The Washington herald., 1917-04-07

Do you know, I sometimes believe It
Is the little kind acts we do that make
-' life pleasanter for everyone around US.
1 mean instead Of the great. noble deeds
OF kindness.
When I was little, very little, mean,
I know If We had anything specially nice,
We were taught to try and give a por-
uon Of It to somebody we knew who
couldn't have Just that particular thing.
and this once led to such a comical hap
pening- Mother took a tiny little bum
galow down at the seashors one sum-
mer and Just turned US loose to have
good time.
Ours was the last in a long struggling
line Of dwellings that followed the coast
patrols path along the shore and up
through the salt meadows to the bluffs.
Below US there lived a very dignifed
rather grouchy old actor and his valet.
1 think there was a housekeeper too,
but I never saw her-just the tall. stoop-
shouldered old fellow stalking along with
his eyes on the ground. generally with
book to read when he found a cosy
spot to rest
Up at the big hotel there was a splen-
did golf course, and we children longed
to rOmp over 1t and play. So Jack said
we'd have a golf course of our own. We
got sticks and hard rubber balls and
tried to plan course, and it was fear
fully wild one as l remember l know
the seventh hole was down on the shore
below the bluff and the sixth hole was
on the bluff. so it took some figuring ever
TO land the seventh. Jack said our
course was the best on the island be-
cause nobody but our own selves could
ever play. it.
Then one day just as 1 was landing
that seventh hole there came a shout
frOm below that fairly petrifed me. 1
stood still, but it came again. and we
all cTept to the edge OF the bluff and lay
Gown on our dummies to look over and
see what awful thing had happened. We
must have seemed terribly surprising
from below, just those three heads at
the very edge of the bluff, but there was
Ne old actor rubbing his head and star
ing up at US: 1t was Signor Perugfni,
who used to play the manager so WON
GerfuHy in The Yellow Jacket and,
later, died at the Actors Home on Staten
Island. He was such a stately, punctili-
Gus man and WREN ne saw that we were
only children. he smiled and lifted up
one hand at us reproachfully.
IF this occurs once more, only once
more, mind. shall keep one of you as
a hostage"
We sat back and tried to figure out
what hostage was. Nobody knew. That
night. at dinner. l asked Mother what q
hostage was. and she said she thought it
was somebody who was held by an enemy
as a surety for promise given.
We didn't promise him anything"
blurted out Jack. We just hit him on
the head with a golf BALL"
When Mother had heard it was Signor
Perugini, she was so sorry, for every
body who knew him liked and admired
the old gentleman So she said We y,ust
all apologize. Lottie and were willing
We'd found out long ago that when we
had done wrong. it was best to get the
apology over, like swallowing a pill, or
taking castor oil. If it had to be, the
sooner it was over. the better, but Jack
objected. He was a little fellow in those
days, but spunky, and he fatty would not
so and apologize. So Lottie and waited
along the patrol path for Signor Perugini
to pass on his daily walk. and all at once
i had an idea. You could always get
JACK to dress up and play he was some
, body else We would send him as q
hostage. We ran back to the house, and