The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-01-18


Todd" she said. What you got onto
the back of your vest?" William paus-
ed, put his hand behind him and en-
countered a paper pinned to the dang
ling strap of his waistcoat. The woman
ran to him and unpinned the paper.
1t bore a writing. They took it to
where the yellow lamp-light shone
through the open door, and read:
der Sir
"LoFer harkls al yo, Piles an gard
him yoR best venagesn is closterR,
harkls not Got das to live
I'VE come in Wife"
What We think, William?" asked the
Nman with the baby anxiously. But the
woman gave the youth a sharp push
with her hand They never dast to
do it," she cried. Never In the world
You hurry, Bill Todd. Don't you leave
him out of your sight one second"
AT THE PASTURE BARS: ELDER
BUSHES MAY HAVE STINGS.
The street upon which the Palace
Hotel fronted formed the south side
of the Square and ran west to the edge
OF the town. where it turned to the
south for a quarter of a mile or more
then bent to the west again. Some
distance from this second turn, there
stood, fronting close on the road, a
large brick house, the most preten-
tious mansion in Carlow county And
yet II was a homelike place, with its
rcd-brick walls empowered in masses
of cool Virginia creeper, and a COM
Portable veranda crossing the broad
front, while half a hundred stalwart
sentinels of elm and beech and pop
lar stood guard around 1t. The front
walk was bordered by geraniums and
hollyhocks: and honeysuckles climbed
the pillars of the porch. Behind the
house there was a shady little orchard;
and, back of the orchard, an old-fash-
toned, very fragrant rose-garden, di-
vided by long grape arbor, extend
ed to the shallow waters of a wander
ing creek; and on the bank a rustic
seat vas placed, beneath the syca-
mores.
From the first bend of the road.
" mere II lcll lHG lOWl anu DHGdIIlN TAI
ter some indecision) a country high
way-called the pike-rather than a
proud city boulevard, a pathway led
through the fields to end at some pas
ture bars opposite the brick house.
John HAIRLESS was leaning on the
pasture bars. The stars were wan. and
the full moon shone over the fields.
Meadows and woodlands lay quiet an
der the old, sweet marvel of a June
1ar~k,e T. l.
fiat lands, there sometimes comes
feeling that the whole earth is stretch
ed out before one. Tonight 1t seemed
TO lie so, in the pathos of silent beau
ty, all passive and still; yet breathing
an antique message, sad. mysterious,
reassuring. But there had come a d.
vine melody adrlft on the air Through
the open windows it fioated. Indoors
some one struck a peal of silver
chords, like a harp touched by a lover,
and q Woman's voice was lifted. John
HAIRLESS leaned on the pasture bars
and listened with appraised head and
parted lips.
ITO thy chamber window rowing, love
hath led my feet"
The Lord sent mama to the chill
dren of Israel in the wilderness.
Hsrkless had been five years in Platt-
Vile, and a woman's voice singing
Schuberts serenade came to him at
last as he stood by the pasture bars
of Jones field and listened and rest
ed his dazzled eyes on the big, white
face of the moon.
How long had it been since he had
heard song. or any discourse of mu-
sic other than that furnished by the
Plattville Band-not that he had no
taste for a brass bandl But music that
he loved always gave him an ache
of delight and the twinge of reminis-
cences of old, gay days gone forever.
Tonight his memory leaped to the last
day of June gone seven years; to a
morning when the little estuary waves
twinkled in the bright sun about the
boat in which he sat, the trim launch
that brought a CHEEKY party ashore
from their schooner to the Casino
landing at Winter Harbor, far up on
the Maine coast.
1t was the happiest of those last ir-
responsible days before he struck into
his work in the world and became a
failure. Tonight he saw the picture
as plainly as if it were yesterday; no
Renaissance had risen so keenly be-
fore his eyes for years; pretty Mrs.
Van Skuyt sitting beside him-pretty
Mrs. Van Skuyt and her roses! What
had become of her? He saw the
crowd of friends waiting on the pier
for their arrival, and the dozen or so
emblazoned classmates Gt was in the
time of brilliant f1annels) who sud-
denly sent up volley of college
cheers in his honor-how plainly the
dear, old, young faces rose up before
him tonight, the men from whose
lives he had slipped Dearest and jol-
lest of the faces was that of Tom
Meredith, clubmate, classmate, his
closest friend, the thin, red-headed
third baseman; he could see Toms
mouth opened at least yard, ii
seemed, such was his frantic vocifer-
BUSINESS. Again and again the cheers
rang out, HAIRLESS! Harkless!" on
the end of them. In those days every
body particularly his classrnates)
thought he would be minister to Eng
land in few years, and the orches-
ira on the Casino porch was playing
THE Conquering Hero" In his honor,
and at the behest of Tom Meredith, he
knew.
There were other pretty ladies' be-
sides Mrs. Van Skuyt in the launch
load from the yacht, but. as they
touched the pier, pretty girls, or pref
ty women. or joYial gentlemen, all
were overlooked in the wild scramble
the college men made for their hero
They hailed him forth, set him on
high, bore him on their shoulders
shouting "Skal to the Viking! and
carried him up the wooded bluff to the
casino. He heard Mrs. Van Skuyt say
"Oh, we're used to it; we've put in al
several places where he had friends!'
He struggled manfully to be set down
but his triumphal procession swept