The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1910-10-21
Was He a Coward?
By CARL JENKINS


oeiated Literary Press
a hero or a coward. II hero. il is
forgotten In a day; II a coward, not
for years, If ever.
Mr.. Parker hurried straight to the
hotel. People who saw him IN his
flight looked and wondered. Mrs. Par
ker had not come out. The son burst
into her room and flung himself down
and covered his face with his hands
and wept
What is it?" she asked as sho
stood beside him with her hand on his
head.
"a child fen OF the wharf" he an.
swered after a time.
And you were there?'
81 was the one TO nave leapod in
after him"
Poor boy! We should not have
come TO the water"
with that she turned away and
commenced taking her garments down
off the hooks and folding and packing
them.
When the son could control his
voice he stepped 10 the telephone and
asked for his bin and ordered a car.
riage for the depot, Two hours later
mother and son we're on their way
home. When they talked # was not
OF what had happened on the wharf.
Don't you see he couldn't have
done anything else?" querIed Dr. Har,
graves at lunch, when some one said
that "the coward" had departed
He passes out Of our lives, Of
course"
And II so comes about When the
doctor again visited the safe deposit
company he saw young Mr.. Parker.
but neither bowed. Some one else
waited on the patron People who had
met the young man socially at the
Doctors residence inquired about him
in a car. less way, and were as care
lessly answered. Now and then the
father wondered II the daughter had
been interested enough to care or be
disappointed, but he could not make
up his mind The affair had never
been referred TO again after the first
day.
A whole year passed. Father and
daughter were again bound for the
same hotel, but this time they were
motoring a part Of the way, the car
being driven by chauffeur.
In the middle of the afternoon, on
broad highway, four foreigners who
had struck work in a quarry not far
away and were ripe for mischief,
halted the auto to commit highway
robbery. The chauffeur was a pol.
troon. He could have run them down,
but he halted the machine.
The doctor was not armed, but he
refused to leave the car, and struck
at the fellows who sought to pull the
daughter out. Such a one-sided con
aict could not last long, and must
terminate in a victory for the attack.
ers. They were pushing the advan-
tage of numbers when a second auto
rolled up quietly behind them and a
young man leaped out Without any
weapons but his bare fists he sailed
into the four. They drew knives on
him, but he struck one after another
and fought fiercely and silently The
battle ragged up and down the road for
five minutes, and then the used-up
men retreated to the woods.
The doctor and his daughter had .
it without a word They
knew the attacker, and they saw blood .
on his face and hands as he waved to .
them that the road was clear and
walked back to his own machine
1T is Mr. Parker!" whispered Miss
May.
Hanged if It isn't!" replied the
.ather.
But folks said he was a coward"
I'm! l was among those who said
SO. Guess we made a mistake some
where"
IL hope ro!"
Ell? Eth? You hope what?"
The words were not repeated.
A week later, at the Harbor hotel,
he doctor called his daughter into
lis room to say.
81 wrote to a friend of mine in the
,ity and asked him to do me a favor.
lie had an interview with Mr.. Parker's
mother. Say, dear, while the public
las a notion that your father is a
;reat doctor, / want to admit to you
hat he is great fool"
why, what is it?'
q ought to have suspected some.
hing of the kind from the first. When
Ir. Parker was a child of two his
Iurse let him fall into the water. He
lad a close call from drowning. II
ave him a dread and a horror of the
,ater, and it will always be with him.
les no coward. He simply fears the
ne thing Plenty of cases like it
m writing him a very abject letter
his afternoon. Don't you want to in,
lose something? If he'll be sensible
nd forgive, I'll take him for a son-in
w about a year hence. Eh? Ell
rat makes you blush, doesn't it?
2lieve you've been his champion righ'
lOngl"