The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-09-20

L peg pdruOH, puts III 0fccuc, OuI
you hardly understand the situation
Mrs. Greene need not be consulted at
ALL
I've as much right to Gerald as you
havew says she. her eyes snappin' like
trolley wheel on wet night.
I'VE will allow the courts to decide
that point" says he. real frosty.
II don't want TO butt in on any ten
der little domestic scene" says /. but
/ was you two I'd find the kid first
He's been gone since daylight.
"Gonei" says Greene. "Where?"
There's no tellin' that" says l. IAN
| know is that when he left here he
was headed for the railroad track.
meanin' to jump freight train and"
THE railroadr' squeals Mrs. Greene.
'Oh. hell be killed. Oh, Gerald Ger
! aldr
i Greene don't say word. but he turns
the color of slice OF Swiss cheese.
.Oh, what can we do?" says the
lady. wringin her hands
ANY of them detectives of yours
know the kid by sight?" says I.
They didn't. Neither did Greene's
bunch. They was both fresh lots
WELL" says I. IN own up that part
of this is up TO me, and l won't feel
right until I've made a try TO find him.
I'm goin' to start now and 1 don't know
how long I'll be gone. From what I've
seen / can guess that this cottage will
be little small for you two, but II
you're anxious to hear the first returns
I'd advise you TO stay right here. So
| long,
And with that I grabs my hat and
makes a dash out the back way. leavin'
'em standin' there back to back. I
never tracked a runaway kid along a
railroad, and / hadn't much notion of
how to start but ! makes for the rock
ballast just as though / had the plan
all mapped out.
i The first place l came across was a
switch tower and hadn't chinned the
operators three minutes before / gets
on to the fact that an east bound
freight usually passed there about In
the mornin'. and generally stopped to
drill on the siding just below. That
was enough TO send me down the
track. but there want any traces of
the kind.
New Haven for me. then" says !,
and by good luck l catches a local.
Maybe that was a comfortable ride.
watchin' out of the rear window for
somethin' / was hopin l wouldn't sect
And when it was over I hunts up the
yard master and finds the freight l was
| loolxin for was just about due.
"Expectin' consignment" says he.
Yes" says J. I'm a committee of
one to receive a stray kid
"Oh, that's it. eh?" says he. I'VE get
em most every week. III see that
you have a pass TO overhaul the
empties.'
After I'd peeked-into- -abeuf- a-dezen
boz cars and dug up nothin more en-
couraging than couple of booty 'boes,
begun to think my calculations was
all wrong. l was just slidin' another
door shut when ] notices a bundle of
somethin' over in the far corner had
half a mind not 10 climb in for II
didn't look like anything alive. but l
takes a chance at it for luck. and the
first thing l hears is a growl The next
minute / has Togo by the collar and
the kid up on my arm. 1t was Gerald,
all right, though he was that dirty and
rumpled l hardly knew him
He just groans and grabs hold of me
like he was afraid I was goin' to get
away. Why, the poor little cuss was
so beat out and scared l couldn't get
word from him for half an hour. But
after awhile / coaxed him to sit up on
stool and have a bite TO eat. and
when I've washed off some of the CRIME
and pulled out a few splinters from
his hands we gets a train back. First
off l thought I'd phone Mr.. and Mrs.
Greene. but then I changes my mind.
Maybe it'll do 'em good to wait"
thinks 1.
We was half way back when Gerald
looks up and says, You won't take me
home. will you?"
Whats the matter with home, kid"
: says /.
We'll" says he. and / could see by
the struggle he was havin' with his
upper lip that it was comm out hard.
O mother says father isn't a nice man
: and father says l mustn't believe what
: she says at ALL and-and-I don't think
. I like either of them well enough TO
!, be their little boy any more 1 don't
: like being stolen so often. either"
"Stolen?" says l.
= Yes" says he. You see, when I'm
: with father. mother Is always sending
men TO grab me up and take me off
4 where she is. Then father sends men
! to get me back. and-and I don't be-
q iieve I've got any real home any more.
r That's why ] ran away. Wouldn't
. your"
i kid" says I. II amt got word to
say"
He was too tired and down in the
mouth to do much conversin'. either
= All he wants to do is curl up with his
head against my shoulder and go "a
f. sleep. After he wakes up from his nap
o he feels better, and when he finds we're
20 goin' back to my place he gets quite
clipper. All the way walkin' up from
q the station / tries to think of how IL
would be best to break the news "a
!, him about the grand household SCRAP
that was due to be pulled off the min
ute we shows up. 1 couldn't do il
Al though, until we'd got clear to the
!. house.
|, Now. youngster." says I. there's a
~ little surprise on tap for you here.
>, guess. You walk up soft and peek
~ through the door"
For a minute thought maybe they
., cleared out. he was so still about it. 50
ss steps up to rubber too. And there's
sr Mr.. and Mrs. Rutgers Greene. sittin' OF
the sofa about as close as they could
get. her weepin' damp streaks dowr
~ his shirt front and him pattin' her back
. hair gentle and lovin'.
10 Turn off the sprayerr' says 1
to Here's the kid!'
Well. we was all mixed up for tbs
10 next few minutes. They hugs Gerald
both to once, and then they hugs each
n, other, and II hadn't ducked just as
nv did / amt sure what would have hap
!. pened to me. When / comes back hall
1s an hour later all l needs is one glance
70 TO see that a let of private sleut's and
g court lawyers is out of a job
81 Shorty" says Greene. giyin' me the
=, hearty grin IT don't know how In