The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-03-17

! from the tray, puts it In the groove,
| while he removes with his other hand
the piece coming out here. If you notice
| every time ne reaches out his right hand
he lifts his left foot, presses this treadle
and he has to toss the piece from the
| machine to the elevator"
Whats his manner
You'll have to ask him. All we
know is that ne runs number eleven"
He doesn't look eleven said the doc
tor. Dow. Jr.. smiled.
1--WE have them at ali ages Then,
addressing the boy: You'll nave a holt
day tomorrow Well shut down"
The small boy blinked both eyes and
nodded, and Dow, Jr., led DR.. Jayne
through the other departments.
When the doctor returned to his office
he tried to estimate the probable length
of time that the very small boy who
operated number eleven in Dow's fac
tory could keep it up There were
ffty-two weeks in year, sixty working
hours III week in round numbers.
Nearly $4,000. 900 motions in a year
mating the pulse-what looked like a
very neat calculation caused the doctor
to ponder profoundly Ii man or wom-
an had little rest-recreation now and
then-it wouldn't be SO bad, but the out
look for the small boy was not encour-
aging
Somehow the doctor could not dis
mis- hQ hnx hJs tho
next day. He heard the whirling, whirl-
ing, whirling of the pulleys; the clamp,
clamp, clamp OF iron; smelled the oil
that CREASED the million bearings in
BOWS factory. The impression made
by the very small boy and the ravenous
machine was not pleasant one.
He was sitting alone before a rudy
fire Che was bachelor) when the calcu-
lations growing around the small boy
were broken by summons. The sum-
mons was unexpected, but DR.. Jayne
was one of the professional men who be-
heve they owe something to their fellows.
He accompanied his visitor to a squalid
part of the city, assembled long, dark
fight of stairs, and was ushered into
meanly furnished room, provided with a
lounge and an old fashioned truckbed.
The lounge was falling apart. The
truckbed had thin straw tick on it
and ragged quilt-no blanket. On the
tick lay a boy with his face to the wall
There were foul smells in the alley
below the window. The house had
sour smell The walls were damp.
Wretched poverty was stamped on
everything in the room; there was a
sound of drunken revelry in the upper
and lower rooms and in the alley.
What is the matter with him."
An old. old woman, with snow white
hair, eyes dimmed with age and palsied
hands, rose from the lounge with diff
Guilty, and in a voice scarcely louder
than whisper said;
"It's-like-a fever. SIR"
She stood beside the bed as the doctor
spoke to the boy. Turn your face this
way and look at me-"
The little limp form turned slowly
over and DR.. Jayne looked down into
the bright eyes. on the burning cheeks
of the boy he had observed in BOWS fac
tory. The doctor looked at him intent
ly, felt his pulse, then, in low, measured
tones:
"a crime! a shameful crime! Over
tasked-murdered-sl murder-mur-
dered by inchesr Then, turning to the
old woman, What made these marks
on his wrists and arms?"
The boy turned his face away. The
old woman looked distressed Her hands
were moving up and down her faded
gown; they caught each other and fell
helplessly away as she answered in that
loud whisper that was more effective
than any volume of sound uttered by
human lips.
His father-my son-beat him."
what! Beat a little fellow like that?"
The doctor. in spite Of his familiarity
with degradation and brutality, was very
angry.
"My son drinks-does nothing but
drink. These holidays, sir-people treat
drunk-somehow- and !
so, and couldn't help
it, sir-l couldn't"
hSI MAtICutu SONH was up dL ueE
eyes, but the doctor was occupied with
the boy There was something here
worse than fever. The boys nervous
system had received severe shock. He
questioned the boy closely, went to
drug store near by, returned, admins
tered some of the medicine he brought,
left instructions with the grandmother
and returned to MS Office, rejecting
upon the problem of life more seriously
than he had ever done before, and he
had the reputation of very consider I!
ate, thoughtful man.
He visited the fever stricken boy early
the next morning.
'He-didn't sleep more-than an
hour, sir, all night" the grandmother
wringing her bony hands |
helplessly.
The doctor looked at his patient, who !
was tossing his hands and moving his
head
He -been-fighty all the time"
The doctor turned the torn quilt down.
felt the boys body, his head; timed his .
pulse-then suddenly turned to the win
dow and looked out.
When the old woman spoke 10 him he 1
met her look with steady gaze. There /
was no sign Of emotion; his voice was
trifie lower perhaps.
.'Do-you-think"-
lit is very hard 10 determine. The |
chances are against him Have YOU any +
other means than this boy supplied