Wichita eagle., 1889-11-02
FINDING JIM.

Tho Old Man Who Found His Son by
Looking Over Exchanges for Six Months.
The search began in May and ended in No
vember. It was made within the four walls
of country newspaper Office and through
the medium of its exchanges. No exchange
iend" has bored me since that search, for
have always remembered that perhaps there
was even in the person whom / detested q
sorrow or a longing that made bis 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,
spose!' he asked timidly.
"Yes, sir; we exchange with one another. !"
"Coslld ye let person see some er yer pa
persl 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
Eye see, I'm lookin' fer jim" my visitor
said. apologetically, as he was adjusting his
steel bowed spectacles. Jim, my son. We
came west two year ago an took up claim
Twas pretty hard work know, an Jim was
he'd ben petted good deal, an workin' come
hard on him."
ibid be run awayr' queried, wishing to
appear sociable and interested.
''No, that's the worst of it; drove i'm
away. I got mad at i'm one day cause he
wouldn't mind, an told i'm ter clear out.
He went an amt seen i'm since I'm think
in I'll find somethin' Of i'm in the papers
ell
With that he began to look through the To-
cal columns of the journals before him. 1t
was an hour before he had finished his task
and laid by the last one with sigh.
''Ill look ag'in next week." he said sadly as
he departed.
The next week and the next he was there,
each time chatting with me and revealing
more Of the longing for chance of repara-
ton for his harshness.
All through the hot summer months he was
faithful to his task and l, too, began to feel
an 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 cold.
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:
IA stranger giving his name as James
Meserve was found in the depot this morning,
sick. He is scarcely more than 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 no.
tel, where he is being cared for by the city
authorities"
The paper was published in small city in
Northern Iowa. and was dated three days
previous.
''rve found himl' calculated the father
gladly I'm goin' ter get him!"
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 sometimeF'
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
ply a 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 good
for the return of his boy, thanked him in
such words as only the full heart can prompt
CHANGING to one side saw tears drop from
Jims eyes upon his plate.
Jim was found in more senses than one
c.. NJ. Harger in Detroit Free Press.