The Alaska prospector., 1904-07-07
A Cluster of ViO1ets<<%
By ELLA s. wIrHERILL.

T LAURENCE MATHEW wns the l. quietest of all the travelling men connected with the firm of Knight, Powers x Co. the most prosaic, un- sentimental, matter-of-fact fellow one would find in months search. So when Horace Worth, another drummer for the same house-one raw, chilly day in March. chanced. to stepinto Frantz Karter's, the florists, just in time to hear Mir. Mayhew say: ".Iow. Mir. Karter, do not fail to get q violets off by to-day's express. Same address as usual, you have it, suppose. And here. put this card in tl Q box; my train leaves in 15 min- nj es, or I would stay until you got q em packed" and when Worth acci- dontally saw that the card bore the inscription: "To my darling. with Q hearts best love-Laurence," to put 1t mildly, he was astonished.
 Hello. old fellow" said he, 'sentl ing violets to your best girl, eh2"
 "Yes, I thought they would surely be appreciated such dismal day as this"
 Well. you are the last man I would ever suspect of being guilty of falling in love; a confirmed old bachelor like you. with plenty of gray hairs. But they say when a man of 40 or over does get hit with Cupid's arrow he is hit hard"
 At any rate," laughed Mayhew. "in this instance confess it is true, I am Init hard as you say. and my best girl is the dearest girl on earth," and he hastened away to the depot. where his sample case had preceded him.
 Worth had only entered the employ of Knight. Powers & Co. six months before, but during the time he had met Mayhew several times and had liked him from the first. mentally clubbing him good fellow. with . keen sense of humor, ready to take or give joke in his quiet way. but seldom entering into the storytelling of his brother knights of the grip, when-as was occasionally the case some of them met at the end of their several trips; and he had never been heard to boast of the pretty girls he had met, or fiirted with, as some of the others were wont to do. So the above incident impressed itself upon the memory of Horace Worth, who, although voluble. easy-going man, was kind hearted almost to a fault, and possessed of. strict sense of honor.
 Two months later MT. Worth hnp- pened to be spending Sunday at a small town some 50 miles out from the city. Saturday evening the ln- dies of one of the churches were serving ice cream and strawberries In hall near the hotel where Worth was stopping. and to while away an Idle hour us much as to help in a good cause. he strolled in about nine o'clock. and took Q seat at one of the tables.
 A bright little woman came forward to serve him, and he instinctively noted rplain, but attractive face, lit up by large gray eyes. and crowned with wealth of hair. once dark brown. but now thickly threaded with silver. The rush of the earlier part of the evening being over, he was the only one at that table, while disposing of the daintily served re- treatments the little woman brought in response to his request: so, seeing that he was stranger in town, and seemed to know no one. she remained by the table pleasantly chatting in a manner that showed her to be a lady in every sense of the word.
 Soon some one called. -"Oh, Mrs. Mayhew. please come here a minute. !" and saying Excuse me" she has. tened away.
 ' Five minutes later she returned, MT. Worth not yet having paid for his refreshments. As he handed her the amount he said: Pardon me, but heard your name called, and it is . familiar one to me, e another trav. cling man with the firm represent bears it. MT. Laurence Mayhew. Is he relative of yoursf"
 Quickly smiling. she said: "Oh, do you know Laurencef Why, he is my husband. I am glad. sir to meet . friend of his; may ask your name 7'' Horace Worth, at your service, 1" replied he. lowing. but you surprise ms. did not know that Nr. Mayhew had married; may inquire how long since the happy event took place?'
 "Did not know that Laurence va msrried7 That is strange" laughed She; yet peEhApo not strange eithse