Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1899-05-25

sllck OF wood at MIN Tor asking Tor
that lady. And now every clew was
lost, and the captain nearly beside
himself with anxiety, applied to the
authorities for help, and, after many
days of great unhappiness, heard of
an Ann Golden who lived in quarter
of London so low and dangerous that
all decent people Stunned it.
No WONDER" the captain thought,
'if she lived there that she should
have had his remittances sent to the
postoilice, and left him to believe that
his child was still in the decent home
to which she had at first taken him. )"
Almost i'll with excitement, the
poor captain drove, with a policeman
as protector, into the maze of hideous
lanes and courts that led to Ann Col
den's dwelling, and, following his
conductor, dropped into a filthy eel
lar, where, amid the horrible leakage
of drain pipes and almost in utter
darkness, sat an old woman with a
bottle beside her, who started up when
the captain and his guard entered and
cried:
"What now? What's the perlice
here for? Isl one of the boys again?"
And, altered al she was with years
and drink, the captain knew his wife s
old nurse, Ann Golden. He gave o
howl of rage and darted toward her.
MY boy!" he cried.
And she screamed, ''It's the cap
tainl"
''Is my boy liying?" he asked.
eyes" said the woman, shaking;
"he's alive aud WE'LL"
Glow dare you keep him here?"
cried the captain.
Chow can / help being poor?"
whined the woman. 81 couldn't give
up the bit you pay for him. Tn very
old; Pm very ill. Don't be hard on
me-"
"My God" cried the captain. "My
Ellen's baby in place like thisl"
He dropped his head on his hands;
then he lifted it and clasped them.
''Tll have him away from here
now" he gasped. ''It's over, and
he's young, and will forget it. Where
is he? Have you lied? Is he dead?"
"No, no." said the old woman.
"He'll be here soon. Ihear him now
That's him. He'll be here in min
ute. Don't kill poor old body, cap
tainl don't!'
81 could do itl" cried the captain.
"Listenl There is someone coming.
My childl my childr'
| Tho door o,0anoJ loo 4
peeped in low down, then drew back.
"Come in" piped the old woman.
'"The police arn't after you-leastways
for harm. Captain, that's him-your
boy Ned"
And as the captain stood with out
stretched arms, there crept in at the
door-who? what? thewan, deformed
and dirty creature who had picked his
pocket-whom he had fed for the sake
of his beautiful dream -child-the
wretched waif, forgotten utterly in the
last few days of anxiety.
'That's him." croaked the old
crone again. "That's your boy that's
Ned"
The captain gave cry; he sank
down on an old box close at hand,
aud hid his face and wept, His sobs
shook him horribly; they almost shook
the crazy building. They frightened
the old woman, and set the policeman
to rubbing his eyes with his cuffs. The
boy stood and stared for moment
and then vanished.
And what was the wretched father
thinking? SO many thoughts that
there are no words for them but, first
of all, this horrible one; that that vile
little object, that wretched child of
the street, was the darling for whom
he had searched so long.
"Better L had never found him."
moaned the captain, 'or found him
deadl"
And just then little hand crept
over his knee. The thrill of hair was
against his hand, and piping voice
said, meekly:
"Please, I'm clean now. I've washed
me-"
The captains swollen eyes Enclosed.
They turned upon the child.
Some queer knowledge of his fathers
feelings had crept into his mind, and
he had tried to clean his face. A
round white spot appeared amid the
CRIME, and out of it shone two beauti-
full blue eyes that looked wistfully up
into the captains.
All of sudden flood of such pitt
full tenderness as he had never felt be-
fore swept over Captain Penran's
heart. All the grief and shame and
wounded pride left it to come back no
more.
"Ellen's eyes" he sobbed "Ellen's
boy!" and took his son to his heart.
"For his sake" he said, softly, as
though he stood by the grave of the
beautiful dream-child he had just
buried, ''for his sake and Ellen'sr'
And then he led the child away with
him.