The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-04-17

W7sSExEfTA
out of mine" She stood Emmy on the
hearth and hobblcd as brisklv as {. ould
be across the floor, placing two cilal. $,
n at each end of the room. "NoM'
You run Il race around those two chairs
TIL | say its enough. and Ill give YOU
Il apiece. Run just as fast as you car"
AT first the children demurred, t ey
were so cramped and tired and droW y;
but the sight OF three brown, delicious
looking cakes Which Charly produced
from her pockets nerved them so action.
Around aud around the chairs shey ran,
Joe anead Emmy in the rear, breathing
out little clouds of steam. And Charly
laughed and clapped her hands and
cheered them On, until at last they
stopped from sheer fatigue, putting like
three small locomotives, and with their
pulses beating in q lively way.
Charly. hobbled over to the bed. "Get
in, all of you," she said; then I'll give
you your cakes. l know they'll be here
when you wake up"
She tucked them in warmly, and
then she went back to her chair.
She put the end Of her crutches
upon two or three live Goals and
blew them into u tiny blaze. Pretty
soon, when she had warmed herselfa
little, she would creep in beside Emmy.
She listened to the deep regular breath
ing from the bed.
They are going to Sleep she mur.
INJURED. Give done the best 1 could
the best l could"
The words echoed from the walls OF
the cold little room, and rang them
selves over and over in her brain. How
warm the place was growing and how
dark. She thought she would crawl
over to the bed ard get in with Emmy
and Dean and Joe. But she did not
stir.
She sat there a still. a white little fig
ure, with a pair Of half-burned crutches
at her feet, when less than an hour lat
er o man with frosty beard and hair
forced himself through the suowbank at
the door. 1t was Mr.. Grace, alone, for
the storm had rendered the roads i'm
p%assable, and he had tramped the whole
distance from Dunbar Corner upon
snowshoes. 1t was a long, wearying
walk, no doubt, and he had been about
it two days. But when he opened the
door OF his home he forgot it all. In
less than a minute he had made kind.
ling wood of one of the chairs, and in
another one or two a brisk fire was
roaring on the hearth, and Mr.. Grace, in
terrible fear, was rubbing Charlv's
hands and forcing some brandy from
the little flask he. carried down her
throat. She opened her eyes presently,
anl 1pnlyn.1 mn i,,n fla Einl f,no olorn
her in a bewildered way.
"Emmy-Dean-Joe-are-"
"All right-all right" yelled Mr..
Grace, nearly beside himself with de-
light; and then he vent down Upon his
knees before Charly and cried, Were
all right, my dear"
And SO, indeed they were. s haven't
space to tell you all that happened
what Mrs. Grace said and did when she
came, a few days later. with the well
ONE news that grandmamma was bet
ter, and heard what Mr.. Grace had al
ready heard from Joe and, Emmy and
Dean: how the story was told through
out the settlement over and over, and
how Charly WAS praised on all sides;
nor how the people of Grand Fork,
the little village five mi!cs fellow, got
up q fair for Charly's benefit, which
gave her enough to take hero DIR. Les
ter that very next spring. And though
DR.. Lester could not entirely cure her,
the weak little limbs grew so much
stronger and better that she was
able to walk without crutches,
by limping a very little. When
Dr. Lester, too, came to. hear who
Charly was, for the story of the win
ter's day had already reached his ears,
he refused to take his fee, int, instead,
added to the little roll of bills and put it
in the bank-for Charly.
"She will want to go too school in
a little while" said he. 81 think she
must study art"
"Why, what makes everyone so good
to- me?" asked Charly with happy
tears; Il didn't do anything"
Didn't you?" asked Mrs. Grace, in
return. kissing the glad little face
didn't you?"