The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-05-22

Hello! What is this? "A Memory
Book" 1t must be hers. He didn't
know she ever bothered about keeping
one Of those things. He remembered
seeing some that belonged to other
girls, full of cards and ribbons and all
that sort of truck.
He turned over the first page. There
was cigarette pasted to the top of the
sheet and under it the words Never
agan-1'm so happy and the date.
Yes by Jove. that was the day he swore
off on cigarettes, just a few months be-
fore he made a chump of himself and
had that quarrel. He didn't know it
made so much difference to her. But,
then, he had stuck to it, even through
1t all; and his shoulders unconsciously
went back little as he thought of it.
He turned over another page, and an
other and another-dance cards. flow
ers that he had given her; dozens of
little reminders of trips they had taken
together and places they had been to.
Another page, at the top Of which
was the date, December 25, 1885," The
day he made such a beastly fool Of
himself and left the sweetest little girl
in the world. There was the rose she
had pinned in his coat and which he
threw on the floor. Yes, there it was,
carefully pressed; and what are the
words under it?
He took it nearer the window and
read, "A Withered rose, a broken heart"
and there were stains around it which
might have been caused by tears.
And then she had cared; and if she
had only told him, but how could she
tell him when he had been such a cad
and rushed away from her and away
from the town without giving her a
chance.
He knew now that he did love her in
spite Of his self-arguing to the con-
trary, and he would tell her when she
came down that he was sorry and ask
her forgiveness. Yes, and maybe she
might learn to care for him again. Any
way, he would try to clear himself with
her and ask her to forget how he had
acted.
He moved his hand from the page
and it turned of itself, showing him the
date October 10, 1900" So she had
only started it again few months ago.
How strange. 1t had been laid away all
of this time.
What's this! A mans card. MIR.
Charles Robert Browne" and under it
the words His first CALL" He kept
staring at it, and saying over to him
self his first call" his first call"
He forced himself to turn the page
which fascinated him SO, and his eye
1eil oll some Wllnereu blossoms, and
under them the words, His flowers
which wore in my hair to please him.
I am so happy
A soft rustic of skirts brought his at
tention to the door, She advanced and
greeted him with outstretched hands
and bright smile, but her cheeks were
flushed.
Why how much older you look she
said, when he had fixed the pillows
around her.
His heart answered Eyes, he had
grown older in the last three minutes"
but his lips tried to smile and said
something about people growing old
faster in large cities.
When she started to tell him her Sc
cret and hesitated, he took her hand
in his and told her that he knew about
it and had come to wish her happiness,
that fairy had told him-a Christmas
fairy-but he would not tell who
AS he stood at the door and was
about to bid her goodby, he turned, and
looking into the deep blue eyes, said,
1T is strange that we who thought we
loved each other should both have loved
again. Yes" he continued, in answer
to her look of surprise. 81 too have loved
again since we parted, but you are the
lucky one, for the girl whom love
loves someone eIse.''
A few weeks afterward the girl in
looking through her Memory Book dis
covered that the page with the wither-
ed rose was gone, and then she guessed
the truth