Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1914-12-18

ny 0y0 On yOu, 0l In0 oom0e
thought" :
you had. ehl" I exclaimed, gladly
although I instinctively surmised hia
highest interest In mo wal conferred In
my pocketbook. "You had. eh?" I rel
peated with moro earnestness. "Wen!
I'm glad OF that, Charlie-or. what Ia
your uamef" !
"~Souatty," said the boy. Then no,
ticing the look Of surprise upon my;
c he added soberly: That amt my
sure-enough name. you know; that's
what the boys calls me. Sis calls me-
Jamesy."
We'll. Jamesy," 1 continued, button.
Ing my collar and drawing on my
gloves, I'm mighty glad to see you,
and If o don't believe 1t. just go
down In that right-hand overcoat-pock.
ct and you'll find out" ;
The little fellow NEEDED no second in,
vttation, and as he drew forth a closely
folded package the look Of curiosity
upon his face d%eepened to one OF blank
bewilderment. .
he made no motion to unite the lit
tie package. and gradually the express
sion In his eyes changed to one of susi
picion and his lips closed tightly to-
gether.
Open It," said I. smiling at the pug,
Fled little face; open tits for you'll
oh. here, cap" said tho boy, drop
ping the package on the seat, and.
holding up a rigid finger, you're a.
givin' me this, amt your" .
I'm giving you the package. GER
tainly," said I, somewhat ~bewildered.t
open Tits a Christmas present for
you-open IT." ,
Whats your Idly o. layin' fer me?"
asked b boy, with a troubled and un-
easy air. I've been a-givin' you square
business right along, amt II" ;
Why, Jamesy." said l, as I vaguely
c~omprehended the real drift of his
thought the package is for you, and
II you won open 1t, I WILL" and as +
spoke I began unfolding 1t. Here"
said l, rs q p1ir of gloves q little girl
about your size told me to give to you.
because / was telling her about you,
over where / live, and it's q clear.
case and I laughed lightly to myself
as l noticed a slow flush creeping to
his face. "And here" said l, is a
bang-up pair Of good old-fashioned
socks, and, If they'll fit you,t there's an;
old woman that wears specs and a
mole on her nose, told me to tell you,
for her, that she knit them for your
Christmas present, and II you don't
wear then she'll never forgive you.
And here" I continued, "is O cap, as
fuzzy as a woolly-worm, and as warm
O cap, I reckon, as you ever stood on
your head in; it's q cheap cap, but I
bought 1t with my money, and
money that I worked mighty hard to
get, because I amt rich; now, IL 1 was
rich, I'd buy you q plug; but I've got
an Idea hat this little, old, woolly cap,
with earbobs to 1t, and q snapper to 60
under your chin, don't you see, won't
be q bad cap to knock around in, such
weather as this. What do you say,
nowi Try her on once" and as I spoke
I turned to place it on his head.
"Oomh-ooh!" he negatively muir
INJURED, putting out his hand, his closed
lips q~uivering-the little frowzy head
dropping forward. and the ragged shoes
shuf1ing on the floor.
Come" said /, my own voice grow
Ing curiously changed; won't you take
these presents? They are yours; you
must accept them. Jamesy, not because
they're worth SO very much, or be-
cause they're very fine," 1 continued,
bending down and folding up the par
Gel, but because, you know, I want
you to, and-and-you must take
them; you must!" and as / concluded,
i thrust the tightly folded parcel be,
meath his arm, and pressed the little
tattered elbow firmly over II.
There you are" said I. Freeze on
to 1t, and we'll skip off here at the
avenue. Come"
hardly dared to look behind me till
/ found myself upon the street, but as /
threw an eager glance over my shout
der I saw the little fellow following,
not bounding joyfully, but with a
solemn step, the little parcel Rugged
closely to his aide, and his eyes bent
soberly upon the frozen ground.
"And how's Sis by this timer" /
asked cheerily, finging the question
backward, and walking on more
ibriskly.
"'Bout the same" said the boy,
Frightening q little, and skipping into
o livelier pace.
About the same, Ell? and how's
THAR" I asked.
"Oh, she can't git around much like
she used to, you know; but she's
a-gittin' better all the time. She Get
up mighty nigh all day yisterday;' and
as the boy spoke the eyes lifted with
the old flash, and the little frowzy
head tossed with the old defiance.
why, she not down sick?" said /,
q sudden ache Of sorrow shifting me.
"Yes," replied the boy, shes been