The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1906-07-30
ON THE BORDER
lOrlgInnll

room, his hands ciasled WIN u usHt
grip. his head bowed. on his face ey-
cry evidence of distress. On a bed Iay
q young girl. She was either nncon-
S=ious or sleeping. for she was very
low, and 1t was impossible TO tel
whether it was sleep OF coma.
.FThey are lighting ct the 'front.'" the
old man mused. and IL anything
should happen to Bert IT would turn
pen she must not b0 told. Still, would
It not be better for her 10 know it and
die Instead OF living on the fife Of
desolatIon in store for her?
''The-doctoFs opinion that she VIII
weather the storm ana get well have
little confidence In. is it his opinion,
or does he say it to keep me upT'
The nurse came in and begged th0
cid man to go to bed. He refused, tell
Ing her to go into room across the
hail. lie down and leave him to watch
! alone. If anything important occurred
he would call her. She went over to
the bed, laid her hand on the sick girls
forehead and looked at her long and
! nnxiously. Then she turned and told
him that it was not best she should
leave. But he firmly refused to go
| himself. and she took n book and weEt
/
Ever since her mother died." he
unused on, ''she has been all have had
to live for. Sometimes it seems to me
| that all the love she has had for me
has been merged in her love for Bert.
That's natural All the love had for
my parent was nothing compared with
the love bore her mother. And when
her mother died gave 1t all to my
little girl.
81 wonder what's going on down
there. Last nights dispatches were
tknt fight couldn't be put on twenty.
four hours. We know what they do
almost as soon as they do it. Bert
must take his chances-one out of
three or four or five, 1 suppose-wh!le
here lies the girl he loves and who
loves him, having not one chance in
dozen. If he dies she will never smile
Pgain. II she dies I win never smile
again, but he-he is young. He can
forget or replace the old with Jite new
Curious thoughts run through the
mind OF one in suspense. The old man
fell to conjurinG up all sorts OF posi-
BILE happenings. He fancied his girl
again In health, her lover safely re-
turned, their meeting. In their happi.
ness he forgot that he would be left
alone or remembering 1t was mitigated
that they were happy. He pictured
Bert physical wreck COMING. to find
the girl he loved gone; the young mans
agony, followed by settled gloom.
This came the nearer home 20 him, for
II was what he would have to suffer
himself
Then he went back to the period
when she whose life hung by thread
was jumping her rope, rolling her
hoop. He saw her grow from child to
II
quickly It had all come about! And
now II she died, what had all his ef-
forts to raise her. her studies, her ac-
romplishments. avalled? : swept
away ut the ceasing OF a hes-t to beat
And her longer life. what of it? Every
effort he had made or should make
would be neutralIzcd.
The patient stirred. The watcher was
about to go Into the other room and
call the nurse when the girl suddenly,
with strength that astonIshed him,
sat up and fixed her eyes on vacancy
or, as 1t seemed. some one in the center
of the room.
Bert! Oh. Bertl HIVE you comeY'
She stretched forth her arms, and
the focus of her vision seemed to draw
nearer to herself. II ar arms folded,
she raised her face as though for a
kiss, then fell back on the pillow.
The old man sprang to the bedside
and was Joined II moment later by the
nurse. who quickly slipped her arms
under the invalid and raised her. See
ing no sign of life. she placed her hand
on the girls heart. Then she looked up
and said:
shes gone"
The old man went to table, snt
down and, placing his arms ON 1t, rest.
ed his head on them. The nurse laid
the dead girls arms beside her, turn
ed, looked at the old man pityIngIy and
left the room, The case was closed for
hor, and In n day or twp she would be
ready for the next one,
The old man remained where he was,
The clock struck the hours successive
ly-1, 2, 3, 4. 8 Then there was the !
sound OF boys running In the street
below and shouting:
Extra! Great battle Mt Santiago!
The old man started up. Going Into |
the hail. he rang for servant. One OF |
them had been up all night to summon
q doctor II needed. He responded at
once. and his master ordered him to |
bring him a paper. In 1t was a tele-
gram announcing the last battle OF the
war. with partial
list OF the killed and wounded. Among
the former was the name Lieutenant
Albert Hubbard.
AS the old man read It something like
/ smile fitted across his face.
THANK God" he said. "they have
gone together! Providence. who re-
tho yroy,,,or 1v,f7 I,,,,o1 H. ia |