Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1901-06-27

10 an awIuily nice girl, Gill, and-and
II you havn't Invited any body else I'm
sure she'd--you see, don't want to
leave her In the lurch."
BLESS your solicitous heart, Percelh
cried his friend. "No; you escort
Miss Brown, and I'll take charge of
your father"
"You!" exclaimed Percy in amaze
ment. He looked up to see II Clifford
were not joking. The proposition
seemed Incredible. This stylish, adj
mired, clever young fellow--by all
odds the particularly bright and shin
ing light OF the tony" Alpha Mus
esc0rting his countriied father about
in the dazzling glare OF Founders Day
functions.
"You don't mean It'll" he declared
incredulously.
III do mean it," said his friend quiet
ly. 81 have a dear old father at home
OF whom your father reminds me. l
would give anything il my father
could be here to enjoy Founders Day
and how he would enjoy it, too! Dear
father he is just as quaint as yours,
Perez. How he loves his boys-there
are three of us-and how interested he
is In everything that concerns them
| could see the same admiring look in
your fathers eyes when he was look
ing at you today. 1t made my heart
go out to him. / should just enjoy
taking him around with me every
where and giving him the very best
time he has had since he was boy. If
you'll let me, Perez, I'll do it. 1t
would be q real pleasure to me-"
Percy's face had been a study while
his friend was speaking. Astonish-
ment, shame, love, tenderness, pity,
resolve, had swept over ii in successive
waves, leaving 1t now scarlet, now
pale. AS Clifford ceased. and turned
eagerly to his companion, he saw
real, swelling, bOyish tear, trinkllng
down the young mans cheek.
"Cliffw was all the poor fellow could
say, his voice was SO choked by rising
sobs. How different it all looked to
him nowl What an migrate he had
been, to think for q minute OF being
ashamed OF dear, old, devoted father,
and putting him aside in selfish con-
tempt! What contrast between the
tilial picture Clifford Hill had drawn
out his loving, sincere heart, and the
picture Percy had imagined, of his
disappointed, grieved father kept in
the background, or conducted TO the
exercises by another student, while his
unworthy son took his pleasure in the
society OF comparative stranger, and
strove by pitiful subterfuges to avoid
confessing the family relationship!
Clifford Hill accompanied his friend
across the campus, wisely saying moth
ing, but keeping his sympathetic arm
across Percy's heaving shoulders.
"God bless you, Cliff said Percy,
TREMENDOUSLY, as they parted. "You
have preached me living sermon that
I'll never fOrgetp
He went up to his room, and found
his tired father asleep In the luxurious
easy chair, the very chair he had Civ
en- Percy on the young mans last
birthday. Reverently and tenderly the
son touched his lips to the old mans
thin white hair. Then he slipped
away and went over to Miss Browns
81 tell you never had such good
time in my life" declared Mr.. futile
on his return home. "Percy just laid
himself out to make me proud and
happy-introduced me to the president
took me to all the goings-on, brought
his friends In to see me, had me ca .,
with mis- chums at the club house, an
almost cried when told him he was
the best and faithfulest boy a father
ever had. You were always right
about Perez, ma. He's bound to be
something extra-either president of
the United States, or president OF the
University and State Agricultural
College, / don't know which. The
Endeavor World.