5MODE0 10*KEY2 RUN |M 20CLS 30VDU2 40VDU1,14:PRINT"THE STORY OF WHISPERI NG BILL" 50VDU1,14:PRINT"-------============== =------"' 60: 70PRINT"So you are taking the census mister, well there's three of us living here" 80PRINT"my wife and I and our only so n that folks call whispering Bill," 90PRINT"But Bill could not give you h is name sir, so it's hardly worth given, " 100PRINT"for you see a bullet has kill ed his mind and left his body liven." 110PRINT"Sit down for a minute mister. You see Bill was only sixteen at the ti me of" 120PRINT"the war and as likely a boy t hat ever this world did see," 130PRINT"But what with news of battles lost the speeches and all the noise, I" 140PRINT"guess every farm in the neigh bourhood lost part of it's crop of boys. "' 150: 160PRINT"It was harvest time when Bill left home, every stalk in that field of " 170PRINT"rye seemed to stand on tiptoe to see him off and bid him a fond goodb ye." 180PRINT"His sweetheart was here with some other girls and the sassy little la ss" 190PRINT"she pretended she wanted to w hisper in his ear and she gave him a rou sing" 200PRINT"Kiss. O he was a handsome fel la and tender and brave and smart and th ough" 210PRINT"he was bigger than I was the boy had a womans heart." 220PRINT"His mother she often told him when she knew he was going away that Go d " 230PRINT"would take care of him maybe if he didn't forget to pray."' 240: 250PRINT"On the bloodiest battlefields when bullets wizzed in the air, when" 260PRINT"Bill was fighting desperate h e used to whisper a prayer." 270PRINT"His comrades have often told me that Bill never flinched a bit when e very" 280PRINT"second the gap in the ranks t old where a ball had hit." 290PRINT"Then one night when the field was covered with the awful harvest of w ar" 300PRINT"they found my boy amongst the martyrs for the cause he was fighting f or." 310PRINT"His fingers were clutched in the dewey grass, O no sir he wasn't dead ," 320PRINT"he lay sort of helpless and c razy like with a rifle ball in his head. "' 330: 340PRINT"If Bill had really died that night I'd give all i've got worth given. " 350PRINT"For you see the bullet that k illed his mind had left his body liven." 360PRINT"An officer wrote and told us how the boy had been hurt in the fight," 370PRINT"he said the doctors reckon th ey can bring him around all right." 380PRINT"Then we heard from a neighbou r disabled at Malvern hill and he though t" 390PRINT"that in the course of a week or so he'd be coming home with Bill." 400PRINT"We waited and watched for a m onth or more and the summer was nearly p assed," 410PRINT"then a letter came one day th at said they had started for home at las t."' 420: 430PRINT"I'll never forget the day Bil l came home, it was harvest time again a nd the" 440PRINT"air blowing over the yellow f ields was sweet with the scent of the gr ain." 450PRINT"The barnyard was full of neig hbours who had come to share our joy, th en" 460PRINT"all of a sudden somebody said , 'MY GOD DON'T THE BOY KNOW HIS MOTHER '" 470PRINT"And bill stood a whispering f earful like and stareing from one to ano ther." 480PRINT"Don't be afraid Bill said he to himself as he stood in his coat of bl ue" 490PRINT"'GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU BI LL, GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU'." 500PRINT"He's never known us since tha t day nor his sweetheart and never will, " 510PRINT"father mother sweetheart they 're all the same to Bill."' 520: 530PRINT"Now many's the time his mothe r sits up the whole night through till" 540PRINT"the break of day has dimmed t he stars and put out the northern lights ," 550PRINT"unfortunate yes but we can't complain it's a living death but more sa d" 560PRINT"when the body clings to a lif e of shame and the soul has gone to the bad." 570PRINT"Bill's out of the reach of ha rm and danger of every kind now" 580PRINT"For we only take care of his body"' 590: 600VDU1,14:PRINT"> GOD TAKES CARE OF H IS MIND <" 610PRINT"------******------" 630VDU3 640END 650REM"  660REM"       680REM"  By An Unknown  690REM"  Author  700REM"  Modified By Fred Price  710REM"  260194  720REM"  730REM" SAVE"WHISBILL"