Monroe City Democrat. (Monroe City, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-10-01
A LOVE MATCH
AND A SEQUEL
0O-O-oo-o-oO-O-o-o-o-d

| Notwithstanding that relatives, mu-
tual friends. society. and the world
in general had selected MurieI Wynd-
ham as the future Mrs. Jack Caru-
| theirs, no intimation of such posi-
| bility had ever come to notice on the
part of the two persons most con-
| Cerned.
| OF a truth there was a certain physi-
! cal resemblance, which may have held
its own occult explanation. Brown
hair, with glints of red: hazel eyes,
heavily dashed, except that the one
pair that looked into tine other pair
had deeper, darker light, the differ
ence of it's own tenderer sex, or, per-
| haps, rarer nature.
But Muriel Wyndham-well. Harry
did not like her for one thing. Be
sides there had been some one else.
Muriel had been widowed at 10.
When the sound of that terrific ex-
plosion in Havana harbor had rever-
berated through the hearts of men,
young Tom Wyndham was one of the
| first to enroll with the volunteers.
| There had been a romantic flight to
the Gretna Green across the state
border.
They had run away and got mar
led" had promptly confessed, and
were as promptly forgiven by over
indulgent parents. as we'll as the
| equally indulgent uncle with whom
Muriel and her younger brother had
always made their home. So when
Tom Wyndham steamed away on the
special with his regiment, he left be-
hind wife instead of a sweetheart
| to wait and watch for his return.
But that was long ago, as youth
counts the years, and had it not been
for that extremely small person. The
Pocket Edition of Tom Wyndham," as
Muriels uncle called him, Jack might
have been able to forget that other.
But forever that soldierly figure,
which his mortal eyes had never be-
held, doomed up before his mental
vision whenever he thought of Muriel
and the gold mine of content that her
compaionship might mean to him-to
some other fellow.
Jack had never been able to ex-
plain this peculiar dislike for one so
utterly charming and universally well
| liked as was Muriel Wyndham. In
deed, Harry himself had never eX-
pressed it in so many words. Only
when Muriel was the subject, a fit
ting, disagreeable expression of cnun-
tenance, a bit of skillful innuendo,
and quick change of subject left the
intangible impression. And Muriel,
too, seemed to prefer to avoid Harry.
Once during the earlier days of his
business career, when one of the steps
from the foot of the ladder where he
he'd begun to learn the business"
which had led to a junior partnership
in the firm of which his father was
president, Jack had to serve a certain
length of time ION the road" And it
was on the road that Jack had met
Annabel Riley
She lived with her blind father, the
old colonel, in a picturesque vineclad
cottage on the outskirts of a small
town whore Caruthcrs had one or two
customers" and to keep the pct
boiling" for herself, her aged parent,
the village school.
Jack had sought and easily obtained
an introduction; had called and made
himself as agreeable as he could.
Shortly afterward, having served
his apprenticeship on that particular
round of the ladder he left the road"
to become one of the company"
OF course they 'corresponded"-a
desultory exchange of remarks about
the weather; had she read such and
such a novel? and papa's health. I'm
til one day a letter came-the old
colonel had responded to taps"
Jane was going back to her people. 81
am all alone in the world" she wrote.
1t had been a particularly trying
day with Caruthers. In the first
place he had met Muriel in the morn
ing, on his way to business, out walk
ing with that pocket edition." the
sight of which always irritated him,
carrying as it did in its sturdy little
body the infinite presence of that
lt5er one
~aruthers could not understand for
lie life of him what Muriel saw in that
BOY to be so fond of him.
He received Annabel's letter just
before noon, and all the rest of the
day he kept the picture OF her in his
mind as he had first seen her on the
shaded streets, with her tender, be-
lovad nharRaS