Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-10-29
FINDING JIM.

Tho Old Man Who Pound His Son by
Looking Over Exchanges for Six Months.
The search began in May and ended in No
vomber 1t was made within the four walls
Of country newspaper Office and through
the medium OF its exchanges. No exchange
fend" has bored me since that search, for /
have always remembered that pei hsps there
was even in the person whom | detested a
sorrow or a longing that made his actions
warrantable.
first heard of Jim when one May after
noon, the doors and windows being open and
the copy" rustling in the breeze, bent,
| white haired settler entered The Weekly Pal
ladium office.
"You paper fellers git each others papers,
I 'sposef' he asked timidly.
Yes, sir; we exchange with one another"
'Could ye let a person see some er yer pa
persf I'd pay yer for it, he added, as if afraid
| that he was asking too much.
''Oh, that will be all right" replied, as
piled fifty or more exchanges before him.
''Ye see, I'm lookin' fer Jim" my visitor
| said, apologetically, he was adjusting his
steel bowed spectaclcs Jim, my son. We
came west two year ago an took up a claim.
Twas pretty hard work ] know, an Jim was
high strung. Bein' the baby of tb' family he
he'd ben petted a good deal, an workin' come
hard on him."
Did he run awayf' | queried, wishing to
| appear sociabie and interested
mo. that's the worst of it; drove i'm
away. | got mad at i'm one day cause he
wouldn't mind, an told i'm ter clear ont.
He went an | amt seen i'm since I'm think
in I'll find somethin' of i'm in the papers
you fellers seem ter write up everythin,."
With that he began to look through the To-
a.
was an hour before he had finished his task
| and laid by the last one with sigh.
I'm look agin next week" he said sadly as
| he departed.
The next week and the next he was there,
| more of the longing for a chance of repara-
| tion for his harshness
All through the hot summer months he was
faithful to his task, and l. too, began TO feel
| zn interest in the missing boy and look for his
| name In the papers that went through my
hands
October with its Indian summer had gone
The prairies had taken on their robes of
brown, and nightly the prairie fires CLEANED
| in a ragged line at the far horizon. Then
| November. On the third Saturday my visitor
| came through bitter clustering wind, and
his hands looked white and pinched with coli
The tears dimmed his glasses as he took up
his task as usual He had gone about half
through the pile of papers when he suddenly
Strengthened up, brushed the page out smooth
and fixed his eyes intently upon it. He
handed the paper to me and | read:
"A stranger giving his name as James
Meserve was found in the depot this morning,
sick He is scarcely more than a boy, but
seems to have had hard lines He says he has
friends in Kansas, but will not give their
names He was taken to the Merchants ho-
tel, where he is being cared for by the city
| authorities"
The paper was published In a small city in
Northern Iowa, and was dated three DAYS
previous.
"Pve found himl" CALCULATED the father
gladly. I'm goin' ter get hiInl"
That night he left for his sons side, and in
a week the two alighted from the train, the
father joyous and happy, the son pale and
emaciated-
As they rode over the prairie towards the
old mans claim, he called back to me: Come
out an see us sometimes'
did so shortly afterward; and as we sat
up to the well supplied table, though our
chairs rested on the bare earth and the walls
Of dug out were around US, found as hap
py host as presided in any palace in the
land.
The old man bent his white head and in
fervent tones thanked the giver of all gooG
for the return of his boy, thanked him il
such words as only the full heart can prompt
Glancing to one side / saw tears drop from
Jim's eyes upon his plate
Jim was found in more senses than one
c. N. Harger IN Detroit Free Press.