a neighboring
yard could be heard the voices of COM
rades, including that of Sam Williams.
On the ground about the caidron We're
: scattered chips and sticks and bits OF
wood to the number of n great multi
tude. Penrod mixed quantities of this
refuse into the tar and interested him
self in seeing how much of it he could
keep moving in slow swirls upon tho
ebon surface.
Other surprises were arranged fol
the absent workmen. The caldron was
almost full and the surface of the tar
near the rim. Penrod endeavored to
ascertain how many pebbles and brick
bats dropped in would cause an over
flow. Laboring heartily to this end.
he had almost accomplished it wheI
he received the suggestion for an ex-
pertinent on Il much larger scale. EN-
bedded at the corner of q grass plot
across the street was a whitewashed
stone the size of small watermelon
and serving no purpose whatever save
the questionable one of decoration. 1:
was easily pried up with a stick,
though getting it to the caldron tested
the full strength of the ardent laborer.
Instructed to perform such a task, he
would have sincerely maintained its
impOssibility, but now. as it was unbid.
den and promised rather destructive
results, he set about it with uncon-
querable energy, feeling certain that
he would be rewarded with a mighty
splash. Perspiring, grunting vehem
emily, his back aching and all muscles
strained, he progressed in short stages
until the big stone lay at the base of
the caldrOn. He rested a moment.
painting, then lifted the stone and was
bending his shoulders for the heave
that would lift it over the rim when
sweet, haunting voice close behind him
startled him cruelty.
How do you do, little gentleman"
Penrod squawked, dropped the stone
and shouted. ''Shut up, you dern fool"
purely from instinct even before his
about face made him aware who had
so spitefuliy addressed him.
1t was Marjorie Jones. Always dain
ty, and prettily dressed, she was H.
speckless apr1 starchy white today. and
refreshing picture she made. with
the new shorn and powerfully scented
MitchyMitch clinging to her hand
They had stolen up behind the toileI
and now stood laughing together ir
sweet merriment. Since the passing
of Periods Rupe Collins period he had
experienced some severe qualms at the
recollection of his last meeting witt
Marjorie and his Apache BEHAVIOR
truth, his heGwt Instantly became rs