Show SPOILED HIS VISIT TRAGEDY OF THE MINISTER AND THE PARLOR LAMP Cute Little Johhny Was There to See That All the Elements of a Pleasant Evening Were There In Force Ullng their thing among If there was onto household furnishings which the family were women of the Draper prom of more than another It was the parlor lamp It had been bough at a bargain sale value not a cent less than 10 but In consideration of lay past patronage on this particular marked don to l9a It had been Hence upon the payment of thU Insignificant In-significant sum the Drapers hnd come Into tho possession of n real ornament to the parlor The Drapers were somewhat excited ex-cited on this particular evening be cause the new minister was coming to call and the lamp had been 111 In honor of the event this pink shade diffusing a soft glow which the rum lIy was quite sure gave the parlor a comfortable not to bay luxurious air The minister arrived a tall gaunt sepulchrnl voiced man with a dignity about him that awed Johnny the youngest member of the family down to his boots Mrs Draper had allowed al-lowed Johnny to come Into the parlor because she was sure the minister would be attracted by his cute winning win-ning ways Johnny stood behind his mother chair and eyed the visitor stealthily The minister caught sight of him and held out his hand Invitingly Come here my little man and shnko hands with me he said My 1 my what a great heavy boy said the minister as be lifted him this ° t-his lap Why you ate almost a man already arent you Tchc said Johnny keeping his eyes upon the floor while hU mother eyed him with maternal pride I trust you are a good little boy 4 u I i The Preacher Hastily Bade the Family Fam-ily Adieu and go to Sunday school regularly said tho minister patting him gently upon his bristling hair JImhm said Johnny glancing appiohenslvcly at his mother who smiled back at 111m reassuringly Now tell mehow old are you Inquired the minister graciously Nine yuhs old gain on ten what makes yer button yer collar back o yer neck said Johnny without stopping stop-ping for breath Johnny gasped his mother You But she got no further There came a sputtering hiss from the lamp behind followed by an explosive snap A particle of hissing fire spun m through tho air and landed upon the reverend mans neck who Instantly forgot all the dignity and giving a yell clawed madly at his collar behind be-hind In an Instant the paper shade of the lamp was In flames The staggering stag-gering preacher struck It with an el bow and tho tall lamp fell to the floor with a blazing crash tho flames were oommunlcatcd to tho carpet and in a moment n small conflagration was in I progress Tho uproar Immediately became terrific Tho shrieks of Clar into and her mother mingled with the hoarse shouts of tho minister Almost In a second Tom the oldest old-est son wash In the room Ho gathered gath-ered up tho flaming lamp and hurled It through an open window Into tho street below then quickly smothered tho blaze In tho carpet with a nearby rugTho The single figure who stood motion less and silent through this exciting periodus Johnny who crouched l back In time corner striving in vain to drive the apprehension from his starting eyes His mother caught sight of his fearful face Tho atti tilde that she assumed as she searched his countenance betokened eel dark suspicion sus-picion Johnny she exclaimed Have you been fooling with that lamp Nawm said Johnny uneasily Johnny look me straight in tho eyo said his mother menacingly Have yon been fooling with that lampYosm Yosm said Johnny What did you do to It Mrs Draper almost screamed Stuck a piece of cellorlold in 1t said Johnny tho deadly chill of fear In Ills voice Tho preacher hastily bade tho fun fly ndlu and a few minutes after tho sound of Johnnys voice In lamentation lamenta-tion ami woo echoed through the house |