Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1875-10-06

| hi"hiJt hhc H'Oh'hS aSHN" I'M
him should be without wife o.
sweetheart waiting with woman''
pride in him somewhere.
Lumley was busy reading his let.
ters. ] thought ! had better stay
outside. He was that intent al
first he seemed not to have heard
the others words, but after mo-
ment he lifted his face with one Of
the proud, bright looks that were
Lumley's own. "Ay, comrade =
he cried cheerily; "and don't you
tell me it isn't all your own fault
Don't dare to envy me my wife and
child"
There was no reply; but, looking
over, saw a bitter, sorrowful look
on the face of Lumley's Pardner,
that, scarcely knowing what l was
doing, l stood and watched and
pitied him. / heard Lumley read
aloud, words of love and trust,
watching and waiting, and of hap
piness in him and the child. / saw
his face as he read. He might be
weak man, but he loved the wom-
an and the child. From the first
letter there dropped a carte de
visite. Lumley caught it up with
boyish eagerness.
"Old pard," he cried, "you shall
see my two treasures. Here they
are-Lulie and the boy"
He tossed the picture across the
table. The other picked it up. l
saw q man die once-stabbed thro'
the heart. Just such a look came
into the face of Lumley's Pardner,
as he glanced at that picture in his
hand. Lumley, bending over his
letter, never saw it. When he had
finished reading he held out his
hand. The other did not even raise
his eyes, but kept them fixedly on
what he held.
~, too, once thought to have a
wife and child" he muttered pres
emily, less to Lumley than to him
self.
The words, following that look,
were a whole book of revelation to
me. Happily Lumley did not no.
tice. His face showed some sur
prise, mingled with that placid sat-
isfaction the successful man always
wears.
"Ahl" he returned, shaking his
head knowingly, "is that the way
the land liesi / knew you were
always close-mouthed, but q disap-
pointment-I never suspected that.
She, whoever 1t was, had precious
bad taste when she looked the 9TH
er way" And he ran his eyes adj
miringly over the others splendid
proportions and manly, handsome
face.
"She never refused me-" broke
Lumley's Pardner, in low, smoth-
cred tone, his eyes still fastened in
tently on the picture. "I--never
asked her; but she knew my mind,
and l thought l knew hers. Twas
sure she would wait for me until !
came hack. It was for her / went
away"
"But you wrote to heri" ques-
toned Lumley, with genuine in
terest.
"Not a word--not a line. ! am
poor scribe. But she knew me
well enough to need no written as
surance of my intentions. Every
day would be lived for her. There
could be no doubt of that in her
mind"
Lumley made a hasty gesture of
dissent.
"And there, old man, was precise
ly where you failed to connect. 1t
don't do, you know, for women to
take too much for granted. They
like to be well fortified; and then
you are surest to win If you take
them by storm. Why, my Lulie-"
"She don't look as though she
ever walked over q true heart with
her dainty feet, and that glad little
smile just curving her lips," broke
in Lumley's Pardner, his white face
still bent on the picture. His deep
voice trembled q little over the last
words.
"Lulie is truth ITSELF" answered
Lumley, quickly. "She never low
ed anybody but me. To be sure,
she had admirers--how could she
holm that and be what she ia 2---but