Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1917-01-25

EU might apprise his sister
when the time came for him to employ
one of them he forgot the entire loI
and had to resort to bald and STAN
mered statement of the facts, which
sounded more like confession OF guilt
than anything else. 1t had grown
colder with the storm, and directly
after a hastily swallowed supper, with
many indignant glances for her broth
er, Sarah had bundled the boy off up
stairs. to bed, for he had come in out
of the rain as sleekly wet as water
rat and blue fingered and blue Tipped
from the cold So it happened that
they were all alone before the fire
place when Caleb made known his de-
cision.
1--WE never done much of anything
for anybody but myself, you know.
Sarah,' Caleb hesitatingly tried to ac
count for his conduct. "And this seems
to me to be as big an opportunity as
III evT have. You-you like the boy,
don't you, SO far as you have become
acquainted with him.
Eyes, like him." she assented, after
awhile.
"Of course tit comes rs q surprise
to YOU" he murmured. 1T is pretty
sudden, but | don't tAink that either
of us will ever regret it,"
And then Sarah faced round toward
her brother. Her eyes we're unac-
countably wet. but there Was laughter
on her lips,
"a surr;jse-a-a somewhat spd-
den." she fa?tcrcd. why, l knew you
were going to do it that first day when
you came siding up t. the veranda be-
hind him. l was certain Of it even
then. And if you hadn't decided to-
why, I'd made up my mind that I'd 90
it myself if you ever came back FROM
that endless fishing trip
give been rumma2 eng through some
of the old chests upstairs" she added.
''Today explored for hours and found
some of the things you used to wear
which look as though they hadn't been
worn at all I laid some of them out
for him to put on when he gets up in
the morning. And, Cal, who'd ever be-
lieve now that a plump behemOth like
you ever could have worn such-such
dainty and cunning thingsr'
The inferred description should have
prepared Caleb, but at the moment he
failed to remeber that it was soma
forty years since the garb she men
toned had been in vogue. Instead, he
blushed uncomfortably at the gurgIe
in her throat And SO the next morn
ing, when little figure in velvet
jacket and pantaloone-velyet of tne
same jet hue in which Barbara Allison
had first appeared to the boy day or
two before-stopped at the head of the
long stairway the moment was robbed
of not one whit of its sensationalism,
There was something in Sarah's fu(-
tering delight over the boys changed
appearance that morning which aWoke
an almost hysterical impulse in her
brother.
When Caleb came back an hour lal
er, with Allison at his heels, he search
ed the house through without finding
the boy. In his perpleXity he appealed
to Sarah, who followed him to the
front door.
"Where's Stephen?" he asked.
Sarah nodded to Allison.
''Why, l waited a half hour, CAL"
she said, land then, when I thought
you wouldn't be back for awhile, (
sent him downtown-I sent him to the
village
Caleb seemed fairly to shrink.
"You sent him down to the village?"
he echoed did he-did he change his
clothes?'
'For some eggs" Sarah rounded out
the sentence. "And Of course he didn -"
Suddenly her brothers face alarmed
her. Cal" she exclaimed, Il haven't
done anything | shouldn't have done
have II"
Caleb turned a wry face toward Ali
son.
In-that-outfit!' be groaned. Down
to the village, and it's lumber town!
He's gone, and if he doesn't have to
fight his way back then r.
Sarahs alarm changed to fear i'll
stantly, She stepped out upon the
porch.
They sat and waited, and in due
course OF time the boy returned. As
he appeared at the gate Sarah, with q
strange choking sound in her throat
half rose and then dropped weakly
back into her chair. And even to Ali
son, who had fondly looked forward to
the worst, the little suit with the pref
ty ruffed cuffs was an unbelievable
wreck The coat had been ripped from
hem to collar and d0nglel loose upon
either side rs the boy advanced toward
them, the knees Of The trousers were
split till the bare skin showed through
beneath. and those portions Of the fab
ric which were not incrusted with dirt
were literally o'erspread with egg.
After one stricken glance at the spec
tacle Sarah tottered to her feet and re-
treated none too steadily into the house.
Gust what does this mean? Caleb