Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-10-18
XIV.

s-
stdtm.
The girl in the gateway LOOKED
questioning. Then. quickly compos
ing herself, she came toward then
quietly. Adam s<Alt, i~nstinctively, The
burning questionawhichs fred wool
craft. and strengthened the spres
of the hand which still rested upon
the lighters shoulder.
Don't say anything" he command.
ed IN low tone. GIVE her q
woolcraft nodded. snotherins a
And so, when she came up to them
they merely noddedsher q greeting.
Hello. Pearl": said Adam. and
She took of her Nat, and sank down
UPON the doorstep with a sigh.
ANY food In the house. fellers?'
IT you st IT." conditioned the
I'm a minute she nodded, tanning
herself with the newspaper woolcrafi
q hot day." !.
Nobody disputed this, and there en-.
sued a long silence, during which
Pear continued to fan herself with
an increasing air OF confidence, which
grew as she eyed the two men care
fully; She was evidently trying tc
conclude whether Or not they would
quiz her. But a the moments passed,
she decided that the matter would be
ignored, and presently arose and
made fol-, the door. y
well, boys, supper very pronto,.
n said, gaily, and went in, her little
laugh turning to a sobbing cough be-
fore h was fairly out Of sight. The
men looked at each other gravely, and
crafts face.
"Well?" he demanded. "Ain't 70,
goin' to say anything?"
Wait" said Adam. "l'll admit
I'm disappointed But I hardly know
II could stransle herr" said wool.
craft, drawing in his breath Aercely sc
that 1T sounded almost like a sob
I'd sooner kill her than see her &C
back! She's gotter be stopped,
somebody's gotter sop her! Before
and then comin'Nback and laughin, If
our faces! Stop her! >Caii't you dc
somethin? The hateful little cat!"-
you love her."
II do" said the ex-nshter, brief
There was quiet betweea them
again. inside, Pearl could be heara
moving about, not singing as was he1
wont, but setting out the dishes with
noisy defiance. The atmosphere was
tense.
Il wish i knew what to do,". said
Adam again. "Where'A old man
ion on visit 70 that ex-lahaladv
OF ms" replied Woolcraft. BE back
"Too bad" commented Adam,
He's a wise old chap. Confound it
an, I feel as though 1 had undertaken
a whole female orphan asylum!'
With which he strolled off to frown
contemplatively at the sweet-pea
The prospect Of having to in any
way control the destiny Of another
person was simply appalling, to Adam.
but 1t was not to be denied that the
necessity for doing =. something very
! playing the part Of Fate was in
MS hands. The course of action
Wnlch ne tool IN regard to Pearl
mlgnt easily determine the entire
trend of her future life: and her life
would unquestionably affect wool
crafts. for h gepuineness Of the ex-
nghter's love for S1er was evident. II
had changed and revived the mar. al
most miraculously. He seemed years
younger. life had come back to his
Gull eyes, and his shoulders had
Strengthened and resained something
OF the vigor and shapeliness Of hts
youth. And he had stopped drinking.
Since the very day Of Pearls arrival
ne had not touched a drop, and now.
after the a~bstaining weeks that, had
passed. the result was. very marked.
HIS skin was clear and the lines were
Fmefting from his face. Altogether
the giant was a changed man, young
or. better in every way then when he
had first come to the garden. And
Pearl had done 1t! Yes, willingly or
not, it was this poor thing, this har-
lot, this broken wait of the streets,
born In a howell, too weak to protect
herself against the first temptation
which had come her way, this crea-
ture was responsible for the miracle!
A street-walker had reformed a
drunkard and made a man Of ,him!
The whole world Of moral codes
reeled under the impact OF this fact
The garden had helped, Of course: the
out-of-door work, and the good food.
But1t had not put the moral stamina
nor the Joy Of life into the man. He
had been too far gone for the earth
alone TO- do that. It had taken her,