| Show EBENEZER I f ii t THE STORY OF A SKULb T > T i e You may have it if you like said I tte doctor I Do you mean it really asked Miss Dunlop eagerly The doctors wife laughed One would think it was something nice instead in-stead of a hideous old skull Miss Dunlop was still looking at the j doctor inquiringly Why of course you may have it he said Shall I send it to you > or < will you carry It Ill take it with me now for I must be groins The doctor found a pasteboard box and placed the skull iri it then tied theI cover on and presented it to Miss Dunlop Dun-lop I < < Thank you so much she said ear nestly I11 has made me feel so bad to think of the disrespect it Has received since its soul got through with it You have told ne about its being in the possession o that horrid society of I college students and since you have had itI know you dont think about I it as I dobut it has mad me feel so I queer to see your children playing with it and kicking it around I i Therell be a howl about it when they find it is gone said the doctors j wife with ft rueful smile Miss Dunlop went on without eemI ing to noUce her And theres no I knowing how many other indignities jt I has suaered that you dont know any i I thingabout Nov however it will re I I ceive the respect due it i After she had gone the doctor and his wife looked at each other j A harmless crank he said i I Im glad its gone the hired girls are all so afraid of it said she At home in her little sitting room Miss Dunlop carefully took the skull 1 from its box and made a place for it on top of ncr desk Then she stood off I and viewed the grinning object I Thi is your new home she said I addresses it I hope you will like it I am going to call you Ebenezer I always way liked that name and I want to call you something For several days whenever her eyes rested on the skull she gave an Involuntary Invol-untary start but she soon got used to it and lost what little feeling of repugnance i I re-pugnance she may have had for it at first I fimMiss Miss Dunlop lived in a very quietway in to rooms of a boarding house She hart a small income on which with much planning and economy she lived quite comfortably She cafeU lor her two rooms visited her friends took her daily walk and wrote poetry for the local lo-cal iauer and occasionally for other publications She was known in the boarding house as the old maid but everyone liked her One day she vas at her desk and at length laying down her pen the leaned back in her chair and gazed up at the skull I wonder she mused < what kind of a man Ebenezer was I wonder let me s eI dont believe hut what I have got that old chart pf mne Perhaps Per-haps I can find out by that something about his character She rummaged in a closet for some time and at length unearthed a phre I nological chart very old and minus co ei sOnly I s-Only think This was made out for me when I wasnt but 5 years old She studied the chart carefully then took the skull down and examined it ar1 measured it with her tape measure 0 near she said at last I cant mak anything out of it I wish j I Wh there is Why didnt I think of i thct efore i 11 great excitement she put on her i thn and carefully placed the skull i in he i box the doctor had given her I j T i o is a phenologist in town i she K < pt repeating to herself Why didr I think of il i Jujt IK fore going out she opened her 1 rJOLKt t book and scrutinized the con J j ten 1 Yes she satdI guess I can afoi it I will anyway tvn itt have I to viiihnut something else I In plmnoiogtei looked at her curl I i UPr > hen she told him she wanted I th iu11 examined and not hr ova i htil > ut he was very kind ard told hc dl I he could about the character of E enczer making out a ch n b I Miss Dunlop went away perfectly sat isffct and when she pu IPJ FK i kin k-in its place she locked at it with a Cain I snvh studied the chart carefully ands I and-s > i L umt > to know the character of i Eli ezr very thoroughly I y v ere jally a very remarkable n aT FK yuld fey and I am a1iS af I of you you are to cntirai I I v icr hat you would think of my I I pucnic You would PO aiij i id thi Yrb I ondtr if you ever vrote poetry you might have done so 0Aftrr that every nm she vrotr > any thin Miss Dunlop would read it ever and ry to Hunk hat bntzer would say to it he result was that she destroyed mojv of her poems than she preserved ard that with her c relul and painstaking painstak-ing preparation of her manuscript she greatly improved I her work Th first time she got an acceptance ficin one o the leading magazines she v as greatly elated She sat reading the Lit ot pap r over and over At last she raised her eyes to the skull And I haw you u thank for it Ebenezer she iciid If it had not been for your citfit5ni I never could have written goo enough for them lKLre wa a new boarder in the house a quiet unobtrusive girl and she and Miss Dunlop became good friends There was but one point of disagree men between them Miss Miles could not endure the sight of Ebenezer So < Ut of consideration for her feelings Miss Dunlop would throw1 something over him during her friends call on her i dont see why you should object so to it Miss Dunlop said one evening aftfr t ip > had known each other for some months Of eourse it isnt pretty but then you know we each have one of our < n n t > Oh it isnt that said Miss Miles then afte a moment hestiatiou she a eat on Ill tell you my real reason and I guess you wont wonder at my aversion to skulls My father had an uncle who did a great many years ago He was buried in an ole faintly burying glourd 1 > n the farm where he had lived 1 ° ars and years went by and finally MI i road was built right through the yard Men went to work dp up the bones which were then reb > i the large ceiretery in town We1 nth n-th y Beanie to greatuneie Enos ivo they found the bines all right nlj the sku was sone Miss Miles paused a moaaent Sonic one had stolen it she added impressively Hmv dreadful said Miss Dunlop and then lor a time they sat silent looking ouch other What kind of a nun was this uncle un-cle asked Miss Dunlop al last Her friend gave her a rather long account of Ks characteristics I have often heard ray father tell about him she said at the end Has he any near relatives living who are interested in the recovery of the skull asked Miss Dunlop Miss Miles looked as if she thought 2 this a strange question He has one k brother Jiving the youngest in the family IJ fam-ily But ot course the skull can never be found i What is the brothers name and where does he live Miss Miles told her and as soon as I l she had gone Miss Dunlop wrote down I I I the name and address on a slip of paper 12 PSlur looked up at Ebenezer regretfully I but with a new interest To think that i I 5 ivn uld find nut who you really were liesaid But I omost w5sh I hadnt for now I shall have to send you to our brother it wouldnt be hoporable be doubt to There can no to keep you about it she went on after a pause Her description was exactly like the phrenologists No two people could bfe so exactly alike With a deep sigh she sat down and began a letter l to Ebenezers brother It was a 16ng time before she got it to suit her She told how she came U have the skull about the visit 10 the phrenologist about Miss Miles story She ended by saying that she would send the skull upon hearing from the brother After the letter Was gone she got a I strong wooden box and some straw and packed Ebenezer arermfy fo r his Journey I Jour-ney I dont want to see you and every time think you have gQt to gq she said sadly and nobody knows what nesv disrespect isn stojje for you < In a few days Miss Dunlop gotlu letter let-ter from Ebenezers brother It was written in a cramped oldfashioned hand and said You may keep ycItir old skull for me 1 lent believe in your phrenological rubbish and I dont believe the skull Ms my brothers If my grand niece chooses to associate with lunatics and telL them family histories she earl do so but I dont want said lunatics palming off bogus skulls on mr Miss Dunlops mildblue qyis fairly glittered as she read this and there was a flushof rage oh 1111 rfacfc Then she tore the letter in pieces and buniGjl it after whiijhj she felt better Then with quIte a happy smile she unpacked Eb nezer Ini replaced him on the desk I must say Ebenezer she remarked re-marked that your brother has very bad manners and I dont doubt you are ashamed of him so we will never refer to him again j t And so Miss DunlOp resumed the even tenor of her way while Ebenezer grinned impartially on all comers SUSAN BROWN BOBBINS |
