Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1901-03-08

II have prayed for you already" she
answered.
Twill you tell me the prayer?"
'some time, perhaps, when it has
been answered"
He thought then that she had fallen
asleep, but after awhile she spoke
again.
Twill you let me ask you a question
of yourself again?"
"Yes, if you wish"
DIR. Brodnar said that you had
never had but one ambition in life,
and that you had been disappointed.
What did he mean?"
| II once had ambition to be q great
soldier. That is ALL"
Were you ever a soldier?"
"Ies, an officer in the regular
army"
"And now?"
81 am a wanderer. A gentleman
only"
why did you leave the army7"
81 struck my superior officer. They
heard my defense and-let me resign"
And the other-what became Of
him?"
He cheated at cards, was publicly
insulted-and cashiered."
why did you strike him?"
rs this asking a question:"
"Oh, forgive me! Good night"
ut is very short" he said, repent
antly. "There was a woman in the
case; the card incident was but pre-
text" A low cry escaped the girl.
Then she said, half rising:
"You loved her2"
yes" He heard her sink SLOWLY
back upon her pillow. II thought so,
at least-until now I was mistaken
in her; my pride was wounded" He
arose and paced the room.
Tell me of her, please?"
"She lived not far from Warrington
with relative, her parents both
dead. She had some means of her
own and frequently came into the
city, where she had friends. We met,
and believed in her; but this officer
came between us. She thought him
rich, and was deserted for him. She
belonged to that class of women who
esteem wealth the foremost object of
life, women who go deliberately to
men they do not, cannot love, or even
respect, and say in effect: Here, we
have beauty, youth, freshness, for sale.
Take us, dress us, give us jewels and
fine clothes to wear, carriages to ride
in; give us a chance to command the
homage of men, and all that we have
| is yours Watch for them upon your
streets; all men know them at sight.
God, but they pay at last! Look in
when the excitement has passed and
see upon their faces the frozen de-
spair; see in the heaviness Of their
step the weight of a dead youth, and
in their eyes eternal hopelesaness
Child. child. be not deceived; love is
the only gold that pays woman.
Shun them, these wretched advertise
ments of dishonor. Let no man come
into the holiness of your life until love
has sanctified the saorifce." He ceased
abruptly, and the next instant was
kneeling by her side. Forgive mel"
he cried. Have 1 not told you l
hold you blameless?" Suddenly he
felt her arms about his neck, drawing
his face to hers. Her hair enveloped
and almost smothered him in a sudden
storm. Holding him thus, she broke
into such an agony of grief and tears
as to render him speeches. and help
less. She held him in such frantic
embrace that each effort he made to
free himself was defeated. When her
str ha, faI ho
back among the pillows, breathless.
He bent above her unnerved.
How lonely, how barren must have
been your life, that little kindness
-another's sorrows-should touch you
so deeply!"
Lonely! Speak of the persecution,
the brutality, the infamy-!"
Hush" he whispered. mo more
to me. Come, you must sleep" Rising
abruptly, he left her side. When it
was that She fell asleep he could not
discover, but presently he seemed to
hear her deep, regular breathing, and
was thankful.
And SO the moments passed. The
girl started up once or twice and
spoke his name: but always at sound
of his calm, reassuring voice sank
back again upon her pillow From
time to time he went and stood above
her-a spell upon him new ana
strange, a spell that filled him with
uneasiness and vague alarm. He was
NO longer lonely. In some mysterious
way a burden seemed to be slipping
away from him, and in its place came
= sense of companionship sweet and
comforting. Most men discount mar.
ried life in their dreams, and few ever
realize the fullness of those dreams;
but with him it had been different
This strange experience preceded the
dreams. Without days warning he
had been plunged into the privacy OF
a young and modest woman's life, had
become the guardian of her honor and
in measure of her future; and in q
mysterious way the divine sweetness
of her soul had issued forth and en-.
veloped him. In the chiaroscuro OF
the still room he could just determine
the outlines of her bed and upon its
whiteness the outlines of her slender
figure. He was glad that she slept;
in that quiet falling asleep was for
him the finest tribute ever paid to his
manhood. glad, quick pulse leaped
from his heart as he realized thi.
truth, and the words of the girl.
mother, so artlessly repeated, came
back to him.
| Then in the desert Of his life 6
stranger came before his tent and