The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1907-11-14
The eForlorn Man
Iorlnlnall

Matthew futile was good man.
good father and a good husband, lie
was comfortably on In this worlds
goods, happy and conteuted, This
statement IL made with the rcserva
tion that 40 Mr., Tuttle appeared, That
he had means Is certain. That he wa'
contcnted aud happy IL assumed be-
cause he showed no slgn TO the con
trary,
one afternoon after business hours
Mr.. Tuttlc did not come home "a usual
nls wife waited dinner an hour, 0, II
o'clock came, and atiil no did not come
Mrs. Tuttlc supposed he had been un'
avoidably detained, but why had he
not tclcphoncd as uauall Az II o'clock
she called up the police headquarters,
requesting that they send To certain
places where her husband might possi.
bly, bo found, These places were vis.
tied. but Mr.. Tuttle was not at amy OF
them,
The next morning the city was ran.
sacked for the missing man-that IN.
after tho usual hour for his appear.
anee at his ONCE. That hour came
and the next, and there were no signs
Of Mr., Tuttle. The day passed with.
out the slightcst trace Of him. His
wife soon fell Into a condition border.
Ink on nervous prostration.
Weeks. months. years passed aud Mr.
Tuttle was not heard from. Tho police
gave him up. considering his case one
Of the many In which tho subject n
murdered and tho body successfully
got away with. This they at last told
Mrs. Tutt!e. and ~ soon as she became
convinced OF Il herself, accepting the
inevitable. she became yssigned and
rcgained her health. Her husbands
estate was administered, and widow
and children were, found TO have In
hersted such an income AZ they needed.
Five years after Mr.. Tuttie's disap.
pearance a man OF foriorn mien went
up TO the Tttles' front door and rang
the bell. OF the servant who answered
the summons he asked II Mrs. Tutfle
lived there. He was informed that shs
owned tho house. but had rented Il
and gone to Europe with her children,
The man turned away.
II was a Sunday morning, and be
strolled almlessly for awhile till, pass.
Ing church. he entered II and took
a back seat.
"what's that handsome marble be.
side the chancelr' be asked In whis.
per Of one next him.
That's tho Tuttle font" was the re.
ply. 1T was placed there In memory
Of Matthew Tuttlc, who disappeared
and never was heard from"
The forlorn man made no reply and
when the congregation was dismissed
went out with the others and stood on
the church steps as II not knowing
where to 30, Presently he went down
into the street and boarded a trolley
car. After hair an hours ride he got
out at cemetery and. entering the
gate, followed a walk til he came to
q lot whereon was a handsome monu
ment He read the inscription, ''Tp
Memory of Matthew Tuttie." The man
looked at the other graves In the lot
taking In each separately. then went
away.
One morning In Geneva, Switzerland
where Mrs. Tuttle had gone 10 put her
children at school. she was walking
over the bridge leading TO an island
In the Rhone, now and then stopping
to lean over the stone guard and look
into the crystal waters After one OF
these pauses she raised her head to
Suddenly she clutchcd at the
stone beside her and was sinking down
when man caught her In hts arms.
II was her husband,
Some time passed before the aston.
ished woman could speak. and then |
the Idea that filled her brain was that |
she had been deserted.
where have you been" abe asked,
drawing away.
II remember" he said, placing his !
hand on bis forehead. "a long while |
ago boarding train. Where I was
going l don't know. After that re.
membered nothing TIL three weeks
ago. when suddenly seemed to come
to myself. was In Philadelphia. /
took train for home and found You
had come over here. | had no trouble
in identifying myself and getting
money to follow you. | have Just ar.
lived. At your apartments they told
me you walked here mornings while
The children are at school,
The wife looked at her husband for
and saw II In his forlorn,
half dazed expression. Then, though
not entirely unobserved, she threw her
'rms about him. At that moment a
,lock near by struck IL, and soon
after three children came running to
he bridge. A man none OF them re.
nembered who stood by their mother
jook them one after another In his
lrms and kissed them. Then the re-
lnlted family went away.
Later, when the children's schoo,
erm was finished, the family went In.
o the Alps for the summer. In the
lutumn Mrs. Tuttle's health had been
estored by the invigorating mountain
lir, and they all sailed for America,
'ut before reaching home the lnscrip-
ion had been removed from the Tuttle
memorial font, and the monument In
ba int H., 4ho covnaAa.. 80 49,, /,