The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1909-01-14
THE UNDYING PAST.

were fixed on the little white gate. He
approached it with reverential steps, Lit
was here they had met, it was here they
had parted. That summer of 'SS, never
had there been such another summer. He
felt himself senile, prehistoric. Invol-
unfairly his shoulders bowed, his face
grew creased with wrinkles.
1t was not until he raised his eyes
and saw himself observed by the lady
that he regained his youth.
Though startled, he lost nothing OF
his customary grace.
Il crave your pardon" he murmured,
doffing' a hat which disclosed no griz-
zled locks.
She granted it with gracious bow;
and then, as he still fingered raised in
quiring, almost protesting eyebrows.
Was she not a would she not
sympathize with his pilgrimage! He. re-
solved to confide in her.
II am revisiting," he said accordingly,
"the scenes of my boyhood."
Indeed" said she. ut was some time
ago?"
Twenty years." he sighed, 'by the
calendar; by memory, yesterday"
''You see," he Observation-Disclosures
was not one of his failings-"she was
my first love-"
''How romantic. Do you remember her
name?'
Il shall never forget it. Her name
he CROPPED in the recesses of his memory
-'her name was Mabel"
mabel" echoed the young lady, her
lips between her teeth.
'It was here''-he laid his hand af-
fectionately upon the gate-"we first
met"
Its wet,' she warned him.
He withdrew his hand hastily
ct had just been painted" he men
toned as a strange coincidence, 'on that
unforgettable day. She had on a white
frock, but I wore red blazer; [ went
to bed without tea that night. At the
time it struck me as hardship, but
now to feel again that divine thrill, l
would gladly suffer such martyrdon."
"Twenty years." he mused "Time is
curious whirligig. Everything is gone,
but the old gate remains"
She shook regretful head
Its the third l remember; it was
only put up yesterday"
"At any rate" he consoled himself,
after momentary pause, tits where
the old gate used to stand"
The girl hesitated and glanced at a
spot some yards lower down, but being
unwilling, perhaps, to shatter another
illusion held her peace.
Il feel,' mentioned the young man,
"as though 1 were again SEVEN"
This very month";" he assured her.
'You were not then born.''
She admitted the fact
And you came," she suggested, "to
visit her-shrine
Her tomb" he corrected. "My little
sweetheart slumbers beneath the sods
of twenty years. Her only monument
is doubtless a stout matron, and her
epitaph Mrs. Somebody And yet I am
probably her only mourner.'
your constancy is remarkable"
1T is so easy" he murmured, ito be
constant to a memory. It's not until
ones ideal materializes that the strain
comes'
..She may not be stout" remarked the
girl, seeking to cheer him. after all,
twenty years : y"
1T was hereditary" he said sadly.
"The fear haunted me even then"
He glanced at the house.
"That was her window" he indicated.
"Oh,' said the girl, 'oh really"
every morning would come and
whistle beneath it, and she would pull
the curtains on one side and smile down
at me- We would go out together and
awaken the larks to emulation-I taught
her to cycle"
"To cycle,' half protested his listener,
twenty years ago!"
"It was early in the morning" he re-
minded her, half reproachfully, "and we
saw 10 harm in it. The bicycle was
much taller than we were, which made
mounting difficult, and dismounting less
difficult, perhaps, but even more dan
gerous."
You were on a holiday"
"a month. How we wept at parting
here, at this self-same gate, or, rather,
what was the gate then. broke a
sixpence in half 1 remember, for keep
sake" He smiled reminiscently and
glanced at his hand 81 have the scar
still'
"And to think that you should be liy-
ing here
The girl gazed at him with puckered
brows, and eyes which limited at secret
amusement.
Somebody must live here" she re-
marked.
''Well, yes,'' he admitted; cone cannot
expect constancy CT a house,
The remark drew scornful smile to
her lips.
"Had you found her here you would
have been sorry"
'You think so? You have seen her;
she is much changed?"
.'She is my sister," said the girl calmly.
The young man gazed at the distant
trees in silence for moment; when his
eyes came back to her, she saw. they
were full of a strange wonder.
"Her sister," he repeated, and his
voice had taken on a new tone; "and-
she-'
"She has not forgotten you," she said
gravely. Her voice shook little as she
added, "and she is not-married."
"She is-?" His questioning glance
Travelled to the house.
The girl shook her head, and her eyes
sought his as if they would read his
most secret thoughts.
"She returns tomorrow. If you still
care-to meet her, you may come and
have tea with us. If mott shall say