| Show 14 wilha blessing Blessi bg by PHOEBE GRAY copyright by company SYNOPSIS 11 while trundling the clean washing up clipper hill mary alice brown is set upon by some mischievous boys who spill the washing into tho the dirt she Is s rescued and ad taken to her he home in calvert street by trances willett a galahad knight she Is punished by tier her drunken fa father t he r for returning without the wash money mary alice wanders away from home takes a trolley ride into the country and spends the night at the farmhouse of sam thomas T hom in the morning she etie meets little char jle thomas a ch cripple le saro takes mary alice home and fig finds s t that hat h he 0 and mrs brown are old acquaintances sam am takes her and mary alice to his home for a visit fisl t while lem brown the drunken father Is serving a workhouse sentence charlie Is made a galahad knight francis visits the farm and Is saved from drowning by mary alice lem brown gets out of jail and goes to work tor for sam thomas as hired man francis willett la Is sent away to preparatory school mary alice gets a job in a department store the have a wonderful christmas in a dinner lem brown shows signs of re reform form john willett refuses to enter political campaign against the liquor element does it seem to you that there would not be so much inefficient and dishonest government in the united states if every good citizen took an active ins terest in what office holders were doing if every honest t taxpayer demanded honest service r e arvice and was not willing to leave the processes of government to politicians ItI itic ians clans CHAPTER vill continued wasting br breath eathl cried stubbs its sound sense mr willett Wll lett when I 1 took hold of this no license movement where was it hopelessly distanced year after year the antl saloon vote of this city was so small you had to hunt bunt for it with a microscope ive had political experience in all sorts of campaigns mr air willett Willet fc ond my work in this one Is based on what I 1 know about the machinery of tho tha game I 1 dont want anything out of it ill be satisfied to see eee rum driven out of sheffield eld bag and baggage lug and luggage because my father and my brother both died from it you yon can call it revenge it you want to but let me tell you the fellow who feels the blight personally Is the one going to form the backbone of your fighting forces mor ali zings all right but it have much force coming from the lips of some smug chap who only believes believe s rum Is a curse because another moralizer has told him so what you ask Is quite out of the question john willett said kindly and quietly even if I 1 were to be in this country during your campaign I 1 could not go into politics so far as my personal attitude goes it Is and always has been against the saloon and the entire liquor trade I 1 vote that way I 1 shall continue to vote that way I 1 make no secret of my opinion oh ob yes said stubbs picking up his hat 1 I know youre a very conscientious ious man but I 1 wish your conscience hada bada little less ego and a little more wego we go by which you mean 1 I wish that you bad a little stronger social consciousness I 1 wish you thought for the group instead of the individual I 1 wish your conscience embraced the whole of sheffield eld its poverty its wickedness its suffering its hush amos said bald willett Wll lett a little testily 1 I do my share you talk like a socialist great heavens mant youre not no said stubbs sadly turning to go im only a politician and that reminds me you said something about a check for tho the campaign fund certainly amos willett wrote busily for a moment then here you are my boy and god bless you yop just to show theres no hard feeling ive made it twice what I 1 gave you last year and so the willetts Wll letts sailed away for the carefully planned vacation and in spite of johns check and others amos stubbs fought a losing tight missing success by less than a hundred votes it marked the high water of no license enthusiasm and the next year retrogression gres sion slon set in stubbs fought on for two or three more campaigns but the golden opportunity had bad passed gassed so the courageous young lawyer we went u t into another branch of work wh where e re he could reach individuals maybe the time ripe in sheffield yet he said but some day well when the tide flows again sweep sape the country three days before the date set for the willetts Wll letts departure for europe the big willett touring car slid up to the thomas home in the with john willett Wll lett charlie peering put through the window saw a ap stranger tranger a brisk little man who followed mr willett into the house by the front door the democratic millionaire usually entered through the side porch and kitchen this new visitor must ba someone of importance charlie from his wheelchair wheel chair in the bitting gitting room heard beard the rumble of voices in InAlle the front hall ball where martha adartha bad gone to admit the callers when i they came into the room charlie Charl te saw that his bis mother was quite pale she kept fingering her apron hem nervously ous Y hello charlie said mr willett Wll lett with the genial friendliness of a privileged acquaintance hows tricks oh mr willett Wll lett im terrible tur glad to see Y you on why you come to mv party it was the beautt fullest christmas in as look at my drawings I 1 made em cm with my new t just a minute chatterbox interrupted mr air willett Wll lett ive brought you a new friend this ts a uncle billy jackson undo uncle billy meet mr air charles B thomas the well known artist the brisk little man twinkled sit nt charlie through a pair of great tor tolse toise shell spectacles he looked like a good natured owl how do you do uncle uncle billy said Charlie demurely am I 1 coln to call you Uncle Billy I 1 guess it very polite for me to Is it the now new uncle shook the small hand band gravely making a profound bow as aa it if lie he were being introduced to a person of very great distinction im pleased to meet you sir he be said ills his eyes sparkled with merriment in ent from a distinguished artist like yourself I 1 consider it flattery to be called uncle billy I 1 am making a collection of df nephews I 1 should call you a very promising specimen charlie looked a little doubtfully at the spectacled stranger then he laughed because he be saw behind the quizzical eyes a very genuine friendliness what do you yoa think of my drawings asked the little boy 1 I got a outfit for christmas a board and pencils and all these funny rulers and things I 1 learned the names of em all or just what to do with em this Is a queer one you can make most any kind of a bendin line with it but you ant make a circle that said uncle billy is called a french curve ile he sat down alongside charlies chair and entered into a discussion concerning the drawing outfit charlie was delighted at the apparently bottomless extent of uncle billys knowledge mr air willett and martha at the other side of the room talked in un der tones he has hag done some most amazing things mr air willett was so ying saying 1 I dont want to raise your hopes unduly mrs thomas jackson may say that 4 d I 1 its stronger than wishing its knowing there Is nothing he can do but if any man on earth can help bell your boy its jackson he is passionately fond of children look at him lie he has won charlies conald confidence ence already A big peal of laughter from doctor jackson and charlie evidenced the friendly footing already established 1 I always been seared scared to death of doctors that call themselves specialists said martha ever since we took charlie to see doctor B bliss liss ile he said he be might live two or three years at most and that was four years ago thank god it come true but ive lived in mortal agony ever since they went out into the 1 kitchen itchen aud and willett passed on to the barn checkers said uncle billy jackson you dont tell me you are a checker player 1 I certainly am the little boy assured him 1 I beat em all eve even the boss hes simply hel helpless when lie he plays with me doctor jackson studied charlie lust just as if as he had bad said bald charlie was a I 1 specimen his observing gray eyes missed nothing youre a pretty strong young fel low arent you he ventured ft ol said charlie flexing the slender arm with its imaginary knots 0 of f swelling muscle the boss says im a young Herc uluss im a galahad knight too A galahad knight dont you know about us tellers fellers asked charlie why we got the gre greatest idest in the worm world anthe on the Que the I 1 tell melsome me flome more little knight bald uncle billy well the holy grail Is n beautiful cup sort of like the cups wey they hilve for fop and and things when our lord ato his last supper be drank arom from it and when it was lost sir galahad ind and his friends went a tur terrible long journey to find end it on the way they was always helaire somebody that was we akern them and finally sir galahad found the grail well us fellers are pledged just like sir galahad to do every everything thin to help and folks we akern us our sword is brotherly love and our shield is made of faith courage Sym sympathy pIthy and Wil willingness linness that splendid splendid echoed uncle billy arid and the grall grail that said charlie earnestly stands for perfect Alan manhood hood its full of a dulli clous drink called unselfishness well what they call symbolical and theres a lot more that I 1 dont just understand though when im older I 1 will francis willett got it all up and his father and mother helped him iles hes an awful one fine reller feller francis willett is it was him blin that got up tip the idea of givin me this dandy dra vin outfit for christmas doctor jackson listened to all this recital u c ital with his odd concentrated gaze which seemed to read each of the little boys thoughts almost before they could be formed into words you will need he said suddenly a good pair of legs to do all these wonderful helpful things well said charlie edme camp in handy but just cause my legs artno good yet no sign I 1 cant b bp a good galahad everybody hash has lots lota 0 chances legs or no legs then you are always wishing for better legs its stronger in n replied charlie its knowin gods fixin up some way to get some klud kind 0 starch or stiffen em im just as surel charlie said uncle billy when I 1 was a younger man and still studying in school I 1 discovered that god had given me a great gift I 1 found that many times when other men could not seem to see what was the matter with sick children I 1 could not a always of course but quite often then I 1 be began all to study harder than ever how I 1 could best use this gift so as to do tile most g good with it and I 1 found that there w were ere hundreds and hundreds of little bo boys ys and girls whose backs and legs were crooked or weak and I 1 thought what finer work can I 1 do than just to go about trying to straighten little crooked backs and straighten little weak legs so now I 1 have done so much of such work that people really think I 1 have quite a knack at it you mean said enid charlie gravely I 1 that you are a doctor yes charlie I 1 am a sort of doctor one called a specialist 1 I told you god was pl blannin annin out some way cried the little boy ills his e yes eyes glistening how long d ds does s it take uncle billy let me tell you about it went on uncle billy you must not expect too much you must not be too sure oh but I 1 am surel sure cried charlie ive waited a long time and I 1 knew if I 1 was patient it would happen I 1 never worried about it a minute only just wondered how soon it may be a very long time all right the boy was sure ive got heaps of time and perhaps it will make you suffer a great deal of pain and weariness ive had pain and weariness 1 I guess I 1 can stand a little more sometimes I 1 ache in most ost enough to make me cry but I 1 read wy my galahad book or talk to mammee or the boss and then I 1 just close my eyes and think as hard as I 1 can what tun fun be when god fixes me all up and I 1 can stand the pain all right sometimes it drives it right away like it does for mammee to rub me at be bedtime daime will you let me see your legs charlie I 1 want to find out why it Is you cant seem to use them I 1 wont hurt you dear deai doctor jackson made his examination with infinite gentleness he had won charlies confidence built up in halt half an hour a fine wholesome friendship and in the process he had bad diagnosed not only the childs ailment but his temperament before he left with willett Wll lett he be had a long talk with sam and sl martha artha in the first place he said 1 I can say to you that cases like this have been cured there will be quite a ion long process of building up ills bis system before the critical step n very rare and difficult surgical operation upon the spine where the original injury took place may I 1 ask how bow this injury occurred cu sam looked miserably at hla his wife she shook her head so BO slightly that sam hoped the doctor did not no t defect detect it charlie had a fall she said A person dropped him when lie was a little feller what do you think Is the whole truth about little charlies injury TO BE CONTINUED |
