Glacier County chief., 1940-03-01
Jimmy and the odd Man, ''5 5s:;s
Copyright 1910: By News Syndicate Co.. Inc
IN TWO PARTS-PART TWO

Atvo SAhA WV
He entered the bathroom, deposited
the kid in the dry bathtub and
warmed some more milk There were
two bottles of milk in the baby's ice
box. Jimmy hadn't realized when he
built that fire that he'd have to carry
the youngster everywhere he went or
keep him in his crib.
At the baby awoke. Jimmy was
oddly glad to have him awake. He was
company. 1t was growing dark now,
and the steady pound of that rain
and the roar of that river. and the
sight of that rising lake outside, made
him feel queer.
The feeding over, the kid went to
sleep again in his crib, and Jimmy
plunged once more twenty thousand
leagues under the sea.
He turned on the electric light and
threw more logs on the fire. The room
famed into warmth and comfort and
his spirit rose. But not for long. He
was thinking Of the horses and the
cattle-those animals he had cared for
SO long that every one of them seemed
almost human. They must be scared.
He played with the baby till
o'clock. The Old Man was in his best
form-laughing and gurgling and
doing few marathons on his hands
and knees. A little before Jimmy
carried him down to the kitchen ice
box, where the remains of his own
dinner waited for him. He ate the meal
standing, while the Old Man reclined
against his shoulder looking critical
and saying g-r-r-r.
!, There were three bottles of milk in
the icebox but Jimmy did not drink
any milk. Instead he carried the
bottles upstairs and put them in the
baby's iceboX. He had his hands full
protecting them from the Old Mans
clutching fingers. He went downstairs
again still carrying his now restless
charge and brought up the rest of the
doughnutS and a half dozen oranges.
For the first time he put mis- sub
conscious thoughts into words.
III the folks don't get back till
mornin' you an me will have our
breakfast all right, all right. he told
stopped all his laughing and growing.
He was uneasy and fretful. The atmos-
phere downstairs was that of a for
lorn and deserted house. There was a
queer smell about it, strong and dank
Jimmy was glad to get upstairs again
into the warm and cheerful bedroom.
He hustled into the bathroom,
dumped the baby into the tub again
for safekeeping, and prepared the
o'clock feeding. The boy had almost
given up hope of the return of the
Driscolls that night. When the bottle
was ready Jimmy carried the baby
fire and watched him gobble his
supper. When the bottle was empty
Jimmy undreSsed him, changed him
for the night. and put him into his
cradle with regret, and again gave his
attention to his book. His Intention was
to sit up all night. The Driscolls might
return at any hour.
1t was disconcerting to have the
electric light go out soon after 10, but
it was nothing new. The electricity
often failed during a storm. He knew
where candlesticks and candles WERE
Right in the bathroom, ready always
for sudden emergency use if the kid
aWoke during storm and the cleo
tricity happened to be off.
Jimmy lit three candies and stood
them around the room. The fire helped
too. But that roar outside was terrible.
Jmmy's heart was pounding in his
chest. He left the door open, tiptoed to
the telephone, faced the crib, and put
IN half an hour vainly trying to get
connection.
He opened a window and looked
down. He could hear nothing but the
rivers roar, and the slap of water
against wood very near, which ap-
palled him.
He went to the head of the front
stairs and looked down. No water there
yet. He sprinted to the back staircase
Everything o. K. there, too. He hur-
ried back to the kid
He sat blinking at the fire till it
died down to bed of Goals Then he
felt sleepy. He covered the Goals with
ashes. saw that the protecting screen
was securely in place, and found and
Lit the filled kerosene lamp.
For long moment he stood staring
down at the sleeping baby. Suppose
that dam burst! Should he, even now,
take the kid and beat it,? But where
would he go? The operator had said
the region, and she was right
1t was almost midnight. He took