Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Phelim O'Toole, who had the honor of being that interesting personage, an only son, was heir to a snug estate of half an acre, which had been the family patrimony since the time of his grandfather, Tyrrell O'Toole, who won it from the Sassenah at the point of his reaping-hook, during a descent once made upon England by a body of "spalpeens," in the month of August.
"I thought he was the gintleman that had traveled, and knew all about these copper-colored spalpeens. S'pose we' all done the same, Lone Wolf and his Apaches would have had all our skulp-locks hanging at their goordles by this time. I say, Thompson, ain't you ashamed of yourself to be wastin' your time in this fashion?"
It had been a busy, happy, work-filled week, in which I had had to snatch odd moments for the selecting of certain wonderful toys for the Spalpeens. There had been dolls and doll-clothes and a marvelous miniature kitchen for the practical and stolid Sheila, and ingenious bits of mechanism that did unbelievable things when wound up, for the clever, imaginative Hans.
"You had too much of a start; but when we struck the camp in the mountains that is, where Lone Wolf and his spalpeens took their breakfast we wasn't a great way behind 'em. We swung along at a good pace, Soot trying to time ourselves so that we'd strike 'em 'bout dark, when he ca'c'lated there'd be a good chance to work in on 'em." "How was it you failed?
"I've been thinkin' of the fellow and it saams to me that it's time he showed up." "I wonder whether he could have passed us in the night." "That couldn't be, for he meant to stay near the camp-fire where we lift him till he found out what the spalpeens were goin' to do, and he couldn't have got that chance till mornin'." "Unless they made a start last night." "Which the same they didn't do."
An hour or so more, and darkness would be upon them. "I don't belave the spalpeens have found put just the precise spot where we've stowed away," said Mickey, in his cautious undertone, to his companion, "for I've no evidence that such is the case." "They may take it into their heads to come into the fissure again, and then where are we?" "Right here, every time.
Like enough the spalpeen yonder has obsarved us coming, and he knows that there's a party behind us, and, being unable to do anything himsilf, he starts up the fire so as to scare us, and turn us back into the hands of the spalpeens coming in our rear. Mind, I say that such may be the case, but I ain't sure that it is."
She made a lunge for the two struggling children, jerked them apart, shook them impartially, and blazed out in rich, Irish brogue, "Ye dirty spalpeens, phwat d'ye mane by sich disorderly conduct? It'll be a long toime afore ye'll iver git inside this fince again to play, ye black-eyed miss! Make tracks now or I'll call the p'lice! You, ye little beggar, march straight inter the house!
"Oh, this is the pass, is it?" exclaimed the delighted lad; "then we have a clear road before us straight to New Boston." "Clear of all but one thing." "What's that?" "The red spalpeens; they're always turning up when you don't expect 'em, and don't want 'em." "How far are we away from the cave, where we left the half dozen Apaches?"
An Irishman in my car yelled out: "Och, ye dirty spalpeens; it's not shootin' prisoners ye are now; it's cumin' where the Yankee b'ys hev the gun; and the minnit ye say thim yer white livers show themselves in yer pale faces. Bad luck to the blatherin' bastards that yez are, and to the mothers that bore ye."
Word Of The Day