Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1917-03-07
The Lure of The Weak
Copyright by the Frank A. Munsey Co.
nv vINGlE &. ROE.

ilA ~ fill tNN vi ~ inns tfbf 'tAif'
forward.
She was y lair little woman, scarce out
al her girlhood, bluc-eycd and blue-vein-
cd, and She had q head of short brown
rurl~.
Winners ynice was horse n he spoke to
her.
"Whcrc'- yer man! he said ~..arply.
Gone" she answered in u honcv- voice.
Then she smiled into hIS face.
But you come right in. know vino yoI
are, you're Paul's friend Oh the mountain.
She reached out n small white hand, a
hand that waS white and soft. the only
hand it, like in n hundred miles, and touch
Inc the sleeve Of his worn blue flannel
shirt. drew him across the threshold.
She ran lightly over 10 the other side
of the room, and brought forth the least
diIapidated Of two dilapidated chairs. VII
mcr-, still shaking from that rush OF anger
sank half unconsciously down upon il. lIis
eyes. from searching the trail, searched
the shack. II was clean and bare.
A rude bed stood in n corner, and on il
lay what stopped his restless eyes and
held them-a wee little skeleton of n baby,
white a. the sheet beneath it, with biz blue
eyes like the woman's. The tiny hands
lay inert, with the fingers spread apart
the little white shadow was too ~listless to
curl up after the fashion Of babies.
Ii puckered liz face, but no cry came,
and the mother gathered II mp from the
bed and sat facing Winners, hnshing IT
gently against her breast.
The little head fell over to one side, and
the big eyes half closed in patient endur-
ance.
Winners could see the child'S full face.
He felt as il he had been oyerheated and
suddenly plunged in an ice-cold stream.
II was the look IN the baby's face-that
patient, old look that he had often seen
before. the lingering surrender Of the hu-
man 10 the heat and the sasebrush and
the silence.
The mans clenched fists suddenly loos-
ened, and he reached mp and took OF his
battered hat. The little woman was look
ing him over.
Winners looked at her in q strange sill
ence.
Il, j. terrible here in this solitude, isn't
it?- she went on. rocking the baby with the
bending OF her body. "Many u time We
would have given mp and tried to get away,
only hat YOU were M in the hills. a human
being. alive. We had lost hope before the
team died. and atterward il was worse.
..When the baby came ! wanted To go
back home. II seemed couldn't stay, and
II have felt that would die If had tn
stay much longer.
"But ia was impossible. Even the
thought oi YOU mp IN the mountains had
ceased IL help nae bear it," She smiled INTO
his eyes again. II was gong wild because
the baby y sick. Won see. She doesn't gei
ANY better and ! know that il we stay much
longer" The little woman stopped. look
ed down at the baby'- face. and gently
held u closer.
But now everything j. changed, and
that j. why | wanted 10 zee you and thank
You Tor your friendship 10 Paul. u seems
a. If YOU have been our talI~man. Ever
since vou gave IL that 'grub~take' We have
seemed To he more hopeful. Paul ha- held
me NJ and said We would get away some
how. And now IL has come-ihe streak
Of luck Won were telling him would come
some time.
She laid the baby. in sleep Of ~tupor.
ear, fully on the bed.
Winners notices duly how thin she was,
the paleneS~ Of her girll~h cheeks. the ~had-
owS under her eyes.
She went 10 4 corner and raised 4 loose
hoard. The man IN the rlckelN char
WINGED.
you have been 80 much To Paul and me-,
have seemed our example 81 n"blenc~~ ana
hcroi-m 80 long. that ! want 10 show II 70
you. the thing YOU have helped IL gain ny
lhraying the loneliness and fear and I'll else.
even feel that. some way. we owe our
wonderful luck to YOU" She rose and
came toward him. IN her hands the Two
familiar leather sacks Who I contents ne
had bought with those years OF hi- HE.
.Sccrr She cried IN the joy ~ her sud
den vision of the future. "See, Paul found
the great pocket ~ last. And the baby will
live.
.We1i take her away To the cool lakes
hack home. and she will live. IL ali that !
care for" She laid the gold before hIm &"
admire, and STOPPING quickly, kissed ne
baby'- tiny hand. Wilmer stared at the
-acLs. and thing- crew black before ms
lcy When 7hc turned back 10 HIM, she
smiled through tear.
Paul hu- gone over ON the river to hhnt
v horse. You think AZ can find one, don '