The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1907-01-18

An. Frederick do l find you here
The latter question had more of con-
straint in IL.
Frederick. with a slight flush suf-
fusing his cheek. which had been only
TOO pale until now. acknowledged his
fathers greeting with a smile in which
that father was surprised to see
faint shade of relief if not of JOY. Then
he backed toward the door.
81 was just leaving" said he. q
was the bearer of 4 message to Miss
Halliday" He had always called her
Agnes before.
Mr. Sutherland. who had found his
faculties confused by the expression he
had surprised on the young girls face.
answered with divided attention:
And | have a message TO give you.
Wait outside on the porch for me.
Frederick, till / exchange a word with
our little friend here"
Agnes, who had thrust something she
held into box that lay beside her on a
table. turned. with confused blush. TO
listen.
Mr.. Sutherland waited till Frederick
had stepped into the hall. Then he
drew Agnes to one side and remorse-
lessly, persistently. raised her face to-
ward him till she was forced TO meet
his benevolent but searching regard.
do you know" he whispered in
what he endeavored to make a banter
ing tone. how very few days it is
since that unhappy boy yonder con-
fessed his love for a young lady whose
name cannot bring myself to utter in
your presenter
The intent was kind, but the effect
was unexpectedly cruel. With a droop
of her head and a hurried gasp which
conveyed q mixture OF entreaty and
reproach Agnes drew back in a vague
endeavor to hide her sudden uneasi-
ness He saw his mistake and let his
hands drop.
Don't. my dear" he whispered. II
had no idea it would hurt you to hear
this. You have always seemed indif-
ferent. hard even. toward my scape-
grace son. And this was right, for
for What could he say, how express
one-tenth of that with which his breast
was laboring? He could not, he dared
not. so ended. as we have intimated. by
a confused stammering.
Agnes. who had never before seen
this object Of her lifelong admiration
under any serious emotion, felt an i'm
pulse of remorse, as if she herself had
been guilty of occasioning him embar-
rassment. Plucking up her courage.
she wistfully eyed him.
Did you imagine" she murmured.
that l needed any warning against
Frederick, who has never honored me
with his regard, as he has the young
lady you cannot mention? I'm afraid
you don't know me, Mr.. Sutherland,
notwithstanding l have sat on your
knee and sometimes plucked at your
beard in my infantile insistence upon
attention"
II am afraid I don't know you," he
answered. Il feel that know nobody
now. not even my son."
He had hoped she would look up at
this, but she did not.
Twill my little girl think me very GU
rious and very impertin~ 1T if ask her
what my son Frederick was saying to
her when l came into the room?'
She looked up now and with visible
candor answered him Immediately and
to the point.
Frederick is in trouble. Mr.. Suther-
land. He has felt the need of a friend
who could appreciate this. and he has
asked me to be that friend. Besides,
he brought me a packet of letters
(which he entreated me to keep for him.
/ took them, Mr.. Sutherland. and I
will keep them, as he asked me to do.
safe from everybody's inspection. even
my own"
Oh, why had he questioned her? He
did not want to know of these letters;
he did want to know that Frederick
possessed anything which he was
afraid to retain in his own possession.
"My son did wrong" said he. ito con-
fde anything to your care which he did
not desire to retain in his own home.
/ feel that I ought to see these letters.
for IL my son is in trouble. as you say,
I, his father, ought to know it."
81 am not sure about that" she
smiled. His trouble may be Of a diff
ferent nature from what you imagine.
Frederick has led a life that he regrets.
i think his chief source OF suffering lies
in the fact that 1t is SO hard for him
to make others believe that he means
to do differently in the future
Does he mean to do differentlyT
She flushed. 'IIe says so, Mr.. Suth- |
erland. And 1, for one. cannot help be-
lieving him. Don't you see that he be-
gins to look like another man.
Mr.. Sutherland was taken aback. He |
had noticed this fact and had found it |
a hard one to understand. To ascer- |
tain what her explanation Of it might /
be he replied at once:
There is a change in him-a change |
that more than one has noticed. What /
is the occasion of it! To whatsdo you |
ascribe it. Agnes?'
How breathlessly he waited for her
answer! Had she any suspicion of the
awful doubts which were SO deeply /
agitating himself that night? She did /
not appear TO have.
II hesitate she faltered, "but not
from any doubt of Frederick, to tell
you just what I think lies at the bot
tom of tho sudden change observable !