The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-03-18

cred, his eyes narrowed, and his tongue hard thrust into one smooth cheek, by which signs one well versed in such matters would instantly have deduced that Shom was q; that moment engaged in prodig- ious effort to think. Yet deliberate thought was distinctly new turn for Shom, who led, day in and day out. the lazy. dreaming life of goatherd on the sunny and grassy slopes of Dunmeen-slopes that quite in- nocently aspire to become little hills, with summits of their very own, but which end by being incontinently swallowed by the jealous foothills of tn; terrible mountains of Knoor, whose quite impossible peaks make threatening gestures from the north and west. But Shom's was a most happy existence, for those velvety pastures over which his flocks grazed were among the rare parts of the known world still peopled by the elves and fairies, and presided over by unassuming and easily placated lesser deities, who, in their simple way, were we'll pleased to see his sturdy, sum- bronzed legs chasing too adventurous kids along the sleeper slopes and to listen to the cheery tunes that came so miraculously out of his reed pipes.
 But, as we have said, Shom was deeply concerned with thought He had just had quite a remarkable adventure, and was the richer by he was not yet certain how much. But the possibilities were surely we'll worth considering. The way of it was this. That very morning while driving his goats up toward a new and better pasturage, he had heard voice piteously calling, "Shom! o Shom! Come and help me!' Looking .keenly about he finally perceived Quirn, one of the innumerable little gods of va- grant impulse, who was caught in a most facetious but uncomfortable dilemma of which it is quite unnecessary to speak. Shom, politely hiding his amusement, for it is not we'll to laugh at any god or some men, ran to Quirn's aid, and the latter was so grateful for the timely assistance tilat he went to a hollow tree, dug about in the nloldy leaves for moment, and returned with gift. Which was tlse very thing that Shom held so closely in his hand as he sat thinking.
 Now this gift was no less than a smooth downy purse slyly and artfully fashioned from something it would hardly interest you to know about. Quirn said that the purse was a distinctly magical affair, to posses which many a king would gladly give much, since it contained considerable store of gold. At this statement Shom was plainly puzzled, for the purse was small and he could feel but one coin within it. But Quirn explained, whispering, and peer ing warily about to be sure no avaricious little god was eavesdropping, that between tho nd skc c;p epo1A -pio existed so powerful an affinity that no -xooner was the latter spent than it re- turned silently and mysteriously to the former, and could thus be spent over and over again, an arrangement which Shom immediately saw was unusually convenient Whereupon Quirn left him, vanishing in search of other predicaments into which he might pleasantly fall, and Shom sat down to think.
 This was the manner of his thought. Surely Quirn had said that many a king would give much to possess the magical purse-that he remembered clearly, for to a goatherd the affairs of king are matters for absorbing speculation, and the mere mention of one could not easily be forgot ten. But Shom was greatly puzzled to inn agine the thing king might own that would be of any use to him. In his mind he went over the simple but complete con tents of his little matched hut down in tn ; valley, checking them off easily on the fin gers of his disengaged hand, but to no puf- pose wh;tever-he really had everything that was necessary to his pleasant exist ence. Or so, at least, it at first appeared.
 But the urgeful, insinuating little voices