Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1920-12-23
THE EXTRAORDINARY NE.

The sixth afternoon 1t rained, rained
good and hard. Uncle Tan looked
out of the window and said to his
son, 1--WE shan't see Peter and Jane
this evening. am sure"
But Uncle Tan was mistaken. About
five O'Clock, when he was ready to get
supper, he heard the sound of wheels
on the bridge. and in minute the
mail carrier stopped at his door.
You see the nail carrier had to be
out in the rain anyhow, and Peter and
Jane had persuaded him to bring
them over, and to call for them at
eight o'clock. Peter and Jane were
bundled up In rubber clothes. Each
one had a hat like fisherman's or a
fireman's. Peter carried a present for
Uncle Tan, a present which Peters
mother had made. 1t was a mold of
jellied chicken. Uacle Tan was much
pleased with it.
They had the jellied chicken for
supper, together with other good
things, including a box of bonbons
that Jane had brought. After the
dishes were washed and wiped. Uncle
Tan got down hIs pipe and filled it,
and the children got up on the long
bench. Ne matter how hard it rained
outside 1t was coy in Uncle Tan's
cabin.
e;,"Well, my dears," said Uncle Tan, 81
am trying to make the stories more
and more improbable till they get to
be fairy stories. This is because the
Easily Lost Children were such i'm
probable children"
The sixth story, said he, is about
the Extraordinary Me. The events of
this story began in a curious way.
After the children came back from
visiting their Cowboy Relative they
went again to the seashOre to visit
their GreataUnt Matilda. told you
about her before and promised some
time to tell you about how she sent
to town for some talcum powder and
two other things. But we haven't
come to that yet.
Their mother went with them, but
their father stayed in Boston.
Their mother worried about them a
great deal, and particularly told them
not to play In the boats that were
lying at the dock in the outer bay.
One afternoon she missed them
They had started out in the morning
to go to the railway station to get
some magazines. The station was half
a mile away. Now their mother walked
up to the station to see what had
become Of them. Perhaps they had
gone to Boston.
1t so happened that there was a
tramp leaning against post at the
station. He needed money, and he
was by nature a great liar. So when
the lady came along and asked if he
had seen little boy andaR little girl
h. aid 'yes." for he thought that was
what she wanted him to say. Then
she asked If the children had got on
the Boston train and he said 'yes."
Then the lady looked distressed, but
she gave the tramp some money. She
was just going into the station to ask
If tickets had been sold to the chill
dren, when the afternoon train for
Boston came along and the children's
mother climbed aboard. She could
pay her fare on the train, and she
certainly must find the children. The
children did not know that the BOs-
ton house was all locked up, and that
papa was staying somewhere else.
AS the train was pulling out of the
station mamma saw that fog was
coming in. eat all events" she said
to herself, "they aren't lost In the fog
again."
Poor mamma Little did she know
about 1t.
The fact was simply this. The chill
dPen had been playing in a. big boat
called dOry. They had no business
10 be there. for playing in the big
boats was forbidden them.
They were hanging over the stern,
watching the bottom of the sea. The
water was shallow and they could see
distinctly. The bottom was covered
with pink moss. You would have said
that that moss was pink stone, but
1t wasn't.
On the pink moss there were great
many pi1k crabs. They and their
fathers and grandfathers and great
grandfathers had always lived around
that pink moss.
The children hung over the stern OF
the boat and saw the crabs and the
starGsh and the snalls and the sea-
weed and the greenish fish and the
EllyeIy fish and the 5ellyfish and the
rest of the thlzgs. They didn't know