Catoctin clarion., 1910-03-03
Jimmie the Kid
b. M QUAD
Copyright. 1909. by Associated Lit
erary Press

a rcfcrnler In Il very quiet way. In
the village she had l"ii bchiad her
there was no show a. carry cut her
IDEAS. but she had not hcrn>l the city
a month whrn she hat Jimmie the
Kid On her hands. She picked him up
on the street nl.e eNrninG. IL was
fighting with I, bigger bUy and getting
the worst of it. though doing his best.
when Miss E"nton rushed to the res
cue and the bigger 10y tl'd. BY that
act she made Jimmie her friend
Jimmie was taken into ihr boardlng
house ;nd the blood washed off his
face and his hair cOmbed. and then he
was questioned. His maine was jim
mip Skate-S0 named because he WAS
an orphan skating around for liv-
ing. no home. no relatives. the cop
pcrs bounding him from morning Untll
night because ne would not steal peal
nuts ard divide with them. When
his story was finished he had the girl
IN tears At the end IF another half
hour. by talking to Jimmie of his dead
mother in heaven. Sunday school. the
ways of goodness and so ON. she had
him in tears. A partnership was
formed. She was to he n guardian
angel to Jimmie. and he was to mend
his ways. Five dollars was hrnded
him to get a suit Of clothes. and ms
profits selling newspapers would rent
him CHEAP room ana l;uy his daily
bread. At FREQUENT intervals he was
to call on Miss Denton and report and
receive further advice and encourage
ment He was not to swear. fight.
smoke or do aught else to initiate
against the career mapped ont for him.
Two evenings later Jimmie called.
wearing his new suit He had had
his hair cut also. He quite looked the
orphan whose motto was excelsior.
Thank YOU he didn't need any more
money: he was getting along famous
ly. As he said this he winkcd in an
expressive way at Miss Denton. She
didn't understand 1t, and she didn't
quite like it. but she didn't want to
push poor orphan to the wall all at
once Two hours were spent in trying
to teach the boy the first four letters
of the alphabet. aud then he took his
departure Later on the girl found the
sum Of $3.50 on the stand. She knew
II was not her money, and she racked
her brains in vain to solve the prob
lem. Next morning the iandlady Solv-
ed Ii in moment. She said il was
money sen by Providence to one who
l, 10, ,l,.,n
Two or three evenings later Jimmie
called again. The collar had been rip
ped off the new coat. and hr was about
to be charged with fighting when he
explained that he had jumped off
ferryboat to save a would bc suicide
and the would be had torn the collar
from it's fastenings. He was kissed
instead of scolded. and he felt so good
over it tha' he went right at 1t and
learned to distinguish the letter "C'
from the letter go" His daily profits
allowed him lobster salad once day,
and he was feeling that he had some
thing to live for He winked the same
wink as before. 1t would have been
understood by man to mean that the
pair understood each other, but the
girl failed to make it out and was
bit piqued. An hour after Jimmie's
departure she found new silver purse
with S4 in it under a chair. Here was
new mystery for the landlady to
solve. She was equal to the emergen-
cy, however. 1t was explained that
when Providence began rewarding a
reformer 1t kept ii right up and that
she would not be at all surprised to
see horse and buggy driven into the
house some evening.
Jimmie never missed two calls per
week and sometimes made three He
was eager to make mental progress.
and at some stage in the proceedings
he always indulSed in that expressive
wink. One evening he was taken to
task for it, but instead of being cast
down he winked again and muttered
something about ''pards." Sooner or
later after he left Miss Denton made
a find of money or jewelry. One aft
ernoon a messenger left a valuable
muff at the house for her. Again 1t
was new Jacket. If she hadn't been
a reformer and if the landlady hadn't
been a believer in Providence the key
of the mystery might have been soon
er grasped AS it was it seemed un-
fathOmable.
Two months had passed and Jimmie
had come so near the governOrship
that he had learned the alphabet down
to sc" when Providence let go of the
case and detective took it up. The
boy called one evening and handed
out q diamond bracelet which he said
he had received for stopping runa-
way trolley car and saving the lives
of forty people He was praised for
his gallantry and a promise made to
keep the jewel safe for him. and just
then the detective entered and took
him by the neck. This was practical
ly He took Miss Denton by the neck
Theoretically When the landlady
came in and talked about the ways of
Providence she was also invited to 60
along to the station house.
All the plunder had been preserved.
Miss Denton and the landlady had to
get lawyer and do a great deal OF
weeping besides to get out Of 1t, but
Jimmie did no weeping. He just
winked. He continued to wink until
the two women took the stand against
him, and he was sentenced to the re-
form school, and then he ceased TO
wink and said in a voice of reproach
to Miss Denton
81 fought youse understood dat
was to do all de stealin' and make a
fair divvy. What youse t'ink was
Loin' all dot winkin' furt"