Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-11-15
PATSY KILDARE
THE OUTLAW
By JUDD MORTIMER LEWIS
The DOubter

II SEEMS to me that go to school twice
L as often as come back, but maybe don't
Today was good and lame when hoped
! out OF bed after kissing Rowdy twice on TN
nose and giving him the biggest Kind OF
| hug for biting the mans leg yesterday and
| getting us spilled out of the auto. thinh
If | hadn't fallen on the turkey / would
have busted something important from the
way | felt while was Topping pancakes
| and making my fathers coffee.
When my father went to bed to sleer
after his night watching, Rowdy and ]
went to school, but we did not run much
There was black and blue and green and
yellow and red spot on my right handed hip
as big as a dollar bill. and 1t hurt to bend
it, but | thought if bent IT few times
1t would work easier, 80 ] did, and it did.
When we went past the Welses the Wells
kids were coming out to go to school Pie
Face was with them. lie said he was well
again, but you never can take his word
for anything. ! asked him If he had stayed
at the Wellses all night, but he said it
was none of my business. and, of course, it
wasn't.
Noreen asked me whether I didn't have
any gloves to wear, and told her | was
as bad off for gloves as she was FOR man
ners. She turned up her nose and did not
answer, as you have to do so often with
the Irish like me- because they are always
saying things that there Is no answer to.
Then Sphinx Noreen's brother got next to
me and kept crowding and Crowding. trying
to crowd me into the gutter. When | had
got plenty of 1t, which was soon, l looked
up into the air and said, 'Oh. look at that !!
He did, and when he got his chin up into
the air ! punched him in the front Of his
neck and I guess that surprised them all,
for they were not looking for anything like
that. The way to surprise people Is to
give them something different every time.
Sphinx did not cry. but he looked aston
ished and kept swallowing and feeling to
see if his neck was there All the way TO
school he did not try to crowd me.
They were all telling what they were go-
ing to get for Christmas said, Santa
Claus is going to bring me a lot of things
Every stocking | have got santa ClauS Is
going to fill" They all laughed and Pie
Face said, IT'S just sickening. That silly
kid believes in Santa Claus" ] said. why
should not believe in Santa CLAUSE" He
said. Because there is no Santa Claus.
THAT is why" / said. You never did have
much sense. but since your father died you
haven't got any," He said, "If there is a
Santa Claus why don't you ever see him?"
| said, you never saw the back of your
neck, did you?" He said, NO nobody ever
saw the back Of his neck" | pnched the
back of his neck till he holered. and then
I said You never saw 1t, but here it is,
all right You never saw Santa Claus
and so you do not believe in him. Well, you
will not get Il thing on Christmas ! am
going to write a letter to Santa Claus,
telling him that you kids do not believe in
him"
Then Sphinx and Clara and Noreen each
said they believed In Santa Claus, and they
were mad at Pie Face for saying he didn't
believe in him. Pie Face said he was just
Joking and that he did believe in Santa
Claus all right. told him that Santa
Claus would know whether he was joking
or not He kept quiet all the rest of the
way to school.
Tonight prayed, Dear mother which
art In heaven, | am kind of lame on one
side and if you or God know anything to
rub on to make 1t better please put 1t into
my head If Santa Claus hasn't started
vet and if you know of anything "A dog
would like for Christmas | wish you would
nut him next, for Rowdy is good dog,
and ought to have something coming to
him. There has never been better dog in
the world than Rowdy. He will always play
with me and he will fight for me and will
fight for him. Ask God to bless you and my
father. My Christmas tree Is looking fine.
Amen
Ready for Christmas" the next Patsy Kill
dare adventure, appears in tomorrow's Evening