St. Paul daily globe., 1895-03-10

His left hand clutched the shears. AS
| reached the door, his left hand shot
forward, there was a sharp sound as
the shears struck the table and Hig-
gins wheezy laugh told me that an
other reckless insect had gone to it's
death.
| was about to step inside when
deep sigh escaped the old man and he
leaned wearily back in his chair and
ran a hand over his brow. Then l OBJ
served, with a pang of sorrow, how Old
and worn he looked. AS he leaned
suddenly forward on the desk, and
buried his wrinkled and shrunken face
in his hands, / hurried to his side.
What is the trouble, old FRIEND" l
asked
Nothing, my boy" he replied faint
ly, TN only tired out, that's all. J"
His plaintive tone was pathetic and
| felt guilty in the knowledge of the
sad news i had brought to him. AS
he rested there in the attitude the
tired newspaper worker knows so we'll,
| briefly infomed him of the changes
| that had occurred. When 1 had lin
ished, | waited for a reply. None came.
l walked over and took hold of his
arm. He looked up. His haggard old
eyes were swimming in tears. ....s-
It's all right, my boy he said husk
lily, its all right, 1 don't blame you.
| was only thinking of poor Martha,
that's ALL
He meant his wife. big lump arose
in my throat and L felt the hot tears
as they ran down my cheeks. 1 walked
TO the window to recover my spirits,a and
ten minutes later when turned around,
old Higgins was ready to go home.
He was Informed that place had been
reserved for him, and nodding his head,
he went out.
The next day all was hustle and con-
fusion, and it was night before | no
ticed that Higgins had not been to the
office. Thinking he was taking rest,
| thought no more of it, but as the
next day and the next passed by and
Higgins did not appear, / became
alarmed. 1 went to his poor lodging
house and was met at the Threshold
by stout Irish woman.
where's Mr.. Higgins?" 1 asked.
Hoo tn divil do OF know" she an
swered. 9TH pore ovid mon an hees
wolfe wint away lasht noight an divii
a wurrud hev OF heard ov thin sence.
For weeks | kept up the search, but 1t
was fruitless. The efforts of the po-
lice were in vain. Old Higgins had
disappeared as completely as If the
earth had opened and swallowed him.
Months passed by and we gave him UP
for lost. To his old friends he was
only a faint memory. With me, how
ever, not a day passed but that l re-
membered his tear-stained face and re-
preached myself for the part l had
played in the pathetic drama.
Almost year had passed, and the
paper had assumed large proportions.
Higgins administration except the old
mans cob pipe, which l had hung on
a nail over my desk.
One afternoon L was trife late in
arising, and reaching the office found
the reporters grouped in the rear end
of the local room conversing in whis-
pers. They ceased talking as l ap-
preached, and one Of them, coming
up to me on his tip toes, whispered:
Go easy to your Office"
l was mystified, but obeyed his in
structions.
l.
peered cautiously in through the half
open door, then drew back in awe and
trembling.
There sat old Higgins at the desk!
l was amazed, and for a minute
closed my eyes, doubling their accu-
racy. When l opened them again
old Higgins was still there.
He was working away in the old,
r..
cob pipe was tightly held between his
lips, and his left hand clutched the
shears.
How pale and wan and haggard he
was. His hair and beard We're snowy
white; his body was shriveled and
bent. His eyes and checks were
shrunken, and he looked like a ghost
of the past. He was a pitiable sight,
and the tears again forced their way
into my eyes as l watched him.
Half an hour passed; then the old
man sank back in his chair and closed
his eyes. l was about to spring to his
side when my eyes caught sight of a
book balanced on a lead pencil, and 1
knew old Higgins was renewing his
battle with the impudent water bugs.
The enemy approached cautiously at
first, then, gathering confidence fair
ly swarmed over the green battle field.
Higgins suddenly leaned forward to
dislodge the pencil, but his fighting
days were over. His head fell heavily
on the desk, and he gasped for breath.
l hurried in to lift him up, but he
recovered before l reached him.
" Hello" he said, family, straighten-
ing up, with an effort You're here
on time-I see.''
L was about to reply, when he con-
tinued:
There's nothing special today, my
ooy, just go over the regular ground
and keep your eyes and ears open.'
; was dumfounded, then suddenly
1T all came to me. Poor old man, he
imagined he was still city editor He
was out of his mind. | resolved to hu-
nor him, and with n "All right, sir 1
passed out and ran into the whole
staff, which had quietly observed the
palmetto scene. / hurriedly explained.
The boys spoke in tones of awe. and
F.; We're impressed deeply with the pathos
of the incident
| When l returned to the office that
i night, Old Higgins was not there. He
never came again. The next day /
kneeled at his bedside and watched his
! poor old life go out
L m very tired, my boy" he wbis,
pered as an ashy pallor crept over his
face, 20, so tired
80 was in. CORK
TO CALIFORNIA WITHOUT