Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-06-12

Smlth--waS much praised Tor his noDle
deed in "saving the life of foolish
woman''-and here Marie nodded her
head in assent-and the story went
on to say that, ''while he would not
lose his leg, yet the officer would be
crippled for life, etc. But what Marie
wanted to know was where the hurt
man was to be found, and this the
newspaper story failed to tell beyond
the fact that he had been taken to a
hospital.
Marie sighed and puckered her white
forehead into frown, while she
thought Of way" and then at the
next corner she climbed off the car and
waited for policeman. She asked him
if he knew where Officer William
Smith, who was hurt by cable car
that morning, had been taken, but the
policeman did not know anything about
the accident and he did not know Off
Ger William Smith, and, being grutf
fellow and tired of the mud and other
disagreeable things which follow a
rainy day, he added he didn't care. "
Marie was also tired, and it was past
her dinner time, but she went Oh until
she found another wearer of the star,
and to him she put the same query re-
garding Officer Smith. This time she
was given the desired information, and
she boarded another car, with heart
which held in it determined purpose.
The next morning she went to work
as usual, but when it was time to re-
turn home she asked her employer for 8
"day off" and because of the unusual
request readily secured permission to be
away the whole of the next day. That
night when Marie reached home she
carried somewhere next to her innocent
heart a crisp, new 81 bill, and this she
placed inside of her worn little pocket
book.
Yes, she meant to do it-she meant
to buy some flowers and some fruit and
take them to her "hero," and thai
night she did not feel so lonely as she
had done when she remembered thai
her mother was lying i'll the grave fal
from her own sunny France, for new
interest had taken possession of her, anl
new purpose had been evolved in hel
brain through sense of justice. Sht
carefully brushed the pretty brown hail
the next morning and tackled little
fresh lace in her collar and mended /
very small hole in her best gloves be
fore putting them on, and then, whel
she was quite neat and very, very
sweet, she went forth in search of flow
ers. She bought a single pink rose ant
few ferns and half dozen white car
nations, and then she bought tin.
basket Of pinkish green grapes, and sh'
was ready to find the hospital.
1t was a long ride, but not yer,
long walk, and finally Marie, with he
heart fluttering like bird in its cage
found herself in the presence of TIN
man who but yesterday was strong ant
well, but who today was as helpless a
an infant. His eyes did not shrinl
when Marie stood beside his marrow
cot, but looked at her with the sam
kindly light which they had worn whel
she stood beside him at that fatal cross
ing, and there was a strange sweetness
in the thought which came to Mari
that at least he did not hate her for tn
misery she had brought upon him.
She began to say in a hesitating fash
ion how sorry she was for the accident
but, as was said, she was brave i'll wha
she considered her duty, and PRESENT.
she grew calm and, with only the ell
couragement of the kindly eyes, wen
OH and confessed that she meant to d
what she could to atone for her needles
conduct, and that she chad begun b.
bringing him some flowers and bit 0
fruit The big officer held out hi
hand to the little woman, and withou
any hesitancy she placed hers in it, ant
kind of a compact was thus sealed
He said III gentle way he twas glat
he saved her life" and when she hat
promised to come again and had gon
the flowers were laid against the mus
tached lips, and there was feeling il
the big heart for the little woman tIaa
was very tender and very sweet
Well, of course the little woman cam
again, and of course the big policeman
was glad to see her. and as the day
went OH the old story was again new
for these two people, who had been 81
near to death together, and when tn
blessed day came that Officer William
Smith was released from the hospita
almost we'll and not SO very lame, either
it was understood that there was to be
wedding, by which Miss Marie denton
was to become "'Mrs. Officer William
Smith. - And, sure enough, the wed
ding came off in due time, and the biz
policeman's chief was present, beside
many of his brother policemen, ant
among the gifts was a gold medal
which was bestowed Oh the groom in
neat speech by the chief and which
bore the inscription, "For bravery,
and there is pretty little home in ON
of the quieter streets which bears upol
its simple brass door plate the nam
"Smith," but at which nobody think
Of asking for the big policeman for al
that. He has rival pretty, pinl
checked, round, rollicking baby, which
the neighbors, as we'll as the silly par
ents, call the "little policeman, ant
which locks enough like the big police
man to be called "a chip eff the OLE
block. Rosa Pearle in Chicago Trib
une