Show r ilu I II If f I Ethel Illustrations by Ir It w win in s hI Men Ill Co STORY FROM THE START STAR STARIn In the usually quiet home O 01 OJ Rev Mr of at Ked Hed Thrush Iowa town hIs hla hl motherless daughter Helen Miriam and Ellen GIn Ellen Gin Ginger I ger Ella are EIa are busy grooming their slater sister Marjory toT for participation pation In Ih he the beauty pageant that evening With Eddy Jackson Jackson Jack Jack- son prosperous young farmer her ber escort Marjory lea leaves leave vu forthe for forthe the anticipated triumph Overwork Over Ovar work has affected ted Mr eyes to th the point of or threatened blindness Ginger has hae tried In Inmany Inmany Inmany many ways to add to the family amity slender Income but she abe shet t Ie n fl nit t discouraged Marjory wins wine the beauty prize 60 60 00 She gives the money to her father as 1115 part of at the expense necessary for tor or the treatment of or his eyes by Chicago specialists spec Mr Tolliver leaves for Cor Chicago with Miriam Ginger meets Alexander Murdoch Murdock Mr Tolliver returns the doctors giving ing lag him little hope CHAPTER IV Continued IV-Continued Continued 0 7 7 P And everybody e who buys one will sell four more more more- And HAnd It all started from one One P J single solitary little one S The girls talked ou and on m Bui HUI Ginger drew herself away from them eat Bat enwrapped In impenetrable thought She remembered tb the old chain clinin let lei They had come with some fre fre- queue Quen a few years ago ngo prayers tot for almost everything e for the sick for foreign missions for tor prohibition for fundamentalism for the second com cora Ing of the Lord for the release of anarchistic prisoners condemned to death death- And everybody sends It on to so many more and every one one of or them sends It to so many more and they tt It I Ginger linger got op up suddenly anti and went out of ot die ilie room She walked dizzily She went upstairs got OI the short lad ladder ladder der from the linen closet and balanced bat bal It against th the wall wail under the trapdoor She noticed that thai her hands trembled But she climbed carefully the the ladder was old pushed old pushed up tip the trapdoor and pulled herself through the opening From force ot of habit hohlt forshe for forshe forshe she was not nut then thinking of ot trapdoors trap doors she locked It II behind her and made inane her ber way carefully over the beams to her sam under onder the dormer window There she sat at t down heavily to think She thought and thought and thought until ier ler bright eyes were so wide so bright so blue that thai of ot a sudden th thoy y seemed to hurther hurt hurther her ber und and she site shut them hard bard Her tier two small hands were gripped gr so tightly with lingers fingers Interlaced so closely that suddenly she knew they were throb bing with pain half paralyzed so that she had horl to work them apart slowly a s linger Unger at a time But she did not stop thinking Chain halo letter letter on on and ana on all oo-all all over the world thousands thousands and lind thousands thousands- and nobody dares to stop because o nobody nobody no no- body bolly would dare lare to break the chain choln- for or the tile blind n blind a home homp for tor the blind blind- on and on and on Ginger burst Into low Jow nervous laughter and Inu laughed hed and cried and twisted her little hands and rocked hack bach and ond forth on the stool tool stoolS S In nn I 07 Oli Olt ol oh ob how heavenly how perfectly perfect perfect- ly Iy heavenly I I never could have thought of such a 0 brilliant thing Oh as foUler father says I see the hand of ot the Lord in this I She Site pulled the stool to the lo low table which she used as us a desk dest und and seated sealed I herselt bersell wll with h a professional briskness Indicative ol of the oneness ness ol 01 purpose which prompted her tier Selecting three pencils from Crom a large number In Hie lIC drawer ste sharpened them briskly Then she drew her ber pad of ot paper toward her and anI opened It It Then rhen she 8 studied intently chewing her ber pencil pend She Site wrote a hasty hosty line and quickly scratched It out Again she wrote again she frowningly carded d It It IL Several times she repeated re repeated this painful process orore hut hui n ar or last as so often happens ens persistent effort brought Inspiration and she wrote fluently without a naus HaUSE for tor thought hL I Our parsonage home for tor the blind 18 la sadly In tn need Heed of ot to carry carryon on its US noble work wurl you not c co ena n n- tribute Ten len Cents to tu this ve very y worthy cause And complete the ln good goud vibrations by sending copies a of ot this letter to to three ot of y your ur friends fn rn whom you have hn confidence In this way this valuable Institution will en enlarge enlarge large Jorge Its circle of friends and will wID he be enabled to continue Its care o of the un no unfortunate fortunate and needy blind We Ve depend ou you Do not oot break the fhe cl chainE chainE chain aln E er treasurer Red Thrush Iowa Ginger was greatly pleased with the thc formal tune tone of ot this letter She he knew very well welt that If It she received such nn an appeal she would contribute gladly gladly- If U the she he bad had the money She read It over ovet and land over adding a aVora word Vora omitting omit ting a R word substituting a word until the tue Until final version seemed Impossible oi ol Improvement ement The question to whom the letter leitet should he be sent was subjected to deep t thought Indeed It was more thun than thought so deep It If was Men she knew were more susceptible I titan than wonton women to personal appeal appeal pa when the personal appeals came from not unattractive U e girls But Bitt worn vom en were more mure superstitious and would he be more reluctant to bring upon them themselves selves the Implied curse that would result from a n breaking of the chain Women then As for location she was not nol par particular except that It Ii would be best besl to start at some distance from ned lied Thrush Methodist Interests are ore close closely ly Iy allied In nel neighboring towns owns and anti she realized the Importance of ot protecting pro pro- the the name Now Ginger herself was deeply enamored l mored of ot f the he chain letter Idea to her It smacked absolutely of ot the hand of ot Providence But BUI one fine could never ue know nov Just how fathers nod o older cr sisters 8 would react to things hence she realized It would be the part port of ot discretion to avoid uld questions whose nn answers could not be he evaded e Gingers Ginger's unfailing resource lre In an on emer emergency was the dally daily press She got the In last sf Issue of or the furling Burling lot ion Hawkeye and onel studied Its col cal amos Now theoretically a chain should start from s single link but she was not willing to trust t the foundation ot of her fortunes to one small dime which might not nor he forthcoming forth corn coming ng She Site decided upon three as ns a fair start Three links are better Ihan one she site said thoughtfully And If It It If starts three chains so much the better herter V nen ever er sac carrie came to me the name oi ox oxa oia a woman mentioned prominently she sIte put her linger finger on the place closed her eyes and tried to get a n vibration about It IL Finn Finally II the three letters were written encloses In envelopes addressed and lInger Ginger took them at once ODle to the corner orner mull mail box and put them InAh InAh In Ah she breathed ecstatically as she turned back toward the parsonage tier Her heart henrt was as ns light as the wings of ot a butterfly It seemed to arry jarry her home Already the old house looked a n new ne place to her a rosy place bright ht wit with h flowers Jowers fresh paint new turn furni ture Thousands upon thousands Helen herself had hod said IL It Thousands upon t thousands Oh I wish I had bod asked or or quarters qua she site thought Such uch a n very good cause nobody could begrudge e e If It If 0 S Had find It II not been for the pleasurable excitement Attendant f upon Helens Helen's wedding OIn Ginger felt fell she could not possibly have ho endured endure the flip strain of ot the days s 's that thai followed Her tier conn denee In the outcome of or her chain let letter letter ter the home hc was b absolute Winters WInners ml might come romp with their con consequent consequent sequent coal coni and ond coat Coal hills daugh daughters h hr r tors r might go their petty petry love lo affairs hut but Ginger Rill Ella ane anti tile the chain linin letter would go 10 on for ever er Plans for or the tie wedding took prece precedence dence niente over o er e everything else plse for Helen Jelen yielding to the argument that Flint for or her herIn herIn herIn In this tills case the way of ot nr rl ice laj In gracious acquiescence f ti tc plans alrE already made marle proceeded calmly with her arrangements Site She knew In her hei hen heart rt that she would have Itne e pre preferred preferred a more apparent display of ol her hen She he would have han enjoyed a real martyrdom She Site would have uJ been proud to 10 0 statin gloriously forth to her father her sisters anti and ted Ked Thrush giving ap up IJ tier hen marriage for fur a 0 year r. r for far I ten en yell years rs for fur ever er II If f need he be lint Bur site she wi lQ hlll honest t enough to 0 realize realise the Ito course of ot true denial 01 followed another channel Mental rest the doctors had bad pre prescribed scribed and that could never oe be hadIn had In the sacrifice of ot Ills his daughters daughter's rs r's plans The wedding was to 0 be held heir In the church wit with h the girls of ot Helens Helen's Sun Sunday Sunday day doy school class cluss the servIng trig log a 0 buffet luncheon In the Sunday school assembly room the room that was used for church dinners socials and the lII like e. e This luncheon was to take the place of ot a- a ahome home reception The details of or the ceremony had been carefully practiced Cornea Dorace Langley with Eddy Jackson o as his itIs best man was to wait In the small room at nt the left side of ot the pulpit The bridesmaids bridesmaids brides brides- maids were to gather In to the primary room Just Inside the main entrance Helen decided that when all nil the Invited guests sat silently walling waiting within the tite church she site with her father father fa fa- a. a ther would walk quietly across the Intervening s space ace from parsonage note to church such church such a very little way way way- and while Ellen Eilea took t Um lin on nn around to the pulpit room on the rl right ht of ot the altar she would Join her attendants In the primary department For fully a week nit although hough but t ten L 4 lays nua since mw thu HU i IHK UI the link that wn was to grow v rO Into an endless chain of at silver dimes GInger Ginger Gin GIn- ger had dogged the steps slops of tile the post post- man Letter for tor me Theres There's not That's ft funny tunny But Bitt on the very day doy before the I wedding as though 1 to HI till her herup cup clip to utter overflowing o the rhe post postman man delivered dolly ered cred three letters lettera addressed to R. R er all nil In strange handwriting Well Veil tha that's ts t's funny 40 hammered Ginger and ond held out a It trembling hand and anti with the flue guilty consciousness of the evildoer e sure the very postman must mist be suspicious of such a B sudden burst of ot correspondence she added Bunch of ads 1 I suppose She was wasso wasso wasso so excited that she site fell oil off I the hue he ladder three times before she finally got herself her her- self self and and the three letters letters lab the attic studio under the dormer window She Site was trembling nervously tier Her chilly tinkers lingers tore uselessly at ot the stilT stiff paper she had If It open at ot lost last n R dime rolled out upon the tho floor She seized nod and kissed It Youre my nest egg she whis youre oure my nty lucky piece youre you're what some dumb farmer would call roll callpay callpay pay dirt rt She SIte opened the other letters three dimes resulting A son sort of ot came over her tier She Site sat nt huddled Into a 0 small hunch on OI the old stool nod rend read the letters pleasant letters pleasant letters s sympathetic It If Is a 8 Joy to 10 help In such good work worl God bless the cause Pleasure to arM add my mile mite The uThe darlings said Gln Ginger cr The dear sweet generous Christian souls Ginger Oln had a JI sl significant habit of Jud Judging tn ones one's Christianity not h hv by his thoughts but hul by hi hi contributions Three dimes to her represented three devout ont Christians Very still she sat nn tin the thc nM olei n. n fool v v.-rv v. rv n. n In a 0 sweet and grateful gladness tier Her mind leaped swiftly on ono to o e expensive curative treatments for her father new rich furniture to replace their threadbare shabbIness coal coni anti and steal steak n nod chickens chickens- She kissed the letters one after the theother other and crumpled them In her tier hand to be he turned burned Little white angels she called ten deny derly Then Ihen she cast about for a proper re- re for this Incipient fortune Three dimes of themselves did not require much treasuring but tile the the highly Imaginative p eyes e of ot Ellen TollI TollIver ver fer er looked already upon rne toe thousands and thousands In nent neat little stocks stacks that were to come In En another part purt of ot the attic she ferr ferreted ted out an Rn old dolls doll's trunk very ery dusty ty very ery shabby hut huh stout well made with a n strongly hinged top fop anti and best of all nil with the theold old aid lock hock still Intact and the key dangling langlIng train from a string Within It side by side she laid the three dime and anul turned the key Ir the rusty old lock Then she site moved er e everything else off 00 her desk and directly In the middle of ot II It she placed the trunk royally alone The Thc k key y she thrust un tin unconcernedly concernedly Into the table drawer She Site was not afraid of ot thieves Cs tier Her sigh was a 0 great grent und and glad one une SAt At just fortune smiles upon the parsonage parsonage par par- and nun nil all the In It It she site hl whispered Joyously Perhaps not am much of a smile so lust ar-lust lust n fi lIthe giggle hilt but a 0 nice III lie giggle cripple The I poor little church mice are nrc going to surprise folks one CIne of ot these days s s I She Site wished greatly to tl tell fell t tier her r sis sisters tens of this sudden turn In the tie tide of ot the tonally family forI fortune une taut hilt u r that lUll little I Inner monitor which el most mus un tin called a tt hunch warned I her ago against i nsf t this hIs confidence a and site she h burled buried her herself elf und tie net seething emo emu I I lOlls lions as ns well as fiS she sIte could In plans n for rI the following day dav I Lon Long before t I the he hue high h hour of ot noonon noon on lichens Helens tiny day she site was wa I daintily HrIn arrayed In ins her lieu blue organdie I pi pirouetting roue I I tug ng up 11 and iii down t I tip the n lift hall I II I from rum room to room h hurrying II 1 n everybody even I criticizing the file JenE general appearance rp of f her lieu sisters 1 endless pert lr sup sag I anti Inciting Inching them rhem To to 10 greater haste I TO H MB UE I 1 I |