Ward Hill the Senior

IT

in the dull routine of the day. The shrill whistle of the approaching locomotive always brought a slight thrill in the hearts of these stolid watchers, as if something in the stir of the great region beyond their horizon was comin

ke that which the old Greek dramas imparted to the breathless audiences that followed them in their vast theatres. Then too there were the few passengers who were soon to leave Rockford, as well as the people who were waiting for the arrival of friends; and as a matter of course the ever-present small boy was very much in evidence, and as he "walked the rails" or leaped across the track, his delight seemed to be increased by the warning word which some one of the assembly occasionally gave him. At frequent intervals some farmer would drive up to the pen which joined the freight house, and with ungentle hands roughly push out the calves he had brought

along the gravel path which led across the country road to the station, he walked, but he seldom took his eyes from the distant bend in the road where the smoke of the coming locomotive, he was well aware, would first appear. For Ward wa

on train. Meet me at

and a softer expression came over his face. However the other boys in that far-away Weston school might fe

ted his work and been drawn into the company of those who were no credit to the school, to their parents, or to themselves! How he had failed at the very time when he had been most eager to show what he could do! He had won no prize, had failed in the final examinations, and by his one attempt to do right, had incurred the anger of "the fellows," and at last had departed from Weston feeling v

see every morning from the window of his room in his father's house, had been the most difficult for him, but somehow he had roused himself and kept steadily at his task. Then too, there had been days when the sun had been almost like

e future lay entirely with him. He was willing to do his utmost for the boy whom he loved, but he never should insist now upon his return. If he made up his

r solicitude he had watched the course of his only boy; but Mr. Hill had been governed largely by the advice of his friend, Dr. Gray, the head of the Weston school, who had keenly realized the crisis which had come in the lad's life. The issues

ere was no man whom he respected more and none, with the single exception of his own father--whom Ward, in spite of his failures, dearly loved--for whom he cherished a stronger feeling of affec

nnecessary he knew, for if he had only been reasonably faithful to his duties in the school, he too might have had the summer to spend as every vacation ought to be spent. For him there had been no sailing part

earts of us all. It is almost always some one else who is at fault, we fondly believe, for our own shortcomings and failures. Few of us have the moral courage to look squarely at ou

picture, he thought, of his own summer vacation. All his plans had been thwarted and every hope blasted by the failure he had made at Weston. The fields all parched and sere

redeem himself, but when he thought of the unpopularity which had overtaken him near the close of the year, and of what he must face if he should return, his heart almost failed him, and it seemed to the troubled boy as if he never could enter Weston again. Th

stle of the engine, and the far-away cloud of sm

place where he knew by long experience the mail car would stop. The station-master put on his cap, his sole badge of office, the small boys ceased from thei

he rumbling cars, gradually slackening their speed, and at last directly in front of him they came

his friend. In a moment he spied him, and flinging his traveling bag before hi

emonstrative in his displays of affection, instead of feeling somewhat abashed by the exuberance of his friend, was greatly touched, and for a moment his eye

oor old eyes have looked upon all summer. You don't know how I

you," said Ward, returning the

his life, and all just to look into your eyes again. Glad? Why don't you say you're teetotally overcome, so to speak. Say you're wild with joy and you

ard, laughing more hearti

in your massive brain. Why the very calves of Rockford are glad I've come," he added, as there came a louder blast of lamenting from

ey will ever be again, I'm

then, that's always the way with Ward Hill. He's capable of doing a heap more than he ever lets on. But I s

ut at arm's length and gave him a look in which

t winding street of the old village, on their way to his home, Jack meanwhile chatte

nute, Ward," he added as they stopped by the gate. "I've got one thing to say to you, and I want to say it right now. You'

ively. "We'll talk about that lat

lower-bordered path were warmly welcomed by Mrs. Hil