Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-03-14

I y
= into the coyerlet His chin
Ia pointed ceilngward and his
S-.--J head rocked on the pillow.
Wait bit, angel he begged. BE
giving me little time
The angel rose with controlled fea-
lures. She bathed his lace, straighten-
Pd his hair and held water to his lips.
Il seemed an age before he reached for
her. She took his hand and leaned
her cheek upon it.
Tell me, Frecklcs." she whispered
softly.
"If can" said FreclSles, in biting
agony. cts Just this. Angels are fropl
shove. Outcasts are from below.
Nou'vo n sound body and you're beau
fullest of all. You have everything
rat loving. careful raising and monev
I'm give you. ! have so much less
ltan nothing that 1 don't suppose
mad any right to be born. It's sure
thing-nobody wanted me afterward,
so, Of course. they didn't before. Some
If them should have been telling you
long ago"
IF that's all you have to tell,
rockies, Zee known that quite
while said the anGe! stoutly. Mr.
Mclean told my father. and he told
me. That only makes me love you
more. to pay for all you've missed"
Then I'm wondering at you." said
'feckles. in voice of awe. Cant
you see that If You we're willing and
,our father would come and offer you
0 me. I couldn't be touching the
so.os of your feet, in love-me. whose
neople brawIed over me-. cut off me
'and. and throwed he way to freeze
Il to die. Me. who has no name
INST as much b,eause I've no right
any, as becaue I don't know it,
}hen was little. planned to find
father and mother when | grew
up. Now | know me mother deserted
mo. ana ME father was maybe Il thief
and surely liar The pity of me
suffering and IT," watching over mo
las gone to your head. dear angel.
anu It's he must be thinking for you.
~ You could be forgetting me lost
hand. whore I was raised, and that |
had 40 name to give YOU, aud If YOU
would be takln- me as | am. some
day people such as mine must be
light come upon YOU. Gsed to pray
cry night and ;lOrnln- and many
lines the day - sa me il1'her Now
"t,g pray To die rlic..y and never
X the sight OF her faint no ways
osSibic. angel, It's wi!dness OF
Your dear head, Oh. do. for mercy
ling me co.
Not for n minute cried the angel
Iot for Il minute. If those are all
the reasons you have There are
iousanls of young couples who come
10 this country and starr family
With none Of their relatives here. Chi,
'aeo is a big city, AMI grown people
ould be wiped cat in a lot Of ways
nd who would there ever be to find
o whom their little children belonged:
caly make YOU see
she buried her face in the pillow and
presently lifted II. trAnSfigured.
Now have IT," she cried. "Oh. dear
nnart. | can make it so plain Freck
les. can You imagine you see the old
Limberlost trail: Nell, when we fol
owed it. yon know. there We're places
where ugly prickly thistles evergreen
the path. and YOU went ahead with
Your club and bent them back TO keep
them from singing through my cloth
ing. Other places there were great
shining pools where lovely. snow white
lilies grew, and you waded in and
gathered them for me- Oh. dear heart.
don't you see? It's this. Everywhere
the wind carried that thistledown. 9TH
or thistles sprang up and grew prick
les and wherever those lily seeds sank
20 the mire the pure white of other
lilies bloomed. But, Freckles. there
WAS never place anywhere about the
Limberlost. or in the whole world.
where the thiStledOwn foated and
sprang up and blossomed into white
lilies! Thistles grow from thistles and
hlN' SipN olutF lilies, lJtuI TItNh'VS'
think hard, You must see It. You are
lily. straight through. You never new
or could have drifted from the thistle
patch.
Where did you get the courage TO
20 into the Limberost and face It's ter
rors! You inherited It from the blood
oi brave father, dear heart. Where
did you get the pluck to hold for over
year job that few men would have
taken at all? You got it from plucky
mother, you bravest of boys. You wad-
ed single handed into man almost
vice yonr size and fought like
demon, just at the suggestion that you
could be deceptive and dishonest.
Gould your mother or your father have
been untruthful? Here you are. so
hungry and starved out that you are
dying for love. Where did you get all
that capacity for loving, You didn't
inherit 1t from hardened, heartless