The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-03-08

| On this occasion Eugenia remalheU i,i ~ parlor only short time. TOT "a sion, the mother played a rev oI 'iis ,S,,,. time tunes on the piano ana sang , l,is youth. This done she Wheeleu 9.t on the stool and began to talk about Paul. cot. ..,
 If I had a son like that" she said' should be immensely proud of nlm'
 You have fine daughter, sllas sug- gested, by way of consolation.
 She shrugged her shoulders. es, put you know, we always want tha' Wnieii we have not. Yet they say lha' envy 's among the mortal sins. ,..
 Did Paul ever see my picture 1hsfe' asked silas. changing the conversation.
 Why. I think so, replied the lady pla- cidly. II think he asked about II, ana I told him that we had known eaeh o.nef long ago, which was not at all the truth.
 what did Paul say to that?' asked Si- las eagerly.
 He said that while some people might think you were queer, you had been good dad to him." That's Paul all over" cried Silas, all in A glow; but what will the poor boy think when he finds out what you know?'
 "Why. he'll enjoy the situation,' said the lady, laughing.
 | Silas regarded her with astomshment, his hands clenched and his thin lips pressed together DO you think, Madam, that it is a matter for joke? Do you realize that there is nothing but whlm betwixt me and disgrace-betWl%t Paul and disgrace?'
 A whim?' She was laughins and yet 1t was plain to be seen that she had no relish for the term which Silas had un- Intentionally applied to her l T meant to say that if the notion seized you, you would fetch us down as a hunter bags a brace of doves.
 "Dovesw exclaimed Mrs. Claiborne. with a comical lift of the eyebrows.
 "Buzzards, then" said Silas with some heat. i've been called worse names than buzzard by people who were trying to walk off with my money And people who should have known better hated me because I didn't fling my money away after had saved it."
 ! Well you needn't worry about that, | Mrs. Claiborne remarked. You will have plenty of company in the money-grabbing business before long. I ca. see signs of | 1t now, and every time I think of 1t feel sorry for our young men, yes, and 1 our young women and the long genera | tions that are to come after them You remember how, before the war, we used to sheer at the Yankees for their money 1 making proelivities? We'll, it won't be very long before we'll beat them at their ] own game"
 Why you talk as if you were a poli tician yourself. But why are you sorry | for our young women2'
 That was nasty remark. I am sorry for those who will grow weary and fall by the waysde. The majority of them, and the best of them. will make them selves useful in thousands of ways, and new industries will spring up for their benefit They vii become workers, and, being workers, they will be independent of the men. and finally begin to look down on them as they should. As for me, I propose to become an advanced woman and go on the stage. I always told my husband that if he died and left me without money I proposed to earn my own living"
 You told your husband that? When did you tell him?' inquired Slas with some eagerness.
 "oh, long before he died" replied the lady.
 slas sat like one stunned. Do you mean to tell me that your husband is i dead?"
 'why, certainly" replied Mrs. claI- 1 borne. What possible reason could I have for denying or concealing the fact?"
 Then why did you come here and pre- tend-pretend-ain' you Rita Rozelle | that used to be?'
 "There were two of them" the lady re- | piled They were twins. One was named CIarita, and the other Floretta, | but both were called Rita by those who could not distinguish them apart I had reason to believe that you hadn't treated my sister as you should have done, and l came here to see if you would take the | bait. You snapped it tip before the line touched the water. It was not even nec- i essary for me to try to deceive you. You | simply shut your eyes and declared that I was your wife and that I had come"
 You are the sister who was going to school in-wasn't 1t Boston?"
 'Yes; that is why I am broad-minded and free from guile" remarked the lady with laugh so merry that 1t irritated Sias
 Then you have never been married to me Silas suggested. stlll frowning
 "I thank you kindly sir, 1 never have | been"
 Well you never denied it." he said
 You never gave me an opportunity" she retorted.
 You simply sat back and watched me make a fool of myself"
 You express 1t very well
 Slas squirmed on his chair. You did all NSu could to humor my mistake" he declared.
 ] "I certainly did," said Mrs. Claff orne. very seriously. 'I had good reason to be- | lieve that your treatment of my sister was not what it should have been" Good Lord! she wouldn't let me treat | her well. Why we hadn't been married | three months before she took a dislike 1 to me, and she never got over it. The | truth is, she couldn't bear the sight of me. I did what any other young man would have done. packed up my things and came back home, told Darlington | about 1t when I came back and he said the trouble was form of mysteries that finally develops into insanity | Yes. that was what happened to my | poor sister" said Mrs Claiborne "and I never knew the facts until a few months ago. Our aunt. you know, always cons tended that you were the cause of 1t all. But Judge Vardeman quite by accident. met the physician who had charge of the case. and have a letter from him which clearly explains the whole matter"
 Silas Tomlin sat silent for long time, his gaze fixed on the floor. At length he | stood up. stretched his arms above his head and drew long breath. "I thank you for laying my ghost and I'll bid you good night"
 CHAPTER xxx.
 , MT. Sanders Receives Messaqe.
 The demeanor of Mir. Sanders about this time was a seven days wonder in Shady | . hsa ba