Illinois News Index

Wilmette Life (Wilmette, Illinois), 9 Mar 1933, p. 16

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in the river.. This. was the reguiar and easiest way to. the coal fields. which, except for. the river, mnight have been a. part, of Middletom. The only other way ta Minierstowir was by the, Dalto n bridge' several miles to the weàt, and then .back - by the *river' road :on the ýopposite side tol thée*red bridge. -Midcleton: was happily situated within a broad level valle.y extendingý front the his. of Minerstown out be- yond the open ;circle to the Great Berridge on the soutb. Thiswas a beautiful, stretch of farn country -w iicb made Middleton, botb* a fart-m ing as-vielI as an.inidustrial market. As the, populationiîxciireased, tile MiddetonBlade changed front mail to carrier delivery of the paper ini the. sections nearest the tomwn, iinchid- ing Miestown oVer the red bidgIe because by that means it could serve its readers with greater speed. Freddie Capper, a youing lad about Dali Newton's age, wvas the carrier for the Minierstown district, mie of. the niost 'dependable boys on the staff. He liad won miedals anxd 1oving cups for "effilcienicy" fronithte pu'b- lishiers of the Blade, for hiaving worked t.hroughi the çontests without any conplaints front subscribers on, to be uelïvered aIaî any cost.- One evening .!ate in Novenmber, sev - eral hou rs after the regular edition,' the .Middleton Biade got out- an extra. reporting the early relurns of an im-. portant city election. The deIivery crews had,-flot been,'out more than a haif hour, when, without warning, à Storm broke loosel. The temperature went dowïn below freezinig and the' rain feul in torrents;, it turned to hal as big as birds' eggs.r Canyon river became a raging streamù of rapids and churning.ice, the tbawing remains' of an, earlier freeze. A part of the big red bridge. was washed awýaji by the, fury of the Storm. Iiarlier ini the evening,' whîle the bovs 'wtere taititig.for titeir papers. Freddit Capper complained of a pain1 in bis left side. "M'y lung's giving Ile somne trôûlsie!' lie sald qtrtl1v to'IYani Newton. leé bad hinte'd to some of the boys about not feeling well enough to start out. Being a red-blooded Scout and a Blue Dragon, it'was not his nature to complain to "One Arti BilU' "I've never done il before, and l'in not go- ing to start now 1> he said to "Skin- ny". Sloan, the boy who carried the route over the Dalton bridge. "Skn-. fly, you do this for me toniglit. and. what he calIed a "sacreci confession". to Freddie. "Boys, I can't think of letting, Fré'd- die go without, givinhg .you wl' are partly- to' blame for this. tragedy a chance to ask bim to forgive you. Since you were Scout brothers. 1'be- ieve you owýe, it not only to your- selves,.but to. the -memfbers of your trooP, to.step forward, here and now. and admit thie wrong you dîd' bii. "Jwant you to know one of the boys to1d me Freddie asked for h)clP to deliver his papers because lie was sick,.and that some of you failed to show that spirit of cooperation wbichi your Scout Ilaws, ask of a brother in tintes of heed * I want, also to wçarni yen Phat I1flot oilly exzpectyou who-) failed to conte forward and admit your.%vrong, but that' youir services ~are nt~o oger 4fgired on 1the Middle~- ton~ Blade. I won't say any more. The Scouts who refused to help Freddie vwhen lie needed you, step forward and let vour bearts speak for you." Tbree boys, including Skinny Sloan, slowly stepped forward and kneeled beside the open caskèt. Dan Nem- ton's mind was in confusion. Froni the moment be had 'beard the tragic news, that Freddie Capper was fouri. dead after the storn., he had re- *fleeds of fDan" stories pubhished ev- ery, week in WILMÉM'E LIPE. by Mr. Hiurst. Get busy; read 'this week's "ýDeeds.of Dan". episode. Then write a. lette r tellinà what you would do;' and youi to 'o, may win the one-dollar certificate. Just a word* about the rules: I addition to the address, each letter must contain the name and age of the child trying for the priz e. Letters miust reach WILMETTE LrFE by the first Tuesday following the "Deeds of Dan" story. Letters about the story ii this issue1 must- reach WIXM.ETTE' LWEF on or before Tuesday, Marchi 14. T.I .elma Bondy's prize-winning let- ter reads as follows:. 62,1 Harvard. Street, Wi'lme5,tte mI Dea r Mir. Hurst: If 1 wvere Dan 1 wôÙ1d not go t(. tilt bail gaine. Instead I would go to the police and explain to themi how 1 had become the victim of the counterfeit ,monpy. 1 tvould ipoint out to the polie th, cierks who had given mei the nm'ne. The poliee could Ques.ýtion thein abouit it. If ail the clerks denied the act of pass- lng the rnoney on to mie,' then the police cOUl1d take the inger prints of the clerk anld the linger print on the .money and lind the linger print corresponding to that on the mioney. If the counterfeitei-m would be found I would have saved thle other traders of Dalton' frorn fal'ling into In one of these experiences. Fred- die had nearly, lost his oNvii lifç, by rushing into a bur.ning bouse andi saving a child front burning to death, a few moments before the walls caved in.' He never fully recovered front ai injury. to 'bis lungs, dule to fumes and stoke. He lav' in a bos- pital at te point of death for two ntonths atter the fire. It was for thi2s "Anyway, I've got a date !" hie velled. ing pointed out as a Scout who liad amav, "~Ving- Freddie, wondering because hé .was disloyal to'1 a frieitd what to do if the pain got worse. and the Scout oath. He -wondered Then Dan Newton, the last to leave. what every one woiald say- -bis par- the delivery roont. came ont with ents, !ýan. bis sister and Mlinore, bis bis bag of papers banging frorntbis best fricnd. '6Oh!~ how can I look slioulder.!aîd ' thern in the face again, if 1 make this "Oh, Dan! aedFede li volI confession ?" He then remembered bielp me with mv napers tonight'? ÎI've Ititat he was tbe Iast one to see Fred- Yours truly,. Thelma Biondy (age 1:!). P. S.-I arn a regular reader of WL iiuwrrp LIPE, but this la the first tiinte I have elver reýad the story of -TheDèd (et Dan" which I found the, rost inter- est ing -to)ry for ehildren in theý whole pa 1) wr. Invite Higk Sckool Girls to Luncheon To *iiterest girls in Northwes~tern r. Y o/u. rLLFut om IIcrs are e UCUg<1.me j> icd to do voue duty. VYour duty body, ýed -on and s frai' i onn., cati stop- trip West. onlh is A tt4 Hobart se ion a re<c

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