Omaha daily bee., 1922-06-08
BY RUBY NJ. AYRES.
Copyrishs lsfs.
WHO'S VINO ~ THE STORY.

WHO'S VINO ~ THE STORY.
Sisl.s insishs. . pretty but -poosiy
drsssed Easiish siri. .is walking along >
Issedaa street In the rain sh~n her
.hashy iitsis hat Il blown off and quickly
s~lsa ,euss, n,ss. TIE latter picks ap the
ruiasd hssdpiere and smilinsly sffess -
psy fos u. hut 10 hsashtiiy told BY the
ssuss ~onssn that she u no besssr. With
let pras~s1s ea hers. 70 rua into . motor
accident 10 shic2 flower woman With .
little bsby hoy In her arms is run ever
=, the ss.. The nssssss :. hliieS: h1s
s.sskt up b. Violet. .ho hurvisdiy take.
.. s." 9Th 4 * Z. & s;%,! '' ''' -
Violet, fnglsby lived in the front
acknowledgement on the second, floor.
When she was in work." as Mrs.
Higgs pu, il, she paid her rent7regu-
larly. but lately she had had run
OF bad luck. following an illness, and
was four weeks behind.
Life had gone hardly with her.
Naturally delicate. she found it difh.
cult 10 keep her health on the small
income she could earn. which often
and often admitted only OF one meal
a day.
She was. as she herself put il, Jack
Of all trades. She colored Christmas
cards for q firm At a slave rate; she
taught music TO one or two aspiring
school girls in the neighborhood; she
had even sold programs in a theatet
and tried her luck i'll the show rooms
at Ga,wiok's, the big drapers.
But the continued standing had
been too much for her, and that to-
gether with = chill, had resulted in
the illness that was responsible for
the arrears in the rent book.
why don't yer go 'ome. TO yer
people| Mrs. .Higgs demanded one
day, as she stood at the foot OF the
girls bed and stared down at her
with browning brows above her one
eye. Amt yer got no mother or
someone who'll be glad to see yer"
In her rough way Mrs. Higgs
meant to be. kind. II was rough
way and oSify those who knew her
most intimately could penetrate. her.
grim exterjox and find the kindly
heart that Beat; beneath her tight.
black bodice.
The girl turned her head wearily
on the poiliw without answering. but
a faint flush had tinged her pale
checks; a mist of tears for a mo-
ment clouded her blue eyes. .
"ghsis:s nobody who would. be
glad 70 See .meS,"'k she, ,,said presently
in a hard voice. :"
Mrs. Higxa: hsd tlnreupon drawn
her own coHeldsions. III. was not the
first time sAe had HAD lodgefs of
the same typeAyoung girls who
spoke with the gentle breeding Of a
lady, and who were yet as friendless
and alone al If they had "just
growed" like, Topsy: Of old.
She stood I'm the dingy passage
now and followed the girls slim fig
ure up the dark staircase with a sort
of grim smile on her face. -.
1T weren't in the agreement for
you to keep 2 child ere" she called
after her resentfully. "And if that's
what yer mean to do. up goes the
rent-see"
The girl made no reply. She
owed = months rent already, 50 per-
heps argument seemed little SUPER
fuous in the face of such a fact. She
went on her way up,the two flights
OF uncarpeted stairs with the Sleep
ing boy held tightly in her tired
arms. >.
The front bed-sitting-room was in
darkness. She groped her way to
the narrow bedstead there and laid
the child gently down.
He stirred little, sleepily, and
nlurmured:
"Mum-Mun,r a catch lik. a sob
in his voice. :, -.
A sudden pain contracted the
girls heart, there were tears in her
eyes as she fumbled for matches,
and lit cheap lamp on the small,
round table in the center Of the
room. - =
With it in her hand she went back
to the bedside and looked down at
the child. He lay on his left side,
one flushed cheek resting on
chubby hand. brown curls tossed
over the pillow, one tiny foot kicked
free of its worn shoe, hanging, wear
lily over the,edge Of the bed. :