The Tupelo journal., 1905-08-25

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out again. .Oh let me go to her! She
will die! she will diet But he couldn't
walk acrost the room.
SEE /, "IIl git a cab and go with you
this minute" Josiah demurred, but
there was a look of truth in the boys
face and despair, too, and duty hunched
me harder than she had for some time.
and | went. We inquired where they
lived and found it wuzn't fur. Josiah
helped Dick, that's what he said his
name wuz, into the cab, and | follered,
and the driver took us out of the broad,
handsome streets down into, ah! what
a grimy, evil-smellin', dirty street.
There, before a tall, dark lookin' tene-
ment house the carriage stopped.
Dick wuz a little stronger, and we
climbed the broken, filthy stairway, up
clear to the top. | could hardly git a
breath when | got there. And what
see inside the door seemed to take away
what little breath I had left. 1t wuz
a bare, empty lookin' room. lighted by
one small window with little cracked
k}dlCo III SldCD. ANU thSi MI H
straw with nothin' over her but a ragged
old sheet that bitter cold day lay the
form of a beautiful young m
Death couldn't make her any winter.
and Dick rushed forward and threw
himself down by her, cryin' out,
Helen. Helen! Look at me! | am
Dick, have brought you help! Don't
leave me alone! Look at me-"
Seemin' as if the voice of love had
penetrated down into the dark valley
and brought back life into her half
frozen form, she opened her eyes and
tried to speak. poured out a little hot
broth | had brung from the tavern into
a broken IL and lifted her head and
made her drink it. | then too Off my
warm shawl and wrapped it round her
and asked the boy that wuz lookin' in
at the door if there wuzn't some neigh
borin' woman that could come in for a
few minutes.
He darted off, sayin' he would git his
mother and come back, follered by a
woman wipin' her parbiled hands on
her apron. She wuz a washer woman
who had been too hard at work tryin'
to drive the wolves from her own door
with FOUNDER and wash board, to pay
much attention to the pack of wolves
hat wuz dead sure of their prey up
here.
She looked dumb foundered when she
see how deathly Helen looked, and
SEE, Il didn't know she wuz so SICK;
I'm out to work days; | only brought
home a washin' to-day or account OF
the folkses sickness where l went; I'll
do anything | can to help" SEE |, You
go right back into your room, for you'll
catch your death cold comm from hot
suds into this icy cold. But let your
boy go for me to buy some coal and
kindlin wood, and when l git a fire you
got back in a few minutes and helped
build the fire in the broken old stove,
100 poor to sell or that wouldn't been
here. Everything salable had gone and
their clothing and bedclothes to git
bread to keep EN- from s%tarvin'. An
old SEWN machine stood in the corner
WITH an unfinished shirt on it where
Helen had fell at her post tryin' to keep
herself and Dick alive, for he'd been
too sick to sell papers.
l sent back a note to Josiah that
wuz goin' to stay there a spell, and
when the neighborin' woman, who said
her name wuz Miss Murphy, come
back Helen wuz layin' in a kind of
stupor ard looked a little less deathly.
And the story that woman told me wuz
enough to melt a slab of granite, to say
nothin' Of a soap stun, and we both
cried and we2' before she got through.
Helen ard Dick WIZ children of a
3oor music teacher who had struggled
With poverty and sickness and died
.wo years before, and Helen took in
SEWN and tried to git a livin'. She
yuz a beautiful girl, and some one con-
1ected with the firm she sewed fer fell
into what ne called love with her, and
Helen did love him truly (she said her
girl worked to the same place and knew
Iii about it). But when Helen refused
his shameful overtoors he prosecuted
her. She did her work well, but he'd
lake off sunthin' for what he called
damage, and In every way tried to
starve her into c%onsentin' to his wishes.
And eight cents hain't any too Eluch
or maxim a shirt anyway.
Eight cents for maxim a Shirt" SEE
why. l paid Wilder Brown IS cents
apiece for Josiah's shirts and thought
it cheap at that"
Eight cents wuz all she got from
Grindem-Downe & Co."
For the lands sake!' SEE l, sis that
all they're able to pay? 1t must be
they're poor as rats or they wouldn't
scrimp her down So"
mo" SEE the woman, they're worth
millions; they're rollin' in wealth"
But | said. I'D ruther see the roilin'
than hear about it"-for l knew it must
be they couldn't afford to pay decent
prices. And she acted kinder huffy
about it, but got over it and went down
stairs. promisin' to come and set up, |
sayin' | would pay her well for it. For
| wuz dretful took with Helen. Strange
how some folks most strangers to you
will walk right into the middle of your
heart, while some others seemin' jest
as good has to hang round on the out
side and can't git in, never can. |
loved that poor girl, sweet, abused
c~reeter. and wuz bound 10 do by her as
I,d uyopt o,,y Ts;r1oh Arm done Inv if she