The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1926-10-14

She looked about the room. Tn
old bed had been moved ont ant
the Gning-room couch moved in
The bureau had been shifted to an
other corner. There was nothing
to be seen Of all little Patience
belongings. 1t did not look Ike
the same room.
AS she chung to the squirmini
puppy and stared, Lizzie came in.
"Ain't it nice?' she asked. "Mr
Levine came out with the dog this
afternoon and suggested the
changes. He helped me. See The
old quilt in the corner? That's fol
the dog 10 sleep on. Amt he as
big as ar elephant I'm afraid he'll
eat as much as a man."
HE can have half of my food,
cried Lydia. ooh, Lizzie, isn't he
beautiful !"
well, no." replied Lizzie, truth.
fully. HE looks TO me as If some
n had stepped on his face
You'd better take him out for 8
run"
John Levine never did a wiser OF
a kinder thing than to give the
brindle English bulldog to Lydia.
He was a puppy of nine months,
well bred and strong. Lydia took
him into her empty little heart with
a completeness that belongs to the
natural dog lover and that was en-
HANGED by her bereavement. She
and Kent cast about some time be-
fore deciding on a name. At first
they thought seriously of naming
him John, after the donor, but de-
cided that this might lead to con
fusion. Then they discovered that
Levine's middle name was Adam,
and Adam the brindle bull became,
forthwith.
Lydia made no objection to re-
turning TO the old oom 1t had
lost Its familiar outlines.
In May the garden was planted.
and In June Lydia graduated from
the eighth grade, and the long
summer vacation had begun. After
the episode of the note. Lydia made
a conscientious effort to play with
Margery at recess, and when vaca-
ton began she called for the bank
er's daughter regularly every week
to 60 swimming.
OutwardIy this summer was
much like the previous one, except
that there was a quiet cOntentment
about Amos in spite of his real
mourning for his baby daughter,
had been foreign to him for
years. 1t was the garden that did
his. Not only was 1t a wonderful
to look on and to eat from,
but with 1t Amos paid for milk and
butter from the Nortons and for
part Of his groceries. This made
possible the years interest and
payment on the note.
Lydia sewed for Florence Dom
,ey, climbed trees, swan and
pirates with Kent. But as
/ matter of fact, the old childish
'est for these things had gone. For
-ydia's real childhood had left her
hat December night she had spent
lnder the far corner of her fathers
led. She had not prayed since
hen. Her young faith in the kind
and sweetness of life, badly
haken by her mothers death, had
cen utterly destroyed when little
'%atience had been taken from her.
Lydia was very nervous about
ier first day at high school. Kent
vas entering at the same time and
he would have liked TO have asked
0 60 with him but she knew he
would resent violently being asso-
lated with a girl on so important
n occasion.
So it was that one of the teach
RS observed a child In a faded but
lean galatea sailor suit, with curly
lond hair barely long enough to
lie at her neck. standing in one of
he lower halls after the mob of
or eight hundred boys and
iris had been successfully herded
nto the great assembly room.
what IS your name, my dearT"
sked the teacher.
Lydia silently presented her pro-
notion card. The teacher nodded.
Come along. Miss Dudley. or
QUILL miss the principals speech"
She seated Lydia near her in the
ssembly room. then looked her
Yer curiOusly. The child's face
7as remarkably intelligent. a high
red little face under a finely domed
cad. The back of her ears and
he back Of her neck were dirty,
nd her thin hands were rough as
with homework. The galatea
aflor suit was cheap and coarse.
"A sick mother or no mother"
7as the teachers mental tone. 81
lust Inquire about her"
Miss Towne had the reputation
f an %unfeeling disciplinarian
mong the pupils, but Lydia did .
OF know this. She only knew that +,
Y some miracle of kindness she
anne to understand the classroom ]
vstem of recitati0ns, that she was I
ltroduced to different teachers, {
hat she learned how to decipher {
he hours of her recitations from {
he complicated chart on the as {
emily room blackboard. and that !
{ noon she started for home with [
list of textbooks to he purchased. s
nd a perfectly clear idea of what t
. do when she returned on the I
borrow.
Lydia walked along slowly, think- =
~ deeply. She knew that her list
f books came TO something over :
We dollars. She knew that this (
lm of money would floor her ia !
Ter and she knew that she would {
ather beg on the streets than start ,
mos on one of his TRADES on his t