The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1906-06-22
William.
Bv EVELYN Orchard.
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William Briggs was youth OF no
particular distinction. He had had
the misfortune at very early stage
&, his career to disappoint the dear
est expectation of his parents. he
was their second child. The hrst-
Born, little girl, had died At tae
sweetest of all ages-the todd.-aS
stage. And both had prayed fer an
other child, with what earneslness
can only be understood by those WGo
have been similarly bereft. The "a
by girl had been an angel OF cead-y'
the new baby, so eagerly expected
and for whom all his small sisters
dainty belongings had been loVia siy
prepared, had no beauty. He was
SQUAT, featureless, vacuous in express
sion from his infancy up. His motaer
cried when she beheld him, aad MS
father turned away. Sucn had been
their attitude towards William from
his youth up. Other children follow
ed in quick succession. William re-
NAMED the outsider Of the FAMILY.
No pet abbreviation of his name was
bestowed upon him; he remained as
he had begun, plain William. The
atmosphere by which he was enVl-
roned in his childhood and youth had
its due effect upon William. He be-
came self contained, a playless CHILD,
a companionless lad, who Wandered
solitary, pursuing his own thoughts.
There was not much money spent OH
his education, it being decided tna1
he had no conspicuous ability. At
an early age he was hustled into MS
fathers Office, a commercial office,
wherein he occupied the humblest
STOOL And there he remained quiet
ly and apparently contented for two
years. At the end of that time he
went to his father, being more than
seventeen years of age.
az want to go abroad" he said, IN
that quiet, rather dull way Oh MS.
81 cannot remain here any longer.
NV life is without meaning. Give
me fifty pounds and let me 60
Briggs senior stared. Never had
William surprised him more.
ut is a cool request" he grunted,
'T must talk it over with your moth
err"
He went home to Streatham Com
mon an hour earlier than usual for
the purpose, with the result that the
following week William said goodbye
to his family, and left London. They
gave him a good plain outfit, paid his
passage to New York, and gave MIN
a bank draft for fifty pounds.
81 will pay it all back" he said
quietly. =.
"You speak with great confidence"
observed his mother drily. what II
Won don't get on? These who don't
get ON here don't generally snlne
abroad"
.T mean to get on he said quietly
and pretending he had forgotten
something he went upstairs again
But it was only to kiss his sister
Lucy again. They were passionately
attached to one another, and Lucy
believed in him.
So William disappeared, and for
four years his family heard nothing
of him. Then letter came contain
ing a cheque for fifty pounds, which
indicated that he had banking ac-
count. The postmark was small
frontier town in Northern India.
Quite evidently he had not remained
in America. There was no address,
however, so they could not write.
Four more years passed.
Colonel Frank Lemoine sat on the
yeranda of the dark bungalow smok-
ing very long cigar, A soda-water
bottle and a glass stood suggestively
on bamboo table at his side, to-
gether with pair of powerful field
glasses. through which he had been
examining, off and on for the last
nour. the defle which led through
the gorge, and so to the desert plains
beyond. His brows were knit, his
Keen gray eyes were troubled, the
strenuous face had aged in twenty