The Savannah morning news., 1901-09-27

lately she has been writing as if we
were engaged"
There was silence for moment, and
seeing he expected me to say some
thing, / answered: Yes, / dare say it
is the best thing to do.
It's we'll to be off with the old love
Before you are on with the new"
Emlen looked reproachful. He had
big, brown eyes which could actually
talk, and answered sorrowfully:
You don't understand. have never
been in love with this girl, but l really
am fond of her, and / hope we will al
ways be friends. 1t is only that she has
taken too much for granted and it
wouldn't be fair to her to marry her
loving another woman with all my
soul"
His eyes had their effect. I was sor-
ry for him. in spite of myself; all the
more that I hadn't a bit of faith in
Senorita Inez
ooh. yes, l understand perfectly, and
I'll ship your package all right. 1 hope
all may turn out happily, any way.
Honesty is the best policy"
That was the last time I ever saw
him alive. There was a skirmish that
night, and he was killed, shot through
the heart and. dying, the surgeon said
almost before he knew he was hit.
When the doctor told me, ] made up
my mind to a deliberate lie and breach
of trust. / didn't believe Inez would
regret his death much, and l knew that
the Girl at Home would. 1 asked the
doctor to get me one of Emlen's curls
che had beautiful hair), for his sweet
heart at home.
Had he sweetheart at homer ask
ed the doctor. How about the fair
Inez?"
Yes, he told me all about her."
answered. LAS to the fair Inez, think
we are all more or less attentive to her,
even the married men,"
The doctor laughed. He had a wife
at home, and he saw the point. He got
me the curl.
When 1 reached New York, opened
the package Emlen had given me and
took out his letter to the girl.
There was ring in it, so 1 knew that
he had deceived me, and that there
had been an engagement after all.
1 cut little hole in the corner of the
envelope, and took out the ring before
l burned the letter.
There was nothing else except a doz-
en- letters. all in the same woman's
handwriting. and a photograph of one
of the sweetest faces 1 ever saw.
Then 1 wrote the girl a letter in
which l told her how sorry / was to
send her such tidings: that had heard
about her from Emlen; that he had
given me those things to take care of
before he went into action, and that l
had thought she would like to have
lock of his hair; every word of which
was Gospel truth, so far as it went.
1 told her, too, what a fine fellow
Emlen was; how popular in the bat
talon, and reminded her, for her
comfort, that since his death was in
Simultaneous, he was spared all suf-
fering, telling her also, the pain
from gun-shot wounds in a climate
like that of Cuba is something ter
rible.
Then I did up the package again,
addressed 1t in my own handwriting
and shipped it to her by express
knowing that I had betrayed a dead
comrades confidence and broken my
word. Yet. 1 felt we'll satisfied with
myself, and I was still more so when
I received the girls letter of thanks.
You could see that she was heart
broken, crushed by her grief, but
pride in her dead hero was writ
ten between every line, and I felt
that his memory was her most prec-
ious consolation. 1t was easy to see
that the knowledge of his unfaith
would have been worse to her than his
death, and so I shall always be glad
that L lied to her about her lost lover.