Part 9 (1/2)

”I don't know,” replied Bobby; ”but I'll fix it all right yet”

Bobby was busy with his birthday party all that afternoon, but nexthe was afoot even before the Catholic Church bell called him

The press occupied hiress

His father'spaper filled him with envy by reason of its clear ied a tiny bottle of benzine and an old toothbrush froain for nearly an hour

The benzine worked like a charht as new and the old ink dissolved readily from the platen and roller Bobby took note that he should have cleared thelect had left them sticky With it all he seemed to have arrived at a dead wall All his lienuity was exhausted and still the letters printed either too deep or too light About half-past nine he cleaned up and went down to the Ottawa

His friends there were all sitting under the trees before the hotel, resting rather vacantly after a hard roainst the brown bark, her hat dangling by its elastic froer, her lips parted, her eyes vacant Gerald leaned gracefully against the trunk Bobby sat cross-legged on the ground watching her--and hi up through the leaves Morris alone showed a trace of activity He had fished from his pockets the short, blunt stub of a pencil, a penny and a piece of tissue paper The latter he had superied in h his preoccupation Bobby at last becanizant of this process He sat and watched it with increasing interest

”By Ji to his feet

”What is it?” they cried, startled by the abrupt o home,” said Bobby

They expostulated veheame But he would not listen, even to Celia's reproachful voice

”I'll be back after lunch,” he called, and departed rapidly Duke arose frolanced at the children, half wagged his tail and finally trotted after

Bobby rushed home as fast as he could; broke into the house like a ind; tore upstairs and, breathless with speed and the excite himself into the chair before his little table He had seen the solution To the flash of embryonic creative instinct vouchsafed him, Morris's penny had represented type, the inequalities of its design were the inequalities of align and the pressure of the pencil and tissue paper paralleled the imposition of the card on the letters But in the case of Morris's penny the type did not conform to the paper and the pressure, _the paper conforerness, Bobby first stretched several clean sheets of paper over the platen and clamped them down; then he inked the type and pressed down the lever Thus he gained an impression on the platen itself At this point he hesitated On his father's desk down stairs was e was strictly forbidden The hesitation was but momentary, however, for the creative spirit in full blast does not recognize ordinary restrictions With his own round-pointed scissors he cut out little squares of paper These he pasted on the platen over the letters whose iuides Bobby inked the type and inserted a fresh card Thebreath From one point of view the matter was a small one From another it was of the exact importance of a little boy's development, for it represented the first fruits of all the hereditary influences that had silently and through the se of the dark, wars He pressed the lever gently and took out the card It was not a very good job of printing; the ink was not quite evenly distributed, the type were so heavily ih the reverse of the card like sta; _but each letter had evidently received the same amount of pressure!_

Bobby uttered a little chuckle of joy--he had not tied into the rectification ofsteadily, though slowly, and a very neat array of _Mr John Ordes_ was spread out on thedrying

The ga Bobby brushed his type with the benzine and toothbrush; distributed it and set up another name--Miss Celia Carleton

He had printed nearly a dozen of these when his mother's voice behind him interrupted his labours

”Robert,” said the voice sternly, ”what are you doing with that e?”

V

THE LITTLE GIRL

Bobby spent as much time with Celia as he was allowed On Sunday he took her on his regular excursion to Auntie Kate--and Auntie Kate's cookies

”Aren't you glad there was no Sunday School to-day?” he inquired blithely

”I like Sunday School,” stated Celia

Bobby stopped short and looked at her

”Do you like church too?” he demanded

”I love it,” she said