The suburban citizen., 1902-07-26
IN WARD FIFTEEN.

! ling of the dress he opened hb eyes
and found a sweet.faced woman stand.
! ing near his cot, and she blushed and
turned away when she saw him look.
ing at her. And then Bill wished he
had kept his eyes closed. He began to
feel very funny about it all.
There was something about her face
that puzzled him. AS one pauses and
listens to the strains OF some old for
gotten melody, wonders where he heard
| it before, remembers and then recalls
the associations with which it is linked
| so Bill gazed at that gentle, peaceful
| face, the faded blue eyes with the
| crowsfeet in the corners and thought
| of 4 girl he used to know in Il little
town in the hills. Bill had loved that
girl That was why he went into the
army. 1t was all so long ago that il
seemed like dream, and yet the light
which still fingered in the eyes of that
kindly woman illumined his dream to
a semblance of reality and in mind he
| followed the light down the devious
grooves of change until the face Of his
old love shone vividly through the veil
of years Bill was puzzled to know
why that should be.
She came back the next afternoon
bringing with her a long pipe and sew
eral bags Of tobacco. The doctor says
you may smoke tomorrow, and maybe
I'll come and read to you"
Thanks, lady" said Bill, who felt
as one must feel to whom an angel has
stopped.
And she did come. and she Game the
day after, and although she visited
many soldiers it was Bill to whom she
used TO read Of the doingS at Montauk
Point, or listened while Bill in bis sim.
pie way told the story of his CAM
paigns once she told Bill of her little
home in the hills, where she hired a
girl to milk the cows and man to do
chores and help raise garden truck for
the market ever since her husband had
died. And when she told him this the
liglt of Bills dream became light in.
deed He knew now why she had been
kind to him. Strange thoughts began
10 ill his mind. and oftentlmes he
blushed behind his grizzled whiskers.
The woman began TO be known as
Bilrs widow, and they made mild sen
timental tests at his expense, but Bill
smiled
Il used to know her when she was a
girl,' was his only reply.
But there was one thing of which
Bilrs bunkies We're certain. and that
was If her Kindness to him was due to
the fact that he had known her when
she was a girl, the same explanation
could not be applied to her kindness to
the youngest soldier in the ward.
Merely a boy he was, and he had blue
eyes. too, much like the widows. A
shell had taken off his foot at the ankle
and he spent most of his time talking
of the pension and the two cork legs u
year that Uncle Sam was to give him.
He had been brought into Ward 10
only recently. But he had not been
there a day before every one knew that
Bill had a rival. There were some who
had seen her cry and kiss the boy
when she first saw him, and some had
it that the boy cried, too, although
this was not generally believed
One day she sat beside the boy. talk
ing earnestly the whole time, for near
ly an hour, and she stayed with Bill
only ten minutes For she was in
hurry. she said Then it was that Bill
realized, as had his comrades long be-
fore him. And then ne blushed again
and felt very foolish. Just little Bit
ter, too, he felt, and in dull way it
struck him that this was not the first
time she had made him feel this way.
But the first time was many, many
long years ago. The next time she
called BIZ made believe that he was
asleep, and so he did the next time af-
ter that. 1t was hard. though, and af-
ter she had gone tear trickled down
BilPs furrOwed cheek. But the third
time be pretended TO be asleep again.
This time, however, the steps fingered
10y bis cot he felt warm breath against
his cheek. but he kept his eyes closed.
Then came a softly whispered sen.
tence and then Bill opened his eyes
very wide. His comrades We're out on
the balcony, and the nurse was in an
other part of the ward, so no one can
say authortatively what followed. At
all events Bill did not feign sleep any
more, and often lie glanced protect
lngly at the little crippled rookie. OF
course he could understand why she
did not want him to know at first al
though she never told him why. He
should not have cared If she had three
| sons.
When Bill said goodbye to his bun
kies and told them he was going to re.
enlist they slapped him on thc back
and seemed glad that he had not fallen
down to the Jersey widow" And Bill
did enlist. The United States Army
was not aware of it. however, COR his
enlistment papers were filed in the ar
chiYes OF a little country church back
In the Jersey hills, and Bill often de-
clares that it was the most satisfactory
enlistment that he ever made-all the
more satisfactory since the crlppled
| pooiyi0 loc 1norpoJ 20 ,nn III.