The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1893-02-09

till the hour for the opening of the St. yalen.

till the hour for the opening of the st. Yalen
tines Eve ball at the Occidental Hotel
Several times per month for the past year o
two, our friend had dined or supped at tn
Occidental, and gone his way in peace. Blu
of late there had come change. One noon
time he had thrust his bespurred feet beneath
the dinner table, and clanked his knife on hi
| water-goblet as an announcement of his pres
ence. and looked up to see for the first tim'
| Miss Lille Blannerhassett, the new waitress.
He clanked his knife on his goblet no more
| BE did not eat with his accustomed zest HI
salted his coffee with an unsteady hand. ant
| detected not the unwonted flavor. Shorty
Cronk had fallen in love.
Less than a week later Miss Lille accom-
panied him to the Opera House to witness
performance of Uncle Toms Cabin, snd
together they cracked and munched the pea
| that he could have kissed her when they parted
at the foot of the stairs that night if he had
only had the courage. The course of true love
| had run smoothly.
Tonight he was to escort Miss Lille upstair.
to the ball, and something told him that when
| he whispered, as he was firmly determined to
do, the sweet old story in her ear, she would
promise to dance through life with him.
So hopeful and elated did he feel that when
| presently he encountered certain kindred
| spirits to the number of seven he straightway
invited them to accompany him to the Early
| Bird and there shout" in unison. And each
in his turn retaliated. Then all adjourned to
the Red Light, and later to the Dew Drop Ian.
and in the end dr. Cronk waxed exceedingly
| hilarious
1t was some time later that these kindred
! spirits, with our friend in their midst, sought
the laundry of Sing Yek,r formerly of Hong
/ Kong, and proceeded to maltreat the owner
| thereof. The Mongolian bore with mild hui
mility the indignites heaped upon him till
Mr.. Cronk attempted to cut off his queue.
Thereupon Sing Yek suddenly extracted a
| keen knife from somewhere in his flowing
raiment and deity inserted the major portion
of the blade into Shorty's person, aud. drawing
it quickly upward, laid open a slash through
which Mr.. Cronk's immortal soul came near
winging its flight at once.
And thus it came to pass that instead of at
tending the ball that night Shorty lay stretched
on the bed Of pain, from which he did not rise
for many q long day thereafter.
But, though his work was for the time being
over his philanthrophy OF the afternoon was
to bear fruit. The letter he had first stamped
was the reply of one Henry Jay 10 most lib
eral proposal made to him by Messrs. Hooks &
Skinner, of New York. The probabilities are
that by the time Mr.. Jay had again come to
town, and finding his letter still lying in the
postoffice, had attempted to renew his negota
tions with that enterprisng firm they would
have already departed for parts unknown.
As it was, however, Mr.. Jay went East by
stage and the Vestibuled Limited Jews days
later, with light heart and fat pocketbook,
to return about the middle of tn succeeding
month by freight-train and foot, with
yawning wallet, but mountainous load of ex-
perience. Such is the way of the green
goods" men.
The letter to whose address Shorty had
added Kansas" Informed a Mrs. William
DunDaway, Of Burlington, Kan. of the death
her husband. Now, as the late Mr.. Dunnaway
had left his bed and board some Is months be-
fore without mentioning his proposed deslima-
ton, and leaving only relief behind him. Mrs.
Dunnaway, upon receipt of the news Of his
taking of, thought it well to marry a FORE
handed man, who had been for some time pa
tiently awaiting such news
Their happiness was somewhat marred by
the sudden appearance, some three weeks after
the ceremony, of the late Mr. Dunnaway in
the flesh. neither dead nor sleeping He
ruined good suit of clothes for his successor
and the latter broke Mr.. Dunnaway's nose AID
otherwise disfgured him; whereupon this mod
ern and degenerate EHoch Arden caused his
successor 10 be tried for assault and battery,
and lodged charge of bigamy against his wife,
which latter Is still pending at this writing. 1t
is believed that the Mrs Dunuaway for whom
the letter was originally intended was resident
of either Burlington, VT, or Burlington, Iowa.
In q brown old Connecticut village little
woman had waited long for the coming of the
last letter that Shorty Cronk had stamped in
the Boomopolis postofice. Ten years is long
time to wait and hope. Ten years; AMI yet in
all that time she had never ceased to love and
long for her girlhood's lover. He had gone
West to seek bis fortune promising to return
for her when that fortune was won.
He had never come back. He was doubtless
dead these many years, for he surely would
horo fnr har lid h.
when she might have married, the shallow of
doubt had come up before her and she had re-
manned true to her girlish promse-was true
yet, though he had never come.
Ten years of patient, weary waiting-but
now came the letter that Shorty Cronl. full of
the spirit Of st. Valentines Day, had stamped
and sent On its way, and the long years of wait.
ing were forgotten.
He-the only man in the world to the
womsn-bad learned. from source that he had
never doubted, that she had married soon after
his departure for the West. The man who had
written the lie-well, it had awaited him
nothing. The woman had been true to her
promise, and the liar was under the sod now
John Stanfeld had carried the ache in his
heart all these years while he strove and
toiled. for what ?-money. Money for moneys
sake, had been all that was left him to work
for. But be, too, had never forgotten. Now
he had encountered friend of the othe days
who had told him that tue woman was still I'M
wed two years ago, when the friend had left
the old home village.
And John Stanfeld. blaming himself bitterly
for believing without knowing. had written
humbly. He had not known. Perhaps it was
too late now. He scarcely dared hope. 1t
might not have been because of the memory of
bis promise that she had waited. Well, he
knew the truth at last. If it was not too late
he was eagerly waiting 10 come to her. If too
late-well, she need not answer. He would
wait reasonable time, and then il no answer
came he would 60 away somewhere-to South
America, perhaps There were chances for
speculation down in the Andes, and busy man
may forget.
John Stanfeld-worred, hopeful, despond-
ent by turns-had ridden ID miles with the
precious letter in his pocket and mailed it, un-
stamped, and then ridden headlong back TO the
ranch TO wait almost hopelessly for the answer.
And the little woman answered.
Come back to me-"
And thus Shorty Cronk's impulse bore good
fruit, though the philanthropist himself was
never aware of it. For several days our friend
fingered between life and death. The ball was
a thing of the past fortnight before he was able
10 sit up. In all that time Lille Banner
hassett had not so much as inquired after his
progress toward recovery
She was married Valentine Day to Jim
Taniry, the clerk in the postoffice newsstand"
his nurse answered when at length he asked of
her. They went TO Kansas City on their wed
ding tour and haven't got back yet"
That afternoon. as Shorty Cronk sat propped