The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1903-01-29
n Returning Sail. :
BY ELLEN L. III. w1ADpaAN.

40 not call il foolirbu,e.n ,,o
S"iu qu'etly; please 20 on"
wen, the end came soon. and ono
'"" oay we were gathered around
""'cilhg nm as he Slipped away from
"' 'S quickly and as silently as Johns
"o"' vanished from our sight this at
'erhooh. lie lay utterly motionlcss and
'oiceless. His wife knelt sobbng be-
Slde MN, while Bess sat on the bed
cloSe 70 him. her blue eyes wide with
wonder but with no fear in them"
lie looked at her inquirngly: "Do
you read Kipling, Miss Evans?"
Yes, some"
do you remember what he coys
about Amecra when she lay dying?"
She shook her head. what does he
say?"
She made no sign when Holden en-
tered, because the human soul is , vnrv
lonely thing. and when il is gc;tinp
ieauy 10 go away, hides itself in a mis-
y porderland where the living may
not follow
heSc words seemed to ring in nv
ears almost as if someone had SD0licn
thcm aloud, as | watched Frank poss
ing ana making no sign, and Thought
ne was gone. when suddenly the baby
callcd him: Papa. Papa verify be-
NcFc that his escaping soul turned on
! INC verge between this world and that
| misty Dor!cTland' beyond. 20 answer
hcr ior, as she called him. he opened
| MS eyes. looked at her. then al his
| vile. and spoke their names faintly."
lie stopped abruptly. a light wilma
SiSaed through the dropping willow
branches. and crcpt OUT over the wat
| cr in thousand shining crinklcs. TIE
nendulo"S leaves OF the pcplaIS on the
she or the steep bluff rising from the
sandy terrace pattcrcd like the sound
OF railing raindrops. From the upper
air the call Of a birI dropped clear and
sweet through tho stiffness.
DO | seem to you''-n puzzled frown
drew his heavy brows dcwn to a black
line over his keen eyes like a person
easily deceived by appearances, or cas-
lily trickcd?'
"A little smile Of amusement grew
around the rcd curve Of her lips
Anything but that she answered.
''Why?"
"Bccs;:sc that is what am half per-
suadcd NJ times that | was-a credu-
lous fool, lricked in some way. And vet
i know that WAS not. But" with an
impatient sigh. 1T is al SO incNniica-
hl" by any merely logical process Of
rcaSun;MG."
"WhGi is"
Tho iro"n dCcDcNch. F~" moment
his eyes. ohlivious OF her ANA ;ncir
&urro, llinE:i. looked h.',i, into the
past Then he began. sprnLing slowly,
IS if searching his mcmur" for every
detail:
"Aoont week after Franks death.
! was sitting alone in my room, which
VAS OH the second floor and at the
rear of the house.
There was but one door to the room
that opening into the upper hall. On
the side opposite the door was a
window, while at the back end OF the
room was d fireplace with a crate. In
the CRATE stood a large jar Of roses
that filed all the open space. My table
stood nearly in the centre of the room
and in front OF the FIREPLACE
"On coming in had closed the door
behind me. dropped into Il chair by the
table, and picking up book. had be-
gun to read. No sound broke the silence
Of the room, save the twittcr OF the
birds outside. or the voices OF chill
drcn playing. AS sat, had an unob-
structed view of the entire room, en-
ccpt the corner just bcnind me, and
that was filed with bookshclves.
II am particular in describing TO you
all these minute details, in order that
| you may Judge inr yourself whether
| anyone could have entered the room
unknown tC me and tr;ckCd nc in what
| afterward occurred.
CHANGING up from my book as
| took note of the familiar objects be-
| fore me; the books. the pictures on the
wall, the clock on the mantel just
| pointing the half-hour and the jar Of
roses in the fireplace, a mass Of pink,
| fragrant bloom. Slanting in between
the partly open Stats OF the shutter. a
ray Of sunshine fell across dish OF
| pansies on the window-sill making
them look like whimsical baby-faccs,
all a-smiling. The quiet. sunny room
was certainly empty Of any human
| form except my own.
"DroDping my eyes to my book. re-
sumed my reading. when instantly
something impellch me 10 look up again
and there before me. standing at TIC op.
positc side Of the taEic, between it AID
the fireplace and moi five feet away.
| was Frank. He iOokcd perfectly natur-
| al in every respect. He was dressed in
dark Suit that was familiar to ne.
His face wore the Same pleasant smile
| | used to know SO well, hut his eyes.
though kind had q strange. Sraya in
| tantncsS in thCir Stcadfast look THAI
Impressed me as an appeal.
AS the fact Of his presence flashed
upon nc in that swift glance. he smoke
60 NO: Dick [ want Boss. | want her
to come to me.
why do you want her to Gomez
asked. DO you think il would be bet
ter for her to go to you than to stay
here? Have you any knowledge of fu-
ture evils that might befall her on
carth?'
7 I,o T