Pittston Gazette

              mmw. V - f ;D;£ M stabllahed 1850. i - »L till. 18 I Oldest Newspaper in the Wvomine Vallev r 41.00 m tor In AdTMM, * mom eat. tier that I Mte " uld Boo*,: You've beaH 1 I'to be* know  70a CU0tj with ar t meat and pfc- Waldo, Uxk a. centleoukr 1 1 PITTSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY, PA., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1899. A Weekly Local and Family Journal. I* STOW *" I „ I ef m III olive X{\. SCHKEENEB. : j| tfBKMHRi 1 I A TALE OF LIFE IN THE if ★ BOER REPUBLIC. thrown a pan of food into the pigsty, now leaned over the nod wall looking at the pigs. Half of the sty was dry, but the lower half was a pool of mud, on the edge of which the mother sow lay with closed eyes, her ten little ones sucking. The father pig, knee deep In the mud, stood running hlB snout Into a rotten pumpkin and wriggling his curled tall. "So yon will not stay to hear what I Bay!" cried Tant' Sannle. "There, take your polity-gollity-gominy, your devil's book!" she cried, flinging the book at his bead with much energy. "That's because you are always In the way," said Tant' Sannle. "But. aunt," said Trana presently, "I think he is very ugly." inquired"Bonaparte of the Boer woman the next morning, pointing upward and elucidating his meaning by the addition of such Dutch words as he knew, for the lean Hottentot was gone home. t2k door carefully. He put the light down on the heap of dung in the corncr and quietly Introduced his hand under his coattalls and drew slowly from his pocket the end of a rope, which he co»- cealed behind him. CHAPTER XIII. HE HAKES LOVE. "mat," sai a vraiao a iter bending lower over bla dog. "You won't go and teL here, will you, Waldo parte, most uneasily. how she used me, Waldo badly treated. You'll what It Is some day whek carry on a little convert' lady without having sa kle water thrown at you at me. Do I look a/. should?" But the boy neither looked up nor answered, and Bonaparte grew mint uneasy. "You wouldn't go and tell her thcf  am here, would you?" said Bon&parto whlnlngly. "There's no knowing what she would do to me. I've such trust fti you, Waldo. I've always thought jrtpj such a promising lad, though yd mayn't have known it, Waldo." * I "Eat," said the boy. "I shall m nothing." "Here," said Tant' Sannie to her Hottentot maid, "I have been In this house four years and never been up in the loft. Fatter women than I go up ladders. I will go up today and see what it is like and put It to rights up there. You bring the little ladder and stand at the bottom." It merely touched his forehead on one side and fell to the ground. "Phugh!" said Tanf Sannie. "It's only because we're not accustomed to Buch noses In this country. In his country, he says, all the people have such noses, and the redder your nose is the higher you are. He's of the family of the Queen Victoria, you know," said Tant' Sannle, wakening up with her subject, "and he doesn't think anything of governors and church elders and such people. They are nothing to him. When his aunt with the dropsy dies, he'll have money enough to buy all the farms In thla district!" "Dried skins," said the Boer woman, "and empty bottles and boxes and sacks and soap." "Go on!" she cried. "I know you are going to talk to yourself. People who talk to themselves always talk to the deviL Go and tell him all about It. Go, go! Run!" cried Tant' Sannle. "I'm very sorry, exceedingly sorry, Waldo, my lad, that you should have acted in this manner. It grieves me," said Bonaparte. "You don't keep any of your provisions there—sugar, now?" said Bonaparte, pointing to the sugar basin and then up at the loft Waldo wondered dreamily as he stared why they were pleasant to look at. Taken singly, they were not beautiful; taken together, they were. Was It not because there was a certain harmony about them? The old sow waa suited to the little pigs and the little pigs to their mother, the old boar to the rotten pumpkin and all to the uind. They suggested the thought of nothing that should be added, of nothing that should be taken away. And, he wondered on vaguely, was not that the secret of all beauty, that you who look on— So he stood dreaming and leaned farther and farther over the sod wall and looked at the pigs. He moved round toward the boy's back. He hardly liked the look In the fellow's eyes, though he stood there motionless. If he should spring on him! "There's one would be sorry if you were to fall," said the Hottentot maid, leering at Bonaparte's pipe, that lay on the table. But the boy neither quickened nor Blackened his pace and passed sullenly round the back of the wagon bouse. Tant' Sannle shook her head. "Dried peaches, eh?" said Bonaparte. "Shut the door, my dear child, shut It tight" be called out to Em, who stood in the dining room. Then he leaned over the elbow of the sofa and brought his face as close as possible to the Bter woman's and made signs of eating. Then he said something she did not comprehend, then said, "Waldo, Waldo, Waldo," pointed up to the loft and made signs of eating again. "Only salt and dried peaches." Books have been thrown at other heads before and Blnce that summer afternoon by hands more white and delicate than those of the Boer woman; but whether the result of the process has been In any case wholly satisfactory may be Questioned. We love that with a peculiar tenderness, we treasure It with a peculiar care. It has for us quite a fictitious value, for which we have sufTered. If we may not carry It anywhere else, we will carry it In our hearts and always to the end. So he drew the rope out very carefully and shifted round to the wooden post. There was a slipknot in one end of the rope, and a sudden movement drew the boy's hands to his back and passed It round them. It was an instant's work to drag it twice round the wooden post Then Bonaparte was safe. "Hold your tongue, jade," said her mistress, trying to conceal a pleased smile, "and go and fetch the ladder." CHAPTER X. HE SHOWS HIS TEETH. thought that Tant' Sannle had burned them." "Oh!" said Trana. That certainly made a difference. There was a never used trapdoor at one end of the sitting room. This the Hottentot maid pushed open, and, setting the ladder against it, the Boer woman with some danger and difficulty climbed into the loft Then the Hottentot maid took the ladder away, as her husband was mending the wagon house and needed It, but the trapdoor was left open. Doss sat among the "karroo" bushes, one yellow ear drawn cfcw his wicked little eye, ready to flap away any adventurous fly that might settle on his nose. Around him in the morning sunlight fed the sheep; behind him lay his master, polishing hlB machine. He found much comfort in handling it that The boy put down the cake he waa raising and looked at her. "Yes," said Tanf Sannle, "and he's only 41, though you'd take him to be 00, and be told me last night the real reason of his baldness." "I don't think they are very nice, not stories," she added, "but you can go and take any you like." Tant' Sannle then proceeded to relate how, at 18 years of age, Bonaparte had courted a fair young lady; how a tfeadly rival, jealous of his verdant locks, his golden flowing hair, had, with a damnable and insinuating deception. made him a present of a pot of pomatum; how, applying It in the evening, on rising in the morning he found his pillow strewn with the golden locks and, looking Into the glass, beheld the shining and smooth expanse which henceforth he must bear. Tbe few remaining hairs were turned to a silvery whiteness, and the young lady married his rival. So saying, she took up the plate in which she had brought his breakfaat and walked off to the bouse. Now an inkling of his meaning dawned on the Boer woman's mind. To make It clearer he moved his legs after the manner of one going up a ladder, appeared to be opening a door, masticated vigorously, said, "Peaches, peaches, peaches," and appeared to be coming down the ladder. For a moment the boy struggled to free himself. Then he knew that he was powerless and stood still. Bonaparte, who knew the \ when another spoke It, closed the C carefully putting on the button. ' he looked to see that the curtain o window was closely pulled down seated himself at the table. He soon munching the cold moat bread. Waldo knelt on the floor, 1 lng the foot with bands which tin licked lovingly. Once only he gia at the table and turned away qulc "Ah, yes! I don't wonder that can't look at me, Waldo," said I parte. "My condition would touch heart You see, the water was i and that has made all the sand sti me. And my hair," said Bonaji tenderly touching the little frta| the back of his head, "Is all like a little plank. You wouldn't 1 it was hair at all*" said Bona] plaintively. "I had to creep all i the stone walls for fear she'd sa and with nothing on my head but i handkerchief tied under my do, and to bide in a 'aloof the •% day, with not a mouthful of food, do. And she gave me such a blow here," said Bonaparte. He had cleared the plate of tbC morsel when Waldo rose walk the door. "Oh, my Waldo, my dear U are not going to call her," said parte, rising anxiously. "I am going to sleep in the * said the boy, opening the door. "Oh, we can both sleep In tli There's plenty of room. Do st boy, please." But Waldo stepped out. "It was such a ltttt* sald Bonaparte, folio catingly. "Id" you so much. I'm sure you You aren't r are you?" But the" All this time Bonaparte Blenkins waa •loping down from the house in an aimless sort of way, but he kept one eye fixed on the pigsty, ari$each gyration brought him nearer to It Waldo stood like a thing asleep when Bonaparte came close up to him. morning. A dozen philosophical essays or angelically attuned songs for the consolation of the bereaved could never have been to him. what that little sheep shearing machine was that day. After that the boy worked quickly. The pile of fuel Bonaparte bad orderaf him to pack was on the wall In half an hour. He then went to throw salt on the skins laid out to dry. Finding the pot empty, he went to the loft to refill it. "Horses that kick must have their legs tied," said Bonaparte as he passed the other end of the rope round the boy's knees. "And now, my dear Waldo," taking the whip out of his pocket "I am going to beat you." For a little while Tant' Sannle poked abotlt among the empty bottles and skins and looked at the bag of peaches that Waldo was supposed to have liked so. Then she sat down near the trapdoor beside a barrel of salt mutton. She found that the pieces of meat were Bonaparte Blenkins went to pick up the volume, now loosened from its cover, while Tant' Sannle pushed the stumps of wood farther Into the oven. Bonaparte came close to her, tapped the book knowingly, nodded and looked at the fire. Tant' Sannle comprehended and, taking the volume from his hand, threw it Into the back of the oven. It lay upon the heap of coals, smoked, flared and blazed, and the political economy was no more—gone out of existence, like many another poor heretic of flesh and blood. After struggling to see the unseeable, growing drunk with the endeavor to In old days, when a small boy playing In an Irish street gutter, he (Bonaparte) had been familiarly known among his comrades under the title of Tripping' Ben, this from the rare ease and dexterity with which, by merely projecting his foot, he could precipitate any unfortunate companion on to the crown of his head. Years had elapsed, and Tripping Ben had become Bonaparte, but-the old gift was In him still. He came close to the pigsty. All the defunct memories of his boyhood returned on him in a flood as with an adroit movement he inserted his leg between Waldo and the wall and sent him over the pigsty It was now evident to Tant' Sannle that Waldo had been In her loft and eaten her peaches. He paused for a moment It waa perfectly quiet They could hear each other's breath. span the Infinite and writhing before the inscrutable mystery It is a renovat- Bonaparte Blenklns, whose door opened at the foot of the ladder, saw the boy go up and stood In the doorway waiting for his return. He wanted his boots blacked. Doss, finding he could not follow his master up the round bars, sat patiently at the foot of the ladder. Presently he looked up longingly, but no one appeared. Then Bonaparte looked up also and began to call, but there was no answer. What could the boy be doing? The loft was an unknown land to Bonaparte. He had often wondered what was np there. He liked to know what was In all locked up places and out of the way corners, but be was afraid to climb the ladder. So Bonaparte looked up and, in the name of all that was tantalizing, questioned what the boy did up there. The loft was oped only as a lumber room. What could the fellow find up there to keep him so long? much too large and took out her clasp knife to divide them. "'Chasten thy son while there is hope,' " said Bonaparte, " 'and let not thy soul spare for his crying.' Those are God's words. I shall act as a father to you, Waldo. I think we had better have your naked back." This was always the way when one left things to servants, she grumbled to herself, but when once she was married to her husband Bonaparte It would not matter whether a sheep spoiled or no—when once his rich aunt with the dropsy was dead. She smiled as she dived her hand Into the pickle water. lng relief to turn to sAne simple, feelable, welghable substance, to something which has a smell and a color, To exemplify his own share in the proceedings Bonaparte lay down on the sofa and, shutting his eyes tightly, said, "Night night, night." Then he sat up wildly, appearing to be Intently listening, mimicked with his feet the coming down a ladder and looked at Tant' Sannle. This clearly showed how, roused in the night he had discovered the theft. which may be handled and turned over this way and that Whether there be or be not a hereafter, whether there be any use In calling aloud to the unseen power, whether there be an unseen power to call to, whatever be the true nature of the I who call and of the ob- "And," said Tanf Sannle solemnly, "if it bad not been for the grace of God and reading of the Psalms, he says, he would have killed himself. He says be could kill himself quite easily If he wants to marry a woman and she won't" He took out his penknife and silt the shirt down from the shoulder to the waist. Bonaparte grinned and to watch the process brought his face bo near the oven door that the white hair on his eyebrows got singed. He then Inquired If there were any more in the loft At that Instant her niece entered the room below, closely followed by Bonaparte, with his head on one side, smiling mawkishly. Had Tanf Sannle spoken at that moment the life of Bonaparte Blenkins would have run a wholly different course. As it was, she remained silent, and neither noticed the open trapdoor above their heads. "Now," said Bonaparte, "I hope the Lord will bless and sanctify to you what I am going to do to you." Jects around me, whatever be our "He must have been a great fool to eat my peaches," said Tant' Sannle. "They are full of mites as a sheepskin and as hard as stones." meaning, our internal essence, our cause (and in a certain order of minds death and the agony of loss inevitably awaken the wild desire, at other times smothered, to look Into these things). Learning that there were, he made signs Indicative of taking up armfuls and flinging them Into the fire. But Tant' Sannie was dubious. The deceased Englishman had left all his personal effects specially to his child. It was all very well for Bonaparte to talk of burning the books. He bad had hln hair spiritually pulled, and she had no wish to repeat his experience. "A le wereld," said Trana, and then they went to sleep. The first cut ran from the shoulder across the middle of the back. The second fell exactly In the same place. A shudder passed through the boy's frame. Every one was lost In sleep soon, but from the window of the cabin the light streamed forth. It came from a dung tire over which Waldo sat brooding. Hour after hour he sat there, now and again throwing a fresh lump of fuel on to the fire, which burned up bravely and then sank into a great bed of red coals, which reflected themselves in the boy's eyes as be sat there brooding, brooding, brooding. At last, when the Are was blazing at its brightest, he rose suddenly and walked slowly to a beam from which an ox "rlem" hung. Loosening It, lie ran a noose In one end and then doubled It round his The little pigs were startled at the strange Intruder and ran behind their mother, who sniffed at him. Tant* Sannie smote her hands together and laughed, but Bonaparte was far from joining her. Lost in reverie, he gazed at the distant horizon. Bonaparte, fumbling In his pocket, did not even hear her remark and took out from his coattall a little horsewhip, nicely, rolled up. Bonaparte winked at the little rhinoceros horsewhip, at the Boer woman and then at the door. whatever be the nature of that which "Nice, eh?" said Bonaparte, peeping round Into his face, speaking with a lisp, as though to a very little child. "Nith, eh?" lies beyond the unbroken wall which the limits of the human Intellect build up on every hand, this thing is certain —a knife will cut wood, and one cogged wheel will turn another. This is sure. "Sit there, my love," said Bonaparte, motioning Trana into her aunt's elbow chair and drawing another close up in front of it, In which he seated "There; put your feet upon "Shall we call him—Waldo, Waldo?" he said. v The sudden reversal of head and feet had thrown out the volume that Waldo carried in his breast Bonaparte picked it up and began to inspect it as the boy climbed slowly over the walL He would have walked off sullenly, but he wanted his book and waited till it should be given him. She shook her head. Bonaparte was displeased. But then a happy thought occurred to him. He suggested that the key of the loft should henceforth be put into his own safe care and keeping, no one gaining possession of it without his permission. To this Tant* Sannie readily assented, and the two walked lovingly to the bouse to look for It. But the eyes were black and luster-l less and seemed not to see him. When he had given 16, Bonaparte paused in his work to wipe a little drop of blood from his whip. *» Gould the Boer woman have beheld Waldo at that Instant any lingering doubt which might have remained in her mind as to the boy's insanity would Instantly have vanished, for, having filled the salt pot, he proceeded to look for the box of books among the rubbish that filled the loft Under a pile of sacks be found it—a rough packing case, nailed up, but with one loose plank. He lifted that and saw the even backs of a row of books. He knelt down before the box and ran his band along its rough edges, as if to assure himself of its existence. He stuck his hand in among the books and pulled out two. He felt them, thrust his fingers in among the leaves and crumpled them a little, as a lover feels the hair of his mistress. The fellow gloated over his -treasure. He had had a dosen books in the course of his life. Tant' Sannle nodded and giggled. There was something so exceedingly humorous In the Idea that he was going to lDeat the boy, though for her own part she did not see that the peaches were worth It When the Kaffir m sid came with the washtub, she was sent to summon Waldo, and Bonaparte doubled up the little whip and put It In his pocket. Then he drew himself up and prepared to act his Important part with becoming gravity. Soon Waldo stood In the door and took off his hat. the stove too. Your gone out somewhere. Long have I waited for this auspicious event!" Waldo found an immeasurable satisfaction in the handling of his machine, but Doss winked and blinked and thought It all frightfully monotonous Trana, who understood not one word of English, sat down in the chair and wondered if this was one of the strange customs of other lands—that an old gentleman may bring his chair up to yours and sit with his knees touching you. She bad been five days in Bonaparte's company and feared the old man and disliked his nose. "Cold, eh? What makes you shiver so? Perhaps you would like to pull up your shirt? But I've not quite done yet." out there on the Hat and presently dropped asleep, sitting bolt upright t Suddenly his eyes opened wide. Something was coming from the direction of the homestead. Winking his eyes and looking Intently, he perceived It was the gray mare. Now, Doss had wondered much of late what bad become of her master. Seeing she carried some one on her back, he now came .o his own conclusion and began to nove his tail violently up and down. Presently be pricked up oue ear and iet the other hang. His tail became motionless, and the expression of his mouth was one of decided disapproval bordering on scorn. He wrinkled hb "Ha!" said Bonaparte, raising bis eyes from the leaves of the book which be was examining- "I hope your coat has not injured. It is of an elegant cat An heirloom, I presume, from your paternal grandfather? it looks nice now." arm. When he had finished, he wiped the whip again and put it back In his pocket He cut the rope through with his penknife and then took up the light "Mine, mine! I have a right" he muttered, and then something louder, "If I fall and am killed, so much the better!" CHAPTER XII. HZ BITES. Bonaparte Blenkins was riding home on the gray mare. He bad ridden out that afternoon partly for the benefit of his health, partly to maintain his character as overseer of the farm. As he rods on slowly be thoughtfully touched the ears of the gray mare with his whip. He opened the door and went out Into the starlight. , "You don't seem to have found your tongue yet Forgotten how to cry?" said Bonaparte, patting him on the cheek. "How long have I desired this moment!" said Bonaparte. "But that aged relative of thine is always casting her unhallowed shadow upon us. Look Into my eyes, Trana." Bonaparte knew that she comprehended not a syllable, but he understood that it is the eye, the tone, the action, and not at all the rational word, that touches the love chords. He saw she changed color. "All night," said Bonaparte, "I lie awake. I see naught but thy angelic "O Lord, O Lord," cried Tanf Sannle, laughing and holding her sides, "how the child looks—as though he thought the mud would never wash off! O Lord, I shall die! You, Bonaparte, are the funniest man I ever s»w." "Come in, come In, my lad," said Bonaparte, "and shut tho door behind." C• I i He walked with bis eyes bent upon the ground, but overhead It was one of those brilliant southern nights when every space so small that your band might cover it shows 60 cold white points, and the Milky Way is a belt of sharp frosted silver. He passed the door where Bonaparte lay dreaming of Trana and her wealth, and he mounted the ladder steps. From those he clambered with some difficulty on to the roof of the house. It was of old rotton thatch with a ridge of white plaster, and It crumbled away under his feet at every step. He trod M heavily as be could. So much the better if he felL The boy came In and stood before them. Bonaparte passed roum "You need not be so afraid, child," said Tant' Sannle. "I was a child myself once. It's no great harm If you have taken a few." The boy looked up at him, not sullenly, not angrily. There was a wild, fitful terror in the eyes. Bonaparte made haste to go out and shut the door and leave him alone In the darkness. He himself was afraid of that look. »•••••• It was almost morning. Waldo lay with his face upon the ground at the foot of the fuel heap. There was a round hole near the top of the door where a knot of wood had fallen out and a stream of gray light came In through it. Ah, It was going to end at last! Nothing lasts forever, not even the night How was It he had never thought of that before? For In all that long dark night he had been very strong, had never been tired, never felt pain, had run on and on, up and down, up and down. He had not dared to stand still, and be had not known it would end. He had been so strong that when he struck his head with all his force upon the stone wall It did not stun him nor pain him, only made him laugh. That was a dreadful night. When he clasped his hands frantically and prayed, "O God, my beautiful God, my sweet God, once, only once, let me feel you near me tonight!" he could not feel him. He prayed aloud, very loud, and he got no answer. When he listened, it was all quite quiet like when the priests of Baal cried aloud to their god, "O Baal, hear us; O Baal, hear us!" but Baal was gone a-hunting. house ar hfmself peeping c felt sure Bonaparte Blenkins was now carefully inspecting the volume he had picked up. Among the subjects on which the darkness of his understanding had been enlightened during bis youth political economy had not been one. He was not. therefore, very clear as to what the nature of the book "tiirHftfl. and, as the name of the writer, J. 8. Mill, might, for anything he knew to the contrary, have belonged to a venerable member of the British and Foreign Bible society, it by no means threw light upon the question. He was not In any way sure that political economy had nothing to do with the cheapest way of procuring clothing for the army and navy, which would be certainly both a political and an economical subject "No, Bon, my boy," be addressed himself, "don't propose. You can't marry for four years, on account of the wilL Tben why propose? Wheedle her, tweedle her, teedle her, but don't let her make sure of you. When a woman." said Bonaparte, sagely resting his finger against the side of his nose Bonaparte perceived that her remark was not In keeping with the nature of the proceedings and of the Uttle drama he Intended to act. Pursing out his lips and waving his hand, he solemnly addressed the boy. lips np on each side Into little lines. Now here was a mine of them . J The sand was soft, and the gray at his feet After awhile ke begai. mare came on so noiselessly that the read the titles and now and ' boy beard nothing till Bonaparte dls- opened a book and read a mounted. Then Doss got np and moved but he was too excited to catch back a step. He did not approve of meanings distinctly. At last he Bonaparte's appearance. HJs costume, to a dull brown volume. He read In truth. Was o?*a unique tlnd. It was name," opened It 13" TEe"center a combination of the town and coun- where he opened began to read try. The tails of his black cloth coat a chapter on property that he fel were pinned up behind to keep them "Comic 'sm. Fourlerlsm, St. b •pened ~ to again sentence; the came "Waldo, It grieves me beyond expres- Hlon to have to summon you for so painful a purpose, but It Is at the Imperative call of duty, which 1 dare not evade. 1 do not state that frank and unreserved confession will obviate the necessity of chastisement, which, If requisite, shall be fully administered; but the nature of that chastisement may bv mitigated by free and bumble confession. Waldo, answer me as you would your own father, In whose place I now stand to you. Have you or have you not, did you or did you not, eat of the peaches In the loft?" sure of JOB. she does what she like* with you, but when she isn't you do what you like with her. And I"— said Bonaparte. Twa» upon, am. ,.monsm," in a work on political economy, de read down one page and turned over to the next; be read down that without changing his posture by an Inch; be read the next and the next, kneeling up all the while with tbe book in bis hand and his lips parted. them to bis breast. step i Then ] to the cabin. put the table ag dog a kick to si  the foot throbbed, 1 He did not put out of the ghost, but, *„ sorrows of the day, was su himself. 4/v uu He knelt down when be got to tbe (ar gable and began to fasten his "rlem" to tbe crumbling bricks. Below was tbe little window of tbe loft With one end of the "rlem" tied round the gable, the pother end round his waist, how easy to slide down to It, and to open It through one of the broken panes, and to go In, and to fill bis arms with books, and to clamber up again! They had burned one book. He would hare 20. Every man's hand was against bis. Ills should be against every man's. No one would help him. He would help himself. "Oh, please, I don't understand," said Trana. "I want to go away." from nibbing:; be bad on a pair of moleskin trousers and leather gaiters, and In his band be carried a little whip of rhinoceros hide. Waldo started and looked up. Had there been a moment's time he would have dug a hole In the sand with his Here be drew the horse up suddenly and looked. He was now close to the bouse, and leaning over the pigsty wall. In company with Em, who was showing her the pigs, was a strange female figure. It was the first visitor that had appeared on the farm since bis arrival, and he looked at her with Interest She was a tall, pudgy girl of 15, weighing 150 pounds, with baggy. pendulous cheeks and upturned nose. 8he strikingly resembled Tant' Sannie In form and feature, but her Weepy good eyes lackea me Twinkle that dwelt In the Boer woman' b small orbs. She was attired In a bright green print, wore brass rings In her ears and glass beads round her neck and was sucking the tip of her large Onger as she looked at the pigs. "Yes, yes/' said Bonaparte, leaning back In his chair, to her great relief, and pressing his hands on, his heart, "since first thy amethystine countenance was Impressed here, what have 1 not suffered, what have I not felt? Oh, the pangs unspoken, burning as an ardent coal in a fiery and uncontaminated bosom!" said Bonaparte, bending forward again. bands and burled his treasure. It was All he read be did not fully understand. The thoughts were new to him. But this was the fellow's startled Joy in the book—the thoughts were his; they belonged to him. He had never thought them before, but they were his. About 4 o'clock Waldo, tween the seats of the I was awakened by a only a toy of wood, but he loved It as one of necessity loves what has been born of him, whether of the flesh or spirit When cold eyes have looked at it the feathers are rubbed off our but- But Bonaparte soon came to a conclusion as to the nature of the book and its contents by the application of a simple rule now largely acted upon, but which, becoming universal, would save much thought and valuable time. It is of marvelous simplicity, of Infinite utility, of universal applicability. It may easily be committed to memory and runs thus: "Say you took them, boy, say you took them. Then he won't beat you much," said tbe Dutchwoman good naturedly, getting a little sorry for him. "Dear Lord," said Trana to herself, "how foolish I have been! The old man has a pain In his stomach, and now, as my aunt is out, he has come to me to help him." bis bead. Sitting up, he espied Bonaparte looking through one of tke window* with a lighted candle in his hand. "I'm about to depart my dear boy, before my enemies arise, and I eoold not leave without coming to bid yon farewell," said Bonaparte. Waldo looked at him. "I shall always think of yon with affection," said Bonaparte. "And there'i that old hat of yours. If you could lot me have it for a keepsake"— % terfly's wing forever. "What have you here, my lad?" said He lifted tbe black, damp hair from his knit forehead and looked round to cool his hot face. Then be saw what a regal night it was. He knelt silently and looked up. A thousand eyes were looking down at him, bright and so cold. There was a laughing Irony In them. He laughed silently i\nd internally, with the still intensity of Iriumphant Joy. Tbe boy raised his eyes slowly and fixed them vacantly upon her. Then suddenly his face grew dark with blood. Bonaparte, standing by him and pointing with the end of bis whip to the medley of wheels and hinges. The boy muttered something inaudible and half spread his hand over the thing. She smiled kindly at Bonaparte and, pushing past him, went to the bedroom, quickly returning with a bottle of red drops in her hand. So, then, all thinking creatures did not send up the one cry: "As thou, dear Lord, hast created things in the beginning, so are they now, so ought they to be, so will they be, world without end, and it doesn't concern us wliat they are. Amen." There were men to whom not only "kopjes'* and stones were calling out Imperatively, "What are we, aud how came we here? Understand us and know us," but to whom even the old, old relations between man and man and the customs of the ages called and could not be made still and forgotten. Whenever you come into contact with any book, person or opinion of which you absolutely comprehend nothing, declare that book, person or opinion to be immoral. Bespatter it vituperate against it strongly Insist that any man or woman harboring it is a fool or a knave, or both. Carefully abstain from studying it Do all that In you lies to annihilate that book, person or opinion. "Who Is it that has come?" asked Bonaparte when he Btood drinking bis coffee In the front room. "So you haven't got anything to say to us, my lad?" said Bonaparte, momentarily forgetting his dignity and bending forward with a little snarl. "But what 1 mean is just this, my lad —when It takes a boy three-quarters of an hour to fill a salt pot and when at 3 o'clock in the morning he goes knocking about the doors of a loft It's natural to suppose there's mischief In it. It's certain there is mischief in it, and where there's mischief In It must be taken out," said Bonaparte, grinning into the boy's face. Then, feeling that he had fallen from that hlgb gravity which was as spice to the pudding and the flavor of the whole little tragedy, he drew himself up. "Waldo," he said, "confess to me instantly and without reserve that you eat the peaches." "They are very good for benaauwdheit' My mother always drinks them," she said, holding the bottle out "But this seems to be a very Ingen- "So hot, so bitter, so angry! Poor little mortal!" ious little machine," said Bonaparte, ■eating himself on the ant heap and bending down over It with deep Interest "What is it for, my lad?" "Why, my niece, to be sure," said Tant* Sannle, the Hottentot maid translating. "She's the only daughter of my only brother Paul, and she's come to visit me. She'll be a nice mouthful to the man that can get her," added Tant' Sannie. "Her father's got £2,000 In the green wagon box under hi* bed and a farm and 5,000 sheep and God Almighty knows how many goats and horses. Tbey milk ten cows in midwinter, and the young men are after her like flies about a lDowl of milk. She says she means to get married In four months, but she doesn't yet know to whom. It was so with me when 1 was young," said Tant" Sannle. "I've sat up with the yoqng men four and five nights a week, and they will come riding again as soon as ever they know that the time's up that the Englishman made me agree not to marry In." That was a long, wild night, and wild thoughts came and went In It; but they left their marks behind them forever; for, as years cannot pass without leaving their traces behind them, neither can nights into which are forced the thoughts and sufferings of years. And now the dawn was coming, and at last he was very tired. He shivered and tried to draw the shirt up over his shoulders. They were getting stiff. He had never known they were cut In the night. He looked up at the white light that came in through the hole at the top of the door and shuddered. Then he turned his face back to the ground and slept again. The face in the trapdoor was-a fiery red. Like a tiger cat ready to spring, Tanf 8Annie crouched, with the shoulder of mutton in her hand. Exactly beneath her stood Bonaparte. She rose and clasped with both arms the barrel of salt meat "Take it," said Waldo. "I thought you would say m, n I brought It with me," said Bonaparte, putting it on. "The Lord blest you. my dear boy. You haven't a few* shillings, just a trifle you don't need, have you?" He was ashamed. He folded his arms and sat on the ridge of the roof looking up at them. "Shearing sheep." "So hot, so bitter, so angry!" "It is a very nice little machine," said Bonaparte. "How does It work, now? I have never seen anything so Ingenious!" It was as though a cold hand had been laid upon his throbbing forehead, and slowly they began to fade and grow dim. Tant' Sannle and the burned book, Bonaparte and the broken machine, the box in the loft, he himself sitting there—how small they all became, even the grave over yonder! Those stars that shone on up above so quietly, they had seen a thousand such little existences, a thousand such little existences fight Just so fiercely, flare up Just so brightly and go out, and they, the old, old stars, shone on forever."What, rose of the desert, nightingale of the colony, that with thine amorous lay whitest the lonesome night!" cried Bonaparte, seizing the hand that held the "vonlicense." "Nay, struggle not! Fly as a stricken fawn Into the arms that would embrace thee, thouJJ— Acting on this rule, so wide In its comprehensiveness, so beautifully simple In its working, Bonaparte approached Tant* Sannie with the book in bis hand. Waldo came a step nearer, eying It like a dog whose young has fallen Into evil bands. "Take the two shillings that are in the broken vase." There was never a parent wbo heard deception in the voice that praised bis child, his firstborn. Here was one who liked the thing that had been created in him. He forgot everything. He showed how the shears would work with a little guidance, how the sheep would be held and the wool fall Into the trough. A flush burst over bis face as he spoke. "I tell you what my lad," said Bonaparte emphatically when the explanation was finished, "we must get you a patent Your fortune Is made. In three years' time there'll not be a farm in this colony where it isn't working. You're a genius: that's what you are!" said Bonaparte, rising. The boy's heavy body quivered with excitement So he was not alone, not alone. He could not quite have told any one why he was so glad and this warmth bad come to him. bis cheeks were burning. No wonder that Bonaparte called in vain and Doss put bis paws on the ladder and whined till three-quarters of an hour had passed. At last the boy put the book In his breast and buttoned it tightly to him. He took up the salt pot and went to the top of the ladder. Bonaparte, with his hands folded under hlB coattalls, looked up when be appeared and accosted him. "May the blessing of my God rest upon you, my dear child," said Bonaparte. "May he guide and bless you. Give me your hand." Waldo folded his arms closely and "This book," said Bonaparte, "Is not a fit and proper study for a young and Immature mind." Here a stream of cold pickle water, heavy with ribs and shoulders, descending on his • head, abruptly terminated his speech. Half blinded, Bonaparte looked up through the drops that hung from his eyelids and saw the red face that looked down at him. With one wild cry he fled. As he passed out at the front door a shoulder of mutton, well directed, struck the black coat on the small of the back. lay down. The boy's face was white now. His eyes were on the ground, his hands doggedly clasped before him. "Farewell, adieu!" said Bonaparte. "May the blessing of my God and my father's God rest on you, now and evermore." Tant* Sannie did not understand a word and said: "What 7" Some hours later Bonaparte came toward the fuel house with a lump of bread in his hand. He opened the door and peered in, then entered and touched the fellow with his boot. Seeing that he breathed heavily, though he did not rouse, Bonaparte threw the bread down on the ground. He was alive. That was one thing. He bent over him and carefully scratched open one of the cuts with the nail of his forefinger, examiiring with much Interest his last night's work. He would have to count his sheep himself that day. The boy was literally cut up. He locked the door and went away again. "What? You do not Intend to answer?"With these words the head and dom withdrew themselves, and the light vanished from the window. "This book," said Bonaparte, bringing down his finger with energy on the cover, "this book is sleg, sleg, davel, da veil" "So hot, so angry, poor llttl® soul!" they said. The "rlem" slipped from his fingers. He sat with his arms folded looking up. • The boy looked up at them once from under his bent eyebrows and then looked down ugain. After a few momenta the boy, lying In the wagon, heard stealthy footstep* as they passed the wagon house and made their way down the road. He listened as they grew fainter and fainter and at last died away altogether, and from that night the footsteps of Bonaparte Blenklns were heard no more at the old farm. {to be coirrnmxn.1 The Boer woman smirked complacently.Tanf S&noie nenvitvMl frnm gravity of bis couu tluu it was no laughing matter. From the words sleg and davel she understood that the book was evil and bad some connection with the prince who pulls the wires of evil over the whole earth. "The creature looks as if all the devils in hell were In it," cried Tant' Sannle. "Say you took them, boy. Young things will be young things. I was older than you when I used to eat 'bultong* in my mother's loft and get the little niggers whipped for It. Say you took them." "You've been rather a long time up there, my lad." he said as the boy descended with a tremulous haste, most unlike his ordinary slow movements. "You didn't hear me calling, I suppose?""Where are you going to?" asked Tant' Sannle presently, seeing that Bonaparte rose. "We," said the stars, "have seen the earth when it was young. We have seen small things creep out upon its surface—small things that prayed and loved and cried very loudly and then crept under It again. But we," said the stars, "are as old as the unknown." "Bring the ladder! Bring the ladder! I will go after him!" cried the Boer "woman as Bonaparte Blenklns wildly fled Into the fields. "If it were made larger," said the boy? raising his eyes, "it would work mote smoothly. Do you think there would be any one In this colony would be able to make It?" "Ha! I'm Just going to the kraals. I'll be In to supper," said Bonaparte. "Where did you get this book?" she asked, turning her twinkling little eye* on Waldo. "1 wish that my legs may he M thin as an Englishman's if It Isn't one of your father's. He had more sins than all the Kaffirs in Kafflrland, for all that he pretended to b« so good all those years and to live without a wife because he was thinking of the one that was deadl As though ten dead wives could make up for one fat one with arms and legs!" cried Tant' Sannie, snorting. Nevertheless when he reached his own door be stopped and turned in there. Soon after he stood before the little glass arrayed in his white Bhlrt with the little tucks and shaving himself. He had on his very best trousers and had heavily oiled the little fringe at the back of his head, which, however, refused to become darker. But what distressed him most was his nose. It was very red. He rubbed his flpger and thumb on the wall and put a little whitewash on it; but, finding it rather made matters worse, he rubbed It off again. Then be looked carefully into his own eyes. They certainly were a little pulled down at the outer corners, which gave them the appearance of looking crosswise, but then they were a nice blue. 80 be put on his best coat, took up his stick and went out to supper, feeling on the whole well satislied.'Tm sure they could," said Bonaparte, "and, If not, why I'll do my best for you. I'll send it to England. It must be done somehow. How long have you. worked at it?" "Nine months." said the boy. Bonaparte whisked the tails of his coat up and down as he looked at him. He (Bonaparte Blenktns) had eyes which were very farseelng. He looked at the pot. It was rather a small pot to have taken three-quarters of an hour in the filling. He looked at the face. It was flushed. And yet Tant' Sannie kept no wine. He had not been drinking. His eyes were wide open and bright. He had not been sleeping. There was no girl up there. He had not been making love. Bonaparte looked at him sagaciously. What would account for the marvelous change in the boy coming down the ladder from the boy going up the ladder? One thing there was. Did not Tant' Sannie keep in the loft "JDultongs" and nice smoked sausages? There must be something nice to eat up there. Aha! That was Itl Late In the evening of the same day Waldo knelt on the floor of bis cabin. He bathed the foot of his dog which had been pierced by a tho«i. The bruises on his own back had had five days to lieal in, and, except a little stiffness in his movements, there was nothing remarkable about the boy. He leaned his chin against the palm of his band and looked up at them. So long he sat there that bright stars set and new ones rose, and yet he sat on. "1 think a little solitary confinement might perhaps be beneficial," said Bonaparte. "It will enable you, Waldo, to reflect on the enormity of the sin you have committed against our Father in heaven, and you may also think of the submission you owe to t£ose who are older and wiser than you are and whose duty it is to check and correct you." But the boy said nothing. "Oh, Lyndall," said Em, entering the dining room and bathed In tears that afternoon, "I have been begging Conaparte to let blm out, and he won't." TAKING THE REINS. Then at last he stood up and began to loosen the "riem" from the gable. "The more you beg the more he will not," said Lyndall. About 1,600 trotters and pacers hm entered the standard ranks this season. David Harum, the horse that Johm Bratton has won so many prises with, Im a hackney. "Oh, it is such a nice little machine," said Bonaparte, "one can't help feeling au Interest in It. There 1b only one lit- What did it matter about the books? The lust and the desire for them had died out. If they pleased to keep them from him, they might. What matter? It was a very little thing. Why hate and struggle.and fight? Let it be as it would. She was cutting out aprons on the table. The troubles of the young are soon over. They leave no external mark. If you wound the tree in its youth, the bark will quickly cover the gash; but when the tree is very old, peeling the bark off and looking carefully, you will see the scar there still. All that Is burled is not dead. tle Improvement, one very little improvement, I should like to make." "Oh, but It's late, and I think they want to kill him," said Em, weeping bitterly; and, finding that no more consolation was to be gained from her cousin, she went off blubbering, "1 wonder you can cut out aprons when Waldo is shut up like that." Through Centric, 2:18%. and Ilesa,. 2:20, both good race horses, old Dauntless has come into notice again thlr year. Bonaparte put his foot on i*ie may chine and crushed it In the sand. The s boy looked up Into his face. \ "Looks better now," said Bonaparte, "It was not my father's book," salC3 the boy savagely. "I got It from your loft." Saying this, Bonaparte stood up and took down the key of the fuel house, which hung on a nail against the wall. He twisted the "rlem" round his arm and walked back along the ridge of the bouse. Klngmond, 2:09, Is the fastest new trotter of the season of 1899, and Billys Andrews is the fastest new pacer. Bllly'at record is 2:06^. "Walk on, my boy," said Bonaparte, pointing to the door, and as he followed him out he drew his mouth expressively on one side and made the lash of the little horsewhip stick out of his pocket and shake up and  *Cdoesu't It? If we can't have it made In we'll send It to America. Oootaby; ta, ta" he added. "You're a great genius, a born genius, my dear boy. no doubt about it" He ftjounted the gray mare and rode off. Tm? dog watched his retreat with cynical satisfaction, but his master lay on the ground with his head on his arms in the sand, and the little wheels and chips of- wood lay on the ground around him. The dog jumped on his back and snapped at the black curls till, finding that no notice was taken, be walked off to play with a black beetle. The beetle was hard at work trying to roll home a great ball of dung It had been collecting all the morning, but Doss broke the ball and eat the beetle's liind legs and then bit off Its head. And it was all play, and no one could tell what It had lived and worked for—a striving an£"a striving "My loft! My book! How dare you?" cried Tant* Sannie. For ten minutes after she was gone Lyndall worked on quietly. Then she folded up her stuff, rolled It tightly to» gether and stood closed door of the sitting room with her bands closely clasped, A fiusli rose to her face. She opeqed the door quickly, walked In and went to the nail ou Which the key of'the fuel room hung. Bonaparte and Tant' Sauuie sat there and saw her. Waldo poured the warm milk over the little swollen foot. Doss lay very quiet, with tears in his eyes. Then there was a tap at the door. In an instant Doss looked wide awake and winked the tears out from between his little lids. "ft was Em's father's. She gave It me," he muttered, more sullenly. By this time Bonaparte Blenklns had finished his dream of Trana, and as he turned himself round for a fresh doze he heard the steps descending the ladder. His first Impulse was to draw the blanket over his head and his legs under him and to shout; but, recollecting that the door was locked and the window carefulty bolted, he allowed bis head slowly to crop out among the blankets and listened intently. Whosoever it might be, there was no danger of their getting at him, so be clambered out of bed and, going on tiptoe to the door, applied his eye to the keyhole. There was nothing to be seen; so. walking to the window, he brought Uif face as close to the gla** as his nose would allow- There was a tUcove Just discernible. The lad was not trying to walk softly, and the heavy shuffling of the well known "vel-schoens" could be clearly heard through the closed window as they crossed the stones in the yard. .Bonaparte listened till they had died away round the corner of the wagon house, and, feeling that his bare legs were getting cold, he jumped back into bed again. The greatest reduction of any pacing' record of the season was that for 4-yearold pacing mares. The Maid cut It from* 2:07% to 2:05%.  "Give It here. What Is the name of it? What is It about?" she asked, putting her finger upon the tltto. Tant' Sanuie felt half sorry for the lad, but she could uot help laughing. It was always so funny when one was going to have a whipping, and it would do him good. Anyhow he woult\ forget all about it when th? places were healed. Had not she been beaten many tiiuvB aud been all the betteV for it? Iwnaparte took up a lighted candle that had been left burning ou the kitchen table and told the boy to walk before him- They went to the fuel house. It was a little stone erectiou that jutted out from the side of the wag(*n house. It was low and without a window, aud the dried dung was piled in one corner, aud the coffee mill stood in another, fastened on the top of a short post about three feet high. Bonaparte took the padlock off the rough door. Bonaparte understood "Auqt," said Trana to Tant' Sannie when that night they lay together In the great wooden bed, "why does the Englishman sigh so when he looks at me?" Bonaparte was so Interested in carrying out this chain of inductive reasoning that he quite forgot to have his boots blacked. "Political economy," he said slowly. "Come in," said Waldo, intent on his work, and slowly and cautiously the door opened. "Dear LorAJ" said Tant' Sannie. "Cannot one bear from the very sound what an ungodly book It is? One can hardly say the name. Haven't we got curses enough on this farm?"  Tant' Sannie ejoqueptly—"pay best Imported Merino ram dying of nobody knows what, and the Shorthorn cow casting her two calves, and the sheep eaten up with the scab and the drought? And Is this a time tft bring ungodly things qbout the place, to call down the vengeance of Almighty Qod to punish us more? Didn't the minister tell me when 1 was confirmed not to read any book except my Bible and hymnbook; that the devil was In all the rest? And I never have read any other book," said Tant" Sannie, with vigorous energy, "and I never will!" "Good evening, Waldo, my boy," said Bonaparte Blenkins in a mild voice, not venturing more than his nose within the door. "How are you this evening r He watched the boy shuffle off with the salt pot nnder his arm. Then b# stood In his doorway and raised his eyes to the quiet blue sky and audibly propounded this riddle to himself! "Ha!" said Taflt* Pfcnnle, who was half ftsleep. UUt suddenly started, wide awake "It's because he thinks you look like me. I tell you, Trana," flald Tant' Sannie. "the man is mad with love of me. I told him the other night I couldn't pifli'ry till Em was 16 or I'd lose fill the sheep her father left me. And he talked about Jacob work Ing seven years and seven years again for his wife, and of course he meant me," said Tant' Sannie pompously. "But be won't get me so easily as he thinks. He'll have to ask more than once." "What do you want?" they asked together.- DR. "This key," she said, holding it up and looking at them. Doss growled and showed his little teeth and tried to rise, but his paw hurt him so he whined. PA "What is the connection between tbq naked back of a certain boy with a greatcoat on and a salt pot under his arm and the tip of a horsewhip? Answer: No connection at present, but there will be soon." "Do you mean her to have it?" said Tant' Sannie in Dutch. "Why don't you stop her?" asked Bounparte in English. "I'm very tired, Waldo, my boy," said Bonaparte, plaintively. "Why don't jou take it from her?" said Taut' Sannie. Doss showed his little white teeth again. His master went on with iHs work without looking round. There are some people at whose hands it is best not to look. At last he said: Bonaparte was so pleased with this sally of his wit that he chuckled a little and went to lie down on his bed. So they looked at each other, talking, while Lyndall walked to the fuel house with the key, her underllp bitten In. and an ending in nothing There was bread baking that afternoon, and there was a fire lighted In the brick oven behind the house, and Tant' Sannie had left the great wooden ellDowed chair in which she passed her life and waddled out to look at it. Hot tax off waa Waklo. wbo, hftvtef "Waldo," she said as she helped him to stand up and twisted his arm about her waist to support him, "we will not be children always. We shall have the power, too, some day." She kissed his naked shoulder with her soft little mouth. It wu all the comfort, her vauit* nuil ranld dro Una, New YDrK, , Dec.l3TM897. CHAPTER XI HE SNAPS. "Come in." "I kave found something In the loft," ■tid Km to Waldo, who was listlessly ailing cakes of fuel on the kraal wall a week after. It is a box of books "Ob!" said Trana, who was a lump Ish girl and not much given to talkiilfe, but presently she added, "Aunt, why does the Englishman always knock •Cftliwt * person, when be passes "Walk In, my lad." he said Waldo obeyed sullenly. One place to him was much the same as another. He had no objection to being locked sp. Bonaparte stopped cautiously a little way into the room and left the door open behind him. He looked at the boy's supper on the table. 25c. and 00c. at all LF.Ad.BIektor*Cfc,fl Waldo saw that the fate of his book was sealed and turned sullenly on his "What d» nw kanmla rau krttr "Waldo, I've had nothing to eat all daj. I'm wry hungryhe aakL Bonaparte followed him In and closed