Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1902-08-16

wire was secured by wv of the Cen
trail the day repeater on our division.
Hcw wv could sling electricity But
ats neither here nor there. / sim.
listened to him with one ear, and
the other to Mrs. Hadley. wis
"a> talking about her dear Charlie
Charms MAS such a good boy she
t.a; ano can see just how she looked
n she said it. SO thoughtful, too.
H-'ery TUESDAY when go to the office
-tlLsre is Charles letter IN the box.
How 1 would miss that letter if It
failed to arrive! But ii never will
not while Charlie is alive and well.
He loves his old mother, Charlie does,
and love him better than any one else
on earth. 1 can hardly wait, so
anxious am l to clasp him in these
arms
While she was talking the sounder
clicked: 'B-N-B-N.' That was my
office call, so 1 answered IL. Then,
listening to Mrs. Hadley with one ear
and to the sounder with the other, I
copied this, one of the most hateful
messages that ever passed over a
wire:
"Man fell from express. Lived to
eXclaim that his name was Charles
Hadley. Home at your place. Last
words were; Break it gently to
mother" and died.
Break it gently to motherl' Think
of thati Think of it, 1 say, and with
that mother sitting where you are, in
the self same chair. Glaring at the
message blank, / read and reread il.
and wondered If 1 dreamed. feared
to give the %. K lest had misunder-
stood. Instead, grasped the key and
wired: g. Alb. g. Ego ahead from
beginning), and the message was re-
peated. 1t was the exact duplicate of
the first. Then, giving the %. k
reluctantly turned and glanced across
the room. 1 tried to speak. but the
effort was useless. The words stuck
In my throat. l could only stare at
that mother, who continued talk like
this:
Charles room Is all arranged
just as he left it when he went away.
1 know his little peculiarities. you see,
and so have humored him in every
whim. Neither could l eat alone to-
night. and so have arranged the table
for two. We will eat together, Just as
we used to in the past. Just as we
used to in the pasti All, sir, the gloom
surrounding the old home has disap-
peared. It's all sunshine tonight
all sunshine. II did seem when I
started for the train as II the flowers
in the vases looked brighter. and the
canary bird sang sweeter. and the old
clock licked with livelier sound. I
must have imagined all this. II would
be quite natural. you know. Happi-
ness makes the world look bright. and
am happy tonight, for Charlie is
coming home
Coming home Dare I tell her
how her boy was coming homer II
seemed like murder to speak the
truth. j picked up that message blank,
twisted 1t around, then desperately
unwound II and twisted Il over again.
But my tongue was mute. Then came
the whistle of the express. The crisis
had come. Mrs. Hadley started to her
feet. She turned toward the door.
Hardly knowing what I did, rushed
toward her, grasped her by the arm.
and cried; Don't goi
"She looked at me in surprise.
"'My Charlie has arrived
Your Charlie cried, the sound
er says your Charlie is dead
"The deed was done. She stared at
me a moment-glared, almost-and
then, realizing the truth, staggered
and pitched forward into my arms.
See the top of that Balm o. Gilead over
the hill? They sleep beneath IL, side
by side-Charlie and his mother. Here
is your train, sir."-N. Y. Times,