The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-08-06

beng to sit there until morning, If
necessary, a silent guardian of the
sleeping boy; but, as he realized the
saturated condition of the childs cloth
ing and his need of change, he reach
ed over reluctantly, and gently shook
the little shoulder.
At length the eyelids quivered. and
finally opened, disclosing a pair of
large, sleepy, blue eyes in mute appeal
for rest For one instant their eyes
met, and then the young man, with a
single hurried glance round, as though
he was about to do something wrong,
suddenly snatched the child from the
floor, placed him upon his knee, in ut
t,r disregard of consequences, and in
quired if he was hungry.
. AmaZamcnt seemed to hush articu-
lation.
The silent answer came i'm an affir-
native nod of the little head and a
Frightening of the eyes.
\ secluded corner OF the dining
room was sought, and an order given,
with the confidence of an old AaLitue,
for anything and everything the kitch-
en- could afford at that late hour of the
night, now well into the morning.
For some time after the soup was
served, the little fellow sat in wonder,
gazing unblinkingly at his benefacror.
Suddenly he reached over and touched
him.
"What is it? What do you want?"
asked the young man.
"Jest wanted to know if yer wuz
dere!" answered the boy, sheepishly.
''Is it all rite, or is it jest one Of dem
dreams!'
A burst of loud and happy laughter
came from the young man, as he gave
assurance that this time it was no
dream, and reaching over, helped the
first spoonful of soup; then he dropped
into silent contemplation, as he viewed
a most ferocious and indiscriminate at
tack upon everything the table afforded.
Sense of all obligation never before
suspected began to take possession of
him, and the problem of how to deal
with 1t kept him silent, As he watched
the food disappear in marvellously
large quantities.
'Why didn't You go home tonight"
he asked, when he thought lime could
be found for an answer.
"Got na hum!'
''Have MT you father or mothery'
"Fadder Mudder ded.'
"Whcrc are your brothers and sis
ters?'
"Onlee got sister.
'Where is she: How large is she!'
''She's littler en- me- Tux her to de
priests house, an rum
"Whcre is your father?'
dun no. Drunk!''
"Well, what do you do? Where do
you sleep?"
"Under Tigers shed. Down dere
in DiXon's alley"
eyer see," continued the boy, con-
tidentially, gradually thawing out un-
der the gentle influences Of light, heat,
and food, "Tiger keeps de dogs here,
an Jimmie an me, we jest creep in too,
an dey keep us warm"
"Who is Jmmie?'
"JimmIe's me pard!''
"Does Tiger ever give you anything
to eat?'
"Yer rite! Wen he aint full, he
trows us bones same as lie dogs!''
'What does he do when he is
drunk"
ave dust, yer bet! Yer would MT
like ter meet Tiger, wen he's drunk
he rcars and charges -whew! Well,
yer see, sur. de shed got busted ter
mite, an ! wuz huntin fur place, an
suthin made me chase in ere"
"Where is ,Jmmie?''
''Dunno! eff he's in luck, he's in de
hum!''
"FIow much does it cost to get bed
in the lIomeT'
''Ten cents; yer see, luck went agin
me ter day. Two dagoes big fellers,"
and the blue eyes grew as large as
though illustrating the size of the enc.
mics, ''cum an swipcd me stand, an
pu"chcl me, see, and | jest dropped
me papers down to fight EN-, an de
odder dago grabbed en- an n. But
I'll git square wild dem dagoes!' he
added, IN ,ditativcly
"How!'
'I'll git Tiger sum time wen he aint
wooZv, ter cum down ter de stand;
he'll Git away wild EN-, sce!"
"Well, here's 4 dime. Run down to
the Home, and 90 to bed. Stay there
Tomorrow morning, until come to see
you. Maybe | would like to he a side
partncr of yours and Jimmic's.'
"IIully gee, tanks!' and, without
waiting for iurther persuasion, the boy
ran out into the bleak night.
The clerk gazed at the young man
with Il cynical smile.
Il could do that twenty times a
nj frb II | il-n1 - hn .,i1 ,,,llI.-. S.,t