Free press., 1906-04-21
The Redemption
of a Hunchback
-==
BY ELEANOR H. PORTER
tCopyrignt. iSO6, BY Joseph u. BowiesD

tCopyrignt IS06, BY Joseph u. BoWiesl
I bought 8 curious old desk last
week at a still more curious old shop
ca Third avenue That night. as l was
| gloating over my new treasure. l
chanced upon an inner secret drawer;
and there l found-torn straight
across from top to bottom-a closely
written manuscript
Carefully matching the jagged edges
| together read this:
So her name is Alicet It's pretty
name-but what is that to me? What
have 1 to do with pretty names or
! pretty faces, or yet with pretty fan
cies?
Remember? What indeed. do I not
remember?-ah, yes; there are some
few things, after all. I do not remem-
! Der kisses, save those of compassion;
nor smiles, save those of pity. l do
not remember romps and games, save
those that for me bore defeat
1 do remember eyes, my moth
er's eyes, always mournful when
turned on me; and other eyes, my
fathers, always quickly averted, If by
| chance they met my own There were
still other eyes, round, widely-opened,
curious, yet frightened, my playmate's
eyes, always following me about with
| fascinated horror.
Was it the eyes that first told NE l
was not like other boys? Or was it
the Mirror? The Mirror was fearful
thing of shifting lights and shadows.
| 1t reached from floor to ceiling in
mothers room, and it said that one
| 4 hot ~ .
| head set far forward on shoulders
that were high and squarely cut. 1t
said that ones back was not straight
and slender like Toms or Dicks or
| Bill's, but that it crooked and curved
and punched into a great round knot
| below ones neck.
! School? All, yes, I remember school.
| It was a thing of hard, high seats, and
of boys and girls, all tall, so hopeless
| Iy tall; a thing Of large, round eyes,
all mirrors, and of romps and races
in which l alone had no part.
School was followed by college, and
| college was but school intensified
When it was over l took up law.
And now from early morning until
late at night I work and study, save
/
| park 1t was in the park this after
noon that 1 saw-Alice.
She sat alone on one of the seats
and stood for long while watching
her from behind a screen of shrubs
| Her pretty head was tilted back
| against a tree trunk, and her brown
| hair flashed golden in the sunlight that
came slantwise through the trees
Some dainty worsted stuff of pale blue
lay in her lap, while her slender fin
gers toyed with two long knitting
needles of ivory.
/ BY and by girl older than himself
came hurrying up.
Did keep you waiting, Alice?" shc
said.
Alice! But what, indeed. have I tt
do with pretty names. or pretty faces
or yet with pretty fancies?
My brain is on fire. my hands trem
BILE, and can scarcely breathe; but
must write, even though I am forced
to resort to my old trick of using my
left hand-my right wrist wa:
sprained to-day.
1 must put this thing into words
then look at them, study them, anC
understand what they mean.
When 1 reached the park to-day
Alice was already there, laughing ant
playing with a kitten. The ball was
half unwcund SO that long coils Of
blue lay loosely over Alice's dress ant
over the grass at her feet. Suddenly
the kitten, with the ball between hel
teeth, jumped to the ground, bounded
across tho path and tho narrow striI
of grass and into the roadway beyond
Alice, with a laughing protest
sprang TO her feet, and, passing the
blue thread hand over hand. quickly