START AS AN AERONAUT 



school. At least it gave me a taste for the open air. 

 I was captain of the baseball crowd in our small 

 town, giving orders to fellows four and five years 

 older than I was. In fact, I took it on myself to boss 

 them all, and they stood for it. Sometimes I got near 

 getting a licking, but I suppose I was too small for them 

 to take very seriously, although I could sting them a 

 bit with my tongue, which was bitter even then. 



I had stayed away from school so much, roaming 

 about with my dog Tony, that one day the folks at 

 home threatened to put me in the Reformatory 

 School. Tony and I both cried and I asked him what 

 he would do, and he sort of pointed away to the 

 west where the sun was setting, and I took him as a 

 pointer and determined to make for my aunt's house, 

 about twenty miles away. Tony seemed to under- 

 stand and at daybreak we set out on the train. It 

 seemed a fearful journey to me then — but remember I 

 hadn't been out of Kokomo and that I was only about 

 thirteen years old. The Reformatory had scared me 

 and I kept on thinking I must help myself somehow ; 

 I'd surely be the butt of the town if I had to be sent 

 to be " cured." 



Tony and I therefore " hiked " it off for " aunt's "— 

 my real aunt, my real mother's sister. She wasn't 

 altogether all over me when I arrived and asked me 

 what I'd come for. 



" Come on a visit," said I. 



" And yer dog, is he a visitor too ? " 



" Neither he nor I go where the other doesn't " 

 was the best way I could put it. Then I looked round 

 to see if dear auntie had any grub for me, and Tony 

 put on a sort of inquiring sniff too, all the time trying 

 to make friends with aunt. But she wasn't having 

 any. Later on she pulled out some bread and butter 



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