Show R 0 IMO lit DIT galahad A story with a blessing by PHOEBE GRAY copy copyright right by small maynard company SYNOPSIS 6 while trundling the clean washing up clipper hill mary alary alice brown Is act up an n by some soma mischievous boys who spill he washing into the dirt she Is rescued arid taken to her home in calvert street by y francis gillettt Willet Wll lett tt a galahad knight she Is punished by her drunken father for le turning without the wash money mary alary alice wanders away from home takes taken a trolley rolley ride into the country and spends he ahe night at the farmhouse of sam thomas as in the morning she meets little cliar char lie ile Tho thomas inns a cripple sam takes mary alary alice home and finds that he and mrs brown ars 0 old id acquaintances sam takes her and mary alice to his home for a visit while lem brown the drunken father Is serving a workhouse sent sentence eric 0 charlie charil e Is s made a galahad knight F francis ra n v visits sl t s the farm do you know the value of hardship in the formation of character faith counts count s for so much in the performance of duty A sen man can do pretty nearly as much as he thinks he 4 can faith in himself mary alice develops a faith in god and she thinks that god will give giva her the power to do her work no matter how big it Is CHAPTER IV continued F francala willett came out again this time by himself ile he arrived quite early in the morning and announced his intention of stay staying ingall all day the chauffeur set down a great basket of fruit by the side door before backing his car to the road the children passed most of the forenoon in the ore orchard bard talking of this and that viewing the increasingly successful efforts of little dick browd to walk discussing the honors arid and du ties of a galahad knight francis showed his companions some marvel ous feats of strength and agility using a tree limb for a trapeze after dinner when charlie took his nap mary mic alice e cud and francis wandered away from the house along the old mill road leading to the pond here stood an ancient long idle gristmill the log dam and the old mill seemed to sleep placidly among the elders this Is awfully pretty dont you think so asked mary alice as they stood at the end of the dam you bet its pretty say lets fish for shiners got a pin the boy produced a piece of string cut a slim pole from a clump of yellow birches caught a tiny grasshopper and became at once a sportsman the shiners were curious but elusive look out francis fall in called mary alice for her comp companion anlon was creeping out along the lam dam this dangerous come on XIII ill let you fish the shiners are bigger out here gracious mary alice heres a tremendous big something I 1 bet its a trout come on out but mary alice was timid she stood on the bank and watched francis Is interestedly what a nice boy she thought he could do most anything e afraid the old rotting P planks lanks along the top of the dam might crumble under foot and send him into the pond but he went boldly on the water in the flume was about ten feet deep francis reached the flume whose boxlike sides stood three or four feet Itil higher gher than the dam the boy drew her arm felt as if it would pull out himself up and sat comfortably upon a loose plank which lay jay across the flume come on over here mary alice he celled called 1 I can see lots of fish oh look I 1 go got f one he ha jerked suddenly upon his pole and something shiny fluttered in the air ir at the end of hla his lini line but the rotten t plank could not 86 so much and jave gave way mary alice saw francis heels go 90 up and then he disappeared aBd suddenly denly into ate big box y mary A alices lees heart gave a jump she screamed but bat that did no good there was nobody to hear her she could not run and bring be help lp before francis could drown and she did not dare to go out on the freacher treacherous ous old bid dam one foolish word kept run running ul ng through her head gravity gravity gravity suddenly little charlie thomas lovely oval face and big brave eyes floated nto into mary diary alices mind anybody that does the things god does can fix up a little pair of legs mary alice stepped out on the shaky planking and began the passage of the dam if she could get over to the flume she could save the boy struggling in the water anybody who could do the things that god goa did could help her to avoid the holes and weaker places she thrilled with that idea and was no longer afraid francis fishing pole had fallen upon the dam alongside the flume box mary alice picked it up then she looked down into the flume chero it was so BO dark that her eyes adjusted to the he strong sunlight at first refused tt t serve her but she heard a cough and a splash here I 1 am francis she called she thrust the butt end of the fishing pole down into the gloom through which now she dimly discerned a white face francis was a weak swimmer his clothes and heavy shoes hampered him the slippery sides of the flume box 0 offered no sustaining hold grab that called mary alice francis grasped the fishing rod now you wont drown he clung to the fishing pole keeping only his head above water thus the water sustained most of his weight 1 I could hold you like this a long time said mary alice but chos goin to pull you out besides be froze francis teeth were chattering already if I 1 could get hold bold of your hand I 1 might pull myself up the side he said mary alice leaned far over and extended her right hand toward the boy sliding it along the pole francis drew himself out of water and reached up until he caught her hand the strain of his weight increased greatly as he lost the lift of the water carl can you stand it he asked come on said the little girl although the edge of the flume was a already cutting cruelly arid and her arm felt as it if it would pull out come on she gritted gritter her teeth anybody who could do the things god did could help a little girl keep her friend from drowning come on get your get your other other hand up there francis had now hold of both her arms and the fishing pole had dropped into the water it was that or nothing As the boy pulled himself up mary alice managed to seize his coat his fe feet et kicked and slipped upon the smooth flume sides there was waa no toe hold no F sufficient crack or protruding nail yes a bolt with a nut on it caught the sole of francis shoe aboe this was about a foot under water the boy put forth all his strength and pulled himself up until he could get a hand on the top edge of the flume wall mary alice was sure her arms would part company with her shoulders now relieved of that strain she took a new grip on his wet coat and tugged sturdily as he be drew himself up until lie he could hook his elbows over the edge then he threw it a leg across the top plank and she knew she had saved him next morning instead of being moved out into the orchard or chaid charlie asked that his bis chair be placed ea beside mary alices bed for the little girl was bruised and lame and martha insisted that a day in bed would do her good mrs mis brown took dicky out to see the mo olles 1 I wisba I 1 could think of some thin to do to amuse you mary alice paid charlie 1 I cant rend read good enough I 1 know ill draw you some pitchers mammee Mum Murn mee yes dear can I 1 have a pencil and paper I 1 want to amuse mary alice 1 I guess amuse her all right said martha producing the articles he draws just the cutest things lings ti mary mar Y alice 11 laTent you seen been him do it yet well you just watch cb charlie arlie fell to work his paper resting on the back of an an old geography there he said a cow oh said the invalid pretty good les see you make a house with a man and a dog goin into it with three strokes of your pencil golly said charlie an 0 old id one only I 1 make him a soldier that little crook makes the bainet of hla his gun now ill do you a engine he went on exemplifying hla his art to th the e great entertainment of bis friend then he gave her a little sketch without comment chos that why gia gracious cious its francis willett it if looks just like him now do one of me charlie berit bent his bis brows browa and puckered hl his nose ila he scrutinized the face on the pillow turn to one side aide he be said 1 I have to make lem em all profiles goodness n mary lary alice your nose la Is awful sight straight t r a and just a little curve makes your lips now that pretty youre a terrible tur pretty girl I 1 guess I 1 never noticed it til itil I 1 came to draw you mary alice took the sketch do I 1 look like that really oh its lovely oh charlie howd bowd you e ver ever learn it A little boy like youl 1 I dont know I 1 just try it sometimes when I 1 feel like li kelt lt most always 0 I 1 make lem look awful like the folks at all then onca once in a while I 1 get one that looks like this im practicing quite a good deal but a cows cowls horns borns Is awful hard to get put on to his head where they belong and when I 1 try to make a kitty it always looks like a dog im glad you think this one of you Is nice and you can keep it to show how bow you looked when you were a little girl heres me he produced a hideous caricature of himself with prodigious ringlets great staring eyes and a wide mouth like a jack o lantern the boss says it looks exactly the way I 1 do he said look at the curls there he said a cow leff take yours and mine and have lem em framed together dont charlie protested mary alice 1 I think youre horrid you can make a f ovely lovely picture of yourself I 1 believe do it will you no said the little boy id rather do so methin Inte interesting interest ln like a duck or a a boy fallin in the mill pond see mary alice this Is water sp splashing splash lashin ln and this ia 19 a fish CHAPTER V tho the return of lem mrs brown and the children went back to sheffield on sunday so that monday morning work could begin early she went out to work three days a week and on the other three did washings w a s bangs at home it was the end of summer and school would soon begin f for 0 r another week or two T mary alice co could uld stay at home while her mother went out after that a decision must be made should mary alice forego further schooling for economic reasons and either stay at home to enable mrs brown to work out or get a job herself 8 so that her mother could remain at home doing such work as she could at her own tubs the rent must be paid dicky must have milk mrs brown almost regretted the two aweeka of 0 f idleness she would have to work twice lis as hard bard to pay for them one night francis willett met mary alary alice on clipper hill As usual he took the wagon tongue from her hand band and started to draw the load up the long slope branot im not comin here any more said mary alice why not and ive got a job im coln to work at staceys stachys Stace ys 1100 00 oo gee youre coln to work for toots staceys stachys Stace ys dad swell id like I 1 if to L 0 work vork in a store hows sir charlie char lie thomas 1 I dont know we came home bomb the week after you boys were there two weeks ago that was fathers seen een him since then your fabb father er has sure he drove out ag again aln to see sam thomas ile he says hes coln to have uncle billy jackson look at charlies legs he really my uncle billy he was fathers college roommate room mate and now hes a great doctor my dad says uncle billy knows more about feet and legs and spines spine than anybody in the world hes bes a special izar lizer mary alary alice answered something very incoherent sudden tears blurred before her eyes suppose this great doctor should help charlie all the way up the hill she walked in silence by F rancis francis willett willetts Wll letts 8 side for goodness sake mary alice the boy burst out why dont you talk I 1 never saw sav such a person as you francis would you do me a favor a ayeal real big favor bet I 1 would you save my life do you remember your childr hood love affairs the girls or boys you were stuck on from the time you were seven or eight until you reached your early teens teensy earla TO BE CONTINUED CONTINUE E |