Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1902-01-18

and seeing he expected me to
something, / answered: "Yes, / dal
say il is the best thing to do.
It's well TO be or with the old Low
Before you are on with the new
Emlen looked reproachful. He IN
big, brown eyes which could acsualN
ly talk, and answered sorrowfully:
you don't understand. 1 have
never been in love with this girl, but
| really am fond of her, and L hope
we will always be friends. 1t is only
that she has taken too much for
granted, and ii wouldn't be fair to
her to marry her, loving another
woman with all my soul"
His eyes had their effect. I was
sorry for him, in spite of myself; all
the more that 1 hadn't bit of faith
in Senorita Inez.
"Oh, yes, 1 understand perfectly,
and I'll ship your package all -igAk,
l hope all may turn out happily, any:
way. Honesty is the best policy"
That was the last time L 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, I made
mp my mind to a deliberate lie and
breach of trust. / didn't believe Ioez
Would regret his death much, and I
knew that the Girl at Home would.
asked the doctor to get me one OF
Emlen's curls (he had beautiful
hns rl lie
Had he a sweetheart at homer"
asked the doctor. How about the
fair Inez?"
Yes, he told me all about her."
answered. "As to the fair Inez, I
think we are all more or less atten-
= tive to her, even the married men,"
The doctor laughed. He had
wife at home, and he saw the point.
He got me the curl.
When I reached New York, L
opened the package Emlen had given
me and took out his letter to the
girl.
| There was a ring in it, so knew
that he had deceived me, and that
there had been an engagement after
all.
! L cut little hole in the corner of
the envelope, and took out the ring
before / burned the letter.
There was nothing else except q
dozen letters, all in the same wom-
ans handwriting, and photograph
of one of the sweetest faces / ever
1 saw.
| Then ! wrote the girl a letter, In
which told her how sorry L was to
send her such tidings; that 1 had
heard about her from Emlen; that
he had given me those things to take
care of before he went into action.
and that 1 had thought she would
like to have lock of his hair; every
word OF which was Gospel truth, SO
far as it went.
told her, too, what 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 gunshot wounds in a climate
like that Of Cuba Is something terri
BILE.
Then j did up the package again,
addressed it in my own handwriting,
and shipped it to her by express,
knowing that had betrayed dead
comrades confidence and broken my
word. Yet, felt well satisfied with
myself, and 1 was still more so when
1 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 /
felt that his memory was her most
precious consolation. 1t was easy
to see that the knowledge of his UNI
faith would have been verse to her
than his death, and so shall always
be glad that lied to her about her