The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-07-29
JACKIE'S BURGLAR.
BY A. o. BRAZIER.


IT HE garnet was squalid to degree.
1t was dark, dirty and wretched,
aud the thin streaks of light which fill
tered in through the tiny, dust-choked
skylight only seemed to heighten the
darkness and increase the misery of the
place. II was a small, square room,
with no furniture except a couple of
broken chairs, a grimy table and a
broken packing case. and it seemed a
place scarcely fit for habitation. Yet
on the floor there were coarse straw
mattresses, and on one of them, with
his weary face turned up to the dismal
slylight above, lay a boy. He was only
d small boy, but his face was like an old
mans, and his limbs were shrunken
and dwarfed and thin. He lay looking
up into the face of a man who bent over
him.
II shall be all right by and by, dad, "
he said, in a weak voice. Il shall be
all right as soon as the sun creeps up a
bit and l can get out. Don't worry,
dad. P'r'aps | shall be able to do some
thing soon. P'r'aps l could make some
boxes or something if | could sit up a
bit"
Two big tears came down the mans
cheek and fell on to the boys hand.
He turned away hurriedly and began
walking to and fro across the garnet.
81 must get the doctor to YOU some
how" he said. more to himself than to
the boy on the bed; "if fetch him by
force he must come. It's no good put
ting ii off any longer
He looked at his son and shuddered
as he thought of the change year of
misfortune had made in him.
NO, no." said the boy, with the
thoughtfuIness Of an old man; wait a
bit. l may be all right Tomorrow"
The man plunged his hand into his
pocket and sighed. With twopence be
tween them and starvation. what was
the use of fetching doctor who would
order eggs and milk for his boy? What
was the use of anything except to sit
and stare at the sIlylight and starve?
John EndletOn was a man who had
Cnce been in a good position. Only a
year ago he had believed himself to be
out of the reach of want, but misfortune
had ovcrtaken him, his bank had failed
he had lost money in hundred differ
ent ways, i'll luck had followed him and
he had fallen from bad to worse. until
ut last he found himself with his ten
year-old son in an East end slum, PENN
less, heart-sick, hopeless. with sickness
ovcftaking them, with no prospect of
anything better than a hand-to-mOuth
existence and with criminal-a gaol
bird-a common convict for a com
panion.
John Endleton was proud man. 1t
was his pride, perhaps, that had led him
to refuse good berths that he would
have been thankful for now. and he
hated the man who shared their gar.
ret. If he could have afforded tiff he
could only have made sure of the neces-
sary pence-he would have rented the
entire room in order to keep his boy
from contact with the man; but he had
reached such hopeless stage of his
existence that he was thankful if he
found himself able to provide one de
cent meal "A day, and he was obliged tC
tolerate him, although his very pres
Cnce seemed poison. He hated his
coarse ways, his bad face, his evil
breath, and the thought that he was
within almost yard of his son made
him shudder.
Jem Brookcr was the leader of a gang.
There was no better known criminal il
the whole of London than he, and he
was proud of his reputation, proud OF
his Wickedness, and proud even of the
time he had done" in Portland prison
He was foul-mouthed, bad-tempereC
and had been convicted of numberles,
crimes; but for some reason little Jackie
Endleton interested him.
In the early morning when be stag
gered up to the garnet half drunk tn,
sight OF the thin, white face on TIT
dirty mattress sobered him. The toucl
of the boys hand dragged back hi.
memory through a thousand dirty by
ways to the fresh country where, wher
he was small lad, he had played with