Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-09-12

fering mother. in their erect iict;'
the contour Of their pleasant faces.
70 them he was unknown. Tho o.
est boy was ten years old, the your
eight, when they last met. But O.
read a message in the mans hungcrif
eyes, and they were the first to t"cc
the suspense.
Father" cried John.
The other boy sprsng TO him witho,
a word.
He took them in bis arms. he w;
choked. From some buried font caii
long forgotten tears. He murmrr;
their names. but not n coherent So
tence could he utter.
They were splendid fellows, /.
thought. so tall and we'll knit. so H.
hammered, so thoroughly ovcriorcd =
meet him.
That was the hest Of il. They j.
sought him voluntarily. They knew Ii
record and were not ashamed to ou
him. During the long days and nign
OF ceaselcss inquiry he was ever &c
mentcd by tho dread lest his childrc
If living should look on him "a Il
cursed. blot on their existence.
He half hoped that he might discov
them in some vile Stun, where cril
was hallowed and convicts were J.
roes. He never pictured them "a 10
est, well meaning youths sons q
whom any father might he proud. f
in that possibility lurked the gnawi'
terror Of shame and repudia tion.
Mason's heart was full. He could ~,
thank God for his mercy. That
source Of poor humanity was deni,
him. and. to his credit he II said.
was no hypocrite.
His scared soul awoke to softer f. =
ings as his eyes, his ears. his ~
heart, drank in fuller knowledge ,
them, but he was tormented in his iC
by an aSonized pang of remorse. G
that he could have met them wi
hands free from further crime!
In some vague way he felt that !
punishment for Philip Ansons dc
would he meted out by n sterner f.
tlce than the law of the land. He W
too hard man to yield instantly. |.
crushed back the rising flood of ho-r
that threatened TO overwhclm him /
this moment Of happiness He fore,
himself again to answer their anxior
inquiries, TO note their little airs {
manlnesS and self reliance. to 8.
with growing wonder that they we.
we'll dressed and wore spotless linen.
police station was no place for COZ
fidenccS. Indeed both boys were awe
by their surroundings.
They passed into tho outer office. an
Mason went TO thank Inspector Brar
ley.
Don't forget your ticket" whispere
the pleased officer
The reminder Jared. but 1t was vi
avoidable. Mason got his ticket II
dorsed, the lads looking on shyly I'll
while, and the three regaincd the fire
dom Of the street.
'Let us find some place to sit dow
and have a drink" suggested Mason.
! NO, father" said John, with fran
smile. Neither of us takes drin
Come home with us. We have a roo
ready for YOU"
Il have lodgings''-
"You can go there tomorrow and e,
your belongings"
Eyes. Jump into this cab" urge
Willie. We live in Westminster.
is not very far"
| Macon Fascinated Inv
/ pleasant assumption Of authority The
/ spoke like young gentlemen. with II
accent that betokens a good educatio
/ lie yielded without protest.
They sat three abreast in hanson
/ and the vehicle scurried Off toward Il
Westminster bridge road.
Mason was in the center. His gial
form leaned over the closed doors {
the cab, but he turned his head wit
Interested eagerneSs as one or other {
his sons addressed him.
II suppose, father, you are wonde
ing how we came to meet in such
place." said John.
at might puzzle me If / found tin
to think"
well. the superintendent arrange
everything. Unfortunately, he W,
away on his holidays when--when yc
were released-or we would have m
you then, and his deputy was n
aware of the circumstances. AS SOC
as the superintendent returned
wrote to the governor and was vel
] mJlrh nnnNCaH 10 ho l..
slipped away in the meantime"
He wouldn't be so annoyed II
was there himself" grOwlcd Mast
good humoredly.
'Oh, John didn't mean that, father
broke in Willie. THE annoyance W,
his and ours You see, we had n
known very cong where you were. "
didn't even know you were alive"
"Of course, Of course. Somebody HI
been looking after You well. That
clear enough. They wouldn't be alwa
telling u pair Of boys that their faith
was in Portland"
1T gave us such shock when v
heard the truth" said downright job
But we were so glad to hear tn
our father was living and that v
should soon see him." explained Il
younger.
when did you hear firstl"
about four months ago. Just befo
we took our present situations. We a
saddlers and ornamental leather wor
ers. Between us we earn quite
cent living. Don't we Johnf'
"In fifteen weeks we have saw
enough TO pay for half our furnitu
besides keeping ourselves we'll There
plenty TO eat dad. You won't star,