Morris tribune., 1901-08-31

e&@aRnas
| fs6Ek Grafton Mrs. Grafton he re.
paated SHAKING his head. aaShe Is moi
patient Of mime"
Not now. Sut somehow I feel as If
pea must be the man I am looking for.
II there amy way you can md out
whether yen hsd a patient named
Grafton 20 years ago? Oh, 1t Is very
important that should known she
concluded earnestly.
IT viii consult my books Of that
time p he said kindly and arose.
/ As he walked across to the closet
where he kept these records of his ear
" struggles the womaRg eyes followed
him with eager inteDtness Suddenly
she got up and ran to his side.
"Ah, knew It is you'll The moment
you walked away knew beyond a
doubt. It was just as ii were back
| again In the room where my baby
died and saw you leave nae to go for
my husband! Oh, you must remem-
Der me! You tried 50 hard to save my
! dear little boy. lived in an old
stone house that stood In big garden.
was i'll after my baby died, and you
Intended me-so kindly, so WE'LL And
hen we went away and did not pay
your bill. It is 20 years ago, and you
are changed, but know you now!'
Dr.. Eaton had tzrned and was hook
ing tbopghttHlly down into her eager
! face. At last he said slowly:
II think / do remember you-yes, l
know. do. Is there anything can do
TO serve you Mrs. GraftonY
YES" she answered. ''When we
went away from here, we were very
poor. We could not pay you nor pay
for the burial Of the baby" Her eyes
dropped, and she claspsd and unclasp-
ed her hands nervously. "But oh, how
I wanted to! For time my husband
was very fortunate and made a great
deal Of money. But the debts speak
Of, while the thought of them drove
me almost wild, did not seem to trou-
bic him. When urged their payment
he always grew impatient and said
they belonged to time he could not
bear to think Of. He thought I was
heartless to remind him OF them. You
Eee," she added hastily, ''the loss Of
our little boy preyed upon his mind
and made him depressed and morbid.
So at last l ceased altogether to speak
Of the matter and made up my mind
that Somehow-some time-I would
pay them myself. never relinquished
my purpose, and in all the years after,
whether we pFospered or whether we
struggled for bare existence, never
touched the sum I had put by as a
nucleus, but added to it, little by lit
tie. And now think I have enough.
It has taken long time, and only God
knows what a haunting horror has
been to me the thought that my little
child's funeral expenses, that felt to
be g. sacred debt, were still unpaid and
lay like a blemish on his innocent
memory. And now win you tell me
how much I am to pay you and do
what you can to help me find the TN
dertakeFT
The doctor sat thoughtfully for mo-
ment, then he glanced up and flashed
Q smile at his visitoF-a smile of such
surprising sweetness that she felt her
self smiling, too, half tearfully in sym
pathy.
Twenty years is q long time to re-
member a little bill like mine," he
said.
TT cannot be little bill"
"You came here from : !
"Grimby," she replied. s
"And you have dinedP r
Moo
'"Then you must be my guest, and
afterward win help you find that
man to whom you owe-the other bill.
think remember who It was. Are
you and Mr.. Grafton living in Grim
byT
"Mr. Grafton has been dead some
year" she said II am teaching school
there"
1t w1s well on In the afternoon when
the doctor and Mrs. Grafton returned
from xheir interview with the under
tak@.
u cannot tell you how much thank
you tor helping me- she said. And
DOW please tell me how much yours
was
II assure you never gave the mat
ter, a thought after the first. Let It
rest " he said earnestly, land some
TING
+aDh, ma" she interrupted; cit must
be today. Indeed 1t must. I shall al
ways remember you with the greatest
gratitude But don't you understand
how feed about thfsY'
VERY well. as 1t is matter OF cen
science with you" he replied
In one OF the old Iedgers he found the |
name Grafton and, making quick cal
culation, announced that the indebted
ness amounted to $50, which she hand
ed over 10 him, with look that show
ed how important she deemed the mat
ter.
~And now" she said, holding out her
little shabbiiy gloved hand ''goodby.
will never be able to thank you"
''I'm mot yeur physician" said Dr..
Eaton, @'but TN take the liberty OF pre-
gcribinx q seat in my gig for yOu.