The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-12-20

(which side of this cause are you onf'
was Alice's fathers question.
He made bis answer and went home-he
knew that Alice would be true 20 him.
And how be missed Anderson, his friend
and confidantl
Where IL your commission r. his mother
one day said 70 him. Have You not suffi-
cient manliness to assert your manhood 2"
Well. be was Capt Stamford, and not a
word from Alicel
! This is what Stamford wrote when he
could stand the uncertainty no longer:
Tell me TO come to you, and will come.
| will give up everything, and we can go 70
Europe"
He gave the letter to Pompey, his body
servant. with money TO pass him up north.
Two days later sharpshooter, searching
Pompey's dead body, came across the letter
and lighted his pipe with It'll
Three weeks and Pompey was still away,
and there was no reply from Alice.
Then Capt. Stamford's company marched
away.
self to madame; she was haggard, fright
ened. reckless.
"Where is your souF she demanded.
Attending to his duty answered mad
anne.
"Ihave letter for him. went on Alice
"His duty is his own, but would not have
him think he is any the less to me because
Il
of the country. This letter tells him as
much. 1t is unsealed; you may read it. All
the world may read 1t. VIII you let me
leave IL here. that he may get it when he
returns home, if you do not send II to himl
THIS trouble will soon be over" Then she
broke down. "God help us all, )" she said.
but love hint"
Madame let Alice lay the letter on the
teble-then she ordered her out Of the
house.
She would not read the letter; it was not
for her. Out in the road some poor whites
were carrying valuables from a despoiled
house.
"The letter shall be protected, ;" she said,
lit is not mine to destroy"
| She sealed the envelope and carried 1t TO
the upper gallery, where she screwed IL
into a narrow strip and thrustit into hole
In the wainscoting-a hole made by bullet
from the pistol of her son or his friend :,
when they practioed here in the rainy sea-
sons long ago.
Madame beard OF Anderson that day; he
had come after Alice to bear her homeBard
at imminent peril TO them both.
When she wrote to her son she told him
that Alice had been there, and that Auder-
son had taken her north, but she said moth
ing about Alice's letter-she had merely
promised that the letter should be there
| when he came home.
Stamford read his mothers words. There
was a reading between the lines-Alice pre-
ferred Anderson for being on her side Of the
cause from the outset
A dreariness Of time and Capt. STAN
ford was Maj. Stamford, then colonel.
Then came Chattanooga! There Col.
Stamford saw Anderson at the head of a
company IN blue. Something snapped Ia
his head His blood-shot eyes on the man
he had loved and cherished, he rushed
through the smoke and carnage, his hands
4 .koNw- 81 Co.
was twiDge, a roar, and Stamford felt
the world slipping from him, and he knew
| no more.
Then came months of suffering-a ball
taken from bis head. ball left in his leg;
failure was all around him, and Well,
it was all over and done; he was back
again on the old place, poor man.
Madame never complained, but that she
let art go by and age come one was not the
least Of solemn requiems for dead hopes.
After too many idle years Stamford
opened an office In the city and dabhled in
real estate.
And there was a surprise In store for him.
Anderson came back and brought his wife
with him,
The colonel met his whilom friend In the
street, and he knew him at once. He heard
that the couple were very unprosperous;
that Anderson was full of ideas that came
to nothing; and that all their children were
| ucau-bney hAA DEOuRub buelr DOules mere
and buried them In cemetery, the eldest
dead only a few days. All this meant that
Anderson had come to stay.
After that he often came across the
couple, and he would turn away to avoid
them.
Then he heard thet Anderson had an idea
of establishing an economic community in
the south. Nothing came Of that, and he
mortgaged his old house for 81 600 This
money lasted five years, and he had written
books In those years and made no money. A
month ago the mortgage came under the no.
tice Of the colonel 1t would be due In
thirty days-no one would take it--and the
interest on it had not been paid for a year
The colonel had the mortgage transferred
from the mortgage to himself.
Here was his chance for revenge on as
false a man and a woman as had ever
lived
He knew how pinched they were-there
are many ways Of finding out the affairs of
those we hate-and Anderson was selling
his furniture in order to raise money that
he might get north.
| Yesterday Anderson passed and repassed
the office. The colonel knew that he was
fain to come and ask for little time, but
that he could not bring himself to make the
appeal. To-day Anderson had not been
visible, and the colonel had not been with
out the fear that the man had become pos
sessed of the money in some miraculous
wey and designed a coup at the last min
ute, hence the moment of agitation swhen
the confectioners boy came to the office.
The train ratified along; the west had be-
come sodden. The colonel, coming out of
his reverie, turned his eyes into the car.
The car was not orderly to-day. as usual;
every passenger, man, woman and child,
had q package and cherry countenance,
aud they all seemed to be talking at once
about tomorrow, absent friends expected,
journeys TO be taken, presents, expectations,
and the like. And everybody seemed to be
a little kinder than usual; did not mind
crowding-men taking other peoples child
rem on their laps and questioning them
about Kriss Kringle, and inventing all
manner of absurdities to mystify the little
ones.
'Stamfordln said voice.
The colonel looked at the man on the eeat
beside hint was his enemy.
II followed you down here" Anderson
went on, huTriedly $50 ask clemency NV
wife evidently suspected 1 would approach
you, for she hung around the depot till you
came along, when, not seeing me, she went
away"
. "Why do you come to me?n asked the
colonel, in strained voice.
"My wife is in poor health" the other
: man said. ''She has never got over the loss
. of our last child. shall not be able to pro-
D vide her with a comfortable homa vat