Mexico weekly ledger., 1909-12-30

lnere ndu always OSSH a W
tain air of mystery about Marsden.
When he Joined the staff of The
Earth, eight months before, he had
become a star man after mis- first
assignment, but Of his past little APP
.parently could be learned. If a
could get the news and write it
ac~ceptably, the Managing Editor and
he of the City Desk cared little of
his earlier days. The cynical ex
preston which married what would
have otherwise been a handsome face
the subject Of much gossip
the Sob Squad" the women
reporters. They all agreed he had
been disappointed in love. After all
that inherant intuition of the gent
Ter sex might have discovered the
truth.
From Wilcox, who worked with
Marsden at n time in Chicago, was
learned a story to the effect Mars
den was searching the country over
for a woman 1t had been rumored, 1t
seems from the story when he was
much younger, he had loved a girl.
A foolish lovers quarrel had parted
them and when he had returned six
months later to beg forgiveness, he
found she had married another,
Later the news reached him that
she was unhappy and then came the
story of the mans utter worthless
ness and his desertion Of her. When
he had gone to her aid, she had
disappeared and for three years he
had been searching the country fol
the woman of a shattered life, but
Fate had willed. so far, against his
finding and making r%eparation al
best he could. This story, fitting al
1t did. the necessities Of the femin
inc mind, was accepted by them,
It was one Of those winter night
when the blustery, snow-laden win'
whips around the corners with tn.
sting of scattered shot. When eyei
the patrolman on his beat hugs tn
buildings In an effort to escape tn
fury Of the night. 1t vas the nigh
before Christmas. At eleven o'cloc
a few late shoppers were hurryin
home to warm firesides, heads dow.
and buttoned tight in their oyel
coats, jostling each other in thei
hurry to leave the furies of storI
that labored in the city's brick car
ons. Now and then a s~now-creste
street car emerged from the pail {
white that fell increasingly only to b
buried again in the shifting fog,
Marsden left the office pausing &
the door to debate whether to wa
for a car or walk. He had bee
sent on a story to the tenement di
tricts of fremont Street where
mother with four children had bee
found, late that afternoon, staryin
1t was a good human interest tai
and he had orders to play it UP
strong.
When he found no car in sight
turned, facing the storm, and VII
rapid steps, started up 18th Stree
A blizzard had set in and ii
lights in the stores were gradually d
appearing as the ~shopkeepers clio
ed for the night. Only those wi
were forced by circumstances we
abroad and they were very few.
At last, half frozen, he came to Il
tenement building and mounted
> rickety, ill-lighted, foot-worn stat
way. Marsden felt along the wall
stepping carefully through the dus
a Pickering o.. lamp spread from Il
landing above. His destination WI
9 on the second floor. He felt in h
pockets for matches realizing
? must furnish his own light IL !
ever expected to find anything
. the gloom of the building.
. After lighting several matches al
> walking down a long, dark hallwa
whose walls were begrimed wi
the dirt of years, he ofund what
thought was the room. He knock,
and entered, not waiting for a repl
only anxious to get within whe
warmth was assured by the wot
that charity hat afternoon had d
livered.
The room was dark and cold. ]
he turned to leae a groan from h
! farthest corne arrested his NOV
ments. He listened, and, in the
lence of the intense darkness of Il
room he waited cry ca
tiously. 1t had been impossib
Z to locate the sound, it was so fe
BILE. Again the groan and this tin
I a flash of some distant street Zig
A as it forced its way through the o.
A dirty window fell for a second upt
a bed in the far corner. He fe
n his way to the side of the bed al