The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1882-06-21

goodness and truth of her nature. She
was heiress to an enormous fortune
when no won her, and with the unself-
ish trust of her sixteen years had given
her love to him unreservedly. Had
she been older or wiser thin story
would never have been written; for she
would have laid aside her bridal robes
made sacred by her tears, and proved
herselfh heroine; while he would have
accepted freedom from her hands and
proved himself coward and villain
n week ago. But, not because Of
the love she had for him, but because
of that which she was 20 sure he had
for her, Geraldine Royal had not Of
fered him his freedom.
Aud John French was hur'ying to his
wedding with woman he did not love,
lovely and noble though she was-a
woman whom he had never pretended
TO his inner self TO love-qnd over his
heart her last letter to him laid like n
lump of lead. For it told him that the
fortune she had once enjoyed was gone;
that her father would have nothing
whatever left when all his debts were
paid. And ss he struggled slowly back
to painful consciousness from scarcely
less painful sleep, the beat of the hoofs
Of the magic steed of the rails was
laundering in his ears: "You cannot
escapel You cannot escaped You
cannot escapei'
And the frown which had slowly
deepened as he slept darkened into a
fierce scowl as he said, between his set
teeth:
"No, I cannot escape It is poverty
lifelong poverty, toll, drudgery, for
evermore r.
AS he settled back into his seat to
get little more OF that physical COM
fort which men always instinctivelv
seek, whatever their mental pains may
be, there was a crash. The car was
torn and twisted and crushed; men and
women and children went from the un-
consciousness of sleep down into the
Inconsistencies of death. Others, less
fortunate, were prisoned in the wreck,
which took fire almost at once. As the
car went over on its side the old man
who had watched and studied John
French fell across the aisle against
him-fell with his head against a
OOAhtA Va bAAO bChb hhNl was ObGO dlu1OGb
instantly. But in the one moment III
which the spirit held the body in its
control before giving it up forever the
hand of the stranger had clutched the
handle of Johns valise with such q
grip as might have been expected had
life depended on his getting and keep.
ing it.
French was unhurt. The man be-
hind and the woman in front were killed
instantly, and French, who had thought
with pleasure of grave in the lake
among the hills, had not even q scratch.
He aided those others who were not
disabled, and those who came from
outside, in the rescue. Most of those
not killed at once were saved. But
when the dead we're dragged from the
burning car, after the living had been
aided, no friend could have identified
them. The man who had made John
French his study might have been
young or old for all that one could say
when it was all over, and he lay among
the ruins of the disaster, still clutch
ing the remains of the valise.
French was thoughtful of the woman
he was to marry-thoughtful despite
the lack of love, and he wrote a tele-
gram to send to the station mile and
half away. 1t was as follows:
"Terrible accident. escaped unhurt.
JOHN FRENCH"
As no went to hand the message to
the train hand who was to go to the
station with messages for help, he passed
the man who had died at his side.
The accident had happened in the
dawn the clouds were gong away with
the night. The spirit of tho darkness
seemed to say: "Sorrow may endure
Cor night, but JOY cometh in the morn
ing" The strength of day, which grows
on. of the weakness of night, was coming
into the lives of the men who had
escaped, and that, too, despite the
ghastly record night had made. The
blush upon the eastern sky deepened
as John paused-it frightened and
strengthened-the sun rose as brightly
as though there were no care nor sorrow
in the world. The voices of the might
were dumb day reigned again.
And man stopping over the body o.
the dead said: "We can identify this
one. See, the name is deeply engraved
on the plate which still remains on hi
valise. His name is John French"
So it happened that Geraldine Roya
read, dozen hours later, how her love,
had died. So it happened that JOIN
French lived to prove himself scoun
'drel, and to widow the heart of th
woman who loved him by the use o
the weapon which death had put in hi
hand. He did not send the message.