The Opelousas courier., 1905-06-24

'If you've never seen him in the lat
you ought not to miss it,
"How did he lose his sight," Cald.
we'll asked eagerly of the young fellow,
who, with a hand on Kirke's chair,
was accompanying them down the slop'
ing aisle. Tom rejoiced within him
self that it was all happening so natur'
ally. If a stranger told the story it
would not look to Caldwell sc much as
if Tom had meant to read a moral to
him.
"Got hurt in a lab explosion the boy
said. s'FreshmaIi making carbon mon
oxid-sulphuric aud oxalic acids in the
generator, you know. Chump left out
| the safety bottle-had the burner too
| higt-5pened d window. Wentworth
came in and saw him with his head
over the retort-f1ame blowing n side
in the winG-January wind. He
| jumped to ~disconnect, gave the fellow
a shove one side just QUICK enough to
save him, and got that awful explosion
in his W face. Alkali, you see, drawn
back into the acids by the generator
cooling too quick in the zero wind. NO
safety bottle between
Caldwell nodded, his face full of in
tense interest. They were at the lab
oratory door. The student went on in
Il whisper.
Il saw it all. I don't like to remef11-
Der how he suffered 18th the pluck of
a bulldog all the time. Eyes blown
full of glass as we'll as acid-face hor-
ribly burned. Never say a ray of light
again. Freshman wanted to die-to his
credit, Wentworth made a chum of
him. Wen have to hurry. He never
loses a minutes time himself, Oh lets
any one else lose it for him. This
way
The next half-hour passed for Cald-
we'll in a haze of delight. He was less
conscious or his observation-disclosures
that was very great-in the somewhat
remarkable experiments which were
made under Professor Wentworth's
direction; than III the recognition OF
the great and noble spirit bf the ma
himself.
Alert in every sense but one; eager
as 4 bog to prove what lie had asserted;
intimately interested III tic class itself,
down to its individual members, with
whom he showed perfect familiarity,
calling up0u one ht!d another to note
various steps of the work in contlrma'
ton or refutation of their personal nc
lions concerning 1.-THE was the genius
tf tho Iiatc: il dominating personality,
which it was an inspiration to each
mind within its influence to know.
'Glad you enjoyed it." said the young
who had brought them in. We're
os proud of him here We never lose a
chance to have others appreciate him:
He Y lets up on himself. Takes
his cold tubs and his %dumbbells just
the same: and trnmps miles with one
or another of lis every day. We count
it a treat to go, you know
Tom Thorpe kept Caldwell until the
class had nearly gone, and the professor
left with his assistants, making
ready to go to the next duty. Then he
wheeled his friend up to the blind man
and made a blunt introduction which
came from his heart:
HProfessor Wentworth, this is ns
friend. Kirke Caldwell, an electrical
engineer, who was in my class. He
can't give you his right hand, because
he tried to save the life of Il Of his
last February, and lost a hand
and foot and-some other things: /
want
The strong left hand Of Maurice
Wentworth had found Kirke's long be-
fore Tom had struggled thus far. His
face had lightened instantly at Toms
description with a peculiar tenderness
of sympathy which as long as he lived
Kirke never forgot.
"a handicap" he said, his fine lips
smiling. "Ah, then we shall see what
you are really made Of. Electrical en-
sineering-and your brains are left
you. Let the other men put on the
rubber gloves; it's you who can solve
their problems for them"
All the way home Caldwell sat star
inc out Of the car window with eyes
which took no note Of the April land
Just budding into beauty. Tom
Thorpe sat and read a newspaper up
side down, and hardly dared so much
IS glance at him. In the pale face
grew and grew the thing Tom had
Longed TO see there-courage.-Youth's