Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1909-04-21
A RISE IN
VALUES

! wildly to his mind picture of long
ago-the lonely country lane, the rus
tic figure of that sweetheart of old,
the girl to whom he had scarcely given
thought for years. Now a guilty
feeling came over him as he thought
of the promises made, of the good-by
kiss, of the correspondence that fol-
lowed and then died Pickering
death.
Poor little thing! And she must
have been waiting for him all these
years. And he-he had come to the
city, and in the mad rush to make
his own way had buried her memory.
Now, out of the past, came this in
vitation asking him to come up and
renew the friendship of the past.
Poor little girl! She had been
mourning for him all these years, and
guilty wretch that he vas, he had
been the means of making miserable
a life all too restricted, anyway, on
account of it's environment.
Dea, dear! 1t was all too bad! But
now the chivalric thing to do was to
make some amends, even if they neces-
sarily had to be f1eeting. He would
run up on the first train. 1t would
| give him chance to see his native
place once more. Not that he relished
that. The cheerful graveyard the aw-
full hotel, the familiarities of old
schoolmates did not appeal to his mu-
nicipal sensibilities.
But the girl. Certainly after all
these years she was entitled to have
her heart soothed.
He looked up the time table, found
the train left in two hours, and then
sent a telegram.
After it had been sent it 1-lddenly
occurred to him that it was foolish
thing to do. People in remote country
districts were not used to such things.
1t would doubtless brighten her, but it
was too late to remedy that.
| He gathered in a box of candy on
his way uptown and bunch of violets.
Certainly no two things were calcu-
lated to go any straighter to the
heart of the demure little country lass
whom he could now see in his minds
eye standing wistfully in the gateway
as he waved to her down the road.
! AS the train moved into the sta
ton and slowed down he jumped off,
fairly bewildered The old station had
been torn down. The smart looking
affair in its place seemed almost an
anomaly on the landscape. But he
had no time to think.
; "Hello, Jack! Awfully good of you
to come. Jump right in. You're a
dear thing"
| The girl who squeezed his hand so
! frankly, and, indeed, SO athletically-
could it be she? It did not seem pos
sible!
Before he knew it she had tossed
him into her motor car, with all his
belongings, and they were off down
! the road at 80 miles an hour.
Nellie, is it yours?" he ex-
claimed.
"Sure! But say, Jack, why didn't
you telephone instead of wiring? You
know l have long-distance right in
my room. Dear me, it would have
saved nearly two hours, and 1 can tell
some decent people in to dinner. But,
they are coming, although some have
/ 40 miles to come. Here we are! Old
/ homestead rather decent place since it
was made over, eh? BY the way, did
/ you bring a Wall street edition with
/ you? I've been so busy-all due to
you-that l haven't even had time to
ask about the market Candy And
flowers! Oh, thanks" tossing them
on the table. Lovely of you, but why
didn't you get Maillard's? Never mind
F.! Sit down and have a smoke. If you
don't like these cigarettes l have an
other assortment in the other room"
Before he knew it she had dragged
him into the modern looking country
house and deposited him in a chair.
| Twill you excuse me a few min
utes?" she called, halfway out of the
room. Il want to wigwag a neigh
: bor.''
But he ran after her and held her
back.
Good heavens, Nellie" he gasped,
what is the meaning of all this? Why
didn't you let me know? I've been
thinking Of you all these years as a
demure little country girl with a
broken heart. Am I in a dream?
Everything has changed. Can this be
really you? What has happened?"
Nothing but real estate boom,
my dear. I've been so busy giving
week-ends and going to Europe and
playing bridge and motoring that
! really will you forgive mel act
ually haven't had time to call you I'D"
He gave one deeting, bewildering
gaze at the smart establishment, at
the charming CLINT Of landscape
through the window, fianked by the
box hedge, and then came swiftly back
to the girl.
But, Nellie" he protested, you
might have taken the time you
might have sent for me long before
this even for old times Sako