The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-06-17
A woMAN's CHOOSING.

and onward al an angle Of fOrJy-five de-
| grees toward old Gro Nest Mountain
| mere were more growls and more sparks
and then the old-tirne mortar battery
ceased firing. The yearIings ar West
Point were showing the thousands of Wis
/ itors how TO handle. and handy quick
~ the old snub- nosed S-inch mortars
OF the siege battery.
Back OF the battery on the hill over
| Looking the finest view OF eastern North
America stood a little old-fashioned hotel.
| Tonight it was lighted up bravely, and
there was music and gayety both within
! and without II was The night before
| graduation day at West Point fifteen
years ago. While the yearlings were be-
| ing put through their artillery PAGES the
! graduates of tomorrow were foot loose
! from duty, and with scores of officers
were acting hosts at the hotel for the
hundreds of visitors.
Helen Forbes, q young New York so
/ ciety girl, sat on the veranda Of the
! West Point hotel, looking far away up
| the stariit Hudson toward Newburg.
There came the sound OF rapid STEP
! The girls eyes frightened. James De-
/ lsney, cadet first clasSman. tomorrow 10
write himself second lieutenant of artil-
4 lery, United States army, rounded the
/ corner of the yeranda- His face was
/ aglow, He was as fine a looking fellow
/ physically as one could find in the whole
! corps of cadets. He went straight TO the
+ girl. She held out both hands and greet
! ed him.
( Helen Forbes had met James Delaney
/ during the cadets furiough in his second
/ class year. The next summer she had
gone to the academy when he. with his
! classmates, were enjoying all the glor1es
which comes TO a first cIassnan during
/ the last encampment Of the academic
course. This sort OF thing Happens ev-
erywhere, perhaps, but is particularly
/ likely 10 happen at West Point, where
! popular belief to the contrary notwith-
standing, the cadets are not thrown into
/ the whirl of society. James Delaney, this
! cadet, this boy practically, fell in love
with Helen Forbes. and fell in love with
/ al the intensity of his nature.
| AS for the girl-well, it's hard telling
! anything where women are concerned
! She certainly gave Cadet Delaney every
reason to believe that she cared for him,
and cared for him deeply. The winter az
| ter her summer spent at West Point she
came out in society in New York City.
/ She was a beauty, and the men soon
| found it out. Her father was not rich,
and Helen was ambitious That was a
gay inter in New York for Helen
| Forbes Her mother had promised 10
take her TO the graduating exercises at
| West Point At the time that she met
Delaney on the veranda she had been at
the place d week and had seen him again
and again.
Let us go for walk" said Delaney.
She rested her little white hand on his
gray coat sleeve just below the gold eheV-
rons that told his rank as cadet cap
| tain. and together they passed along
the veranda In moment the open door
OF the hotel office was at their right.
Helen Forbes glanced within. She gave
a little start and half withdrew her hand
from Delaney's arm.
All solicitude. he turned. What is it!'
he said.
and in saving it Helen Forbes told no
lie
Shall we go in?" asked the cadet.
mo; let US walk.
They went down the hotel steps through
the lantern-lighted lawn, by the front OF
the cadet encampment, back OF the ola
battery of Napoleon R-pounders, ana
finally reached Kosciuskos garden Ihey
heard the waters Of the Hudson murmur-
ing against the bank below. The splash
of the fountain by which the old Polish
patriot loved TO sit was in their ears.
They heard in a subdued way the music
from the hotel.
Well it's a story that's been told anu
told and told again, and still viii be told
when a hundred generations to come nave
gone from earth. Helen Forbes was am
bilious. There was no future such as
she dreamt of in life as the wife of sec
ond lieutenant of artillery, stipened sl'4yo
a wear. She had led Delaney TO believe
that she loved him. That night she
said oh didn't know it was Ike this,
and l am sorry. but it can't be. nate
to wound you, II wound ii Is TO be, but
did not know and in saying she did
not know Helen Forbes lied woman's
lie.
Delaney stood it like a soldier, though
the wound was deeper than any that
came TO him in after years in the MID
He stood up straight In that moonht
garden, gave Helen Forbes his arm, ana
by the course they had come they re-
turned to the hotel The music was
/ there. but in one boys heart there was
neither music nor light.
They reached the veranda. They were
almost on the same spot where they had
met earlier in the evening There was
a step behind them; it was rather a heavy
step. Helen" came voice, strident
voice.
Helen Forbes had just said to James
Delaney. You don't know ali my heart
but it is best that what you have asked
me should not be.
At the sound Of a voice from behind
she started as though stunned. and then
turned quickly and dropped her compan-
a
toward them. He said; I came up on
the boat to surprise you, Helen
There was no pleasure in the girl s face
She turned 10 Delaney and said: Mr.
Delaney let me introduce Mr- Packard.
OF New York" Delaney looked into the
mans face. It was eager and self-sat!s-
fed. The stranger was holding out both
hands 20 Helen Forbes. Delaney looked
from one to the other and knew IL all.
Tho next winter Helen Forbes axe 70,
was married 10 Thomas Packard, age %
and worth two millions.
Fifteen years passed. Mrs Packard sat
in her New York residence. Her hus-
band had Just come in. Helen" he said
Il want you 10 look your best tonight
and do your best 70 be polite 20 George
AIulleus. the rich Chicago banker ! ex-
pect TO turn a deal with him
Helen Packards face was cold She
was a beauty yet. In reply 20 her hus-
bands remark she said: VERY we'll.
II DO my best
Packard left the room His wifes eyes
followed him. There was something al
most Ike a sneer IN them Then her
thoughts turned backward II was just
fifteen years ago that day. Something
like a sigh and then the woman turned
and picked up a newspaper 10 glance ~ ~
for the sole purpose Of dtyeTting her
thoughts What Kind OF a fate vas BE-
that had brought those two paragraphs
which she found staring AZ her from ire
printed page. into juxta7ositiou7 she
read the hrs1- Il ran Ike th.s
Thomas Packard pulled cat 3, % as
4 result Of his recent deal n pork TIE
little fellows were squeezed and several
% them lost everything they had 81 the
wor.d- sIr. Packarda poSS deal vas