The Nome daily nugget., 1936-01-22

movement of an extremely well dressed gentleman, who edged away from the proximity of Mir. Pike's dowdy figure.
 For more than an hour Mir. Pike sat on the bench slowly turning over and over in his mind the matter of tomor- row mornings dampened grass plot.
 The weldressed gentleman, after ten minutes of waiting, had departed and in passing had cast wholly re pulsive glance toward the contempla tive Mir. Pike
 But the glance went begging; for Mir. Pike had his own private opinion of men who could afford to sit on park benches iii midday with never a prob lem to consider.
 The afternon waned and Mir. Pike exchanged his bench seat for another, one more fully exposed to the rays of the declining sun.
 After while he doZed, awoke toward five o'clock and immediately took up again the consideration of his imme- diate problem.
 At 3 30 Mir Pike stood up and saun. teded idly toward Fremont street and the soup kitchen.
 He arrived in time to gain fourth position In the line of waiting men.
 The man ahead turned and spoke throatily about nothing more impor. tant than the weather, yet Mir. Pike fairly jumped at mention of the sub ject and looked so strangely toward the speaker that that worthy turned back without waiting for reply.
 At 6 :45 Mr. Pike had returned to the common.
 But now. instead of sitting down, he began systematic patrol of the net work of walks.
 It was tiresome work, but MT. Pike did not for single instant waver.
 lis mind was set; his problem. to be solved, demanded action. Providence must have guided Mr. Pike's footsteps. for during the hour when daylight merges into dusk and dusk into darkness, his ever searching eyes fe" upon dull gleam beneath one of the park benches.
 Stopping, he picked up silver coin, a 10-cent piece that had evidently fall. en from bench-sitters pocket.
 MT. Pike held the tiny bit of silver in his hand and looked at it. conscious of a warm glow of satisfaction. con scious, too, of feeling that comes to a man who has labored and received his reward.
 Pocketng the coin. Mir. Pike sighed heavily. contentedly. and slouched on to the nearest bench. The rain did not cease till early morning.
 At nine o'clock the sky was still over. cast. the ground beneath still spongy as a result of the heavy precipitation.
 Mir. Pike approached his favorite grass plot and unhesitatingly stepped from the concrete walk
 The hint of smile played about his mouth as he felt the dampness through the thin soles of his shoes.
 Reaching what he estimated was a spot likely to receive the first rays of the soon-to-appear sun. Mir. Pike paused for a moment to stare triumphantly about him.
 He saw others of his class standing erect, or squatting on bits of stone or reclining on the scanty protection off, fered by day-old newspaper.
 For a moment MT. Pike stood thus. warmly conscious of envious glances thrown In his direction. Then dramatically he removed from beneath his tattered coat great bulk of newspaper and began spreading one thickness after another atop the damp grass.
 And as each thickness went down, the look of triumph and utter content. ment became more pronounced on Mir Pike's face.
 For the day was Sunday and Mir. Pike had purchased with his find of the night before a Sunday edition, which provided enough thicknesses to withstand most any dampness.
 Red Light for Growth