The Opelousas courier., 1905-07-15
THE OLD w

BY Mathew White, Jr.

: VI IOur years, on MS wedding journey
Gwen recalled now as she hurried
from to In search of tina
time table, how aterh his father hac
been With him for his haste, a stern
ness that, more than anything else
had fired Arthur with the determi
ton and show the world that 1t was
not all of life to do simply the bidding
of the woman he loved. For Rose had
bitterly opposed his going. And this
fact had added %poignancy to her grief
the memory that she may have part
ed with him without giving him
a heartfelt "Gadspeed' for his journey,
His d~isappearance she had come to
loo@ upon as her punishment.
At last the time table was found, and
the afternoon was spent by the two in
porting over it and driving back and
forth to the station to see if any tele;
gram had come. But ever the absence
Of messages inspired Rose with re-
newed hfpe, She was possessed with a
strange, unaccountable premonition
that she would see her husband that
day.
HE wanfA to surprise me-" she told
Gwen: HE will be here OF that last
BEEN detaiHEd at aH' o Sn'r 'ins YOU YOU
know. oh@y dear, my aea*, / am SO
happy'"s q
Gwend9lin trembled for her. What
censeq'iehEsea might not %dlsappoint-
ment bring? They had already sent
dispatches sto Captain Stevens" and
&C. F. GrotA' ASKING if Arthur Mar
quand had come ON the Juno. But
there was Still no reply to either. And
yet this diminished not one whit
Roses confidence.
There is no answer" she said, "be-
cause We had nothing but the names
to which to send messages. Arthur
will come on the nine-twenty tonight"
Gwendolin went with her to the sta
ton in the carriage to meet the train.
they waited for fifteen minutes beyond
the time, then the the station agent
came out and told them a freight
wreck on the road would delay the
express probably till past midnight.
Il shall sit up till he comes" Rose
announced, when they Lad reached
home again.
Then let me stay with ynli,' pleaded
Gwendolin-'at least till you hear him
coming"
"Well, you may stay a little while,
Gwen. Then l shall send you to bed,
and let the servants 60, too. lit
will be like the old daya tn meet him
here In this room where we used to
sit and talk before we knew it was
love that drew us to eacl: other. I
suppose, though, he will be greatly
changed-outwardly. Think of that
captivity among savages! oh, Arthur,
my husband, what you must have suf-
fered! But 1t will all be r,ade up to
you now. Hark, what is thst, Gwen?"
Nothing, Rose, but rain. Didn't you
notice the clouds as we drC We homer"
Then l must have JOIN go back
with the carriage, and l cen go with
him"
mo, no, dear" entreated awendolin.
tits only a shower. See, the moo is
out again." and she went tn the win
dow and flung open the shutters.
Beautiful" murmured Rose, as she
came over to stand beside her. go to
bed now, Gwen. This is juHt the sort
of night it was when Arshtr told me
he loved me. There, 1 wils turn out
the lamp and have the moonlight for
company. Let them all go 20 bed.
will wait for Arthur here"
With many misgiyings C%iwendolin
obeyed. Rose had reached a state
where she dared not cross her. But
what would the morning sect
"If Arthur had come on that ship
Rose would surely have heard of it. by
this time" Gwendolin told herself; and
when she reached her room size did not
prepare for bed, but took uI a book,
which she did not open, and sat down
think and listen and plan.
When Gwendolin had gone Rose
walked back to the window, and lean
ing her head against one of the heavy
curtains, looked out over ths smooth
lawn towards the gateway. All was
still, save for a faint drip M waite:
from the piazza roof. The odUr o.
roses was borne in from the bush just
outside; the moonlight, stealing in with
it, seemed to revel in the l~uxurioEsness
of the apartment it had found. Ten
from the tall clock ii. the cor
ner caused the figure in the window to
ctart cuddenly and then to give a little
sigh, as another searching glance over
lawn and graveled driveway failed to
reveal the longed for apparitioa.
She left the window and walked
back to a large easy chair Fear
the center table. She sank iato this,
and with her eyes on the clock listened
and waited.
The big clock licked the minutes
otherwise there is naught to dis
.urb the brooding quiet of the night.
Suddenly the stiffness is shattered by
he whistle of a locomotive. The
woman who has SO patiently waited
starts up with a tremor running
through her nerves.
He will be here in a few minutes
low" she tells herself, and wonders
hat she has the calmness to frame a
connected thought.
She forces herself to sit still for five
minutes longer, then rises and hurries
out into the hall to open the front door.
But just as she reaches it she hears a
sound in the room she has left.
T,vrnirr n,,safrIxY che cSoc n G1,,ro