Show I IBY JIM PS BY FLORENCE WILKINSON L LI I Q f 4 2 I f frI f I I 1 i HE evening sunlight pink pinkas as ns a wild rose shot through the open spaces T of or the clearing and into j the tho mens room om where h the tho tired river drivers released rele from the days work vork lounged about the central stove The sun sunlight sunlight light tell fell on ott the rough floor in streaks and lighted Jimps hood heed till her hair looked like motes In the sun It touched with flame tiame the bowl bow of Jere mys rn s pipe The rest of the room was in duck concealing from Jeremy ever ff raconteur that his mates had yielded themselves to doz dozing dozing ing Jug Only his little girl sat erect and eager ag r as if drinking honey from his Ups lips The of his tales to her childish perception only height cn d their charm Like dim incantations incantations incantation tion they the had the spell of the mystic and she slie translated them to suit the mood or the hour uTo To cut a long story stor short he re ye repeated the euphemistic phrase as those do who cut short stories long she sa 5 says s says she to me Would you have havethe haveth havethe the th goodness s to remove that ere pipe of yourn ourn from your lips or words to t U This be the smoker madame says saya I J and firm and pipes be allowed d But would Wold you OU be so ing as to remove that ere of yourn to the freight whar he belongs belon s sHow How did the doggie look 1001 Jeremy C t rid ned Jimps alive aliYe to his this feature of or the inc J Nothing is Inore more annoying to the stOl than irrelevant queries that thai th lt the course of or the tory Story mid midstream midstream stream But the sting njg was Jimps so soJU JU my mr treated tl it 1 with respect le TIle TIe same war ya the critter you ou over ever Vit laid ald eyes yes on d with Is Ith tars cars like two on him ha a thought them ears eaTS of hism v y in mid Id have bothered him considerable in jn chaw in when he come corne to chaw J 1 r mys wit M richly ri rewarded by ps cascade c of lighter laughter He ram rain ok 01 1 On nn Onner c cHer Her ner paw in the smoke away and anti andr r the t But I was rever never oil OT to stan atan out agin a u woman only l ng mg to uphold my manly dignity so 0 I lays my pirIe pipe on the sill a acid c i the tho while I bo bc b deep J s voice sinking ed Jimps nimble imagination Her Herd d rk k eyebrows wore were raised to a point abo a alje on e her triangular brown eyes a al she 1 ned forward out of her Iler high chair Sn Ip looked hooked like a startled Insect How deep were it Jeremy Bout n deep dp as HS that woodchuck hole by the big bis bi beech beechtree tree What hat be you ou of or daughtie There no woodchuck holes on ont t thc i t We VC was wash h Ii lf l way W 3 between Big Moose and B a er River I reckon re kon when quick 17 z 7 v l wink thet flipped my P pip pp po out ot of the window Oh That were smart of the lady lad rent erent it vl rem of bf gratitude for this Uli si sJ tary Instance of attention In a ati aT ti T 1 of sleeping dummies betrayed th slightest bitterness A i durn d bit too smart fer fel me So I Ij j t yanked her don up by hi big c irs ins and he red the pipe the tra ks Im blessed if he lie Th poor little doggie burst lJur t out in a u frenzy of unexpected com corn commiseration Sho jumped ju from her lU r chair and ran to Jeremy H Her r red Je Up lips cred re to a rob cob and anU heir ft t eyebrows ey rr rt ruffled uy iou iu ou hurt the th poor doggie and anil an I Ii i u t love Oye you any ady more What this muttered old LH Iii turning In n his barrel chair little Jimps Jeremy had at least gained a listener Lil Lii Ii when nhen he heard the next catch catchword word sord ord recognized the tale and groaned 1 at his Inopportune wakefulness I hurt the critter none d Listen and find out At lear Clear Water Vater I was to see ee i ily iv sisters liters folks folka and glad to get off from that jawin juin but off she gets too tu pursue the theT ther T r ment when what in the name of did we wesee see daon t th i 1 tracks r The thrill of an approaching climax l U ed the last sleepers and Jeremy w is s by the stir stil Thet t ere era r of ot horn hem hornU t U tT Uin tUn ez cool ez ye please pease oh h WAS as he real cool 1 rippled d Jimps i npr as us always s of minor swept magnificently oh And thet gol arned pipe of or mine in 1 is s ugly mouth Hey He what dye d esay say to tot t tar old man Joe The dear little doggie bubbled Ji And the pipe in his moTif mO vr HT he lie it Jeremy TI o satire unconscious ious though It itIS its v IN IS s did not escape the Ule They burst into roars of oC 1 at ferem s expense Thi Th old fellow accepted the i 1 u as tribute to the success of oft t i tale I r were ere witness to a most 0 last winter began Mart Martl 1 v l Y Yes e f I f reckon weve all sawed 1 i light wonders eaid nid Davy Dav ef e ell efu jit u ll give us time to think on em eni up Little in arms suf red rd the agony agon of or unworthy un orthY were all the boys with such i at the tips of or their tongues while til she must sit in extinguishment was a lL silence during durin which meditated d a iL hundred fine he be like one who wh trembles or Ol the verge of his first Impromptu speech She slid down from knees JUleps and in an awestricken tone Ive had a W r too I no one what I sawed saved on the this mornin Her tone so echoed ho d Jere J re rems A mys ms own at his most Inspired mo no moment r ment that the men laughed augh but were silenced l b by y gentle gentl pl young un tell herst and an you boys bOY listen and hark to it itI itI itI I went out tb tho t e this t is l f mornin said Jimps In the throes of or literary creation to see how hov much h sap had into my biggest pail And I hearn beam a funny noise and I 1 looked and what do o you think I s a ed the ecstacy of fabrication was upon her herup herup up above me in the tree The dramatic pause was busily em employed employed with thoughts as to what she shedid shedid shedid did see seeA seeA t tA A little and he lie down the trunk just as fast fa t and when he come to the bottom he spread out his tail so Jimps illustrated with hands and aud skirt shirt And sat down and he looked like a gray jug settin on a fuzzy mat just She Sh laughed humorously humorous at her si simile simile simile mile taking meanwhile quick thought ahead She realized that her wonder was beginning well vell but she could not hold her audience indefinitely without some daring stroke And then what Ahat dye d re think he bayed haved ha ved real lImps Jimps captured her audience by br an another other bit of or business And he says Good mornin morn in maam Im the what lives in this tree and Ill be ef e step sos not to wake up my chil children children children dren ez air jest gone to sleep in their little bunks bunte Thais what Ahat the says to me Jimps was now in the center of or the room and her brown eyes shone red redin redin redin in the stove light Her fluffy fluff hair rose up into a little peak of or excitement What sort of oC a voice did he have Jimps queried Jeremy respectfully Kind t u C c like this said she with plausible imitation And 1 I walked away a just a as she tiptoed up to Davy Dav and all Fust rate You l do all right said Davy Duvy Jimps brows brown went up in instant com corn comprehension comprehension Now that she had ha told her h r lie she became its passionate de defender defend fender fend r Cross my ray heart and die its solemn hIn In Iii course it be murmured Jeremy Jeromy lovingly loving Aint she a L corker though to tell yarns said Mart when the door dool was closed behind father and child Takes arter her mother all right in that N shell bamboozle him jest the sante when big added Davy Notwithstanding every man in camp with the addition of t Garetta Ells EUs wife the lbs th camp cook loved Jimps devotedly devoted marriage had been bean the ro 10 romance mance mauce and uni the tragedy of or the little logging community c some years before The girl had suddenly ap appeared appeared appeared in camp one stormy winter night unknown unheralded and piti pitifully pitifully pitifully fully in search of a husband who was in reality no husband at all Paul Lawless who had deceived the foolish young yung thing turned on his heel and by his silence disowned her hei Then Jeremy elderly diffident and lonely had bad risen to the supreme height of or his life and claimed her as his own A quiet marriage had followed and three happy years happy for Jeremy full Cull of discontent and longing longin for selfish pretty Meliss The birth of oC her child stirred only the feeblest maternal instinct although to Jeremy it was wa the coming of or heaven on earth Therefore it was not a surprise to the camp when hen ran away auay with Zenus ienus Adgate a n flashy drummer from Malone lalone babbling babe saved life and reason in the bitter days dus that followed follow d When he finally had strength to speak to her Iter he was only known to say sa that he ha pitied her and blamed himself more than he blamed her After a while he made it possible for her to get the divorce she wanted The child chUd he al always always always ways kept and arid his whole rugged na nature nature nature ture was wrapped trapped to absorption in the fragile scrap of a girl That night and Zenus came caine cameto cameI to camp The woman wished to see her child the only onI child she he had ever eer I borne borre and und he hud had consented to satisfy satis her whim An nAn ef cf reel sweet and purt well take taka hot her back baek to live with us wont we Zone said she cajolingly cajoling She hud had been thinking thi king lately Inte how Itow nice a little plaything she would be Jeremy say soy He uHe wont say nothing when whan I tell ten him how ho much I want her herShe herShe herShe She had a shallow natures cheap pride in Its power The TJ e air was balmy with melting snows and spouting pouting buds Shadows across the moonlight The quivered t as a no golden cross in a L brook by the woods edge Then the x log shanties came caine into view in their clearing low dark roofs against a luminous sky The fair full fun moon sailed above candle flickered red through the slit of an upper win window wind window dow d w He hud had taught Jimps to say her And God all my sins she murmured with unsullied conscience and bless me and find Jeremy Amen Then Thou he went down stairs to meet the childs mother She Sho smiled her prettiest mindful of her ancient sway But from the start she felt that some something something something thing of virtue was gone from her He Hefe felt fe t it too remaining unmoved where a Do year ago his heart would have been in his mouth and his temples temple bursting b The spell was as gone The Thea little forsaken girl of be the bitter i inIght night the damp rings of o hair flair beneath the frosted hood that had appealed The nursing let her et li Dab b s with red winter wil er skies cold through frozen pines that had appealed So had But this this I smiling person the store st re clothes clothe the plumes cocked c u UP On m the th Jaunty hat thin was She IK is min 1 o a 1 J r J 0 He bit the stem of ot his hi pipe as Ussy chattered on Im her mother you know kno said suid she plaintively not thinking how lion the simple words opened a hole in the wall of opposition Mother Iother and child mother and child Again his throat ached You know it was of ot this promise that I let you go gothe the the papers That I should have hae eus Cus us pf Q if the child uI I know said meekly un unable unable able to argue where promises and law las were concerned But con seeder how hov much h off the child would be befth with us said sal Ze Zenis nis nU nb pompously You say nothing roared Jeremy glaring at the man I 1 know what you ou are Zenus Adgate Ad gate tapped her foot and arid Adgate made madeno no answer Ho with drew Instead to the long mess table and ostentatiously picked his teeth I Why Jimps be happy as a a bird I with me He said Jeremy gently t Is that tha what you ou call the poor little kid spoke as us if It this was wa he the final and most outrageous grievance And I that named her J Jessica Belle with us standing beside her bed when she able to raise her hev little head from rom the The boys kinder got Inter that way wa Jeremy apologized she was so o quick in her h r motions And I dont Im Know w as ai aJ thet was yas a proper reason 41 I want to see ee her sleeping said May M y I Il 11 Ils She Sl s had ha ad never peY r wanted anything so much as at that moment she wanted little Jessica Jeremy kept alternately cursing and blessing himself as he took her up the steep stairway to his sleeping sl pIng room Jimps lay beneath the gray blanket one dimpled fist curled lovingly to toward toward toward ward the mouth In dreamy dream reminiscence reminiscence cence of the days when was desirable and luxurious Her black lashes and furze of hair made somehow a pathetic contrast The red lips Ups smiled half humorously big hand shook as he held the candle close to her face He dared not look at the mother Mother and an child mother and child his heart kept saying Has she forgot me whispered Me lissy liss r coming a bit nearer She was softened by bj b recollection of the time when he and she he first leaned over ocr the rude rud bed together For even the thaI shallowest I i lowest lowe st woman woma wOn au has her moments of depth I She dont say much about you ou i answered Jeremy reluctantly and turned his face the other way yay fell on her knees and buried her face in the warm blanket by b the little head She was not clever for acting but she could not have hae better calculated Oh my baby my baby bab he he heard hear he md lur moan i He felt that even evem he had become an I intruder and so he Jib crept down stairs that minute would have given j jup up enus Adgate shop jewelry stores clothes alid all to have hav ha had bud that Tit lit UtHe little tie tle arm around her neck and a baby bab voice oice cooing Mama Jeremy waited j i ifor for her at the foot of or the stairs He j I had on his course coune but he did not want the man Adgate to hear what lie he should say appeared and even In the dim he saw that she had d been crying c r He spoke hoarsely when comes if you ou outi I still ti want w nt liar lier h r you ou shall have hae her help me rue What he did d d not see see s ee was the faint J smile that thaU lighted her delicate face fac when she he told Zenus that it was wa time for tor bed b d Jimps Jimps Jin ps groaned Jeremy up upstairs upstairs stairs break my h t but Jeremy has got u to o Keep his word The next morning ct nt breakfast she was Introduced to and Zenus Kiss her pretty prett chirruped Garetta she your mother j t But instead of ul kissing Issing her pretty Irett the he little girl fled to leg in inthe the Uie embrace of which fortress she sur eyed veed the enemy warily I never n sawed that woman afore was her first plea in rebuttal Come Jessica Ill In show you my m shiny brooch teased Jimps turned to Jeremy in quick wrath She know my name she he whispered She bent my nJ mother You be bet beS beThe t S The child at ats her oatmeal sloppily by the new ne s fades faces fa and the astonishing siege for or which she was Inwardly fortifying herself Wipe off your mouth little gel gell said Zenus patronizingly sousing his mustache in the coffee cup for a sonorous sonorous ous drink You got driblets drIblet on your whiskers your our own self retorted Jimps when he emerged You look like my m black tomcat when hes been in the milk pan In this manner was the entente cor cordiale coria cordiale diale ia Ie established between them Zenus II was discomfited dL by b the applause that Jimps evoked Poor Jeremy struggled I hard to correct the opening negotiations negotiations negotiations Be a good little gell Jimps She is your mama and will fetch you ou home homeI to live with her Show what a nic nice child hild you Jou kin km be |