The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-05-07
AN EXTENUATMG ClRCUM-
 STANCE.
BY CURRAN R. GREENLY. Copyright, 1905. by Daily Story Puo'

Co)
 Martha Harrington dusted the chairs
 and set the small sitting room to
 rights, pausing now and then in her
 work to watch the little yellow head bobbing up and down among the flow CTS just outside the door. The rogue,
 he would be out the gate and far away in a moment if she took her eyes off him." and Martha smiled fondly to her
 self.
 The May sunshine lay over the little farm. gliding the green of the meadow and the gray caves of the little cottage
 beneath the elms. It wooed the roses | to warmer sweetness, where they wrap ped the walls with long green arms of
 loveliness. tThe jays chattered angrily l at the sparrow army that manned the | hedge, and the clucking of many moth- | CTS came cheerily from the henyard be- hind the cottage. Martha seated her | self In the door way. where she could
 watch the child, and for once her busy hands were ilde. strange unrest had possessed her all the morning, draw 1 ing her thoughts back to the time l when all her life was unrest, the cruel years before she knew John Burlington, l the years of wandering and hardship. | Well! It would never trouble her now. | Hidden away with the few mementoes | of that other baby that was hers for | so short a time. was the brief clipping, | '"The body of a man was found below
 the trestle by some boys. Some papers | in the pockets bore the name of Will
 liam Merritt The body had evidently 1 lain there some weeks, and was past 1 Identification, except that 1t was of 1 man of medium size, dark haired, and | from the condition of his clothing. common tramp. There being no clue | to his identity, the body was turned | over to the county undertaken" That | was all-the release that meant so
 much to the woman toiling in the dis tant factory town. She had shed no | tears-he had wiped out all tender | memories far too we'll for that; but for | a while she wore the decent black of
 widowhood Then she left Moundville | and came to the West and there met
 John Farringdon
 There were no secrets between them | when Martha came to the farm to be- gin her new life. She told him all the story of poverty and shame and showed l him the clipping. Harrington wrote to l the mayor of the town where the pa per was Issued, but 1t was too late to | ascertain anything further about the ! man who had been buried under the
 name of William Merritt.
 Five years had passed, and Martha | settled down into the quiet content ment of her busy happy days. filled to the brim with John and the baby, and the thousand interests gathered around | them.
 The baby, grown tired of the butter 1 flies, lay on the grass, clutching at the | daisies and laughing gleefully, and | Martha watched him with that strange sense of oppression growing stronger | every instant. A footstep crunched up- on the gravel. and the baby rolled over and sat up, as a man same slowly up | the walk. The ragged garments, soiled bandanna about the throat and torn { slouched hat proclaimed the profession al tramp. He halted and stood stock still as Martha arose and same to- ward him, staring wide-eyed. Then he
 made a step toward her. "Martha" That was all. No need of further words; she knew-knew that William Merritt had not died. that he stood there, and that all the fair fabric of | her life must wither before the fact. | Man and woman gazed into each oth- | CTS eyes a long minute. The baby got up and came to her side, tugging at her | skirts with a pitiful whimper of Nam my! Mammy!" The tramp looked down
 at the little yellow head with its mass
 of curls; then he laughed grimly Mar l tha grasped the post to steady herself; then she stopped and caught the child | in her arms, and the passion of anger | that surged through her gave her voice. Where have you been all these years? Why have you hidden yourself and let me believe you dead?"
 The tramp dropped down on the door step. Might as well take 1t easy | while we talk about that. I knew you would think 1t was me they found un- der the trestle. but me and that fellow had been travelin' together and we
 changed clothes-that's all When
 saw they had me dead and buried. stayed dead-that's all again"
 Martha covered her face and moaned, as the baby patted her neck.
 Pretty likely place you have here," he went on. You must have done a pretty good thing for yourself-its
 more than l ever did for you" he add ed slowly, And this little chap? He ain't much like the other one. Do you
 mind what a brave little man he was?' | the tramp's voice broke. He got up and walked the length of the path once
 or twice. Marthy. I reckon you won't
 blieve much good of me, but, honest to
 God wouldn't have come nigh that gate if l had dreamed you was mar
 ried again, with little chap like that. | You were a world too good woman | for me-that's the reason l treated you
 so mean, and that's why l left you for Jennie. She was my kinda chip off
 the same block" He stopped and snuff
 fled his feet. T wish" then he
 broke off. Martha, this looks like the
 old place where your father lived, and
 the orchard-you remember the or
 chard, don't you, Martha?"
 | "Remember2" Over the waste of her | life, across. the agony of years, there came a breath of the sweetness of an l unforgotten Maytime, a swift vision of | herself a slip of a girl and at her feet, | the snow of the apple blossoms raining down on his dark head, handsome, dew | il-may-care Will Merritt. She made no l answer, but buried her face in the l childs curls and moaned again. The tramp came a step nearer and caught
 at fold of her gown. Martha,
 aint a goin' to give you any trouble, l Ill-
 You want help, food or money7" she was commencing, but he cut her short with an oath as the softness died out
 of his face Shut up you fool. l
 haven't come to that yet. I may be a
 beast and a tramp. but I don't take
 nothin' from my wife's second hus-
 band" and the laugh was charged with
 bitter pain.
 Put the little fellow down and let
 me see him?" he asked, and the child | slipped from Martha's arms and stood,
 his wide-open blue eyes fixed on the stranger for a full minute. then he sidled up to him, and took hold of the
 grimy hand. The tramp looked down
 at the little curly head, and then he | looked at the woman. You belong to
 him and his daddy. It aint like come | on purpose to find you-Td never have