a I 1 a h a d A story with a soul ea y P H C 0 ea 13 C 3 n A V by maynard st company SYNOPSIS 5 while the clean washing bathing tip lop nipper clipper hill mary alice brown ts Is set up jn n by some mischievous boys tobys who spill the washing into the dart she Is rescued and taken to her home in calvert street by francis willett Wll lett a galahad knight she la is punished by her tather father for returning without the wash money mary alice wanders away arora hame takes a trolley ride into the country and the night at the heuse of sam thomas in alie thelin orning she meats little charlie thomas a cripple sam takes mary alice home and finds ahm he and ana mrs brown are old acquaintances so poor little mary alice who had known nothing but hardship and biting poverty and who looked upon god as some gome sort of pleasant myth in whom rich boys and girls might believe came to know something rif df faith through her association with crippled chartre Chart Fe she actually begins to get acquainted with providence CHAPTER kill continued 1 I can remember salil trances pocketing the quarter 1 abeen I there the trolleys go there say some day us fellows can all go out anil and see this charlie specialty specially if hes a cripple some saturday the thought of halt half a dozen boys taking the trouble to go to call on little charlie thomas transported I 1 mary alary alice into a rapturous heaven of gratitude she be began ganto to like francis wll lett ill send him the litter chure said fr francis ancle the what the litter chure the directions and things how to be a galahad knight theres a book of rules and a pledge with a blank blankco to sign your name nna send in ia to the secretary then theres another little book that tells the story of sir galahad and the holy grail its great the twenty five cents pays tor for it all and a years membership they came to the travers house Is this where you were going asked francis why that feller that tipped you over last night was lutey Ti travers ravers geel it if his mother knew he ketch it Is he a galahad knight no he say what say bete we tell I 1 mrs travers shell just fix him Is gal galahad ahad knights tattletales tattle tales asked mary alice francis willett met her level gaze tor for a moment and suddenly felt ibis face go red you make such a bad knight yourself even if you tire are a girl he said mary alice returned with the dollar and seventy five cents to find her mother busted busied and excited were coln away she said were coln to hillside falls tor two weeks sam mr thomas has invited its us the laby baby and you and me hes gone ahead to tell his wife martha Nl arthEL brashly Brush ly I 1 knew her when I 1 was a girl hurry dear get your things and put em in the valise the car leaves city park square in fifteen minutes mary alice began to plan she would be at the farm when charlie got his litter chure and she could read him film the story of sir galahad whoever he be might be aie she thought of the awakening in the big clean bed in the room with the sloping walls land sakes murmured mrs brown me ittie childs I 1 havenith leard heard her ber tor for months CHAPTER IV the galahad knights I 1 martha and sam made their old friend thoroughly welcome its a long time since we badcob had company said the boss 1 III I wish look at charlie will youl the crippled child beamed with withie delight from dawn until bedtime dick the brown baby took his first few steps during the fortnight spent on the ille farm Mst wistfully fully charlie watched him test his small legis totter aud ad fall laughing in the soft grass under the apple trees and clapped his dmn hands bands to see the infant manfully sw aw peat the attempt hes le lear arnin fast charlie would say 1 I wonder if if ill tumble around like that when I 1 start to walk in a few days the rural delivery brought him a fat envelope mary alice had bad told no one about the gala gain bad knights she bore hovered red with the rest of the household about hla his chair to witness his breathless pleasure as he unwound the string from the red buttons anil and spread the contents on the table sam had bid ingeniously pegged across the chair arms into his face crept the faint pink flush of excite ment dont he look handsome whispered 31 martha artha pinching sams arm then she cried softly and sam mumbled something about putting liniment on the bay horses lame shoulder and clumped hastily off to tho barn mary alice read aloud the simplified story of sir Gala hads adventures contained in a small paper book among the other 11 when she bad finis finished bed charlie sat a long time look ing off at the blue hills bills then he be said read it again mary alice aint it grandl I 1 bet that feller could lick licked old Herc uluss and it says here bere at I 1 can be one of them galahad knights oh ob mary alary alice I 1 you could be a knight too why dont they let girls be knights same flame as us fellers 1 I dont know sald said mary alice 41 1 I wish they would too sam standing ng near by chuckled votes for women he be said the boss la Is a funny feller observed ban charlie he be mean me by that mary alice t quite know either youre as good as any feller asserted the loyal charlie ile le Is s me and yon portend youre a knight or a im coln to call you sir mary alice no that dont sound very good call her lady mary alice dearle dearie suggested martha T the be biggest day of the browns visit at the thomas farm was that ca zi which francis willett and three other valiant knights came to see the new member francis father drove them 0 out tit from Slie sheffield ffield in his cat car I 1 martha made ice lee cream the boys sir toots stacey sir whacker hodge and sir bohey 11 olley baldwin gave the new mem A wa at Corn command mand of francis they performed feats of strength her ber the right hand band of fellowship with embarrassed gravity they stood about awkwardly adjusted their neckties and wondered how much bay was in the barn or where therow the cow lane led at command of sir francis willett they performed feats of strength wrestled tan ran races and boxed fiercely for the benefit of sir charlie thomas whose blue eyes blazed with ecstasy he was oneff one of them a sir knight member of a distinguished company jle he became almost as co complacent M as francis ls once more the lovely faint flush came in its his small oval w when hen I 1 it t was 0 ver over a and nd martha had bad carried him bed she was afraid hes so excited she said 1 I guess hell 1611 be a long time goin to sleep I 1 dont la take keany any harm from it sam thomas was very solemn at bedtime he sat moodily examining bis toes which he curled thoughtfully when he be looked up marrtha rtha saw that there were deep haggard lines in this ibis facea face a great longing in bla eyes 11 my goa ai arthy byll tie he said he thinks hes coln to get well and walk andrace and race and carry on as they did he thinks chell be like thern them big strong boya abe toss bass bowed lits his head bend in his great I 1 rough hands bands the strong shoulders shook terribly ter sIbly band and its all my dolny doln be b moaned MAM ahl my doln 1 my poor little feller my poor little boyl your father did that layou to jou 11 martha taking down her hair bair by the dresser turned toward sam just for a flashing instant there glowed in ner eyes a small harsh barsh light of resentment of blame she knew what the boss said was true brutshe but she went find and dropped on the bedside and threw an arm across hla his bent neck dont sam dear please dont she said 1 I cant bear it it was an an accident dont blame yourself its past and done and it cant be helped I 1 never blamed you did I 1 not a word N marthy never a whisper I 1 always wonder how youve kept from hatin me hush dear said martha youre makin it up to him every day you live fakin it up tip if I 1 only could it t would give him back his legs the only way and lord knows its foi ever too late toolate too late 1 he finished undressing fixed the windows and ana went dully to bed where he be lay far into the night wibb without sleeping on the way back to town sir mr willett made inquiry who did you say that black eyed little lit tle girl was francis mary alice brown ashes a quiet little thing and guiti pretty ashes your young lady of tin wash wagon eh yes father she has brains said eald willett pere ashes spunky chos her father she never told me hm mother takes in washing little girl delivers the goods looks bad find out all you can about them hoy boy and let me know I 1 like that lit tle tie girl pity she belong ti t thomas charlies lucky to have a 0 good father like that any boys lucky to have a good father said francis he slipped a hand into that of mr willett Wll lett find out where your mother buys her eggs and butter said his father the children had bad just come out into the orchard tina mid the young morning sun filtered down through the trees dappling the still dewy ground with dancing patterns of gold one sensed the hint of autumn it was in the slant of sunbeams in the odors of maturing vegetation of ripening fruit this Is just about the bertest day I 1 ever saw began charlie then ooch I 1 the matter Char charlie liel asked mary alice 1 I guess in ila abot sir C harlie charlie said the little boy rubbing the top of oc his bead ruefully 1 I guess im sir isaac mary lary alice looked puzzled well ill tell you charlie went on his eyes twinkling a app apple le fell on my head you see it well th that made me think of sir isaac newton tie he was wag an english feller one day when he was under a tree a apple fell plunk right on his head so lie he discovered the law of gravity 1 I dont think that was very smart said mary alice stubbornly it takes an awful lot to mal make e some folks see a thing it it tried cried charlie delightedly it exactly A little apple fallin out of a tree made sli sh patte esaac newton see that there was a reason and the teason reason was gravity cavity 9 I 1 got a nature book that sprains all about it gravity Is what makes things fall to the earth and the center of gravity Is the middle of the earth mary alice was twelve and charlie thomas seven hut but the girl marveled at so much erudition my goodness charlie you know an awful lot for a little boy she said something I 1 never heard about oh well said the little boy 1 I guess I 1 dont know Is s much as you think I 1 cant read vearly nearly so good as you mary alice but im lots lois older than you ive had some vantages though said charlie 1 I get heaps of time to think when the other boys and girls are around holleran holler ln 1 and play in im thinking chinkin th inkin 1 I youre the greatest boy I 1 lever ever saw said mary alice say can you tell me something else if this sir isaac I 1 newton invented gravity that makes things fall down what made the apple fall before gravity was invented oh mary alice he be invent gravity he be discovered it god invented gravity oh ob said mary alice of course she had been more than half balf in fun when she questioned charlie she loved to watch his earnest face to note its sparkling animation when he be talked she hesitated to prolong the present discussion however her idea of god was not particularly vivid certainly not intimate what makes me know my legs leg sare are coln to get well said the little boy anybody that can do the things god does can fix up one little pair of legs dont you think sol eoy 1 I 1 I dont see why not was about as for as mary alice cared to commit herself and yet somehow she felt a burlous cur cur ioui lous awakening thrill she wondered vaguely then she saw that it happened to everybody who knew charlie it was something more than merely 1 cheering up in charlies life affairs were always going to be better than they were because god intended it he was always looking ahead with his fals bright eyes axed fixed on the mountain of faith and hope just as he would sit and gaze off across country tit at the blue hills bills and say to himself some day im coin to climb up there and these children little sir galahad and mary alice and francis willett Wll lett come to be fast friends into the girls life there will come soon coon an incident that will change the course of i affairs for her even further than I 1 they have recently been changed change 0 O jufer