Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-10-07
4 Miss JOS Romance !
M 'Ao0 ""
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
LEX S~

She carefully treasured Lnem III Iuo
lavender scented drawer In the living
room, and had wept over them
many times. It was the twenty fifth
of June now, her fortieth birthday,
the last she would ever spend in the
Mill House, and a strange fancy
seized her.
From out the long drawer upstairs,
from it's wrappings Of soft paper, she
took her wedding dress-it was to be
her sbroud, too; that she had long
ago settled, and she held it up and
shook out the folds Of the skirt.
It was of lilac-colored material, and
cuffs and collar were edged with lace
She put It on, laughing mirthlessly,
and looked at her attire in a long,
old-fashioned mirror coeval with the
settle downstairs.
Slim, graceful and erect she stood;
her ring Of tiny diamonds on the left
hand caught the light; her hair, more
than ever gold FURNISHED, looked like
a halo.
There was a smile on her lips as
she went down the narrow, boxed-in
stairway. The door was still open,
the blackboard lay on the table, and
on it, written large in the handwriting
she knew and loved: Guy Hale, 25th
June, 1908"
Then, I think, she tainted.
"Jol Jow
poordod ord hroozo6 tho man had
stepped into the room and raised her.
Her hand lay upon his breast, his
arm was around her and he pressed
his lips to hers.
She revived almost at once and
sprang from him, standing erect,
looking taller and more graceful than
ever in the well-ftting wedding
gown.
How dare your How dare your"
she gasped.
''Who has better right, 10? After
long years, 10, sweetest and most
faithful"
"You have a right? You have a
right, Guy?"
"You gave me the right twenty
years ago, my poor, thin, wan Jov'
"She is dead!"
Her voice was soft, tremulous, ca
ger.
'You, who know me, know should
not be here IL she were not"
He did not attempt to embrace her
again, but stood apart while this new
wonder sank into her heart.
This woman, the girl woman of
forty, had starved for love, pinned and
fretted for one look from the eyes she
so dearly loved, for one cadence of
the voice that had just rang clear in
her ears.
And hope fulfilled held her straitly
tonguetied.
"Come to me, Jo." There was a
rutter in his tones that was not there
before.
lie aeld his two hands out to her
as If they had been manacled at the
wrists, big and ungainly in everything
he did. Gently, looking straight into
his honest eyes, she patted the two
brown hands, and the girl-woman,
who rarely shed a tear, was sobbing
happily upon his breast.
"But why do find you still here,
my 10? thought you would have
taken one Of the new houses over
harrington way. We were to have
settled there when we married, dear
heart"
"Guy-this is my last night in the
old house."
And she told him Of the overdue
rent, Of the awful struggle the last
few years had been, and what from
pride her lips did not tell him her
eyes did.
"But, child, you had birthday card
from me every yearv
81 have nineteen, I think"
There was no think about It; she
knew the exact number.
"Then you have about eight hum
dred pounds in the house, If you have
kept them. My dear, things have pros
pered with me beyond all knowledge.
I went to Canada when-when We
parted, and one Of my patents was
taken up almost at Once-that was 8
tiny fortune. Then I discovered q
method Of treating stubborn ore-but
this, Of course, is Greek to you, and
don't wrinkle your forehead like that,
10; it Is most unbecoming and so
from one thing to another things have
gone we'll with me and am well of.
Perhaps 1 might even be able to sat
isfy your brute Of landlord. I might
even afford to buy the house and the
mill"
But what has this got to do with
those quaint birthday cardsT
ooh, forgot that part!"
She had brought the bundle from
the drawer, and taking one up he
pulled at one Of the little tabs Of red
silk and withdrew a twenty pound
note.