Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-05-27
The Light IN
the CLEARING
By IRVING BACHELLER
Copyright 1917, The Bobbs-Merrinc Co.

make the right kind Of a MT.
| Through ell this / did not pesf.s..
his morals. II he said an franree.ss.s..
woodland I regret 10 saw -tSs.gEs q.
ana now ana them promptly o.
rected him and reported his Con-
duct to Aunt Deel. and If she ~
inclined to be too severe I tool p.s
part and, now and then, got s1s -
/ ped on the forehead for the 49,
of my defense. On the whole # I.
no wonder that Uncle Peabos.
Wearied Of his schooling.
One day when Uncle Peabo5.
went for The mail he brought An
GrimshaW to visit me. | had r..
seen him since the day he was eat.
ing doughnuts in the village witb
his father He was four years oi5-
er than Ia freckled, red-hairs5
boy with a large mouth and tbi9
lips. He wore a silver watch sn5
chain, which strongly recommends
him in my view and enabled me "a
endure his air Of condescension.
He let me feel 1t and look Il all
over and I slyly touched the chain
with my tongue just to see If It had
any taste to it. and Amos told ma
that his grandfather had given Il to
him and that it always kept him
'kind o. scairt."
"Why?"
For fear I'll break er lose Il an
git licked" he answered.
We went and sat down on the hav
together and / showed him the pep.
MES I had saved and he showed
me where his father had cut his leg
that morning with blue beech
rod.
Don't you ever git licked?" he
asked.
NO" I answered.
81 guess that's because you amt
got any other" he answered 81
wish I hadn't There's nobody so
mean as a father. Mine makes ne
work every day an never gives me
penny an ticks me whenever I do
anything that I want TO. I've made
up my mind to run away from
home"
After a moment of silence he ex-
claimed:
Gosh. It's awful lonesome here!
Gee whitaker! this is the worst
place I ever saw!"
I tried 10 think Of something that
I could say for it.
I'VE have got a new corn shell
Ter" I said rather timidly.
Il don't care about your corn
shelters" he answered with a look.
of scorn.
He took a little yellow paper
covered book from his pocket and
began to read to himself.
l felt thoroughly ashamed Of the
place and sat near him and, fcS z
time, said nothing as he read.
whats that?" l ventured TO ask
by and by.
"a story" he answered. 81 met
that ragged oil woman in the road
t'other day an she give me a lot
of 'em an showed me the pictures
an I got to readin' EN-. Don't you
tell anybody cause my OF dad hates
stories an he'd lick me til I
couldn't stan if he knew l was
readin' 'em."
l begged him to read out loud and
he read from a tale of two rob
bers named Thunderbolt and Light
foot who lived in a cave in the
They were bold, free,
swearing men who rode beautiful
horses at a wild gallOp and carried
guns and used them freely and with
unerring skill, and helped them
selves to what they wanted.
He stopped, by and by, and con-
fded to me the fact that ne thought
he would run away and join a band
Of robbers.
How do you run away?" I
asked.
Just take the turnpike and keep
goin' toward the mountains When
We meet a band o. robbers give 'em
the sign an tell 'em you want TO
Join"
He went on with the book and
read how the robbers had hung q
captive who had prosecuted them
and interefered with their sport.
The story explained how they put
he rope around the neck Of the
captive and threw the other end OF
L over the limb of tree and pulled
he man in,o the air.
He stopped suddenly and de
rs there a long rope
lere?"
(CCQtinued MOndav)