Evening star., 1921-10-09

paint and trappings, drawn up and
attached. Bill consented to wear
around his forehead a band of white
cheesecloth. cut from a -four sack, If
the others would too.
Out of the back lane from smart's
meadow proceeded an amazing spec
tacle. The deep ruts Of the road
tossed the lurching vehicle from side
to side, like q ship in midchannel,
and the Iowa Romans clung. desper-
ately to the none too stable DASH
board. Behind thicket of willows.
near the schoolhouse. they concealed
1t until the singing and poetry speak
Ing. Then, at a signal, stephen and
Bill and Red reappeared. with the
hllets OF Rome around their temples,
urging the two respondent plow-horses
The time and labor expended were
all out of proportion to the audience.
The dozen freckle-faced youngsters
were curious and duly impressed, and
the scattering of parents, coerced
into coming. were startled. Ellis ora
ton. it must be confessed, was over
shadowed by the elaborateness Of the
stage setting. Only Jacob Sears, to
whom this had been no secret. was
pleased. 1t meant more to him than a
schoolboy's prank. 1t meant that even
to Bill White the grandeur that was
&kVIHe COulU never IaQe enUTeiy.
At the end of the program he made
q speech and shook hands with the
charioteers. Stephens cup Of hap
piness was overfiowipg. He had no
way Of knowing what had transpired
back IN Smart's hay barn and the
snares that were laid for the harness
thief.
CT SMART was. by nature, an easy
going man. blum and generous.
But, like Cedric. the Saxon. his tenn
per was Gaelic. Smart had planned
to drive his new team Of bays into
Green Mountain to the surrey. and
this was the harness demanded on
such occasions. Not only was the
harness new, but he wanted it at that
particular moment. He was genuine
ly angry.
thunder, he'd lay hands on, by gad
In the west q grudging sunset had
faded into twilight when the chariot
was concealed again In the cowshed
and Red had departed with the plow-
horses. The purloined harness over
trip to the hay barn, his dog at his
heels. At this time the men would
be at supper. He was comparatively
safe.
The big door was drawn to for the
night. and Stephen opened with eau
tious fingers the small one at the side.
Inside the barn 1t was almost dark,
and he heard no noise. Lured by the
scent. Of a squirrel or rat, the dog
disappeared into a distant corner.
In q panic Of nervousness stephen
slipped the harness over a peg on the
Suddenly, on the stairs from the base
ment, where the horses were kept,
sounded footsteps, each moment
closer. For a second the boy stood
as though he were paralyzed: one
moment more and he would be
caught. He was desperate.
In the gloom Of the corner appeared
a figure. It was Smart. With an oath
the man started forward, then he
stumbled and fell. An overturned
wheelbarrow can impede the prog
ress Of even q Cedric.
Like a weasel In q runway. the
boy fed for the door and banged it
To the west Of the barn stood a
thicket Of currant bushes. Flat on
his stomach, the boy crept under
them, so agilely that scarce leaf
fiickered. It was the work OF
TWO minutes later the door was
slammed again, and the voice OF 81
Smart challenged the barnyard. you
rat" he beloved, 'Tll get you!
Then came a scratching at the
closed door and the sound Of wnin-
ing, high pitched and pleading. Un,
der the currant bushes Stephen heard
it. The dog was q prisoner.
'sBy gad," Smart muttered. must be
his dog I shut in there" There was
q moment Of silence, when it seemed
to Stephen the beating Of his heart
would suffocate him. Surely Smart,
too, must hear It! The man at the
door chuckled grufiiy. We'll. by cad,
the dog staysF And a heavy key
turned In q protesting lock.
Then 81 Smart reused the hired
men, and the chase was on. Time and
again the men passed by Stephen, but
he lay like z clod. and the darkness
currant bushes. and the damp earth
was cold. He wondered how much
longer he must lie there. This was
like being dead, he supposed. Wen,
he wished he were dead. 1t would be
better than going on living. He was
q thief and q coward. Smart would
hate him and Zelke. Only HephEibah
would be sorry.
Again from the barn sounded long
mourning wall, ending in q series OF
high pitched, plaintiye yaps, His dog
and he had deserted him. How hideous
he was, how ag0niSing!
Darkness had evidently put an end