, 1897-12-17

were probably handsome eyes years ago,
when her cheeks were rounded and rosy
and her wrinkied throat full and white.
Her figure was bent, and when she
walked it was with a sort of wabble
and hop, the punishment that followed
the paralysis and shriveled the tissues
of the poor, useless arm.
And what a curious thing that arm,
or, rather, the hand that belonged to it,
was! High and curved at the wrist,
long, tapering fingers and white as ala.
baster-the hand Of n patrician on the
body of u plebeian. 1t swung to and fro
like the hand Of a jointed doll, and on
the third finger there shono with u
dimmed luster a worn circlet of gold.
And every day after Aunt John had
wound . string around her old fash.
Toned ]portmonIaie with Ter teeth and
her living hand she would take the cold
fingers of its dead fellow into her lap
and caress it as u mother would Il child,
grooming u humble of words under her
breath.
The old woman was impervious to
ridicule or abuse. She pushed forward
to sell her papers with the rest of them,
and gave no heed to the pulling at her
skirts or the angry cxpostulations of her
younger competitors. So, when they
found that neither tricks. threats nor
cajolery could move her, Aunt John
was left t herself, and her old purse at
night was the fullest of all, o even
excepting Annie, who stood ut Frank
fort street and did what was generally
believed to be the biggest business Oh
Newspaper row.
One day, perhaps it was a little more
than a year after Aunt John made her
appearance, II small, fragile looking
boy, with round, blue eyes and big blue
veins in his forehead, essayed Il timid
attempt to enter the ranks of the juve-
nile news vendors, who had come to look
upon the bridge entrance as their es-
pecial and exclusive territory. He was
Immediately bounced upon, the four pa
pers he had started with as stock in
trade We're torn from him and he was
cuffed and knocked about until he near
ly tainted from fright and pain. Aunt
John had seen scores and scores of fights
between the Doys-somc CT them savage
and vicious, but she paid 10 more atten-
ton to them than she did to tho %clatter-
ing teams that came over the span from
Brooklyn.
With one as with the other, she kept
out Of the Wy. but when the attack
vas made OH the frail cLild with the
china blue eyes she uttered a strange
cry and sprang forward like a tigress,
buffeting the attacking party with a
strength that seemed almost marvellous
in such a bent and twisted frame. So
taken by surprise were the assailants
that they scattered like chaff before the
wind as their victim sank down ex-
hausted Oh the stone steps that led up
to the promenade.
Aunt john had never been seen to
take any interest in a human being be-
fore, and it was something so strange
to see her stoop down and wipe the
blood from the child's face that Nibsey
Clark, the side partner of Nosey Geo
ghegan, gave vent to his wonder by ex-
claiming, "Hully smoke, de old woman
is back on cart!' and summoning a cou-
pie of companions who had not been in
the fleeing mob to witness the spectacle.
Whatever Aunt John may have said to
the weak looking boy or what the
weak looking boy said in return no.
body knew. She stood by him until it
got dark and time for her to tie up her
purse, and then they went off together
up Park row to Roosevelt street and
down Roosevelt nearly to the river. Up
q narrow, rickety fight of stairs she
climbed and the boy followed her.
Next day he came with her to the
bridge and stood at her side while she
sold her papers. and the boys observed
that her eyes were never removed from
his face except when she had to engage
the attention Of a customer. Day by
day this continued and through the
winter up to January. The boy came
with her every day, and he wore better
clothing than when he was first seen at
the bridge, but he seemed to be fading
away.
The veins in his forehead became
bluer and his white skin became whittier.
He coughed and coughed, and some
times the blood would eush from his
mouth, and he would totter over to the
curb and let the life current splash into
the gutter. On these occasions the grief
and terror Of old Aunt John were pitt
able. She would throw her papers beside
the boy, kneel on them and put her
good arm about his head, moaning all
the while like an animal in distresA
After the kid, as the others called him,
had recovered from one Of these hemoe-
rhages he would be desperately weak
for at least an hour, and Amt John
would watch over him until he was able
to walk
One day the old creature came 10 tho
bridge alone. She was in . strange and
unusual state Of excitement and made
no attempt to sell any paperA She
sought ont Nosey Geoghegan and In her
half paralyzed way Of speaking made
him understand that she wanted him to
go with her, and Nosey, not being .
bad fellow at heart, only . little loud
mouthed at times, took Aunt John by
the arm md walked with her to tho
tenement.
On cot under the window lay the
kid. His wan hands were crossed over
his breast and between his finger tips
was a faded d~aguesreotypa which the
old woman teuderly removed and hand
ed to Nosey. The newsboy saw the pio-
ture Of . fair haired boy, with wids
opsn eyeu, and be looked st tie chilA
a ~ bed us HkspaD bstWs0S