The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-06-12

| Many time, too, when his comrades
! whistled for him under tho window,
and he was sorely tempted to accele the
invitation to join in their games, the
! thought would occur to him that his
! dad needed his ho1p, and gravely he
| would go to tho door, and with droll
| sense of responsibility explain that he
had to help his dad.
Thus winters passed and summers un-
til the Little Chap was 8 years old He
tyrannized over his sisters, rs usual, and
accepted their worship as nothing but
his due. He was sore trial to his
mother on account of his stubbornness
and because he was 80 hard ON his
clothes" But to his father he was a
stanch and loyal friend-I could almost
say an older friend, for he began early
Amund and droll kind Of protector
ship. He made him go back and put on
his coat when he started out In his shirt
sleeves in chilly weather. He would
send him back to shave of Sunday
morning when he proposed to go to
church with two days beard. and he
would take his dads part at the table
when the mother would soold him or
make unpleasant remarks implying dis
respect.
Mother always thinks that every
body can do things better than my
dad" he would observe In his slow
druwl, when his dad had been unlucky
enough to arouse his wife's displessuro,
and straightwny dad would feel little
horny paw under the table grasping for
his own. That was his way IF oonsol-
ing his dad.
He believed fully that hts did WIS
the wiscst, the clevcrest and the best of
men, and however unworthy ho might
feel himself, what comfort, what hap
piness it was to this poor oNyaworked
carpenter TO have one creature on earth
who reposed this touchingly unqneetio1l-
ing trust i'll him! What my dad"
said that was law, and what my dad"
did was always admirable, and though
dad was conscious of many failing he
would not for the life of him have the
Little Chap suspect them He stroD-p
manfully to live up to the Little Chaps
idea of him.
People said he spoiled the boy, and
the mother particularly, who was a trific
jealous of their intimacy, declared that
it was time the Little Chap wao sent TO
school and learned something besides
whiting and cutting his fingers This
seemed so perfectly rational that, ort of
consideration for the Little Chap,
Amund was ut last persuaded TO send
him to school. 1t was of no rs4, that the
boy wcpt and declared TINT In, wanted
to be with his dad. How was his dad
to get OH without his help: What would
become Ot dad if he did nt look ont for
him: This idea that he was helping
dad became 50 rooted III his mind that
he harpcd upon il carly and l,Hc and
gricvcd himself thin and pale fcq fear
that his dad might csunc to harm With
ont him.
Somehow life was no uorc the sumo
to Anund after his loss of the Little
Chaps coInpanionShip. There ws I'D
JOY any more in his work, and il seemed,
too that his luck had deserted him
Once he ran a file, the handle of which
broke, into his hand. and another time
he nearly split his knocpan with an
Hlz: Then he was laid up for three
weeks. Provisions rnn very lO~r In the
house. Kari, his wife, began 10 Talk
about applying for help to the guardians
OF the poor. 1t was then tho plan ma
turcd in Amund 5 mind to cross the
ocean and begin life over again in the
new world, where man III his skill
certainly could accomplish something
moro than to keep out Of the poorhmsc.
Accordingly, though it nearly broke
his heart to part from the Little Chap
he crossed the Atlantic, promising to
send for the family as soon * he had
founded home for them in the great
west He begged hard TO bc allowed to
take the Little Chap with him. but
Kari would not listen To that, because
to her the Little Chap was Il kind ID a
pawn, Il guarantee that her husband
meant To kecp his word and send for
| her and the undesirable girls as soon IN;
| his circumstances warranted. Her CON
science was not quite easy III regard to
| her treatment Of him, and she t,pukl af-
ford TO take no chances.
Amund arrived III Chicago AZ time
when skilled carpenters were scarce and
wages high. There wa, Il great deal of
building going on. and ho had no diff
Guilty i'll obtaining work. He was IA mas
ter i'll his tri.dc, hornlshly honorable,
| frugal and Industrious 1t is not to h.
denied, however, that life is a drcarv
affair TO one who tolls and tolls from
morning till night, and whose starved
heart cries out every hour and minute
of the day for one who is far away.
Where is the Little Chap lEw? What is
the Little Chap doing now? How does
he look: Does he care 50 much for his
dad as he did, and is he o,ecr ms over to
help his dad?