The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1904-07-08

recognized this last force beginning to
| work in the case of her Problem. She
was an intelligent girl as well as
| good one, and had been trained to use
her head as well as her heart. The
schcCl formula of use your head, my
dear. use your head" when a seeming
ly abtruse arthmetical or logical prob
lem presented itself came to her aid
now.
First, she again studied carefully the
| question presented to her for solution.
Here was an old woman seventy-fve
or more years old, who, from her in
fancy, had been trained in evil, and
who had never done a days honest
work in her life.
AT this, the eleventh hour, she had
been led to recognize the evil of her
ways-a tremendous step for her. But
she had taken yet another step for
ward, and of her own free will-risen
to her old legs to signify that she de-
sired to be Christian. That she fully
understood (thanks to the clear teach
ing of the SUM officers) what this
|
alton to arm her own living. The
girl, young as she was, was fully of
The opinion that man is largely COM
posed OF stomach" The Problem had
got to be fed; il she wasn't fed what
chance was there for her to keep
good? Elijah was a better and more
pious man after the ravens had minis
tered to him. Then, in order to pre-
serve the tiny Seeding of self-respect,
the Problem somehow or other must
feed herself. Hers was not case of
ravens; she must, as she said herself,
arm me own Twin" But how?
How, how, how? That was the ques-
ton that kept the brown eyes open
till far, far into the small hours. Fiji
ty cents would set her up in little
business, the girl said to herself. But
she hadn't fifty cents in the world, and
the slum finances were as near nil as
is compatible with bare living and
keeping out of bankruptcy. While she
was collecting fifty cents the Problem
might be getting drunk, or the Prob
lens many disreputable friends have
lured her to evil
20, Lord" she prayed, "help me!
Thou knowest l don't know what on
earth to do for her; help mel" And
in the sweet confidence that man S
extremity is Gods opportunity" and
that He would not fail her, she rolled
over and fell fast asleep.
| Dnt ho
next morning, and after she had CON-
pleted her toilet, pulled out her trunk
and began to hunt for something of
a marketable nature with which to set
her Problem up in business. But
among all her scanty belongings there
wasn't "a mortal thing" as she said,
but couple Of shoe laces That was
absolutely and entirely ALL
No USE" ninety-nine per cent of us
would have said, but not SO with my
! resolute little heroine, who dropped
them into her apron pocket, remark
ing, We'll, chank God, that's some
rnlng."
Oh, oh, OH A genuine girlish squeal
resOunaed through the kitchen as on
opening the closet door she came upon
two or three consumptive-lookin
oranges-a sift from some friendly
huckster. My" she exclaimed, how
could l forget these? How splendid!
We're getting on, we're getting on"
A little later, as she put away the
remains Of her frugal breakfast, some
pieces of stale bread suggested a new
idea to her fertile little brain, and
another squeal, a dance round the
kitchen ensued.
"Of course, of ourse!-bread, flour,
a cents worth of suet, another of cur
rants, and can make one of those fiat
bread buildings like mothers, and gran
! can sell it at cent a slicei"
For the next half hour cookery was
the order of the day, and as the girl
worked she filled the small room Wien
song. The pudding was a success, as
tar as such concoctions go, and, pack
ing basket, she hied ner with he-
solution to the Problem. well, Gran,
how are you?" she asked, as she en-.
tered the dingy room.
10, hlO uSdi, yioJ ISpedIcu gran,
as per last night, Il feels lot better,
| do"
1Me Problem, as is the nature of
problems, was reserved and non-com-
municative, or else she, too, could
have told of sleepless night, haunt
ed by tne question of how to begin
life all over again at seventy-fve.
Have you thought out anything
yet?' asked the girl, her brown eyes
shining with suppressed merriment,
and her dimples all to the fore again.
mo, me dear, mol" replied the Prob
lem; but" and the light of last eve.
ming fiickered in her eyes, but III
arm me Twin. will"
The girl set down her basket and
clapped her hands, and then she un-
packed it and her plans at the same
time.
Fortunately, the small basement
window was above the street level,
and for the next half hour the girl
and her Problem were busy cleaning
the filthy panes and setting out their
wares which Warp tamptinc apd anne