Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1898-10-06

most to swarthiness by Western winds
and sun, and with face so hidden by
the beard he wore that his eyes were
about all his old friends could see to
recognize him by.
1t happened that Mary was one OF
the first persons he met on his arrival
iu Brantford. He knew her the mo-
ment he saw her, and yet-she was so
changed that he could hardly believe
it was the Mary he had loved so long.
Her face was pale and grave. Her
eyes had q look of settled trouble in
them. The girl was gone, and in her
place he found a woman whose life had
not brought her happiness.
He had hoped that the old love had
died out in his heart. He had felt sure
o =, because he had accustomed him
self to the thought that Mary could
never be nearer to him than she was
at present. But when he met her, and
felt the touch of her hand in his own,
and looked into her grave, thoughtful
eyes that kindled with warmth again
at sight of him, he knew that he loved
her the same as of old.
He told himself that it was wrong
to feel like this. She was the wife of
another. But the heart cares little for
cold, abstract reasoning of this kind.
He loved her, and there was no way Of
evading the truth.
"But L can prevent any one else
from knowing it,, he said. "I don't
know that L am to blame in loving her,
but 1 would be to blame if I let people
find it ont, now that matters are as
they are. -
He met Mary's husband frequently
at the village drug store. He under
stood when he saw him why her face
had such O sorrowful look in it, Young
Doctor Reed was dying slowly. Con-
sumption had set its seal upon him.
And he was going down to his death
under the influence of the demon Of
drink. There was not day when he
was sober. The village druggist al
lowed the poor fellow to help himself
to the liquors on his shelves, and he
awaited himself fully of the opportun-
ity to deaden and stupefy the pain of
his disease.
Floyd could not but pity the victim
of his own weaknesses. There was
something winning about him. He
could understand how Mary had been
attracted to him. He wondered if it
we're not possible to save HIM yet, and
he tried to do so. for Mary's sake.
But he was soon convinced that re-
clamation was out of the question.
The only escape from the terrible in
fuence that was over him was through
the door of death, and that door was
already aiar for his entrance. Listen
ing to the cough that racked the form
the dying man, Floyd realized that
the end was not far off. Itmight come
at any time.
One day he saw that Reed was in
aH sAusually wrought-up condition.
He was weaker than usual. He
coughed more. His nerves seemed
all a-quiver. Time and again, as they
talked together, he got up and went
behind the counter, and poured him
self out little glass of liquor, which,
for short time, seemed to relieve
the tension Of his nervous condition.
But the effect of the drug would
speedily wear away, and another
draught was soon necessary to keep
down the torture of the pain within.
Floyd wondered how man in such q
condition of physical weakness could
stand the usual effect of SO much
liquor. The pain he felt must be
powerful enough TO counteract it, he
thought, and again he felt great
pity for the poor fellow, who had made
such shipwreck of his life.
By-and-bye, terrible paroxysm of
coughing seemed to almost exhaust
the man. When it was over, he got
up, trembling in every limb, with
great drops of sweat on his CHASTITY
face, and went behind the counter
for another drink. Looking at him
with the pity he felt expressed in his
face, Floyd Gray saw him reach up
for the bottle from which he usually
drank, but he saw, with thrill Of
horror, that he took down one instead
whose label told that it contained 6
deadly poison. He poured out some
of its contents into glass, with an
unsteady hand, too keenly alive to the
torture of his inward pain to notice
the mistake he was making.
Then it was that the moment Of
Floyd Gray's terrible temptation came
to him. If poor Reed drank the
draught he had prepared for himself
he would die. Death would "~n'
speedily. It would Mary
life of the burr ing, ant
she woIIli. ue Tree! Free tor him *
rvv and win heri
1t seemed to him that it was an ag,
that he sat there and debated will
himself as to what he should do
Should he let the man drink tn
draught that had death in it, and thu
remove the obstacle in the way of hap
piness, or should he save him from tn
consequences of the mistake he wa
making, and in doing it, put ava,
from himself, forever, perhaps, tn
possibility of the happiness he longe,
, for?
Who knew? Reed might get we'll