Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1901-07-20
Toms Miserable Luck.
BY JAMES C. PURDY.

WV ~
Il dunno how It's our Tom always has
such miserable luck. I'm sure no boy
tries harder for a chance to work, and
no BOYS capabler than he is, but things
always seem to go against him, some
blow"
Indeed, there seemed to be some
ground for Mrs. ellis complaint. Tom
certainly did have a great many falls
in his wreste with the world. He was
bright and active, not vicious and not
q lazy. He found plenty of opportuni-
q ties to work, but the opportunities did
4 not last.
4 Tom hasn't got influence" his
n mother would sigh in explanation. 1T
B takes influence to push boy on, and
how's a poor boy to get any influence? ?"
When Tom was discharged from the
q Electrical Works, he assumed that his
4 place was wanted for the son of some
y stakeholder. The managers explana-
! ton was different, but Toms mother
believed Tom
As winter approached, the need at
q home was more urgent than ever, for
! the mother herself had fallen down the
cellar stairs, and was wofully lame in
! consequence.
Il ought to have remembered that
broken step she said, dolefully. tom
] was goin to fix it when it first got
broke, but he kept putin it off, some
how"
Under pressure of necessity, Tom
announced himself as an odd jobber.
He was handy and apt at many things ];
he could put an electric bell in order,
rig up an electric gas-lighting attach
ment, put a new washer on a leal<y spi-
got, contriye a kitchen shelf, mend a
broken bracket, replace a shattered Win
dow-pane All these things he under
took.
Mrs Byrd gave him his first trial. She
was not rich, she did not even keep a
servant, but her word of commentator
went far with the many rich people
among her friends Being interested in
Toms mother, she gave the boy two or
three small Jobs to do, and he did them
well.
You might try him." she said to her
friends, but don't promise any steady
work till We see how he holds out. For
he has had an unbroken run of what his
mSther calls miserable luck Perhaps
his luck has changed now"
So Tom was given a good many jobs.
Presently winter was close at hand, and
furnace fires must he cto
Build mine at once" Mrs. Byrd said
to Tom L will tell you exactly how
/ wish II managed And she concluded {:
l take you on trial for two weeks. It
depends on yourself whether the trial
shall last longer than that"
Then she was reminded that some boy
had broken pane of glass in the cellar
window facing north
Put whole pane of glass in there, y
she said before the first freeze 1t
won't do to have that water-pipe frozen"
III put it in tomorrow morning, y
said Tom.
Very well, I'll trust you for that"
The mild weather lasted nearly fort
night after this, and furnace fires were
kept as low as possible. Tom had sew
eral OF them to attend to, but not quite so
many as at first. Already his miserable
luck had caught up with him again. Sew
era OF his new employers had dispensed
with him. Mr.. Crane told him bluntly
that, since he had skipped a day, he
need not come back to finish weather
stripping the windows. When he went
TO lay Mrs. Wilson's vestibule oiIc1oth
he found it already in place 1t was dis
couragiing but still Tom did not give up
The disappointment at Judge Grey's
came near making him do that, however
He was called there to put an electric
bell III order, and to put new wires tc
the gas-lighting attachment He soon
had the bell working perfectly, but wher
he went back three days later, with the
wire for the other job he found that q
1 regular electrician had been called in hi:
stead, and that the work was already
done. Why? Certainly no electrician ir
the city could do that job better thar