“Wings,” the little French girl murmured once more. “The flutter of wings!” And again, as they neared her home, “Wings.”
“Aw, forget it!” Jimmie muttered.
She was not to forget. She was to hear that flutter again, and yet again.
CHAPTER XV
A TOUCH IN THE DARK
During all these busy days Petite Jeanne did not entirely lose track of her friend Merry of the smiling Irish eyes. Being endowed with a particularly friendly nature, she was more than glad to find friends outside the little circle in which she moved. Besides, she was deeply grateful to the little girl who had led her to the place where she had, in so miraculous a manner, purchased the priceless Fire God for only three silver coins.
“It was the beginning of all my good fortune,” she said to Merry on one occasion. “And,” she added quickly, “all my very hard work as well.”
So it happened more than once that she took the elevated train to the office where the auction sale of unclaimed, and damaged express packages was held every Friday. There she sat in the front row beside Merry and enjoyed two hours of relaxation. The endless variety of goods on sale, from a baby buggy without wheels to a black and white puppy with an enticing bark, intrigued her more and more; particularly the “union,” Merry’s little circle of choice friends.
To a casual observer these men would have seemed a rough lot. Soon enough Jeanne, with her power of looking into men’s hearts, learned that these men who struggled daily for their bread had been endowed by nature with hearts of gold.
Their interest in Merry was of a fatherly and sportsman-like sort. Knowing her brother and his handicaps they were glad to help her.
Unfortunately, at this time there was little they could do for her. Each Friday she brought a smaller purse and carried fewer articles away. The little basement shop, where Tad toiled incessantly, was feeling the pinch of hard times. Few were the visitors that came down the cellar stairs these days, and fewer still were the purchases they carried away. Only when the blue eyes of the girl spied some article for which she had an immediate sale did she venture a bid.