Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1901-07-22
By Ve1ma Caldwell Melville.

arms, yawned comfortably and then
crossing over to the stone said:
81 say, mister, I'm a tramp printer
and a hungry one, too. Advance me
ten cents and in as many minutes I'll
be back here and this paper II be Out
on time"
We listened in breathless eXpecta-
ton of hearing the boss order him out
of the building, but he only tossed hin'
quarter and went savagely to work
tearing up Jones' old ad.
GIL time him." muttered the devil.
Guess you'll get tired of your job"
said. Hell never come back"
"The boss is either getting liberal
or going crazy" the deaconess said.
"Naw," answered the devil, "tis the
old story of honor among thieves. No
printer ever refuses to aid fellar IN
distress-a fellar printer, you know
In just nine minutes that tramp was
coming up the stairs and in ten was
setting type at the angels case as
composedly as if he had worked there
all his life-but how his fingers flew.
We thought the boss could set type
and I was rather proud of my own
ability in that line, but none Of us hao
ever seen anything like this Sudden
ly an expletive caused us all to look
up; the boss was Tuning over that
ad.
perhaps I can help you" 1t was
the tramp's voice and he was standing
at the elbow of the harassed editor.
''Let me try just once; smaller type
would look better there"
In five minutes the boss walked
away with a sigh of relief.
The Censor was in the postoffice a
full half hour earlier than usual that
day and nothing was omitted.
Toward noon the next day the tramp
sauntered in, and was rather cordially
received by the head man who, in
course of conversation, asked his
name. He hesitated a moment, then
with a short laugh answered:
Call me M. Quad" and then he
went quietly to distributing.
What arrangements they made we
did not know but Monday morning NJ.
Quod attacked the job printing, an ex-
cess of which was on hand.
We-the Office force-did not quite
like it, not that the fellow was trouble
some, indeed, he slouched about as
softly as a cat; never seemed to know
we were in the room, and he was not
bad looking either but he smelled
vilely Of bad whiskey and his hair was
long and unkept- Anyway, we re-
beIIed at associating even in a bust
ness way with a nameless tramp, tho
mis- ability as an all-around printer
was beyond question.
That evening the angel came back
to town quite recovered, she said,
and of course the deaconess and
told her all about our new acquisition.
She listened and commented sweetly
the angel did everything sWeetly-
and then we passed to other matters
without the shadow of a presentment
of what the future had in store.
I was sitting idly waiting for copy
on Tuesday morning when M. Quad
came in. The angel was at her case
Strengthening up as she said, and
did not observe his entrance.
'There!" she. cried, with her happy
laugh, looking across at me.
Her auburn hair was cut short and
curled over her head and about her
white forehead distractingly. She
"wore dimples and roses in her cheeks
and chin,'' as the devil put it, and her
great blue-gray eyes were deep, limpid
and long-fringed, but her bit Of a red
mouth was perhaps her greatest
charm.
"The most kissable mouth, her male
admirers said, but that was no affair
of theirs as she was a perfect little
prude.
Her laugh was like a flash of
sunshine, but had it been a stroke Of
lightning it could not have more
visibly affected the tramp printer. He
then red, white again, but by the time
she looked toward him he had re-
relapsed into his usual apathetic in
difference. There seemed nothing
alive about him but his hands, and
they were not only deft but beautiful
SO white and shapely, and, strangest
of all, on little finger shone set
ring-the set maltese cross of pearls.
Why he had not pawned or sold it fol
bread or whiskey was the problem.
Life was not quiet the same in the
Censor Office after that day. The
tramp staid on-the boss said he was
worth ten times his wages; but.
gradually his appearance changed
until awoke one day to the fact that
he was an uncommonly handsome
man. Indeed, a barber and tailor
can metamorphose almost any tramp.
but it began to dawn upon us that M.
Quod was no common turnpike gentry.
But if he was changed so was the
angel, but that in her was too subtle
for discription-due to no tangible
4. I'm in