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Show Hermit Jim's Last Sacrifice No ono over knew where Hermit Jim Hudson came from. None know his story. Ono dny lie was dlacoerod li r little lit-tle shack built of refuse lumber fiotii the dump down by tho river, jvml there ho lived for forty o.-: In summer he fished, worked a little, but nover talked of himself In wln-I' wln-I' Iter ho hlberantcd, so to spea'c He waB a big up-standing, two-fisted fellow, capable of much, but utterly utter-ly Indifferent to all about Iv'ni. He was nn enlgrtia, n mjstcrv, a to.n character. As tlio jeors passed He'Mt Jim lost his robustness of figure and what remained of his ambition to wrk Klnnll), at seventy, the sheriff link him in chnrgc and carted him off to tho poor farm. Hermit Jim wns a mere skeleton, his clothes In tattois and his feet bound In bin lap In place of shoes. His ipboard v,ns almost as bare as Mother Hubbard's, yet right there he voiced tho only complaint com-plaint he had oer been known to make. Ills shack was his castle, ha declaml, and should bo respected. Flnall), howoei, ho capitulated, but nut without protest I'm not objecting ob-jecting to having mote to eut or n better bed. sheilff,' he conceded, In Ungllsli quite out of keeping with his condition, "but I don't like the prosputive finish. It's a poor climax to mj early training and ambitions," Then dospltu thu sheriff's efforts to draw him out, ho becamo a clam ucnin. been a lone wolf." Suddenly he straightened and hts eyes flashed with a new light. "Clod Sheriff, how I .might have died bad this war come half a century earlier. Maybe in a fight with a blrdman three mllos In the air! Maybo going over the top In the gray of tho morning! morn-ing! Maybe hand to hand with my flnge'rs digging into a Doche's throats And maybe far behind the firing line from a biff on tho head with a bit of shrapnel. But anyway, any time, anywhere, gloriously I For human ity! Democracy 1 Liberty! "What a death, Sheriff; what a death!" "Jim," said tho sheriff, with a now, strange softness in his voice. I've been told that you bought a thousand dollar Liberty Bond last October. I've neer believed It. But old fellow, somehow now I do. Did you?" - Hermit Jim chuckled. This tlino It echoed tho glee of tho thrush singing sing-ing in, the haw bush by the roadside. ' Yes, Sheriff, I bought it. And this morning, knowing that you were coming after me, I used It in kindling the fiio to cook my breakfast. I reckoned I probably would stay hero the test of my life. It was tho only wa I could do my bit toward finishing finish-ing thu Job.' |
