The Dermott news., 1916-01-27

Il have never seen you before he
said but am very fond OF little
girls. and since l have none OF my
own do not propose to lose sight OF
you in a hurry"
The little Amesbury girl was OF an
age when most impressions do not
| long survive. She would neither re-
member her father nor her mother nor
her nurse. nor her Indian dress. nor
the playhouse. nor the seesaw in the
woods; but always she had a vague
recollection OF three great and impor-
tant personages, who treated her as
If she were more important than they
were. and who on parting from her
| bowed over her chubby. dimpled hand
and kissed it for all the world as II she
had been a princess. 1t wasn't exactly
recollection. either for she did not
remember their faces nor how they
came into her life. nor how they de-
! parted. II was more like a dream.
only fragments of which here and
there survive in the walkers mind. Ii
wasn't altogether n pleasant dream.
There mingled with ii certain some
thing of the essence of nightmare.
Whether Il was another man In the
background OF some monstrous beast
with eXtraordi narily large, black
trimmed eyes she did not know
II is curious that she should remem-
Der little ot all this and nothing Of
that message which came presently
from the house-a message brought
by one servant to another and erudelg
blurted forth in the hearing of a ehild.
Come quick. Mary and bring the
baby. the missus Is dead She does
not remember running to the house
between two women. dragged by the
hand. ard If she did II is most likely
that she should remember only the
novelty of the swift locomotion. and
not the reason that called for it
The little Amesbury girl continued
to live on in her fathers house The
law said she might until things were
Strengthened out. There were 10 rela.
tiVcs 10 interfere
But ii was a strange life There
was no longer any discipline in the
house, even the trained nurse had
to 60. The servants began TO neglect
their work and to amuse themselves.
But beng neglected by nurse had its
advantages tor Tommy Steele came
every day TO play with her. and often
many times in one day. lie WAS a
much better nurse than nurse was.
He took good care OF one all the time.
ana she loved him with all her heart
once nurse told them that they could
play hide and seek Ia the wood II they
would be very good and not get lost
or Wet OF let rotten trees iuN ON them
or vasps sting them. And that was
morning 70 be remembered II many
ways Tommy Steele was always it
Al FIRST she would hide behind the
nearest tree and make a great deal
OF morse and peek out TO see II Tommy
! was hunting tor her or not. But grad
| ually she learned 10 keep mum. ard To
| tuck herself into very small places or
| 10 move quietly or TO keep mousy still.
Gradually she hid with more and
more holiness. running quite long dis
! the last time she went To hide she ran
long way and just when she had
| lodged behind big white oak and
| was goiug 10 call cuckoo she found
! herself looking into the great round.
! hlaCk.rimmed glasses OF Professor Still.
! liter Before she could scream he
! had seized her around the waist with
| L. a "A "a atyH
his right hand Then he picked her
up and started TO run, AS the hand
over her mouth prevented her scream.
ing. she simply opened her mouth
and bit II.
In his rage and pain Professor Still
liter almost dropped her. lie snatehed
his bitten hand from her mouth. and
she began to scream nj the top OF her
lungs to struggle and kick and TO
make herself limp between times And
once she twisted clean away from the
arm that had her round the waist.
| Sull she was only little child, and
Tommy Steele saved her He came
out upon them IN shower OF broken
tWigs. hatless and bleeding from an
alteration with greenbrier Pro
fessor Stilliter did not at once realize
that he was only being attacked by a
small boy He let so OF the little girl
completely then tried TO catch her,
"a he realized the caliber OF his as.
sailant. in so doing his attention mo-
mentarily diverted, received savage
kick on the ankle bone and something
like twenty-five blows upon the head
and face. During this assault PROBES.