“Jesus says, ‘Whatsoever ye ask, that will I do.’ Take the Lord at his word, my boy, and you will never go far wrong.”
That had been the Captain’s answer, and it comforted Doodles and strengthened his faith in such measure that his face was radiant and his soul went singing all the rest of the day.
“Mother needn’t worry any more,” he told himself. “God will surely send a stove before autumn.” And the prayer was constantly in his heart.
For a while Mrs. Stickney’s fears for Doodles lessened. The cooler weather after the big storm had revived his strength and the day in the country had seemed to add fresh power to his frail body. But as the heat increased again, he began to droop as before, and the mother wondered with a sickening dread how he was to endure the debilitating weeks of August that were close at hand. Must he stay in these oven-like rooms to die? Why should he be denied a breath of the great outdoors? She resolved to carry him downstairs that very evening and give him a taste of the open air, defiantly pushing aside her remembrance of the doctor’s warning, “You must be careful, very careful about lifting.” Then came the surprise.
About eleven o’clock in the forenoon a man slowly climbed the steep stairs, thumping something ahead of him. Doodles heard him plodding up, up, up, long before he reached the top flight. On he mounted, step by step. The listener grew eager. Was it the stove? Yet one man could not bring up a stove, unless it were a very little one. Perhaps it was not for them; it might be for the Frenchman that lodged in the front room on the other side, he had an express package the other day. For an instant Doodles began to lose interest. Then his eyes brightened again—the man was almost up! He grew breathless—a reddish yellow something popped into sight! It had wheels! It couldn’t be—but it was! It was a wheel chair! The man had stopped, puffing and smiling.
“Stickney?” he queried, “Master Julius Stickney,” reading from a card tied to one of the arms.
“Oh,” cried Doodles, “that’s me!”
The driver grinned, and rolled the chair inside.
“Want to try it?” he asked.
The next minute Doodles was in, almost too overpowered by delight to say his thanks; but he recollected just as the man was going.