Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1891-01-30

sensitiveness to my good opinion, and
pressed his fingers as I rejoined warmly,
II never heard any one speak otherwise
than highly Of his conduct in the mat
ter"
He stopped and said shortly: why
who knows anything about It? !
thought you and | hal it all to our
selves.
YES. yes. | faltered. and added. in
consequently. "yon know you have been
away forsome time. old fellow"
It did not seem to ft in very well; hut
heaccepted it as an argument. and said:
"There is something Ia that. but don't
let people talk about it. know he re-
lies upon you and me"
There was something so touching in
the reliance Of this unknown that a glow
Of sympathetic affection warmed my
heart, and resolved on the spot that
his confidence should not be misplaced.
t,onle what might, the secret of that old
mar life should never be betrayed by
me. Others might make it a subject Of
club gossip or tea table title tGttle. but
no word of mine should add one drop to
the cup Of bitterness that had been
placed at his lips. There are passages in
the lives Of all Of rs which we would
wish &c have buried in oblivion-the
thoughtless follies of youth. the I'm.
worthy ambitions of manhood. and the
selfish ~jealouaies of old age. Who "a
there that can stand up and say there is
no episode in his life he would not have
%expunged, forgotten or condoned?
We had turned into a restaurant for a
bit of dinner. AID those thoughts passed
through my mind as we ate our fish. NY
companion pondered sadly for few sec
onds. and then, shaking himself together
as though to throw off an unpleasant
train Of thought, said, more easily
Now. tell me about yourself, your wife
and family"
Before ! had time to reflect upon what
might be the result Of my disclosure /
blurted out the simple truth, Il have no
wife
He looked intensely surprised rs he
said: My dear fellow | am very sorry
| never heard"
Re paused inquiringly, and again /
blurted out. II never had one"
A look Of extreme pain spread over his
face as he heard this. Ee leaned across
the table, and laying his hand on mine
said, with infinite sympathy: Il see it
all. | ought not to have asked You.
Forgive me. old fellow, and forget that
| have said those words"
l gave him a clammy hand and turned
away lest he should detect the conscious
outlines of my face. | had become
confirmed in n suspicion that had been
gradually dawning upon my mind that
! had never set eyes upon my host be-
fore that dey. end that had been car
ried away by some inexplicable chance
resemblance to some remote acQuaint-
ance and by his vi apparent cordial
recognition of myself. There were no
blinking the facts, however. Everybody
that he mentioned was I. total stranger
to me. while every incident that | men.
toned with a view to drawing him out
seemed 60 find his mind Il blank.
My sole object now was to eytricate
myself from my false position without
detection. | got absolutely and hope
lessly involved in fable and falsehood.
and after having thus lightly taken away
thegood name of the Interpretations mother
Of my children a sort Of despair took pos
session of me, and Il wild desire to avoid
exposure or explanation at any cost.
The dinner was good. the wine excel
lent, and my host geniality itself. We
sat late and drank freely, and over our
cups | blush to think Of the people mar
RED. the old friends ! buried, and the
characters | took away. But he would
have news and what was to doG Much
Of my information seemed to afford him
matter for astonishment. and often he
calculated. You don't tell me sor' as |
conveyed some specially startling piece
of news.
However. the time for departure came
at last, and my mind was torn with con
ficting desires to escape detection and
to ascertain his identity.
You'll come and see usr' he said cor
daily, rs We parted.
Eyes, certainly" | replied; but wher,
are you putting up now?'
"Oh. the same old quarters," he re
turned.
what is the best wey to get there"
asked. as n last hope.
You can't do better than take n cab,
ne said. and we parted never to NEE
again. True Flag.