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A Blind Deception
(Lubin 11-23-11)
By LULIETTE BRYANT
»pvo come out with us, Mr. Nelson.
| J We 've got a new roller-coaster, the automobile kind, you know, and it's a dandy!" begged Burt.
"It just zips down the hill. We can go clear to the end of the avenue. Please come," coaxed Hal, adding his persuasive tones to those of his older brother.
Robert Nelson regarded the pair indulgently, but he temporized.
"I'm too big," he objected. "I'd smash the auto."
"No, you wont. Father rode with us after lunch."
As their father weighed something over two hundred, there was no chance for argument on that score, so Nelson took up another line of defense.
' ' The dust will get in my eyes, ' ' he demurred.
"Here, you can take my goggles," said Burt ; " I dont need them ; I only wear them for show. Mother says that 's why most folks wear them. ' '
"I'll just come out and look at the machine," said Nelson, and the boys exchanged delighted glances. They knew their cause was won.
Robert Nelson was not too far from his own boyhood days to catch the enthusiasm of the youngsters. The air had that first tang of autumn crispness, which touches the faintest glow of youth into action. Jefferson Avenue lay glistening in the afternoon sunlight, a smooth, shining slope of temptation. The red auto was soon speeding down the avenue, gathering momentum with every turn of its flashing wheels. Burt, at the front, steered skillfully. Hal, in the rear, honk-honked the horn with vigor. Nelson simply hung on and enjoyed himself.
"Look out for the turn, Burt," Nelson cried sharply.
But something had happened to the steering gear. Nelson saw that they were bound to strike the great elm at the foot of the avenue.
"Jump for the grass, boys, quick," he commanded, and as they obeyed him, he followed them. They picked themselves up from the soft turf, unhurt, and gazed ruefully at the wreck of their precious auto.
"Never mind, you shall have another one," promised Nelson, hastily, noticing the blur in the younger lad's eyes. "Here, brush me off; see how dusty I am. Play Pullman porters, and I'll tip you enough for a new auto. Pummel me as if I were an old carpet. ' '
The boys rose to the occasion with the elasticity of spirit which belongs to youth. But they had scarcely begun their vigorous onslaught upon Nelson, when each boy was seized firmly by his collar and jerked away from his task.
"What do you mean by teasing a poor blind man ? ' ' scolded a sweet, tho severe, feminine voice. "Go away at once. I shall help the gentleman home. ' '
As the newcomer glared fiercely at the boys, who were too bewildered to do anything but stare, the reason for her mistake flashed into Nelson's mind. He was still wearing Burt's goggles.
She was very pretty, this valiant little lady. Her eyes were snapping with indignation, her cheeks were flushed, and the soft hair, which escaped from under the blue turban, was ruffled becomingly by the crisp breeze.
"Thank you," Nelson said quickly; ' ' it would be very kind of you to walk up the hill with me. I dont think the boys meant any harm. Children are thoughtless, you know. ' '
As he said these meek and Christian
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