Gunnison news-champion., 1921-04-22

the end Of rail projected and over
hung. Il showed rustily through the
creeping vines which cyerran f. Be
yout. crouchiaE BY a bush. = rabbi,
looked across AZ him IN trembling hest
fancy. Fully fifty feet vas the dis
tanee. but the arrow flashed true:
and the trarshIed rabbit. crying oct
In sudden fright and hart. struggled
painfully away into the brush The
boy himself as a cash Of brown skin
and flying fur as be bounded down
the steep vail Of the gap and Up the
other side IT'S lean muscles we're
springs of steel that released into
graceful and e'tcicut action 4 hun
tred feet beyond. in a tanEle OF bush
&c. he overlook the wounded creature.
knocked its head on a convenient
tree trunk and turned Il over 20 ran
ser 20 carry
Rabbit is good. very good the
ancient quavercd. bat vhen 1t comes
to toothsome delieacy prefer crab
When I vas 4 boy
Why do you say so much that
Amt 20; no senseT- Edwin impatient
ly interrupted the others threatened
Earrul0Esncss-
What | want 10 know Edwin con
tiausd. is Why you call crab tooth
some iellcacy'' Crab Is crab. amt III
No one never heard calls Il such
funny things"
The old man sighed but did not an
sWer. and they moved on In silence.
The surf grew suddenly louder. as
they emerged from the forest upon a
stretch Of sand dunes bordering the
sea A few goats were browsing
among the sandy hillocks. and skin
clad boy. aided by wolnshloozing
dog that was only family reminiscent
of collie. was watching them
The old man accelerated his pace.
snifing eagerly as he neared the fire.
"MuEEeis," he muttered ecstatically.
'Mussels! And Hlu't that a crab. Hoo
Hoo? Amt that crab7 Ny. my.
you boys are good TO your old grand.
sire
Hoo-Hoo. who was apparently OF the
same age as Edwin, grinned
An you want. Granser. got four"
The old mans palsied eagerness
was piuful Sitting down In the sand
as quickly as his stir limbs would let
him, he poked q large mussel from the
Goals. The heat had forced its shells
apart and the meat. salmon eolored.
was thoroughly cooked. Between
thumb and forehnger. In trembling
haste. he caught the morsel
and carried II to his mouth But II was
too hot, and the next moment was vio-
lently elected The old man spluttered
with the pain. and tears ran out of his
eyes and down his checks
The boys were true sayages, posses
sing only the cruel humor OF the saw
age To them the incident was excru-
ciatingly funny. and they burst into
loud laughter. Hoo-Hoo danced up and
down. while Edwin rolled gleefully on
the ground The boy with the boats
came running TO Join in the fun.
Set 'em TO cool. Edwin. set EN- to
cool" the old man besought. in tho
midst OF his grief, making no attempt
to wipe away the tears that still flowed
from his eyes, And cool crab. Ed
win. too You know your grandsire
likes crabs"
From the Goals a great sizzling.
which proceeded from the many mus
sells bursting open their shells and ex-
uding their moisture. They were large
shellfish. running from three to six
inches in length, The boys raked them
out with sticks and placed them on
large piece OF driitwood to cool.
When was boy we did not laugh
at our elders: we respected them"
The boys took no notice, and Gran
ser continued to babble an incoherent
flow OF complaint and censure. But
this time he was more careful. and did
not burn his mouth. All began to eat.
using nothing but their hands and
making loud mouth noises and lip
smackings. The third boy. who was
called HareLip. slyly deposited pinch
Of sand on mussel the ancient was
carrying to his mouth. and when the
grit Of II bit into the old fellows mu.
cous membrane and gums. the laugh
ter was again uproarious. He was un-
aware that joke had been played on
him and spluttered and spat until Ed
win. relenting. gave him gourd Of
fresh water 'ith which to wash out
his mouth
Where's them crabs. Hoo-Hoo?"
Edwin demanded. "Granser's set upon
having a snack" 81
Again Granser's eyes burned with
greediness as n large crab was handed
to him II was shell with legs and
all complete. but the meat had long
since departed. With shaky fingers
and babblings Of anticipation. the old
man broke OF a leg and found It filled
with emptiness.
THE crabs. Hoo-Hoo!" he walled.
The crabs?"
Il was fooling. Granser. They amt
no crabs never found one"
The boys were overwhelmed with de-
light at sight Of the tears of senile dis
49, l~Ek