Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1908-08-07
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JUDITH SPENCER.
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They were sitting side by side on
a bench in Riverside Park, under the
now almost leahess 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 chum 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, | wish / might have
fallen in Toms steadl" 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 a hero in her eyes.
And now a silence had fallen upon
them. Her eyes were bright with un-
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 on"
There is no other way she said
piteously. 4 am all alone, l must
live, there Is no other way"
There is another way-if l could
only make you see it. | hardly dare
speak yet, but l love you so-you
must have known it-''as she started
suddenly. LET me take care of you
~ yourself TO the
idea. Try to think OF me ss 5f1;1' sasassss
"As one who is treacherousSto his
dead friend!" she said In scorn, ris-
ing as If to leave him.
He rose and faced her Il would
gladly have died to save his life, he
said, but that was not to be. He
was taken and l was left l loved
my friend and l respect his memory
but loved you before ever he saw
youl 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. l 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. Il believed in your friend
ship for him, and now that belief has
been taken from me | ought to
thank you for this self-reyelation,
but can't. | would have been hap
pier had you left me in ignorance of
your pitiful weakness of character. I
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 a 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 a broken
dreary thing-yet she still cared TO
live. And while she hoped never to
see his face again she was ever un-
consciously looking for him as she
went to and fro upon her way. And
her heart would leap when she sud
denly saw a tall figure among the
crowd If it reminded her ever so
family of him
But she never caught sight of him
and the long months dragged wearily
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 a man who had loved her
even though his honor had been so
stained.
Two miserable, unhappy days
passed by and then a letter came, a
few words from a nurse in the hospi
tai near whore the railroad accident
had been. 1t told her that the man
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
Violet" And when the nurse had
found a letter addressed to a woman
of that name, among the papers in
his pocketbook, she had fastened to
inclose 1t thus and send it on.
Tears almost blinded Violet as she |
took the inolosure 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 sol
dier's death on the field of battlel
What did he mean? She could not