Courier Democrat., 1917-11-08

Auu yet Colu yOu WuuC Sue Salu!
he cried. II told you heard her stand
there and tell that dirty faced little
girl how that IDIOT boy that's always
walkin' past here, four or five times a
day, whistling and looking back, was
in love Of her! Ye gods! What kind
Of a person will she grow up into If
you don't punish her for havin' ideas
like that at her age? 1 never heard of
such thing! That worm walkin' past
here four or five times a day just to
look at Jane! And her standing there,
calmly tellin' that sooty faced little
girl, He's in love of me! Why, it's
enough to sicken man. Honestly. If
I had my way, I'd see that both she
and that little Freddie Banks got a
first class whipping!'
Don't you think, Willie," said Mrs.
Baxter-"don't you think that, consid-
ering the rather noncommittal method
! Of Freddie's courtship, you are sug-
gesting extreme measures?"
"Well, she certainly ought to be pun
ished!' he insisted, and then. with re-
versal to agony, he shuddered. That's
| the least of it!" he cried. Its the in
| sulting things you always allow. her
(, to say of one of the noblest girls in
the United States-that's what counts!
| On the very last day-yes, almost the
last hour-that Miss Pratt's in this
town you let your only daughter stand
! there and speak disrespectfully of her,
and then all you do is to tell her to
go play somewhere elsev"
"You're all wrought up''-
! II am not wrought up!' shouted
William. "Why should be charged
With
"Now, now!" Mrs. Baxter said
You'll feel better tomorrow"
"What do you mean by that?" he de
manded, breathing deeply.
For reply she only shook her head
in an odd little way.
"You'll be all right, Willie," she said
softly and closed the door.
Alone, William lifted clinched hands
in series of tumultuous gestures al
the ceiling; then he moaned and sank
into a chair at his writing table. Pres
emily a comparative calm was restored
to him, and with reverent fingers he
took from a drawer one pound box
Of candy. covered with white tissue
paper. girdled with blue ribbon. He
set the box gently beside him upon the
table, then from beneath a large green
blotter drew forth some scribbled
sheets These he placed before him
and, taking infinite IA MS with his
handwriting, lowly opied:
Dear Lola-I resume when you are
reading these lines it will be this after.
noon, and you will be on the train moving
rapidly away from this old place here
farther and farther from it all. AS sit
here at my old desk and look back upon il
all while am riting this farewell letter
! hope when you are reading 1t you also
will look back upon it all and think oil
one you called (Alias) Little Boy Baxter
AS l sit here this morning that you arc
going away at last look back and | can
not remember any summer in my whole
life which has been like this summer, be-
cause a great change has come over me
this summer If you would like to know
what this means it was something like
said when John Watson got there yester-
day afternoon and interrupted what I said
May you enjoy this candy and think o
the giver. l will put something in witt
this letter. II is something maybe you
would like to have and in. exchange
| would give all possess for one of you II
you would send it to me when you gel
home. Please do this for now my heart
is braking. Yours sincerely.
WILLIAM S. BAXTER,
(ALIAS) LITTLE BOY BAXTER.