The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1919-01-02
Copyright, The Frank A. Munsey Co..
81 James Gardner sanderson

Her son eyed her in disfavor.
Jaw, cut it out" he muttered IN
easily. 'I'm thirteen and big enough
to be me own boss, l guess!''
"Kapin' company wild a cross-eyed
girl in Oliver Street," interjected An
ME sharply. ~.a
'She amt cross-eyedl" =@
! "You'd ought to be glad Of tn good
home I've give We since your father
died. God have mercy on his sowl |!
It's not afther cro,ss-eyed girls he'd be
Goin', NEITHER" walled Annie.
"She amt cross-eyed!" snarled John
ny, .stung by the repetition. IF
likes girl I likes her, and it's not
even me mothers business, under
stand?"
me wild my rheumatismatics
Many's tn time I've stood in tn snow
earnin' living to support you! If
was many tn mother, I'd bat you
acrost tn face for talking back t. me-"
reproached Annie.
you'd only bat me once, then," re-
torted Johnny stoutly.
Mrs. Kelly's grief broke forth afresh.
Her son surveyed her sullenly and
reached for his hat. .u.s.
"I'm goin' out" he remarked.
Mrs. Kelly gave no sign of having
heard.
"I'm goin' down to Oliver street."
he added tauntingly.
Then Mrs. Kelly removed the apron.
you go down to Oliver street and
you can stay there" she said, trem-
bling. .'N
, call right" replied Johnny. 'rl
stay there! And you can be getting
some one else to help sell your pa
pers," he added shrilly. II won'tv'
The slam Of the door closed the dis
cussion, and Mrs. Kelly sat by the
window alone. The fountain of tears
evaporated swiftly in the heat of her
gathering wrath.
"Shtruck, has he?'' she muttered
! aloud to the silent room. "Readin'
thin coal mine stories, it's like. And
he'd be LAWN me FIR red-headed hus-
sy-th' divil sind her Joy of him! All
| right, let m! I'll not take m back,
not FIR PRESIDENT O'Roosevelt and tn
! whole crowd Of arbitraries. I know
! me business -
With the final sentence Mrs. Kelly
rose and set about her evenings work
The vigor with which she banged the
iron fryin'-pan upon, the table beside
the kitchen sink spoke volumes for
the earnestness Of her resolve.
"Me wurrkin' me hands to tn bone
! an him lettin' me! It's on a grating
he Gun sleep this night" she said saw
agely, at the end of two hours of un-
assisted toll.
AS she founced from the kitchen,
outraged motherhood caused her to
lock the door viciously, and to indulge
| in the hope that the autumn night
might be cold.
During all the following day Annie
stood at her post in front of one Of
the newspaper buildings on Park Row.
Annie had been selling papers at this
particular stand for more than ten
years, and in the crowds streaming to
! and from the bridge there were dozens
J whose days would not have been fully
begun or ended without CHEEKY word
and hurried purchase as they paused
before her. And usually as CHEEKY a
word had been tossed back to them.
On but one occasion-when Johnny,
as a baby, lay very i'll with diphtheria
! could her customers recall such de-
| preston.
1t CHANGED that one of the Oldest,
who remembered, and who now no.
ticed Johnny's absence, made in
quiries.
Annie told her woe volubly. The
man shook his head.
Better arbitrate it, he said grave
| ~. Seems the only way to do bust
ness nowadays Then he dashed
around the corner for trolley car.
Johnny remained obdurate, and in
! the tenement on Cherry Hill dust
gathered for three days upon his bed.
Mrs. Kelly ate desolate breakfasts and
did all the work. At dusk on the
third day she followed an insistent
impulse and went for a little walk
Totally oblivious footsteps carried her
stout and rotund figure down into
| Oliver street. She happened to no.
tice the cross-eyed girl sitting on her
doorstep in close and unabashed con
verse with a boy who was not Johnny
Shortly afterwards she returned fome
and the haste with which she opened
the door meant hope as plainly as the
subsequent look in her old eyes meant
disappointment. The room was still
empty.
At the moment In which she pl0dded
uneasily to her work on the mex,
morning, Johnny crawled forlornly
from packing-box In Thirty-frst
street area, and denounced uppel
Broadway vigorously. He was hungry
! and business was bad