Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1901-01-05

HeT WFiLiuS al the IalI SWeue girl
She had hardly moments hesitation.
Her sympathy with the strange chunk
of humanity outside her back door
made her decide, as usual. that she did
want fishes" The same warm inter-
est led her to jump up and run down
stairs to see Mr.. Jacques herself
She knew that it pleased the shy man
even more to have her make gay. CHEEKY
talk with him than it did to have her
buy his excellent fish. She had a soft
spot in her heart for the sturdy waif.
for such he always seemed to her.
Small statured. wiry. chary of words.
his beady black eyes holding you like
wise, and when he had anything to do
doing it with quiet swiftness-that was
Mr.. jacques, fish peddler of Seattle.
well. how do you do today. Mr..
Jacques?" she asked brightly.
"All right What you want this morn
inY'
"Have you got real nice piece of
salmonY She put the question almost
coquettishly.
He gave her the clear. searching look
he was wont to, the humorous sug-
gestiveness of which was such part
of his alluring oddly. and, without a
word, turned and walked to his fish
cart, with the paint worn off its sides.
The handle rested on the low white
fence. In moment he was back
again, carrying cut of the fish in his
hand. He had wrapped torn piece of
yellow paper round It. He handed i.
to her. his gaze, SO piercing despite its
softness, fixed on her face.
One of the mirth provoking features
of this look of Mr.. Jacques was that he
seemed to be seeing through you.
grasping something inner and less yisi-
BILE with his vision A guilty person
would have found it irksome. 1t only
made the guileless little woman who
bought his fish beam more pleasantly
as she inquired with new touch of
sympathy in her voice, "What makes
you walk so stiff in one leg. Mr..
Jacquesy
'Catch o. rumatiz 'Tain't nuthin."
She eyed him thoughtfully, still smil-
ing. She had never had ''catch o.
rumatiz" in her life. But the slight
limp In the peddler's smooth celebrity
Of gait and the slurring way in which
he alluded to its cause made her heart
warm over him.
Clothes are worn for adornment or
comfort and occasionally for both. The
fish peddler's had evidently not been
doomed to add charm to his stocky fig
ure. no matter how liberal an allow
ance might be made for vagaries of
personal taste. She shrewdly opined
that they were not even warm. and Sc
attles climatic conditions do not leave
warm clothing out of ones considera-
ton for too long time.
"Wait minute, Mr.. Jacques" she
exclaimed after this diagnosis.
She ran up stairs to her brothers
room and fished out of his bureau
medium weight suit of underwear.
which she brought back and bestowed
with a delightfully."- motherly air on Mr..
Jacques. His knowing eyes deepened
in blackness and were focused on her
with more probing keenness as be took
her offering
you bully good. spry woman" he
remarked with calm succinctness.
AS he did not show up for three days
she began TO think the warmer cloth
ing had come little late and made up
her mind to call on Mr.. Jacques. He
was an ingrowing duty which was,
however. its own reward. She found
him in wretched room with dirty |
drab blanket and rug of gray squir-
rel skins tugged up close around his
neck. Nothing was visible of the small |
man except his round head with the |
close cropped golden hair slashed with
four or five decorative scars.
His eyes. turned toward her as she |
entered the kennellike room. glittered |
with fiercer sweetness from his stolid |
russell face What was in evidence Of |
Mr.. Jacques was effective. The fish |
peddler had fever.
She cheered and heartened him. an
easy task, for he was. as stoical as ar [
Indian about his ills. while the eager.
twinkling eyes betrayed his enjoyment |
of her "babying."
Then she tripped off and sent her
doctor to him. while she FASTENED /
home and got bottle of good wine
and some light. nourishing food per-
haps Mr.. Jacques stomach was no bet
ter clothed than his body and brought
them to the stricken, friendless crea-
ture.
She had prepared the food with her
OWN hand that he might get more
pleasure out of it, She had her notion