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Show . u :: "Old Jim" :: - - X 1 ii ' : There wss a cry outside the door. Jim flung It open roughly and listened, a stick courcnlcd In the hand behind his back. No step on tho rickety tenement stnlra. no dcrlnlvo laughter greeted hla ear. What was It? He peered Into the so ml -twilight from under his shaggy gray eyebrows. Again a shrill rry, this time from the corner of the Isndli.;. A kitten In a bundle of rags! He stooped to pick It up, two llttlo hands flow up, and a baby cooed In hla face. Old Jim, derisively known aa the "Old Crank," haI onco been young and even good-looking: but an accident acci-dent In the foundry had set Hod all that, and the death of hla mother had left him alone to grow hard and auspicious aus-picious and often Iraiclhlu from an aching spins. Hence his one little room, at th top of Hie third long flight of stairs, becanio his ,-n. from which he emerged to growl, under provocation or without, at tho numerous numer-ous children who swarmed tbo stairs. In fact, bo had more than onco boon heard to say that If more kltti-nawcro kept and more children wero drowned the world would be bettor off; whereby ho earned the enmity of the mothers In tho tenement. It was the very Irony of futo that brought the helpless bsby to bis door. Th Innocent bsho, dcllcjitod to be held, smiled and cooed and wuved Us aimless hands. Old Jim, poking It cautiously to see if a note of explanation explana-tion waa attached for he had heard of auch things wits astonished to have hla finger grasped (Irmly In the tiny wandering baby Unguis. fcl little, lit-tle, so soft, aud yet so strong the clasp ran up the old man's arm and settled around his hesrt. Tho hahy gurgled softly. That was enough. The old man looked cautiously down tho hall to be sure :hat no one wns grinning grin-ning at him, stepped back Into his room and closed the door. Mrs. Flaherty on 'he floor below had Ave email children and a large motherly heart: and It waa to her that Jlin went that iiIkIiI. afier the children were all out play lug on the sidewalk, to ask advlco on (hu food for the baby, and If alio would sell him some clothes. "Hell y initio clothes? Knith. I'd give 'cm to ye glslly, If It wasn't that Dick's out of wink again. Hut you don't mean to kapo thu poor 111 tl thing, do yo? You heln' away so all day." "How can 1 tell shout that, Mrs. Flaherty? All 1 want lo know now la whether to give It anything but milk and how to put Its clothes on." "Ah! ye helpless mun. I'll come up right away aa soon as 1 do me dishes." And the next day she confided to her neighbor, Mrs. Hchllis: "Yeought to of seen that room. Neat aa wax, ms dear. To b sure, there was nothing noth-ing much In IL The ould crusty creetur bent double ovor tho little baby changln' Ha clothes as handy as any woman, and the Utile white baby acooln' awny up Into his black, wrinkled face, like as If be waa Its guardian angel. And he. tho cross, old cteetur, a-imllln, yes, actually, fat, 4s'' I B IM ij mi i i What was Itf a-smllln'. Why, It Ink mo an,.ck no, I i rien-d to kapo It next tiny with mo little Hun. I'd Jil"t soon l avo two hahtisi rollln' under r.io feet us on. "Von vita iln g.x.l iieithhor. Mis. Fliihertv," said Sin IvhU'r. "I il.i.ll ou fi.rnel he promt od In prenlc Jour l"t!e Tommy's n.a k if ho ci,i.io oop tho: o hlll're. an Hi." "I've Uouo the fiuue ruej.lf umtiuy's the time." said Mrs. Flaherty. "Tom- my's a torment nnd a trllo ovon to me. Me heart's broko wld lilm. And the poor nitld sinner Is ksplng th babe from goln' to a home. I'd bate to have one of me own go to a home, I can tell you that, Mrs. Schlltx." Htrsnge to sny, the child lived and fattened nndcr the raro of th old man. Dny times hs rolled on tha dirty floor of Mrs. Flsherty's kitchen with little Dan and a mangy dog that belonged to the children. At night he returned to the one spotless room, wbero he cuddled and cooed In tha old man's arms and brought bis In- ' ...iV;- p" Wr."Jj.i j "Ksep back, you old fooll" . fanlllo graces to cheer a hitherto I barren llfo. Files In a bottlo amused him by the hour, or he played In th last sunbeams, trying to fasten thorn J down with his little hsnds. II knew J no fear, and all the world waa hla ! (rlend. His sunahlno filled ths Ufa of th old man and overflowed Into all thu homes In the tenement. Thus It was that his digestion was nearly ruined hy surreptitious slicks of dirty candy from the corner gnx-ery, while a lovely disposition caused hltn to b surfeited by caresses from all Iho na- llonalltlea that dwelt tug.ilh.or with more or lesa harmony under tha earn roof. Old Jim worshiped hint. Hla keen eyes softened when he looked, ' at him. his gruff voire took on a new' tone, and Mrs. Bchllts said: "Ha Tag quite agrevaple sine dot baby came." Hut one night aa Jim noared horn, returning from th foundry, h aaw an engine at the hydrant belching smoke and steam. A vague fear hi led him. He hurried on aa faa aa hi withered old legs could carry bin. Othor engines puffed along tha street, water rsu In big streams through tha gutter. A book and ladder truck das hint round the corner clanging furiously. fu-riously. Jim pushed his way through Hi crowd. It was th tenement that wua burning. "Keep back, you old fool, you're got to got out of tho Are lines." mared a fireman. Jim glared at him and run on. The stair wore Oiled with firemen, plpea and running water, wat-er, timoko was driving them back. Jim pushed on. "Do you know If they got out my baby?" he croaked. "I diiniio, I guess so. Which door do you live on?" answered the half- ' choked. flreniBU. Hut Jim was gnu. Just then there ram a crash. Th roof fell In. And Mrs. Flaherty walled from the opiMislte pavement, "Ah! what'll I do whin ould Jim cornea home and I havo to tell him the firemen fire-men hrouKht out the baby smothered Itillndy?" Hut old Jim had gone home. New York Times. |
