Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-11-20
PATSY KILDARE
. THE OUTLAW
BY JUDD MORTIMER LEWIS
In the Ni1ht

WOKE and pushed the button and made
1t light In my room at Mr.. Rockrudder's
and then ] wound up my talking machine
and played and played until my door opened
and in walked Alice. She said, Goodness
child, aren't you going ever to sleep any
inore! l said For cats sake, would you
nave me sleep all the time?" She said, mo,
put ! would have you finish the night out.
| said, 1t Is morning" She looked at her
wrist watch and said, Morning! Why IT
is five minutes TO midnight" All ! could
say was, For cats sakei"
Theu 7 wondered whether had wakcned
Mr.. Rockruddcr Alice said, Never mind.
It is Christmas night and while you are in
this house you are TO have Il good time.
Now, let's 20 TO bed and talk ! said, Arc
you sure you are not crazy any more?' She
said, Il am quite sure of tn; and | viii
never be crazy again" | said, How de
you know" She said, Because | listened
to that talking machine for an hour and did
not feel like numbering you" SO we climbed
INTO bed and Rowdy lay on the foot of 1t
ana Alice reached out and pushed the but
ton and it was dark. She said, What are
you going TO do when | am gone?" l said,
"bor cats sake whore are you going next
tme?" She said. II am going away to
school after New Years" | said, why
don't you 20 to my SCHOOL," She said, 81
am away behind because Of the time ! was
out Of my head am going to boarding
school at the end Of the year"
| said, what is this end OF the year that
you are talking about" She said, Just
week from today will be the first of the
new year and then the old year will be
gone" I said, you are cracked in the
head again. The end Of the year doesn't
come until September H. which Is my birth
cav. That is when my old year goes AMI
my new year comes" She said, You arc
fgAs
the world by your birthday, but by tho
worlds birthday" said. Il guess that is
SO. We would he silly to measure IL by
mine, wouldn't we? What is a boarding
school"' She said. THAT is where you go
TO school and live and eat and sleep and
study right there till the end Of the term,
That is where l am going"
| said, What do you do there" She
said, we stuff the keyholes with paper
and cover the cracks with paper so the
teacher can't see the light at night and
then we have a fudge party. We make
fudge III a Chaiing dish and VIC have a
pillow fight and put a tub Of water
UP over the janitor's door so when ho
opens the door the water goes all over
him. Once We placed dishpan full of
water on the stairs at the back of the
hall where the monitor came down to
snoop around and she stepped into it and
sat down in it and slid to the bottom of
the stairs That was great fun
Then l think Alice and both went TO
sleep. After l woke this morning and
fed my face Mr.. Rocllrudder took me home
in his auto and he took my music ma
chine, too. | played on it until my father
said, For the love Of Mike, if you must
play It, play The Wearing of the Green
or The Wind That Shakes the Barley
or Kathleen Mavourneen.' The tunes you
have there aren't any of them Irish" Then
he got up and looked at them and he was
right. SO | had to stop playing.
Rowdy and | went down to the river
watchmans and he was there ana he said
Happy New Year" 7 said Merry Christ
mas" He said, Il already had it, and that
was some Christmas dinner, believe me-
may get over II, but | do not think I will
ever look the same again. | bought you
some building things. They aren't much,
but they are better than nothing would
have bought more for you, but ! am saving
money to get me a new gun. This old
cannon is likely to go back on mo just
when I need IT the most" | said, IF you
think any one is ever going to steal the
river you nutty. But wait here" Then
Rowdy and ran all tho way home and
got the pistol the burglar left upstairs
and took IT to the watchman. He though.
II was a very good one, but kind of rusty
where | had poured water on It. | sat
and watched him while he cleaned it ana
when a bullet went through his hat /
nearly laughed my head off But he got
pale and said, I'm an old fool" When
he told the policeman and the people who
came running how it happened they said
he was, too, so l guess he is, But / like
him just the same.
Tonight | prayed, Dear mother which
art in Heaven, there is 10 school all this
week Isn't that great? Rowdy and l have
been living high and it will take all week
for us to run the fat off us. Tell Mr.
Carpenter that If had not pushed Pie Face
off his wheel he might have been riding
yet Ask God TO bless you and my father
Amen
adventure. appears in tomorrow's Evening
Ledger.