Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-11-13

chanrc 81 aN~fangernGnts. Ee 4
lpatd the board for ne eIaaantnl
months of Micliael'a hn1inor
1mnintained HIS right 10 dQ II NesaAo5sg.
Neither would 5he let SMithae
ihin any Of the amounts Ms ga
SD Michael moved, gkaE sandS bag
gage. and found the change goldss
5The regular, weH-cookedE TSsals gave
izest to his appetite whichla3ha been.
going back on him for sonletims 4
der hisysown economical regime, ann
iand more air, to say nothingaofssais
Sseomfortable bed with adjoining aEskE
room. and plenty Of heat and light
lnxade life seem more worth swni3$s
BESIDES there were other boardsF{fsf
with whom he now camesin pleasant
contact. and there was large pleakas
mt parlor with easy chairs and
old -fshioned square piano which Stigs
RETAINED much Of its original sweet
ness of tone. ~
Mrs. Semple had b daughter HESTER
an earnest, gray-eyed girl with sQets
brown hair andAa Arm little chin, who
Fhad taken. an art course in COopRfs
Institute and painted very good ptess,
lures which, however. did not 4ss gt y
| Hester played the piano-nOt VERY
;swell, it is true, but we'll enoughstos
make It pleasant to q lonely boy who
had known no music in his life exAs
icept the birds or his own whistles
She played hymns on Sunday after
church while they waited.for the dff-
Iner to be ready; and evenings afthr
supper she played other things: old
ballads and tender, touching melodies
from, old masters sir1plified for such
as she. Michael sometimes fingered
~. - E, - -AV-H Il, ~rnrt ,ss- ..sA--
the alley, and Joined his rich natural
iitenor with her light pretty soprano.
Sometimes Will French a young fell
i1ow who was In the same law Office
land also boarded at Mrs. Semplegss,
stayed awhile and, sang bass. It was
very pleasant and. made it seem more
as If he were living in a home.
All this time Michaelwas carrying
on his quiet work in the alley, saying
nothing about 1T to anybody. In the
first place he felt shy about It be-
! cause Of his personal connection with
the place. No that he wished to hide
his origin from his employers, but he
felt he owed tito Mr.. Endicott who
had recommended HIM to be as re-
spectacle in their sight. as possible:
and so long as they neither }new nj
cared it did not matter. Then, at
never occurred to Michael that ne
was doing anything remarkable with
his little white room in the blackness
of the stronghold of sin. Night after
night he gathered his newsboys and
taught thena whiting, basketrN,
reading, arithmetic and geography,
with a little philosophy and botany
thrown in unawares. Night after night
the older fellows dropped gin, one or
two at-a time, and listened to the
stories Michael told; sometimes of
college life and games in which they
of Nature and his experiences in find
ing an alligator, or a serpent, Q
watching some bird. 1t was wonder
full how interesting he managed to
make those talks. He never realized
that he was preparing in the school
of experience to be a magnificent pub
lie speaker. With an audience; as diff
ficult as any he>could have found5in
the whole wide city, he l~nanagedSto
holdt them every time.
L. And the favorite theme often was
agriculture. He would begin by
bringing a new little plant to thu
room, setting 1t up and showing it to
them; talking about conditions Of soil
n how plants were being improved.
1t was usually the resume of some
article on agriculture that he had tax
en- time to read at moor and was re-
viewing for their benefit. q
5They6heard all, about Burbank and
his wonderful experiments in making
plants grow and Develop and as they
alisteped they went, and stood. rolnd
the blossom that Michael had just
/ brought to them and looked with n4F
wonder at It,. A flower was a strange
enough sight in that court, but when
they heard these, stories It became
filled with~new interest. For slittle
while they forgot their evil plotting
and were lifted above themselves. ~
ii Continued in, Mondayss
Evenings Herald.