Show the conversion Conver aion of mr jethro brown mr gethro brown had the unenviable vi reputation of or being the meanest roan man in Hop hopeville eville so mean was he that when barrels of apples which he lie could neither use nor sell going to waste in his orchards he had refused to give poor old mrs simmons a basketful when she asked for them at town meeting when contributions of money and farm produce were pledged b by everyone for the support of the orphan asylum ho he had refused so many times that he was no longer even asked to contribute moreover app apparently vently as a special mean s i the i e mike df of all tho the boys at red heat he forbade them to use the best swimming sulm ming place in town the river running through his land at that particular point retook he took delight in thrashing them whenever he caught them in his orchards ho to get even with old stingy became one of the serious problems of a boys life almost as soon as he reached the age of trousers one afternoon in the early summer all the larger bos were assembled in their usual meeting place behind dr M t lit 11 74 ive got ive got idill woods barn some sprawled leil out at full length on the grass discussing the ball game others perched like crows in the branches of an old appio trob scheming how to cause the downfall of old stingy of the latter group after the dis cission Is sion of several plans all agreed that hat if they could only relieve his trout rout pond of a goodly number of rout and send them as a present to the orphan asylum with mr B s compliments ments his mortification and their victory would bo complete but they also agreed that flying would bo be easy in comparison A kith ath the herculean task the pond was surrounded by a lano lane of stout wire netting in which two large and fierce dogs roamed every night then r ame a seven stranded barbed wire feme which could belth er be climbed over nor crawled crannied under with any chance of arriving at the other side with whole clothes and skin and finally inside this latter were many places so arranged that when walked upon gongs were rung and the keeper heeper armed with a shotgun would sally forth from his house to seize the luckless invader and take him before the local justice of tho the peace billy wood the doctors lectors only and hopeful son was to an admiring audience for at least the fiftieth time the completeness of these defensive arrangements embellished it Is true by his own vivid imagination when on looking up toward the central part of the own he saw a large dragon kite poised above the church steeple as it about to descend and seize the gilt cross in order to carry it to some distant realm to devour it at leisure with a sudden yell he grabbed the boy nearest to him and shouted at the top of his voice ive got it ivo got it ive got it I 1 got what billy the colic demanded puffin jones whose deepest sympathies were stirred at the bare possibility none noe of course not replied billy here you fellows every one on of you that has a kite meet me in the back pasture at 9 to morrow and those of you that come along to help the others and wit without 09 another word he star defor the house as fast as his legs could carry him billy puffin and sam powers were waiting for them whan they arrived at the place agreed on and were already I ready discussing the plan the idea was that they could leach old Sting ya fish by flying their kites out over the pond from the knoll adjoining his land and lowering a weighted fis bline through a ring to be fastened at a convenient place on each kite string thus overcoming the obstacles of fences dogs and keeper the kites would have to be black so as not to show against the sky shy and white miller flies would be sure to be seen by the trout on a moonlight night one boy would manage each kite and another the if everything went nent well the orphans would revel in a treat such as only those who could afford to pay 1 a pound for their fish had hitherto enjoyed on the appointed night six boys in stocking feet feel quietly slipped down tho the back stairs of six different houses pausing to be sure that father was breathing regularly and that mother was not pandering van dering around to see that all was right after a silent raid on the pantry it vas but a step stop to the door then a reassuring word to the dog a short run and the rendezvous was soon reached billy jed the way by crosa crosscuts cuts to the before mentioned knoll which was within yards of the end of the pond farthest away annay from the keepers house the water was covered with ripples and the trees and bushes were rustling but otherwise ev everything was quiet with the pulled up to the ring z that the hook would not catch on the fences and billy holding it there sam let put out a kite until tho tive ring was well over oven the water then while everyone held his breath billy slowly let lot the weight slide down the instant the fly struck the water there was a rush and a large trout it then came the question quee tion whether the kite would hold up under the load or not but on the fish bing pulled out of the water and up to within three feet of the ring it blood the strain well and when both boys reeled in tho the fish was soon in their fiands it weighed at least a and a quarter not a sound had been heard of dogs or keeper heeper and everything augured well for the orphans dinner A second time the kite was let lot out and the fly dropped and this timo time a fish jumped out of the water so great was w as his hurry to bite but he missed only to have another one take the prize and promptly bo be pulled skyward and then landward this time by put aln so successful were they that the boys found it unnecessary to use more than one kite and took turns at this most novel and exciting sport billy thought that thirty fish would be enough old stingy must do the thing handsomely while he was about it and grimly remarked that they might as well leave a few for next time anyway they had finally reached and their bags wore were nearly full the fly descended for the twenty the keeper rushed out s siah I 1 x li time when there was was a tug tag which made the kite dive violently and veer from side to side in a way which threatened at any moment to capsize it after careful maneuvering however they succeeded in raising the fish above the water and were reeling in when just as the shore was reached it gave a violent flop slipped off the hook and fell forty feet to strike a dull thud on a long plank immediately a gong began to ring the dogs began to bark and then the door of the house opened and the ULC keeper heeper rushed out for a second the boys were almost panic stricken especially as they saw that the keeper and dogs were coming toward their end of the pond as fast as they could run but billys commanding genius quickly asserted itself tolling telling sara sam and puffin to divide the fish between them and retreat cau piously to the road he lie made the other two to gather up the extra kites until he could remove the ring and the several hundred feet of fish line in the meantime the keeper had arrived at the plank which the we big trout had struck and was peering around for the cause of the trouble the first thing he lie saw was a blotch of blood and a second later he found the trout A hasty examination showed its lacerated mouth so it was evident that poachers had been at work but where were the poachers it never would have been known to this day where tho the poachers were it if billy whose fear that the kite would be seen made him hurry had not slipped and measured his length on the ground with a crash quickly jumping up ho hp cut the string it was better bettor to sacr sacrifice itice the kite than to by be caught and all three tore oft off to tho road the dogs barking furiously the barbed wire ordinarily so useful in keening poachers out was of great serce sen ice in keeping the keeper in and his delay gave the boys such a head start that they outstrip pLa him and reached the barn in safety after a short period of rejoicing they did up the trout in ft piece of clean bagging pinned a paper oa tm which was printed for the orphan orphans with the compliments and best beat wishes of a friend to the outside and placed the whole on the front porch of the asylum whore where it would be found by the matron the first thing in tho the morning then there was a second ga gathering therina at the barn a spread of doughnuts and cookies and shortly after aix tired boys crept into their bede beds to have dreams in aich trout trouts old stingy orphans doga dogs and keepers were ere strangely mingled the next morning the bundle was duly found and opened and as the matron naturally took it for granted that tho the sender was tho the owner of the only trout pond in town it was not ions long before everyone evo knew know of mr air browns gift tho the news spreading with the rapidity characteristic of country places whether he would or no by noon ho he was Hope villes most popular citizen moreover his gift inspired other people to give and general good feeling ran high hah in consequence it was even proposed to assemble tho town band and serenade him but owing to the short notice it was decided that everyone should call on him that same evening and hold an impromptu reception instead the boys fell in with this last idea with spirit it waa was a great victory to have had old stingy at their morcy mercy for once but to think of his confusion and wrath when he would bo be thanked for what he had not done never before had there been a prospect of so much excitement ever since dinner billy dilly had been having trouble with his conscience As a consequence mr air brown was surprised to receive in tho the late afternoon a much blotted note whose laboriously a printed letter effectually concealed the identity ot of tho the writer and conveyed tho the following information dere dore mr brown altho yu may not kno it yu gave some nice trout to the orfan asilum and evry budy think thinks you are very nice they aro are comin to cee you tonight to tell you so and if you want to have everybody steep on thinking aou ou aro are nice dont get got mad tonight A frend frond from his keeper ho he knew know that some one had been near the pond the past night so that would account for tho the present of the trout but how the trout were caught he never knew as long as he lived A little quiet investigation convinced him of the truth of the contents of the epistle so thac that he was prepared for his visitors that tho the time had providentially come for him to establish bettor better ro laona between himself and his fellow citizens was evident and ho he did not retreat from an opportunity ity which ho he might never again have for to tell the truth ho he had long b i i tired of his sobriquet of old sting that evening be first surprised tho the boys by neither being embarrassed nor enraged at the speeches of his townsmen in thanking him for ao so gracefully and handsomely setting them an example by heading the annual hat of contributions to the asylum and by intimating in a well worded reply that this first gift was but an earnest of others to ollow follow then he surprised the elders by inviting all to partake of refreshment served in the orchard but most of all he lie surprised himself by the happiness which ho he felt in tho andly empathy gm pathy and interest of his old but newfound new now found friends lends fr wade evelyn in boston globe |