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 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 The story of a boy who conquered circumstance & 
 by knowing the Truth about them. 
 
 By 
 
 Eleanor Vincent 
 
 Published by 
 
 The Master Mino Publishing Company 
 
 618 So\ith Spring Street, 
 
 Lo« Angeles, Calif.
 
 Copyright, 1921 
 By ELEANOR VINCENT 
 
 i.'
 
 
 Truly ^ not circumstances^ but what we make of 
 circumstances, harms us. The way we take things 
 decides what they are to us or do to us. He who 
 determines that, whatever else he may lose, he 
 need not lose his peace oj mind^ stands victor over 
 any situation. 
 
 Anonymous.
 
 Hugh Meredith 
 
 HEN the sun, on its daily round, 
 peeped into a back room of Mrs. 
 Casey's boarding house, in a great 
 western city, it brightened im- 
 measurably a shabbily furnished room and 
 seemed to touch with sympathetic w^armth 
 the small figure of a boy crouching de- 
 jectedly beside a bed on which lay the 
 still form of his dearest and best friend, 
 whose gentle spirit had slipped away so 
 quietly that he did not know the moment 
 of its passing. All through the long night 
 he had sat beside the bed, in the eerie 
 light of a single gas jet, now and then fall- 
 ing asleep and waking with a guilty start, 
 but always with a hand resting on the bed 
 so that the slightest movement of the tired 
 little mother would waken him. Her only 
 complaint for days had been that she was 
 "so weary." Between long periods, in 
 which she seemed to be resting, she would
 
 
 6 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 rouse herself and talk to him for several 
 minutes at a time. There had been gentle 
 admonitions, instructions regarding their 
 small possessions, contained in a single 
 trunk (personal belongings, relics of better 
 days), their small savings in a purse which 
 had been his father's and a row of choice 
 books on a shelf. 
 
 All such references to her approaching 
 departure wrung the boy's heart, and once 
 he was moved to say: ''But mother, if God 
 is good, how can He take you away from 
 me and leave me all alone with no one to 
 care for me?" And she had replied: 
 "There dear, you must not speak so bit- 
 terly as if God were a man to give and 
 take away as an earthly parent might do. 
 You know I have told you that God is the 
 Spirit of Good in the universe, the creator 
 of love. We speak of Him as masculine, 
 for lack of better terms, but he is as much 
 mother as father and certainly no loving 
 parent would do anything cruel or harmful 
 to their own little boy. Some day, when 
 you are older, you will understand what I 
 cannot now explain to you more fully, but 
 remember this, God is always good, whether 
 we appreciate it or not, and such misfor-
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 7 
 
 tmies as come to us are the result of wrong 
 thinking, either on our part or that of some- 
 one else, or it may be that a circumstance 
 that appears to be a misfortune turns out 
 to be a blessing. Someone has wisely said 
 that 'nothing goes out of our lives but to 
 make room for something better, ' and I feel 
 that after I am gone you will have a greater 
 opportunity for development than I could 
 possibly have given you. Some good friend 
 or relative will give you your chance." 
 
 Then she had broken the silence of years 
 regarding his father's family, particularly 
 his grandfather, the scion of a proud New 
 England family, haughty and austere, who 
 had objected to his son's choice of a wife 
 and had cut him off from all communica- 
 tion; not that the son would ask a favor. 
 He too was proud, but possessed of gentler 
 traits. She believed that now this proud 
 old man would relent and be moved to take 
 an interest in her homeless boy and, at least, 
 provide money for his support and educa- 
 tion even if he would not take him into his 
 heart and home, as she fondly hoped. Care- 
 fully he had placed the pillows to support 
 hci" while she addressed a letter to his grand- 
 father, briefly stating the case and asking
 
 8 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 liis aid in her boy's behalf. 
 
 This done, she had called his attention 
 to the small but choice collection of books, 
 ^vllich had been his father's cherished pos- 
 session through all the years of changing 
 circumstance and which she now urged her 
 boy to read diligently as he progressed in 
 his school work. He recalled how she had 
 said: "Hugh, my darling, there are two 
 quotations I would leave with you for your 
 future guidance. One is from the Bible and 
 the other from Shakespeare's 'Hamlet.' 
 The one from the Bible is: 'Lo, I am with 
 you alway, even unto the end of the world.' 
 So you need never feel lonely for there is 
 always that Invisible Presence with you to 
 take care of you and be company for you. 
 You can see Him in the trees and flowers, 
 birds and animals, as well as in other chil- 
 dren and grown-up people, for the same 
 life is in all. The one from Hamlet is: 
 
 ' This above all : to thine own self be true. 
 
 And it must follow, as the night the day, 
 
 Thou canst not then be false to any 
 man.' " 
 
 Both of these quotations were familiar 
 to Hugh by means of frequent repetition,
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 9 
 
 and, with his mother's admonition, he knew 
 he should never forget either of them. 
 
 After a brief pause, she had said: "Do 
 not grieve for me, Hugh dear. You will 
 grow to be a fine man and make every life, 
 with which you come in contact, richer and 
 happier for having known you and having 
 observed the manner in which you put into 
 practice the precepts which mother has 
 tried to teach you." 
 
 Then he had kissed her, and, while a 
 mist of tears blurred his sight, she had 
 slipped away. 
 
 A tear splashed on the envelope contain- 
 ing his mother's letter and aroused him to 
 action. He quickly brushed away the tear 
 and placed the letter in his pocket, resolv- 
 ing not to use it until everything else failed. 
 He was a resourceful boy. The circum- 
 stances of his life had brought out many 
 ingenious traits, and, with a boy's natural 
 belief in himself, he felt that he could earn 
 his own living without appealing to his rich 
 relatives for charity, which might, even 
 then, be withheld. He was almost twelve 
 years old and strong for his age. The pre- 
 vious summer vacation he had earned quite
 
 10 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 a sum mowing lawns and doing all sorts of 
 chores. 
 
 Mrs. Casey interrupted his cogitations 
 by softly opening the door, but paused on 
 the threshold, her sympathetic eye taking 
 in the situation at a glance. With rare 
 tact, she made no attempt to coddle the boy 
 or weaken his self-respect by calling atten- 
 tion to his helplessness, for she had per- 
 ceived the resolute look in his eyes and 
 secretly hoped it would remain there. She 
 merely said softly: ^'The dear, tired little 
 body is at rest now. No more hard wor-r-k ; 
 no more worry about makin' ends meet. 
 See how peaceful she looks, laddie. Isn't 
 it foine that she could go to schlape knowin' 
 that her br-r-ave little lad w^ould follow her 
 teachin's and be a son she could be pr-r-oud 
 av even in hiven, the saints be pr-r-aised." 
 
 With Mrs. Casey's kind assistance, a 
 simple and (to the boy's mind) beautiful 
 service was held for his mother in the chapel 
 of a nearby undertaker's establishment. 
 Mrs. Casey had even managed a beautiful 
 bouquet of white roses for Hugh and a bou- 
 quet of carnations for herself. Others of 
 their poor neighbors had contributed flowers 
 to the memory of this cultured little woman
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 1 1 
 
 who had been a friend in need to many of 
 them, and Hugh 's heart was grateful. How- 
 ever, there remained but three dollars of 
 his mother's savings, after Mrs. Casey had 
 been paid in fxill. 
 
 ''I shall probably be leaving in a day 
 or two, Mrs. Casey," Hugh told her on the 
 way back to the boarding house. 
 
 "Nothin' of the kind, m' boy," replied 
 Mrs. Casey. *'Oi've got a nice place fixed 
 for ye up in the attic and yer jest as wil- 
 come to schtay there as if ye was me own 
 son. Oi'm goin' to see the tradesmen to- 
 morrow and see if Oi can't get ye a place 
 to wor-r-k so ye can save somethin' to go 
 to school on nixt winther." 
 
 "Oh, thank you, Mrs. Casey. You are 
 so kind," Hugh replied. ''But I don't want 
 to trouble you that way. I — " 
 
 ''Trouble, pshaw! 'Tis no trouble fer 
 me, lad. You jest schtay right along with 
 Mrs. Casey and iv'rything'll be all r-r-ight." 
 
 The day after liis rnofhcr's funei'al, 
 Hugh started out to find woi'k. The pre- 
 vious nifi^ht had be(;n vci-y hot in his little 
 room uru]<'r llic roof .'irid he had been un-
 
 12 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 al)le to sleep. To divert his mind from 
 loneliness, he had plamied what he would do 
 on the morrow. He thought it would not 
 be difficult for a strong boy to find some- 
 thing to do. It was only a question of what 
 he wanted to do most, but the experiences 
 of the morrow proved his confident hopes 
 unfounded, for, while he had seen most of 
 the tradesmen in the neighborhood, none 
 of them seemed to need a boy, or they had 
 just hired one. Somewhat discouraged, at 
 ■5 o'clock he gave up the quest for the day 
 and started homeward, resolved to go with- 
 out his dinner to conserve the small amount 
 of money he had left, but, on the way, he 
 passed a tamale wagon, from which the 
 mingled aroma of sizzling hamburger, 
 frankfurters and coffee floated out to tempt 
 him. He could see, on the canvas flap, the 
 shadows of four or five patrons ranged 
 along the counter on stools, anxiously await- 
 ing the time to eat. Here was the first real 
 lesson in self-control the boy had ever had. 
 Somehow his mother had ahvays managed 
 to get what he really wanted badly, and he 
 realized, with a twinge of pain, that now 
 lie must shift for himself. 
 
 Me passed the wagon, fixing his atten-
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 13 
 
 tion on the traffic, which, at this hour, was 
 more congested than in any other hour of 
 the day. At the corner a street-car stopped 
 and an elderly lady alighted with a suitcase. 
 Somewhat confused, and fearing the on- 
 coming automobiles, she stood looking this 
 way and that, evidently trying to recognize 
 some landmark or see an opening to reach 
 the sidewalk. Hugh sprang to her aid, 
 dodging between two big machines, and! 
 offered to carry the suitcase and pilot her 
 to the sidewalk. Having done so, she askedi 
 him if he would take her to the address on 
 a card which she offered him, and he will- 
 ingly complied, happy to think he could do 
 someone a service for his dear mother's 
 sake. The address was not far distant and 
 he knew the neighborhood well, so they 
 were soon at their destination, where he 
 rang the bell and waited to see if it was the 
 right place, which it proved to be. As he 
 was turning to go, the lady slipped a bright 
 new quarter into his hand. He was loath 
 to keep it, explaining that he had not ex- 
 pected pay for so small a service, but she 
 insisted that he keep the money, and, tlia?ik- 
 ing her, he hurried away to the tamale 
 wagon, feeling tlmt flic rnoiiex' 1i;h1 hern pro-
 
 14 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 vidod for him for this very purpose by the 
 Invisibk^ Presence, so unexpected had it 
 been and just at the time when he needed 
 it so badly; and hadn't his mother said: 
 "Some way is always provided in every 
 extremity," and wasn't it an extremity to 
 be as hungry as he was*? 
 
 The next morning found Hugh up bright 
 and early and full of hope. Youth is ever 
 bouyant and the troubles of a, night vanish 
 with the sunrise. He decided to try for 
 lawns to mow. It was evident that he must 
 be earning something right away, whether 
 he found a regular job or not. 
 
 It was a long way from Mrs. Casey's 
 boarding house to the residence portion of 
 the city and he wisely decided to spend a 
 nickel for carfare and save his strength for 
 the work he expected to find. His ignorance 
 of the ways of the world and the value of 
 his services was strongly impressed upon 
 him during the long ride across the city, but 
 his resolution was still strong when he 
 alighted at the corner of a park, having de- 
 cided, at sight of it, that this would be a 
 good place to start. How he loved the trees
 
 HUan MEREDITH 15 
 
 and grass, which for weeks and months at 
 a time he would never see. All morning he 
 trudged about the neighborhood, but no- 
 body seemed to need a boy. The sun was 
 hot and he was hungry again at noon. Still 
 confident that he would find something in 
 the afternoon, he stepped into a drug store 
 and bought a sandwich at the soda foun- 
 tain, which he carried away to the park to 
 eat, while he rested and enjoyed the cool 
 shade and the beauty and companionship of 
 the trees and flowers, and heard the birds 
 twittering in the trees. Were they not all 
 related to him and to that Invisible Pres- 
 ence which was always with him? He sat 
 down on a bench and munched his sandwich 
 contentedly. 
 
 On the other end of the bench sat a man 
 reading a bit of newspaper. So engrossed 
 was he that he hadn't even seen the boy. 
 Presently he threw down the paper with a 
 groan, and, for the first time, noticed the 
 boy. "You're in luck to have a sandwich, 
 my boy," he remarked. 
 
 Hugh glanced at the newspaper. It was 
 the ''Help Wanted" column the man had 
 been readinir. "^\niat's the mattei', mister?
 
 16 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 Can't yuu get any work either"?" he in- 
 quired. 
 
 ''No, no work of any kind. But you 
 «aid 'either.' Are you looking for work, 
 too?" 
 
 ''Yes, been looking all morning." 
 "Wluit you want to do?" 
 "Mow lawns or do chores — anything." 
 "You won't find it in this neighborhood, 
 I warn you. I have been all around." 
 
 "Do you want to mow lawns, too ?" asked 
 Hugh, surprised. 
 
 "I've been offering to do anything, for 
 I've got to have some money right away. 
 I am an office man, sort of a scrub book- 
 keeper, but there isn't any place for me in 
 that line. I have been trying for weeks but 
 nobody wants a stranger. We came here 
 for my wife's health and she is getting 
 Ix'tter all the time, but the money has given 
 out." 
 
 His voice broke a little and he fell silent. 
 
 "Do you like to keep books and do office 
 work?" the boy asked. 
 
 "No," the man replied. "But I have 
 boon doing it for a good many years." 
 
 "^Mother said that when people do work
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 17 
 
 they don't want to do that they are 'square 
 pegs in round holes,' " said Hugh, after a 
 pause. 
 
 "You said it, boy!" exclaimed the man. 
 *'I am a square peg all right." 
 
 ''Why don't you try doing something 
 you like to do." 
 
 The man turned to look at the boy 
 squarely. This was an unusual boy. His 
 observation seemed to satisfy him, for, after 
 a moment's hesitation, he replied: "Maybe 
 you will laugh when you hear what I would 
 iike to do, but here goes. I would like to 
 cook." 
 
 It was Hugh's turn to stare, and, for a 
 moment, he was too astonished to speak, 
 but he did not laugh. Recovering himself 
 with an eifort, he asked: "Why don't you, 
 then?" 
 
 "Gracious, boy, my family would feel 
 disgraced. I wouldn't dare." 
 
 "I don't see why—" Hugh began, but 
 remembering the family pride whicli had 
 bliglited his father's and mother's lives, 
 quickly inquired: "Ho you know how to 
 cook, and have you liad any experience'? 
 Evervbod\' seems to want experience where
 
 18 HUail MEREDITH 
 
 I've been," lie added apologetically, think- 
 ing perhaps he had been too bold. 
 
 ' ' Yes, I 've had exx)ei'ience, ' ' the man re- 
 plied with a faint smile. I could always 
 cook ever since I was a yomigster. My 
 mother used to be sick most of the time and 
 I did the cooking for dad and the boys, but 
 I got my big experience in a most unex- 
 pected way." 
 
 Hugh edged a little closer, expecting a 
 story. 
 
 *'I got a job as timekeeper and office 
 man in a big camp of about seventy-five 
 men. One day the cook got sick. It was 
 a long drive to the nearest railroad station 
 and a long journey by train to the nearest 
 city where a cook was likely to be found. 
 The boss figured that by the time he made 
 the trip, the cook we had would be well, and 
 so he asked the fellows all around if any 
 of them could cook for the outfit. No one 
 could, so he came into the shack, which we 
 called the office, and said to me: 'Well I 
 guess I'll have to go to the city for a cook. 
 None of the boys out there can cook and 
 I've got to get somebody right away, but I 
 sure do hate to take the time to go now.*
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 19 
 
 ' Well try me, ' says I. ' You ? ' says he. ' Can 
 you cook?' 'Sure,' says I. 'Bully boy!' 
 says he, clapping me on the shoulder so 
 hard I almost fell down. 'You're just the 
 boy I'm lookin' for.' So I cooked all the 
 rest of the time we stayed there, and the 
 boss kept the time, for the other cook had 
 to go to the hospital, and the boss said it 
 was the best cooking his gang had ever had 
 and offered to keep me for more money, but 
 when they broke camp there, I went to the 
 city and got married, and my wife never 
 liked the idea of me being a cook." 
 
 Hugh picked up the crumpled news- 
 paper and studied it intently for a few 
 minutes, then: "How's this, mister? 
 
 'Wanted — Cook for suburban res- 
 taurant. Must be able to take full 
 charge for non-resident owner, do 
 buying, etc' " 
 
 There was more to the advertisement, 
 but the man reached for the paper and read 
 it eagerly. 
 
 "I'm going right over there now. I be- 
 lieve that's the job for me." 
 
 Hugh thought it was wonderful how his 
 enthusiasm lighted his face.
 
 20 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 ''Boy, I'm glad I met you. If I get the 
 job, it will be to your credit. I hadn't 
 thought to look for that kind of a job. 
 ^Vluat's your name and address"? I'll send 
 you a postcard if I get it." 
 
 He took down Hugh's address in his 
 notebook and hurried away. 
 
 Hugh felt much better for his stay in 
 the park. Whether it was due to the in- 
 fluence of the park itself, his encounter with 
 the stranger, the sandwich or the rest, he 
 did not know, but he was ready to try again. 
 He picked up the newspaper, out of which 
 the man had torn the advertisement he 
 wanted, and read the balance of the column. 
 He had always liked to read the classified 
 advertisements. People wanted so many 
 things. The very last one interested him 
 most. A handy man was wanted to look 
 after lawn and flowers, small garden and 
 chickens and make himself generally useful. 
 The address was close by the park and that 
 is what caught his attention first. He de- 
 cided to apply for the place, even though it 
 called for a man. A short walk brought 
 him to the place, a beautiful residence with
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 21 
 
 spacious grounds, which he realized would 
 be a fair-sized job to take care of, even for 
 a man. On the wide veranda was a nurse 
 maid, in neat black dress and frill}^ white 
 cap, caring for a baby in a perambulator, 
 while a small boy, of about five years of age, 
 played around. For a moment Hugh's 
 resolution wavered, but remembering the 
 Invisible Presence his mother said would 
 be with him always, he declared aloud: "I 
 am going to get this job." Somehow the 
 declaration put courage into him. He raised 
 his head and walked with considerable as- 
 surance up the long white cement walk to 
 the steps, where he paused. The nurse maid 
 had been regarding him curiously and even 
 the small boy stopped his play to stare at 
 him. 
 
 '* Pardon me, miss," said Hugh, ''may 
 I see the ladv of the house?" 
 
 "AAHiat for?" she demanded. 
 
 "I came in answer to her advertisement 
 for someone to look after the lavMi and 
 chickens," he replied. 
 
 **She wouldn't have you," i-emarked the 
 girl curtly. 'SShe wants a man, so you 
 might as well 'forget it.' " 
 
 "But I can mow a lawn as good as a
 
 22 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 inaii. It might take me a little longer, but 
 I could do it, and do it nicely, too." 
 
 The nurse turned disdainfully to give 
 attention to the baby, indicating that the 
 interview was closed, but, in the meantime, 
 the little boy had slipped away and now 
 returned, holding the hand of a beautiful 
 woman, evidently his mother and mistress 
 of the house, who regarded Hugh as if 
 too exasperated for speech. Finally she 
 snapped: "What did you come here for? 
 Didn't you read the advertisement?" 
 
 "Yes ma'am," Hugh replied, "and that 
 is whv I came." 
 
 The nurse tittered and coughed to cover 
 her blunder. 
 
 "But I advertised for a man — not a 
 little boy." 
 
 "I am a strong boy, ma'am, and would 
 work for my board and a place to sleep." 
 Where do you live?" the lady inquired. 
 T am staying at Mrs. Casey's boarding 
 house on the East side." 
 
 "Do your parents know you are away 
 over here asking for work?" 
 
 "I don't know, lady, whether they do or 
 not. Both of them are dead." 
 
 He turned away to hide the quick tears 
 
 a- 
 if
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 23 
 
 and failed to see the annoyance in the lady 's 
 face. This kind of an interview always 
 made her nervous and she wished very much 
 to be rid of this persistent boy, so her tone 
 was harsh as she said: '^You are not old 
 enough to take care of a lawn this size, be- 
 sides I want other work done. ' ' 
 
 "I could do other things, too," Hugh 
 urged. 
 
 ''What could you do, I should like to 
 know?" 
 
 "I could do errands, feed the chickens, 
 hoe the garden and perhaps take care of the 
 baby sometimes," he replied, looking wist- 
 fully at the little cherub whose chubby fists 
 were rapidly beating the air, one of them 
 clasping tightly a disfigured rubber doll. 
 
 This was too much for the lady's patience 
 and she said angrily: "Indeed I wouldn't 
 trust my baby with a mere boy like you," 
 and turning, started to enter the house. 
 But, during this conversation, the small boy 
 had caught sight of the rubber doll in the 
 baby's hand, and seized the opportunity to 
 get possession of it. There was a hole in 
 the doll's head, which once contained a 
 whistle, and he knew, by experience, that 
 it made an excellent water gun. The baby
 
 24 TTUGII MEREDITH 
 
 began to whimper, and the nurse, seeing the 
 cause, snatched at the doll as the boy tried 
 to run past her. He jumped back to avoid 
 hei- clutch, fell against the perambulator 
 and sent it hurtling toward the front steps. 
 With a cry, the nurse sprang to catch the 
 runaway carriage but fell over the prostrate 
 boy who was crying lustily. The lady, at- 
 tracted by the commotion, turned just in 
 time to see the front wheels of the carriage 
 tipping over the edge of the top step, and 
 promptly fainted, without seeing that Hugh 
 was there to stop it. The force of the im- 
 pact threw the precious infant on its nose, 
 but no other damage was done. The small 
 boy, realizing his danger, slipped away, and 
 the maid went to her mistress' assistance. 
 Hugh saw it was "up to him" to look after 
 the baby after all, so he pushed the carriage 
 back to safety and carefully set the baby 
 up against its pillows, shaking a bright 
 rattle, he found in the carriage, before it, 
 which soon attracted its attention. 
 
 When the lady revived sufficiently to 
 ascertain the extent of her infant's injuries, 
 she saw it sitting safely in its carriage, 
 gurgling cheerfully, while the strange boy 
 was using his best efforts to entertain it
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 25 
 
 and seeming to enjoy doing so. It took her 
 several minutes to accomplish the reaction, 
 but finally she said, not unkindly: ''I'm 
 sorry for what I said awhile ago, my boy. 
 You have saved my baby's life, for, if she 
 had fallen on that cement w^alk, it would 
 certainly have killed her. I know now that 
 I could trust her with you better than I 
 could w^ith Janet. You should have had 
 the carriage wheels locked, Janet," she 
 added, turning to the maid. 
 
 This roused the maid's ire, and, forget- 
 ting the boy's service, she exclaimed angrily : 
 ''It's all the fault of that boy. If he hadn't 
 bothered round, none of this would have 
 happened." 
 
 The injustice of this accusation was 
 almost too much for Hugh to bear. He 
 looked anxiously at the lady, who appeared 
 to give it some weight, but the small boy, 
 having ventured back to ascertain the out- 
 come, piped up: "Well he saved little sister 
 from hviu^ killed and I think he's a good 
 boy. I wish you would let him stay, mother. 
 He could play with me sometimes, too." 
 
 This argument also had weight, for the 
 mother tui'ned to Hugh and said more; gra- 
 ciously : "My boy pleads your cause. 1
 
 26 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 know he needs companionship, but I can't 
 let him run the streets as other mothers do. 
 If I let you stay, it will be more on his 
 account — a sort of experiment — rather than 
 for the amount of work you can do. I shall 
 keep on looking for a yard man and you can 
 do w^hat you can until I get one. When 
 school begins in September, you will, of 
 course, have to go to school and some other 
 arrangement will have to be made for you. 
 I feel that some recompense is due you for 
 saving the baby a fall today and Ralph 
 wants you to stay. Do try to keep him out 
 of mischief. There is a screened porch at 
 the back of the house where you can sleep 
 and put your things. By the way, what 
 belongings have you?" 
 
 "I have a trunk over at Mrs. Casey's 
 and that is all." 
 
 ''Very well, I will vsend for it." 
 Later she had him telephone to Mrs. 
 Casey and that evening saw him settled in 
 his now home. He was to take his meals 
 in the kitchen, w^hich was no hardship, for 
 the kitchen was white-enameled and spot- 
 lessly clean, moreover, the meals were gen- 
 erous and of better quality than he had been 
 accustomed to at Mrs. Casey's and he was
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 27 
 
 grateful, besides Emily, the cook, was a 
 motherly soul who took him under her wing 
 at once, muttering something about it being 
 ''about the most decent thing she ever did.'' 
 
 After dinner, he was summoned to the 
 library to meet the man of the house, Ralph 
 pulling him along by the hand, anxious to 
 display his new friend. 
 
 "Malcolm," said the lady, as they en- 
 tered the library, "this is the boy I told you 
 about. I fear you will think me foolish for 
 promising to keep him during vacation, but 
 I thought some recompense was due him. 
 This is Mr. Ward, Hugh," she added, turn- 
 ing to the boy. 
 
 "I shouldn't put it that way, Mildred," 
 said Mr. Ward, "but rather that we are 
 glad to have such a boy with us and hope it 
 will be one of the most enjoyable vacations 
 he has ever had." 
 
 "Hugh," he said, taking his hand and 
 patting his shoulder kindl}', "I can't tell 
 vou wliat it means to me that vou saved our 
 babv a fall todav. She is verv, verv dear 
 to me, and any service rendered to either of 
 mv children will be a service rendered to 
 
 me." 
 
 Wliile he was talking, Hugh looked
 
 28 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 steadily into his kind gray eyes, and now 
 Mr. Ward added: "Since seeing you, I 
 feel satisfied that you will give us no trouble, 
 else all signs fail. If the work is too hard 
 for you, don't try to do it, I will get a man 
 somewhere. I want you to have time to 
 play with Ralph a little, for he seems to 
 have developed a great liking for you." 
 
 Hugh's heart was warmed by his cor- 
 diality, and, with a boy's quick response, 
 secretly pledged his loyalty to this kindly 
 man. 
 
 The next day his trunk was delivered, 
 with a note from Mrs. Casey expressing 
 pleasure that he had found such a good place 
 and regret at losing him. He was invited 
 to ''come over any time," and, if he didn't 
 like his new place to come back and stay 
 with her. She enclosed a postcard from his 
 friend of the park bench, stating briefly: 
 
 ''Got the job — a good one. Drop in when 
 you get hungry and have a square meal. 
 Your friend, John Wagner." 
 
 "How kind everybody is," Hugh 
 thought, as he put the letter and postcard
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 29 
 
 away for safe-keeping among his few cher- 
 ished belongings. 
 
 But the following days were difficult 
 ones. The lawn needed mowing right away 
 and Hugh found it a big job. By the time 
 he had worked half a day, it seemed the 
 place had grown to an acre or two instead 
 of a city lot, but he finally finished and Mrs. 
 Ward said it was fairly well done. He 
 worked hard, in an effort to please every- 
 body, but soon found it an impossible task. 
 Mrs. Ward was, as the cook said, "very 
 temperamental." While he ate his meals, 
 Emily regaled him with the family history. 
 Hugh didn't know very much about temper- 
 amental people up to this time, but he soon 
 learned what the cook meant, for each day 
 something happened to exasperate Mrs. 
 Ward, and he soon learned to judge to what 
 extent she was vexed bv the character of 
 her performance. 
 
 Ralph was a dear little active boy when 
 he wasn't "a regulai- nuisance," as Emily 
 called him. Tie wanted Hugh to play with 
 him all the time and was cross if he didn't, 
 but when he had his "tantrums" no one but 
 Hugh could pacify him. It was wonderful 
 the influence he had over the little fellow.
 
 30 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 Gradually Hugh was given the freedom 
 of the house, and many delightful evenings 
 he spent with the family in the living room. 
 Sundays were always rest days. He had 
 no work to do on Sunday and was often 
 permitted to go with the family, in their 
 big machine, for long rides in the country. 
 It was wonderful to him to be in several 
 different towns in one day, or to spend the 
 day in some quiet canyon where nature was 
 so still that the sound of their voices seemed 
 to break its sacred stillness with unwonted 
 clamor. 
 
 One Sunday, however, when such an 
 excursion had been planned, Mrs. Ward had 
 one of her nervous headaches and was con- 
 fined to her room, so the ride had to be post- 
 poned. It was late in August and the air 
 was hot and breathless. Mr. Ward had 
 taken his paper to the vine-covered porch 
 on the shady side of the house, where, half 
 reclining on a chaise longue, he was perus- 
 ing its columns with interest. Just below, 
 in the lengthening shadow of the house, 
 Hugh and Ralph were lying on the grass; 
 the older boy, as usual, entertaining the 
 younger with stories — some true and some 
 fiction of his own invention. A small Boston
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 31 
 
 terrier was frisking about them. Dan was 
 a new addition to the family. He had been, 
 given to Ralph on his birthday, a few weeks 
 previous, and was the idol of the boy's 
 heart, but, somehow, his young master's 
 chief delight in him was to tease and tor-^ 
 ment him. While Hugh had been talking, 
 Ralph had been teasing Dan. He would 
 wait for the dog to come close to his out- 
 stretched hand, seize his hind leg as he. 
 passed and throw him violently to the 
 ground, holding on until the poor little 
 animal cried with pain or turning tried to 
 bite him. Hugh watched this performance 
 until he could stand it no longer, then he 
 said : 
 
 ''Ralph, you are hurting Dan. Every 
 time you catch him that way you make him 
 cry, and sometime you might break some- 
 thing that would cause him great pain and 
 he might have to go to the animal hospital 
 we saw last Sunday. I wouldn't do that if 
 he were my dog." 
 
 "Aw, I didn't hurt him," Ralph re- 
 torted. "He likes it, else why would he run 
 past here just to let me do if?" 
 
 "Well, suppose we find out if he likes 
 it," Hugh pi'oi)osed, with enthusiasm.
 
 32 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 *' Let's play that you ai'o Dan and I will be 
 you, and you get away back tlvere by the 
 porch and come running by me while I lie 
 here on the ground. Then I'll catch your 
 leg, as you run by, and you just make an 
 awful fuss, like Dan does." 
 
 ''AH right," agreed Ralph, beaming. 
 Nothing pleased him so much as to play a 
 game, and make-believe was the best kind 
 of a game for him. 
 
 Mr. Ward, who had been paying but 
 slight attention to the boys' conversation, 
 now leaned forward to peer through the 
 vines with interest. Here was about to be 
 enacted a little comedy-drama entitled "Put 
 yourself in the other fellow's place," and 
 lie was interested at once. 
 
 All unconscious of the result of this new 
 game, Ralph ran gaily to his position by 
 the porch and then came on with a rush 
 straight toward Hugh's outstretched hand. 
 Just as he came within reach, Hugh caught 
 his right ankle. Down he came, with the 
 greater force for not having tried to save 
 himself, face down upon the hard ground. 
 One second may have elapsed, then a scream 
 that could have been heard a block away 
 that quiet Sunday afternoon, rent the air,
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 33 
 
 followed by such a clamor as brought his 
 mother running from her room and the 
 neighbors to their windows. 
 
 Hugh picked him up, though he wriggled 
 in protest. Blood was running from his 
 nose and mouth and a large bruise on his 
 forehead was beginning to swell. Hugh 
 tried to comfort him and to wipe away the 
 blood, but Ralph fiercely protested. 
 
 Mrs. Ward, in filmy negligee, came out 
 on the porch and began upbraiding her hus- 
 band for not interfering, almost in a frenzy 
 of anger and anxiety. 
 
 ''Hush," he whispered authoritatively. 
 ''Keep quiet now. I want to see how this 
 comes out." 
 
 Quivering with anger, she obeyed. She 
 had never seen him in this mood, nor had 
 he ever before ordered her to be silent. She 
 was, therefore, obliged to listen also to what 
 came next. 
 
 Seeing his efforts were undosirable, 
 Hugh ceased trying to pacify Ralpli l)ut let 
 him cry for some time until l?alj)li, noticing 
 his apparent indifference, gradually ceased 
 his cries. When he recovcncd his voice, hv. 
 said tearfully: "You're a mean boy; that's 
 what 3^ou are."
 
 34 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 ''Maybe so," agreed Hugh. 
 *'I say you^re a mean boy," Ralph re- 
 iterated with emphasis. 
 
 *'Yes," replied Hugh, ''but what I want 
 to know is this, did it hurt you?" 
 
 "Did it hurt me? you bad boy. You 
 threw me down and half killed me — made 
 me bleed and hurt my head," he wailed tear- 
 fully. 
 
 "Well, what do you say now; did it hurt 
 Dan?" I 
 
 This was too much for Ralph. The 
 bluster ceased, as he realized in his childish 
 way what had been Hugh's object in pro- 
 posing the game and he dropped his eyes 
 embarrassed, then suddenly arose and ran 
 toward the back of the house. 
 
 Mrs. Ward started to follow, but her 
 husband caught and held her hand. "Ralph 
 will come back," he whispered. "Stay here 
 and see it through." 
 
 And presently Ralph came back. He had 
 washed his face. The bleeding had been but 
 slight and only the bruise on his forehead 
 roniained. He sat down sheepishly beside 
 Hugh and presently said: "I won't do it 
 any more, Hugh. If it hurts Dan half as
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 35 
 
 bad as it did me, I'm sorry I ever did it. 
 It was such fun to trip him up, but I never 
 thought it hurt him so, honest I never. ' ' 
 
 "I know you didn't, Ralph," replied 
 Hugh. "You're the best boy I know of 
 most of the time, but I just had to do it so 
 vou'd see how it felt. I'm awfully sorrv 
 you bumped your head so and made your 
 nose bleed. Did you hurt your mouth, too?" 
 he asked anxiously. 
 
 "Nope; just bit my tongue," and Ralph 
 put out the injured member for Hugh to 
 see the extent of the injury. 
 
 "I'm awfully sorry," Hugh said again. 
 
 "Oh, that's all right," Ralph replied. 
 "I don't care — much," he added. 
 
 "Well now, let's go and tell your father 
 and Mrs. AVard, too, if she's able," Hugh 
 suggested. 
 
 "Oh, no!" exclaimed Ralph. "They 
 mijrht be awfully angry and send you away 
 and I don't want you to go away. No, you 
 mustn't." 
 
 "That's very kind of you," said Hugh, 
 "but I must tell them even if they do send 
 me away." 
 
 Still arguing, they disappeared ai-ound 
 the house.
 
 36 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 **Now, what do you think of that, Mil- 
 dred?" inquired Mr. Ward, turning to his 
 exasperated wife. 
 
 *'I think it's an outrage," she replied 
 angrily. ''That my child should have to 
 suffer such indignity at the hands of that 
 boy from the East side is almost inconceiv- 
 able, but to have it sanctioned by you is 
 almost more than I can bear," she finished 
 tearfully. 
 
 Mr. Ward patted her hand and drew her 
 to a seat beside him. "I'm sorry if I of- 
 fended you, dear, but if we had interfered 
 it would have spoiled everything. Ralph 
 has learned more in fifteen minutes than 
 you and I have been able to teach him in 
 five years. He has learned to see from the 
 other fellow's viewpoint, to be just, to be 
 sympathetic and to acknowledge himself at 
 fault. Do you realize, Mildred, what that 
 means to a growing boy, particularly one 
 petted and pampered as our boy is ? This 
 one little incident is worth more to us than 
 it has cost us in dollars and cents to keep 
 this boy during vacation." 
 
 Mrs. Ward listened in silence and then 
 
 wrnt to her room without making any reply. 
 
 Mr. Ward sat, with knitted brow, deep
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 37 
 
 ill thought until interrupted by the two boys 
 who had been searching the house for him. 
 
 "Mr. Ward," said Hugh, going straight 
 to the point, ''as you must have seen every- 
 thing that has happened from here, I will 
 not explain anything, because you know. 
 I'm sorry now that I did it because Ralph 
 got an awful bump. I didn't think it would 
 hurt him so. I thought the grass was 
 softer." 
 
 Mr. Ward assumed a stern air as he 
 said: "Well it might have been worse — " 
 
 "Oh daddy," broke in Ralph, "it didn't 
 hurt me much, and Hugh never meant to 
 hurt me, honest daddy," throwing his ai-ms 
 around his father's neck and climbing on 
 his knee. "You're not angry with Hugh, 
 are you daddy?" 
 
 Thus appealed to, Mr. Ward laughed 
 outright, and, gathering his little boy in his 
 arms, held him close while he extended his 
 free hand to Hugh, who grasped it eagerly. 
 
 "T think you are a pair of fine boys," 
 Mr. Ward said, "and you're both going to 
 be kind to Dan and generous with each other, 
 and all the better fo?- having phiycd that
 
 38 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 interesting game this afternoon. Come, let's 
 go and get some of that good ice cream left 
 from dinner." 
 
 Vacation time was almost over and Hugh 
 was wondering what was to be his fate, but 
 wisely waited for his benefactors to speak. 
 The day before school opened, Mrs. Ward 
 took the boys to a big store in the city and 
 bought them each a complete school outfit. 
 Hugh was very happy, for he felt sure now 
 that he was to continue on with the Wards, 
 and the prospect of getting an education 
 was very pleasant to contemplate. He was 
 careful to change his suit after school, to 
 do what work he could, and to hang up his 
 new suit on the hanger Mrs. Ward had pro- 
 vided. On Saturdays he spent the entire 
 day working on the lawn. He had done so 
 well with it that Mr. Ward no longer talked 
 of getting a man. It was the first Saturday 
 after school began that Hugh was raking 
 the lawn at the rear of the house when Janet 
 came out to hang out some of the baby's 
 garments and commenced to grumble about 
 her duties. There was always something to
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 39 
 
 be done for a baby, night and day. "I hate 
 babies anyhow," she finished. 
 
 Hugh dropped the rake he was using, so 
 astonished that he forgot his work. "You 
 hate babies?" he ejaculated. ''Then what 
 are you taking care of one for? I thought 
 people who took care of babies always loved 
 them and that was why they did it. ' ' 
 
 "Well, I didn't mean that exactly," she 
 qualified, repenting her hasty words. "I 
 mean the work that goes with it." 
 
 Hugh took up the rake and commenced 
 plying it again while he considered this new 
 problem. 
 
 "Why don^t you do something else 
 then?" he inquired. "I suppose you are 
 another square peg." 
 
 " 'Square peg,' what d'y'u mean?" she 
 flared. 
 
 "Oh, mother used to say that people who 
 were doing work they didn't like to do were 
 'square pegs in round holes.' I told a man 
 that in the park one day and he decided to 
 quit being one right away and do som(>thing 
 he wanted to do." 
 
 "But what else could I do to «'arn 
 money?" 
 
 i»»
 
 40 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 '*How did you happen to be a nurse 
 maid?" 
 
 "Why one day a friend of ma's was tell- 
 ing her that a rich woman wanted a nurse 
 maid and ma asked her to get me the place, 
 because I wouldn't go to school and she 
 thought I ought to be doing something." 
 
 ^'Why wouldn't you go to school?" 
 *'I didn't want to. I hate school." 
 ** Seems to me you hate pretty nearly 
 everything. Mother used to say that was 
 an unhappy state of consciousness." 
 ^^ What's that?" 
 
 **It means you are not happy in your 
 mind, without having anything to make you 
 unhappy. Everything is all right on the 
 outside, but you're all wrong on the inside. 
 The world is just as big and beautiful as 
 ever but when you think like that you don 't 
 see the clouds and mountains over there nor 
 hear the birds sing." 
 
 Janet stared at him wide-eyed. She had 
 not tried to reason out the cause of her 
 discomfiture. She only knew she was mis- 
 erable. Then she remembered her griev- 
 ance. ''I don't care anything about that. 
 I want to go to the dance tonight, but Mrs.
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 41 
 
 Ward has plamied an evening out. You 
 should have seen her 'rave' when I asked 
 for the evening off. She had one of her 
 spells and is laid up with a headache now, 
 and I hope it will last all evening." All 
 Janet's resentment came back with a rush 
 and she added: "I don't care anything 
 about vour clouds and mountains, birds and 
 things, I want to go to the dance tonight. 
 I've got a chance to go with a nice fellow 
 and I ought to have some fun." 
 
 Hugh gazed at her in wonder, unable to 
 offer any argument that might appeal to 
 such a girl. Finally he said : "I could take 
 care of the baby if Mrs. Ward would let me. 
 I would sit in the nursery and read until 
 Mrs. Ward came home, and, if Helen Marie 
 cried and I couldn't manage, Emily would 
 be in the house and I could call her." 
 
 "She wouldn't let a kid like you take 
 care of the baby, you silly," Janet scoffed. 
 
 Somewhat crestfallen, Hugh subsided 
 into silence. Janet noticing this, and think- 
 ing she had offended him, tried to make 
 amends. "There, I didn't mean that," sh(^ 
 said, patting his shoulder. I'll bet you 
 could take better care of her than T could if 
 Mrs. Ward would let you, but she wont.
 
 42 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 ?> 
 
 You don't know her. She's a regular cat 
 
 To this Hugh made no reply. He was 
 thinking about square pegs. Janet went on 
 hanging up the garments. 
 
 ''I guess you're a 'square peg' all right," 
 observed Hugh finally. "What would you 
 rather do than take care of babies?" he 
 asked. 
 
 "I'd rather wait table in a restaurant," 
 she replied promptly. "You get to see folks 
 there and 3^ou don't have something to do 
 all day long and all night, too. I know a 
 girl who waits table and she has lots of time 
 off between meals, and at 9 o'clock she can 
 go to a dance and stay as long as she 
 pleases." 
 
 "Well, I don't think much of such a life 
 as that," said Hugh, "but if you do, I sup- 
 pose you'll have to try it out. Mother said 
 most people had to learn by experience be- 
 cause they wouldn't take advice, and, if 
 you're one of those people and must wait 
 table in a restaurant, I have a friend in the 
 business and I'll write him a letter and ask 
 him to give you a job. You could take the 
 letter yourself and I think he would give it 
 to vou if he had one."
 
 1J 
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 43 
 
 * ' Oh, would you 1 ' ' cried Janet with shin- 
 ing eyes. ''Then do so right away, as she's 
 going to let me out anyway, I know, and I 
 would appreciate it, I tell you." 
 
 She returned to the house. Hugh looked 
 after her thoughtfully. "Restaurant, huh! 
 he soliloquized. ' ' Doesn 't look good to me. 
 
 With a shrug, as if to shake off some- 
 thing unpleasant, he fell to work with a will,, 
 but the matter would intrude itself on his-, 
 more pleasant musings, and the more he 
 thought about it, the less he liked the looks 
 of things. He was sorry he had spoken so 
 hastily. His only thought had been to help 
 the girl out of her difficulty and he hadn't 
 realized that he might be interfering with 
 Mrs. Ward's arrangements and meddling 
 in her household affairs. When he could 
 stand it no longer, he abandoned his work, 
 washed his face and hands, carefully 
 brushed his hair and went upstairs to seo 
 Mrs. Ward. He tapjx'd lightly on her door, 
 so as not to awaken her if sh<' had fallen 
 asleep, and \vait(;d with some trei)i(lntiot> 
 for her curt: ''Wlio's then^.^" 
 
 "It is I, Mrs. Ward, Hugh." 
 
 "Well, what do you want?" she de- 
 manded.
 
 44 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 **I'd like to speak with you a minute, if 
 I may," he answered. 
 
 "Come in then," she commanded. 
 
 He opened the door cautiously. Mrs. 
 Ward had been lying on a couch by the 
 window, but sat up as he entered. She 
 looked worn and pale, but her eyes shone 
 with unusual brilliance as she fixed them on 
 the slirinking boy. "What's the matter 
 nowT' she demanded. "Haven't I had 
 anough to contend with for one day?" 
 
 "I'm sorry to bother you," the boy be- 
 gan haltingly, "but I wanted to tell you 
 something." 
 
 "Well, please be brief," she replied, tap- 
 ping the rug nervously with her slippered 
 foot. "I have had about all I can stand for 
 one day." 
 
 More than ever, Hugh regretted that he 
 had come, but, since there was no other way 
 out, he plunged desperately into the very 
 middle of his carefully prepared speech: 
 
 "I just wanted to tell you that I told 
 Janet I would take care of Helen Marie 
 tonight, if you would let me, as she wants 
 to go to a dance so badly that she will be 
 very much disappointed if she doesn't get 
 to, and she says you have an evening out."
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 45 
 
 "Well of all the preposterous proposals 
 I ever heard!" cried Mrs. Ward, springing 
 up to pace up and down the room. As her 
 nervousness increased, she clinched and un- 
 clinched her fingers, reaching out as if to 
 grasp something, pressed her hands to her 
 forehead, sometimes burying her fingers in 
 her soft, fluffy hair as if she would pull it 
 out. Then she would drop her hands with 
 a gesture of despair, only to repeat the, 
 whole i)erformance again and again. Hugh 
 watched her fasciiuxted and forgot the pur- 
 pose of his errand, his relative position, 
 everything but Mrs. Ward's strange be- 
 havior. 
 
 "Are you a 'tragedy queen,' Mjs. 
 Ward?" he asked with interest. 
 
 *'What?" she almost screamed. 
 
 ''I asked if you were a Hragedy queen,' " 
 he repeated innocently. ''I never saw but 
 one lady who could do that way and she was 
 in a play. I asked mother what made her 
 do that and mother said she was a famous 
 'tragedy rjucen' and was playing a part." 
 
 Mrs. Ward had turtied away, without 
 answering, and Hugh went on: 
 
 ''There was a lady lived at Mrs. Casey's 
 once who could .-ilniost do it, but mother
 
 46 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 said she just 'lacked self-control.' I could- 
 n't see very much difference between the 
 way ^he did and the way the lady did on 
 the stage, only the stage lady was beau- 
 tiful like you, Mrs. Ward. I asked mother 
 what self-control meant, and she said: 'just 
 •what it says, being able to control oneself,' 
 but yours must be the 'tragedy queen' kind, 
 for this lady I told you about got so old and 
 sick looking and finally went to a hospital, 
 and I don't know what became of her after 
 that." 
 
 "You may go now," Mrs. Ward said 
 with a chilling accent. "I will send for 
 you later," she added, as he obediently 
 moved toward the door, cold with fear that 
 lie had inadvertently offended his benefac- 
 tress, for whom he was beginning to have 
 a stronger feeling than gratitude or admir- 
 ation, but he would have been comforted if 
 he had known that something within her 
 had stirred to awakening life and she 
 wanted to be alone to analyze it. 
 
 After he had closed the door softly, Mrs. 
 Ward seated herself comfortably and grad- 
 ually relaxed the tension of her nerves. Her 
 trained mind quickly grasped the import 
 of Hugh's simile as applied to her case and
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 47 
 
 she determined to master the fine art of 
 self-control at once. She forgot the seem- 
 ing impudence of the homeless waif from 
 the East side and did not realize that she 
 was giving weight to the wisdom of a mere 
 child when she began to search herself as 
 an impartial critic; but it marked the be- 
 ginning of a new regime for her. 
 
 About an hour later, she sent Ralph to 
 call Hugh, and the boy (who had had a bad 
 hour in awful suspense over the conse- 
 quence of his boldness which he had not 
 realized at the time) went again hesitat- 
 ingly toward the room he dreaded to enter. 
 However, he reasoned, philosophically, that 
 everything has to have an end sometime and 
 he might as well know his fate. This re- 
 newed his courage and he tapped lightly on 
 the door. Mrs. Ward opened the door and 
 put her arm around him as he entered. Her 
 face, always beautiful to him, seemed to 
 radiate light, so wonderful was its (expres- 
 sion. He could only gaze at her in wonder- 
 ing admiration. Seeing which, she lauc^hcd 
 happily and drew him to a seat beside hrr 
 on the couch, for a little talk. 
 
 "Hugh, my dear," she began, '*yoii have 
 taught me the most valuable lesson of my
 
 48 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 life, ill which I have learned two things — 
 how to analyze myself and how to control 
 myself." 
 
 ''Why, Mrs. Ward, I didn't teach you 
 anything," exclaimed the astonished boy. 
 "I was afraid I had offended you." 
 
 ''Never again, dear boy," laughed Mrs. 
 Ward. "I am going to be a different woman 
 from now on, and, if I do not prove so, I 
 want you to tell me about it and I will 
 promise not to be offended. I find I have 
 been very foolish all these years to allow 
 myself to be mastered by the trivial events 
 of a day instead of mastering them, and by 
 not realizing that I am superior to any cir- 
 cumstance that I will have to cope vdth, 
 and you have shown me all this by a chance 
 remark, or was it chance ? No, I think there 
 was a purpose in it which was fulfilled. 
 To show you how much I appreciate this 
 service and how much I trust you, I am 
 going to let you stay with Helen Marie to- 
 night in the nursery, as you suggested. I 
 have let Janet go, as she isn't satisfied here, 
 and she told me about the talk you had with 
 her that you came to tell me about. You 
 may write the letter you spoke to her about, 
 so that she can get a more desirable position,
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 49 
 
 if possible. I have secured the services of 
 a nice middle-aged lady, who loves babies, 
 to take care of Helen Marie. I was talking 
 to a friend over the 'phone, a few minutes 
 ago, and I happened to speak of needing 
 the services of a good nurse, and my friend 
 recommended this lady. However, she can- 
 not be here until tomorrow. How easily 
 the problems solve themselves when one has 
 learned the secret ! ' ' 
 
 '' That's it, Mrs. Ward. That's what 
 I've been wanting to say," cried Hugh en- 
 thusiastically. 
 
 ''Well then," replied Mrs. Ward, "we 
 will call this our secret for the present. I 
 w^ant to try out my new self-control. You 
 can go and write your letter for Janet and 
 after awhile you can go to sleep on the couch 
 in the nursery, and, if the baby cries and 
 you can't pacify her, call Emily. We will 
 be back bv 12 o'clock I think, and I am 
 sure you will get along all I'ight." 
 
 Hugh's heart was light, as he ran down 
 the softly carpeted steps to the library to 
 wi'ite the note to Mr. Wagnci-. It ran: 
 "Dear Mr. Wagner: 
 
 I am sending you anothci- squai'e jx'g. 
 She wants to wait table so she can go to
 
 50 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 dances at 9 o'clock. She took care of our 
 baby but she doesn't like babies very well 
 but likes to see people in a restaurant. I 
 thought you might have a job for her and 
 I would be glad if you would give her one. 
 We got another nurse for our baby. 
 
 How are you getting along in the res- 
 taurant now? Hope fine. 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 Hugh.'' 
 
 When Mr. Wagner read this note (which 
 fortimately had been sealed) the next day, 
 he smiled. The '^square peg" was a plump 
 little brunette who might have been con- 
 sidered quite pretty by some, and the refer- 
 ence to ''our baby" also amused him. It 
 happened that one of his waitresses was ill 
 and this girl, though a green hand, might 
 prove to be apt if she really liked the bus- 
 iness; besides, he liked Hugh and would be 
 glad to do him a favor, so he employed 
 Janet. 
 
 Having given Janet the note, Hugh 
 had dismissed the matter from his mind, 
 and, through the long hours until midnight 
 he sat watching the flower-like face of 
 Helen Marie in her dainty bed under the 
 softly shaded lights of the nursery. Not
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 51 
 
 once did he close his eyes until Mrs. Ward 
 came to relieve him, lest he be unworthy of 
 the trust. Somehow those hours in the still- 
 ness of night, alone with the baby, made a 
 lasting impression on the boy and increased 
 his love for the child immeasurably; and 
 she responded, as the days went by, by 
 manifesting a decided preference for his 
 society. As the evenings grew chill and 
 the family gathered around the grate fire 
 in the living room, he would devote himself 
 to amusing her and Ralph until their bed- 
 time, then he would get his lessons for the 
 next day. 
 
 Hugh had now been with the Wards 
 about five months. The days had glided 
 swiftly and pleasantly by, each fiUod witli 
 some new and interesting situation or ad- 
 venture. His stay with the family seemed 
 to be assured and nothing was said, in his 
 presence at least, regarding his future 
 Gradually he also ceased to think about it. 
 
 The autumn days were beautiful. Tiiere 
 had been some frost and the leaves were 
 turning red and gold. A filmy haze hung 
 over the city, and, through it, the slanting
 
 52 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 rays of the sun filtered pleasantly warm 
 and conducive to idle dreams. After school, 
 Hugh loved to lie on his back looking to- 
 ward the sun, with half-closed eyes and 
 seeing what appeared to be fiery sparks 
 bursting from a small red-gold disc at a 
 great distance and rushing toward him in 
 iridescent splendor. While looking down 
 this cone-shaped vista, he would weave the 
 most wonderful dream stories. He acquired 
 this habit through the necessity of produc- 
 ing at least one new story every day for 
 Ralj^h, w^ho had an insatiable desire for 
 stories and listened with flattering interest 
 as long as Hugh would tell them. Hugh 
 had long since exhausted his original sup- 
 ply and had read aloud a number of story 
 books which Ralph had received on various 
 gift days. He liked "Alice in Wonderland" 
 and a simplified edition of "Arabian 
 Nights" best of these, but the stories that 
 Hugh "made up" were the most interesting 
 of all to Ralph. It was wonderful the 
 number and variety of these stories that 
 came to him during these brief periods, for 
 Ralph, seeing him thus absorbed and antic- 
 ipating a new story, would scarcely give 
 him time to reach a climax. Once, when a 
 
 li
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 53 
 
 particularly interesting story had been in- 
 terrupted in this way, Hugh was moved to 
 say, with pardonable impatience: "Ralph, 
 why don't you make up some stories of your 
 own? Mother said people who had imag- 
 ination were never lonesome. If they were 
 children, they could play by themselves, and 
 if they were grown people, they could just 
 sit still and have a good time." 
 
 ''But I can't," complained Ralph. 
 
 "I don't believe you ever tried, Ralph, 
 and I think that would be a nice new game 
 for you. Try it sometime when I'm not 
 here." 
 
 Ralph looked dubious, but agreed to try. 
 
 A new diversion was oifered by Hallow- 
 e'en night. After school the boys carved 
 their pumpkins. Ralph insisted on doing 
 his own, but soon cut his finger and relin- 
 quished the task to the older boy. To make 
 up for this disappointment, Hugh let him 
 scoop out the seeds, and his pleasure in the 
 occasion was restored. 
 
 When it grew dariv, tlicy lighted llifir 
 candles and sallied forth to give the neigh- 
 bor children a thrill, but it turned out that 
 Rali)h was the most frightened oi" all when 
 a couple of boys, in white shrouds, carrying
 
 54 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 huge pumpkins with terrible faces showing 
 teeth, started to chase him. Ralph took one 
 look over his shoulder and ran as fast as 
 he could toward home, closely followed by 
 Hugh trying to hearten him. Gaining the 
 front steps, however, and eluding his pur- 
 suers, Ralph's courage returned and he 
 insisted on sitting down to hear the ghost 
 stories Hugh had reluctantly promised 
 earlier in the day, but Hugh thought he 
 had had enough thrills for one evening and 
 wisely decided to turn the whole experience 
 to good account, so he inquired: 
 
 ''What made you run from Harold and 
 Joe and get so frightened ? You knew they 
 were going to wear sheets and have those 
 big pumpkins ? Wliy you saw them growing 
 in the back yard yourself. Now what made 
 you get so scared?" 
 
 "Yes, I knew about it," admitted Ralph, 
 "but they chased me and I saw those awful 
 faces and everything, and I got scared," he 
 finished lamely. 
 
 "Well, don't tell me you haven't got any 
 imagination any more," said Hugh. "I'll 
 say you're chuck full of it, and it's a really 
 truly fact that most everything people are 
 afraid of is nothing but a picture of some-
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 55 
 
 thing that might be scarey if it was real, 
 but the real things, like the Invisible Pres- 
 ence, aren't scarey at all, so when you go 
 to getting scared, you just say: 'That's 
 only a picture. It isn't a real scare,' and 
 you'll get right over it. If you don't, just 
 think about the Invisible Presence that's 
 always with you and it'll make you feel 
 safe." 
 
 Hugh always adopted the ungrammat- 
 ical language of the smaller boy when he 
 wanted to impress him deeply, and it always 
 had the desired effect. 
 
 ''All right," agreed Ralph. "I'll try 
 the next time." 
 
 Not long afterward, he was tucked in 
 bed sleeping peacefully, with no ill effect, 
 apparently, from his adventure. But Hugh 
 lay awake for some time, gazing up at the 
 stars and thinking. The nights were get- 
 ting chill and Mr. Wai-d had ordered ma- 
 terial to enclose Hugh's porch with glass, 
 and pipe for a gas heatci-. lie thought of 
 this material now on the ground and to be 
 used on the moT'row to make him more com- 
 fortable, and it made a pleasant glow of 
 warmth steal over his body and soon he was 
 asleep, but was awakened, a few mi mites
 
 56 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 later, by a curious feeling of something 
 approaching. A queer sensation crept up 
 his back and raised the hair on his head in 
 a most uncomfortable manner. He remem- 
 bered his advice to Ralph earlier in the 
 evening and immediately started to put it 
 into practice, with an added prayer to his 
 mother for protection. It was wonderful 
 how it lent him courage. He sat up and 
 peered into the dark. At that, someone 
 stumbled on a section of pipe and fell on 
 the pile of lumber. 
 
 ''Who's there?" challenged Hugh in a 
 clear, ringing voice. 
 
 ''Cut out the noise, kid. I aint goin' to 
 hurt you if you keep still," came in a hoarse 
 whisper. 
 
 With a strong temptation to flee in 
 panic, his physical body trembling with 
 fear, Hugh was conscious of a superior 
 power seeking control. 
 
 "It's the Invisible Presence," he said to 
 himself. 
 
 By this time the man had groped his way 
 to the steps, and another man was standing 
 just inside the hall door leading to Hugh's 
 porch. Mr. Ward had heard the intruder 
 pass beneath his window, and, guided by
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 57 
 
 Hugh's voice, had arrived at the door just 
 as the man reached the steps. 
 
 *' Unhook this door, kid, or I'll have to 
 cut the screen; and be quick about it." 
 
 ''What do you want?" asked Hugh. 
 
 ''I want you to tell me where the val- 
 uables are quick," the man urged. 
 
 ' ' I '11 tell you where you can get anything 
 you need, if you'll tell me what you want it 
 for," returned Hugh. 
 
 The man behind the door started vio- 
 lently, but still waited. 
 
 The man outside muttered impatiently: 
 ''You're wastin' time and will wake every- 
 body up talking so much. Just keep still 
 now. I'm comin' in." 
 
 He started to cut the screen. "Stop it, 
 or I shall scream," said Hugh, "even if you 
 shoot me for it. These folks are the best 
 friends I have in the world and I'm not 
 going to have anything happen to them that 
 I can prevent." 
 
 "Oh, you're not/ (I'ausc ) (Jood io 
 you, eh?" 
 
 "Yes, when mother went away and I 
 was all alone over on the East side at Mrs. 
 Casey's, I came over here looking foi- work
 
 58 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 and these people took me in and are as kind 
 to me as if I belonged." 
 
 The man was silent a long time and 
 Hugh wondered what it meant. Finally he 
 muttered: "Guess I'll go somewhere else; 
 but say, you said you 'd tell me where I could 
 get anything I want. I'd like to know." 
 
 Here was safe ground for Hugh, and, 
 pulling the blankets around him, he started 
 to tell the man all about the Invisible Pres- 
 ence, in his enthusiasm forgetting his fear 
 and leaning closer to the man so as to speak 
 in lower tones and not arouse the family. 
 
 "Mother said," he proceeded, "that the 
 Invisible Presence is the Spirit of Good in 
 the world. It is everything that seems good 
 to people — like health and love and happi- 
 ness and wealth and lots of other things, 
 and people can have everything they need 
 if they love everything good and never do 
 anybody else a wrong. If they do anybody 
 else a wrong, then they can't have every- 
 thing good, but get back something like 
 they did to somebody else that was wrong. ' ' 
 After a pause he added thoughtfully: "It 
 looks like most everybody has done some- 
 body else a wrong 'cause most everybody 
 seems to want something they haven't got
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 59 
 
 and not to want what they have. Well, any- 
 way, if they turn right around and try to 
 do good to everybody, the bad things will 
 stop coming and good things begin to come.*' 
 
 The man heard him, without interrup- 
 tion, until he finished, then said: 
 
 "That sounds good, boy, but tomorrow 
 morning I've got to produce one hundred 
 dollars or lose my home that I've been 
 slavin' for years to hold. I've got nine 
 hundred dollars paid on it and had this 
 hundred just about saved up when both my 
 children got sick with diphtheria and I had 
 to pay it all out to save them, and the doc- 
 tor ain't all paid yet." 
 
 "But it wouldn't do you any good to 
 steal. Thev'd just put vou in jail," put in 
 Hugh. 
 
 "They wouldn't a' caught me if I hadn't 
 run into you; but, hang it, you interest me. 
 I haven't never seen such a kid." 
 
 "There was a lady lived at Mi-s. Casey's 
 once, and mother used to bring her sewing 
 from the factory and take it ba(;k and col- 
 lect the money for her 'cause she had two 
 little babies and couldn't leave them, and 
 she told mother all about the j)r('tty home 
 they had in the suburbs and were paying
 
 60 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 for like that, and the man worked in a bank, 
 and one time they got behind in their pay- 
 ments and he took a little money from the 
 bank. Nobody noticed it, so he took a little 
 more, and finally they paid for their place 
 and got an automobile and everything. 
 Then one day they arrested him and put 
 him in the penitentiary and they lost every- 
 thing, and that lady often wished they had 
 given up the place right at first rather than 
 take one cent that didn't belong to them, 
 and then her husband would have been hon- 
 orable, and that 's the way your folks would 
 feel if you took anything from Mr. Ward. 
 
 ''Ward! Ward! you say; not Malcolm 
 Ward?" 
 
 ''Why yes, why?" 
 
 "Why that's the old thief himself; one 
 of them anyway. They're a bunch of crooks, 
 I tell you. Get people to slave away and 
 put every nickel of their savings in these 
 houses and then take the whole works away 
 from them, no matter how many payments 
 they've made on time if the last one ain't. 
 I'd better have been enjoying myself on 
 that $900 and givin' my family some of the 
 comforts and pleasures of life than just to 
 hand it to that bunch of crooks to enjoy
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 61 
 
 themselves on and buy their folks presents." 
 "But Mr. Ward isn't like that," per- 
 sisted Hugh. "He wouldn't take anything 
 that didn't belong to him or rob anybody 
 of comforts or pleasures. Why, just look 
 what he did for me!" 
 
 "Yes, that's the way a lot of 'em do. 
 They rob a lot of people and do a charitable 
 act once in a great while. Gee, they ought 
 to." 
 
 "But mother said folks shouldn't think 
 about how much money other people liave 
 or how they get it or spend it, because 
 there's always something else those people 
 would like to have and don't have, — some- 
 thing they can't buy with their money, like 
 love, or health, or friends. Then, too, peo- 
 ple who haven't lots of money can just ask 
 the Invisible Presence for what they need 
 and pretty soon they get it. I'll tell you 
 what; you ask the Invisible Presence to 
 help you and then go down to Mr. Wai'd's 
 office and ask for him and tell liiin about it, 
 and I think he will help you out this time; 
 and after that, the Invisible Pi'esencc will 
 help you ererji time if you ask for it. But 
 I sav. Mister, what made V(nn- children 
 sick?"
 
 62 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 '*0h, I guess Providence wanted to 
 punish me for something or other 'cause He 
 knew them children was dearer to me than 
 anything else in the world 'ceptin' their 
 mother. That's the way He sometimes 
 brings people around, they said over to the 
 meetin' house ; but it didn't bring me around 
 any. My heart's been like a stone ever 
 since. I asked one of them fellers over 
 there how he accounted for the fact that 
 the children didn't die after all, and he said 
 it was 'cause God decided to show mercy, 
 or somethin' like that. That cooked me. I 
 ain't been there since." 
 
 Hugh considered this for several min- 
 utes, then said thoughtfully: ''I think 
 that's all wrong. Mister. Mother said 'God 
 is always good, whether we appreciate it or 
 not, and any misfortunes that come to folks 
 are the result of wrong thinking either by 
 themselves or somebody else, and I don't 
 believe God would make little children suf- 
 fer to punish somebody else anyhow. Now 
 who was it did the wrong thinking that 
 made the children sick?" 
 
 "Why, nobody as I know of." 
 "Yes, there had to be somebody, because 
 mother said so."
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 63 
 
 **You sure do think a lot of your mother, 
 don't you? Now let's see, who did the 
 wrong thinking? I can't make it out. It 
 was like this: the children slipped out the 
 back way, while we had company, and got 
 the hose and carried it out to the garden 
 spot to make mud pies. I went out to get 
 a drink at the sink in the kitchen and saw 
 them with it. I called my wife and she took 
 one look and said they wouldn't do any 
 harm. I said they would, 'cause it was a 
 cold day, and that started an argument. 
 She went back in the parlor and there 
 wasn't anything fer me to do but follow; 
 so the kids played, and after awhile they 
 came in all wet and cold, and I says to my 
 wife: 'Now, you see, they've caught their 
 death of cold,' and sure enough that night 
 they commenced to have diphtheria. Now 
 was that the result of wi-oiio- thiiikiii', I'd 
 like to know?" 
 
 ''Yes," replied Hugh. ''T tliiiik it was. 
 The childi'en thought wrong when they took 
 the hose knowing you wouldn't want llicm 
 to. The lady thought WT'ong when she said 
 they wouldn't do any harm, for she must 
 have known better, it being such a cold day; 
 and you thought wrong when you went back
 
 64 HLTOH MEREDITH 
 
 in the parlor believing all the things you 
 had said were true. There ^s always some- 
 thing tells folks when they're doing wrong, 
 but lots of times they don't listen. If they 
 would listen, and not get afraid, everything 
 would come out all right, and nobody would 
 be sick.'' 
 
 "You don't say? Well, I swan!" ejac- 
 ulated the man. 'Must 'thinkin' and listen- 
 in',' eh? You say your ma's dead; what 
 made her die?" 
 
 For a moment Hugh hesitated, then the 
 application of the truth he had just been 
 asserting came to him in a flash of illum- 
 inating insight as he answered: "It was 
 on account of wrong thinking, too. She 
 told me all about how to think right, but 
 she didn't think right about herself. She 
 could just as well have lived, but she 
 thought all she could do was to work at the 
 factory and that somebody else could give 
 me a better chance. She got discouraged 
 and tired and just quit trying to live." 
 
 "But it turned out the way she said, 
 didn't it?" asked the man, seeing a chance 
 to score. 
 
 "It turned out the way she thought 
 about it," replied Hugh, "but the Invisible
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 65 
 
 Presence could have helped two just as well 
 as one if we had both thought so." 
 
 *'Well, I swan! If you don't beat all!" 
 muttered the man. ''Say, I think I better 
 be a-goin'. D'y' know, it's a funny thing 
 none o' this talkin' has roused any of your 
 folks and that the police ain't here to take 
 me in? Maybe they're on the way now. So 
 long, boy. Glad I met you this particular 
 night." 
 
 Somewhat chilled, even though wrapped 
 in his blankets during this long conversa- 
 tion, Hugh cuddled down in bed with a 
 happy feeling that soon sent the warm glow 
 over his body which was always his reward 
 for a worthy thought or deed. 
 
 The next morning Mr. Ward astonished 
 his household by declaring that he was going 
 to withdraw from the Consolidated Invest- 
 ment Company that day. 1 Fugh 's f I'ightcncd 
 look caused Mr. Ward to smile behind his 
 napkin. 
 
 *'But you'll be thei-e this morning, wont 
 you, Mr. Ward?" he asked anxiously, then 
 turned very red.
 
 66 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 "Yes, I shall be there this morning and 
 for several mornings after. It will take 
 time to get everything straightened out." 
 
 "But what do you intend to do, Mal- 
 colm?" inquired Mrs. Ward, as anxiously 
 as Hugh, but with a different motive. 
 
 Seeing the look of deep concern in her 
 eyes, Mr. Ward hastened to reassure her. 
 "It's all right, Mildred. I have had a 
 splendid oifer from a most unexpected 
 source, which I have been considering for 
 weeks, but didn't seem to have any good 
 reason for making a change until now. I 
 have decided to accept it today. Will tell 
 you all about it this evening. I haven't 
 time now," he added, consulting his watch 
 and hurrying out. Soon they heard him 
 drive away, and at least two of his house- 
 hold were very much interested in what he 
 would do that day. 
 
 That evening, at dinner, Mr. Ward told 
 the story of a man who came to the office 
 and insisted upon seeing him, personally, 
 about a payment due on his property. "He 
 had a 'hard luck' story, like all the rest, 
 but, whether it was true or not, I couldn't 
 see him lose his property for one hundred 
 dollars, so I loaned it to him for three
 
 ii 
 ii 
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 67 
 
 months. He makes good wages and was 
 positive he would have the money in that 
 time. I took a chance." 
 
 Why Malcolm!" exclaimed Mrs. Ward. 
 I never knew you to 'talk shop' before. 
 That is the most I ever heard you say about 
 any business transaction. How came you 
 to speak of it?" 
 
 Her glance, following the direction of 
 his, fell upon Hugh's beaming face and 
 caught the almost worshipful look in his 
 eyes. "What could it mean?" 
 
 Mr. Ward was speaking: "I always 
 liked to experiment, Mildred," he said, and, 
 with this rather ambiguous statement, she 
 was forced to be content, for he changed 
 the subject by telling an interesting anec- 
 dote, beginning: "That reminds me — " 
 
 On Thanksgiving Day the Wards enter- 
 tained. It was the annual reunion and din- 
 ner for all the relatives who were able to 
 attend. Thiuh had asked permission to eat 
 in the kitchen and to remain in liis (►\vn 
 room, so cozy with its windows curtaiiu'd 
 with white Swiss and its small gas lieater. 
 Mrs. Ward had pi'oduced two sections of
 
 68 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 bookcases and had added some books to his 
 collection. There were also a cushioned 
 rocking chair, a small chiffonier, a small 
 table with a drawer and a straight chair, 
 which was very convenient for the prepar- 
 ation of his lessons. 
 
 Occasionally a sound of the merry-mak- 
 ing reached him. He heard the phonograph 
 and decided, from the records used, that the 
 young people were dancing. He retired 
 about 10 o'clock and soon fell asleep. Some 
 time later he heard Emily moving about the 
 kitchen, and, 'though he knew it was late, 
 supposed she was clearing away the effects 
 of the feast and turned over to sleep again ; 
 but just then the door-bell tinkled in the 
 kitchen and Emily hurried out. A few 
 minutes elapsed and she returned to the 
 kitchen and others were with her. He rec- 
 ognized Mrs. Ward's voice. Then he heard 
 a man's voice giving quick directions which 
 he could not understand ; then a door closed. 
 Evidently all but Emily went out. She con- 
 tinued to bustle about the kitchen. What 
 could it mean? He listened intently. 
 Presently Emily came out into the laundry 
 porch for something and Hugh opened a 
 window and called softly to her:
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 69 
 
 "Emily, what's the matter T' 
 
 "It's Ralph, honey. He's very sick. The 
 doctor's here and he says they ain't any 
 hope." 
 
 "Why, what's the matter with Ralph, 
 Emily? He was well enough just before 
 dinner when he was in my room." 
 
 "That's jest it. Before dinner he was 
 all right, but they let him eat too much. 
 He's got acute indigestion, that's what. 
 There, I've got to hurry." 
 
 She went into the kitchen and Hugh 
 sprang out of bed and began dressing with 
 all possible haste. His little friend, whom 
 he had grown to love as a brother, was 
 suifering and perhaps dying at this very 
 minute. While he dressed, he tried to 
 reason it out. How could a boy as strong 
 and healthy as Ralph be ill if perchance he 
 had eaten too much diinier? Wl\at strange 
 destiny hung in the balance with a measure 
 of food? One person might die for lack of 
 it and another because of it. 
 
 By this time he was dressed, without 
 having reached a solution of his problem, 
 and groping his way along the back hall 
 and up the back stairway. The door of 
 Ralph's room op<'ned, as he reaeliefl the
 
 70 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 landing, and, in the light from the room, 
 he saw the doctor just leaving. Mr. Ward 
 stepped out into the hall immediately after- 
 ward and closed the door. 
 
 ''Well, doctor?" Mr. Ward's voice be- 
 trayed the tension he was under. 
 
 The doctor placed a hand on his shoulder 
 as he said: ''God knows I wish I could 
 hold out some hope, Malcolm. I say, this 
 is tough." 
 
 They passed into the front hall and 
 closed the door. Hugh hastened along to 
 the door of Ralph's room, but paused. It 
 was shut. Should he knock or just walk in ? 
 He decided on the latter course. 
 
 Mrs. Ward, with shadowy eyes, looked 
 up, expecting to see her husband and learn 
 the final verdict, and saw Hugh standing 
 there with a look of anxiety on his young 
 face which matched her own. She motioned 
 him to enter and he tip-toed to the bedside 
 where Ralph lay in a comatose state, the 
 result of a hypodermic injection, which the 
 doctor had given him, upon his arrival. 
 Now and then he writhed in pain, of which 
 he was, apparently, not conscious. Mr. 
 Ward came back, but his face expressed no 
 hope. The doctor had returned to his office
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 71 
 
 for something he needed in the case. Mrs. 
 Ward, unable to control her emotion, left 
 the room, and Mr. Ward sat down by the 
 bedside and buried his face in his hands. 
 Hugh watched him intently, trying to un- 
 derstand his grief, the possibility of his 
 fears being realized and the depth of his 
 love for his child; not that he actually 
 analyzed and classified these emotions, but, 
 with childish intuition, he comprehended 
 the struggle that was taking place in his 
 benefactor's soul and an intense longing to 
 comfort him and give him hope moved him 
 to turn, with his usual faith and trust, to 
 the Invisible Presence in sincere though 
 wordless prayer. 
 
 Stepping softly, he moved along the 
 bedside and knelt beside Mr. Ward, placing 
 a hand on his knee. Mr. Ward looked up, 
 and there was a look of tenderness in his 
 eyes as he put his arm around the boy and 
 drew him close. 
 
 *'It's about all over, Hugh," he whis- 
 pered brokenly. 
 
 '*No, Mr. Ward," Hugh replied. "The 
 Invisible Presence is here.'' 
 I suppose you mean God." 
 
 (('
 
 72 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 '*Well — yes. Most people say 'God,' but 
 they usually tliink about God as being a 
 man, like a father; but Mother said the 
 Invisible Presence is not a person but is 
 everything good, like life and health and 
 love. Don't you believe the Invisible Pres- 
 ence can give life and health to Ralph if 
 we can give him love?" 
 
 Hugh's enthusiasm and faith were in- 
 fectious. Mr. Ward felt strangely moved 
 and marveled at the feeling of confidence 
 and hope that now displaced the former 
 hopeless, helpless one, as he looked into the 
 boy's radiant face and listened to his simple 
 declaration of faith. 
 
 "And Mother said," the boy went on, 
 **that if two people asked for the same 
 thing, and believed they could have it, they 
 would have it. Couldn't you and I ask for 
 Ralph to be well and have him get well right 
 away?" 
 
 ''I believe we could, son," Mr. Ward 
 replied. 
 
 "Well then, let's do it now." 
 
 Hugh dropped his head on the crook of 
 his arm, resting on the bed, and Mr. Ward 
 closed his eyes. What took place in the 
 souls of these two manifestations of Divine
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 73 
 
 Life was never disclosed, but there must 
 have been a triumph of faith which knows 
 no denial, for, after a time, both, with one 
 accord, leaned forward to look into the face 
 of the child on the bed, who immediately 
 opened his eyes and began to ask questions 
 in his usual bovish fashion: ''Was it late? 
 Had he slept too long? What were they 
 doing there? Was it time for breakfast?" 
 
 He sat up and reached out to put an 
 arm around the neck of each of the two 
 w^atchers, now as happy as they had been 
 anxious before. 
 
 Mr. Ward gently placed him back in his 
 bed and said: "No, it's not time to get up 
 yet, dear. Just go to sleep again and we 
 will call you in the morning in time for 
 breakfast." 
 
 "But daddy, what are you and Hugh 
 doing here if it's night?" 
 
 Mr. Ward looked at Hugh, saw the 
 radiant look still on his face and replied 
 "We just tJiought you were ill, that's all. 
 
 "Oil, but I'm not, daddy. 1 feel tine, 
 and I'm not a bit sleepy. Can't I get up?" 
 
 Mr. Ward again looked at Hugh foi* a 
 suggestion, and Hugh said: "You don't 
 want to get up now, Ralph. It's too early. 
 
 ??
 
 74 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 You just stay in bed and I'll tell you about 
 the frog that could have been king of the 
 pond if he hadn't gone to sleep." 
 
 So he told the story in a slow and monot- 
 onous manner, making it up as he went 
 along and using the word "sleep" as often 
 as possible, thus unconsciously using the 
 law of suggestion: 
 
 ''Once there was a kingdom of frogs in 
 a pond in a big, big field, and all the king 
 and his family had to do was to sleep and 
 enjoy themselves, but one day the father 
 frog w^ent to sleep and never woke up and 
 so the frogs in the kingdom decided to make 
 one of his sons king; so they got together 
 and chose one of them, but when they went 
 to find him he was gone. Now it happened 
 that he was the sleepiest one in the family. 
 He loved to crawl out on a log that had 
 fallen into one end of the pond and sleep, 
 and that's where he was, asleep, on the day 
 he was chosen king of the pond. The day 
 was nice and warm and the bees and other 
 insects buzzing around him made him so 
 sleepy. He tried to listen to them but the 
 more he listened the sleepier he got and 
 finally went to sleep, but a fly landed on his 
 head and tickled him, so he woke up and
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 75 
 
 snapped at it, but it got away and he went 
 to sleep again because he was so sleepy, and 
 the bees a-buzzing made him so sleepy — " 
 
 The tale ended abruptly, for the little 
 boy's regular breathing showed his appre- 
 ciation of the little frog's preference for 
 sleep to being king of the frog pond. 
 
 Mr. Ward went to tell the good news to 
 his wife, and Hugh crept back to bed to 
 continue his interrupted slumber. 
 
 The Christmas season was approaching 
 and Mr. and Mrs. Ward were planning 
 their Christmas festivities. There was to 
 be a large tree, lighted with electric candles 
 and strung with ropes of candy beads, pof) 
 corn and tinsel. New decorations were to 
 be added to those of former years and all 
 small presents were to be hung on the tree 
 in the old-fashioned way. 
 
 ''Let's make it a real Christmas tree," 
 Mrs. Ward said. "This has been a won- 
 derful year for our family, Malcolm. There 
 has been a ^reat chancre in it since last 
 Christmas, which is difficult to define. I 
 know that I am different, and T can see 
 certain changes in every member of the
 
 76 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 family. Wliatever the cause, there is reason 
 for joy and happiness this Christmas and 
 I want to celebrate it as never before." 
 
 *'A11 right, Mildred, it shall be as you 
 wish,-' replied Mr. Ward. "You spoke of 
 changes, — in yourself and every member of 
 tlie family. I have noticed these myself, 
 and this seems to be a good opportunity to 
 tell you about the change I see in you. 
 Wliile I have always considered you lovely, 
 and about as near perfect as mortals can be, 
 you ar» actually becoming perfect. I mean 
 that while you were always willing to make 
 amends, you were pardonably quick-tem- 
 pered six months ago. Now you seem never 
 "to be angry or even annoyed, though I have 
 hatched vou meet the same conditions that 
 would formerly have tried your patience 
 beyond endurance, and have marveled at 
 the calm, unruffled manner in which you 
 met these situations." 
 
 "That is a very kind way of putting it, 
 Malcolm, but I know now that I was a 
 'tragedy queen,' " and she laughed merrily. 
 
 "A 'tragedy queen, 'what do you mean?" 
 
 Then Mrs. Ward told him the story of 
 her interview with Hugh, concluding: "and 
 so you see what caused me to change and
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 77 
 
 to whom I am indebted for your praise to- 
 night." 
 
 ''This is very interesting, Mildred, but 
 I have even a stranger tale to relate. When 
 a man gives up a profitable business just 
 because a mere child condemns it, there is 
 either something wrong with the business 
 or there is a most unusual and remarkable 
 child to make him believe there is." 
 
 Then Mr. Ward told his wife his exper^ 
 ience on Hallowe'en night, which had re- 
 sulted in a most favorable change in his 
 business relations. 
 
 Mrs. Ward was amazed when she heard 
 the reason for this change. ''You surprise 
 me greatly, Malcolm," she said. "I have 
 WTjndered so often about that very thing 
 and hoped you would tell me some day, as 
 you have. And to think it was Hugh! I 
 know now why you told about the man vis- 
 iting youi- office before Hugh, and why his 
 face lighted up so; but, that you could lend 
 money to a man who had come to rob you 
 is moi-c remarkable still. It is literally 
 carrying out the admonition to give j^our 
 cloak also, or to go a second mile. You cer- 
 tainly would not have done so a year ago, 
 befoi-e Hugh came. Since he has been with
 
 78 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 us, think of the changes he lias made in 
 other people's lives. There was that man 
 he met in the park just before he came here. 
 i understand he is doing well. Hugh often 
 visits him at his place of business and he 
 says he is making money and his wife is 
 well, and doesn't object to the restaurant 
 business now; and there is Janet still 
 working for him, as happy as can be, 
 doing what she wanted to do, whether 
 it be good for her or not, and making 
 more money than we could have paid her 
 for her services. And Helen Marie was 
 saved a fall and possible death on the very 
 day he came here, by his timely action, and 
 now fairly idolizes him, as anyone can see. 
 Then Ralph was saved from an untimely 
 death by the boy's knowledge of Truth and 
 his ability to declare it, and even Emily is 
 more docile in the kitchen. I have actually 
 had several intimate talks with her and was 
 surprised to discover that she has a quaint 
 philosophy of her own that she is trying to 
 live by, for which she deserves great credit, 
 of course, but I recognized many of Hugh's 
 sayings in her statement of it. Evidently 
 he supplied the words she needed to de- 
 scribe 'that something' which struggles for
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 79 
 
 expression iii all of us. Last of all you and 
 I, Malcolm, have been guided to the place 
 of understanding by this boy's timely warn- 
 ings. 
 
 ''That is a long list of achievements for 
 one boy in six months, Mildred, but I have 
 still another to add to the list. The man I 
 just told you about, who came to rob me on 
 Hallowe'en night and to whom I loaned a 
 hundred dollars the next day, came into my 
 ofi&ce today and paid me the money before 
 it was due and insisted upon paying the full 
 three months' interest. Said he got some 
 money he never expected to get — all due to 
 the Invisible Presence. Then he got very 
 red and talked fast to cover what he con- 
 sidered a blunder, but I was very much 
 gratified to hear it, as it was proof that he 
 was following the boy's advice and that it 
 was actually bringing results." 
 
 ''Isn't that wonderful?" exclaimed Mrs. 
 Ward. "I don't believe there ever was such 
 a boy. Some people say that children 
 haven't much influence over the thought of 
 their elders because they are not yet suffi- 
 ciently developed mentally and spiritually, 
 but this particulai" boy not only has in- 
 fluence over his elders, bv reason of his
 
 80 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 simple and practical philosophy, which he 
 is able to apply to their particular difficul- 
 ties, but he modestly disclaims any credit 
 for himself, giving it all to his mother." 
 
 ''People are partly right, Mildred. Most 
 children are like clear pools of water, in 
 which their elders may see themselves re- 
 flected, and, if the image be distorted, the 
 reflection is the same. The responsibility, 
 therefore, is great. Hugh's mother must 
 have realized this fact, for the image he 
 reflects is almost a perfect likeness of one 
 who has studied to show herself approved, 
 'a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.' 
 But if Hugh receives a reflection, he also 
 gives one. He is like a reflector back of a 
 searchlight, sending his knowledge of Truth 
 straight into the lives of everyone with 
 whom he comes in contact, yet without 
 egotism or hope of reward. I wish all chil- 
 dren could discover their own latent power 
 for good and use it for the benefit of others. 
 It would make this old world over in one 
 generation." 
 
 ''That is a strong statement, Malcolm, 
 and yet I believe it is quite possible if — 
 but that leads into a deep subject, which I 
 do not care to discuss tonight. Just now I
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 81 
 
 am interested in Christmas and want to ask 
 what you had planned to give Hugh for 
 Christmas." 
 
 "I had thought of getting him a bicycle, 
 Mildred, because I wanted to get Ralph one, 
 and I thought it would be well to have him 
 ride with Ralph to protect him. What are 
 you going to give him, Mildred?" 
 
 ''I was going to get him a pair of ball- 
 bearing roller skates, for exactly the same 
 reason; but Malcolm, couldn't we do some- 
 thing for the boy that wouldn't be prompted 
 by a selfish motive?" 
 
 Mr. Ward looked into her eyes intently, 
 for a moment, and, unable to credit what 
 he read in their depths, inquired: "Mil- 
 dred, you don't mean — ?" 
 
 "Yes, Malcolm, why not. He is worthy 
 of anything we can do for him." 
 
 Then followed a lengthy discussion, and 
 a pleasant surprise for somebody was the 
 result. 
 
 On Christmas eve the tree was lighted, 
 and the family, iiicludinu: ITugb, Emily and 
 the new nurse, Mrs. Wood, with IFi'lcTi 
 Marie in her arms, gathered around to ad-
 
 82 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 mire its splendor and enjoy the holiday 
 spirit which its presence engendered. 
 
 The small presents were placed on the 
 tree, to be found and opened on Christmas 
 eve to carry out the plan, and the larger 
 ones would appear early Christmas morn- 
 ing. 
 
 There were exclamations of surprise 
 and pleasure as the various packages were 
 opened and displayed. Hugh helped Ralph 
 to find his packages and assisted him in un- 
 tying them. In an upper branch of the 
 tree he found a long envelope, which he 
 supposed was something for Ralph. He 
 carefully untied it ; glanced causally at the 
 w^-iting on it and was surprised to read his 
 own name in Mr. Ward's bold hand. He 
 looked curiously at it. Glancing up, he 
 surprised both Mr. and Mrs. Ward watch- 
 ing him, pleasant anticipation on their 
 faces. What could it be? He turned it 
 over. It was sealed with wax. He broke 
 the seal and drew out a legal document. Not 
 until he had read half of it did he begin to 
 comprehend its meaning, then tears filled 
 his eyes so that he could not read. He went 
 over to where Mr. and Mrs. Ward were 
 standing and inquired of Mr. Ward :
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 83 
 
 ''What does it mean, sir? Are you and 
 Mrs. Ward really going to adopt me as your 
 boy so that I can really belong to the family 
 always?" 
 
 "That's what it says, son," replied Mr. 
 Ward, and Mrs. Ward nodded in the affirm- 
 ative, unable to speak for emotion, while 
 happy tears shone in her eyes. 
 
 Hugh put his arms around Mrs. Ward 
 and she drew^ him close and kissed his fore- 
 head. 
 
 "I know my mother is glad now^, Mrs. 
 Ward," he said. ''This is just what she 
 planned for me, and I believe she brought 
 it about." 
 
 "It is quite possible, dear," replied Mrs. 
 Ward softly. 
 
 Ralph soon discovered that something 
 unusual had taken place and insisted upon 
 knowing all about it, and Emily also lis- 
 tened, evidently much pleased, w'hile Mr. 
 Ward explained it all to him. 
 
 "And is he my brother now?" queried 
 the little boy, almost beside himself with 
 excitement, jumping up and down and in- 
 dulging in a rough and tumble game of his 
 owii, until Mrs. Ward was compelled to call 
 for quiet. "I know you are happy, little
 
 84 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 boy, to have Hugh for a brother, but he has 
 been that and more all the months he has 
 been with us and he will continue to be — 
 just himself." 
 
 Wlien the others had moved away, Mrs. 
 Ward spoke to her husband of the manner 
 of Hugh's acceptance of the gift. "He has 
 the true characteristics of a gentleman — 
 that innate refinement which may be the 
 gift of a long line of well-bred ancestors, 
 and poise, which is the result of knowing 
 oneself, which, in turn, comes from spend- 
 ing much time alone in thought. I truly 
 wish that we might claim natural kinship, 
 but we have done the next best thing and 
 henceforth he will be Hugh Meredith 
 Ward." 
 
 ''Why Mildred, I hadn't thought of it 
 before, but that came very nearly being my 
 name; I mean Meredith Ward. Mother 
 wanted to name me Meredith after her 
 people, who were so very proud of the name, 
 but father insisted upon naming me after 
 himself, because there has been a Malcolm 
 in the family for a good many generations." 
 
 ''That's so, Malcolm. Do you sup- 
 pose — ?"
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 85 
 
 Mr. Ward divined her meaning, and, 
 turning to Hugh, asked: ''Do you know 
 anything about your father's family, 
 Hugh?" 
 
 ''Not much, sir. Mother told me a little 
 just before she went away and wrote a let- 
 ter to my grandfather asking him to help 
 me, but after what she had told me, I de- 
 cided not to send the letter." 
 
 "Do vou still have it?" asked Mrs. 
 Ward. 
 
 "Yes, I think so." 
 
 "Would you mind letting us see it, 
 dear?" 
 
 "Not in the least," replied Hugh, hur- 
 rying to his room to get it. 
 
 "Do you suppose it is possible that he 
 is the son of cousin George, Mildred ? You 
 remember Uncle George cut him off because 
 he wouldn't follow the program laid out for 
 him. it was a shame, as he was a fine fel- 
 low, so promising and the only heir to the 
 name of McTcdith. I'll wager Uncle George 
 has regretted that all his life, but he was a 
 hard, miyielding man and, so far as I know, 
 never forgave him. I am wondering what 
 he will do with all his money when his time 
 comes to liaiid it over to others?"
 
 86 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 At that Hugh returned with the letter 
 and handed it to Mr. Ward. The name on 
 the envelope was "George P. Meredith." 
 
 Ralph had called Hugh back to the 
 Christmas tree and Mr. and Mrs. Ward 
 discussed the letter in low tones. 
 
 "It is the most remarkable coincidence 
 I ever heard of, Mildred," said Mr. Ward. 
 There is one thing certain, if I can prove 
 that Hugh is old George P. 's grandson, that 
 he will get his share of the old man's estate 
 when he 'shuffles oif this mortal coil.' The 
 boy is a credit to the name of Meredith, 
 too." 
 
 "Yes, dear," replied Mrs. Ward, "it will 
 be your duty to see that Hugh inherits his 
 just share of the estate, but, in the mean- 
 time, it is our privilege to have him in our 
 home. Did you hear the dear child giving 
 his mother credit for everything? I re- 
 member his words: 'This is just what she 
 planned for me, and I believe she brought 
 it about. ' Do you know, Malcolm, I believe 
 that is quite possible, for, if the soul lives 
 on, possessed of such a love as Mrs. Mere- 
 dith had for her boy, it could not help striv- 
 ing for the welfare of the one so loved in 
 that realm of the soul."
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 87 
 
 ''Ah, Mildred, I do not follow you, with 
 my limited understanding, but I know that 
 there is something in every individual that 
 lives, has alwavs lived and can never die, 
 and, if it is possible, as you say, to keep in 
 touch with those we have loved and who 
 have passed on to another life, there is no 
 death, only an ever-changing life." 
 
 "You have such beautiful thoughts, Mal- 
 colm," said Mrs. Ward, leaning affection- 
 ately on his shoulder. 
 
 "Let us ask the boy's opinion," sug- 
 gested Mr. Ward. 
 
 Hugh was called from the tree again 
 and the matter explained to him. "What 
 is your idea now of life here and hereafter, 
 son?" Mr. Ward concluded. 
 
 "It is like an adventure to me, Mr. 
 Ward, or like going on a hike. Of course 
 we can't have sunshine every day, but we 
 are sure to have some kind of weather. The 
 things we do are sometimes affected by the 
 wcatlicr, but, if it i-aiiis and we can't do the 
 things we planned, there's always some- 
 thing else we can do that will be interesting, 
 and the rainy days make us appreciate the 
 sunny days that much more. That is like 
 life, I think. If things seem to go wrong
 
 88 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 a while, pretty soon something nice comes 
 along and we appreciate it much more than 
 if we had it all the time." 
 
 "That is logical, my boy," said Mr. 
 Ward, "and accounts for here and now. 
 How about the end of this hike and there- 
 after?" 
 
 "Well, sir, the end of the hike is the 
 biggest adventure of all to me. Besides 
 being in an entirely different place, I shall 
 see mother again and perhaps we shall talk 
 about this Christmas and the big surprise 
 in this envelope," he replied, holding it at 
 arm's length and regarding it with an ex- 
 pression of mingled gratitude and pride. 
 
 At that someone stepped up on the 
 veranda and rang the bell. Emily hurried 
 out to answer it. No one was in sight, and, 
 as Emily peered into the darkness so long, 
 trying to discover who had pushed the bell, 
 the family came to the door also, and Ralph 
 soon discovered the cause. 
 
 "Oh look at the packages!" he shouted. 
 
 Just beside the door w^ere several bulky 
 packages, which Mr. Ward carried inside. 
 When brought to the light, the various tags 
 read: "From your friend of the park 
 bench." "From your friend, Janet."
 
 HUGH MEREDITH 89 
 
 '' Wishing you a merry Christmas, A 
 Friend." Although Hugh's name did not 
 appear on any of them, it was obvious for 
 whom they were intended. 
 
 As Hugh made no move to open them, 
 Mr. Ward inquired: ''Aren't you going to 
 open your presents, Hugh?" 
 
 ''I had rather not, sir," Hugh replied. 
 ' 'Somehow I don't want to see anything 
 more tonight. I just want to think about 
 what I have received, and about something 
 mother said that I do not understand." 
 
 "What was that, dear?" Mrs. Ward 
 inquired. 
 
 "Mother said," replied Hugh, "that if 
 I practiced the precepts she had taught me 
 that I would make every life with which I 
 came in contact richer and happier for hav- 
 ing known me. I have tried to do so, but 
 it seems to work backwards. Everybody is 
 trying to make me richer and happier, so 
 I'm afraid I don't understand." 
 
 "Indeed you do," said Mrs. Ward. 
 "You have made every life witli which you 
 have come in contact richer and happier for 
 having known you, and this is proved by 
 anothci' bit of your own philosophy, for I 
 have heai'd you say that 'whatever we send
 
 90 HUGH MEREDITH 
 
 out comes back to us.' If that is true, then 
 you must have sent out blessings into many 
 other lives which are now coming back to 
 bless yours ; which reminds me of the quota- 
 tion: 'Cast thy bread upon the waters: for 
 thou shalt find it after many days!" 
 
 "That's in the Bible, isn't it? I just 
 read a verse yesterday in Mother's Bible 
 that she had marked, which made me think 
 of vou and Mr. Ward. ' ' 
 
 ^'^Wliat was that, Hugh?" 
 
 *'It said: 'Inasmuch as you have done 
 it unto the least of these . . . you have 
 done it unto Me,' and tonight I thought 
 how much God must love you and Mr. Ward 
 for doing so much for Him." 
 
 Mrs. Ward held out her arms in one of 
 her beautiful gestures and enfolded him in 
 a loving embrace, whispering softly: ''My 
 bov."
 
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