The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1906-01-06

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VT IL py 63uGcr6, cffouo IVY
HI for Hardman q Son,
%N who was practicing
Et5 carol for the choirboys'
l Christmas festival q
81. Luke's. Leppy had
the sweetest Of voices,
NW the most restless Of
III bodies, and the most
E~I freckled Of faces The
H first had won him .
place In st. Lnke's
= vested choir; the sec
ond had Kept him from learning MS
carol until he was in danger Of being
discharged BY the lohg-sunering choir
master; and the third had won him,
the name Of Lsppy, which e the d.
minutive Of Leopard" and vas given
him by his friends because Of the spots
which he could not ehange-those en-
during freckles. =
A he opened the door Of Hartman
q Sons once, and sang. God Rest Ye,
Merry Gentlemen" the sense Of humor
which sometimes accompanies freckles
brought q whimsical look TO his face,
for the idea Of calling Hartman & Son
merry gentlemen" was distinctly in
congr1ouS.
Hartman was rubbing his eyes and
saying TO himself: ITO be blind
blinds To be shut In darkness, and
ones life work not half done. I shall
never get the courage to see an oc-
ulist and hear that doom pronounced"
Son, at his desk, was looking fIedly
out OF the WINDOW, and saying to him.
self: ITO be dishonored! To have got
ten the FIRMS affairs int such a mud
die that there's no clear way out IN
less. throw myself on fathers mer-
cy, and | shalt never get the courage
to tell him"
"Let nothing you dismay," sang
Leppy, stumbling on, boy fashion.
toward the rear ONCE.
Hartman suddenly looked up, and
with unusual interest in his voice.
said:
Come back here, Leppy. Can you
sing the whole of,that?"
Don know If Fcan, Mr.. Hardman,
but I'm tryina TO get 1T, cause If /
don't have It straight by tonight. I'll
be dischargedsfrom the choir. It's the
last rehearsal, you see. / don't want
TO set bounced. because get a quar-
ter a week, and that helps out ~ =
We'll, I'll give you q quarter now.
II you'll sing It through for me. I
used TO sing that thing myself when ]
nae q krfd sd 10y
Hardman had stopped speaking, and
seemed % have forgotten. all about
Leppy, who hardly knew what to do.
until Son nodded to him, and said
kindly: o.
Sing It, Lep, II you can"
Then Beppy began, and-marTel Of
maEreIs-he sang It perfectly from be-
ginning to end. What would the choir
master have said II he could have
heard It? 1.eppy vas much impressed
with hts achievement, and when he
stepped, hts look Of mingled pride and
astsufshmens' would have been funny,
II there had beSn, anybody to zee II
Hartman partialIy reused himseii
and handed the boy 1 silver dollar,
then turned back to his desk without
q word.
'shiIl-shAu SET IT changed. Nj.
HhrdmanF'
There was no answer IRON Hardman.
and Son, coming once more to the
no. IsDDy-lt's All right. Run
along.-
'Gee!' exclaimed the boy. And then,
without thinking to say, thank you,'
90 appalled, was he by this sudden AZ
Auence-he went out Of the once, and
soon his silvery tones could be heard
echoIng down the wide hall:
'God rest ys. merry gentlemen.
Let nothing you dismay."
Son rose suddenly from his chair,
ank laid his hand on Hardman,s Shout
der. Father" he said. 81 have some
thing to tell you"
Son" said Hartman, unsteadily but
braEely. 81 have sonething to tell
you
It doesn't matter who began first
or how much each one hesitated and
looked out Of the window to hide the
embarrassment Of q mans confidence
70 man. At last, both stories were
told, somehow, and vhsn Hartman
and Son started out to lunch togsther,
they looked several degrees more Ike
~merry eentlsmens than they had two
hours before
Hartman was saying: Wen
straighten that out ina weeks time,
Son. You did right TO ten ne NOW.
and In the meantime"
In the meantime. dad. wen sss that
cchlist tosethet, and I know your
sight en- Be saxsds a.
And 90 Il Ras-not only the physical
Eight. hut that Ansr ssnSs 1kich
makes n sse me struggles of thnss
Ne love. and understand and hslpI
them. At that f6onent thsre WIS
only he hope q tkis Il aafdkanis
eyea. but that was enough 10 make
the word slresdy hrlghteE. ana vhea
Fh1|.f. ,e1,l1lf. 49, o-1sf- -. a..