Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1906-04-27
The Redemption
Of a HunchbaCk
BY ELEANOR III. PORTER
lCopyrlgh,, 1905, BY Joseph b. BOwies


CHANGED upon an inner secret drawer;
and there / found-torn straight
across from top to bottom-a closely
written manuscript.
Carefully matching the jagged edges
together read this:
So her name is Alice! It's pretty
narne-but what is that to me? What
have / 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. do not remem-
Der kisses, save those of compassion
nor smiles, save those of pity. I do
not remember romps and games. save
those that for me bore defeat.
l 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 me l
was not like other boys? Or was it
the Mirror? The Mirror was a fearful
thing of shifting lights and shadows.
1t reached from floor to ceiling in
mothers room, and it said that one
was small and ugly, and that ones
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
Bills, but that it crooked and curved
and punched into great round knot
below ones neck.
School? All, yes, remember school.
1t was thing of hard, high seats, and
of boys and girls, all tall, so hopeless
ly tall; 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 1 work and study, save
that at four each day | walk in the
| 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?" she
said.
Alice! But what, indeed, have 1 tc
do with pretty names, or pretty faces
or yet with pretty fancies?
My brain is on fire, my hands trem.
BILE, and l can scarcely breathe; but
must write, even though / am forced
to resort to my old trick of using my
left hand-my right wrist was
, sprained to-day.
/ must put this thing into words
then look at them, study them, ant
understand what they mean.
When l reached the park to-day
Alice was already there, laughing ant
playing with kitten. The ball wa
half unwound so that long coils o
blue lay loosely over Alice's dress an,
over the grass at her feet. Suddenl.
the kitten, with the ball between he
teeth, jumped to the ground, bounde,
across the path and the narrow stril
of grass and into the roadway beyond
Alice. with a laughing protest
sprang to her feet, and, passing tn
blue thread hand over hand, quickl
reached the struggling, squirming bi
Of mischief, and dropped on her knee
at its side.
1t was then that I heard the will
clatter OF an unguided horses feet, an
saw, coming around the curve above
a driverless horse and a swayinf
empty carriage.
Alice gave frightened little CT
and rose to her feet The kitten scul
ried across the road into the bushes
but the girl stood irresolute.
In one awful moment realized ths
the only thing between her and poss
, BILE death was my own puny arm.
. could not reach the girl, but l migf
the horse. Oh, for the broad shou
ders and strong grip of a maa-nt
the feeble grasp of pygmy!
| | dashed across the grass and hurle
myself at the beast, which seemed s
hopelessly huge and untamable as
lowered for an instant above me.
might as we'll have tried to check tt
. speed of cyclone. The animal shoe
. me off as though I were troubl
= some fly, and dashed headlong down IL
:, road. But that one instant of attac
caused him to swerve ever so slight
in his course, and only the wheel