, 1915-09-30

mickey IreeZlngly. sit up, GREENE.
People don't lie on their backs in
Sunday-school."
GREENE yawned dismally, and right
ed herself with injured slowness. "Ah
dinuses ter 'cep' yo' insult, Hickey
Snydah," she said. "Ah'd ruthah lose
nah 1igion a nah laz'ness. En- All
'spises yo' spissable dissisition!"
Let us all RISE" continued Hickey,
unmoved, and sing Kingdom Conn
ing" And she struck up Justify,
beating time on the stump with a
stick. and the rows of children Joined
in with JUNCTION, the colored contingent
coming out strong on the chorus:
De yerf shall be full OBJ de wunduhful
story
AZ watahs dat covah de seal
The clear voices in the quiet air
startled the futtering birds and sent
a squirrel to the tip-top of an oak,
from which he looked down, flirting
his brush. They reused a man, too,
who had lain In a sodden sleep under
a bush at a little distance. He was
ragged and soiled and his heavy bru-
tai face, covered with a dark stubble
of some days growth, had an ugly
scar chanting back from cheek to hair.
Without getting up, he rolled over to
command a better view, and set his
eyes, blinking from their slumber, on
the children.
I'VE will now take up the collec-
tion," said Hickey. C"You can do it,
June. Use a fiat piece of bark.) Re-
member that what we give today is
for the poor heather in-in Alabama"
The bark-slab made its rounds, re-
ceiving leaves. acorns, and an occa-
sional pin. Midway, however, there
arose a shrill shrek from the bearer
and the collection was scattered broad
cast. Rosebud Meredith said Rick
ey witheringly, 1T would serve you
right for putting that toad in the plate
If your hand would get all over warts
I'm sure l hope it will" She rescued
he fallen piece of bark and an
nounced: 1.-THE collection this after
noon has amounted to a hundred dol
lars and seven cents And now, chill
dren. We will skip the cetechism and
/ will tell you a story"
Her auditors hunched themselves
nearer. a double row of attentive white
and black faces, as Hickey with a pre-
liminary bass cough, began in a drawl-
ing tone whose mimicry called forth
giggles of ecstasy.
There were once two little sisters
who went to Sunday-school and loved
their teacher ve-e-ery much. They
were always good and a~ttentive-not
like that little niger over therei The
one with his thumb in his mouth! One
was little Mary and the other was
little Susy. They had a mighty rich
uncle who lived in Richmond, and
once he came to see them and gave
them each a dollar. And they were
ve-e-ery glad. 1t wasn't a mean old
paper dollar, all dirt and creases; nor
a battered Whitley silver dollar; but
1t was a bright round gold dollar, right
out Of the mint. Little Mary and little
Susy could hardly sleep that night for
thinking of what they could buy with
those gold dollars.
EARLY next morning they went
downtown, hand in hand. to the store,
and little Susy bought a bag of goober-
peas, and sticks and sticks of striped
candy, and a timber jack, and q gold
ring, and a wax doll with a silk dress
on that could open and shut its eyes"
"Huhi" said the captious Cory.
you can't buy a wax doll for a dollar.
Ny l~ittlest, littlest one cost three. and
she didn't have q stitch to her backl"
Shut upi" said Hickey briefly.
DOLLS were cheaper then" She looked
at the row Of little negroes, goggle-
eyed at the vision OF such largese.
what do you think little Mary did
with her gold dollar? She loved dolls
and candy, too, but she had heard
about the poo-oo-r heather. There was
q tear in her eye, but she took the dol
lar home, and next day when she went
to Sunday-school, she dropped 1t in
the missionary-box.
Little children, what do you reckon
became of that dollar? 1t bought q
big satchelful OF tracts for a mission
airy. He had been a poor man with
six children and a wife with q bone
felon on her right hand-not q child
old enough to wash dishes and all Of
them young enough to fall in he fire
so he had to go and be a missionary.
He was going to Alabam-to a canni-
bal island, and he took the tracts and
sailed away In a ship hat landed him
on the shore. And when the heather
cannibals saw him they were ve-e-ery
glad, for there hadn't been any ship
wrecked sailors for a long time. and
they we're ve-e-ery hungry. So they
tied up the missionary and gathered
q lot Of wood to make a fire and cook
him.
But is had rained and rained and
rained for so long hat the wood was
all wet, and It wouldn't burn. and they
all cried because they we're SO hungry.