Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1908-08-08
YES.
1T
PROMISE.
~ -
( JUDITH SPENCER. !
GNOAeO~ON9

They were sitting side by side on
a bench in Riverside Park, under the
now almost leafiess trees. Her troub-
led eyes were bent upon the river,
while his gaze rested on her white,
wan face.
The two were old friends, and the
young soldier of whom they had been
speaking and who had met his death
In the gallant charge of our troops
at Ell Caney, had been the young
mans ehum and the girls accepted
lover.
None had known of their short en-
gagement except this one friend. And
1t was he who had written her the
dreadful news Of his comrades death,
his brief letter ending with the words,
GOD knows, 1 wish l might have
fallen in Toms stead" A wish
which she had echoed in her heart.
He had seen her many times since
his return from the campaign. Again
and again he had graphically given
her all the details of her lovers life
in camp, of his splendid courage and
his heroic death. He had made the
dead man hero in her eyes.
And now silence had fallen upon
them. Her eyes were bright with una
shed tears, and her leps were tremb-
ling in spite of her efforts to steady
them.
Violet" he said at last, this
dreary routine of continual study and
teaching is killing you. You are
working too hard, you give yourself
no rest-except these short Saturday
afternoons, which have fairly in
sisted Oh" d
There is no other way" she said
piteously. II am all alone, l must
live, there is no other way"
There is another way-if could
only make you see it. l hardly dare
speak yet, but love you, so-you
must have known it-"as she started
suddenly. Let me take care of you
try to accustom yourself to the
idea. Try to think of me as ONE"
"As one who is treacherous to his
dead friend!" she said in scorn, ris-
ing as II to leave him.
He rose and faced her. II would
gladly have died to save his life," he
said, but that was not to be. He
was taken and I was left | loved
my friend and | respect his memory
but loved you before ever he saw
you! He is gone now, and we must
live out our lives. love you, Violet,
and you need some one to care for
and protect you. I ask now only
for the right to take care of you
the rest l will leave to time"
"And time will only strengthen my
contempt for the man who has proved
false to his dead friend" she said
bitterly. II believed in your friend
ship for him, and now that belief has
been taken from me. ought to
thank you for this self-revelation,
but cant. / would have been hap
pier had you left me in ignorance of
your pitiful weakness of character.
have lost both lover and friend! No.
don't speak, will not listen. l wish |
never to see or hear you speak
again"
His bronzed face slowly flushed, |
but he bowed silently, and turned
when she withheld her hand-and |
left her without word.
So she went back to her monoto-
nous life of teaching and saw him no
more.
But she missed his friendship, she !
missed those afternoons by the river
and their talks together of the dead |
hero. Her life seemed broken |
Greary thing-yet she still cared to |
1--we. And while she hoped never to
zee his face again she was ever I'M
consciously looking for him as she |
went to and fro upon her way. And |
her heart would leap when she sud
denly saw tall figure among the
crowd II 1t reminded her ever so
family of him. I
But she never caught sight of him |
and the long months dragged YEARLY
away.
Then came day when she once
more heard his name. A terrible
railroad accident had occurred and
he was reported among the killed.
She could not understand the emotion
which overcame her then. She had
thought she felt for this man only
contempt and scorn--yet now
Well, once he had been her friend,
and Toms, and although he had af- |
terward proved treacherous and
false, he had loved her And no wo-
man could hear unmoved of the
death of man who had loved her
even though his honor had been so
stained.
Two miserable, unhappy days
passed by and then a letter came,
few words from nurse in the hospi.
tai near where the railroad accident
had been. 1t told her that the man
reported dead was yet alive, but so
badly injured that he would surely
die. He lay unconscious and the only |
word he had uttered was the name
''Yiolet." And when the nurse had
found letter addressed to a woman
of that name, among the papers in
his pocketbook, she had fastened to
inclose It thus and send it on.
Tears almost blinded Violet as she
took the Enclosure up. The envelope
was yellow and worn, and the writing
upon it-her name-was in the once
familiar hand of him who had been
her lover, and who had met a sol
dier's death on the field Of battle!
What did he mean2 She could not
She drew out the letter with
trembling hands. 1t was dated in the
Cuban camp on the night before the
fatal battle: