The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1873-06-06

L the fair one plump in his arms.
slip, an effort to save. herself fro
Q fall, q deSterous possibly stag
d learned) movement by Will, an
n she lay for an instant supported
his embrace. Almost Instant
= she was squarely on her feet agail
u blushing like a school girl: an
L Will stood rather awkwardly bow
8 ing. He knew that the prope
n thing for him to do was to aceep
n the lady's thanks and pass on
e but he also saw, or hoped, tbs
e the incident afforded a possibl
' peg whereon to hang an acquaint
! ance. s6a
= "The walk is very slippery" h
!, ventured, which was not the eass
/. as he instantly saw. He turne,
red, and stammered, ssthat is. it
so dark, mean that one cannot
81 am much obliged to YOU FOL
/ saving me from a fall" said tn,
girl, coming to his relief with :
good natured smile. tsfarlzt
She started ON, and Will. as
tonished at his own audacity, KEEP
at her side. Then he surprised
himself and her by offering heI
his arm, taking advantage of the
fast deepening darkness.
And she took it, after giving him
a look half quizzical, half wonder.
ing. The truth was that she al
once recognized him ais the actor
whom she had seen at the theatre,
and who had since been in her
mind quite as much as she had
been in his, ..,.,s..
''You are doing very audacious
thing, and l very foolish one"
she said, half disengaging her lit
tie gloved hand from his arm.
''Don't say that he replied,
earnestly. 81 own that / have done
an ungentlemanly act, but, believe
me, you suffer no disrespect when
you do not resent the affront l
have given you. Ihave seen your
face twice before, and" CON
sciOus that he must stop or say
something absurd, he did the lat
ter. -rf s.
For half a dozen blocks they
walked, during which the CONVEX
sation had not tagged. At this
point the girl released his arm.
"Here you must leave me Mr..
Harper" she said. at is too late
for me be alone in the street, end
| will take 4 street car -sa
''And shall ] never see you
again." he said, and his tone
seemed to convince her of his re-
spectful sincerity. ...-...
She hesitated before answer
ing, and there was evidently a
struggle between propriety and
strong desire.
''If l can meet you without my
motives being misconstrued, -
and her eyes more than her lips
explained her meaning-''I will do
So"
Thank you," and Will, with
growing assurnce, gently passed
her arm in his.
And they did meet again, but
always with secrecy. She explain
ed that being seen with him would
compromise her, and he attributed
it to his profession.
Addie Grey, he had learned from
her lips, was her name, and in the
rapture of his sudden love for her
he inquired nothing more. That
she was well-to-do her richness of
clothing showed; that she was ed
ucated and refined was equally
evident; that she was honest and
pure in thought he had no reason
to doubt, and that she was madly
in love with him he drew from her
own sweet lips.
The two weeks of Will Harper's
stay in st. Louis flew fast, and the
lovers found themselves compelled
to bid each other adieu.
"But why need we do so?" said
viii, as he drew the fair girl to
his breast. 1--WE love each other,
and why need we part at ali? Ifl
you would only share my poor
fortunes, Addie-.'
A sudden pallor overspread her
features, convulsive sob stopped
him.
"Oh, Will: 1 was 50 happy I
hadn't thought of parting. can't
live withoHtyou, Wilf.-I will fol-
low you anywhere. a-
but your. father, your rela-
tives?''
81 have none" sr.ar
'sAnd the man who was with you
at the theatre?" p afH ed.
''He is my husbandr' sfy
Will Harper turned as pale as
death, and almost staggered from
her.
ais this true:" he gasped.
eyes, Will; forgive me for al
lowing you to deceive YOURSELF"
and she fell on her knees before
him. "But it was ali because 1
love you so. / felt that if YOU
knew that l was married / should
lose you, and that would break my
heart. But don't, Will, don't leave
me-take me with you
Will Harper did not realize the
heroism of his reply.
mo, my darling" he said, with
a forced steadiness in his voice,
81 must not let your love for me
ruin you. Be an honest wife, Adj
die, and don't see me again. Good
bye" 4,.
The company left the next day,
and Will Harper with it. FIRE.
quently Addie read of him in the
prints, and she took q sorrowful
pleasure in following his profess
sional movements, but her love for
him never relaxed, nor her graft
tude for his self-sacrifiee.
Five years passed, during which
his parting advice never quit her
mind.
"Be an honest wife, she would
often repeat to herself. evil
said so, and / will do it..
When her husband sickened she
nursed him with a wifely tender
ness, and when he finally died she
had no accusation to make against
herself for failure in the perform
ance of her duties.
For more than year after her
husbands death she did not see
her lover, and then by chance in a
Chicago theatre. His eyes singled
her out in the audience, and he in
stantly Interpreted the mourning
dress Alright. The next day he
sought her out, and although he
offered no words of mock condo
lence, he did not insult a possible
grief by hurriedly pressing his
suit. A few evenings in each 9th
er's society, however, convinced
both that the old love had lost