Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1915-09-09
sBut penrod didn't tell that r.

eBut Penrod didn't tell that Pr
"Oh, wait!' she cried lamentably.i
Listen, He didn't tell at lunch, but
he got home about dinner time In the
most-well, I've seer pale people be-
fore, but nothing like Penrod. Nobody
could imagine it--not unless they'd
seen him. And he looked 50 strange
and kept making such unnatural faces
and at first all he would say was that
he'd eaten a little piece OF apple and
thought 1t must have had some mi.
crobes on it But he got sicker and
sicker, and we put him to bed, and
then we all thought he was going to
die, and. of course, no little piece OF
| apple would have-well. and he kept
| getting worse, and then he said he'd
had a dollar. He said he'd spent 1t for
| the ~concertina, and watermelon, and
| chocolate creams ond henrics sticks
and lemon drops, and peanuts, and
jaw breakers, and sardines, and rasp
berry lemonade, and pickles, and pop
corn, and ice cream. and cider. and
sausage-there was a sausage in his
pocket, and mamma says his jacket Is
ruined-and cinnamon drops, and waf-
| hes, and he ate four or five lobster Gro
quettes at lunch-and papa said. Who
gave you that dollarT Only he didn't
say who. He said something horri
BILE, Bob! And Penrod thought he was
going to die, and he said you gave 1t
to him, and, oh, 1t was just pitiful to
hear the poor child, Bob because he
thought he was dying. you see, and he
blamed you for the whole thing. He
said If you'd only let him alone and
not given it to him he'd have grown
up to be a good man, and now he
couldn't! never heard anything SO
~heartrending. He was so weak be
! could hardly whisper, but he kept try
ing to talk, telling us oper and over it
was all your fault"
In the darkness Mr.. Williams facial
expression could not be seen. but his
voice sounded hopeful.
us he-is he still in a great deal of
pain?'
"They say the crisis is past" said
Margaret "but the doctors still up
there. Ie said 1t was the acutest case
Of indigestion he had ever treated in
the whole course of his professional
practice"
"Of course I didn't know what he'd
do with the dollar" said Robert.
She did not reply.
He began plaintively, Margaret, you
DON'T
"I've never seen papa and mamma
SO upset about anything" she said
rather. primly.
"You mean they're upset about me?"
1--WE are all very much upset." re-
turned Margaret, more starch In her
tone as she remembered not only Pen
rods sufferings, but a duty she had
vowed herself to perform.
Margaret! You DON'T
Robert" she said firmly and, also,
with a rhetorical complexity which
breeds a suspicion Of rehearsal; Rob
ert, for the present I can only look at
it in one way-when you gave that
money to Penrod you put into the
hands OF ar unthinking little child a
weapon which might be, and. indeed,
was, the means of his undoing. Boys
are not respon"-
"But you saw me give him the dol
lar, and you didn't'-
"Robert!" she checked him with in
creasing severity. II am only a wom-
an and not accustomed to thinking ev-
erything out ON the spur Of the mo-
ment. But I cannot change my mind
not now, at least"
"And you think I'd better not come
In tonight?"
"Tonightr she gasped. MOT for
weeks! Papa would
But Margaret" he urged plaintively,
how can you blame me for
81 have not used the word blame !"
she interrupted. But I must insist
that for your carelessness TOTO wreak
such havoc-cannot fail Toto lessen
my confidence in your powers Of judg-
ment. Icannot change my convictions
in this matter-not tonight-and I can
not remain here another instant. The
poor child may need me. Robert, good
night"
With chill dignity she withdrew, en-
tered the house and returned to the
sick room, leaving the young man in
outer darkness to brood upon his
crime-and upon Penrod-
That sincere invalid became conva-
lescent upon the third day, and a week
elapsed, then, before he found an OPP
%portunity to leave the house unaccom-
panied-save by Duke. But at last he
set forth and approached the Jones
neighborhood In high spirits, pleasant
" conscious of his pallor, hollow
cheeks and other perquisites of illness
provocative Of interest.
One thought troubled him a little be-
cause 1t gave him a sense of inferlority
to a rival. He believed. against his
will, that Maurice Levy could have
successfully eaten chocolate creams,
licorice sticks, lemon drops, jaw break