The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-04-17
THE MEPHISTO CAP.

"Oh, yes. And forgot to tell you. You
know, your old flame is to be married in
May?"
us she? WhlchT'
''You had a good many hadn't you?
Well, guessl'
Let me see. Madaline Kearney. On,
you tell me, sister. I'm too tired to guess.
That railroad has shaken me all to pieces
in the last hundred miles,
"Well, then, if you're too tired to exert
your mind-Edna Barsom!'
| "Ohl And she marrles-"
Bob Bristol, of all men. Old enough to
be her father isn't he?"
Cortrell had been away five years in the
! west, and had just made long journey in
| order to spend two three weeks at home
| with his mother and sister, He had come
| back, it seemed to him. much more than
| five years older than he was when he left.
| There was upon him now the steadying
| pressure of large responsibilities, for he
| was very near to being the head of large
| business enterprise. All that he saw-even
| the faces of his mother and sister-remind-
| ed him of what he had been when his eyes
| last fell upon those scenes and those faces,
| and he found himself, as he stretched at
| full length on the lounge, wondering how
| he could ever have been frivolous and
| so joyously careless of consequences in
everything, as he had been in the days that
| now seemed to him to belong to the dim
| distance of history.
so women can forget sometimes, you
| see,' his sister was continuing her talk.
Bobs thoughts were wandering back to
! the past Presently he exclaimed some
what suddenly: by lingo, Glare, believe
| 1 have something. Let me see When do
iS To hn orria
| Middle of May, I believe"
"And this the middle of April BY lingo,
I wonder whether 1 ought to take it to her,
| or send it?''
| "Thats your second by lingo in one min
ute. Send what? Wedding present.
'Eh? Yes, of course must send we'd
| ding present. I knew Bristol quite well.
| He's an older man than am isn't hep
| That evening Calvin Cortrell unpacked
| big leather trunk in the privacy of his own
| ROOM He took out a A box that looked
| as if it been designed originally to hold
| cash. He unlocked that box and took out
| package after package of carefully tied
| up apers-receipts, cancelled notes, MEM
| oranda of many kinds Under all these
was a leather-cased daguerrotype OF his
| mother. Last of ALL under the case was
| some tissue paper, and, neatly folded in the
| tissue paper, was pair OF very much
| faded kid gloves.
age, replaced the daguerrotype, the various
| bundles of memoranda, cancelled receipts,
and other business documents, locked the
| tin box and sat down to think.
He laid the faded gloves on the little
writing table before him, drew up chair,
rested his elbow on the table, and sup
ported his head on his two hands AS the
| faint odor of the dsinterred gloves came
| to his nostrils a smile, half of amusement,
| half of tenderness, played over MS race
but the question Is, how the deuce am
to do it?" he said aloud to himself, AFTER
some minutes of this brooding.
The smile on his face grew more anu
more tender Prenety he sighed, and then
he spoke again to himself: "That has Moth
ing to do with now, old man. That was
long ago. Yes. you can't keep these Things
now. You've got to do It," 49,
Edna Barsom certainly had been httie
disconnected when the news came to her
that her sweetheart of five years before
had suddenly made his appearance In the
town lust at the time when her engagement
to Bristol. had/been made public. She was
not vividy conscious Of any 1eehng Lor
Calvin Cortrell that could have been con-
strued as disloyalty to her fiance, but she
knew only too we'll how reckessy tongues
will wag In a small town, where each
man's-or woman's-busness is the busl-
ness of all, and considering many thihgs'
CortrelTs sudden appearance just theh'
after q continuous absence or IVe years.
might very plausibly be made to pear a
Significance that would disturb the smooth
current of her engagement. There had
been rumors that Mr.. and Mrs. Cortrell
would, some time or other, go west to
make their home with Calvin, but no one
had expected to see him back in his former
home.
Edna sat before the fire two days after
Calvin Cortrells arrival, and was meditat-
ing over these things, when Cortrell him.
self entered. She was looking for visit,
not from him, but from Bob Bristol. New
ertheless, she found little or no difficulty
in meeting him with conventional care.
At first, that is. Her old friend-or sweet
heart-lost but little time in coming to the
particular business of his CALL and it GER
tainly startled her little when he said:
at am glad I found you alone"
"Glad?" she said. "Oh, yes. 1t Is nice
to be able to have little chat. Tell me
about your life out there"
at can tell you about that at some other
time" said Cortrel.l Just at present I
have to discharge a duty. oh, yes. 1t
wouldn't be right. AT least, I wouldn't
like 1t If were in Bristols place."
Like what?" said the girl.
"This'-and he took tissue paper pack
age from his pocket.
Edna opened the package wondering.
When she saw>the old gloves, lying there,
with the marks OF wear of many years
ago upon them, but also marked with the
folds of many acknowledgements of careful
keeping, whole procession of memories
passed before her mind. he was silent for
some moments.
what. ought to do with them?" she
asked. 81 don't know. Tell me-"
Not the least doubt of it. the whole affair
was excessively silly. 1t was thoroughly in
keeping with the rest that now this young
woman, on the eve of marriage with an
other mana marriage into which no one !
had forced her-should be looking with q
look of pitiful appeal in her eyes, and with
tears, at a man who had firted with her
five years before. Still, silly as 1t was, it
was
Cortrell OH his part looked extremely un-
comfortable. He may have been wishing