Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1891-12-28

WOUucE. % Il ran AoWu bkdAiS Ndu htA0c
the tea.
Chris and I were friends directly
don't know how it was, for | very sci
dom make friends. and all the young
men who come to the house go straight
10 Milly like iron filings TO q magnet
But it was different with Chris, because
the drawing room made his head ache
Just as it did mine; and when we knew
each other better we found that we liked
the same things and people-though h,
knew far more than l did, and never
grew bitter against any one, like me.
He had such a fearless, friendly way
with the world; and yet there were only
a very few people he altogether trustee
and relied on; and was one of them
know he trusted me completely, or he
would never have told me about Pauline
Partly. indeed, guessed it. For we
fell into way of going walks togethe
on Sunday afternoons, when Chris hao
some spare time and / made it, aud ]
found out that he liked this particular
road-the road running west northwest
1t was such a stupid road. First it lead
through long street OF those miserabl,
thin, gray houses that looked like grave
stones standing upright, and then came
streets full of public houses, and wretched
little sweep shops, with halfpenny ices,
and tobacconists', and shoots mended
while you wait" Then there was dis
NAL triangular bit OF common, with a
fence on one side all over placards, and
then a red brick Primitive chapel, and
more respectable houses-till at last came
real fields. You could not call ii country
where there We're always cabbage leaves
and bits of broken pots, and clothes hung
out TO dry. But generally at this stage
we turned back
soon concluded that it was the way
to Chris's old home; but guessed more
than that. For people do not always like
to walk in the direction of a particular
place only because they have lived most
their life there. There must be something
or someone there now that they like to
fancy themselves nearer And by and
by, when Chris saw that / guessed, h
told me the whole. There was very littld
Of it, as he said cheerily.
1t was just as l thought. The girl he
loved had lived there. was living there
stilI-and her name was Pauline. She
was rich, he said, and very beautiful. lie
told me what she was like, and | could
not help knowing that should have
loved her, that any one must have done.
And Chris had lost everything at once
money, and health, and hope.
sit wouldn't have mattered about the
money, said Chris, in his quaint way.
II would have asked her to wait for me,
and worked my way up. 1t would have
been a very good thing. But you can't
ask girl to wait for you when you find
you have only one lung.
He laughed rather ruefully, and !
laughed, too, though something caught
my breath.
did the doctor give no hopper"
asked.
{" If l had gone abroad at once" said
Chris; "but / couldn't do that SO ]
thought, as there might be ear or two,
might as well do something for my liv-
ing. And this turned up.
did she," l said tentatively, "know
you liked her?"
Chris flushed little and looked away
but not before had seen sudden light
in his eyes.
II never told her, he answered simply,
"They say-women know"
And she-did you-was she-I mean,
were you"
His flush deepened.
1t was too early in the day. he said
II sometimes thought-if it had gone on
but it didn't go on. / have prayed
about it. Not very enthusiastically, per.
haps-but it is a good prayer. And
there's another fellow in the running--a
remarkably good fellow. l think it will
be all right
did not answer. It seemed all wrong
to me. He had told me the story on one
of our Saturday afternoon walks, and
when it was ended we still walked on
west northwest. 1t seemed as if we were
walking on and on to place where our
roads would divide forever, and then
knew what blank there would be foI
one of us.
] could not pray his prayer / would
have liked to alter everything. Yet
hardly dared wish that Pauline loved him
II understood him 80 we'll think
that, though he loved her thousand
times better, she could hardly have an
derstood him much better than l. But
any one called Pauline it must be good
enough only to worship and strew roses
for, like the man in Browning Well, !
would have gathered her bushels Of roses
but / thought she might write 10 Chris.
She never wrote-of course he had no.,
written to her; but when he was so i'll il
seemed hard all the same Still, he went
on working. and kept up wonderfully
through the summer, though with au-
tumn his cough grew terribly bad. and
the winter, that every one said would b,
30 trying, was very near. But on SatuI
days we still had our walks, and still
went the old way-stilI west northwes
grew to be watchword between us fn
all that we wanted and could not get
We seldom said it without laugh; but
there Is no one but me who knows tia.
meaning of it now.
It was one Saturday in October thai
Chris came in with letter In his hand
knew before he told what the news was
from something in his face. Pauline wa,
to be married in November-to the Other
fellow.
Ny prayer has really been answered.
he said, little restlessly, in six months.