The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1917-12-14
down the street. I'm sure she'll De

down the street. I'm sure she'll be
good to Dick and Nellie"
81 hope they'll be good to her." MUIR
INJURED the young man. 81 shoulc
think any bird could sing in that
shop"
Mrs. fuckers anxieties concerning
her pets must have multiplied as the
sum.nsr went on, for Mr.. James Tuck
er, Jr., found it necessary to drop in
and look at the birds very frequently
indeed. Clarita used to smile when
she saw him coming. Mr.. James, Jr.,
was a young lawyer, and his Office
not yet being overrun with clients, he
found time to visit the bird store In
the middle of the morning or the after
noon, or sometimes both. Birds were
never better looked-after than were
the Tucker canaries.
Flows DickT' he would ask, COM
ing in, to find Clarita polishing cages
or filling tiny cups with bird-seed.
Every WELL" Clarita would answer,
most demurely. Hes been singing
his head of this morning.
Nothing strange in that" he would
say. II should, too, If stayed here.
Isn't there something can do to help,
Miss Evans? I've an hour or so to
spare. Let me polish that brass; I'm
used to shining up gear on my auto.
1 wish you could take little spin in
it tonight, after the birds are all
asleep. Would you"
Then there came a day when Dick
was not so well. He dropped and
pinned in his cage, with never a song.
Clarita fused over him, and doctored
him for various bird ailments. But
it was of no avail-Dick refused to be
merry.
| "Of course, he's a very Ole bird"
Clarita said anXiously to James, who
was very attentive to the invalid.
Its probably old age. l don't think
there's much we can do. What
shame that your mother shouldn't see
him again!"
81 might telegraph" he suggested.
"but she's five hundred miles away.
I doubt whether she'd come. She will
be sorry, though. She's really fond of
that poor old bird"
"Of course she is! 7" Clarita said
| with emphasis. "When you do like
birds, you love them. You don't I'M
derstand, James Tucker; you needn't
| Taught"
"Well, I love something else besides
BIRDS" he defended. '"That is I love
| somebody else. It's all right to want
to spend your life with birds, but I'd
rather spend mine with"
| Something in his tone made Clarita
turn away quickly. A customer came
in just then, and she was busy for an
| hour or more, so his sentence was not
finished. However, Clarita knew what
it's ending would have been, and she
| pondered it that night as she sat alone
at her window, looking out at the
stars. She pondered it, and little
soft sigh escaped her. She was very
happy.
Bird Dick died the next day. James
came in, to find Clarita putting his
soft little body into q moss-lined box.
"Poor old Dickw said James Tuck
er. "Mother'n care lot. We ought
to make it up to her somehow.
might buy her another bird, but no
bird could take Dicks place in her af-
fections. I think the very best way
would be to make her SO happy about
something else that she would be dis
tracted. know what I'd like to do"
| "What?" asked Clarita-although
she thought she knew.
| "Take her a new daughter" said
James Tucker. what do you say,
Clarita? Couldn't we be married now
and break the news about Dick to-
gether? 1t would make her so happy
she couldn't grieve for him at all.
Mothers always wanted a daughter,
Clarita, and you know that love you
more than anything in the wide world
Couldn't we be married now, Clarita p
| "Well," murmured Clarita, as his
arm began to steal around her, II
don't know but what we could"