Smyrna times., 1907-09-18
p. : : :. =
Akin i to Love
BY LOUISE MERRIFIELD

E Copyrighted, 1907, by p. c. Eastnept J.
'a''S''] ''<E 8 Il .'l'5s ! :
The door of room IA, primary do
partment opened very SLOWLY worry
eontritely. and small, anxious
freckled face peeked in. Miss Orvis
turned from the blackboard at smotb-
cred giggle from the children and saw
the freckled face.
Come in, Hardy" The curving limo
OF her pretty, sympathetic mouth
Strengthened with sudden determina-
ton. 1t was the fourth time that week
that Hardy Andrews had come in
late, and even the children were be-
ginning to look upon it as a Joke.
Discipline must be enforced. even
when the delinquent is only seven and
half. Miss Orvis left the blackboard
with L see a bird" half finished and
stepped forward to meet Hardy.
lie was smiling comfortably in his
half shy, half roguish way and flirting
openly with Marguerite Mcguire in the
front seat.
Hardy, you are late again"
'Yessum," said Hardy happily.
Its the fourth time this week, Har-
dy. Have you any excuseT'
Nom" Hardy rubbed one shoe
over the toe of the other and tried
to jam his stockinet cap into his side
trousers pocket.
"Why didn't your mother write one
for you?
1t was SO still in the large. sunny
schoolroom you could hear the clock
tick high up on the wall and the buzz
ing of the flies over near the open win
dow where the rows of geraniums
stood, but slowly the color mounted
in Hardy's little, thin, freckled face,
| and after n minute he looked up at
Miss Orvis his big blue eyes filled
/ With a half apologize bewilderment.
II never had any mother" The 81
| lence was worse than ever Miss Orvis
caught her breath and looked at the
| rest Of the children to see what hOr-
| rble effect the announcement had
| made on them, but they were only in
terested and joyous over the diversion.
Hardy caught the look and hastened
to cover his mistake
but | got a father. Miss Orvis, all
right I'm Reddy Lanes kid, and Red
| dys a watchman over on the bridge at
night, and he don't get home till most
10 o'clock in the morning, and that's
why I'm late, cause l like to have
breakfast with him.
Miss Orvis hesitated, but the blue
eyes pleaded well their cause, and she
smiled as she laid one hand on Reddy
Lanes kids head.
But somehow all the morning she
caught herself muSing on the child
who ha0 no mother. 1t was a tragedy,
of coufJe-some stormy, tear swept
page of life from the great city's un-
derworld and only this bit of wreckage
left to tell the story. Tears welled to
her own lashes once or twice as she
watched Hardys small. eager face, so
| trusting and foOlishly happy when he
had nothing in the whole world to be
happy for except the mere fact that he
was alive.
AS the lines were forming at noon
she touched Hardy on the shoulder and
told him to wait a minute at her desk
and the little fellow obeyed. watching
the rest of the boys proudly from his
post on teachers chair. And when all
was still in the great building Miss
Orvis came back and took him on hel
lap.
Your papa's a watchman, you say
dear over on the bridgeF she began
but Hardy interposed hastily.
ooh, no, not my father-that's Red
dy. never had any father. I'm {
founding kid, Reddy says, and his
mother rented me, and then she died
and Reddy adopted me his own self, 81
now I'm his kid
"Oh. I see" Miss Orvis leaned bacl
in her chair and gazed at the cheerful
little face "And you and Reddy liv,
on Cherry streetT
"Yessum. We got room with tn
Battersons, q whole room of our own
just for Reddy and me. And the Bat
tersons have only got one room left 70
their own selves, and there's six o
'em."
"You don't say So" Miss Orvl
\ caught the lonesome little figure clos
In her arms. Isis Reddy good t
youY
"You bet he is" came the smOthere
gasp from her shoulder. "He neve
- hits me. and he takes ME out on th
big bridge with him nights and let
} me see the lights on the river and til
boats and the trains and everything
He's fine to me. When l said yo
scolded me cause was late, he sal
it was. a - shame"
There was a sudden noise at the doc
behind them, queer hasty noise, ha
cough, half a chOked' explosion
laughter, and Miss orvis stood l