The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1907-01-16
A WIDOW aas A
WIDOWER

was stopping as something Of a Curl
osity. Lie did not look at all like the
mau who travels. ON the contrary.
they set him down as a tiller of the
soil and wondered how he had ever
found his way across the Atlantic. He
was slow moving and slow spoken.
with what seemed religious turn of
mind.
They had looked to see Mr.. Turner
register as Judge or general" and
they had expected him 10 boast OF his
herds OF cattle In Moutapa or his oil
wells In Texas. but be had disappoint-
ed them. His name went down as
plain Aaron Turner After a week or
so 1t came to be understood that he
was wldower. having lost his dearly
beloved about year before.
When plain Mrs. John Gates arrived
at the same hotel a few days later thaa
plain Aaron Turner. she also proved to
be something of an enigma. She had
no diamonds and no style. She was
dressed in mourning and was often
found with tears in her eyes.
In due time. which In this case meant
two days after her arrival. the widow
Gates was sought out by plain Mr..
Turner His first excuse for present.
ing himself before her was that both
were Americans. His second was that
both had lost their beloved partners
and that there should be a bond OF
EyniDathy between them
The fearful widow Gates was also
communicative. She had made the trip
with her husband in the hope that 1t
would Improve his left lung. 1t had
been hard scraplng to get the money
together. and the last $40 had been
raised on the family sewing machine
Just as the lung seemed to be growing
better her dear departed had been
taken OF with typhoid fever and bur-
led among race of people who drank
abslnth instead OF buttermilk and who
shrugged their shoulders instead of
swearing right out. She resorted TO
tears as she finished her plant. Mr.
Turner spoke consoling words. He re.
minded her that In the midst OF life we
were in death and that human nature
was so constituted that 1t could not go
on grievlng forever. AS a matter OF
fact, the widow felt quite chlrked up
when he took his departure. and dur
ing the next two weeks they were Of
ten seen together They became quite
confidential before the widower decid-
ed to trust the widow with secret
he wanted to do something for the
minister and the Sunday school class
at home. Deacon Pegram would be ex-
pecting some sort OF a present, and
there was his sister. who kept house
for him. Taken altogether, he would
be expected to make score OF pres
ents. While none of them would be of
great value. each one would be cher
ished for the sake of the giver. AS the
two were going home on the same
steamer and as he had only a small
trunk with him. would the widow kind
~ take charge OF the packages as he
brought them to her?
The widow would and did While
she was financially hard up. she was
also buying few presents. and all
could go into her trunk together. The
two did not go out together or shop to.
gether. For some reason they didn't
propose such thing, although 1t
would have been perfectly proper. The
Frenchmen realized that 1t would have
been proper. and when 1t didn't occur
they shrugged their shoulders and NUT
tered something about American &c
centricity. BY and by sailing day
came, and the widow and the widower
took the train for Havre and found
themselves on board of their steamer.
They were hardly settled when the
widower made proposition. There
, was nothing matrimonial about It. He
had discovered that there was Il pas
senger on board who knew him. and
II he was seen acting as escort TO the
widow there would be talk about 1t at
home. He therefore proposed that they
should seem to be strangers for the
voyage.
The widow was agreeable She also
had reputation to preserve. on land
ing in New York she would go to a
certain hotel, and the widower would
call there and say farewell and re
ceive his presents. As neither had
brought along anything dutiable, there
would be no trouble at the customs
house Things were settled this way.
and no one aboard came to know that
plain Mr.. Turner and plain Mrs. Gates
had spoken words of consolation to
each other on the soil OF France. 1t
was only when the steamer had sight
ed Sandy Hook that the widower look
ed at the widow in a peculiar way.
She interpreted 1t to mean that the
custom house officers would soon be
aboard and asking for declarations.
and she returned his look with one
calculated TO put him at his ease.
Plain Mr. Turner was one OF the first
ones ashore when the steamer docked.
He had nothing to do but to disappear.
As the widow Gates had q mournful
and Innocent look. the inspector pass