The daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1904-1905, 1904-04-27


generally called his mothers boy, for
he had her red gold hair and bright
blue eyes. His fathers nature lay the
mostplainly In moments of excitement,
and at such times. even during his
childhood. young Donald would exhibit
the solemn, superficial calm and ex-
treme precision Of speech which had al
ways characterized the deacon" when
in a high state Of nervous tension.
II he had during his youth such
psychic experiences as are not the COM
mon lot of humanity. I was not able
to observe them. A few vague hints
of no more Importance than the school
girls remark which / have quoted
would have been the best evidence
that could have adduced previous to
the month Of June in the year 1899.
We were expecting him home from
college in q week or two when We were
surprised by receiving this telegram:
Last exam. today. Leave Immediately.
You will see me tomorrow.
We knew that he had intended to
stay beyond class day and that the
varsity baseball nine, Of which he was
a member, had not closed it's season, 80
the message puzzled us and gave rise
to considerable anxiety. His mother
telegraphed for an explanation. but no
answer came. On the morrow, how
ever came Donald himself, hale and
happy, and handsome beyond the
dreams of romance. When we assailed
him with questions, he stared at US.
"Why. there's no particular reason
hn
felt like it; that's ALL"
Then after pause he added:
II wonder why the dickens I did
| come? l can't think. unless it was be-
cause l wanted to see my very best
girl"
Whereupon he put his arm across
his mothers shoulders and kissed her
! tenderly upon the forehead and hair.
! To all appearances Dorothy might in
| deed have been his Every best girr' or
perhaps his sister, but surely not his
mother She had preserved her youth
! full looks to a degree that is beyond the
! credence of the reader. so that | shall
not attempt to state the truth about it.
When she was thirty, the Tunbridge
people spoke of her with wonder. and
|
! then.
Donaldson. upon the other hand. has
aged greatly. He is a worrying man,
l am afraid, and must always be so.
Moreover. he received peculiar in
jury some years ago, when an old fac
tory building which we bought from
the Strobel estate collapsed while a
dozen of our workmen were inspect
ing it with view to aScertaining its
needs. Donaldson was the first to per-
ceiye the peril, and it is said that he
sustained a mass of falling timbers in
! the posture of Atlas long enough
| to permit several of his compa niOnS to
crawl out to safety who would other
wise have been shut in. a maze of
tradition has grown up around this in
cident but It really involved nothing
more than Il very ready and brave use
Of great physical strength. Though he
escaped broken bones or any specific
hurt to which the best of doctors could
give location or name, he was never
the same man afterward. He began
to stoop in the shoulders and to move
more slowly, and upon his fOrtysec
ond birthday his hair was as white as
mine.
He was morbidly sensitive about the
change in his looks. though he had
come by it so honorably. and | have
seen tears in his eyes when strangers
have spoken of Dorothy as his daugh-
ter. l think that he had always held
too high an idea Of youth. 1t is COM
mon fault and was exaggerated in him
by his love of Dorothy, who would not
grow old. She seemed to stand still
while he was dragged onward in the
grip of time. This is the natural sor-
row of women. but one which men are
rarely called upon to bear.
When Donald came home that June
day, his father was busy about some
matter Of immediate Importance, and
so the boy and walked down to the Of
fee, as we call it, separate building
upon the other side of the street from
the factory. 1 was witness Of most
affectionate greeting. Donaldson was
very proud Of his son, as he had every
reason to be, and the boy loved him
heartily. Afterward Donald paid his
respects to the office staff. especially to
cid Jim Bum. our cashier. and his
crippled assistant, Tim Healy, some
times called Tiny Tim, youth who sat
on a very high stool and kept the hand
soonest set of books in the state of New
Jersey.
lost sight of Donald for a little
while and subsequently discovered him
in my private office. He was sitting in
my chair. with his head thrown back
and his clasped hands pressed hard
; across his eyes. 1 asked him what was
the matter and he started up and be-
gan to walk around the room in a pc
cular, aimleSs fashion.
"Uncle john" said he at last. "every