Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-05-20
The Light IN
the CleQrin0
By IRVING BACHELLER
Copyright 1917. The Bobbs-Mernl CO.

"Oh please don't tell my UneIa
Peabody" / walled.
ayes, I'll have to tell him." sbs
answered firmly.
For tie first time I looked for
him with dread at the window ard
whom he came I hid lu q closet and
heard that solemn and penetrating
note in her voice as she said.
81 guess you'll have to take that
boy away-aycs,'
What now" he asked.
MY stars! he sueaked into the
parlor and tipped over the what
not and smashed that beautiful way
wreath"
Her voice tremblad.
Not them Niueryy fowersg" no
asked in tone Of doleful iucred-
ulity"
ayes he did"
And tipped over the hull what.
not?"
Ayes"
Jerusalem four-corners," he ex-
claimed. "Ill have to-"
He stopped as he was wont TO do
on the threshold OF strong opln-
ions and mOmentous resolutions.
The rest of the conversation vas
| drowned in my own cries ana Uncle
Peabody came and lifted me ten
derby and carried me upstairs.
! He sat down with me On his Ian
and hUshed my cries. Then he said
| very gently:
Nov, Bub, you and me have got
! to be careful. What-nots and al
| buns and wax flowers and hair
cloth sofys arc the most dangerous
| critters in st. Lawrence county.
] They're putty savage Keep your
| eye peeled. You can't tell what
minute they'll jump on ye. More
| boys have ben dragged away and
/ tore to pieces by 'em than by all
! the bears and panthers in the
woods. When I was q boy I got
! cut across my legs that made a
| scar We can Sc now, and it was a
/ hair-cloth sofy that done it. Keep
out o. that old parlOr. Ye might as
well go into a cage o. wolves. How
/ be I goin' to make We remember It on
q doPt know" 1 whimpered and
/ began to cry out in fearful antici-
patton.
He sat me in chair. picked up
1 one of his old carpet-slippers and
/ began to thump the bed with it. He
1 belabored the bed with tremendous
vigor. Meanwhile he looked
at me and exclaimed: you dread
full child"
1 know that my sins were re-
! sponsibIe for this violence. Il
frightened me and my cries in
| creased.
The door at the bottom Of the
stairs opened suddenly.
Aunt Deel called:
Don't. lose your temper, Pea
body. 1 think you've gone fur
'nough-ayes.
Uncle Peabody stopped and blew
as if he were very tired and then
I caught a look in his face that re-
! assured me.
! He called back to her: 81
wouldn't "a cared so much if it
hadn't "a been the what-not and
them Mineryy flowers. When a boy
| tips over a what-not he's gOin' it
purity strong"
well, don't be too severe. YOU'D
better come now and git me a pail
o. water-ayes, I think We had"
Uncle Peabody did a lot of sneeZ-
ing and coughing with his big, red
handkerchief over his face and 1
was not old enough then to under
stand it. He kissed me and took
my little hand in his big hard one
and led me down the stairs.
After that in private talks uncle
and | always referred to our parlOr
as the wolf den and that night,
after I had gone to bed, he lay
down beside me and told the story
of a boy who, having been left
| alone in his fathers house one day
was suddenly set upon and roughly
| handled by a what-not, a shaggy old
haiF-clOth s0fy and an album. The
sofy had begun it by scratchin' his
/ face and he had scratched hack
with a single nail The album had
watched its chance and, when he
stool beneath it, had jumped off
shelf on 10 his head. Suddenly be
/ heard a voice calling him,
Little boy, come here II said
and it was the voice Of the what
| not.
y