Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-02-21
STOLEN FRUIT.
BY MARY KYLE DALLAS.

q little room at the top of house,
with half windows that opened a
few inches only, and let very little of
the wretched air of the crowded street
into as poor room as ever poor woman
tried to keep clean. It had not the i'm
maculate spotlessness OF the traditional
home of poverty of the Sunday school
books, but that believe to be fable:
and do what its owner could, the smell
OF the cabbage, which the good German
use-wlfe down stairs was cooking, and
and the smell of the pipe which the
irlshman on the next floor was comfort
ing his soul with, would mingle with
the perfume of the drains, which the
owner thought would do very we'll, if
the Board of Health never noticed
them; and make the room anything but
fresh and sweet and pure, whenever the
door was opened.
However, the poor creature had swept
and busted and scrubbed up the place
before daylight, and she had made soup
and cruel, and left her sick little girl in
the care of brother two years older
he was only 12-and had gone to her
long days duties at the factory. To
neglect them would be to have neither
room nor Cruel next week, for she must
be both mother and father to her chill
dren, now that she had quite given up
all hope, and knew that her sailor hus-
band had gone down at sea with the
wreck of the good ship Esmeralda. ALI
day long she worked, her body in the
factory, and her heart in the little room
where now, IN the baking heat of the
red-hot noontide the little girl lay toss
ing and turning on her pillow, and the
little boy sat beside her depressing his
boyish iongings to be off into the streets,
for love of his sick sister.
S. think" he said, stating his firm
conviction, for he had never had
enough TO eat in all his life, CT think,
sis, If you could eat the rest of the
Cruel you'd feel BETTER" and he pressed
it upon her, holding the bowl in one
hand and the spoon in the other. "Do,
now, try to eat it, Kitty"
"No, no!'' said the girl. "No; I
hate it. I want something nice and
cool. I wish [ had lemonade. IF had
lemonade, I think I should get we'll
right away. Oh, [ wish I had lemon
adel"
''My mother will get you some whcn
she comes home," said the boy.
''She can't" said the girl. "She
won't have the money until Saturday
night. Oh dear; [ wish I was rich,
I'd have great pitcher Of lemonade,
and drink ana drink. But it's no use
wishing, Tom;' and she turned her
flushed little face upon the pillow, and
bust out with:
land such lots of lemons in the
grocery down STAIRS" At this juncture
poor little, feyerish Kitty began to cry.
In imagination she saw the long basket
piled to the brim with the yellow fruit
which nature taught her would do her
SO much good, and the tears came at the
thought that while there were so many
she could not have one.
The sight Of these tears was more
than Tom could bear. A thought came
into his mind that had never been there
before.
Don't cry, Kitty" he said. "I'u
be back in moment" and ran out OF
the room, down stairs, and out at the
side door of the house. He meant to
ask the grocer to trust him for lemon
and then to earn the pennies to pay for
it somehow. But there at the side door
stood Mr.. O'Brien with an exasperated
countenance, holding a slate covered
with figures in his left hand, and EN-
phasizing his remarks with his right
foreGnger.
''Thats the way we grocers, ruin
ourselves, said he, " trusting everyone
that comes along. No, Mrs. Conner, ]
can't It's cash with me hereafter.
No more trust Didn't you see the card
with the poetry on it I've hung over the
counter? No Trust is on it, as you1
own eyes can see. It's not you in partic
ular, but it's everybody that [ say Nc
Trust to-"
After that what could Tom do? he
couldn't beg for one, besides he knew
he shouldn't get it. But there he stood
beside the lemon basket, so that he
could smell the delightful odor of the
fruit, SO that by putting out his hand he
could touch it, and no one was looking,
or he thought 50, and the vision of his
little sister, tossing upon her pillow
was before his eyes, and the temptation
of opportunity fell upon him at the
same time, and-Well, the next minute
each of his hands held two big lemons
AS well be hing for an old sheep as
slamb," and he was about to plunge
them into his pockets, when
"Catch him Catch him the thaf'
of the world |" cried the grocer's wifi
from behind the counter, and out 1eV
the grocer and away few Tom, who
I;La wor7ndad hird-if maQpieS ha(