Whilomville Stories

hed his mother with large, serious eyes. Sud

minary words for the full accomplishment of the dread thing. "Why, Jimmi

y been beating with such tumult-he had himself been so impressed with the daring and sin of his request-that he was glad that all was ove

N I BORROW

"your father's got a gun, hasn't

h a beaming uncle had intrusted to him. Its possession made him superior in manfulness to most boys in the neighborhood-or at least they enviously conceded him such position-but h

ated, for he had instantly retort

can, if I

get it,

can, if I

home, where his manner changed to one of tremulous misgiving as it came upon him t

blown out with a singular pomposity. He spoke these noble word

es, but it was not in the rules for the conduct of boys that one should admit anything whatsoever, and so Jimmie, backed into an

t the number and kind of denials always equalled or exceeded the number of

ecrets of the dark green hemlock thickets, the wastes of sweet-fern and huckleberry, the cliffs of gaunt bluestone with the sumach burning red at their feet. Each boy had, I am sure, a conviction that some day the wilderness was to give forth to him a marvellous secret. They felt that the hills and the forest knew much, and they heard a voice of it in the silence. It was vague, thrilling, fearful, and altogether fabulous. The

hat at school the previous day Willie Dalzel had been forced to read and acquire in some part a solemn description of a lynx. Th

ent for a time. Finally Jimmie said, meekly, "What's a l

a animal somethin' like a cat, an' it's got great big green eyes, and it sits on the li

rd boy. "Where'd yo

of 'em. I bet you'd be sca

oy each demanded, "How

cliffs sprang sheer towards the sky. Willie Dalzel babbled about his impossible lynx, and they stalked the mountain-side like chamois-hunters, although no noise of bird or beas

AKING THE PART O

with the desire to slay large animals. They thought continually of elephants, lions, tigers, crocodiles. They discours

er, it would be impossible to long continue an expedition of this kind without a fire, and presently they built one, snapping down for fuel the brittle under-branches of the pines. About this fire they were willed to

ugger, Bill, and the girl is mine. Now to burn the chateau and destroy all evidence of our crime. But, hark'e, Bill, no wiolence." Wheeling abruptly, he addressed the

ggling motif was now grafted fantastically upon the original

me. After a great deal of man?vering and big words, Willie Dalzel reared his fowling-

heating him out of this chance, but of a truth he was timid to explode such a thunderous weapon, and as soon as they detected this fear they s

lding his hands on his abdomen, addressed them in his own tongue. It was Jimmie's shot. Adjured by the others, he took the gun. His face was stiff with apprehension. The Dalzel boy was giving forth fine words. "Go ahead. Aw, don't be

S A FRIGH

s back was greatly bent, owing to the mechanics of supporting the hea

g blow, his face felt a hot flush of fire, and opening his two eyes, he found that he was still aliv

ildly across the pasture, bellowing and bucking. The three smugglers and lynx-hunters looked at each other out of blanched faces. Jimmie had hi

in their horror a gigantic Swedish farm-hand came from the heavens and fell upon them, shrieking in eerie triumph. In a twinkle

se, mister, we didn't do it! He did it! I didn't do it! We

er as they did when the Swede flung them over the fence and marched them towards the farm-house. They begged like cowards on the scaf

HT SHE WA

ere convinced that they were criminals of a most subterranean type. As to the hitting of the cow being a pure accident, and therefore not of necessity a criminal matter, such reading never entered their heads. When things happened and they were caught, they com

of betraying their comrade for their own salvation. They thought themselves guilty because they were caught; when boys were not caught they might po

hip. This whip he flourished. At his approach the boys suffered the agonies of the fire regions. And yet anybody wi

g that none of them had shot the cow. Their denials were tearful and clamorous, and they crawled knee by knee. The vision of it was lik

n, and then Jimmie spak

hen he asked, "Well, wha

d, faltered, and then formulated

once lay down in the grass an