The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1915-01-21

bent over Panca's sewing.
1t grew late, and the children one
by n gathered their work into their
lockers and ran laughing into the
streets without. Little Miss watched
them go, and a pain stabbed at her
heart as they turned to wave a good
by to The House of Many Flowers.
Sometime they would leave it for
ever and forget.
1t was almost like a dirge ringing
in her ears again and again. They
would forget, forget. She tried to
shake it off, and, leaving the house,
stepped out of the French windows
into the garden. Dusk had come, and
the tangled shrubbery was all aquiver
in the light breeze. From without
came the sound of calling, of busy
wagons, of changing bells, but within
everything was quiet. Suddenly Lit
tie Miss heard a step, and looking up
found that she was not alone. A man
stood before her. He was poorly
dressed, even ragged, but he was not
a man of the neighborhood. He
doomed before her, large, s%hambling,
evidently i'll at ease. Little Miss was
not frightened. She was used to
calls of help at any hour of the night.
WELL" she said kindly, sis there
anything l can do to help your"
The mar took a step forward out
of the shadows. Little Miss" he
said, I'm Patsy, Patsy O'Harren."
The woman's heart gave a leap
within her. He was one of her boys,
and he had come back! She took a
step toward him and held out her
hand. I'm glad to see you, Patsy"
she said. 80 glad"
The man looked at her f~urtively.
You've seen the papers?" he asked.
Little Miss made no answer, but
motioning him to follow, entered the
house, where she drew the curtain
and lighted the light. Then she spoke.
You must be hungry" she said
quietly. III make you some tea"
She hurried about her preparations.
The man stood in the center of the
room and looked about him as though
he would drink in his surroundings.
He put his hand almost lovingly on
one OF the little low tables that stood
around the wall.
we ulster call 1t The House of
Many Flowers" he said slowly. Some
little dago named it that, | bet. They
wasn't so bad in them days, the da-
gos.' He turned to Little Miss with
the ghost of a smile on his face. do
you remember Pedro Rafael?" he
asked, "and Toni aforementioned
his other name?"
Little Miss, looking back through
a myriad of Pedros and TOMS re-
turned the smile. YES" she said,
II remember them, and l remember
you, too. You were such a fine lit
tie fellow. and you enjoyed the work
So"
The mar turned on her almost
fiercely. "D'y know" he said, "twas
the only thing | had that wasn't bad,
rotten bad, the only thing" 1t all
came out in a torrent, a stream of
almost incoherent words. my moth
er-well, I'll not say anything agin
her, for twas not her fault, but the
old man" his fists clenched.
"Many's the time I've come here with
my back raw from beatin'. They
was all bad, rotten bad, but this wuz
just-heaven. Some might have
stood the other without goin' down,
but | wuz rotten, too, | guess. TIL
Judge said so, 'tany rate, an | got
sent up for thievin' an general dew
iltry. When | came out, they all
know. There weren't nothin' to do,
so | SWITCHED some stuff an got sent
up for three months, an then | didn't
care. When they caught me this
time | took my chanel an lit out, an
then, somehow, l just come here"
He ended simply.
Poor boy" said Little Miss, you
must eat"
The man doubled his length awk-
wardly into the chair, she drew up to
the table and fell to eating raven
ously of the things 1t contained. Sud-
denly there was changing from with
out, and he sprang from his chair. A
cup dropped from his hand and
crashed On the floor %unheeded.
"The Black Martial" he cried
breathing hard.
The patrol changed past and the
hubbub in the streets subsidized gradu-
ally. Neither the man nor the wo-
man had moved or spoken, but now
he turned to her.
They're after me-" he said, "Td
almost forgot, an | amt got any
place to go!" He was no longer a
man, he was a child, a frightened