The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-01-25
IN SEARCH OF A
FATHER.

small way. Why they chose to make
the place their home no one knew.
Neither worked for living but they
dAl not appear to be in want of funds.
Their station seemed to be that of
upper servants. n
The child, Arthur, as he grew from
babyhood to boyhood, was Of widely
different type from his parents. While
they were homely, he was handsome;
while they were dark, he was fair;
while they were of a coarse grain,
there was that about him akin to the
manner born. ~.
Finally the source fAom which they
drew their income seemed TO be failing
them. The man--Trainor was his name
made frequent trips somewhere, no
one knew where, and on his return the
family's finances seemed to have i'm
proved, but only temporarily. At last
the woman died. After her death the
father disappeared, leaving his sou,
now about thirteen years old. to shift
for himself He had not been required
to work and, now that he was thrown
on his own resources. knew not what
to do. He desired to find his father
with view to having his wants pro-
vided for, as before. He wandered
about aimlessly, doing odd jobs and
eking out miserable existence.
Two years had passed in this way
when one day while he was at work in
a field he saw his father drive by In a
buggy. The boy ran to the fence and
himself heard. Running after the bug
gy, he followed 1t for miles. now losing
it, now regaining sight of 1t. till at last
he saw it turn into handsome cOun-
try place.
Arthur was by this time exhausted,
so he sat down on stone to catch his
breath, keeping his eye on the place
his father had entered. 1t was a
slightly place, the house being large
and the grounds spacious. He won-
dered who lived there and why his
father went there. How beautiful life
must be to one who could call such a
place home. AS soon as lie had re-
gained his wind he got up and ran on.
The place was more than mile away,
and he was some time in reaching it..
When he did he entered n large gate
way with massive stone pillar on
either side and followed winding
driveway to the house. The horse his
father had driven was hitched to a
post before the front porch.
Suddenly the front door opened, and
an old gentleman ushered Trainor out,
saying:
"Not cent! Find the child and I'll
square the account with thousand
your face again.
Suddenly. Trainor caught sight of
the boy.
"Why, Arthur he exclaimed. Then,
turning to the old man, he said: "There
he is. Now you may atone for your
villainy."
The old man stood staring at tho
handsome boy, all ragged as he was,
and gasped:
''Is that my grandson?"
"IIe is. He's your daughters son
and your grandson" Then to Arthur:
my boy, I'm not your father. This
old gentleman will tell you who you
are"
The old man took the boy in his
arms, then, running into the house,
called: r
"Alice, your boy is here!'
N a n LADY, nf nli61ln
ran down winding staircase, and, see
ing the astonlshed Arthur, she took
him In her arms and would not release
him.
Some eighteen years before Alice
Archer had run away from home to
marry a man her father disliked. Her
father had followed her and succeeded
In getting her back to his home, where
he kept her quasi prisoner. A child
was born, and Mr. Archer made up his
mind to get rid of 1t. Giving the baby
to Trainor and his wife. who had been
his servants. he agreed to furnish them
with money as long as they needed 1t.
But Trainor became so importunate
that Mr.. Archer was obliged to shut
Off part of the supply and finally all.
The man Alice Archer had married
died, and the mother ut last prevailed
upon her father to restore her child.
But by this time Trainor had deserted
the boy and lost track of him. After
this Mr. Archer refused to pay Traiaor
any more money till he produced the
boy. But on the day Arthur came
home his grandfather paid Trainor a
lump sum on condition that he would
use 1t to leave the country never to
return. slt
Arthur Archer. or, rather, Reginald,
which was the name given to him be-
fore he was sent away, was first put
into bath. then clothed in apparel be-
fitting his station. Then commenced
the process Of making up for the years
he had lost in the matter of education.
He is now man. Often he saunters
up the road to the spot where he sat
down to catch his breath when follow
Ing his supposed father, and. gazing
at the place he then looked upon SO
coyetously, he recalls the picture Of his
boyhood days and contrasts them with
the present. His grandfather is dead,
and he is master Of all the old gentle
man DOSsessed hIn Mr. Archer's old