Daily Yellowstone journal., 1891-08-14
LITTLE JIM.

II must tai Tlie clllld IN, sally,
said Miss Bell looking down upon a
small creatur that crouclied upon the
rug before IL blazing fire Of her little
parlor graf IA boy nine years old,
half naked hatless. barefoot and wet
to the skin. for the rain was pouring
piteously without and the suburban
cottage seemed about to float away
upon a sea of mud and water. Il
think / must let the child stay, and see
what / can do for him"
You're your own mistress, Miss
Bel" said Sally. but it's my bounden
duty TO demonstrate agin il. You're a
single lady, Miss Bell, and I'm a wild
der. We aint no men folkses about
and we amt jest the kind TO take in
strangers of that class. seems to me-"
''Such a baby. Sally" said Miss Bell.
ut was one Jest as small as he is,
and a gal to boot, that took my black
silk dress-one Mis- Wilder Croker
gimme when she went and married a
second time, said Sally. ut was as
good as new and / ripped the Grape off
it and trimmed it with red velvet, and
] can say fur it. it wus scrumptiOusl
And a little gal came begin, and l up
and asked Mis- Croker fur to hire her,
and she did. and fust we sent her for a
narrand she of with the dress and my
BACKBONE and two han'kerch'efs, and
] dunno what all. l amt never been
charytable sense, nor / amt never had
a black silk gownd sense nuther, nor /
don't expect to. If / let that boy stay
till he was dried and give him a dinner,
it's all Id do. miss"
II know" said Miss Bell, its what
any one would say, Sally; but I'll tell
you what I'll do. Ill give you a new
black silk dressApattern and lining and
buttons and any trimming you like,
and you can choose it for yourself at
Mr.. Potter's store-if you'll just take
that child and battle him and fix him
up in some of the boys clothes sister
Martha sent me for the church poor.
Yes, and Miss Muntle shall make it for
you, Sally, and I'll pay her, If you'll
only-well, not-not"-
mot interfere, Miss BenT' said Sally.
"Well, / won't / always have said
that Miss Bell wus the nberelest lady
ever ! lived with-and ever so much
obleeged, num- With that Sally
seized upon the urehin, who had been
found lying before the door face down
ward in the mud, and bore him to the
bathroom. while Miss Bell sat before
her fire and thought yer a plan that
had formed itself in her brain some
time before.
She was sixty, she vas a spinster, she
had a nice little fortune of her own,
and her married brothers and sisters
had chosen to scatter themselves oveE
the world, leaving her to herself for the
most part Of the time. They could
provide for their children. Why should
not she, standing on the threshold Of
old age, take to herself an adopted son
The big black eyes that had looked uI
at her had touched her heart Once,
long before. such eyes in a far oldeI
head had done that, for she had a love
etory, this elderly woman who had
ones been a pretty girl; and the tall
the child had told had touched it also
'Father lost at sea-mammy dead
No home-nothing to eat"
Very evidently nothing to wear, from
another point Of view than Flora Nc
FIimsey's.
'sIt seems as If Providence had sen
him to me. said Miss Bell. ''and
think Ishall adopt him"
When the boy came down, clean ans
bright in the wei patched gray suit il
which Sally had arrayed him, Miss Bel
thought him very pretty. Ii did no
occur to her. as it did to Sally, that b
was rather rosy for a child that hai
been starving for three days and tina
ais appetite was no more ravenous thai
that Of any healthy boy Of his age. Il
fact Mis- Bel vas delighted and ate
dinner. wheE she had had a talk wit
him and sat watching him as he pore
over q great picture book-no a Ia