The Arizona copper camp., 1919-02-01

body to taHe me to the tavern for
dinner, where they were assuaged by
cakes and jellies and chicken pie.
At Christmas got picture-book
and forty raisins and three sticks of
candy with red stripes on them and a
jew's-harp. That was the Christmas
we went down to Aunt Liza's to-
spend the day and I helped myself to
two pieces of cake when the plate
was passed and cried because they all
laughed at my greediness. 1t was the
day when Aunt Liza's boy, Truman,
got silver watch and chain and her
daughter Mary gold ring, and when
all the relatives were invited to come
and be convinced, once and for all,
of Uncle Roswell's prosperity, and
be filled with envy and reconciled
with jelly and preserves and roast
5 turkey with sage dressing and mince
and chicken pie. What an amount of
preparation we had made for the jour-
ney, and how long we had talked about
1T! ~e N
In the spring my uncle hired a man
to work forl us-a noisy, brawny,
sharp-featured fellow with keen gray
eyes, of the name Of Dug Draper.
Aunt Deel hated him. I feared him
but regarded him with great hope
because he had funny way of wink
ing at me with one eye across the
table and, further, because he could
sing and did sing while he worked
songs that ratified from his lips in q
way that amused me greatly. Then,
too, he could rip out words that had
new and wonderful sound in them.
I made up my mind that he was like
ly to become valuable asset when I
heard Aunt Deel saw to my Uncle Pea
body:
you'll have to send that loafer
away, right now, ayes, ! guess you
WILL"
"Why?"
Because this boy has learnt to
swear like pirate-ayes-he has"
Uncle Peabody didn't know it but
myself had begun to suspect it, and
that hour the man was sent away,
and I remember that he left in anger
with a number of those new words
flying from his lips. A forced march
to the upper room followed that event.
Uncle Peabody explained that it was
wicked to swear-that boys who did
it had very bad luck, and mine came
in moment. I never had more Of
it come along in the same length Of
time.
After I ceased to play with the
Wills boy Uncle Peabody used to
say, often, it was pity that I hadn't
somebody Of my own age for COM
pany. Every day / felt sorry that the
Wills boy had turned out so badly,
and doubt not the cat and the shep-
herd dog and the chickens and Uncle
Peabody also regretted his failures,
especially the dog and Uncle Peabody.
who bore all sorts Of indignities for
my sake.
One day when Uncle Peabody went
for the mail he brought Amos Grim
shaw to visit me. He was four years
older than Ia freckled, red-haired
boy with large mouth and thin lips.
He wore a silver watch and chain,
which strongly recommended him in
my view and enabled me to endure
his air of condescension.
He let me feel it and look 1t all
over and I slyly touched the chain
with my tongue just to see If it had
any taste to it, and Amos told me
that his father had given it to him and
that it always kept him "kind o
scairt."
"Why?"
"For fear I'll break er lose it an
sit licked" he answered.
He took little yellow paper-co4-
cred book from his pocket and began
to read to himself.
''What's that?" I ventured to ask
by and by.
"a story" he answered. "I met
ragged OF woman in the road t'other
day an she give me a lot Of 'em and
showed me the pictures an 1 got to
readin' ,em. Don't you tell anybody
Continued Next Week.