The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-06-11
THE SECRET OF a CLAM.
By FLORENCE Nj KINGSLEY Author Of "Binda's BABY &C.
copyright, 1905. By Central ira News aho

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| k~~. e>sss.als adssnss,s>t6ss
Copyright, 1905. by Central News and
N0NN' Press Exchange9
Donald Mckenzie awoke with g. start si
some unusual sound haH at thnn sat ' in
In bed The door Of his little room STOOD %
xjar and by the light which streamed IL, ~
from the adJonlng room ne e1u H. se ie1e
| His mother was mending a pair OF trous-
ers, which he recognized as belonging
to himself. She slghea as as. she he gl ssEst
| iIig father was busy writing something
on a piece q, ,pa ,!,,,n presently ne passed
'' "There i is in plain figures" he said,
YEARLY. ..'Thls is what We owe, u, and THIS us
What calculate i he na so frSSpr
Won't walt It day after the 10Th. We may my
as well make up our minds TO lose the
After long pause, during which h is
1 mother examined the paper, an anxious
pSe again aaa s9 f fadt - N Eyeyryt III my
f fSeu Ru GOD V kneW as have as tsd III;
speaker broke Of suddenly with queer
| choking sound In his throat.
sound like this that had awakened him.
4 He listened anxiously for his mothers
'Dont say that, Dayid!" she said, ear
! nestly. "a man who Is SO good, SO hon
ornble, SO loving and SO loved Is not a
are still no worse off than thousands Of
| others. We have each other and the chill
4 dren, and we are we'll and strong-all put
Mary 81 Wiz Ren It's al R0G Of anq pieoe Win The
! comes early In the morning." ifEg3N
Long after his father and mother had
gone to rest, Donald lay open.eyed. his
Of life. The arst thing he could remem-
Der was the little village OF West llox-
bury. Maine, wherc his father had kept
s yg ,a pais IF noois sp n
i corners. iii &, IS, IS
can never forget the Etore tt the 'nd
swayng ladder, his triumphant shout as
he reached the top; then the crashing
fall, Followed for q brief space by dark
sna GS,y doctor bR des sne both
Not long after that the family moved
to Boston. Donald had an unhappy mem
Of the big Noisy public school en- d. With Ut \
! climbed SO painfully with his little
4 had lived OF little Bertha's sickness and
death Then followed the Journey y,,T = %e st
they had settled upon what they had
1 proudly called ,'olr farm Il ~.
And, oh, It isn't our farm after err, all y
He grew very hot and restless at last,
4 and his back began to ache. Twisting
4 low curtainless window, the boy Fazed
i into the soft dark Of the summer night.
ali alive with winklng stars, Near the
4 horizon hung a planet, shining IN solemn
1 golden splendor
ct, too, am on a world" he thought,
which shines as it sweeps along God
/ holds 1t: it cannot fall. He holds IT and
svft ght q the Great earth cradle
The 1,ill Wind sighed softly through the blos-
somine locust trees. and the cool zoo rag rag !,
Of crickets singing in the grass. 50 I At At
4 last soothed and comforted, the BOY
x slept. ~
Il cook stove by..th dim light Of the early
4 dawn when she heard tho. sound OF Don o1I.
d AIDS crutoh on the floor; looking up. she n.
the h9ys Gaie s sage aa, iace why
- Know It, mother; but wanted to help;
DO you thlnk-do you s., su y p %. :
must ff be IN ire anyway to see to the MI mills
would rather have ~ Y 2, isle sleep. Y f'at
Z has come over you: emo ,lie - lo,n J.
a 81 can nevr do anything 70 70 &melp,,
A sighed the boy, disconsolately II # It
Fl wasn't for my miserable lameness, =
He stopped short to choke down soy 81
turned n,s '' auicqly ana ron down the cellar
4 her Bingham apron. Dear heart. sh : $,
I. whispered, sudden en- oe heapt he has
4 helnad and more than he knows, -
She came back presently, p,te e1n o. q
frothin,Ee milk in oRe z nans mix ponala
I BOY" she said briskly, ana eat Iluf 2, :
Of bread: then take your rod and get m me 5,
a dozen hsh for breakfast. There's plenty tS
f6sa tm ,stb ana b tae Of bac . =
And SO Donald presently found hiInselI
j in the heart Of the pink dawn mere w . :
warm smell II, 20 o. I,py I Breeze that
4 ,,.a brushing the mists of the trees BY
II the the river bank Dewy plumes Of gr a s :
and crowds OF bright.faced flowers ewer ieani
4 the BIRDS roured for.., the tumultuous
4 low Of the new summer. The boys face
l frightened; he drew a long breath OF de-
\ light I. u, I, !, o,,d ..bou ! love
3 II. He paused lnvoluntarily. barring his
a curly head as the first long dazzilng ray
sfS. 1lo Jesus he said aloud his serious
eyes shining In the joyous light, please
I lot me help! don't know what can {, 90 ;,
s. Thou Iknowest! Show me what IT IS
i Then he hurried along, hopes as bright as
4 the wandering butterflies flittins through
! his mind as he made his way towards the
4 Sugar River they called 1t; Donald had
4 often wondered why. Was 1t because its
! waters were so sweet and lmpid ? or Wa
B lat, perhaps, because of the great white
4 sugar, which lay here and there along It's
banks It was a capriclous little stream,
4 sometimes hrawlng nolslly over Swallows ', !.
4 and gathering itself into deep quiet pools.
where tho COWS stood flank deep in the
4 hot noont!des.
Donald was patient fisherman. but
this morning Ihls most tempting DALI
. Craza For ClntheS and