Evening Star Newspaper, December 25, 1926, Page 11

THE EVENING STORY Tom Burke of Triple X. 188 DUNNING, ten years Gov- iugton and dismissed with. out an hour's notice, went o her boarding house with calm face and steady eyes, for that was her way, When she reached her room she went stroight to “er desk and took three letters from one of its pigeon holes. These she spread out in the order of their receipt, placing the one of the morning below the others. Then she read: “North Dakota, January 1. 1915.— Dear Edith: 1 got here two months . 2%0 and expended four of my five hun- dred dollars in 456 good cows, which 1 think T got at a bargain. I believe T understand cattle pretty well, dear 1 even if I did make, a failure of my furm back there. e other hundred dollars 1 put into a dugout and semo blankets and provisions. It is a hard & country out here, and this the thermometer is 34 degrees ro. T am glad you have the Government position. It will be bet. ter than keeping house for that uncle of yours, But this is enough now, be- cause you said I must make good by actions and not by words. TOM BURKE.” April 1, Two years late=. 45 cows no 35 yearlings and 30 calves. H my firigers and toes frozen several times, and can ride a wild mustang as well as most of the cowboys. Shot five bears and traded thiree of the pelts for mv mustang abuout real r~*ion R0 TOM.” . D.. Apul 1, You notice T have 1 named now, with my brand, though it is Government land and 1 still live in a dugout. But I have 260 cows, 150 yearlings and 250 calves, 1 have hired a Swede to help me. In four more years, at the rate of in- crease so far, 1 shall have over a thousand head of cattle. Then I shall sell and return home and buy my old farm. That is my great ambition now -and you." She read the three letters with as miuch indifference as though the writer was a stranger; but then she knew them all by heart, and five vears of silence were in her mind. With the sume indifference she opened the letter of the morning and began to read. But as her gaze went over the sprawling letters her eyes widened, her face went white, and through Dlinding tears she threw herself upon the bed and sobbed bitterly. “Oh, Tom. Tom!” she moaned. “I was hard, so hard! But I was only trying to make a man of you and You were a man all the time inside. T ought to have known. Oh, Tommy. Tommy! It was all my fault.” Five minutes later she rose, bathed e and took up the letter for a nd reading: No Ranch, No Cattle, N. D., April 924~—My Dear Miss Dunning: I have failed to make good and am merely writing this because you may hear of my returning to the old neigh- horhood. T hope to find sofne sort of iob there, perhaps as driver of a milk wagon. You will find this letter al- most unreadable, for T am writing with my left hand, and it comes awk- ward. My right was amputated after the great blizzard, “The year after I wrote you before I took my herd farther up into the Northwest for better grazing and buflt another dugout. For a year or more all went well, and the herd increased to over 800. Then came the great bliz- zard. 1 struggled with it for three weeks, but in the end being driven * oven 100-miles, with four-fifths of my herd dead and myself frozen to use- lessness for the time being, When 1 2ot out half of the few-cattle left were gone. “But: there seemed no reasen why & onearmed man shouldn't make £ood, so I started in again and had built the herd up to half its former “North Dakota, TDear Edith: ali the mize, when the big snow of last Win- ter came and burled great bunches of ‘the cattle. I am now being cared for by a good friend of mine named Scott. He has purchased the thirty head of cattle I had left, and as soan as my broken leg mends enough for travel, which the doctor says will be before the end of the month, I shall start home. The cattle money will pay the doctor and my fare. “I hope your government work is proving congenial, and that you e or will have some one to bring into vour life the happiness that my in- ompetency has denied me. Sincere- 1y yours, THOMAS BURKE."” “Poor boy!” murmured Miss Dun- ning as she kissed the letter. “He has much more than made good and 1 shall be so proud of him.” She went to her desk and removed the contents of a small drawer, which represented her worldly wealth, a few hundred dollars saved from her salary and the deed of a lot far up 14th street. She had purchased it through the persuasiveness of a land agent during her first year in the <epartment, and paid for it in install- ments. The agent had taken her out swiftly in an automobile, and it had not seemed so very far. Later, when she went out to the end of a car line and then walked across stony uand muddy flields to the lot she felt dif- ferently. She had gone back to the nt and offered the lot for cost, half | cost, and then quarter. But the agent only laugh The lot had cost her $1.200. Maybe she could sell it for something An hour later she was at the land The man she had bought of was away, but his partner was in, He advised her to hold on. cen holding on nearly ten Miss Dunning. “Now I ¥ Real Riches a1 unselfish contact confidence, mutual rien “Riches” ance and warmth into ou they arc are mat I other “riches During the year 1920, Bt S S et L e DR SR S N SR SR SRR R SR December XXV 1926. <3 fim ernment employe in Wash- Come from contact with our fellowmen— e respect ) s are firmly established and maintasned. of this type are lasting and cast their radi- rn of the Mind, Heart, Soul and Spirit ! vears of owr business life in Washington, we have grown “wealthy” in this respect, and to our friends and patrons, who have contributed so liberally to our realization of this truism, we cxtend heartfelt Best Wishes for a joyful and happy Christmas. mean to sell. I want the mone: “W.ell, in that case—let me see. I recently sold the adjoining lot to u man who is going to erect a nice house. That will enhance yours | some, of course. But you must not | place your price too high. Why, one 0ld woman is asking twenty thousand for a lot not far from yours. She won't get it, though—not for some years to come, at any rate. Now if you would consider, say, ten thou- sand—-"" “Ten thousand, cash?” Miss Dun- ning was surprised at the calmness with which she was able to pronounce the words. “Yes, cash, of course. And it may be I can get you a little more,” as she remained silent, trying to calm herself inside. “Of course, the bigger the price the bigger my commission. But I can promise ten thousand, clear.” “Very well, get all you can,” forcing herself to speak ealmly, “though I'm ready to sign papers for ten thousand. When shall I know?"” “I will have the money and papers ready tomorrow afterncon. And now,” as she rose, “may I ask if you intend Investing? I have some very attractive things this week.” “No, thank you. I am hoping to buy a farm just out of the city—the ——— dalry farm.” s “Why? What?" in surprise. “I've got that very farm on my list. Own- er wants tq go to Florida, and will sell for $8,000. 0dd thing, 1 received a letter from Dakota this very morn ing wanting to rent that farm. Man wants to rent on shares, work and half the crop for rent, he to furnish everything. Pretty good offer in w | renting avay, but. of course, sale is the most important and the only | thing just now. But you'll need u | manager on the place, of course, and T wouldn't wonder if this would be just the man. Anyhow, when he comes I'll gend him out for 4 talk. The next day the transfer was made and Miss Dunning moved out in the afternoon. There were repairs and improvements she wanted to make and they must be done quickly. Sev- eral weeks passed and the changes were all completed and the workmen gone away. With the last one gone Miss Dunning brought a rocking chair to that corner of the veranda that commanded a view toward the end of the nearest car line. But two more days passed before a man was seen coming down the lane. He. walked very slowly, with a cane in one hand and limping. As he tapped at the door, Miss Dun- ning stepped from her corner behind the vines, 4 “Edith,” he whispered hoarsely. “T didn’t think to meet you. I'm—not strong enough for that yet. And hes too! Are you the wife of the owne “Not yet, Tom, I have been wait- ing for you. Don’t you remember how you asked me to marry you-— not once, but forty times, I think. And 1 told you to go away first and make a man of yourself. You have done that and come back. Now we will be married.” “Come back a man! Why Edith, 1 am a failure, the very worst Rind. I even had $500 when I went away and I have nothing now.” “But you are a man, Tom,” Miss Dunning declared, her happiness mak- ing her eyes luminous. ‘That is worth a ‘thousand times more than maney. And, as to failures, I am one, for I worked ten years in the Govern- ment Printing Office and thought I had made myself {ndispensable, but they dropped me without explanation. But come, dear, a minister lives but two houses away, and I have spoken to him. Then we will come back and look over your farm—our, I mean.” (Copyright. 1026, | | ARCADIA AUDITORIUM Washington's Madison yuigiv?udnn Shecial Holiday ANCE Music by HAPPY WALKER And His Syncopators " PERPETUAL BUILDING ASSOCIATION PAYS % Compounded Semi-Annually Assets Over $13,600,000 Surplus, $1,000,000 Cor. 11th & E Sts. NW. - Tom e var noer itk oot BN, JAMES BERRY, President to be sure—through which and esteem, love and r lwwes forevermore, because erial and flecting.— well as in the previous 68 Stncerely: DECEMBER 25, 1926. Yaoshington’s Leading Furniture TR 'II il I i il ] | 7 IR > . L] il Il | | Wl AL HOCN. ] &2 I U | m il [} Z NSRRIy il il Credit I 8 N o3 W : ) UL )\e// ey Ghristuag OW comes the Christmas tide, when the precious essence of “Good Will on Earth™ overspreads the world; when mankind leaves off its selfish striving and for awhile each mortal seeks his fellow, bearing messages of friendliness. Let us rejoice in this jolliest of festivals. Let us also reflect on its power over human kind; this matchless Yuletide that summons high and low, humble and mghty. to a common purpose. That this Christmas season of 1926 may yield, in abundant measure, the in- comparable gift of happiness is our sincere wish for all our friends and customers. As we are about to reach another milestone in our forward progress, permit us to wish you d Bappy HNew Pear =tpith a pledae of continuous obserbance of those policies that have brought The Bub into the fortward vanks of furniture stores of the country. Qs e stand on the threshold of this, the netw pear, and as we look backward ober 1926, it is a pleasure to thank pou, one and all, for pour balued patronage and friendship. Serbice- Liberal & | A I O I\ Q% /4 wj WO o O3 QRO il Uil S| [l | i [ JLALHLEA [l il ] il I (T