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Show THE BAND OF HIGHWAYMEN By JOHN McCUTCHEON f'cCPCJ&H II Once there wns a Band of Highwaymen -who had operated so loii nud so .successfully that they became very bold indeed. They plundered the People right and left' and when the Poor Victims cried out in helpless despair, the Robbers uttered peal after peal of mocking- laughter. So powerful did the Band become that they controlled by secret and sinister means the very Government itself, and thus enjoyed great Prosperity. Some of the Prosperitv was distributed to quiet the People, but of course the Piobbers kept most of it themselves. When they pounced upon a Hapless Wayfarer, the poor man would meekly yield because of his helplessness before such powerful power-ful enemies. He would raise his eyes in despair and sigh, "What a lovely chance T have against such a Combination!" The sentiment of the People became very bitter against the powers that were leagued against them, but what could they do? They could not express themselves except in Helpless Fury. ' But one fine day in June a determined Man of stout heart walk-1 cd down the Highway toward where the Robbers were assembled! and when the latter perceived him they nearly split their sides a I laughing. They leaped out upon him with loud shouts of merriment. merri-ment. They robbed him in broad daylight, so bold had they become. But to their great surprise, the Victim instead of submissively yielding as all the others had done, at once began to put up a Mighty Fight. He fought so vigorously that the Robbers were quite taken back. "What's this?" they gasped. "Who is this brash person who dares fight back? Tn the meantime, the noise of the fight had attracted a Great Crowd of People who came rushing up and were muttering angry threats against them. ' "Why do you think of this?" exclaimed the Robbers, appealing to the crowd. "Here we were robbing and beating this person and he is setting up an awful roar. He's a poor loser He's a poor sport Why dosen't he take his medicine like a man instead of Squealing? When a man gets robbed he ought to be a graceful loser and acknowledge that he has lost." ' Moral Some people think it is Bad Form and un-American to resist when you are being robbed of what you have earned. |