Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1873-11-22

old wife, her worn face turning radiant
upon him and bright drops starting in the
dull old eyes. They were almost the
first words he had heard her speak.
Though she had been very attentive TO
him all along, she had done it almost in
silence and with an averted face. Her
voice was high and almost sweet. Fieid
talked on then. and told them several
things at which they both fell to CRYING
like children He took out one bill from
the roll on the table and made the old
man take the rest. 81 do not pretend
that money can pay what | owe you, he
said, s'but what | have you must let me
give you for my own satisfaction.
During the next few days, while he
gathered his strength, our friend sat about
the house in the sunny places and took
strong liking for the simple, kind old wife,
and told her by degrees the story OF his
life and his friends. In that wonderful air
he rallied like magic. He took longer and
longer walks, keeping well out of sight OF
prying eyes, though the place was retired
enough, for that. Thursday morning OF
that week he borrowed some clothes OF
the farmer and made a bundle of his own.
He babe the old couple goodbye, not with
ploughed up the lake that day on her re-
turn trip, man came down from the hur-
ricane deck into the cabin, sat by the table
and took up magazine lying there and
turned it over. He was dressed in coarse,
ill-ftting, homespun clothes. and had
newly-healed scar on his forehead. His
upper lip was roughly shorn, and the rest
of his face covered with two or three
weeks beard. He was not an attractive
looking person, certainly. and yet the
pretty girl sewing by the window, her face
quite wan and worn-looking now, glanced
at him many times in Hurried, nervous
way; and when he was gone she went and
took up the old magazine, opened it where
q leaf was turned down, and read these
lines OF an old-fashioned ballad:
Oh. alone and alorn, as the night came down,
Sir Reginald walked on the wet sea sands
And all as he walked came Marianne,
Kings daughter of all those lands.
That evening, as the dusk was coming
on, Hester Charner walked on the path
along the lake. round the forest, and sud
denly in a shaded place she met the un-
kempt stranger of the boat. The started
back and almost screamed. Ills face had
4 dark look that scared her.
lis il YOU. Mr.. Meadow p She en-
treated.
mo" he answered: Meadows dead
drowned in the lake for ever, ! hope TO
God"
The girl drew back with little cry.
Then he did kill him.? She walled.
"Oh, wish / might die y | wish he'd
killed mer'
.'Oh, you false girlm Field broke out.
But he did not kill him. | killed him
myself. He would if hadn't and served
him right, too. But he did not put fin
ger on him. l saved him from murder
him and me. Yes. you-dont shrink
You drove him to it; and you would have
been the guiltier of the two. You were
as good as promised to him-you know
YOU were-and you should have been
proud to be. He would have given his
life for you any day, and you broke your
faith for a smooth-faced brazen top. who
played with you to your peril, and de-
spised YOU in his heart all the while for n
false jade. You may thank Trapp all
your life for cutting that short when he
did, and thank God You can yet be an
honest wife to an honest man.
As he thus spoke there came watery
feeling into his eyes, and yearning to
take the girl to his heart and brave all the
word tor her sake. He hated the long
fellow as he had never done before, and
cursed him in his hear, while he praised
him with his lips. But he kept his thoughts
upon a picture Of a gray old farmhouse
by the water-side. and bent old man
and woman therein, and went on playing
his game. and won it.
Her face paled,i and she casped her
hands. "Where is he p she asked eager
ly.* '. ~ .aa5 g 'fa.e'1
qa.He's lying tonight in Aleck Jarley's
cabin, back OF the haystack."
She was turning away, but he stopped
her. "Wait a minute he said. Here
is some money belonging to Trapp: You
can give it to him "
The money was in her hand before he
had finished speaking. She folded her
shawl across her breast and turned away
in the direction he had indicated.
The next morning Field started for
home. He had just one dollar in his
pocket and two hundred miles of ground
to get over. He walked, caught Il ride
now and then, got lift on Il canal boat
two or three times, ale bread and drank
water and slept in barns or under grain
stacks He came waking into Colman's
Office one morning looking cheerful but
somewhat disreputable. Colman did not
know him at first. When they had shak-
en- hands Colman looked in his friends
shaggy face and asked, is it all square,
DAMP 3,
"All square. Phil, :, answered Field,
looking the other rs straight in the eyes.
well, I'm glad you pulled through,
Dan," said Colman ''but you'd better
have come home with me-"
well, don't know, Phil" Field an
swered musingly: I'm not sure whether
I'm sorry or glad J. Il. MCKAY.