Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, November 8, 1919, Page 14

o PR T e e P, sy | (g B T o e aha FE, Py v Y VSR z TS WAS a comical feilow and toe first time we saw him was when he fn- serted his features, accompanied by & two-bit smile, into our department’y one day recently and arrested our atfention by turn- ng loose a medley of sounds which very much resembled what a French menu looks like, only a trifle thicker. Sometime later we discovered that be was a Bulgarian, dubbed Heinz by the hospital attendants, because no one could understand his line of talk enough to get his real name and be- cause he occupied Room 57. The fact that Heinz left the scenes of his nativity when the grape shot became too habitual for comfort, made one think that he was not with- out some amount of gray matter in hls anatomy, but when on the second day after his arrival In the land of the free and home of polite graft, he paused in the middle of a busy street to contemplate the lofty structures and allowed his person to become entan- gled In the cog-wheels of pro s, it looked as If his judgment wasn't so keen after all and that he would probably have done as well by staying at home and being shot up by the enemy. After the curious visitor was care- fully picked out of the mechanism of 7 automobiles and & truck, the E 00090000000 000D BN Wanted---A Home Make 0O you haven't any- thing to contribute to our rummage sale? 1 thought that perhaps you might give some- thing, and take a table. You know you haven't been to any of the church doings since—" s voice trailed into an embar- ence under the level gaze of. Jarnes. She jerked her shawl nd her shoulders nervously, but ered in the open door as the other n uttered a calm: 1 can'’t think of anything now, but I—-T'll tend a table—and i T a anything I'll bring it to the sale.” rassed “No Jane voled Jane into a snappish: 11, don’t fail to come—for I ex- pect Henry and his wife will be there: Of covrse, you knew he was married?” OHN stared at the note on the table until its every word was burned into his brain. It said: “I am going to David. You would not give me the money to go with, 50 I have sold the spoons—they were mine, you know—and the old hall clock. You will ind your dinner on the stove and I've engaged Mary Ball to do your washing on Mondays. You are a good hand to cook, so I guess you can get along somehow. If you should need any medicine, there's the pep- permint in the kitchen cupboard, on the lef nd corner of the third shelf frem the top, and the catnip and oth- er herbs are hanging in the northeast coruer of the garret. Shall stay as long 2s David needs me. “AMELIA.* ©Op the table besids Amelia’s note OHN LANG ougt: o have been a nappy man. He had sud- denly come into fameas a popular novelisi: his writing had brovgnt hinvan casy compe iis talents had for him « cordial reception into ihe o lusive clubs, and th> Iterati w 4 him with open acms. But ce she v vedup ves t 3 and hair: One Tooth Less & TR Y P pleces Were brought to our hospital and a bunch .of squab doctors who needed practice were detailed on .the case. And strange as it may seem, the amateur mi , with the kindly assistance of a few interncs, succeed- ed {n putting Heinz’s. works together 80" well that nearly everything match- ed up and there were but two or three minor fragments left over. When Heinz had become able, the doctors had let:him - out for a few bours each day to take a llttle exer- cise through the corridors, and thus it was that he wandered away from the regular halls and Into our department. ‘We did not know all this until later, however, for as our department, that of dentistry, is located in a winz re- moved from the general hospital, we see very little of the patients except those brought to us for treatment. “Gee, what is 1t?” whispered Rich- ards, my co-worker, when Heinz push- ed his revamped anatomy into our midst and got off the aforementioned bit of scrambled talk. “If you guess right you can havs it,” I replied lightly and went on polish- ing my favorite yell producer. “Did you want some work done?” asked Richards, in that honey and mush tone he employs while strapping his victim in the chair and telling him it will not hurt one bit. Heinz merely let out a couple more lengths of smile and nodded yes and no. “Write it out for him,” I suggested. “If he can’t understand plain F Alida Barnes critically eyed the pie balanced on her upturned palm; then painstakingly trimmed off the super- fluous crust before sending an appar- ently careless: “Oh, yes—I knew it some time ago!” over her shoulder. Jane sniffed unbelievingly, then went out, leaving behind her a woman out- wardly, calm, but inwardly raging. She understood pefectly Jane's object in coming and regented it with all the force of her proud nature. “Humph!” she muttered. “Little she cared about My coming to that salels She just wanted to see how I'd take Henry's marriage! But she didn’t get much satisfaction out of it, I guess! I hadn't heard he was married—but I'd have died before I'd have told her so! Nobody shall say that I'm breaking my heart over him—ever it I did have my wedding dress all made, ready, to marry him five years ago! The man doesn’t live who can ‘hoast that he’s marrying me just for a housekeeper! Why, I'd have sent him packing, evert if the ceremony had been half through was & letter addressed to her from a doctor in the far West, which told of the serious iliness of David. leamed with anger as his quiet Amelia, who had always asked his advice, and had never taken it upon herself to act without it had really gone. Why hadn't she shown the letter to him at once? True, she had asked him for money to g0 and see David, but he had not given it to her. Hadn't David dis- graced him? Brought his honored name down to the dust? David, their only son and child upon whom they had built such high hopes. “Poor - David,” he said, “It I had known you were so sick, but—" ‘The “poor David” was said not with-. out sorrow, but he was getting used to the boy’'s absence, although he had missed him at first. But should he get used to getting along without his wife, it only for a time? John was one of those men whose husband love was stronger than his father love, but John, who would chase the cul- prits who called her “Ginger” or “Firebrand,” until he eaught them and 1hey promised amendment. They were good pals—John and Peggy—that is, ihey were until the clash came. John had casually mentioned one day that Peggy would make a sweet .ittle wife. He seid he knew she could darn and mend and cook and clean better than any other girl in the village. The _gown, ifllmy:lace: Stroking the:shimmcring lish, how the deuce can he read it?" asked Richards, trying to stab me with a look. “That's right,” I admitted. “Why don't you draw him a picture of it, then?” picture of what?” don’t know.” “Aw, shut up,” said my ungrateful friend and turned to the patient. “Sprecken ze Dutch,” he told him, and got a shake of the head and some more Chessy-cat grin. “Polly voo the gay Paree,” said Richards, after thinking a while, and this got him a stare of polite spissi- tude followed by another ~all-encom- passing grin. “Hi yah, sub gub yakamee no checkee no washee,” I put in playful- ly and received as much encourage- ment as Richards. “It gets me,” muttered my fellow ‘worker as he surveyed the expansive smile in bewilderment. “He must be something or other. He looks like a bear.” “No, he isn’t a bear,” T stated posi- fively. 1 had seen several bears. “He looks something like John.” “That's the first sensible idea I ever heard .you express,” congratulated Richards, . “Send for John, while I watch -It.” “Suve, ; sure,” T replled without knowing what he meant. “That was a fine idea; great head.” And I pushed the Turkish janitor’s call button. . After a few minutes John, the Turk, before I found it out. -And I shouldn't have known if Jane hadn’t heard him ‘sayt; but, all the same, I've despised her ever since she told me, and I can’t help 1!” Ag she sét her ples'away, a sudden impuise sent her hurrying up fnto the attic.” Pulling a {runk out from under the eaves, she dusted and unlocked it. Taking out a package carefully wrapped in blue tissue paper, she opened it and shook out a white satin its bodice veiled in yellowed, folds across her lap her lips trembled piteously—then settled into a deflant line. She wouldn’t cry—sha just wouldn’t! But despite her determination, a mo- ment later, the dress was tossed aside, her head went down on the edge of the open trunk, and heavy sobs racked her from head to foot. She had ioved her finace with the passionate adora- i tlon of a:young .girl; and the sHatter- ing of ‘her love dream had been = bit- ter hlow. ’ The very independence of Amelia! She had sold the spoons that were a wedding present from her aunt, antl had cost-$25 or more a dozen! And the old hall clock! Why, he—although it was a maternal heirloom on his wite's side—had refused $200 for it. While he went to the hall to see if the clock was really gone, Ameita was being carried miles away from hix by the fast moving train. After a two days’ journey, which seemed a year, she reached her son’s bedside. He clasped his wasted arms around her neck, and his sunken eyes drinking in her every look, as he cried joyfully, “0O, ma! My darling mother, you've pird oy s “Yes, child. mother’s come!” A few days after David said, “I wish pa was here, too. But fathers are dif- ferent. It's mothers that stick to a feller through thick and thin. O, ma! 1 can’t realize that it's five years since T saw you. I've tried hard, ma out Yes, yes, my boy, his part of the argument with ve- hemence, Peggy with fire and anger, and ending up with the stinging and blinding information. “And you've gone and went and dore yourself too much honor, mister, to think I'd be your kitchen drudge, for Il be no- body’s galley slave. I'm going on the stage to be a famous prima donna— 0 there!” And John, cut to the quick, had run away from home and had not other girls vere so silly. When he got seen. her since. married, he told her, he wanted a girl who wouid be the quéen of his Fome But tonight as he paced his studio, with the cheerful glow from the open und who would know that she belong-» firc casting wistful shadows, he lived ed in the home and not go “gallivant- the scene all over again. He won- in" off like#'l certain young bride they dered how little Peggy was. He knew both knew. “Huh she had left the little town after the ' Peggy had retorted hotly, “I death of the aunt with whom she had guees you think queen of the bome lived. He wondered whether she had ars ‘druge of the kitchen." mine! No.for kept to her old determination to go on Then had followed a hot and the stage; and he shuddered. For all heavy war of words, John maintaining- her femper ahd girligh arrogance. % L terpreter,” sald Richards. tleman is a forelgner and we thought perhaps you could find out and tell us appeared and I then discovered what my great idea was. “John, we sent for you o act as in- “This gen- what he wants.” John looked the other over careful- 1y for a moment and tlien let loose a collection of sounds which were so much like our victim's warble that I knew at once the two must be near relatives. however, and Heinz put on that wide smile and began to shake his head I began to feel discouraged and wanted to go home. Richards looked grieved, too, and John seemed disappointed, but recovered almost at once and a pe- culiar look came'to his face; a look that made a juvenile shiver scoot up my spinal column without any reason whatever. ‘When John got it all out, , The Turkish janitor's eyes narrow- ed, he leaned toward the other and spoke a few words which sounded like a saw striking a knot. Immediately Heinz’s smile reappeared. but accom- panied this time by a vigorous nod- ding of the head, and the next mowent we were pulling John off the patient and trying to find out what in hades had happened. “Him—Bulgarian,” yelled the Turk, after he had ceased to struggle. “My brother—him get kill las’ week! Bul- garians kill him—TI kill Bulgarian!" Things were looking brighter every moment now and the prospects for a But presently the storm passed. She folded the dress again in its blue tis- sue wrappings and took it downstairs. “Ill contribute it to the rummage sale—and sell it to Heary's wife! * she declared grimly, locking it away in the front room closet. It was the night of the sale| The church vestry was crowded, and sales were brisk. Alida was busy keeping her customers in a “buying mood” by her witty though good-natured com- ments on her wares. She had nearly succeeded in convineing a deacon that it was his duty to purchase an anti- quated bonnet “to help the cause”— when her badinage died on her lips, and her face whitened under her smiles. Henry was coming toward her tuble, & handsome, smartly gowned woman on his,arm! Alida took in every de- tail of her face and form in one swift, surreptitious glance. She also took in the fact that she was-years older than the man by her side. “A° money matchi” she thought, here to do right. T have, honest. Haven't drank a ‘drop since I left home. I've had my lesson. But ev- erything seemed against me, and just when I was getting a little start, I had pneumonia, and all my savings had to go for the hospital bill. And now—" “Never mind, child, don’t worry; mother will stay with you and cara for you.” “I know, but it won't be long. It is September, ain't {t? Hasn't Dr. Brown told you? Itdon’t seem square, that just as a feller has learned how to live, he’s got to die.” “Hush, child, mother will stay with you.” A legacy from her aunt. came to Amelia a short time after her arrival in the West, and her husband’s pre- diction that she would soon be send- ing to him for money did not come true. That legacy had a strange ef- fect upon her. David lingered until April, when he Peggy was a trusting little soul, and there were wolves about! He sank in- to a_chair by the open fire and buried his face in his hands. Just for a sight of her again—now that success had come she wouldn’t have to'be a kitch- en drudge, and hg was broader now and more considerate of woman’s place in the world. And, oh! for a sound of that glorious voice! Suddenly he sat up. From a studio. next door a plaintive little song, ac- companied by a master hand on the piano, came leandy (o his ears. It thrilled,” throbbed .and' called; there was a pause which signified waiting, then it called again stronger, longing- 1y and pleadingly. John Lang. above ' everything else was honorable and would have scorn- ed an eavesdropper, yet he deliberate- ly moved aside the heavy bookerase which barricaded the door between his over. with its e: Nt first-class murder never seemed bet- ter, but after we had sat on the vengeful Turk a while, talked to him as a couple fathers, shook some light of understanding {nto his head, show- ed him why it was neither. advisable nor polite to indulge in miscellaneous murder at this time and gave him two perfectly good dollars, he consented to postpone the killing until some future date and we let him up. “Now, John,” coaxed - Richards, “we've got to find out what he wants and you are our only hope. Please, John ask him just this one little Gues- tion, and after we get through ”wlm him you can kill him all you Iike. John was stubborn but finally per- suaded, and shot a sizzling query at the patlent. Immediately came the answer and even yet that vast stretch of grin lingered. Nothing could wipe that out. “What does he eagerly. The janitor stood a moment puszied. Then he glanced over the room and a look of genuine mirth showed through the generous coat of engine grease and coal dust on his face. “No understand him,” he said, and we knew he lied, but the next mo- ment he was gone. “Well, I'll be danged!” said Rich-- ards and sat down suddenly. “On two,” I replied, and mopped my brow. And then, like a bright light shining through the darkness, Heinz arose, « say?” we asked r: scornfully, mentally bracing herself for the trying ordeal of greeting her old lover under the curious eyes watching her; and so, like a wise gen- eral, she took the initiative; and as the couple drew near, she called out a friendly: “Welcome back to Woodville! You'll find many of your old friends here to- night, and I hope . that.you and your—" She paused purposely, -and Henry murmured a polite, if somewhat shaky: “Mrs. er, I want you to meet an old friend of mine—Miss Alida Barnes.” Alida put out a slim hand to meet the warm grasp of the older woman, who, after expressing her pleasure at meeting any friend of “Henry’s” began looking over the articles on sale. She finally turned to her companicn, who stood leaning agalnst the table; his eyes frankly fastened on the face of the saleswoman on the other side of it. “I can’t seem to find anything I could use, Henry,” she safd apologet- died. His mother's eyes were hight but tearless. Hers was an intense na- ture that had moved too long in nar- row limits. John met his wife at the station. Ke had a crepe band around his hat, and kissed her with gravity. “I've made all arrangements for the funcral, Amelia, we'll haye the best of every- thing. I've engaged some fine sing- ers. “John, he won't, know now. The time was when our boy went wrong, to have stuck to him.” “But he disgraced my name.” “He never was a bad boy," apolo- gized the mother, “but easily led. He never would have got into that brawl it he hadn’t been drinking. W= are both to blame for his bringing up. We laughed and thought how cute he was, when we -should have -checked him, and/he grew up thinking how smart he was. When he came home that night you told him you wouldn't help him, he’d disgraced you. Threw away and the music teacher's studio, and peeped in through the keyhole.' Now, the radius discernible through a key- hole_ is not particularly spacious. and yet it is surprising what emotions the vision there visible can sometimes produce. A The girl stood beside the plano and John Lang saw a golden kead, top) by a rather un: ionable hat, a girl- ~ish bosom, heaving under a shabby dress with. the emotion of her song, and white hands clasped convulsively togetter. Was it possitle Peggy had been studying in the very next room to his without his knowledge, he won- dered. This was the only night of the week that he made a practice of giving up work absolutely, and that was probably the night Peggy was taking her lesson. It seemed an eternity before it was perating scales and fore,” growled my partner. “Of cours he has something the matter with his teeth or he wouldn't come here: we need do is examine his grinders, find what is wrong and fix it. A good dentist doesn’t have to be told what the trouble {s. of nuts.” quickly performed. Helnz looked in the mirror, grinned at himsel? and noted that his features had been improved. Then he grinmed at Richards and nodded his head to show that all was going well, but on second thought looked serfous, almost astonished, and again rubbed his face. nodded his rubbed his own face in reply. SR ) o A SRR crossed over to the dental chair, seat- ed himself, pointed to the tools lying about and rubbed the side of his face. “Aw, why didn't we think of it be- All Gee, we are a couple So Richards set out to discover something. All doubt had now van- ished from his mind; he was master of the suituation; again down to his calm, collected self and operating at his: profession. In a very business-like manner he pried the victim's jaws apart and looked in. “Dirty,” he muttered. “I’H clean them up first 'so I can see what they look like.” It was a skilltul operation and When finished “Uh-huh, toothache?” said Richards, head at the patient and “Pretty soft,” he said to -himself, “pretty soft,” and began sorting over his tools of torture, while I sneaked ically. He turned, smiling at her puz- zled face. “Oh, buy anything,” he advised, “people buy at a rummage sale just for the sake of buying, to help the cause, whatever it may be.” The psychological moment come! Alida turned like a flash. From'a box behind the table, she drew forth- a wonderful, shimmering mass of satin and lace; shook out the lustrous folds and murmuring sweetly: “Possibly your—your wife might like this, as—as a—souvenir. You'll see it is somewhat old-fashioned. It was intended for a wedding gown; but the bride-to-be found out that her promised husband was not—was not—" She found her voice deserting her, and stooped to pick up a fallen pin- cushion. The other woman uttered an excla- mation of delight. “Why, it's beautiful—beautiful!” she cried. “Of course I'll buy it!' It had your boy because he didn’t turn out perfect, when ‘twas your own fauit” John tried to speak, but no words came. She went on: “When I used to try to correct him or punish him, you'd speak right up, and David knew. So I, weak thing that I was, let you have your way, as in everything, and we lost our boy; and you, when you might have saved him, let him go, for he had disgraced your name. You ‘were a disgrace to him, I'm thinking.” It was small consolation to Amelia that the whole town turned out to Da- vid's funeral. She thought the time to do for our own is while they are alive, and not wait until they are dead. Afterwards, their life was a strange one, although to outsiders it was much the same as before. John visited the cemetery often. Folks said that he took his boy’s death harder than his wife did. But that grave held the tragedy of their lives. Amelia was not the same. One day mechanical exercises, but Lang was waiting at the elevator the minute the girl emerged. He was shocked at her frail appearance. The high color of other years had given away to a clear ‘white—lovely fn its transparency, but pathetic in its indication of her deli- cacy—while in place of the plump, ped rounded figure appeared that of the sylph. As Peggy recognized him, she drew in her breath, and though her ey lighted, she spoke no word. Neith around and proceeded to secure a firm srip of Heinz’s system. There are few faces in use at the present time which do mot contain at least one tooth which should be ex- tracted or fixed, if you take the den- tist's word for it, and when Richards discovered that one of Heinz's mo- lars contained a small decayed spot, we decided at once that it was the source of trouble and proceeded to punish it accordingly. And the wild yell which our patient emitted fmme- diately thereafter is still spoken of by neighbors in the vicinity and it is sald to have shaken several sparrows out of the drain pipeg on nearby houses. But we got the' tooth. When I say there is little more to tell I realize that the story seems to end rather abruptly, but even so, I speak the truth and must adhere to facts. Before closing, however, I might mention that Heinz went through our door like an electric shock and was never seen thereafter, and the only light cast upon the mystery was fur- nished by the Turkish janitor when he stopped in to see us the next day. “Been thinkin",” he said. “Just fig- ure out wi dam’ Bulgarian want. He stop here and see nice tools, ses lookin’ glass, see big chairs and he think it is barber shop. Him want shave. Jus' figure him out.” Then with a sad smile John depart- ed and left us to our thoughts. We certainly had not shaved him, but we Ptad jerked out one of his teeth! will work in splendidly for my tabe leaux next winter, Henry.” At the sight of the dress, Henry's face went white. With a searching look at Alida, he drew the shimmering mass away from his companion with a decided: “No, Aunt Gertrude—I'm going to claim this! -And Miss Barnes—Alida —you are evidently laboring under a mistake. This lady is the wife of my Uncle Henry, for whom I was named. Through no fault of mine,” significantly, “I'm still a bachelor. But with a wedding gown in my posses- slon, T shall not rest till I find a bride to wear it. Please take it home ana keep it till tomorrow evening. Uncle Henry joins us tken, and I shall come to ask your advice in the matter—for you see, I .want a homemaker more than a housekeeper! May I come?” And Alida, enlightened by his words —s0 different in meaning from Jane's version of the same remark five years ago, uttered a low but emphatic: “I shall be very glad to see you!” " when her husband mentioned the old clock, she sald with compressed lips, “Don’t you ever mention that clock nor the spoons again. I sold them to get to my dying boy.” “I know it, Amelia! I never will mention them again. I have thought everything over—don’t you think I ain’t—and see just how mean I was to my own boy. How different I would do if I could live my life over again. What lonesome old folks we will be without David, unless—" He went on with a catch in his voice. “Un- less we adopt Jim Lawson’s grand- child: - You know his parents are dead and Jim passed away last week. No- body seems to want the boy. He's a fine little feller, six years old, and God helping us we will train him up right. Amelia, what do you say?” All the pent-up mother love in her being found expression in her voice ‘when she said: “Take him, John, take him!” =Y do to earn enough to study music.® “Your voice is superb, Peg—wondere ful. ‘I listened while you sang. You still love to sing?” “I adore it!" with a fine disregard for nicety of expression. “Still want to be a prima donnet” | “'M, I—I guess s0.” So what could John Lang do but gather the little mite into his eages rms and cover the lovely white face with kisses-until the roses came laughs & ke, but hungry eyes melted into !08 back, and the big, sad eyes twine each other, and outstretched hands that were empty with longing clasped warmly. Lang brought her into his study. “How has the world been to you?” he ventured, drawing up a chair. “Oh, wretched! I'm a stenographer —not a particuraly good one, for I loathe it, but it's the only thing I can kled. And Peggy, being a very human bes ing, how could she help gayly, after the first rapturous eme braces were over, “Oh, shan* T be glad to give that cantankerous al¢ bops of mine a dignified ‘nctics’ towerrow. And goodness, won't I lome to ‘rodew’ in that glorious kitnkeu af cwrd”