The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1910-09-03
"Nope, | amt seen EN- myself b,

| SotAA eIlei - uO!HS pretty well, wv,
I'm told-'specia!iy Saturdays
'"Chid's play. 1 guess" growled Alb
ner Carter as he turned away.
| He was in no hurry to return home,
He strolled along the street in an aim
| less way.
This was a changed Abner Carter.
| He was uneasy and unsettled. He
| wouldn't admit it, but the letter be-
| hind the old clock on the mantel had
| shaken him q good deal.
He walked by the moving picture
theatre and stared at the Autographs
as he passed He had been thinking
too much lately. He needed some
thing to get his mind away from that
that stuff about a fathers heart.
cheap trick to catch his sympathy. per-
hapS. No, no. He wouldn't believe
il. Sylvia meant it-every word OF IT.
Sylvia-it was his mothers name and
for years he had barred it even from
his thoughts.
He turned and walked back and
then, half automatically, found him.
self pushing a nickel along the glass
shelf before the girl in the ticket
booth and moment later was in the
dark auditorium He stumbled TO a
seat and presently grew accustomed to
the novel surroundings. One of the
films was nearing the end as he
reached his seat, and when he looked
up at the stage the next series was
running.
From the first it held Abner Carriers
attention. He forgot the novelty, the
mechanism-it was all rea! to him.
The story told b. the film was
simple one. An old farmer, stern
old man, harsh and g-iZZled, had an
only son, fine young fellow, smart
and active This lad was very dear
to his father, although the old man
made few demonstrations Of affection.
1t appeared that ne decided the boy
should marry Dora, an estimabe
young woman. a relative of one Of the
family. But the boy fell in love with
the maid, a pretty girl VINO helped
with the household duties, and braved
his father for the pretty girls love,
And the hard Old man turned him
from his door. So William, with his
head high went away with the pretty
maid and they were married and lived
very humbly, William finding employ
ment in quarry.
Old Abner Carter watched this pic
ture story with a wondering interest,
finding no trouble in following it.
A child was born to William and his
wife. and while it was still babe Will
liam, hurt in an accident, was brought
to the little cottage dead. The old
farmer, still hardening his heart.
would not visit the stricken home
and threw aside the pitiful letter his
sons wife wrote him. But Dora, who
had loved William. went to the hum
BILE home and brought such comfort as
she could. And then she thought OF
a way to soften the farmers heart. |
She took the baby boy from the moth
err and laid him in the cornfield where |
the farmer would see him. But the old |
mans heart was still hardened and |
his words were bitter when he found |
told the poor little wife what had hap |
pened. And the heart of the mother
swelled with outraged love and dig
nifty and she ran swiftly, with Dora
following, to bring back her child.
And 10! when they neared the house
they saw the old man playing with
the child and holding him to his hard
old breast and crying over him. And
when he saw the two women he beck
oned to them and they came nearer
and noted how broken he was. and
then he opened his heart and arms
and his home to them and to his sons
child
Old Abner Carter rose up when the
little story was ended and stumbled
into the open air. He dimly noticed
on Autograph sheet at the door as
he went out. that one of the films il
Illustrated Tennyson's Dora" but he
knew nothing of Tennyson-and be-
sides his eyes smarted.
He hurried back to the tavern sta
bles and got his team and drove home
The next morning he was busy with
a sheaf of papers and later came to
the village and visited the bank In
the afternoon he took the stage for
The next morning with his frayed
valise gripped firmly in his knotted
hand. Abner Carter emerged from
he Grand Central depot and looked
lrOund-a little daZpd Rut nra spntlv |
he Strengthened up and plunged bold
y into the crowd. He found a modest
restaurant and ate a breakfast that
le didn't like, and then started out
IN the nueSt that bad hrn,,orht him To |