The Red Cloud chief., 1884-10-24
A MODERN HERO.

IL was a very humble house. Only a
fiat OF three rooms on the third door OF
q tall tenement house in the back street
near the river. A bedroom, a tiny par
lor and u kitchen, which was also an
~eating-room, made up the suite. The
Briggses did all their daylight living in
the last-named apartment. Tho floor
was painted yellow; the walls were
whitewashed; the furniture was home
ly, substantial and well-kept.
Everything vas shining clean. and
both windows were full of plants many
of them in Tower. Mrs. Briggs was
fully persuaded in her own mind that
no other woman in the city had such \
tale of daily mer:ies rs herself. Among
them were the southern exposure of
those windows and the circumstance
that a gap i'm the buildings back of
them let in the sunshine freely. Her
nasturtiums blossomed there all winter;
from a pot she had suspended by
strings from the top of the casing,
sweet alysscum flowed downward likes
fountain of soft green waters tipped
with white; scarlet geraniums shot up
rank shoots hat had to be pruned into
reasonablcncss. and as 10 Chri stmas roses
but there" the worthy soul would
assure her acquaintances, 'lhcy do beat
everything"
This winter the Gala was about TO
bloom. A kind lady had given the
bulb to Mrs. Briggs son-TOp. Junior
last year. and there was no telling
the store he set by it.
Topliffe Briggs alias. Top. Senior
was an engineer on the great North,
EAST, West d South Railway. He sat
ut the tea-tablc with his wife and son
xt iive-thirty n cloudy February after
noon His next train went out at siX-
forty-fve. He had run Her" into the
station at four. and his house was but
two blocks away. Mrs. Briggs could
see from those unparalleled kitchen
windows the bridge by which
the track crossed the river separating
the town from the marshes. and could
calculate TO a minute when the familiar
step would be heard on the stairs.
You see we live by railroad time"
was her modest boast. ''And my hus-
band always comes straigh. home"
She did not emphasi e the ''my." know
ing in her COMPASSIONATE heart that
other husbands were prone to. lag by
. the way until they came home late and
crOokcdly.
Top, Senior. was on time tO-day. 81
ken trust Her with Bartlett, you see,"
he remarked to his wife. ~ won't
leave tel she's all trig an tidy for the
next trip. wish l could be as sure O.
Stokes!"
Mrs. Briggs looked up inquiringly.
Stokes is a clever fellow" pursued
Top Senior. regretfully, slicing vieor-
ously into the cold cornei beet. for he
was hungry. ''Smart as a steel trap.
and understands his business. I never
see a fireman what had q better chance
o risin' to an ingineer. He knows Her
pretty highs well es l do. I've took
real comfort in learning him all l could.
But I'm afeerd, sometimes, he's on a
down-grade of bad habits and the
brakes don't work"
The sharp-eyed boy at his fathers
elbow here changed the subject by ask
ing: '.Hev you noticed my lily to-day.
mother? l guess it'll be wide open by
the time you get in tonight. father"
They all turned to look az the tall
stem, crowned by the unfolding calyx.
Juniors goin' to be a master-hand
with flowers" observed the mother.
'.He saves me pretty nigh all the trou-
BILE O. takin' keer of 'em. I've been
thinkin' thai might be a good business
for him when he grows up"
She was always f~orecasting his future
with more anxiety than generally enters
into maternal hopes and fears. When
but a year old. he had fallen from the
arms of a neighbor who had caught
him up from the fioor in q fit of tipsy
fondness. The child's back and hin
were severely injured. He had no,
walked a step until he was FIVE years oil
ace, and would be lame always. He
was now twelve-a dwarf in statue,
hump-backed. weazen-faced and shrill-
voiced, unsightly in all eyes but those
of his parents. To them he was 3 mir
acle Of precocity and beauty. His
mother took in fine ironing to pay fol
his private tuition from . public school.
teacher who lived in the neighborhood.
He learned fast and eagerly. His fatb.
O.. 1t the teachers suggestion, sub.