Show QUEER COMRADES alt at the eastern end of the town I 1 ly y tho the black cemetery gate there had bad bc been en stationed day by day since time imi e morial an old who sold ap plea ples eggs aid and cheeses ct cascar r sitting there motionless loaning leaning against the raili railing tag behind her eho she reminded one of a dutch painting this as owing tober to her dark red cloak against tho the ample hood i f which drawn around lier her head a win wrin kled face bice blue eyes and snow chito hair were defined sho she vas about 60 80 years old I 1 ad al ai mays sat ant by the cemetery gite an I 1 tho the poetry of her life AN as furnished by fu fut gerals all her tears sighs and prayers were reserved for the dead who silently passed her tn in their coffins poverty which came oame to its rest with out flowers and without a train touched her heart and she wept from sympathy A rich person a funeral caused her to melt in tears of admiration but when by good fortune the wind bore to her ear car a funeral hymn sung beside the grave while the leaves of the old trees above her rustled in the breeze and the evening or noon sun shone warmly upon her head the old creature was in the seventh heaven it was wag not often however that all this waa was combined to her satisfaction there were more deaths among the poor than among the rich and during the greater portion of the year the wind blew blow about her ears and rain and snow rattled down upon her big blue cotton umbrella naturally as all the feeling of which this aged heart was capable was directed toward those who slept beyond the cem eatery gate there was or little left for the living who were yet outside the complaints of the poor women that the eggs were BO so dear troubled the old crone quite as little as the grumbling of the men at the high price of cheese the eyes of hungry children appealed to her in vain tor poverty hunger u r and cold were things BO so natural to her that she gave them no further thought she never lowered a price which she hid bid on once c e set seta but neither did it occur to her to make higher charges to people who appeared to be well off if they stopped to buy fruit of her the old creature was just in her business aa as well as in her speech ione of the inhabitants of the neigh boyhood could have asserted that the huck buck stress had bad ever wasted a pleasant word on them for the purpose of cecur ing their custom on the contrary if ever any one took the liberty of remark ing seems to me the cheeses are rather email small today she woold would reply curtly V cry ery well yon you bad had better go to the storsand store and have some measured out outto to yon you by the yard one fine morning in autumn the old woman was already at her post there appeared on the steps of an old hou hen to w opposite a small boy of hardly 5 who looked gravely about him lie ile hel I 1 in bis his hand a long iron hock acx k and a tig tin pail was slung over his shoulder the eyes of the boy and those of the buck huck stress met the idea might have sug itself to them that one coul I 1 not well be older than the one nor younger than the other and earn one a 8 living but nothing of the kind happened to oc oe cur ew to either of them the boy get set in motion his little crooked legs which were wound around with old rags and they took him straight to the basket of apples say be remarked addressing the old woman oman give me an apple no indeed was the reply an and after dafter A gloomy pause the boy turned togo to go and entered upon bis his occupation he ile was a in the course of the afternoon be he came staggering back somewhat tired under the load of bis his full pail once more the bright red apples attracted bun him irre he ile looked loo kodat at them a long along time and said at last to the buck strem who he was watching matching him keenly say Y III give like you something from my pail if yon yen I 1 and give you vou don t alke she cried with an tan ive ITO gesture of the hanl ban L fie talu youaw lf off oft with your dirty bagal I 1 the next morning he was there alain A funeral procession was juit juht ani ad I 1 the old woman a tears r I 1 tie tl e boy waited for an in opportune tnt 1 kii I I 1 thin ihn naked ked lutan will you iva me 1110 an apple ahn I 1 in dead dead people din dox t want auy ally ap I 1 plea was the ws or ent I 1 do he asserted what a bratt sl op e exclaimed exclaim eil an won t even let tt a body a funeral in beam off olf with yon yo quick ulek I 1 isaal bayl tb the next time thi the boy r stopped wore before J i 11 4 1711 I 1 I 1 t 1 ak 1 1 alm 1 I 1 ka mhd filled baraket bf egg lil atre did all thone those come mime fiam he aske ciskel 1 nu ata I 1 as ho be received no anaver ho be ave aye alint wm belt bolt one oh I 1 know from froni a li it dl I 1 think it a very nice of a hen to lay good egis a I 1 well that I 1 a hm a 0 4 grumbled tho the after a pause of deep reflection til alib little fellow declared I 1 in m sure I 1 conada t lay such cg it I 1 i M as a hen but even these words which trita tin ly showed great appreciation of her wares ware did not have the effect of soft qu n ing the old NN onion another time ho he reported cacci ly t look there a a woman up at the tor lor ner that a been railing you this I 1 dug time sho wants you to come to her go and toll her to coma come to me it if she he wants to see me rue said the hucks bucks and the little story teller slunk avy away and did not return one day when a lady elegantly dreaded in black passed the old woman and the boy tho the former polled puffed out her clice chhoa and said scornfully I 1 pah palt she s mighty grand she won wont even look at us but no matter we 11 all lie in the same runne that s what pleases me Is she one of the folks that tou s on it work asked the boy they ro re the ones that santa claus spanks my goodness the huck buck stress stross cried interrupting him you know a good deal don t you who ever heard of rich folks working 9 you are am a stupid boy clung to his opinion pa says mys N ork or get your cars ears boxed I 1 ou on d better believe it IL stop talking was the tile angry an awer I 1 ou on re ro ft a donkey the mite thought a momen moment and tand then replied all right but N all ill you give me an apple non nov t the woman seized the ropo which she used for tying up her baskets and tho the little fellow understood the gesture an ant I 1 trudged off he ile went into the house lions climbed the steep stairs on all fours and entered the low garret room which was never loci ice ed it contained a bed a table and ta two 0 or three chairs the floor was filthy and so were the window panes consequently admitted but a dim dini light A few articles of clot clothing bing were ly lying ing and hanging about the room lo iso 10 fresh air keened seen ed to hae hai 0 entered the place for weeks hero here the little had grown up lett left entirely to himself almost from his babyhood after his mother died le had lain in bed most of the time until his father came home and shared his dinner with him the man won woul I 1 seat the little fellow on the table bo before fore h him I 1 pi oat eat his bread and cheese and put a mor sel into the child a mouth from fron tune time to time on sundays days be would give him a scrubbing with soap and wa ma ter and take him with him to a beer house now the boy N a as 5 years old and tho the father thought it time for or him to be do ing something when he came homo home from his work at night he was a lamp lighter hia his first glance would bo be di erected toward the tin pail if it N vt as full well and good if not the boy wool won I 1 receive his punishment with the words work or have your ears boxed and this was the only philosophy which the little fellow comprehended as yet and to which moreover he clung itow now although the huck stress was al ways put out when the boy planted himself in front of her baskets it so happened nevertheless that after awhile she began to look up the street treet s when ever he did lid not return at the usual timo time when he be did come she was curious to heartis hear his newest devices all of which had bad for au an object the acquisition of an apple but her power ut resistance was quite as great as his longing ion ing and thus they practiced their one another with laudable perseverance the yellow leaves of the trees which overhung the cemi tery gate had bad b degrees accumulated at the feet of the old woman she wrapped her cloak closer and closer around her as the branches beyond the gate became more and more bare the wheels of the hearses now crunched on the freshly fallen enow snow and nothing but the dark evergreens ever greens rose above the white graves in the cem eatery when the son sun went down ita its fiery raystell rays fell through a network of naked boughs and for a few moments the old crone in her red cloak leaning against the black blaek snow anew dusted gate would look like a gilded statue on one of these cold evenings she had placed her tin coffeo coffee mug on the glow ing coals of a brazier which stood beside her and banned herself occasionally with a sip of hot coffee the cold moon stood in the sky the stars were twin twill afar came the sound of sleigh belli bells and cr creaking enking wheels all who went and came hurried along at the top of their speed go so aa as to warm their be numbed limbs tram time to time the huck stress rose and looked up the street the child was not yet to be boon wen shak ing her head ehe she drank dank her coffee but as she did not relish it as much aa usual she began to scold that brat I 1 con found him I 1 running about in the snow at this time of night what s the uso use of children anyway they ought to lie be born big again abe got up to tio be sure bur there ho he was staggering along through the snow a little bowlegged bowl eged bent over figure if I 1 gasn wasn t too lazy to mo mon 0 I 1 d make your leg legs fly quick enough bhe she grumbled never taking her eyes air the boy he ile homed L wever weyer to have lost all desire for an e evening ening chat on this occa ocea siou sion Shive Shi nife g he mounted lie tile few tops of the opposite house but wit wlm 11 be he attempted to open the door no ae found it locked to bo be sure onre bald said ho the old woman to herself the people of ti 1 0 hon ahonso so h liao ale gono gone to a wedding and they never thought of the chil I 1 the boy set his pail and J hook ou alio upper ftp and sat down on the doors ill bior a moment he lie seemed perplexed then au n I 1 lenly he jumped up a it id ad ran across the to the huck stress cry ing piteously and holding out I 1 is little blue fingers to her well well she said bodda bodding ng I 1 ir cr bead head gervea serves yon you right you th think uk I 1 in going to give you an aar apr aarle le eh no in deed A box on the car Is what you 11 git gt but no apple at tho the same timo time he she held the coffee wag lung to tits his lips an in I 1 he drank greedily from it his eyed fixed anxiously on the anan who continued to goold incessantly Sud suddenly deuly she be hardly knew laprat if how it happened sho she had the child ou on her lap bhe wrapped her ample ampi 0 cloak around him blin and no the held him close soon the calm calin deep bluith ing tug of tl ti 0 little fellow fullow told her that he I 1 had fallen arl ariael gel and pho based it bvm k f 1107 5 a I 1 I 1 01 gj I 1 a ins and did not ul oa 00 no human being had ever rested wi 1 this octo genari in a bosom neither love nor kindness nor pity hod had ever succo oded in opening those rigid arma for sho she had bad always been III natured and bent upon her ON ow n addan tage which seemed to her especially on dangerud dan dang gorod ered w v hanover there MM N its a man in the cage how the young life n i hinh she hold bold to her breast filled her with a grate tul ful warmth she listened to tho the placid breathing of the child shoho head rest ed axt bi her tier chin and iu an old song came to her mind which she had learn ed at school she began to sing it NN ith out a trace of a voice la in sibilant tones when nhen the lamplighter came homo home she called him to her here s your boy I 1 she said in her most crabbed manner maimer this is the first time I 1 ve taken care of him for you and it 11 be the last I 1 promise you and she transferred the drowsy child to his father a 8 arms then she packed her belongings on her handcart and v wont ont home on an hour or more moro later than usual the nest morning the little fellow emerged from the house at the wonted time ready to follow big his profession meeting the eye of the old woman appo site he stopped sat down on the door bill sill again and looked over at her grive ly IY as it if trying to collect his thoughts lie had au an indistinct remembrance of the comfort which he had bad enjoyed the night before he ile knew nothing of a mother 8 loving care cam of the tender touch of her faithful hand band had ho he perchance unconsciously conceived an idea of tl ti em ent while clasped to the old woman s heart suddenly ha he stood in his old place be bide side tho the basket of red apples but he lie heeded them not lie ile looked across them into the face of the old crone and sai sat 1 this time without any secondary object say I 1 in going to marry ou on she had bad to laugh in spite of herself for the first time the little fellow had made hw bor laugh and without at no me ment a hesitation eho she banded him hini the finest apple in the whole basket an I 1 no wonder for this v as tl if 0 first and only offer of marriage which she had ei eier er receil received ed from the german for short stories tones fc |