Bellamy Partridge

“ I want Sube to understand how much we appreciate the fact that he has come to us and told us the truth. Of course it was wrong for you to take the tree, Sube, but since you have been so truthful about it, we shall help you to make amends. Your father and I will do all in our power to set matters right. I promise that for both of us."
"You don't have to make any promises for me," Mr. Cane hastened to say. "Nobody has any greater regard for the truth than I have. ”

“ As the week of germination drew towards a close the boys became restless. "We ought to begin to do some'pm," Sube suggested as he sat rubbing the Boon into the pores of his long-suffering upper lip. "My week will be up to-morrow morning at five minutes of ten, and yours will be up at about quarter after."
"I'll bet mine'll be up before quarter after," predicted Gizzard enthusiastically. "I'll bet I have my whiskers by ten minutes after. Gee, but I'll be glad when I don't have to use this ol' Boon any longer. It certainly is bad!" ”

“ Sube asked Gizzard one day as they lazily passed a ball back and forth in a listless game of catch. "Of course," he added in the bored tone of the idle rich, "if I didn't have money, I s'pose I'd get busy, too. I always like to give the ever-glorious Fourth a good send-off."
At the term "ever-glorious" Gizzard's hand was poised in air. He was tempted to put Sube out of his misery on the spot; but a natural repugnance to the destruction of human life stayed the stroke, and he returned the ball without intent to kill, albeit a little faster than Sube regarded as entirely necessary. ”

“ Jealousy is about as reasonable as lightning; it is fully as deadly, and often much more unexpected. And because Biscuit Westfall's mother's brother-in-law (who was a farmer with a fine woodlot) when bringing in the annual Christmas tree for Biscuit, had also brought one for Nancy Guilford's Christmas party, he had aroused Sube's groundless jealousy of Biscuit to the striking point.
Biscuit cared nothing for Nancy; he had a lady love of his own. Of course he was polite to Nancy, but he was polite to every lady. And Nancy cared nothing for Biscuit. ”

“ For a moment Sube hesitated; then he bent over and unbuttoned the lemon-colored shoe, and kicked it across the barn. "Take your ol' shoe!" he blurted out. "It's too small for me, anyway!"
"Ya-a-ah!" jeered Gizzard as he leaped after it. "Too small, nuthin'! Y'could of kicked it off without unbuttonin' it at all!"
"It pinched my foot, or you wouldn't have got it so easy," muttered Sube; "but let me tell you one thing, Mr. Gizzard—I get my pick of all the rest of the men's shoes we take in."
Gizzard felt that he could afford to be generous. "Sure you do," he assented readily. ”

“ A few moments later he was standing before his beloved poster regarding his heart's desire with a sense of peculiar proprietorship. After a little he sat down on the grass; and while Sport, his old spotted dog, lay at his feet lazily digging at one ear with a rheumatic hind-foot, Sube drew from his pocket and read aloud in a halting monotone certain portions of the fortieth chapter of the Book of Job, often pausing between verses to verify the observations of the Patient Prophet by comparison with the portrait taken from life. ”

“ After assuring himself that the coast was clear Sube drew back his sleeves in imitation of a prestidigitator. "Watch me closely, ladies and gent'mun!" he began in an undertone. "The hand is quicker than the eye."
He made a few baffling passes with his hands and produced the ball of string. This he held aloft between his thumb and forefinger that each and all might see.
"I have here a simple little ball of twine, ladies and gent'mun! A simple little—"
"Aw, shut up!" cried Gizzard good naturedly. "And go on up that tree 'fore it gets so dark you can't see nuthin'!" ”

“ Sube knew Cathead had money—Cathead always had money—and he at once began a series of flattering offers to sell anything he possessed. But Cathead was thrifty. The commercial instinct was strong in him. He realized that the time to buy is when the other fellow wants to sell; but he did not become over anxious. He said he was not in the market. Neither was he conducting a loan office. Of course, if it was made worth his while, why,—he might think of it.
This bickering nearly drove Sube mad. Time for the evening meal was drawing near. ”

“ As he said this he suddenly dropped his burden on the ground and made a grab for the shoes.
"No, you don't!" howled Gizzard, dropping his own burden and jumping back. But he was too late; Sube had already snatched one of the shoes and was reaching for the other. A struggle ensued, each boy holding fast to the shoe he already had and trying to get possession of the other; but it was of short duration. For each boy realized that he could not overpower the other without the unrestricted use of both hands. ”

“ And thus it happened that Biscuit Westfall learned to swim.
Undoubtedly the proudest moment of his whole life was the one when he received his diploma from the Inter-State Correspondence School. To the unprejudiced eye this diploma looked more like the [Pg 181] document that is drawn forth from the spy's boot in the war melodrama, than the sheepskin of a scholastic institution. It was decorated with stars and garters, wafers and lozenges; but to Biscuit's unsophisticated gaze it was quite the most important document since the Declaration of Independence. ”

“ Then with a show of flashing teeth and a few great guttural oaths he cleared the barn of human incumbrances, and then—he went humbly to his master craving indulgence for having again been guilty of disobedience.
Sube struggled to his feet, groggily murmuring, "Good boy, Sport." And with a boy's first instinct on emerging from a fight began to hunt for his cap. Sport quickly found it and brought it. Then Sube noticed for the first time that he was alone, and that the big barn door was closed. ”

“ I've heard quite enough for one night. Go—to—bed!"
As Sube dragged himself unwillingly up the stairs, Mrs. Cane said to her husband:
"Well, at last the tide has turned. Sube has discovered the truth."
"Huh! I must say he picked out a fine time to discover it," was her husband's grim rejoinder. "Why, if Mrs. Hotchkiss-Harger should believe I ever did such a thing as rob a cemetery of its shrub [Pg 354] bery, she'd never trust me again—and besides, I'd die of shame and mortification."
"Well," comforted Mrs. Cane, "in the first place, she'd never believe such a thing. ”

“ Cathead thought he scented a conspiracy, and wishing to be on the safe side, volunteered to take the part of the drunken father.
"Not on your life!" cried Sube. "Somebody's got to be a little girl, and you'd make the best one of anybody here. Wouldn't he, kids?"
Stucky and Cottontop were positive that Cathead would make an ideal girl, and they so expressed themselves. But Cathead thought otherwise.
"I won't be a girl! I ain't goin' to be a girl! I never been one and I ain't ever goin' to be one!" ”

“ An instant later the back of Sube's head bumped the floor, and he began to stop Dick's blows with his face. Then it dawned on him for the first time that he was actually fighting Dick Bissell. He knew of course that he couldn't thrash Dick; he had known it for years; and he couldn't understand how he ever happened to undertake such a monumental task. The mere thought weakened him.
Dick must have felt Sube relax; for suddenly he seized both of Sube's wrists and pinioned his arms across his breast.
"You're—a fine—lookin' thing!" he panted. "Nancy oughta—see y'u NOW!" ”

“ And Tyre was to have the pleasure of shedding its Decoration Day tears before this master of the lachrymal glands.
A touch of realism was added to the day's program by the funeral of Captain Elias Roy, a past-Commander of the G. A. R. The captain had died the week before, but the body had been held over for burial on Memorial Day; and Colonel Smythe had kindly consented to say a few words at the grave.
The weather fitted the occasion admirably. Gray clouds hung low obscuring the sun and imparting a dreary chill to the atmosphere. Nature herself seemed to have put on mourning. ”

“ At his side walked the faithful Gizzard, who, after they had gone a short distance, asked:
"What you so mum about?"
"Who? Me?" grunted Sube. "How you want a feller to act when he's goin' to a funeral?"
The truth was that in addition to the humiliation put upon him by Dick Bissell, Sube was feeling a little lonely in his outlawry. The other boys doing exactly what he was doing were guiltless. But he was a criminal. He alone must be on the watch for tattle-tales, must run the risk of punishment. On the whole he was in an excellent frame of mind to get the most out of a funeral. ”

“ His uncle Bert's dead stuck on bonfires—"
"Dead stuck?"
"He likes 'em," Sube corrected, "and he wants us to go to bed early, and then he'll call us a little before midnight, and take us up to see the bonfire for a little while, and then take us back home again."
"That isn't a good place for boys," ruled Mrs. Cane dubiously. "There's a very rough element at those bonfires. What does your mother think about it, Charley? Is she going to—"
"Sure she is! Isn't she, Giz?" interrupted Sube with great enthusiasm.
"Yes, ma'am," mumbled Gizzard unconvincingly. ”

“ Not until it was quite dark did the badly stung bathers dare to return for their clothes. The hornets were gone. And the languid stillness of the summer night was broken only by their grim tokens of exclamation.
Some time after the last suffering victim had dragged his weary feet down the path leading from the pool, two dark shadows cautiously emerged from the shrubbery.
"Let's beat it for home!" urged a husky voice. "If any one saw us around here they'd prob'ly kill us!"
"All right," breathed the other. "The quicker the better!"
"Do you s'pose any one ever did die from bee-sting?" ”

“ Then suddenly there came from the clear sky, so to speak, the most splendid offering of the day: a silken slumber-robe of stunning checkerboard design, and trimmed with a shimmering band of panne velvet. ”

“ Mossman waggishly declared that the hairbrush should be used solely for arranging one's locks, and that the good old slipper should be devoted exclusively to the humble task of comforting tired feet, Sube joined heartily in the laugh that followed. And when the good doctor concluded his lecture with the impassioned statement that "willfully inflicted pain never improved anything!" Sube participated so enthusiastically in the applause that he lost his balance and fell to the ground, taking with him the greater part of his father's cherished ivy. ”

“ The handle of a slingshot protruded from Sube's hip-pocket, and money jingled as he walked a few minutes later when Gizzard Tobin, Biscuit Westfall and Stucky Richards swooped down on him as he humbly toiled. The new-comers had their tennis racquets, and Biscuit was resplendent in a new pair of white knickerbockers. ”

“ A woman screamed. Men seemed to rise out of the ground on all sides. The boys had a suspicion that the Resurrection was at hand, until the sheriff flashed a light in the face of the prisoner and exclaimed in chorus with several others:
"Good heavens! It's Miss Lester!"
The silence that followed was shattered by Miss Lester's voice. She had recognized Mr. Cane, and at once began to accuse him of being the author of a plot to compromise her. The boys were not clear as to the exact nature of her charges, but it was apparent to them that she was very angry at Sube's father. ”

“ But in a little cubby-hole above the barn-door was something not so easily disposed of. It made no sound; it had no perceptible odor; and yet, every time the boys went into the barn they were reminded of it. Twenty dollars and seventeen cents has more ways than one to make its presence known.
Sube treated it with supreme indifference; he would not so much as glance up at the hiding-place. But Gizzard was more impressionable, for suddenly he cried out:
"I wisht the dern stuff was in Halifax!"
"I wisht it was," muttered Sube; "but it ain't. And it's a lot of money." ”

“ A short distance behind Sport came the behemoth, lumbering, careening and snorting, but making very rapid progress. Then after a long blank space came Sube the Showman, on a bicycle he had commandeered for the occasion, pressed to the utmost to maintain the pace set by the leaders. Not far behind Sube came a motley crowd of blasphemous [Pg 225] circus-hands and howling urchins. The rear guard was made up of the more mature onlookers whose curiosity was mightier than their caution. ”

“ As Cathead reached the bottom of the stairs, Sube dived under the bed. And as Cathead entered the pantry, Sube darted up the attic stairs and threw the tainted clothes far into the darkness. From the splash that followed he feared they might have landed in the rain water tank, but that could not be helped now. As he rapidly slid down the attic stairs he was thoroughly in sympathy with those who shed their brothers' blood so far as disposing of the corpus delicti was concerned. ”

“ He reasoned that cats do not ordinarily play around in the street in front of their owner's homes. He had heard that somebody had given Nancy a kitten, but reports are likely to be exaggerated. And while Gizzard had always suspected that there was something between Sube and Nancy, it came to him now with compelling force that he had never been told anything about it; and perhaps he understood that mere inferences are not regarded as the best evidence by the authorities.
And when partners begin to keep things from each other the breakers are usually not far away. ”