Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1896-07-02
Private fuckers Love.

william Iucker was plain man
with plain name.
/ lie must have known from tn
very first that it was all hopeless
and that it could at the best onl,
disturb his peace of mind. But h
went on, nevertheless, in his owl
dull, stupid fashion, content onf,
to touch her hand occasionally, Il
get sort of second-rate smile from
hef.
Once she was i'll, and he scarcely
left the house In which she lay m
- &c - - - = & 1 hanBtal
'ft " dly he fingered about aim.
lessly at night. lie ruined himself
by his lavish purchases of flowers
aud hothouse fruit.
When at last one summer day he
was told that she was convalescent,
and that she would see him, he felt
that heaven was in sight.
He was shown out into a garden,
where she was seated in a great
chair. She looked so pale and weak
that if anything could have increas-
ed his love for her, her appearance
alone would have done it.
you have been very kind, Mr..
Tucker she said in low voice,
'and l am very grateful. You
have done so much for me, and
your flowers have been with me
every day
Then it was that William Fucker
made the one chief mistake of his
life, and in stammering utterances
tried to tell her of the emotion
which possessed him. But she stay
ed him with light hand upon his
lips.
i am more grateful even than
before, she said slowly, but you
offer me a gift which / cannot ac-
cept. | cannot tell you how sorry
j am or how much / believe in all
that you have told me. But love
another man, and l love him very
dearly
Il might have known he eaid
slowly; Il might have known above
all things that it is net for such a
man as | am to snatch so great
prize. Can You forgive me suffici-
emily to let me still hold that place
in your thoughts p
Il shall hope you will be my good
friend always, Mr.. Tucker she
said gently. Il am to marry Lacey.
| should have told you before
Thereafter the dull, stupid, COM
monplaee man showed so delicate a
tact and was so cheerfully generous
to the man who had taken the
place he had hoped to occupy, that
she grew to have regard for him
that was almost like that of a
younger sister for a brother in
whom she implicitly believed and
trusted.
She came to him one day, weep
ing and in great distress, and told
him that her lover had been order
ed to Africa with his regiment.
War was looming on the horizon
and the work there would be des-
perate.
Il know how brave he is she
sobbed, 'and know he will 60 there
with no arm save his own to stand
between him and death. / think
would give the world to know there
was some one with him who would
watch over him and bring him back
to me at last
The words were carelessly spoken
--said only in the agony of the
moment. But the words spoke to
him trumpet-tongued, even as
command.
The next day William Tucker
left the world wherein men had
laughed at him-and Private Will
liam Tucker entered the regiment
which had ben ordered to the front
and of which Lieutenant Charles
Lacey was one of the officers.
In the course of time Private
William Tucker became merged as
mere unit in the regiment to
which he belonged, and, with a cer-
tain latent purpose in his mind,
was glad to lose sight of the world
he had left behind and to take his
place as one of the rank and file.
The latent purpose was never
known-at least until the end but
it became a tradition among the
rough men with whom he served