The Savannah morning news., 1901-09-27
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Our Daily Short Stories
LIEUTENANT LAFFERTY'S LIE.
BY MRS. MOSES P. HANDY.
copyright. 1901. by Authors Syndicate,

claim to be a truthful man, said
The ex-lieutenant. If any man were
70 call me a liar, I should do my best
70 knock him down, regardless of
consequences; nevertheless, L believe
that there are times in the lives of
most women and men when a lie is
not only justifiable but praiseworthy;
times when it is best for the peace
and happiness of all concerned to let
Truth lie at the bottom of her well
and not monkey with the pump
handle.
When we were in Cuba I got to be
great friends with one of the other
ueutenants in my battalion. He, En-
len, was a winsome fellow, the sort
of man whom most men and all
women, take to.
True, there We're not many women
of the right sort within reach, still
there were a few. Chief among them
were the daughters of Don Miguel
Cardoza, Cuban patriot, whose
ranch was within easy reach of our
camp, and who was hospitality itself
to the American OIncefS.
His son was a captain in the Cuban
army; / knew him WELL Don Miguel
owned acres upon acres of land, and
before the war must have been i'm
mensely wealthy; even now, in spite
of Spanish fines and robberies, he was
rich, and the land, of course, was still
there.
He had two daughters. The eld-
est, the widow of a patriot, who was
in mourning. inwardly as well as
outwardly, for her husband, and she
was hospitable to the men whom she
hoped would avenge his death, but
no more.
The younger daughter was different,
as pretty as a peach, fond of admira-
ton, and quite willing to be worship
ed of all men. Most of the boys were
more or less in love with her, myself
included, until L found Emlen was way
ahead of us all. When 1 find 1 can't
get a thing l generally conclude that
] don't want it.
AS you know, 1 was disabled early in
the war. l was accommodating in COM
mand of a small party, when the bone
in my left arm was splintered by a
bullet, and my usefulness as soldier
was over. So it was settled that
should go home on the first transport.
When Emlen heard the news he came
to me and asked if 1 would do him a
favor. OF course l said yes" at once,
without asking what.
He gave me a small package, and
asked me to forward it as soon as
possible after 1 reached New York.
Then he went on to tell me all about it.
You know" he said. that am head
over heels in love with Senorita Inez
Cardoza."
smiled. Eyes, that isn't any secret.
I hope she reciprocates."
Well" he replied, somewhat hesitat-
ingly, Il really think she does She
won't make any promises until the in
dependence of Cuba is assured, but she
let's me hope, and 1 would be happy,
if it wasn't for girl at home"
He stopped short, so l said Yes ?"
encouragingly.
You see, It's this way. We were
co-eds at college, and good friends
from the start. Inded, everybody con-
sidered us sweethearts. 1 never asked
her to marry me; we were both too
poor But we have held on to each 9TH
err, and if it hadn't been for this war
/ suppose we would have been mar
ried in the end.
But now that 1 have met Inez, and
know what love is, l feel that ought
to tell Nelly the truth, especially as