The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-01-05
BY FRED c. KELLY.

From the time that Billy Tomlinson and
first got acquainted-Aack in our Nc
Guney's third reader days-Biily used to
talk Of being doctor when he grew up.
When the rest Of the Youngsters in
our crowd were still full OF ambitions
70 be horse Jockeys. professional ball
Mayors, train conductors. and such, Billy
had no other notion than to be a doctor.
He used to conhde his plans to his teach
ers, and they encouraged him all they
could though they never seemed en-
thusiastic. For the fact was that Billy
was long way from being a good stu
dent. Even before we got az far as long
division, he had q tendency to trail along
at the caboose end of the clans And
when he spoke of being a Doctor some
day. the teachers thought of the studio,is
years that being a. doctor, would entail.
II wasn't that Billy was stupid. either.
He was smart enough. but he Just nat
.uraily couldn't bring himself around to
studying. Nine days out Of ten he cop
led all of his arithmetic examples from
somebody else few minutes before the
class was called. but he would never
copy anything from one of the heads of
the class. He seemed TO rhsve a great
disgust for anybody who studied hard
enough to stand at the head. Usually
he compromised on me when he wished
to copy . lesson, as Il would have prob
ably six examples done out of ten that
had been assigned. How Billy ever man
aged TO slip through at exafnihation time
nobody, not even himself knew
You'd have thought Billy would have
been good at elementary Psychology, after
all his talk about going to be a doctor,
but he didn't shine even at that. He
was good to go to the butcher shop for
lungs ard brains Of animals. whenever
the teacher wanted such things for class
work, and he was a great hand TO catch
cats and chloroform 'em. but when II
came to getting up and telling what the
book said. Billy wasn't one. two. three.
think that whole trouble with Billy
was that his head was too full of deviltry
TO think much about lessons. There never
was a boy who could devise such schemes
for putting tick-tacks on inaccessible
windows, ringing the school house bell at
unearthIy hours, and soaring pedestrians
with queer objects that he would dangie
over the sidewalk at the end of a long
string run over the limb of tree. Billy
was the first one Of Dur crowd to learn
to smoke. At first he Just smoked corn
SILK cigarettes. but he soon got to smok-
ing the regulation Sweet Caporals, and
all our mothers regarded him as thor
oughly bad boy. But we all liked him
first rate.
After we got into the high school. Billy
was expelled on an average of once or
twice a year, but as his family was
rather prominent In the little town, he
was always taken back on promise OF
better behavior. and he managed to get
and receive a diploma along with
the rest Of US. The principal Of the high
school seemed TO like Billy first rate. with
all the lads shiftlessness and often said
that Billy could make something of him
self II he would only take brace on him
self and study little. But the principals
belief in Billy was not shared by many
o. the townspeople.
They all thought Of him simply as that
ornery Tomlinson boy"
All this time. however. Billy still in
sisted that he was going to study for
doctor. He said that as soon as he GOT