338 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
A Gallant Boy. 
BY ISABEL SMITHSON. 
In a quiet corner, a little back from the road, 
four boys sat making masks out of large leaves. 
Two round holes for the eyes, a long slit for the 
mouth, and another hole right in the middle for 
the nose to come through ; it seemed easy enough, 
but it was provoking that the leaves would split 
and tear so, the minute a person tried to put them 
on ! At last they were done, however, and the 
boys went marching up aud down, and wished 
and just then down the road trotted little six-year- 
old Kitty Marston, while her sister, who was five 
years older, walked along more quietly, with a 
basket on her arm. 
At sight of the three boys in green masks, rush¬ 
ing out from the bushes, howling aud shouting, 
poor little Kitty was indeed nearly “ frightened 
out of her senses,” and she ran away as fast as she 
could go, Jack after her in high glee. 
The other two boys put themselves in front of 
May, and ordered her to give them whatever was 
in her basket. “ It’s roses, and you musn’t touch 
them, boys,” she answered, trembling, “they’re 
for something very particular.”—“If you don’t 
choose to give them up, we’ll take them,” said 
Dick, fiercely, and at the same time he snatched at 
the handle of the basket, nearly pulling May over, 
and scattered the flowers on the ground.—“ You 
rude, wicked boy !” she cried, “ aren’t you ashamed 
to spoil lovely roses, the first ones this year ?” 
While she was speaking, Willy caught her roughly 
by the shoulders, and Dick struck her arm away 
from the basket, but just at that moment he was 
tripped up and thrown to the ground backwards, 
and Willy was seized by his coat-collar and sent 
spinning round until his head whirled. 
When the two “robbers ” picked themselves up, 
they saw May sadly gathering up the bruised. 
life. Above all, she must not be allowed to cry, 
for tears would injure her eyes more than any¬ 
thing else. The boys knew all this, aud their 
hearts sank as they listened to Fanny’s words. 
“But why did she care so much about the 
roses ?” asked the neighbor.—“ Well, it was a great 
secret of the children’s, Bessie’s and the two little 
Marstons. Dr. Grey said Bess could go out with¬ 
out the bandage to-morrow morning, her eyes were 
so much better, and Miss Elton, the new teacher 
they are all so fond of, was going to stop here and 
take Bess to the school-house. It will be Miss 
Elton’s birthday, and the three children were to 
give her these roses. May has been watching them 
for weeks, as they are the first this year, and very 
fine ones—poor Bess is so dreadfully disappointed.” 
Just then the doctor, with little Kitty, drove up, 
and he went into the house looking very serious. 
Fanny followed him, May and Archie arriving a 
few minutes after; and when every one else had 
gone in, the three boys looked at each other with¬ 
out speaking, then walked slowly round to the 
back door. They found the kitchen quite empty, 
but in the sitting-room their grandmamma and 
Fanny were waiting anxiously to hear what the 
doctor would say. Papa and mamma were with 
him in Bessie’s room. May and Archie stood near 
the doorway, the girl still carrying the basket of 
American Agriculturist. 
let j 
that some one would come by, so that they could 
try the effect of their masquerading. 
“ Oh, Willy,” said Dick Davis, the eldest boy, 
suddenly, “ I tell you what let’s do. Let us be 
robbers, for there come May and Kitty Marston 
with something in a basket, and they’re such lean 
girls—they wouldn’t give me one of their rose¬ 
buds yesterday when I wanted it—not even one !” 
— “ Yes, they watch that old rose-bush as if it 
grew diamonds,” echoed Willy, who was Dick’s 
brother, and never much behind him when mis¬ 
chief was afoot.—“ They won’t know us at all, 
and Kitty will be frightened out of her senses,” 
said Jack Kogers, delightedly, but they all low¬ 
ered their voices as Archie Atwood, who had been 
at a little distance, turned and came towards them. 
“ He’ll say no, you may be sure,” whispered Jack, 
“ for he is always so slow and poky. Arch, we’re 
going to have lots of fun with our masks—you’ll 
join ?”—“Yes, what is it?” said Archie, taking off 
his mask to get some air.—“ Oh, there is no time 
to tell you now. Quick, fellows ! Hide in these 
bushes,” cried Jack, and the four popped down 
out of sight.—“ You won’t be a tell-tale, Arch, I 
hope,” whispered Dick ; “ if you don’t want to 
help us, you must just keep still,” and the other 
answered, in surprise, “ I’ll not tell of you, but 
-”—“ Hush—sh !” said the three all at once, 
spoiled roses, while Archie, the “ slow and poky ” 
boy, had thrown off his coat and doubled his fists, 
as if expecting an attack. Willy and Dick did not 
feel like fighting, however, so they turned away 
after saying sullenly: “You said you’d join us, 
Arch Atwood ; now I suppose you’ll go and tell.” 
—“No, I shan’t tell,” said Archie hotly, “but I’ll 
never join with boys who are cowardly enough to 
strike a girl.” 
A little way down the road the robbers met their 
companion, and the three went home across lots in 
a very sulky mood. As they neared Dick and 
Willy’s house, they began creeping along in the 
shadow of the fence, and were surprised to see 
their elder sister talking very excitedly at the gate 
with a neighbor. She said : “ When Kitty Marston 
came running in, half out of breath, and saying 
that some big boys in masks had chased her and 
May, and stolen their roses, I did all I could to 
make her whisper, but she was too scared to mind 
me, and soon Mamma came in from the next room 
in a great fright, for Bessie had heard all, and was 
crying fit to break her heart. We could not make 
her stop, and I sent Kitty directly for the doctor. 
Oh, dear ! I wish he would come.” 
Now, Bessie was Dick and Willy’s little sister, 
the favorite of the whole village. Two months 
ago she had hurt her eves with a pair of scissors, 
and had worn a bandage over them ever since; and 
the doctor had said that if they were not taken 
great care of. she woul d be blind the rest of her 
mangled rose's on her arm. LPtle* Kitty looked 
half-frightened at the sad faces around her, but no 
one spoke, only the tall old clock in the corner 
seemed to be saying, “ Blind, Bess, blind, Bess,” 
over and over again. The three boys sat down at 
the kitchen window, and looked out into the gar¬ 
den, feeling very miserable, for they loved their 
little sister dearly. Bessie’s pet kitten came and 
rubbed itself against their feet, and looked up, 
mewing because they did not notice it, w’hile her 
big doll, sitting on the window-sill, stared at them 
persistently, as if it knew what they had done. 
How slowly the minute-hand moved round, and 
how plainly the old clock spoke! It seemed 
strange that no one else understood what it was 
saying, for it looked straight at the guilty trio with 
its time-worn face, and kept repeating, “Your, 
fault, your, fault.” 
At last the doctor came into the room. Fanny 
sndled as he spoke to her, and grandmamma 
took off her spectacles and wiped her eyes. 
Then mamma came to get the roses that Bess 
wanted “to smell and feel,” for, alas! that 
bandage must not come off for another week, at 
least. She had waited so patiently, though so 
longingly, for the day when she could go out and 
see the sunshine and flowers and all her playmates 
again—poor little Bess ! 
Pretty soon Dr. Grey came and talked to the 
other children. “If there is any one in the world 
I despise, it is a coward,” he began, “ and I have 
