Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1908-12-02

NV SO7bI" nc CT1en.
shaded lamp. the wheel chair and the
feeble old man with his furrowed face
and gray mustaches. What he himself
should say he had not had time to re-
fleet.
The figure in the chair looked up as
the door opened. %Hugh! he cried
and half lifted himself from his seat.
Then he settled back, and the sunken.
indomftable eyes fastened themselves
on his sons face.
Hugh was elodramutic-cheaply so,
he saw the girl start ut the name. saw
her hands catch ut the kiniono to draw
Its folds over The bare white throat,
saw the rich color that flooded her
brow. He saw himself suddenly the
moving hero Of the stagery. the
tractiye force OF the situation. Real
tears came to his eyes; tears of insin-
cere feeling, due partly to the cheap
whisky be had drunk that day, whose
outward consequences he had SO dras-
tically bsnished, and partly to sheer
nervous excitation.
Father" he said, and came and
caught the gaunt hand that shook
agaiEs. the chair.
Then the deeps Of the old mans
heart were suddenly broken up. "My
son!" he cried and threw his arms
about him. Hugh. my boy. my boy"
Jessica waited to hear no more.
Thrilling with gladness and flushing
with the sudden recollection of her
bare throat and feet. she slipped away
to her room to creep into bed and lie
wide eyed and thinking.
What did lie look like? O. his face
she had never seen even counterfeit
presentment. Through what adveu-
lures had he passed? Now that he had
come home, forgiving and forgiven,
would he stay: He had been In his
room when she entered 1t with the
roses-must have guessed. If lie had
not already known, that she was blind.
Would lie guess that she had cared for
that room. had placed fresh flowers
there often aud often:
Since she lad come to the house in
the nspens Jessica had found the
imagined figure of Hugh dominant
presence In horizon lightened with
throng Of new impressions. The
direful catastrophe of her blindness
1t had heen the sudden result of an
accident-lild fallen like thunderbolt
upon nature elastic and joyous. 1t
had brought her face to face with a
revelation of mental agony, made her
feel herself the laplesS martyr Of
that curt thing called chance She Lad
always lived largely in hacks aud
pictures, aud her world was still full
Of ideals and of brave adventures
Gratitude hid made her love the mo
rose old invalid with his Grabbed! tenn
peis. and the wandering son. choosing
for pride's sake II resotrceless BATH.
With the world. lie very mystery o!
his whereabouts had taken strong
hold of her Imagination. OF the quar-.
rel which had preceded Hugl's dep;,r.
ture she had made her own version
That lie shonld have come buck on this
very might. When the dlsinheritancc
she had dreaded had becn so lenrl,
cOnsummated. seemed now to have an
especial ana an appealing Significance
II
Presently she rose Slipped Oh the
red kiMono. and. taking II key from
the pocket of her gown. stole from tn
room. She assembled stairway an.
unlocked tile door Of wide. bare nj
tic where the moonlight pourp
through II skylight in the roof upon NJ,
unfinished statue. In this; statue she
had begun to fashion. III tho Imagine
figure of Hugh her conception of til,
prOdigal son-not the battered an.
hnsk filed wayfarer of the parable
but II figure of character and pathos
erring through youthful pride and
spirit. The unfinished clay no eye.
had seen, for tliose walls bounded hel
especial domain
When High went shamefaccdly VI
the stair from the library the artificial
glow that had tingled to his finger tip
had faded The poise of mind, thu
GERTRUDE of all the faculties of eye
and hand that his ley bath had given
him. We're yielding. The penalties Ii,
had dislodgcd We're returning rc-cn
forced. He was rapidly becoming
drunk.
He CROPPED his way to his ROOM turn
ed out the light, threw himself fully
dressed upon the bed and slept the
deep sleep of deferred intoXication,
IfN-