The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, November 16, 1921, Page 2

OUR RED-HEADED KID FREDERICK WALWORTH Copyright, 1921, by Frederick Walworth. - By arrangement with - The Literary Digest Monday. is a ban’s busy day. So when the Fourth of July, or Washing- ton’s Birthday, or some other of our increasingly numerous holidays comes on ‘Monday, and the fifth day of July; or the: twenty-third day of ‘February, or Whatever day Tuesday may chance to .be, ig burdened with the labor of three days anda half, the bank clerk takés off his coat and his cuffs and his morality, and prepares for a tall exhi- bition of ‘elementary ‘arithmetic. It is not well to ask a favor of the cash- ier on such a Tuesday. Bob turned up at the bank on Tues- day, July the fifth, and his reception would have disheattened a person lacking as tough an integument. As it was, Bob didn’t seem to realize he had been turned down. (Mr. Martin, the cashier, had his coat off and both hands working like an electric fan in a mass of filthy bills which Uncle Sam should have redeemed and turned into papier-mache hats and vases long ago, The day was unseasonably warm, and the cashier's collar slapped ~limp and gluey upon his apoplectic neck. At intervals: he'turned- his head away and said something not meant for the teller’s ears while he sprinkled the reeking mass with rosewater from a bottle on the counter. Most of the bills had ‘been dragged from deep pockets by members of the thirty- third dégree of the great ‘unwashed fraternity, and, as the cashier had re~ marked, they ‘carried one hundre¢ scents'to'the-dollar. But ‘that was on a previous occasion. There was no time for any such levity on Tuesday, July 5th. i “Pleage sir,“I’'m lookin’ for a job.” We all heard: it, but its origin’ was not immediately apparent. The cash- ier continued counting dirty bills. Mr. Harvey, the teller, glanced at the cashier and returned to’ his. books. Tom, who was. “on the ledger,” pans: ed with a’check/‘in ‘his fingers and his pen ion the line, took one swift look in‘the direction of the sound, €éyi- dently saw nothing, and proceeded to enter thacheck. ‘The rest of us were engaged with mercilessly multitudin- ous checks and seemingly endless col- umns, and did not even pause. The cashier had informed us that if we wanted anything to eat that night De- fore we caved in, we had better “hit it up pretty lively.” “Mister, I say I’m lookin’ for a‘job.” This time we all stopped, supper or no supper. ‘The cashier looked up angrily an@ behéld a small boy, not over-washed, villainously red-headed, and, ‘judging from the age of his face, stunted in ‘his growth. ‘His eyes did not reach the level of the counter. It. was after four, and the doors had been locked for an hour. ‘He must have arrived via the window. “Vd like ‘to grun your errands,” he elucidated | pleasantly. “We have wo place for you,” said the ‘cashier.,shortly,, and: in a tone which made: further conversation on the ‘subie 8 y He didn’t. eyen whistle. ‘He simply stayed with us, his e¥es roving: around the bank and taking’ stock, as’ it were. At six- he had not departed. We. were ‘working’ furiously. Tom had ‘a’ ten’ cent difference and was growing gray hunting for it. I was gomé hundred and fifty ‘odd dollars out, and’ was rapidly losing my ‘reason. Jim hadn’t-his checks even entered yet, and’ was apparently going to sleep standing. Art. had his balance, and from! the top of a stool was yawning, and between gaps smiling sweetly at my ‘vocabulary and ezging me on. By seven:wé‘were all waiting for Jim. He had ‘his footings ‘he said, and’ thought he ‘hada difference, but wasn’t sure how: mueh. At: this brilliant announce: ment-:Tom took -Jim’s» books ani straightened ‘things out. By that time it was seyen-thirty, and I for one was: limp-with hunger. i r Fortunately- the cash vas two dol- 7; and,.we::olosed up for ‘Aw: thelicashier philosophically observed, if the bank was ahead ‘two dollary *thére’d be no trouble finding out who’ was’ short. As} we turned out the lights and shut the “shutters. we came upon the boy’ still sitting in the window. Tom asked him who he was, and he said his name was Bob:'.He gave no sign of needing sympathy expressed in either words or cash. Rather he gave one the impression of being excel- lently well able to ‘care for himself. Ho le ith us, and’ we sep Apply wet baking soda or ordi- naty, ammonia, followed by— VIEks P Over 17 Million Jars Used Yearly Cleaning, Presging, Repairing, Dyeing. Hgts Cicaned. and Blocked. Knife Pleated | Skirts Cleaned and Presse ‘We'call for and deliver. Phone 58 Op- posite Postoftice, Bismarck, N. D. Mall Orde=s-Solivite ae J Holland Cabbage Solid Heads $3.50 100 Ibs. sett -* CAR 3 BARBY OHIO: POTATOE: Best in the State += t $1.25 ‘Bushel:' = NEW SALEM LIGNITE DRY MINE COAL ‘Best in ‘the ‘State $540 jer ton Gelivered. Place’Your Orders Now at these lew -prices. We: deliver all ordérs to';your home, “NEW SALEM ”* LIGNITE COAL CO. Offi pes ee Seoaets ge ‘ront. Bismarck, N. D. McClure’s. Magazine. and Newspaper Syndicate arated in a wild rush for something to; eat, \ | 1 was the first to reach the bank| next morning,’ but ‘Bob was waiting! on the steps outside. (He came in with | me, hc!ped me open the Windows, and; would ‘have: accompanied ‘me inside: the cage had I not remonstrated. 1! was not. sure whether he thought he| belonged to the bank or the bank be- | Jonged to him, but it was one of the two. ‘He took ‘the rebuff, however, | with a resigned philosophy, and seated | himself as before in the open. window. | When Tom arrived he stopped short} on seeing the boy. i “Well, kid, been here all night?” he asked pleasantly. | “Yep,” replied Bob. “Where?” asked Tom at this start- Jing announcement. “Out front,” replied the “boy. “You didn’t sleep on the steps?” “Yep.” “Had any. breakfast?” “Nope.” Boe “The deuce! Have anything to eat last night?” , “Nope.” “Why the devil—you must be near starved.” - tos “You're dead right,” said Bob. Tom hurriedly brought out a quart- er and gave it to him, telling him to go across the street and fill up. The boy obeyed without wasting any time, and Tom came inside. “Did you hear what-that kid said?” he asked me. “How about his sleep- ing on those stone steps without any- thing to eat? It makes me cold in- side to think of it.” The. cashier and Mr. Harvey had both arrived ‘when Bob: returned. Tom related the conversation, and the cash- ier spoke not unkindly to the boy. “Wihat are you doing around here he- said. Looking for a job, sir’’ said Beb solemnly. “But I told you we had no place for you,” said the cashier. “Well, I thought’ I’d’ just hang around an’ ‘see. if somethin’ did n't turn up,”-he replied. oo and proceeded to “hang anound.” His first official recognition came about “ten o'clock, when the cashier gave him a sight draft to take arouad to Jini Clark for acceptance. “Get him to write his name on the face of it,” he éxplained, as: Bob lett. ‘Twelve o'clock came and he had not returned. i “Takes that boy a good: while 49 go rdund:the corner and back,” observed the cashier. : “I didn’t like his looks first time I saw- him.” said Harvey. “He looked sort of slow to me.” It may. be: stated here as well as elsewhere that‘ /Harvey's intellect has never been known to produce an or- iginal idea; Certainly “he has never expressed one. Inside the bank he is the cashier's'“‘me-too” in all things, however great or ‘small. Outside ho filsa like position ‘for’ anyone he chanceg to’ meet. Harvey is“ loosely put together, and- walks from ~ his knees; as though he feared a good full swing might shake a leg off. Now it is-a singular ‘fact, but I-have never know a: man’-who walked ‘fromi his knees who amounted to a row of brass tacks with the heads off. - ‘Harvey's parents ‘have never ceased the habit’ of: calling him “Sammy,” and either ‘he' has ‘conscientiously lived down to the name, or the name has consvientiously’ lived: down to him. ‘Every night after‘Vank hours ho rides his wheel slowly and gingerly a given distance for exercjse,-but always de- clings ‘invitations to drive, because he says: he never ‘feels é¢omfortabje with a horse;/ they are such uncertain crea- tures. He has like views of sail-boats. He is one of the bright, particular stars in the firmament of the Baptist Church, and-in. his-own opinion and that of the Rev. Mr. Squires he holds a gilt-edged first mortgage on a man- sion in the skies, taxes and special assessments. paid. However, to give’the angel his due, he is a fair accountant and draws a good salary, which goes to show that ih this perverse generation of vipers it ‘isn’t always ‘the man who’ com- mands the- money. <I, . for instance, was getting only about half as much as ‘Harvey. As i About:12:30 the telephone bell had an ‘unusually violent spasm, and 1 answered the call. “Jim Clark re- quested, in no vacillating spirit, that we call off our dog.” For a moment I thought Mr. Clark was suddenly gone insane,’ and 1 was rapidly formulatmy plans to hold his attention while I sent for William, the constable, when I remembered Bob. -‘Phere’s'a*boy over here with a draft?’ pursued’ Mr. Clark; “says he's from the’ ‘bank.’ :I don’t money, and I won't accept’ the thing, an’ he says he'll stay with me till 1 write-my name‘on’the face. Says you péople’ told ‘him“to. “Send somebody over here an’ get him;‘will you,” 1 had to go over and’ bring Boh back, as he declined to be “‘called on” by means of the phone. ‘He told Mr. Clark he wasn’t that easy. Everybody:in aur town knows every: body else—at least by sight; and pre- vious to his advent at the bank Bob had not been ono of the population. ‘Whence he came he declined to state, simply saying he “come in a box-car.” Aside from what we dubbed his “carrott patch,” he was by no means brilliant, or otherwise attractive; in fact, he was distinctly the opposite. ‘But for the ddadly tenacity of pur- pose, as“*Tom remarked, “‘he’d beat the prize bull-terrigr in a bench show.” ‘So far as we could learn he had made no other eiideavor ‘to get a place. He came to us first. it may be by chance; ‘he liked our looks, and he stayéd wih us like a Vera Cruz flea. After his encounter with Mr. Clark he considered himself a regularly con- stituted member of the bank force, and ‘wore a constant and extensive smile, which varied’ only in degree, and at times threatened tio engulf his countenance: © The cashier surrender- ed at discretion, and gave him’ a doi- lar, ‘telling him to make it last till Saturday. This he apparently did, for he never admitted being hungry from that time forth. That eyening Jim and I hunted up Tony, tho combination janitor and “watchman, who-stept in the hank, and tgitranged'ittiat Bob should bunk with THE-BISMARCK TRIBUNE. - | nosits,and ‘the day when the New | York papers announced the failure of |the Tidewater saw the beginning of | the only rin our bank has eyer ex- | perlenced, | That it stcod the strain | was duc entirely to Bob. | Wortunate!y the knowledge that we 'were badly caught in the Tidewater jfailure did ‘not .become generally i known until afternoon, and the $10,- C00 held out till we could close the j bank deors at three. | was dismally i doing my work that night. wondc-ing | where I could get another place if the i bank went under, when [ became | aware of Bob at'my-elbow. ‘He looked more doleful than I felt. “Qh! cheer up,” T saidy “it may not ‘be true. You ‘90k as though you'd} just been measured by the undertak- | es.” | ‘He looked’at’ me solemnly, | though not certain of my sanity. | “We'll pull through ‘yet,” I said. | <“iHwh.” he grunted; “I ain't worr, (in’ nonc about the’ bank. Mr. Ma: jtin’ll tend to the bank all right.” The cashier was hjs God, and hefore }him only be bowed down. as x the clang of a typewr' | IMPLY? WELL DON'T BE People Notice It. Drive Them ff with Dr. Edwards’ Olive Tablets A pimply face will not embarrass you mu nger'if you get a package of Dr.’ ards’ Olive Tablets. ‘The skin should begin to clear after you have taken the tablets a few nights, ‘Cleanse the blood, -bowels:and fiver with Dr. Edwards’ Olive Tablets, the successful substitute for calomel; there's no sickness or pain after taking them. Dr. Edwards’ Olive ‘Fablets dg that which calomel does, and just.as effec- tively, but their ation is: gentle and safe instead of severe and irritating. _ No one who takes Olive Tablets is ever cursed with'a “dark brown taste, ”” a dull, listless, “fo good’” astipaticn, torpid liver, bad or pimply face. blots arc purely ‘vegetable 1 mixed with olive cil; you will know them by théir olive color. Dr. Edwards spent ‘o.ariong pa- the | tients’ afflicted ‘with liver and bowel He ‘seated himself in the window} owe the|’ i | i ' This gentlemen wears monocle, plug j hat and cane—but he’s not English. |He’s Baron de Cartier de Marchienne, ; ambassador to the United States and | delegate to the arms conference, {him. Bob took kindly to the arrange- |ment, and Tony was glad enough to | have his company at night and help in |cleaning up after bank hours. His ‘weekly wages were fixed at two dol- ;was handed the money on Saturday he nearly, burst with pride over his affluence. Where he got his meals at this time we did not know; pnobably at some cheap restaurant. Subse- | Tony and his wife. To say that he made himself in- dispensable would be stating plain un- varnished truth. Jim and 1 early | agreed that if Bob was “fired” we'd have to resign, or, what was equiva- lent, interview the directors with a view to a raise. Up to his advent the running of the bank’s errands had de- return to any such arfangement. Also, tas Bob lived at the bank he always ready for business when we arrived. This gave us an additional five min- utes in bed each morning, and 'dur- |be despised. The bliss of waking up |in a recom where you can see your breath, and are morally certain your water pitcher is frozen over, even when it isn’t, of looking at: your watch minutes more! Champagne is not like it. ‘However, Bob had been with us nearly a year, and had, as I say, made himself indispensable to Jim and me before he succesded in attaching him- self to the bank as one of the perma- nent fixtures. After the events 1 am about to relate the directors would have put up with the loss of the cash- ier, or Harvey or even me, before they would have let Bob go. He’s with us yet, and will be till either he or the bank goes up. Our bank is the only institution of the kind in the vicinity. North one must go six miles, south 20 miles, and west 12 miles to find another place of: deposit, and to the east is the A!- lantic Ocean. This being so, the bank is unusually prosperous for a country institution, paying regular dividends of 12 and 13 per cent to its stock- holders.. It-is’ run conservatively, and is as sound and safe as United States 4's—almost. ‘ Our trouble began with the failure of the Tidewater Trust company of New. York. This bank was our city correspondent, and with it we had on deposit: some $40,000, drawing a low interest and available immediately in time of need. This amount was nearly fonr-fifths of our ready cash to meet the demands of depositors. The bulk of onr deposits was, of course, invest: ed in short-time paper, not available until maturity—and not always then— and some of the assets was in the form of real estate, inconvertible ex- cept-at a heavy loss. There was sqme- thing like $10,000 cash actually in the bank to meet. $200,000 worth of de- aA SREORR SS OG | | i || RUBBERNECKING — Dr. M._ T. | Liang (left) and Admiral Tsai, Chi- | nese? delegates ; to {conference taking , Washingtem, added dismally. * “ iter with the gftan of an organ and , ef a pencil sharpener, and you’ve got a jazz song.’ That’s the system d by Lee White, New York song writer, “I seen me-dad’ this aftcrnoon,” he complaints and Olive Tablets are the “Well, that’s good,” I said; “bring | immensely effective result. Take one or ,|der how he follored me clean lars by Mr. Martin, and when Bob) quently he was more or les adopted by} volved upon us, and we were loath to; had the windows open and the place| ing ‘the winter this is not a thing to| and finding that you have seven whole | the dsarmament in the sights of; io him around -and introduce him, jhe’s anything like you, though, tell }him not to make 4 long call,” | added. It is never well to let a boy get the jidea“ho is indispensable, even when he is. : | “He did n’t:see me, though,” Bob | continued, ignoring ‘my levity. »“Won- here. | Thought I'd shook ‘Him for keeps. (rn good, neither.” | “You _unfilial ‘tittle barbaria: said. ‘You don’t. seem incrusted ‘smiles at the advent of your jlost parent.” | “Think you're funny, don’t you,; | Huh?” said Bok, ‘and left me, and | ‘promptly forgot his dad. There was a conwication of di {tors in the bank parlors that aft !noon, which immediately convened yjon the last train south that evening. jbet he ain't bunhin’ ‘round here fori, i -| dence in our ability to pay dollar for itself into a. committee of the whole t RSs two nightly Sag @ week. s and means. sent oT telesrams to -dozen of; the nearest banks asking assistance | and wffering to deposit bonds as se-} ty; Ten thousand dollars was ob-| tained in this ‘way from the’ Beach Grove Banking company, and came in other bank able to help w ford First National, whica, 000 if we ould come and Longford '\ig:'12. miles west: of our| town over bad toads. If we could get this $20,000; the cashier believed st would tide us over and restore confi- dollar. If we ‘did not get it the bank must jour town it is a common saying that tlose its doors.by. 12. next day. | | | | | Kk. See how much j@mab book, 15¢ and 30c. most toa certainty. Some one must better ford with the yous drive across to Lor bonds and retura with the money be- fore ‘the bank opened next morning. ‘Our ‘part of the country is as safe as another; but under the circum- stances, when the oomposite eye of the community Was centered upon the bank. it would be impossible 'for| “I got to £1,” said Bob simply, and one of the bank force to leave town{he went. Mr. Martin may have real- without the object of his mission ‘be- ized that since he had decided to go ing immediately surmised. And° in jit would be impossible to leave him behind.. He would have materialized at Longford from some impossible part of the vehicle as sure as we hat tried it. The cashier had two revolvers and I had one. The other one of the four always kept in the bank could not be found when we were ready to start. ‘However, we didn’t use those (Continued on Page Seven) start, 4b. climbeu up beside the ariv- er on the front seat. “Here, Bob,” said Mr. Martin sharp- ly, “We can’t take you.” a dolar bill looks to some folks’ us big as a ten acre lot. So it was not a hiiarious party which drove west late that evening. There was tc much at Stake. We had a two-seated buckboard and a good team. The cashier and I sat behind, with the bonds in a valise be- tween us..When we were ready . to Ask your Grocer for any of these Big Sioux Producta Cheese Squares Fig.Bars .~ Vanilla Waters ; Bitde Sioux and Big Sioux. Biscwis .. Vialdort Sodas.: Marshmallow VWeters Graham Crackers FiSBS zoon Jumbles Laok for tha Big Sioux Trademark atieiae noose! . HEN you ses this Big Sicux display rack at a .¥ ¥ grocery store (and. you should always look for _ it) just choose any variety of Coolzie-Cakes and Crack- ers you happen to like. _ You can take the quality for granted. It is asstired -by the name Big Sioux, For over twenty years Big - $ioux has meant “best and most” in cookie-cakes and crackers, Remember to look for this display rack—it's the sign of a good store as well as of good, wholesome cookies, Cookie-Cakes and Crackers Manchester Biscuit Company Sioux Falls, S. D. and Fargo, N. D.