Charlevoix county herald., 1914-11-14

weather, or the crying Of the Levin
sky baby.
His mother did not answer. She
was busy counting double stack of
trousers piled on the bed. Jimmy
didn't wait. He launched into a de-
scription of Hops visit to the City
Hall and ended with a suggestion
that they take in the show"
"It's a free blow" he ended, "and
you could get Mrs. Simmons's straw
hat" The etiquette of Cherry Row
forbade felt head-gear after the mid
die of May.
1t required finesse to borrow the
hat without telling its owner where
it was to be worn. 1t necessitated
diplomacy to get his mother to wear
it, and there was a further scramble
for Jimmy to find a pair of stockings
to draw over his old ones, thus hid
ing deficiencies in both pairs. And
there was the final and greatest
struggle of ALTO get Mrs. Clancy
up the steps and into the lighted
hall, when they finally arrived.
maybe they won't let us in," she
said timidly.
"Sure they WILL" Jimmy asserted.
There's a guy there now shootin'
off his face"
The nurse of Hops description was
just inside the door. Jimmy was not
shy, and he shuffled over to her.
"Me mother an med like to look
around" he said. "No objection, is
there ?"
"None at ALL" The nurse smiled a
little. That's what the things are
here for. If you have anybody who
is-not well, could show you"
Jimmy shrank back.
1--WE haven't nobody" he said,
timid figure near the door. "That is,
me mother has cough, but that's
ALL" He walked away few steps,
then he came back. "You needn't
speak about the cough to her." he
said confdentially. "She's always
had it"
Through a maze of model open-air
shacks, of outdoor sleeping-bags and
porch tents, Jimmy led his mother.
When the nurse came up she found
him alone, STOPPING before a photo
graph of a woman in bed on fire
escape. Below, all around, were
chimneys and blackened roofs.
"Did she get better?" he asked,
jerking his thumb toward the pic
ture.
eyes, she got better" said the
nurse. "It's all matter of plenty of
air, you see-air day and night"
The pictur, was something Jimmy
a 10
breath and Strengthened up.
"We've got a fire-escape," he said.
When Mrs. Clancy was somewhat
rested, they started home. AS they
went, Jimmy paved the way for his
new plan.
"Say," he began automatically,
"do you remember when the police
let us sleep on the park benches last
summer? Didn't the air feel good :?
That there woman back there said
when folks got used to sleepin' out
they never wanted to sleep inside
again"
Mrs. Clancy waited to cough lit.
tie. 81 always thought night air was
as good as poison" she objected.
81 guess it's all air." Jimmy said
largely. "only one you see and one
you don't" Which seemed to settle
the argument. al was thinkin'," he
went on, that we don't have enough
air i'm the room nights. How'd it be
if We made bed on the fire-escape
and took turns at it? Wouldn't the
Levinskys open their eyes ?"
1t took all Jimmy's art to persuade
his mother to the innovation. 1t was
Jimmy who spread the old mattress
on the iron Stats, who draped the
railing with an old-fashioned patch
work quilt; and it was Jimmy who
crept upstairs after his mother had
been tucked into her airy couch and
requested the Levinskys not to upset
the milk-pitcher on the fre-escape
over her head.
There was little sleep for mother
or son that night. Jimmy sat on the
window-sill until very late, until his
twisted feet went to sleep and his
eyelids grew heavy. His mother
coughed very little. She lay peace
fully, watching the stars overhead,