A REAL AMERICAN BOY STORY.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIII, Issue XXII, 25 November 1899, Page 990

A REAL AMERICAN BOY STORY.

"Well, be sure and lx* here by three o'clock in t.he morning, as we will have to start early,” said Jack Ralston. The boys whom Jack addressed and himself had been building a ship for a long time in a secret eave on the beach. and it was finished now, and they were going on a trip to see what, they could of the world. In t.he morning all were there on time, and at 3.30 they sailed off and journeyed on for a long time. At last they (“ante to an island, and they an-

ehored in a sort of a bay that they found on the west end of the island. In the morning the parents, on awakening, missed the boys and hunted all over, but eould not find them, and at last they gave them up for lost. The boys started out in the morning to see what there was on the island, but could not find a soul but some monkeys, which were plentiful, and also many birds. Next the boys laid out a sort of town on the western side of the island, and laid off house lots, and on these each Ixjy built a house of good size and furnished it with hand-made furniture. Then they caught a monkey and tamed him. and taught him the English language, and then told him to go and tell his comrades to come and be taught, and while the monkey was getting the other monkeys the boys were getting the school ready to teach the monkeys. Soon they had all the monkeys in the island taught the English language, and to work at a trade. The monkeys built houses like the boys had, and in these they lived and brought their young ones up and sent them to school. The monkeys and boys made farms on the eastern end of the island, and planted and raised vegetables, which the monkeys thought very nice. Then they built cars and ear tracks to run to the farms and other parts of the island. They next built a large wall around the island. So strong was this wall that they eould keep every nation out at one time. They formed the monkeys into regiments and taught them how to handle and fire a gun. So you see that they might well hold out against the greatest army on earth. One morning, when one of the boys went out looking around the island, he found some gold. He washed out a panful and found lots of it. That night when he went home he told the rest about it. and in the morning several crews started out and they soon found they had struck a bonanza. At the close of evening they had pan-

tied out about $100,(MX) in gold. The next morning half the inhabitants were out digging, while the others were fixing the track so they could carry the gold down and pack it in great boxes, and in a week they had shovelled out millions and millions of dollars in gold. And they prepared for some of the boys to take the gold in the ship to San Francisco and get it in money. The boys while in San Francisco ordered a fleet of ships to be built, and they were to get them in two years. The boys also bought tools, cloth, and furniture enough for all the houses on the island. They got some guns, ammunition and uniforms for their regiment. When they returned and got the monkeys in their uniforms thought it was fine, and the monkeys would not give them up if the boys had not told them that they would have another suit of clothes out of the cloth they had bought. Two years had rolled by, and they had quite a large town and more money than they knew what to do with. The boys were ready to go for the fleet, so they took all the monkeys so as to get. the ships back, and in another month they had the ships all safe, and over them waved a blue flag with a white star in the centre, and on each point of the star was a monkey. Some of the boys took a ship and went to their old home and got there in the night, and they went in the secret cave with the ship and anchored it there. They then went out and went to one of the lodging houses and stayed all night, and in the morning went to their homes, and the folks w'ere so glad to see them that they had a celebration, and the boys then got some of the gold they had brought and gave it to the old folks; and when they returned to their old island they took their sweethearts anil the old folks there to live with them. When the girls saw the monkeys they laughed heartily. The boys after that made trips to other countries, and got some good horses, cows, and other domestic animals that they would want- The monkeys grew up. and it was not very long before they looked like white people, and they had printing offices, packing houses, ice houses, and other great manufacturing buildings built in which they were engaged in working. The boys sent these monkeys with

ships to get other monkeys to come and live on the island and get civilised at the schools where they had l>een brought up. This they did, an I the monkeys soon returned with hundreds and hundreds of them, who were soon civilised and commence 1 to work, some at the mines, others it some trade and others at commerce. The island was famous all over the world for the gold they produced, and also the fruits and vegetables that they raised. So we leave the happy and thriving town to resit and comfort.