Evening star., 1922-04-23

was heauso when the last man had
voted.
Polls is closed" beloved Roaring
| Bill. And it's unanimous for the
gent called Jim. Men, do your duty
| by popular hero"
The demonstration was quick and
clamorous. Men raised Jim on their
| shoulders and paraded him around in
| a circle. Drivers secured pick poles
and cantdogs and held them stifny
| like lances and rifles and formed a
guard Of honor. The cook and cookee
brought tin pans and clubs and added
| a tom-tom effect to the din.
" + + y
OTHERS secured the big 'canvas
windbreak which shielded the
cooks flre, manned its edges, and be-
gan to toss the hero of the occasion
after he had beenodumped into the
canvas trough. They marched up the
slope with him, pausing every few
feet to fling him high
You're elected" some of them
called.
1 nTe6 CHeeTS lOI luc ACN may VI "a
| Misery called the others.
1t was the plan first adopted by old
Pat Rattigan when he wanted to fire
an especially Objectionable driver.
In the case of Jim the skylarkers
were too hilarious and kept the play
up too long. Either they stumbled or
| their cramped hands slipped from the
edges Of the canvas. He feu heavily,
rolled down the edge and lay bleeding
and unconscious.
| The girl had come to meet the
men from the settlement. When the
| young man fell she rushed to his
side. kneeled and spread protecting
! arms over him. The prosecutors held
| off when she flashed the fires of her
| righteous anger by eyes and speech.
| Roaring Bill and the men of the
&c. o G." went on. and the folks OF
| Misery took in their new mayor
and lodged him in the best house
! the log house where the Ambrose
| girl had dwelt and taught her little
ones.
The men ministered to him in
| watches, the women helped. and the
| schoolmistress was in complete au'
| thority.
Some days later his brain had
cleared and he was able to talk. The
girl was sitting beside the bed.
what is your name?" she asked.
"Only jim"
"No, that's not A-that's' not the
| name you have given before"
She smiled when he blinked his
| alarm; it was the first smile he had
ever seen on her face. "Oh, you
| have not been babbling in delirium.
But when you gave your name to the
| brute you said Just jim Apd be-
| lieve that you deserve to be called
lust. You stood up for these poor
| folks who are prosecuted. They all
| understand here in Misery: So were
all calling you Just Jim."
In the course of few days he be-
| held and experienced that which
stirred his emotions profoundly. Men
| tfptoed in from time to time and
gently changed the position OF his
aching body. Women brought food
children searched among the ledges
for flowers and timidly carried them
to the bedside of the stranger.
| Again and again he protested to
the girl that he had done nothing to
deserve all this.
you might call it reward for your
| good thoughts about them, Just Jim,
she said. "But they don't mean 1t al
nay for anything. They have taken
YOU to themselves because you're
poor--thrown out Of the driving
crew and prosecuted"
She smiled tenderly and under
standingly when he reached for heI
hand, his face working with emo.
ton. T know" she assured him
.Its wonderful-real charity is"
Jim was soon able to be about
again.
He said that he did not propose te
desert true friends in the time OF
desperate need. and the time of neet
was approaching with the lapse OF
every day Of the sixty allowed fol
| quitting the land.
4 = 4 4
1.-THE young man frankly admitted
I to the schoolmistress that HI
! had no idea what he could do to trii
the Moloch car of the law.
But he had some plans for the pres
ent, then and there. The notice Of
svcition had forty days to so. Tht
simple folks OF Misery were sfttinl
down and waiting for the Inevitable