Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1882-02-02

sOh, Johnnie, Johnnie, you fun
ny boy,' laughs Madge, pushing
her hair ont of her eyes; then, as &
, sudden thought strikes her ; Lets
try race-I and Major against
you and yonr bicycle;' and before
Johnnie had time to express his
contempt for his would-be rivals,
they have started, and he is in hot
pursuit.
On they sped through the long
cool pathway that leads to elm
hurst,' the grand old homestead of
the Elmslies, whose ancestors, cen
turies before, had planted in honor
of their name the trees whose size
and number, growing as they did
SO near the sea, had given name to
the village.
! Fleeing along, her hat in her
hand and her hair floating in the
wind, Madge comes to stdp as the
great gates of the Elmhurst lodge
house loom mp before her. At the
same moment j ohnnie takes sharp
turning to the right, of which
| Madge is not aware. where the
path continues upward until, after
sweep of almost quarter of a
mile, the great house is reached.
Major rushed after him with more
haste than grace, falls, rolls over in
the dust, and comes with all the
strength Of his great clumsy body
against the bicycle. A sharp,
short bark, a crash, a weary moan,
then all is still, and little Johnnie
lies PROSTATE in the dust, his brown
HAIR all stained and dabbled by the
fast-Howing crimson tide.
Johnnie! Johnnie! speak to me!
Oh, my God! he 10 dead! Help!
help!' and Madse losing all self
control in her awful horror, screams
until the silence seem to melt into
an echoing cry for succor.
| Child, child, hush!'
A gentleman hurries out of the
lodge-house grounds and approach
Us her.
'What is the matters Ah2'
(! Walter Emsiie needs no answer
TO his question, and it is with al
most II sob that he lifts his little
brother, his only living relative and
the sole companion of his lonely
home, and bears hlm 70 the
house, Msdga following without a
word.
When they reached the house a
servant was Immediately dispatched
| loT the old family doctor.
The girls low sobhing is the on
| " sound that breaks the silence OF
the sick-ronn, unit! the arrival Of
the physician.
'The child needs woman near
him. he SAYS, sadly. Mr.. Emslie
will be kind, but the mother-want
will be sadly felt. Johnnie seems
to love you, Miss Greysor.; cannot
you rcmains'
And Madge, sobbing ont that it
is all her fault, and that she will do
anything to atone, is instituted
nurse, and the youth ct Elmshore
given a long holiday.
Contented, since Madge is near,
johnnie sinks into light slumbcr,
his little hand closing fast on hers,
and it is not till then that Madge
turns to look at her fellow- watcher.
There is something in the dark,
handsome face bent SO eagerly to-
ward her that makes her flush and
turn quickly away, for in the mas
ter Of EImhurst, she recognizes the
unknown admirer who has shown
his devotion respectfully, ye. SO
unmistakably, that he has taken
strong hold of her girlish fancy.
Through days and weeks of un-
certainty, when the brave little
heart has to battle hard for lite,
Madge and Walter watch together,
coaxing the tiny spark of lingering
life into q flame, and these Two,
united for the time by their love
for the child, grew united for all
eternity by their love for each
other.
1t is not until one bright morn
ing when the sun rises fairer than
ever before, because the death an
gel has fed with the night, and
j ohnnie is still with them, that
Madge acknowledges even to her
self that the girls fancy has ripen-
ed into all the glory of woman's
love.
| Il must leave here,' she thinks:
'it is wrong for me to stay. John
ME, dear Johnnie, You must let me
go.'
And then she turns quickly away
and says not another word, to-
the pleading look on the face o
J the motherless child sadly tries he
r ras0Iutiop