The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-05-19

surprise, laid her hand upon the door.
The rattle of the wheels and the roar of
the wind prevented it reaching the ears
of the coachman; and Tom, rapidly un-
wound himself and covering down in the
bottom of the carriage, said, with fright
ened sob:
ct didn't mean no harm. I was awful
cold. Say, just open the door, misses,
and I'll jump out. You needn't stop the
kerridge."
The lady, with her hand still on the
door, demanded:
"IIow did you get here?"
"The door was open, and clum," he
answered. ct was awful cold.'
The lady took her hand from the door.
s'Come nearer" she said. Let me see
your face
Tom drew his ragged sleeve across his
eyes, and looked up OF her over his
shoulder. They had turned into bril-
liantly-lighted street, ard she could see
that the tangled yellow hair was soft and
fine and that the big, frightened eyes
that raised themselves to hers were not
pickpockets eyes. With a sudden i'm
pulse laid her gloved hand lightly on the
yellow head. "Where do you live ?" she
asked.
Something in the voice and touch gave
him courage. with Nanny Sal, he
answered, strengthening up ''me and
some other fellows. Sometimes we begs,
sometime we take the barrels. When we
make haul it amt so bad, but when we
don't we ketch it. She's drunk tonight,
and she drove us all out"
She pushed the heavy hair back from
his forehead. ''Is Nanny Sal your
mother ?" she asked.
"No. cried the boy, almost fercely;
and then added sullenly, II amt got
none.
Slowly the gloved hand passed back
and forth over the yellow hair. The
lady's eyes were looking far away; the
boys face was like, so strangely like an
others face.
"Are you hungry" she asked sud
denly.
The wide-open gray eyes would have
answered her without the quick sob and
the low "Yes'm."
The carriage stopped, and, the monu-
ment again accomplishing descent,
opened the door. and stood staring in
blank amazement.
81 am not going in, John" said his
mistress. Drive home again" And she
added, smiling, 'This little boy crept in
out of the cold while the carriage was
waiting. am going to take him home.
Drive back as q dickly as possible"
As the bewil6ered coachman shut the
door and returned to his perch, the boy
made spring forward.
'Lemme out!' he cried. 81 don't
want to go home! Lemme out!'
"Not your home," said the lady, gen.
tly-'my home"
Tom stared at her in wonder, and, too
much overcome by the announcement to
resist, let her lift him up on the seat
beside her.
''My home" she repeated, "where you
can get very warm, and have q good
dinner, and long, long sleep, on q
soft bed. Will you like that?"
Tom drew a long, slow breath, but
did not answer 1t was too wonderful!
He-one of Nanny Sails boys-to go to
the lady's house where the children lived
whom he had seen go in that evening!
He looked up suddenly. "Were those
children ycurn?" he asked. With a
sudden movement she drew him very
close to her. and then answered softly:
mo, not mine. l had little boy
once, like you, and he died
When the carriage stopped again Tom
was fast asleep; so fast asleep that the
still bewildered coachman carried him
into the house and laid him on q bed
without waking him. The next morning,
when the boys eyes opened. he lay look
ing about him, hardly daring to speak
or move. / don't believe he had ever
heard anything about the fairies. or he
would Gel tainly have thought himself in
fairyland. Best of all. the lady of the
night before was standing by the bed
smiling at him, and smiling back, he
held out his arms to her.
I wish You could have seen him lit
tie later, when arrayed in jacket and
trowsers that made him think with dis
dain of certain articles of the same de-
scription which lie had but yesterday
gazed at lovingly as they dangled before
old Isaacs' clothing store, be sat before
little table by the sunny window, TAX
ing a short preliminary view OF gigan-
tic beefsteak still Indignantly suffering
to itself, q mountain of smoking potatoes
an imposing array of snowy rolls and
golden butter, and pitcher OF creamy
milk. And l wish to you could have
seen the same table still later, for the
table was about all that was left.
That vas the first time that ever saw
Tom. Since then l have seen him very
often. And now I will tell Won. only /