The Rice belt journal., 1919-09-06
The Trouble With
Tommy
r.
BY WILL T. AMES
BY WILL T. AMES

paper Syudicate.)
The trouble with Tommy Ellls
showed itself from the first day ne
went to school. 1t was little school,
and there were just fifty hooks on the
walls Of the boys Gentry" with fifty
one boys to hang their hats on them'
Half q dozen of the new boys were
younger and smaller than Tommy, VINO
had reached the ripe age OF seven
but Tommy it was who had to lay MS
can on the floor in the corner because
he let the other fellows grab While he
held back. Tommy didn't like having
to nut his cap on the floor any better
than the other boys. But somebody's
had to 90 there, and so it was Tom
my's.
It wasn't because he was slow or
stupid that Tommy, from that time on,
took the dust of his schoolmates ana
later on the choice of whatever was
being given out in the way of favors or
jobs or opportunities. On the contrary
Tommy was brighter and quicker ana
naturally more skillful and clever than
the majority of boys. But he was Ut
terIy lacking in self-assertiveness.
The only occasion on which TOmmy's
hand went up in time to be recognized
by the teacher, when she was showing
off her pupils to visiting parents or
committeeman, was when he was the
only child in the room who knew the
answer to the question. If one or two
or dozen of the others were prepared
with the desired information they were
all sure to beat Tommy to it.
There was a little girl whom Tommy
worshiped in his secret soul. one
day her hat blew off. She was the
school beauty, so five boys put chase
after the hat. Tommy, as usual, got
started last. having been bumped out
of his stride by another boy. 1t was a
freak wind and of a sudden the hat
shifted its course and came straight
at Tommy and a mud puddle. Tommy
headed it off and, all bushes, took a
single step toward his inamorata. Ther
another boy grabbed the hat away from
Tommy and himself bestowed 1t upor
its owner, with the air Of one having
rescued ii from the puddle instead o.
purloining it from the abashed Tom
my's worshipful hand. The little girl
whose name was Annabelle Hester
smiled benignantly upon the other boy
whose name was Floyd Cushman, ant
never even gave Tommy a glance.
| And so 1t was. At twenty Tomm.
was holding down the worst possibl
lob in the gift of the superintendent o
the one-hOrse interurban trolley com
peny, a job which no one else woul
take, and which necessitated his gel
ting up at an unconscionable hour i
the morning, and walking mile afte
taking the last car into the barn
night, with all his leisure time in tn
middle of the day-and what use ca
a Young fellow make of the hours frol
ten till three?
The use that Tommy made of thel
was to think, hopelessly and with
sinking heart, about that same Ann'
belle Hester whose hat he saved fro
being muddied when he was a litt
boy. Annabelle was stenographer
town now, but she still lived in the S
burban village, and very often roc
ont on the car on which Tommy &C
lected the fares.
She was always friendly and MI
TO Tommy, and now and then ne We
tured to talk to her little, but on
, now and then, because Tommy ia
cied Annabelle seemed q little nervo'
and i'll at ease at such times, perha
as though she didn't just care abo
getting too intimate with q conductt
Another reason was that Floyd Gus
= man, who was In college now, and G
ing to be lawyer, rode out with A
: nabelle whenever he came back to t
village. which was pretty often, a
I quite took possession of her. Yes, To
nv felt altogether "out Of 1t" with A
nabelle.
) Then the war came. Tommy went
d q buck private and came back as ol
L He wasn't, it appeared, of non-com II
q teriaI. though an intelligent, studio
u and conscientious soldier. Floyd Gu
: man, 1amming his way in the att
II tion of his superiors at Plattsburg a
later In France, attained to captain
e before he met his finish above Verd
u When Tommy was demobilized tt
u gave him back his old run, and 1t v
+. the third evening that he saw An
T belle Hester. The girl had climbed
~ the platform of the car and was on
> point of entering when she glanced
and saw Tommy. She went white, Il
q ROSY "Why, Temmy-Tommy ELI
II she exclaimed. "When on earth
II you get back? ! didn't ne'
n hoard" Annabelle was becoming
" articulate.
e Tommy Ellis had been through W
u no man can go through and still
IN nuito as he was before. Much Of
IN old self-consciousness was gone,
ol "Annabelle," he said in manly,
h' rect way. I'm dreadfully sorry at
Floyd. I'm the only one you know
es, Unnecessary Noise.