Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1902-05-10
THE IMposTOR.

| spent good deal of time in his house
but my visits had nothing 20 dc with
Julia, his daughter, all gossip to the con.
trary Notwithstanding. TO be sure her
presence added life to our little gather
ings, for, indeed, she was a vivacious,
weil-edueated girl, but my heart belonged
to another representative of her sex.
was really interested IN the old man. He
talked most entertainlngiy Oh almost any
topic under the sun, and he had an easy
going sort of humOr which was ire
sistible.
That he had a son | learned from Ju-
lia, wins was as communicative and gush-
ing as she was gay.
You know | have a brother some
where" she once said TO me. First
promise on your word of honor that you
won't tell father | told yon. But no, |
won't tell you anything. You shouldn /
have let me blab that much either"
Look here, Fraeulein Hartmann" l
said. seriously, IF the matter is really
a secret you had better think twice be-
fore you go on.
That's all right. am so full of ii
must speak about it to somebody. All |
want you TO do is to pledge your word
of gentleman that it will go no far
Their"
/ onlv shrugged my shoulders. but this
must have been interpreted by Julia as
Il SHtTRu Odtu VI utSGGfllDH. lbI NuE iuI~
mediately preceded to tell me the s.ory.
II never saw him" she began. He
was born six or seven years before
came into the world. when our parents
lived in Cologne. When he was > years
old the landlady of the house in which
they lived took liking to him. A lik-
ing is 10 word for il. She was all
wrapped up in the boy. You see, she
was childless and Il cranky, nervous crea-
r1pa apnpybnFv oaiiG1 hpP epP0zV fnon
and some people said she was actually
out of her mind half the time. Her
husband soon died and she sold all her
property and went TO America, where
she had a sister and two brothers. AT
that time my father did not know she
was going away. He found it out when
it was too late You see. she was so
fond of my brother that my parents had
to let her take him 10 her house some
times. They hated to do it, and my
mother had foreboding that it would
lead to trouble. but the widow would
beg them so hard they could not refuse
her. Well, the long of it is the crazy
woman stole the boy and before my pa
rents knew where she was she landed in
America with him. She wrote MS all
about il as soon as she arrived at her
sisters and begged us to let her keep the
child promising to bring him up Wen
and to make him her sole heir. My IA
Their wrote to some friends in America.
but nothing came of it. When she found
ont that he was bent on getting back the
child she stopped writing altogether and
fathers friends could not find her. La
ter on my parents heard from Ter from
Australia. Again she assured them that
Victor was well taken care of, but there
was no address in her letter and that
was the last they heard of him -the last
until Yesterday BY the way, Victor was
his real name, but she changed il to hide
his identity"
Didn't your father try to get the
ehild?" l asked.
'Of course he did" she answered, test
i1y. But all this happened a few years
before / came into the world, so how am
to know what he did and what he did
not in those days? All l do know is that
he did not leave a Stone unturned, but
that's not what | wish to tell YOU.
You're inqufSitive as woman, and am
sorry ! have told YOU so much.
| must confess my curiosity got the bet
ter Of my sense of dignity. l begged her
Well she said. with patronizing
smile. Il am not going o torture YOU.
My father received a let ter from him
yesterday. He would not tell me what
Victor said, nor where he was. except
that he expected 10 be here in month
or two. When begged father to let me
see the letter. he said | talked too much,
and that he would wait until Victor as
tually arrived and he made sure il was
not a dream.
1t was no dream At least at the time
was introduced to the man who said he
was Victor we had not the slightest sus-
picion that he was somebody else. and
that the real Victor-but then, | am
afraid ] have fallen into Julia's habit
of "blabhing"
He was a well-built fellow of 90. with
reddish hair and regular features. He
certainly bore some resemblance TO Herr
Hartmann. and my old friend was in
the seventh heaven He was both an
Australian and an American having
spent his childhood in both countries by
turns; hut he spoke good German. and
his present residence was in an English
town in the West Indies, where he was
eStab i3Shed in business as he said.
One afternoon. in the course of a walk
took with Herr Hartmann, my friend
said TO me;
You must be curious to know the
story of my SON. And after going over
the events with which | had been made
familiar by Julia he went on; The rest
of It Is very simple. That crazy wonl-
an told her relatives n lie: She passed
nay sou for her own. He grew un
that way. Only recently-a year or two
ago he learned the truth by mere
chance. He came across an OLD neighbor
Of o~~s. who told him that the woman
he thought his mother was childlesS and
related the circumstances OF her disap-
pearauce He Investigated the matter,
and from thousand details he came
20 the conclusion that II was all true.
Then il Was he wrote to me. Ii was all
SO strange. and | was rs slow to he
t2Ve that he IVES my boy as he was TO
believe that | was his father. but a
correspondence, of which my daughter
knows nothing. established the truth be-
yond a doubt. That's all there is to it,"
As he smoke l noticed that his face
was clouded and that the ring OF good
humor which usually accompanied his
talk was absent from his voice, Ii
seemed to me as though my friend were.
worried. as if instead of being over
loved ~ the great event he looked pen-
sve, wiStful heavy-hearted.
One evening Julia said to me;
My brother must be in trouble I
know nothing about business matters, OF
course. hnt | feel that his affairs are
out of shape and that he is poor man
He is so haShful and retieent. YOU know,
hut | can see he is anxious TO talk to
papa about his affairs and has not the
courage to do SO. Poor fellow. il keeps
me awake nights. l am 50 fond of him