Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-11-03

wera dim and uncertain, many ~ y
than,. hut little kindnesses stooa ~ ~,
a had cut on his foot once ana nov
RucE had bathed it and bound H. ,tt,i
IN dirty rags. doing double duly W. :.
tha newspapers for several days :,
save his friend from stepping. ine.
WAS a hitter cold night way PACK a. ..
far as he could remember Wnel1 ~
/ had had bad luck, m same a
! the others supperless ana LII"
freezing. Buck had shared q G.us
! and found a warm boiler room Viz
thew crawled out of sight y s.ep.
There were other incidents, sun n,o.t
blurred in his memory, but e'iU 9ttI.
to recall how loyal the wnvis nnc.
more their faces when they hearo ~
was going away to colleges; olancnee
With horror at the separation, hsn1,
inc with Measure when he promised
to return!
The wears, how they a mango
and separated! Where. were tney
these who really belonged to MN
who were his rightful companions
! What had the years done 70 tIel.
And he, had a duty toward them un,
performed. How was it that ne mac
been in the city All these hours anu
! NOT even thought of going to look lol
those loyal souls who had stood by
hin so faithfully when they were
all mere babies? He must go at once
He had lost his head over attenptlnl
to reach things that were not 1ol
him, and this shock had come to SET
him straight.
Gravely he rose at last, these
thoughts surging through his brain
The heat, the Sitting air OF the
room, is recent struggling and the eX-
hausting stupor made him reel dlzzlly
as he got up, but his mettle was up
now and he SIT his lips and went
about making himself neat. He long
ed for a dip in the crystal waters of
the little lake at college. The tiny
wash bowl Of his room proved a poor
substitute with its tepid water and
diminutive towel. .,-,
He went out and breakfasted care
fully as If it were a duty, and then.
with his map in his pocket, started
out to find his old haunts.
F.. CHAPTER VIII.
Thirteen years in New York had
brought many changes. Some Of the
well remembered landmarks were
gone and new buildings in their
places. A prosperous looking saloon,
quite palatial in it's entrance, arked
the corner where he used to sell pa
pers. 1t used to be a corner grocery
store. Saloons! Always and every
where there were saloons! Michael
looked at them wonderingly. He had
quite forgotten them in his exile, for
the college influence had barred him
from it's vicinity.
The boy Milky had been familiar
enough with saloons, looking upon
them as n necessary evil, where drink
ing feathers spent the money that
ought to have bought Their children
food. He had been in and out of them
commonly enough selling his papers,
warming his feet, and getting a crust
o and then from an uneaten bit on
the lunch counter. Sometimes there
had been glasses to drain, but Milky
with his observing eyes had early de-
cided that he would have none of the
stuff that sent men home to curse
their little children.
College influence, while there had
been little said On the subject, had
filled the boy with horror for saloons
and d%runkards. He stood appalled,
now as he turned at last into an alley
where familiar objects. %doorsteps,
turnings, cellars, met his gaze, with
grog shops all along the way and e n
tlnelling every corner.
A strange feeling came over him
as memory stirred by long-forgotten
sights awoke. Was this really the
place, and was hat the opening be-
h third steps the very blind
alley where jamie used to live? Things
tVara on mlInh 1iySftn~ e4 ~~,x4L ry~~-a
IN every way than he remembered
them.
He hurried on, not noticing the at
tentlon he was attracting from the
Wretched little children in the cutters
though he scanned them all eagerly
hurriedly, with the wild idea, tina,
Buck and the rest might be amonf
them.
Yes, the alley was there, dark an6
lll-smelllng as ever, and in its din
recesses on a dirty step a woman,
11gure hunched; a figure he knew a
once he had seen before and in tina
very spot. Who was she? What haf
they called her? Sally? Aunt Sal?
re hurried up to where she sa
looking curiouslv. apathetiraliy =.
MIN; her gray hair struggling dowl
on her dirty cotton frock open at tn
neck over shrivelled yellow skin
solied old hands hanging carelessl,
over s'attern1v garments; stockin-
less feet stuck into a great tattere'
a l OF mems shoes. Nothing SCENE,
changed since he saw her last saw
that the hair had been black then
and the skin not SO wrinkled. Aun
sally had been good natured always
oven when she was drunk; her hus
oand, when he came home was al
ways drunk also. but never goo
natured. These things came back t
the. boy as he stood looking down a
the wreck of a woman before him.
me bleary eyes looked up unknow
ing, half resentful of his intrusion.
Aunt sally!" impulsively erie
n boyish voice. Aren't you Aun
Sally?"