The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1900-08-02
Tatters kept his charge faithfully,

Thtters kept his charge faithfully,
but it was Eainsto hope for success
where human ingenuity had failed.
Ted helped evade the dreaded climax
by reading all the newspapers carefully
before Nadine saw them to guard.
against her seeing mention Of his re-
turn, for which she watched ana wait-
ed, asEa.dying nan longs to be shriyen.s
She put Seff the southwark Hight day
by day, and meantime grew weaker.
,palers a~ndlsadder; andaTeda and Tatterss
went aboutwatching her with troubled
eyes.
Winter came with a rush Of icy air
and furry of snow that sent the frail
ones hurrying southwark to kinder
chimes. The others could not well be
spared from the busy round of social
life. SO Ted went with his mother and.
Nadine. The world lay shrouded in.
white vestments through which the
train plowed a narrow track bearing
them farther and farther from their, ac-
customed scenes. Tatters sat in Ma
dimes window looking wistfully out of
the window at the flying panorama Of
skeleton trees and hedges till the train
stopped at a wayside station. Ted took
him out for a little walk, and he
scudded along the narrow path shifting
the frosty air delightedly, and present.
~ disappeared under the IA wheels, to
be caught up by someone on the OPP
posite side.
TedIheard a mans coaSingvoice say:
Hello, my beauty! Look, Tess, isn't
hat e perfect little beauty?" The an
swer was a delighted little feminine
exclamation, then a lady stepped out
| of the coach and confronted him, fol-
lowed eby Dion, who looked very wan
and weary beside that radiant vision.
Ted looked into her face and forgot
everything but the thought that Ma
dine must not see them. He got pos
session of Tatters and walked the
length of the train and back before he
dared!to confront Nadine, andDthe train
pulled off witha few preliminary shocks
when he swung iaboardathe smoking
car. Heasats staring DULY before him,
Until he wa recalled to a realization of
things tangible by a keen sense of i'm
pfnding danger.
There shrek of escaping steam,
a sickeningg crunch of wheels, an explo-
si~te;crash, then he was seized by some
blind force and flung down amid the
debris Of a wreck. Tatter's doleful lit.
tie whine recalled Ted's scattered
senses. He woke to find himself lying
in a poor little roadside hut, where
they had carried the dead and wound
ed. Dion's wife lay not an arms
sat Nadine unhurt.
"It is not fatal?" Dion asked in
husky whisper.
The doctorsmoved away very softly
but the dying woman read the bitter
truth in his eyes, and shivered with
mortal terror.
"Dying!": she cried, incredulously
"Oh, no. It simply isn't possible! il
can't be; why should I be chosen when
so many others don't care to live! Oh
no, not 1; life is far too sweet to die!"
Tatters whined and thrust his nose
close to Ted's face, and he opened his
eyes and smiled Understandings, then
the clear, tuneful voice broke the
deathly silence again. "Dion, if II
should be true! I am afraid to die with
an unconfessed' lie on my soul. 1t was
all my fault that she left you. Iwant.
ed you to believe Nadine u%nfaithful
You'll forgive me, Dion, won't you. II
-,,. looo,,oo T 11yoI co-on1 she
couldn't have caredlone hundredth part
as much as 1 do. You loved her, didn't
you, Dion? Yes, I knew, but I tried to
forget. If I should die you will marry
her. Dion, I love you SO that I wish
only for your happiness.
But 1 will not die, Dion, 1 will not!"
the young voice trailed off in half a sob.
then woke again very faint and tremu'
lous, like the echo of distant music
"How dark it has grown!" it muir
INJURED. "Have they left us alone at
last, Dion? Come closer, I cannot see
you"
There was no more sound or motion
from the darkened pallet; the long
lashes futtered down and, lay like rays
of darkness on driven snow, and, the
childish lips parted in a faint, sweet
smile upon which death had set his
holy seal as if God had forgiven her
guilty soul.
Roses everywhere! Stately bride
roses under a fringed canopy of maiden
hair fern, long-stemmed beauties,
queens of hearts in such lavish con.
fusion that Tatters was obliged,to walk
very circumspectly through the maze
of poisoning stuff to the window
where Ted stood with folded hands,
breast high, to a rose bower.
There were white rose petals on the
sidewalk leading to the front entry and
three little urchins We're chattering de.
lightedly over their trophies Of an easy
conquest.
Tatters found a little bare space. on
the window and looked out too, but
failed to discover anything of signal
Importance. So he frisked about until
Ted reused himself and took the fluffy
little head between his palms and
smiled with the pathetic cheerfulnesa
of complete remuneration.
"All the fuss and furry is over at last,
Tatters," he said, "andI now we've got
to take life in hand and make some.
thing out of it. We shall be very happy,
too-not quite as happy as Nadine and
Dion, perhaps; still you have me and I
have my work. Nadine? Well, Tatters,
she doesn't need either of us now"