The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1917-11-29

Selling this opportunity, PenrOu
yentured the deed and was reward
ed. The elderly horse seemed to have
forgotten his animosity in a fit of de-
preston; he hung his head, and mark
ed the ravishment by nothing
more than a slight shudder.
Preliminaries to the great expert
ment were worked out with grave
care. The largest empty bottles obtain
able were selected, cleaned, and filed
with fair water. Then, with beitting
solicitude, the two long black hairs
were lowered into the water, and the
bottles were corked. After that, a
label was pasted upon each, exhib-
iting the owners name and address.
The fascinating work was not COM
plete, however. Penrod paid visit
to the kitchen clock, and, after some
severe exercise In computation, the
following note was inscribed in pre-
else duplicate upon the labels:
"Hair from Jacop r. Krish and cos
horse tail put in sixteen minutes of
evelen o'clock July IL Snak comes six
teen minutes of evelen o'clock July 3d."
Penrod took his bottle to his room
that night; it stood close by his bed
side throughout the long dark hours !;
and once, waking suddenly, he CROPPED
for it feverishly, in fear. His fingers
found the smooth, cool curves of its
neck, and, treasured he slept again, a
smile upon his face. And in the morn
ing, his waking eyes anxiously sought
the bottle and its tenant; all was
safe, and Penrod rose in joy.
Never was treasure more closely
guarded or more steadfastly watched;
and, as the days passed, there devel-
oped in Periods mind a somewhat
definite picture of the little compan-
ion soon to be his; he was sure it
would have brown eyes admiring
eyes, obedient and faithful, like a
dogs. And, while these thoughts
foated within him, he would sit by
the half-hour, gazing at the bottle,
gentle and warming affection emanat-
ing toward it from him.
Twenty-one slow days must pass be-
fore the rapturCus event; twelve had
gone when Sam reported that symp
toms of the great change were APP
pearing in his SNAKE" which he had
taken to his home. (They had dis
carded the term hair on the second
day)
Eyes, sir" said Sam, she's turned all
round in the bottle from the way he
was layin' yesterday; kind of looks
like he was restless, to me. And
there's sumpthing like little bubbles on
him up at the end where his heads
goin' to be-" 1
The hair in Periods bottle had no
such accomplishment for its owner to
vaunt; he looked coldly at Sam, and
began to whistle.
"Yes, SIR" Sam went on, with per-
haps too much vnction, shat snake
of mine looks to me like it was goin'
to make d mighty fiEe snakei"
"Well, 1 don't KNOW" Penrod said,
sighting. 81 like 'em kind of quieter."
Nor die. the fact that his treasure ex-
hibit no tokens of the transition dis
turb him in any way, except thus to
rouse his championage. No slightest
doubt ever Swallowed his ardent con-
fidence; never for one instant Tad
poles became frogs; caterpillars make
themselves into cocoons; and cocoOns
are really butterflies; he had owned
cocoons that showed no change in ap-
pearance until the very hour of the
butterflies emergence. The hair in the
bottle looked every day more and
more like an attractive young snake
and by the time Penrod discovered
that the thirty-second of July would
really be the first of August, it seem
ed to him that it almost was a snake,
already.
The final week of the three was one
of internal excitement, heightening al
most unbearably as the climax APP
preached. Then, the first of August
dawned fair and cool; no sweeter
birthday could have been selected in
all the year. Penrod woke with the
Joyous feeling that riches had come to
him in his snake.
AS his eyes opened and fell upon the
bottle, bathed In morning sunshine on
the chair by his bed, he stared with
10y. The hair had altered its position
in the water during the night the mir
acle had begun TO work, and 10 min
utes of IL would see it consummated.
He dressed slowly and TREMENDOUSLY,
wondering what he would name it.
Then, instead of descending to break
fast, he sat upon his bed to gaze upon
the marvel, and continued to stand
stand sit. Meanwhile, urgent re-
quests for his presence in the dining
room went wholly unheeded, until
finally Margaret, his pretty nineteen
year-old sister, appeared In the door
way.
"Penrod -
InStinctively, he leaped between her
and the sacred bottle, that she might
not see it, He trusted no woman in
any weighty affair-least of all q sis
ter!
Papa sent me up to see what you
are doing?"
Nothing"
''Then why IN the world don't you
come TO breakfastT'
well. l am coming. amt II" His
tone was that of person unjustly at
tackled. "What you all dressed up for
this morning?"
Il never did see such a boy!" Mar
garet exclaimed.