THE STUDENTS JOURNAL.
7
had come to his senses, and was now watching the students as they hurried out of the yard, and down the hill. Catching sight of one end of the red "comforter" as it switched about in the wind, it recalled to his mind the satisfactory recitation that John had made that day.
"That Reed," thought the professor, "is a fine student, but he hasn't the constitution to take him through school. He has a starved look. I wonder where he lives." At this moment John disappeared behind the stone wall and was gone as quickly from the professor's thoughts.
Going down the hill, in fact all the way to his room, he reconsidered the matter of vacation. He could not afford to miss three days of school. At the same time he must meet his mother at Moody, as he had expected to, on her way home from Maine, otherwise she would be disappointed. What was to be done. One thing certain, he could not be in two places at once. He struck upon a plan, but one which which would require the spending of more money than he had. He would have his mother come to see him on her way home, and then, when all the exercises of the school were over, they would go to their little home together. By such an arrangement he must take into consideration the extra cost of living for two for five days, and the cost of a round trip ticket from Moody to Wallace, the town in which he was living. Seven dollars would just barely be enough and the next question was, how to earn it. Passing down Main street John's heart leaped as he
S. nn. S, the of les best w-
"Wanted! 100 men on the ice!"
Passing down Main street John's heart leaped as he caught sight of the following:
"It's a go!" said he. "I'll write her this afternoon!"
"It's a go!" said he. "I'll write her this afternoon! His rooming place was at last reached, a small two story and a half house, consisting of two rooms below and two above. Mrs. Brown, who lived in the house, washed for a living and was only too glad to rent a room. To-day he would not bother about building a fire or getting any dinner. He would just take time to write his mother of his plans, and then go down to the river.
Fortune seemed to favor the ambitious boy. He succeeded in getting work. A large section of ice had been taken out of the river already, and some one was needed to stand on guard and warn people away from places where the river had not frozen over again, or where the ice was not sufficiently thick to bear a person up. Work on the ice went on both night and day, and it was John's work to stand on guard during the night.
"You want to come prepared for a cold job," said the man with whom John made the bargain. "Put on yer overshoes, an' all the overcoats you've got, an' you'd better take a little somethin' as 'ill keep yer awake. But yer look like a chap as has got grit, an' I think you'll do."
John hurried back home to get something to eat, and to prepare his lessons for Monday. One thing alone worried him now. It was the possibility that his letter might not reach his mother before she started. But it occurred to him to write to the ticket agent at Moody, and ask him to look for his mother on a certain day, give her the ticket which he would send her, and see that she got on the right train for Wallace. He felt sure the agent would do it because Moody was only a railroad crossing, and the agent was not kept so very busy.
"Won't she enjoy going over the University," thought John. "I expect she'll be as surprised as I was at seeing so many books."
And his mind wandered off to a book he had seen that morning in the reading room. He wondered if he could not read most of the books in the library by the time he was a Senior.
"But see here, John Reed," said he, "if you're going
to school, and earn that money at the same time, you've got to stop this mind-wandering business!"
And he did. He worked steadily till five o'clock, then put the coffee on to warm, and made one meal out of dinner and supper. Even though his time was limited now, he washed the dishes and swept the bare floor.
"You must be about frozen," said she. Pull up that rocker there, and put your feet in the oven. I'll have some coffee ready in a minute; that'll warm you up."
That he did find the job a cold one is needless to say. The night was bitterly cold, and although the snow had stopped falling, the wind continued to blow from the northeast. It seemed at times that he would freeze, but by running and jumping he managed to pass the weary hours of the night. At six o'clock he was glad enough to go off duty and hurry home as fast as his stiffened joints would let him. Mrs. Brown was glad to see him for it was the first time he had ever staid out over night. John did not hesitate about telling her where he had been, and gladly accepted an invitation to sit down and warm.
"It won't be any inconvenience to me," thought he, "to put on all my overcoats," yet at the same time he secretly wished he had one just for that night.
Mrs. Brown went out into the next room for some potatoes for breakfast. When she came back John had gone up stairs. She knew too well how he disliked to accept any favors, hence she did not call to him to come down and take breakfast with her. After a couple of hours she decided she would go up stairs and see why everything was so quiet. She found John lying on the bed, and no fire built.
"Aint you feeling well," said she. "As soon as i get your fire agoing, I'm going to bring up some coffee."
John insisted that he was well, and had merely got thoroughly chilled. But in his own heart he was afraid. During the week there had been moments when everything had swum before him, but he thought it was only biliousness. But what if she should get sick and after all not be able to earn the money? He tried to get up, but every muscle seemed stiff or sore.
In the afternoon, when Mrs. Brown came up, she found him awake, but with a very high fever. This time John confessed that he felt very badly, and told her how he must get well right away, for his mother was coming the next Friday.
"I guess I'm just as well off here in bed, as anywhere," he thought. "I wish I had that book now, but in spite of himself he dozed off to sleep."
The motherly woman nursed him as faithfully as she knew how, but every day in spite of the doctor's efforts and Mrs. Brown's excellent care he grew worse. On the third day the fever had become so intense as to cause ravings. During these spells he constantly talked of his mother, and when he became quiet again would dreamily gaze at the roses in the wall paper. At times he would try to follow the outlines of the roses with his parched fingers, but the exhausted hand would fall heavily on the coverlid. He talked very little. One day he said to Mrs. Brown.
"Do you see a woman's face in those roses?"
"Yes." said she.
"Well, it's queer I never noticed it before. That's my mother's face. If I should happen to be asleep when she comes, you'll wake me up wont you? We'll want to begin to visit right away."
He was asleep when she came, but neither the tears nor the caresses of an anguished mother could awaken him.
That Friday morning, when the little German professor called the roll, and inquired if anyone knew what had become of John Reed, some one replied,
"I think he's gone home for Christmas." c. s.