Charlevoix county herald., 1908-07-11
"a Told Her She Was the Only Girl in
the World for Me-"

arm little hidden pat, that couldn't
have hurt worse If she'd hit me with
a hammer! | watched her walk away
with Big feeling meaner and meaner,
till. as she turned and gave one back
ward lock toward me, / just shriveled
UP to nothing at all. l moved around
the corner to a place where l knew
nobody'd come, and fell. down on a
chair, and took my head in my hands
and did some tall thinking! First OF.
I took about an hour calling myself
bad names. I'd think of the light in
her eyes as she had looked at me, and
curse myself for about the lowest,
meanest specimen of humanity that
ever drew breath.
IL was all in tremble when l stood
up finally but my mind was made up.
l was Doanes from Alabama, and
wasn't going to 60 back on the woman
who loved me-if it killed me!
81 tell you, l didn't sleep much that
night, and l didn't need reveille to
wake me up In the morning. I was
planning what l would say to Helen
when ! saw her the next afternoon
The first time l saw her would be the
worst. After chapel. though, her aunt
her aunt is Capt. Wadleigh's wife
told me that Helen had been tele-
graphed for to come to New York to
see an uncle off on the steamer and
that she had left on the first train.
Say, maybe / didn't feel like a re.
prieved prisoner! / caught the first
long breath I'd had since the night
before. But in a minute / knew I'd
have to write; and that's what l did!
All that afternoon / wrote and tore up
and wrote and tore up, trying to fix
just the letter she ought to get. !
tried to think what I'd want a fellow
to write if l were a girl just engaged
to him, and then I'd write it.
II got some sort of letter done,
and was just starting out to post 1t,
when Capt Wadleigh's orderly came
up and said that Miss Helen had left
a note for me and wished me to so
over to the house and get It. / started
over there and posted the letter on the
way. When l got to the gate | saw
Puddenhead and Big going up the
walk, and two of the other fellows
were looking out of the windows.
thought: oh, Lord! Helen's probably
left a note for all of them announcing
our engagement. l won't have to put
up bluff or anything!'
Mrs. Wadleigh was sitting inside
talking to the fellows already there,
and in a minute in came Adams, and
there we were, all six. Mrs. Wadleigh
got up and went over to her desk
You boys and Helen are such jokers!
she said. don't know what the joke
is this time, but l suppose IL is some
of Helens nonsense. She asked me to
give you all one OF these With that
she began handing around some little
notes. knew what it meant, all right
and | waited a minute before l opened
mine, for didn't feel as though had
any right to read what Helen had
written there. When l broke the sea-
an engraved card fell out and, as
looked at IL, got the shock OF my life
"'Mr. and Mrs. - request the
honor of your presence at the mar
riage of their daughter Helen to
Eugene Beardsley.'
Gust then we heard funny noise
and there was that wife of mine back
of us, just gasping for breath, and Sc
full of laughter he was black in the
face. AS we turned around and looked
at him kind of dazed and fish-eyed, he
was so tickled he gave a whoop, and
fell on the floor in At. That blamed
scalawag hadn't been asleep at al
that night, and he had gone and told
Helen all about our scheme; and say
what do vcu think? The little actress
she'd accepted the whole six of Us ute
same Way she had mel"