Rensselaer Union, Volume 11, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 July 1879 — HERCULES-JACK. [ARTICLE]

HERCULES-JACK.

A STOKY rOR BOYS, Not his real name; of course not. Hjs father and mother would never have given him such a name as that. His real name was John hranklin Holmes, and thorn wasn’t a, wooden bench, a gate-post, or barn-door within a mile of his father’s house on which the initials *• J. F. H.” might not have beeaiound—cut by a very busy but somewhat battered jack-knife. Hereules-Jack was only a nickname he had pioked up, and you shall judge how fairly ho came by it when I have told you a little more about him. Johnny, or Jack Holmes, as he was oftener called,' was just ten years old. Jack was round, chubby, with red hair, blue eyes, and a freckled nose that turned up the least bit in the world at the end. Did I sa(y he was plump? If I didn’t 1 should do so at once, for that was the very first thing that struck you about Jack; be was quite plump; indeed, I may say very plump; his cheeks were as round as .apples, there were dimples in the backs of his hand?, and his k jacket fitted him as tightly as a skin does a sausage. Now, this wfis a sore point with Jack, especially as the boys used to laugh at Jam, so me time§, because lie was so fat; but perhaps Jack would not have mindded the boys very much if one day he had not overheard Polly Joy whisper to Susy Ditson, when he was standmg behind their desk doing a sum in vulgar fractions upon the blackboard, that he was “ a ridiculous little dumpling.” This was too much; it shot a pang into poor Jack’s heart. For to whisper to you a little secret, Jack very much admired Polly. He thought her cheeks were the rosiest., her braids were the longest, her dresses were the finest, her hats the prettiest, and that she herself was altogether the nicest girl, in the big round world. Poor Jack!—Polly’s unkind remark rankled.in his bosom. After brooding over it for several days, he awoke one morning and took a sudden resolution. He clenched his teeth, pounded his fat little fist on the table, and exclaimed: “If I am a dumpling. I’ll do something that all the thin boys in the world couldn’t do.” Jack’s round little head was full of schemes; his throbbing little heart was full of courage; he had a spirit big enough for a giant, while his ambition, for a ten-year old boy, was really quite tremendous. Now, Jack had read a good many books of adventure; there was nothing he liked better than to pore over the doings of knights and dwarfs, giants, dragons and magicians, and that .sort of people. Especially he admired and reverenced Jack-the-Giant-Killer, while he bemoaned that there were no giants left for him to destroy. He thought of other ways of distinguishirig himself. Ha considered the merits of highwaymen and pirates; but as he knew that pepple in thdfce professions nearly always came to bad ends, and as there was no lonely road where he oould wait for travelers, and no fleet horse to ride, and as no convenient ocean lay near his father’s house, and there was no way of his getting a long, low, black schooner, if the ocean had been there, he gave up these plans. Finding these roads to distinction shut to lum, Jack went about for a while quite dejected, until one day he came across an old book of my thology in the library, and there read of the exploits of Hercules, the great hero of antiquity, who performed twelve celebrated “labors," or heroic deeds. Jack’s eyes,glowed as he read the wonderful narrative. Again and again he pored over the record with bated breath' and kindled imagination. And as he read of the mighty deeds of this great hero, a purpose gradually took root in his mind. He would be another such hero—a modern Hercules. The thought thrilled him. He brooded over it by day; it haunted his dreams by night. He went about with a lofty look on his face. Ho already regarded the other boys with the pity and compassion with which a real hero would perhaps regard common men. x But how to become a Hercules?— that was the next question. There were no roaring lions, no savage wild boars, no many-iieadetj hydras in the little village where ho iived. Neither did centaurs abound; indeed, Jack had never seen one in his life; “ but'tben,” he thought to himself, “there must be plenty of other terrible and wonderful things to do,” and so his resolution was taken. But how to begin? I’ve got to do something first to get up a name before I begin on the ‘ labors,’ ” said Jack. “Hercules strangled the snakes—l’m rather afraid Jof snakes —:but stop; the first thing to do is to get a club; of course that’s the main thing. With the right sort of a club, the ‘labors’ themselves can’t amount to much.” Accordingly Jack spent davs traversing the woods with an old ax, in search of a club. After a long hunt he at jjength decided upon a hickory sapling with a formidable knot, about four feet from the ground, which 19 could be cut so as to bring this knot at,, the end. of" the club,. With -patient toil Jack, out- downy trimmed 'ahd"p'eeTed and whittled and polished this hickory stick, which, when done, was fully as long as himself, and ihdeed he could

only wield it by using both hands and putting jortfa all his strength. Now, at length, he was ready to begin. He drew a long breath. What Bhould he doP Ho pondered the question, long and anxiously. It was very strange, but now when lie oame to look about him, thero really was nothing wonderful to do. Life surprisingly peaceful and humdrum, and pitifully tame. The most discouraging thing was tho lack of ferocious monsters. There was an utter dearth of monsters. Jack couldn't understand why these interesting creatures only abounded in ancient times. One day, while Jack was still puzzling over the question of what he should do first, one of the neighbors came into the house, and began to tell about her little boy who had just barely escaped being tossed by old Sol Stevens’ bull. Here was an opportunity. This was what Jack was waiting for, and he immediately decided upon a plan of action. Sol Stevens was a crabbed old man who lived down a long lane, and owned an old bull as crabbed as himself. Again and again the boys and girls, and indeed grown-up women and men, had been chased and scared by this savage beast, who, not content with his own domain, had a vicious habit of leaping fences and roaming about the highway. Many complaints had been made to old Sol without avail, and the bull had become the terror of the neighborhood. It was almost strange Jack had not thought of him before.

He now at once determined upon an encounter with the bull. But first he went down the lane and took a private look at the creature from behind a stone-wall. He seemed so little formidable as he stood peacefully grazing in the meadow, that Jack promised himself an easy task in his subjugation. In playing the part of Hercules, it was desirable, of course, to look as much like that hero as possible, and accordingly, one fine afternoon Jack slipped off to the barn with a big bundle under his arm, and there proceeded to dress himself as nearly as he could like the picture of the old mythology. As Hercules had bare legs and arms iu the picture, Jack first tucked up his own trousers and sleeves, and tied them securely to his waist and shoulders; then for the lion’s. skin, which the hero wore, Jack fastened about his shoulders a bright red sheepskin mat which he borrowed from the hall in the house. Next throwing off his hat, tossing his hair about as mucli like the picture as possible, Jack seized his club and Strode up and down the barn floor, feeling so bray# and confident that it may be doubted if Hercules himself ever felt more so. Thus equipped, Jack at length marched off down the lane, accompanied by three or four of his comrades whom he had let into the secret. Precisely what be was going to do, or how he was going to do it, lie evidently had no clear notion; but in this he was only like a great many other heroes, after all. However, the first thing was, of course, to seek his prey. On and on he went down the lane, his bare legs blue with the cold, the sheepskin flapping up and down on his back, and the big club, too heavy to carry—dragged along behind. Arrived at the bottom of the lane, tho boys stationed themselves upon the wall, while Jack jumped c ner into the pasture where the bull was. He didn’t walk quite so proudly and erect here as in the lane—he-took shorter steps; thero was, perhaps, less occasion for striding now that lie was near at hand. However, ho advanced slowly and cautiously toward the’ distant herd of cattle. Now and then he turned around in a deliberative way. His pace grew steadily slower. At length, when he was still some yards distant, the bull unexpectedly lifted his head to brush away a fly, and brought Jack to a sudden stand-still. Reflecting, however, that Hercules would probably not have acted in this way. Jack plucked up courage and marched boldly up very near to the unsuspecting bull. Jack had read somewhere that the most wild and savage beast cannot endure the gaze of the human eye, and he therefore resolved to overawe the bull first with his oye, and then complete his subjugation at his leisure. With this intent, he planted himself about a yard distant from the bull, and putting his arms akimbo, glared fiercely at him. The unconscious animal peacefully continued his gazing. No doubts 'if lw could have known who Jack was,, and what was his errand, or if he had understood that when A small boy goes about bareheaded with his trousers tucked up and the parlor mat tied to his back, that means Hercules, and that Hercules was a hero, and that Jack meant to be another hero, and had now fixed his small blue eyes upon him with the intent of striking terror to his heart—no doubt, I say, if the bull could have understood all this, he woul,d have been terribly frightened, and would have shaken in every limb; and particularly , if he had only oast bis oye upon that club, and understood it was intended for him, lam sure he would have run away as fast as his legs could carry him. As it was, the stupid -did nothing of the sort; he kept on quietljr-grazing and paving no more attention to Jack than if he had been a post. This was too humiliating for a horo to endure. The boys from the top of the distant wall already began to shout, derisively: “Don’t be afraid; give it to him! Punch him uy the ribs! Stare him out of .countenance! Knock his horns off! Twist his tail!!’ Jack advanced a little nearer; ho coughed, he flourished his club. Presently, incited by the cries of the boys, he picked up a stone and threw it at the passive animal. The bull lifted his head, and for the first time looked attentively at Jack, who immediately struck an attitude and glared at him. To his astonishment, the bull did not quail in tho least; on the contrary, as if suddenly appreciating Jack’s hostile purpose, he ■glared back so angrily and fiercely that Jack became very much discomfited and began slowly to retire. The bull tossed his head, uttered a low bellow, and stood watching Jack attentively. The red mat about this time began to slip from Jack’s shoulder, and he pulled it up so that it hiing in front of him, when at once, as if maddened by the sight, the bull made a furious rush at hiaartfagortlst. Jack did not wait to try the effect of tho human longer; indeed, bn forgot all about tho human eye, ho forgot;all about Hercules, and-every other hero, ancient or modern, but throwing his club at the applq-tree, which fortunately was near at hand. The bull stopped to toss. club, and this gave - Jack a minute’s time and^saved his life, fdr he had only

just scrambled up to the nearest branch when the vicious beast came bellowing up underneath, and stamping with rage. Jack was now a prisoner, and was lust making up his mind that he would lave to spend a long time in the tree, when the boys suddenly set np a great shout of: “Look out, Jack; old Sol’s coming!” And sure enough, old Sol was coming; thero he was, letting down the bars now, to take his cattle home. Jack kfcpt very still, and hoped he would not be discovered, fpr lie was even more afraid of old Sol than of the bull. But the unfortunate red mat caught old Sol’s eye, and he came marching across to sec what was that red thing in his tree. “Come down hero, you young rascal! What are you doing up my ap-ple-tree P” he cried, as he recognized Jack. “Nothin’, sir—tho bull chased me!" “ Well, what business bad you in this field where the bull oould get at youP You came to steal my apples; I know you!” “Oh, 1 d-didn’t,, sir; no, indeed, I d-didn’t!” “Come down hero, I tell ye. What are you doin’ with that door mat on your back, eh?” r. ...

“Oh, please,” cried Jack, his teeth chattering with fear, “I was only playing Hercules.” “ I’ll ‘ Hercules ’ ye! ” cried old Sol, seizing Jack as he came down the tree and shaking him roughly. “Let me ever ketch you in my apple-tree ag’in and I’ll ——ye miserable voung urchin!” Here now was hero Jack in the strong grasp of an angry man, and with a stick in the air ready to come down on his back. Then rose such indignant and significant shouts from the group of boys on the wall that Sol Stevens turned. Jack saw his chance and made a sudden spring, His collar tore off in the old man’s hand, and the culprit was soon safely over the wall, and making the best of bis way home, surrounded by the boys, who were waiting in the lane, and who by turns ridiculed him and congratulated him on his escape. Jack wouldn’t have minded the boys, but, just as he turned out of the lane upon the road, whom should he see coming along but Susy Ditson and Polly Joy! The more Jack tried to hide the more the boys wouldn’t let him. There was a pretty lively scramble. The girls heard, looked up and saw a squirming mass of dark coats and trousers pushing forward a red-faced boy, whose plump arms were waving wildly, while a woolly red door-mat dangled about his bare legs! Then came a halt, a sudden wrench, and away flew Jack down the road, oven faster than he had fled from the bull. And this was the last that was seen in public of John Franklin Holmes in tho character of Hercules.— E. L. Bynner, in St. Nicholas for August.