The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-03
THE ADVERTISERS
 DAILY SHORT STORY

nary sense. and 1t is quite impossible that she could have drawn personal meaning from anything I said. Yes. yes, utterly.
 There was another night" he reflect cd. when I walked home with her-a night of moonlight and of damps laden with message of old-fas.--oned flowers We walked slowly. and she talked but; little, seeming much depressed in spirit. When she reached the gate sine impui-l sively caught my hand in hers. speakingI Tn confession. T have grievously offend sd cd, my ns, father and my mother: she said
 whom they consider unworthy. although they do not use so harsh a term. am most miserable. I know not which way; to turn. My soul is sleeping in dark ness Advise me and comfort me, my, pastor I was confused for a moment. II replied to her haltingly. My dear Miss Martha said, I can judge neither as. to the right or wrong of your position; for I know not the man. Is he a good man" The best on earth. she replied. The answer was as inevfta ble as the ques- tion was ridiculous. And he has given his heart to you" She pressed my hand. ihvoiuntariiy drawing nearer to me-so near that my lips almost touched her hair. He has not said so-yet.' Then seemed long. When I spoke my words were such as might have been expected-l from boy masauerading In the vest ments of wisdom. I prescribed passages & have prescribed medical agents from the apothecary's. Tonight 1 said. before you seek your bed read you from the epistles in your testament. First. John; second. James. the fifth verse of the first chapter. and the eleventh of the fifth Thus I may have directed her. And | swelled with pride that could So readily cite source of solace. Perhaps. If It she misunderstood me. Perhaps she read the fifth verse of the second epstle of John--John-second If she did"
 His hands clenched. beating softly upon he sat upright, reaching for the Book upon the desk. Rapidly he turned the leaves. Slowly he read the passage aloud.
 And now I beseech thee. lady, not as though l wrote a new commandment unto thee. but that which we had from the beginning that we love one another. What must she have thought? Certa,niy the passage being utterly foreign to the impressed her as having been cited de- hberatefy for another purpose. I beseech thee lady. that we loye-oh, blunderer! She avoided me after that. Little wonder I And from what felt to be high sense of delicacy. the purest of consideration for her embarrassment in having re- vealed herself to me in an unguarded moment. I avoided her. I thought l un- derstood. And she has been waiting all these years for-me. The roses must have been a personal tribute to me. She ceased to bring them when went away"
 He was convinced, and the convincing wrung from his lips a sound not unlike a groan. He glanced at his watch. An hour had passed since the departure of the caller. Under the impulse of sud den determination he leaned towards the desk and began to write
 A knock sounded upon the door. and he swung about In his chair to receive hle mail. He started violently when his glance fell upon the top letter of the Ia fo,.f f~<$ro ho prn Inn a r
 His hands trembled as he opened the en- velope.
 Dear MT. Siiverness" the letter said.
 T have just returned to the old home from long stay in California. and am about to marry Miss Martha Burlingame. It is her wish. as we'll as my own. that you otiiciate at the ceremony. Nll It be possible for you to do so next Weoneso day. the 18th? 1 will gladly pay you sooo for the service, and we will both be ever lastinsiy obliged and honored besides. An early reply will confer favor on yours truly. Hiram Aylesworth."
 Across the bottom of the sheet, In faminine hand. was this;
 The $500 may be devoted to missions if you so desire"
 The Rev. Mir Silverness sat for a time as if stunned. Then he bounded from his chair and executed series of steps most undignified.
 GO? To be sure I'll go!" he buhbled heavily T knew all rhe time that HI would come back. It vii be a treat. How preposterously l have distorted possibil- ities No man is wholly without guilt. I'll wire my accordance at once"
 Ttere was really nothing strange in the coincidence of his receiving caller and a letter from Bromley in one day. In reviewing the matter he saw nothing strange in any circumstance connected with it.
 But the hoy. whose duty it was to keep the study in order found next morning a crumpled sheet of letter paper upon the floor under the pastors desk. It bore these words: all these years to claim you for my wife if you can forgive my blindness. feel marvelously happy ,.. .,.,
 And the boy must have thought thls ciroumstance strange. for hc sniggered. closing one eve eloouently. and replaced the paper precisely where he had found It. by Elizabeth Cherry Waltz.