Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-04-09
EVENING STORY
LITTLE LADY RoUNTIFUL.
Bv Temple Bailey.

BY Temple 6aney. .
In the top Of the tall tenement,
Tom Stevens recklessly lighted both
gas burners.
IT might as we'll be warm once" he
murmured, and settled back In his un-
comfortable chair to pass another day
in pain and loneliness.
1T is bad enough to be sick even
in the midst Of luxury, but to be sick
and poor, that is enough to make
man groan and writhe, Tom Stevens
alone in the big city. too proud to write
back home and tell of his hard luck,
looked at the gray skies and the gray
streets and wished he were dead.
And Just then he heard the rustic
OF paper, and looking toward the door,
he saw that a note had been slipped
under it.
Painfully he crossed the room, and
painfully he returned to his big chair.
Then he opened the sheet OF paper.
Across the top was painted wreath of
tiny rosebuds, and underneath was the
verse: }
There is ever song somewhere, my
Though the skies above be dark and
drear;
There is ever a song that our hearts
shall hear,
There ia ever song somewhere, my
dear g..
There is ever song somewhere.
AS he read Tom felt as If the sun
were shining and the birds singing
On a June day. Who had thought of
him in his loneliness. Why, it was
So 4 I~{r than
fire and warmth.
tits girls handwriting" he said
to himself He left as II he wanted
to get right up and hunt for her, but
when he tried to move he sank back
with groan, and the little neighbor-
hood doctor, coming in, cautioned
him. ,se.
The next morning the jonitor's wife
brought him his meager meal. It was
sloppy and badly cooked and Tom
turned from it with sigh. So the
janitor's wife carried the tray, but left
a crack in the door.
And 1t was through this crack an
hour later, was slipped tiny tray.
On it was a steaming cup of coffee,
two slices of hot toast, and a soft
boiled egg.
know what to do with sick boys. Now
I'm going over across the hall and heat
some water, and when I come back III
tuck you up comfortable, and take care
OF you until you are well"
But" Tom gasped, Il can't"
Nonsense" said the little lady again,
you do just as say. I'm used TO boss
ing boys"
An hour later Tom. tucked up in
bed with hot water bags to the right
Of him, and hot water bags to the left
Of his, and with his appetite satisfied
by the most delicious broth that he had
ever tasted, inquired meekly OF his
grandmother"
How did you know was ill?"
She looked at, him sharply over her
spectacles. "A little bird told me-" she
declared.
|. He was sick two weeks, and every
day there came to him dainty notes In
the graceful feminine script. They
came by mail now, and there was the
postmark of distant city.
Tom had learned by this time that
his grandmother lived on the oppo-
site side of the hall. When he was
strong enough he went into her plain
apartment, and then he wondered
where the luxuries which she had fur
nished him during his illness had been
obtained, for In these rooms there was
for him all the delicacies that tempt the
appetite OF an invalid.
Nov, Grandmother" he said one
morning, when he was dressed and
ready for his first outing, We've got to
have an understanding. 1t must have
taxed you lot to get all those good
things for me, and as soon as l can get
work, I'm going to pay you back. But
can't ever repay you for the other
things-your sympathy and kindness
The little woman patted his big
hand. There she said, don't you
worry about 1t. 1t hasn't cost me a
penny--there was fairy godmother
| who met all the bills
But she would not tell him another
word.
The next day Tom began to look for
work. He had been badly placed in his
first position. He felt himself equal to
do something better.
One day he found it--a bigger thing
| than he had hoped for-with an ex-
cellent salary attached.
Then he went back to the little
grandmother" II want to find my
fairy godmother." he said, land you
know where she Isl
II don't" said the lady fatty
ooh. come now"
II DON'T" was the decided answer.
but I can tell you who she u.s. She Is
my niece. and when she was twenty
one she came into a nice little sum of
money, and she made up her mind that
she would spend 1t on having good
time. But she's a funny child. and she
didn't call it good time to go to the
shows, and things she just wanted to
spend her money on helping other peo-
pie. And one day she heard you cough,
and when your door was open she
peeped in, and she just couldn't bear to
think Of your being SO lonesome, and
SO she planned the little surprises, and
one day she said, Now Auntie, he
needs more attention than can give
him, and you just do all you can, and l
will provide the money And she has,
and then when you began to want to