The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-03-30
the Significance that had been attached to

I the significance that had been attached to
his casual remarks IN the "Clarion" Office
upon the subject Of matrimony. The
Center really believed that Perky was in
love with the widow.
The Widow Hainline, It is proper to
say, was not widow at all. She was q
divorced wife, who had resumed her
maiden name, but still retained the title
of"Mrs' on account Of her son Benny, =
glad-eyed little lad of eight years. Her
husband had Abandoned her when Benny
was but two years old; she had obtained
divorce three years latter, and the
next summer she had come to Kansas,
hoping in time to get farm for the boy.
Thi, was substantially all they knew
about her. except that during her near
ly three years rssinence in the Center
she had been Q well-behsved, hard-work-
ing woman. 1t seemed strange that,
with her bitter experience and her frigid
and methodical ways, she should be think
ing of marriage; much stranger than that
Perky, who was so lonely and SO pecu-
liar, should be contemplating such
thing. To be sure, there was no absolute
evidence that her thoughts were running
in that direction. But, is there ever any
but circumstantial testimony in such
cases? Perky has been seen going to
and coming from her house very often;
she spoke of him always, when she spoke
of him at all, with noticeable kindness;
her face flushed with evident pleasure
whenever anybody praised him little
for his known good qualities or made
generous excuse for his faults. And,
then, had she not bought a dress with
gaudy pink stripe in it, and did she not
lately wear an unusual bow of bright fib-
bon at her throat. and sometimes big
red rose in her hair? Surely these signs,
meaning so much with other people,
could not be mere accidents or idle freaks
with her. So the verdict of the Center
soon came to be unanimous, that ii the
widow thought she did not love Perky,
she was very much mistaken.
The Center having made up its mind,
there was no more doubt and no more
discussion. And yet, as matter OF fact,
Perky had never once been known to go
into the wldows's house, nor had he and
the widow ever been seen to 30 much
AS chat together at the gate. When
Perky stopped there, it was the boy Ben:
nv who came out to see him, and talked
with him by the hour, and often accom-
panied him as he went on over the blum
and drove into the river bottom, where
the large trees were, and the BIRDS and
the squirrels, and the queer sound OF the
running water. For ferky and Benny
had come to be close companions ana
friends. The one was rarel ~ seen with
out the other. The boy had caug ut some
thing of the mans besettlng spirit OF un.
rest. and the man had borrowed bit OF
the bows gentle cheeriness, so that they
blended very happily. They spent much
OF their time wandering about Ill the
woods, over the hills, and out on the
breezy sweep of upland overlooking the
river from the other side. Their talk
and they talked great desl-was OF the
things they had seen and heard and
thought together-of the flowers, the
stars, the psalms, the miracles, the print.
ing-oftice, and the farm Benny was going
to have when he got TO be man. Some
times the boys swift questions went far
beyond Perky's power of answering, and
then there would be little silence and
change of the subject. Sometimes, too,
Benny could not quite understand why
his friend stammered and looked asham-
ed when making inquiry of him about
his mother. But there was no distrust
between them and no disagreement; and
when, as they were speaking one day OF
the boys father, and Perky said sudden
". as if he hal but just thsugbt of it,
How would you like to have me for
father?" Benny replied, without hest
tation and feeling, "Oh, that would be
splendidr Then they walked home
without saying another word. and when
they parted at the gate there were tears
in Perky's eyes. Benny lay awake long
time that night wondering what it could
mean, and fell asleep at last TO dream
that his father came to him in the vague
white robe OF an angel, with face that
shone like the sun. And the face was
the face of Perky,
As the summer wore slowly away, Per-
ky's gloominess grew upon him day by
dav, and he could not shake 1t oil. 1t
seemed to him, also, that it took very lit
tie exertion to overcome him with f.
tiguc. He could hardly walk to the river
ford, aud back MS far as the Widow Haih-
lines, without singular trembling IN
his limbs, and dizzy sensation about
the head; and he would often be obliged
to stop and steady himself against the
c4talpa-tree by the widows gate before
he could 60 on, he was so tired, and there
WAS such blur just ahead ofhim. Once,
when he was standing there, the
the widow came out of the house on an
GRAND to q neighbor's, and, rs he lifted
his hat to her, he sank down exhaustedly
at her feet; but he pretended that he had
merely stopped to disepgage wanton
brier from her dress skirt, and when she
bowed him her thanks, he rose and stood
again like an athlete He had harass
ing cough, too, ard slept tittully, and in
his thin, pale cheeks were ugly spots OF
scarlet Whes they told him he was
sick and in need of II physician, he smiled
YEARLY, and said: "Only little bilious,
that's all" And on the days when he
felt so weak that he dared not venture
out-days that came quiet frequently in
that lazy, letEargic September weather.
he was always ready with some plausible
excuse to conceal the real cause OF his
staying indoors He consented tinallyto
alloy anotney printer to take bis place IN
the "Ciarion' ofiice-temporarl!y, and as
his "sub" only, tor the editor would not
like it, he said, if he should give up his
cases merely because he wanted to loaf
n few days and get the malaria out of his
system" He visited the office from time
to time to see how his sub got along,
and to take look at the exchanges.
They showed him the first number o; the
new paper at Konomo, which was to be
the "Clarioa S. contestant for the county
printing, and he curled his lip at sight OF
its double advertisements, and said the
grave yawn for q paper that started
out by leading its selected matter. Some
DAYS he would relieve the sub for hall
an hour, or read two or three galleys OF
proof Tor the overworked editor; but
,,.,,.,ll, ba remained only a few minutes