The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1902-04-05
The letter That Came
BY WILLIAM
Copyright, 1904, by Daily Story Publishing Coz

T-.H' ITr.E .t"f- =
Joseph Major" said the little man
IN the gray serge suit, to the clerk in
Side the postof1ce window, who, TAX
ing q second glance of kindly inquisi-
it1veness at the gentle face outside,
handed him several letters.
The little man hustled away handling
over the letters until one of them
caused him to stop in his steps. It a
q scared and yellow envelope, bearing
In Its whole appearance, in the crampf
ed handwriting and in the stamp up
In the corner, a look of years, as II it
had dropped, meteor-like, from the
ear-away past. 4
The man stood, turning it over in
his hand, regardless Of those passing
and repassing him. many of whom
turned curious glances toward him.
On his face expressions of amazement,
pleasure, sadness and CONSERVATION
succeeded each other with a kaleido-
scopic rapidity. A moment afterward
he walked away from the postohce,
and, crossing the street, to a small
triangle Of grass adorned with shrub
OOAy duO 6C0Io dA0 uSsN OuoAJ
q park, he seated himself in a retired
spot, and with trembling fingers and
tast-going breath, opened the envelope.
AS he glanced at the first lines his
face grew white and drawn and he
stared at the contents as If he were
looking at a ghost. He leaned back
and his hand sought his forehead as
If seeking to brush away cobwebs from
his brain. This was what the letter
was, written in an uniformed INT
girlish hand:
csiroyilis :, o. !: April p t .; l : se,t
when l came home and found that you had gone
to the war and I had not seen you to say
found your letter waiting for me and explaining
It all. and that was something, though. l don't
sfs we oSe; y0a Of should eSafse h 9oa d stdFt Eight ee to en' list
and am proud Of you for It.
ae set' Sc. ss' you so' again; v tSss At ! t aa9 moment eaas e %es
now you may be wounded and suffering. and !
an here helpless, it seems as II ! , cannot ct bear ts,s
you, and you are hundreds Of miles away. AZ
lon ta anS l. %aR hen to ai rest ana IN tho he' little Is0e Cemetery es,
on the hill; OF course. Joseph, You can rely ,
everything was so uncertain while mamma was
Ill and l felt that my first duty was to her
90O l COulQ not say 30yC0lnR mOr6 OeuultS SucH
but now that she is gone I belong wholly to
you; In,
tn MseG ts: sasa' ! trouble. sss you en sfs'1 when :aa ! Tn read vi, "
read the long lists Of dead, wounded and miss.
ing my heart beats SO that It seems that 1t
Goodbye, my dear Joseph. and may God pro
rect and keep You from harm.
Your loving 'wef M%RT PRESTON.
His eyes fingered yer the signature.
All those gentle, loving words he had
so longed to hear and never had they
reached him during all the weary
years. The words rang in his ears.
His heart beat them out in its pulsa-
tions, and his eyes saw them wherever
he looked. The bitterness and sad
hess of it all. filled his heart with ach-
ing, and seemed to crush his very soul.
He sat gazing at the green grass,
the trees, the singing birds and the
children playing about him, but he
saw none of these-only the tragedy
Of his life!
Thirty years before he reflected and
saw himself a boy, just entering man
hood, hard at work on the farm with
q step-father who had little use for
him except as a working machine,
with no mother, sister or close kin to
look to in those years of longing for
companionship; but with one friend
the sweet, black-eyed girl, to whom
his sensitive nature had turned for
sympathy.
Again he heard the roll of the drums
and felt the thrills that went through
him when, as a boy, he heard of the
country's danger and the call for men
and yet more men. Again he drilled
as a raw recruit and marched away
to the war, the one pang at his heart
being that "The girl he left behind
him. was not there to listen to his
last goodbye. She had gone with
her mother in search by the latter for
relief from the dread disease which
had blighted her life and in the hur-
rying changes from one place to an
Other, he did not know where to address
her. And so he had left a letter for
her at her home, to which she was
soon to return,
He recalled the weary weeks and
months Of war and Of waiting for the