Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1907-10-05

could be quiet and nave pure air 10
breathe"
SIS he in any sort of troubIe?" I
asked, and she said no, except that he
was very weak from illness and
needed rest.
''Is he at work?"
"Yes.'
"Then he will soon have some mon
ey and can go out of town." said /.
Twenty dollars a week." she re-
sponded with whitening scorn.
That was all learned about Sidney,
but Miss Dean consented to speak more
freely Of herself. thought it my duty
to inquire, because for all 1 knew she
might be penniless. It appeared, how
ever, that she was fairly good man
ager, and though the allowance upon
which she lived was barely sufficient
for her support, she had never gone in
debt. Indeed she had for a time pre-
served some small savings. but these
she had spent for Sidney during his
illness. Sidney did not know this, of
course. 1t would never occur to him
that little expenses for a sick mans
delicate provender could have any con-
siderable total.
saw Sylvia quite frequently after
that, but did not see Sidney nor could
I get track Of him, though l made va
rious endeavors. A hint from Sylvia
gave me the impression that the mystic
rious work in which Sidney was en-
gagged might not be viewed with APP
prevail by a stern moralist, and this led
me to believe that he was employed by
Shenstone. 1t was possible, however,
that he might be serving Shenstone's
enemies. Could it be possible that his
resemblance to the Spectator was be-
ing used in some wild scheme of per-
sonation? Sidney would never consent
10 such dishonesty, but in the hands of
the shrewd and reckless men who were
fighting Shenstone's pool my friend
would be a mere child. 1t would be no
trouble at all for them to make Sidney
believe that black was white.
Sylvia was as careless as most wom-
en- are Of the ethics of business. Her
sole anxiety in this matter was for Sid
neys health. I made out that she had
either very meager reports of him or
none at all
II should not be surprised any day
to hear that he was dead" said she to
me, with black foreboding written on
her face.
I think it was not twenty-four hours
afterward that was going through the
regular daily report from one of the
city news bureaus and came upon this
typewriter upon the thin,
dirty yellow paper that they use:
'Sidney Colbert, writer, was taken
to st. Margarets hospital late last
night suffering with ulcer of the stom-
ach. An immediate operation will be
necessary. In this disease surgery Is
not resorted to until the ulcer pene-
trates the wall of the organ, and the
chances are always against the pa
tient. Doctors at the hospital declined
to discuss the case"
AS soon as l could get away from
the office I went to see Sylvia. She
was not in. Presumably she was at
St. Margaret's. There, however, /
could get no word of her, nor was L
able, with all my "pull," either to see
Sidney or to send him message. l
obtained the information that the OPP
GRAFTON had been performed and that
the patients condition was fairly
good. On the following day learned
that he was dead.
AS Sidney had no near relatives
Joined with some other men who had
known him, and we claimed his body.
The funeral was held in the chapel ad-
joining the hospital, and we gathered
quite a company of mourners. But
Sylvia was not present. and I could
not find her. My anxiety was ex-
IRENE, for l knew that she had loved
Sidney with all her heart, but before
I had taken any steps to trace her
through the usual public machinery
I received a rather curt message that
she had gone to her old home in
Maine. About three weeks later, how
ever, 1 met her on the street.
1t was near the place where she had
lived, and I accompanied her there.
"Sylvia," said when we stood in
her little sitting room, "you say you
have just got back to town. I don't
believe you've ever been away"
81 haven't" she admitted.
1 took her by the arm.
''You are happy" said I, "feverishly
happy. What does this mean? Not