Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1905-05-11

| hood, had even given name to every
tree and bush and towering shrub.
The bis cherry tree was george
Washington" and the one beside it was
Martha Washington" The elm tree
outside the bay window was Thy Sen
incl Am because she said, it was
ON guard outside her window. The
| larch tree at the foot of the rose
garden she called "Gren. Greene
because it is always so green she de-
ciared. And so she had her own name
for every tree. and these names be-
came known to her parents as well.
When they heard her cry. 20, daddy,
come quick, Jimmy Jones has fallen
out of George Washington!" daddy
knew in an instant that Jimmy Jones
had come to grief while stealing
cherries,
So, too in the springtime when
Leeta had rushed in with the joyful
t:dings: Mamma what do you think?
Two little birds are building their nest
way up in Thy Sentinel Am T." they
knew in just what particular tree to
look for the birds nest,
Leeta Anderson was sixteen years
old when she was compelled to leave
the home in which she had lived all
her life. Her mother had died, and
her father griefstricken. had let the
lines of his business slip from the
grasp that had always been firm, and
when the banks failed his business
and his home We're swept away in the
common food of ruin He did not long
survive. Leeta, forced to leave the
old home, went to live with an elderly
aunt.
Leeta Anderson remembered John
Iarloclcr first as a big 'gawly," as
she called him. who drove delivery
wagon for her father When she first
knew him she was seven years old and
he was seventeen. He was a big and
awkward and fresh from an Ohio
farm. In those earlier days Of their
acquaintance Leeta paid but little at
tention to John Harlocker. Five
years passed ami Leeta was twelve
Just entering the grammar school and
beginning to plan for long skirts
John Harlocker was twenty-five and
digger and more awkward than ever
hut he no longer drove tho delivery
wagon. He was something in the steel
works But he came frequently to see
his old employer, and Leeta, even in
the wisdom of her twelve years. didn't
guess why.
When Leeta babe farewell to her
chilihood's home she was sixteen and
John HarloCker twenty-siX - bigger
than ever but awkward nc longer
Even then Leeta Anderson failed to
guess why John HarloCker came to
see her aunt SO often-particularly as
her aunt had no extended acuuaint-
ance with the young chemical engineer
for that was the position John Har-
locker had attained in the big steel
plant.
His Love Revealed to Her.
1t was not until Leeta was eighteen
and had graduated from high school
chat John Harlocker let her into the
secret, At first she laughed-to her
self-for she realized that no one could
laugh at big John Harlocker. But as
the weeks and months went by she
began to recall incidents in the years
that had passed since she was seven
and John Harlocker was seventeen.
She began to remember that John was
an ignorant, awkward boy, and that in
ten years he had become an educated
man, able to command respect of men
known to be among the greatest
hnanciers of the city. She realized,
dirnly at first, that he must have
studied hard and worked hard. and put
down almost heartbreaking obstacles
to work so great a transformation in
himself in ten years.
One day, after he had called, her
aunt, with the wisdom Of woman, re-
marked casually
We'll, it's strange to me, that John
Harlocker hasn't married long before
this"
In one sudden, overwhelming flush
Of conviction Leeta Anderson realized
hat moment that John Harlocker had
waited all those years for her, and for
her only. She realized all at once the
iepth of love that had kept him so
steadfastly near her
1t was easy enough for Leeta An
derson to say yes when John Har-
locker asked her to be his wife. She
rad other suitors. She had refused
wealth. She had refused social posi-
ton She loved John Harlocker and
believed he was poor
Stricken Blind Without Warning.
Four months before her wedding day
Leeta Anderson was stricken blind.
II was not the blindness that comes
after a gradual fading of the light. No
months Of twilight preceded the dark
ness. In a moment, without warning
without a premonition of impending
disaster, the light went out and she
TODD In the darkness forever.
John Harlocker brought the best
oculists Of Cleveland to see his sweet.