Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1904-11-02
II be could Int have Known,

If could but have known!"
Another year sped by.
Sidney Warde, merchant and bank
err, of New York city, had the reputa-
ton of being the hardest man of bust
ness and the most daring Spectator
known to the commercial world.
Everything he touched seemed to turn
to gold. His power was enormous.
MUM shares that were unstable at
par.
He had written brief letter to
Katie. congratulating her upon her
wedding, wishing her every happiness,
and signing himself, yours truly"
thus closing accounts, as he bitterly
imagined, with his own heart, and
with hers. But, sitting in his Office,
one afternoon, engaged in the perusal
Of an enormous pile of documents, a
missive, marked private" was placed
before him. 1t was addressed in a
feminine hand, and ne thrust it aside
unopened
"No, no." he muttered, restlessly;
II have done with all that"
He intuitively felt that it was from
Katie.
An hour afterward it again lay be-
fore him. He turned it over in
fidgety. restless way, and again put
it aside unopened
Still, he could not settle to his
work. For third time the letter
was in his grasp. This time he broke
the seal hurriedly, and laid the let
ter open upon his desk.
my dear old friend" it commenced.
He read no more, but leaving it still
open upon his desk, he paced the
room fretfully; then he thought of
the old times when he was yet boy,
and he returned to his place and hur-
riedly read as follows:
"My Dear Old Friend-I am sure
that in memory of the past you will
assist and aid me now. can hardly
hope, perhaps, that you should in.
terest yourself in my welfare, but for
my child's sake l must implore your
generous help. My husband is dead,
and l am sorely afraid that his ex-
travagant habits have absorbed nearly
the whole of our possessions. l wish
to see every creditor fully satisfied
yet know SO little of business mat,
tiers. do not care to place our az
fairs in the hands Of stranger. Will
you undertake the business for me:
l feel that l am asking very great
favor, under the circumstances, If yor
only knew. Come to me, Sidney, fol
the old times sake.
KATIE"
"Humbled at last!" muttered the
banker, with strange smile of salts
faction, as he folded the letter me
thodically, and placed it in his pocket
book. 1t was probably the only letter
in woman's handwriting that had
ever rested there.
A better feeling came anon Long
after business hours the concluding
paragraph, written by a hand that
trembled as it wrote, showing how
completely Katie had broken down
in her sad attempt to hide even from
herself the feeling that controlled her
Come to me, Sidney, for the old
times sake!" burned as letters of fire
into the cold and ashen heart of the
man of business.
Il thought the account was closed
but was wrong" he murmured %
must go to her, for she needs my
help"
Except that the mansion was occu
pied the place wore the same appear
ance as when he saw it last. He walk
ed across the iron bridge, ant
shrugged his shoulders disdainfull,
as he noted the ugly trellis-work tina
surmounted it. How different from
the rustic wooden pole that served a
finger mold and protection in the
simple picture that he SO well remem
bered. He walked up the marrow
pathway, and once again he stood
upon that threshold where his sorrow
and his fortunes had commenced.
She met him there and motionet
him into the little room where thei
last interview had taken place 81
many years ago.
He went through the accounts, an,
he found that after the payment O
her husbands debts she would hav
but bare sufficiency. The estat,
had been mortgaged and was no long
er hers. He conducted the investiga
ton with the sharp eye Of a thorough
business man. and in two days he ha,
statement of her affairs prepared
for fler perusal. But in those tw,
} days he had learned more than she a
first intended him to know.
He found, by connecting togethe
certain scraps of information, that he
wedding had been enforced by he
fathers desire and will.
She had waited nine weary year
for the return of the wanderer, fron
I whom she had received neither wor,
!. nor token.
t Were his actions free from b7ame?
e Her husband was rogue and
d spendthrift. who had neither Low
t nor respect for her. She had Gale
her baby Sidney, in remembrance O
S him.
e Then he thought of their child
d hoods days. when she was a grea
+ heiress and he was a poor boy, he
t companion by freak Of fortune.
s. Was ne worthy of her abiding love
D. He could not disguise the fact tina
e he had carried his bitterness towar
e, her father into the love he professe
t, toward her, and had caused his ow
o, misery by his own continued pride.
lie He pondered long and seriously
he ne found that the account was nj
closed; there was a great balane
I'd against himself
ed Kate he said. TREMENDOUSLY, "a
ed you remember that it was in tn
al very room that we agreed to sha,
lc- each others sorrows?"
nd Not that-not that" she reptile
III DO not reopen the Old
SIS the subject SO repulsive to yo,