Jerry's Reward

In Short

Evelyn Snead Barnett’s 1902 children's novella follows Jerry Myer, a crippled, reformed alcoholic who gathers rags and cinders to support his paralyzed wife, Peggy. despite being mocked as "Paddy on the Turnpike" by the neighbourhood children, Jerry and Peggy come to the rescue of their affluent neighbours when Peggy overhears a plot by burglars to rob the local law officer. Through their brave intervention, the couple thwarts the crime, leading the community to recognize their mistake and reward the couple's quiet devotion with newfound security, warmth, and generous community support.

The Story

On Jefferson Square in Gaminsville, twenty-one wealthy children pass their days playing games on the steps of the Morton home, while seven poorer neighborhood children are ignored as outcasts. The games are routinely disrupted whenever the children catch sight of "Paddy on the Turnpike," an old man with a back bent double who gathers discarded rags, bottles, and cinders from the local common. Unaware that his real name is Jerry Myer, the children taunt him with rhymes about his soul and his physical appearance. Jerry, however, harbors no ill will toward the young people. He is a reformed alcoholic who gave up drinking to care devotedly for his beloved wife, Peggy, who was permanently crushed in a wagon accident years earlier. Sitting by her window all day, Peggy knits while Jerry works to keep them fed and warm, occasionally finding small bits of luck on the common, such as an abandoned silver spoon or a lost dollar.

One cold January day, while Jerry is working at the river wharves, Peggy overhears two men standing in the narrow passage between her cottage and the Convent of the Good Shepherd. They are planning to break into the home of Mr. Morton, a prominent lawyer, to rob and drug his family with the help of a traitorous nurse-girl. Desperate to alert her neighbors, the frail woman attempts to push her wheelchair across the frozen common herself, but her chair gets stuck in the mud. She is saved by one of the young outcast children, who brings her back inside and then runs to the wharves to fetch Jerry.

Upon hearing the news, Jerry immediately alerts Mr. Morton and the police, who set a trap for the thieves. Though instructed to stay safely at home, Jerry fears the officers will be outmatched and sneaks onto the Morton property armed only with a thick wooden stick. When a decoy gunshot lures the police away, Jerry single-handedly confronts the fleeing burglars, knocking out an armed intruder who is aiming a pistol directly at Mr. Morton.

The successful capture of the gang makes Jerry a local hero. Deeply grateful, Mr. Morton secures Jerry a lucrative position as the head janitor of his office building, guaranteeing the old couple financial security and comfortable living conditions. Realizing how cruelly they had misjudged the gentle old man, the neighborhood parents and children gather to make amends. Led by the once-excluded outcast children, the community marches to the cottage in a grand procession, showering Jerry and Peggy with warm clothes, food, and new bedding. Jerry joyfully welcomes his former tormentors, offering a playful, improvised poem that turns their old taunts into a celebration of forgiveness and community warmth.

How It Unfolds

The shadow on the square A lively game of street tags on the Morton family steps comes to a sudden halt when the shadow of a crooked old man frightens the local children into fleeing to their homes.

Life across the common In a tiny cottage across the dump, Jerry Myer cares tenderly for his bedridden wife, Peggy, sacrificing his own meals and enduring the children's cruel rhymes to provide for her.

A plot in the passage While sitting alone by her fire, Peggy overhears two criminals hiding against the convent wall as they plot a violent night-time burglary against the Morton household.

The brave messenger Determined to stop the crime despite her paralysis, Peggy attempts to cross the cold common in her wheelchair, eventually enlisting a neglected neighborhood child to run to the river docks for Jerry.

Ambush at the estate Ignoring warnings to stay home, Jerry arms himself with a hickory stick and hides under the steps of the Morton house, stepping in to disarm a gunman just as the police are tricked away.

A community's amends After Mr. Morton rewards Jerry with a high-paying job, the repentant neighborhood children organize a massive parade to the Myer cottage to deliver gifts, warm bedding, and apologies.

The People

• Jerry Myer ("Paddy"): A gentle, hard-working old man with a severe spinal deformity. Once a heavy drinker, he turned his life around out of devotion to his crippled wife and harbors a quiet affection for the very children who taunt him.
• Peggy Myer: Jerry's loving, bedridden wife, who was crushed in a teamster accident years ago. Her sharp ears and brave determination set the plot in motion when she overhears the burglary scheme.
• Mr. Morton: A prominent local lawyer living on Jefferson Square who initial dismisses Jerry's warning before realizing the old man's bravery saved his life and family.
• Little Miss Outcast (Mimy): One of the poor, excluded neighborhood children who acts as the crucial messenger between Peggy, Jerry, and the rest of the square.
• Addy Gravvy Rickerson: A pudgy young boy on the square who participates in the taunting before joining the neighborhood in apologizing to the old couple.

In Its Own Voice

"He prayed to God to let her stay with him long enough for him to prove how much he really loved her."

After Peggy was crushed in a wagon accident, Jerry swore off alcohol forever so he would never treat her unkindly again.

"'What on earth are you doing here alone?'"

Jerry drops his heavy load at the river wharves in shock when he sees the little outcast child who has run all the way from the common to bring him news of Peggy.

"'Though Paddy on the Turnpike / Could never count eleven, / When children all brought feather beds / He an' Peggy tho't they was in Heaven.'"

At the end of the story, Jerry recites an improvised poem to the crowd of children who have come to shower his home with gifts and apologies.

What It's Really About

Beneath its cozy Victorian exterior, Jerry's Reward explores the destructive nature of prejudice and the transformative power of redemption. The story contrasts the unthinking cruelty of middle-class social exclusion—demonstrated by both the children's taunting of Jerry and their rejection of the poorer "outcast" families—with the profound moral strength found in the humblest corners of society. Barnett emphasizes that true nobility is not defined by wealth or physical appearance, but by devotion, sobriety, and self-sacrifice. Jerry's journey from a reformed drunkard to a neighborhood hero demonstrates how quiet loyalty and courage can shatter unfair stereotypes, ultimately teaching a community how to practice genuine charity and inclusion.

Why Read It Today

Jerry's Reward offers readers a charming, authentic glimpse into turn-of-the-twentieth-century juvenile moral fiction. While modern readers may find the story's sentimentality and straightforward moral lessons typical of its era, Evelyn Snead Barnett's writing remains remarkably effective due to its genuine warmth and vivid characterizations. The novella balances gentle humor with tense narrative turns, particularly during the burglary sequence and Peggy's desperate attempt to get help. Readers who enjoy classic domestic tales like The Little Colonel series will appreciate its cozy atmosphere, simple prose, and heart-warming resolution. What stays with the reader is the poignant depiction of Jerry and Peggy’s enduring love story, which elevates a simple children's tale into a sweet reflection on loyalty, forgiveness, and redemption.