Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-03-19
THE GOOD ANGEL.
By OCTAVE THANBT.

approved schemes. We sent INN at great
expense TO ranch, from which he re-
turned with mysterious bullet wound
and dark suspicion of having shot
some one too Inagnanimous to press his
claims Jimmy bought him off with
S1,00O-he was thrifty as we'll as mag
unanimous, and Jimmy was a generous
soul, never niggardly with his mothers
money. Another venture of ours was to
dispatch James to tine lakes with tried
and true temperance captain. This end
ed very sadly, because Jimmy struggled
an assortment of liquors on board,
enough TO last a long cruise, and when
he found that the voyage was to be
short one nearly killed himself drinking
all the stock at once, to save it, FL
nally we agreed on a desperate remedy.
Well, | was the one that suggested it.
We had been having Jimmy with us all
summer. / had just built this house
then. And after q month or six weeks
of beautiful behavior he took the money
a eonfidmg client Of mime paid him for
me ana went to Chicago on a holy ter
ror of spree. This time l was angry.
/ dom think, with all the worry and
the disappointment and the tragedy Of
the thing, I had been angry before
don't suppose that / could explain to
any one who didn't know Jimmy the
extraordinary charm Gf the fellow. n
responsible as lie WAS, YOU could no
more help having your heart move to-
ward him than taking OFF your coat Fer
. t.s t51 .i
quick and happy synap hy about hila,
and a genuine interest ia either PEOPLE,
that WIS irresistible. And while. Of
c0urse, his pe1yerse qualification OF the
basest part of him. though It should
break his ngotber's heart, WAS internal
" selfish, lie wasn't selfish iii littlc
things [ have seen Jim DO a hundred
vagrant kindncsses that wouldn't occur
to most men. But, as l said, this time
there was kind OF contempt of our
feelings in the performance that rasped
me; besides it was last straw And
Mrs. Cunningham was reluctantly
brought to consent to my plan. | hunted
Jim up in Chicago A nice time / had
doing it, but never mind that. / found
him i'll a squalid hole. He had pawned
the very clothes ON his back to the sa-
loon keeper whose little room he was
occupying. Such room And Jimmy.
who must have perfumed water in his
bath and barber of his own He looked
CHASTITY, his pale face smouched with "a
week old beard and big strip Of black
plaster on his forehead that didn hide
half healed cut. But he gave me a
most unrepentant grin, that sent all my
pity flying. Hope you brought cab
with you says he, easy as a soda foun-
tain. felt myself growing warm, but
/ motioned the messenger with me to
put a large Gladstone that he was car
rying ON the cleanest looking chair, and
l replied in the same tone. In that
bag, said /, are some clothes. They
are not swell clothes, such as you are
used to wear, and they viii not fetch
much at a pawnshop, but they are clean
and whole and suitable to q man who
has to earn his living. That is yor in
future. If you will put on those clothes
have cab outside, and we viii 90 to
a private hospital where your board
Will be paid until you are strong again
Then the doctor will buy you a ticket
and give you a sum Of money, and here
after you Will have to depend on your
self For we are done, jimmy did
think Of calling him James TO be inn
pressive, you know, but there was
twinkle in his eye, unsh0rm, i'll and
shabby as he was, and | hadn the
nerve to try James on yes, we are
quite done, and if yon get into amy
more trouble yuu viii have to set ont
by Yourself
I hardly was prepared for Jimmy
reply. guess you have hit ON good
notion. said ne, rubbing he stubble
on his eleek with an air Of Impartial
meditation, precisely as if he We're some
one else Anyhow it is worth trying
Say, vou don t expect me to stay out ia
the cold indefinitely, do you? The fat
ted calf oughtn't to get past veal! 1t
is period Of probation, ism { it, say Z
year: You are an awfully good fellow,
Roger, but you never We're original, and
this plan of yours is usually year.
Let's make it a year. BY the way, dom
you think it would be nice for me in
the meanwhile to pay that money Of
yours that I-ah. anticipated back i'll
installments, like the honest boy in the
First Reader who breaks the plate glass
window!
II said that it might be a little com
fort to his mother.
81 dare say the dear old mater has
hopes Of me yet, said he You will
have deuce Of time, Roger, keeping
her from flying the track and sending
me supplies on the sly But II help
You out, old man. Don't get discour-
aged And | give you my word the
scamp patted me on the back packed
him into his clothes and took him away
On the way to the hospital he was rel
ther sulien nor depressed In fact, to
my shame be it spoken, he gave me an
account Of life among the lowly saloons
that was 50 funny | was laughing when
we drew up before the hospital, and
caxr, Iootc,. ac,,,, ,sgTor.,.1r. 81,