Oxford Democrat., 1914-10-06

, and then the young man cried as
child would cry when an ugly temper
ed servant took from the nursery floor
its toys newly given.
The sentence of the court had swept
from him the toys Of young manhood
and had cast them as grass into the
furnace. He would never hear the
sound Of q woman's voice, nor the
sound Of laughter by man or child. He
would never again see the magic line
where sky and sea or woodlands meet.
Even the seasons Of the year were
taken from him. The beauties Of ma
ture familiar to the eyes Of whole
some country boy, the spread OF smiling
fields, tasseled corn waving In the
wind, bending roads. glimpses Of the
sunlit river through foliage, quiet lit
tie gardens in front Of quiet little
houses, were all taken from him as If
the tail Of a comet loaded with cyanO-
gen had swept the earth and had wiped
out all the loveliness that God had
fashioned for his children.
AS the sentenced prisoners were be-
| ing taken from the TOmbs for the jour
neys to the states various prisons De-
tective Lieutenant Michael Kearney
sat In the office of his inspector and
received the congratulations for his ex-
cellent work in the Montgomery case.
Inspector Ranscombe looked over his
list Of assignments for the day and
found nothing worth the time and skill
of his favorite man hunter.
"You have q day of, Nike" he told
the detective.
.Kearney rose. saluted and left head
quarters. A man absolutely unappre-
ciative of the ordinary pleasures OF
life, he found himself at loss what
to do. There was only one thing worth
while on a day ofr-his little fat In
Oliver street. He made his way home.
He rang the bell in the vestibule. The
lock clicked and he entered.
Kearney mounted the stairs and
opened his mothers kitchen door with
out knocking.
"Well, Nike" exclaimed Mrs. Kear-
ney in surprise, what brings you
home at this time Of day"
II gotta day off," he told her. "Ye're
scrubbing the kitchen aure again.
When'l you be doneT
Pretty soon, Mike. You go In the
parlor and make yourself comfortable,
and I'll bring the beer and your pipe"
He did as she bade him, and she fol-
lowed, clearing of center table and
placing his beer. pipe and tobacco on It
He tried several chairs. They were
all stiff1y tufted-bought for "compa-
n.y." He could adjust himself to none
of them comfortably. He returned to
the kitchen.
"Could ye spread down some bagging
80 can stay in here?" he asked.
"Sure, lad" she replied from her
knees. I'm finished now."
She made him comfortable in his old
chair by the window. He was ensag-
ed in balancing himself at his favorite
angle when he noticed something black
on the end of the kitchen table.
"What's that. old lady?" he asked
curiously.
The mothers face paled.
He reached over and picked it up.
1t was a flmy and torn veil. Beneath
1t was little black fan.
"She forgot them-Mrs. Montgom-
cry" explained the mother, taking the
two articles from the hand OF her son.
"The poor little woman. the poor little
woman
She hurried with them to her bed
room, which opened on the kitchen.
When she returned and began shaking
down the ashes In the stove she sighed.
"It's terrible. Nike" she said. THE
poor old mither is left out in the world
to starve or die OF a broken heart
Blessed Mother in Heaven. look after
her"
Some of the coziness of the room
seemed to leave 1t. Was there chill In
the air, or did he just imagine It! He
closed the window back Of him.
"The evidence was all one way" he
grunted. 81 didn't try him. wasn't
the judge or the jury. I didn't decide
whether he was guilty or Innocent.
That amt my job. My job Is to get
the evidence for the prosecution"
He tried to think of something to
say that would turn the conversation
to some more agreeable subject. but he
was a one idea man, and there was no
fancy in him.
From the open door Of bis mothers
bedroom came soft. ruffling sound.
1t startled him.
"What's that?" he demanded.
"It's that divil Of kitten. Mickey"
she told him.
AS II in answer for himself. Mrs.
Kearney's mouser rolled into the kitch-
en-, slapping and playing with q black
object, the mourning fan Of Mrs. Mont
gomery.
Kearney left bis chair and went to
closet taking down rusty felt hat
and q raincoat.
II think I'll walk around to tn Oak
street station f'r a bit Of gossip" he
said.
"But I'll be gettin' lunch r. ye pref
ty soon, Nike" she protested.
NAV; 1 guess I'll eat out. fr
change" With a grunt Of goodby he
left the fat.