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Show V , , aijuuhiINWhP " I i B v il .. m f f " i . i i, -i. ww H ojiiF- , I ., rjfBM . H 1 .Tt H J SS-SET JJ3K AIMS WENT OUT BLINDLY. fl wi'i ukj. '-i'ny puoiuu Himit DO III f iPcoiito una thy (Jod my' "- Sba H ' "That'a rlrrhtt go on," Bit Id DourIoh, 1 'I Hlrivlnir to control the unatoadlnea In 'IiIh owu-yolco, H 'l " 'WIhTw tliou cllftft will I die.' Hor 1 arms Wont out blindly. n "Oh, you won't hoiuI mo away, will Hi your sun nobbed. "I don't wnnt to Hj " learn Mijrthliiir cIhc JuHt-oxcopt-from vj you." She covered ber faco and & slipped, little broken heap, at Ida f feet. M i In an JtiHtnnt tho pastor's Btronw 1 arms were about Iter; lilu stalwart body V was supiwrtliiK her. "You Bhan'J. ? m away. I won't lot you-I won'tl Do f you bear nip, roily? I won'tl" B Uor breath wart warm against bl H i ,w,UccIMWAtiiiertHrnr "lie? M -ywSapinsAliout blm, nH alio cluiitf to him j liolplwalr, iiolibliiK and quivcrliiK In 4 tbo aboltcr of bla fltrotiK ombraee. 1 "You1 are novor Kolng to loavo me- fl j - now purpoHo bad como luto bin m Hfo, tbo realisation of a now necessity, m nd bo know that tbo light which bo M Tuuat henceforth muko for thin child H 7uh tho aamo that ho must mako for H hlllJHOlf. B . OnAPTKll XI. fl '"TtT8 ,u' ml (, Sunday Nchool B 1 room to tako off dat 'ore wld H J ow'h llnlshlu' touches," aald H , ' -i I Maudy aa aho canto down B tho atopa. flj ; ""All right!" called Douglas. "Take H' tlso With you. X'orhapa they may M . .help." iio gathered up tho garlands M ' which Polly had left on tho ground. J nia eyes woro ahlulug. Iio looked H youugor than Maudy bad over hcou H ' l'olly had turned her back at tho j Bound of Mandy'H volco and crossed to H tbo elm tree, drying ber toars of hap-' H , plness and trying to control ber newly H awakened omotloim. Douglas felt In- ' tultlvely that aho ueedetl thin moment m for i-ecovory, so ho piled tbo leaver m ' nud garlands high In Mandy's arma, H then ran into tho houso -with tho light H , atop of a boy. H ' "I got tho HOtltflottlu' room all j ' tidied ip," aald Mandy a aho shot a B I ly glauoo at l'olb. H f "That'a good," Tolly auswored, fac H ! tug Maudy at last aud dhupllug nud Mushing guiltily. ' "Mos' do soelnblo folks will mos H (Ikoly be lmnslu' rouu do pariiouago to- H night, 'atoad oh stayln' In do Kumlay H school room, whav doy bolougs. Las' H tlmo dat 'oro Widow WUloughby done H pet vovm' all oboulu nUollln do par H 60ti aa how folks could Joa' vat oil'tt H hoc kltehou tloor, an 1 ups an tolls hor H aa how folks could pick up a good H tf! equar meal oft'u Mandy's tloor too. H Ouoaa eho'U bo mighty carond what H sho auys aforo Maudy tonight." She H I chuekUM as sbo disappeared down tho, M I walk to tbo Sunday achool room. B Tolly Htood motionless where Maudy H i i hod loft ber. Sbo hardly knew which H ' way to turn. Sho was happy, yet H t afraid. She felt Ilka sinking upon hor H,t kww and hoggin;; God to bo gool to H! hor, to bolp hr. Sho who hud once m V hcou so Independent, bo self reliant, H now folt tho need of direction from 1 nbovo. Sho was no longor master of H hor own soul. Something had gone H from bc.r,.somQthlug that would novor, I H noVor come agaiu, Whllo she hesl j tated Hastj' tsr Tv,,'-: tX: ritv BBBLi" - ' a. ju - ... ".; .. ,... 21 mommr anxioumv ovor his nliotilrior. mwii, iinaryi" uno aaia, ior u .. upparont that Hasty had something Important on Ida mind. "It's do big one from de circus," ho whispered excitedly. "Tho big one?" "You know-do ono what brungyou." "You don't meau'- Polly's Question wa answered by Jim himself, who had followed nasty quickly through tho gate. Their arms were Instantly about each other. Jim forgot Hasty and every ono In the world except Tolly, and neither of them noticed the horrllled Miss Perkins and tho Widow Wllloiighbj', who had been crossing tho yard on their way from tho Sunday acbool room with Julia, . ".VaH'ro 'Justr a ulg as ever," aahl Polly when ske could let go of Jim long enough to look at blm. "You haven't changed a bit," "YouM changed nnough for both of us." lie looked at tho unfamiliar loug aklrta and tho now way of doing her hair. "You'ro bigger, Poll, moro grownup grown-up like." "Oh, Jlml" Sho glanced admiringly at tho now brown Bulr, tho rather utartllng tlo and tho ucat llttlo poRy In Jlm'a buttonhole. "Tho fellows said I'd havo to slick up a bit If I won ncomIn' to sco you, ho as not to make you ashamed of me. Do you llko 'em?' ho nsked, looking down approvingly at bis now brown clothes. "Vory much." For tho first tlmo Jim noticed tho unfamiliar manuor of her speech. Ho began to feel self con- "101 tut'tui taai jou otn't ncrcr cointu' Ixickt" fselous. .V your ago sho would havo anld "You betl" Ho looked at her awkwardly. Sho hurried on: "Hasty told mo you were showing In Wake-Uold. Wake-Uold. I kuew you'd come to sou me. How's llarker and all the boys?" Sho Mopped with a catch In her throat and added more slowly, "I suppose everything's every-thing's different now that Toby Is gone." "He'd V liked to seen you aforo be cashed In," Jim answered, "but maybe It Avast Just as well ho didn't. You'd hardly 'a' kuowod him toward tho last, ho got so thin an' peeked like. Ho wasn't the same after wo lost you nobody was, not even Blugo," ."Havo you still got Bingo r aho ask. " r cu, ciiruiign ncr rears. "Yep, wo got him," drawled Jim. "but bo ain't much good no more. None of tho other rldcra can get used to his gait like you was. There ain't nobody with the show what can touch you rldln'; there never will be. Say, mebbe you think Darker won't let out a yell when ho scea you comln' back." Jim was Jubilant now, and bo lot out a llttlo yell of his own at tho more thought of her return. He was too excited to notice tho look on Polly's faco. "Toby had a notion before be died that you waa never n-comln' back, but I told him I'd change all that once I Been you, an' when Barker Bar-ker sent mo over hero today to look artcr tho odvcrtlsln' bo said ho guessed guess-ed you'd had all you wanted o' church folks, 'Jos' you bring her along to Wakoflcld,' bo said, 'an' tell her that her place is waltln' for bcr, an' I will loo." He turned upon Polly with sudden sud-den decision. "Why, I feel Jos' llko ptckln' you up In my arms an' carryln' you right off now." "Walt, Jlml" Sho put one tiny hand on bis arm to restrain him. "I don't mean not today mebbe," be stammered uncertainly, "but we'll bo back hero a-showln' next month." "Don't look at me now," Polly an-Bwored an-Bwored as tho dogllko eyes searched her faco, "becauso I havo to say something some-thing that is going to hurt you, Jim." "You're comlu', ain't you, Poll?" Tho big faco was wrinkled aud careworn care-worn with trouble. ' "No, Jim," she replied in a tono so low that ho could scarcely hear her. "You mean that you ain't never comln back?" Ho tried to rcallzo what audi a dvclslon might mean to him. "No, Jim," she answered tenderly, for sho dreaded tho pain that she must causo tho great, good hearted fellow. "You mustn't caro like that." 8ho pleaded, seeing tho blank desolation that had como Into his face. "It Isn't becauso I don't love jou Just the same, and It was good of Barker to keep my place for me, but I can't go bock." Ho turned away. Sho clung to the rough brown Bleovo. "Why, Jim, when I llo in my llttlo room up there at night" bIio glanced toward tho win-dow win-dow abovo them "and everything is poaccful and still I think how It used to bo In tho old days, the awful noise aud tho rush of It all, the cheerless wagons, tho mob in tho tent, the rlug with Its blazing lights, tho whirling round and rouud on Bingo and the hoops, always tho hoops, till my head got dizzy and my eyes all dim, and then the hurry after tho show, and the heat and tho dust or tho mud and tho rain, and tho rumblo of tho wheels In tho plains at night, and tho shrieks of the animals, and then tho parade, tho awful, awful parade, aud I riding through tho streets In tights, Jlra-tlghlal" Jlra-tlghlal" Sho covered hor face to shut out tho memory. "I couldn't go back to It, Jlml I Just couldn't I" She turned away, her faco still hidden iu her hands. Ho looked at her a long while In sllenco. "I didn't know how you'd como to feel about It," he said doggedly, "You aren't angry, Jim?" She turned to blm anxiously, her eyea pleading for Ida forgivenoss. "Angry?" he echoed, almost bitterly. "I guess It couldn't ever come to that ntweon you an me. I'll bo all right." Ho shrugged his great shoulders. "U',1 Just kinder sudden, that'a all, You set, I never Dgurcd on glvln' you up, an' when you said you woWt comln' back It kinder seemed ns though I couldu't aeo nothln' nil my llfo but long, dusty roads an' nobody in 'em. But It's all right now, nu' I'll Just bo gettln' along to tho wagon." "But, Jim, you haven't seen Mr, Douglas," Polly protested, trylug to keep him with her until sho could think of somo way to comfort him. "I'll look in on him com:.' back," aald Jim, anxious to bo alono with Va disappointment. He was out of tho gate beforo bIo could stop him. "Hurry back, won't you, Jim? I'll bo waiting for you." Sho watched him going quickly down tho road, his fists thrust Into his brown coat pockets nud his bat pulled over his eyes. i;a did not look back, as ho used to do, to wavo a parting farewell, aud sho turned to-ward to-ward tho house with n troubled heart. Sho hod reached tho lower step when Strong and Klvorson approached hor from tho direction of tho church. "Was that feller hero to tako you I back to tho circus?" demanded Strong. Sho opened her lips to reply, but be- I foro she could speak Strong assured I her that tho congregation wouldn't do S auythlng to stop her if sho wished to t go. He saw tho blank look on ber face. "Wo ain't tryln' to pry Into none f of your privato affairs," ho oxplatucd, "but my daughter saw you and that c there feller a-makin' up to each other. S If you'ro calculatln to run away with S him you'll save a heap of trouble for P tho parson by doln' it quick." fc "Tho parsonl" e "You can't blame tho congregation ft for not wautln' him to keep you here. S You got sonso enough to see how it p looks, ne'd seo it, too, if be wasn't g Just plain bullheaded. Well, he'd bet- g ter get over his stubbornuess right now. If ho don't we'll get auotbermlu- p ister: that's all." vTo bo continued.) S |