The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1910-07-29

| cOHeo room, ana asked lot ArLnur.
He was told, to his Disappointment,
| that he always left the hotel early,
went to the Hospital of the Holy
| Cross, and very often did not return,
home before dusk.
| Mr.. Irvine thought it better not to
! go too early to the hospital, so he
sat down and wrote long journal
! like letter to lola, telling her all the
| events of each succeeding day.
1t was only when actually writing
it down in black and white that he
fully realized the strangeness of the
story ne mad TO tell.
Having finished his letter he took
it out to post, and then made his way
to the hospital and asked for Arthur
! Denstone.
He was shown into the visitors
room, where he found already groups
of people waiting about in large
bare apartment resembling the wait,
ing room of railway station. Bel
| fore he had been there five minutes,
the door opened and Arthur Denstonei
came in. He came forward with the
J stiff, uncertain look upon his face of
man who does not know whom to-
! expect, but at the sight of Mr.. Irvine
! his whole face changed, he sprang
forward with both hands out
I stretched, and with an emotion which
for the moment rendered him speech
J less.
/ "My dear fellow" cried Mr.. Irvine.
"what terrible time you have been
| through
ut is over now. than God!" said
! Arthur. "But oh, what on earth
brings you here? 1t is like breath
! of fresh air from home. How is
! lola? How are they all?"
II came in search of you, Arthur"
said Mr.. Irvine, gravely. "Tola was
breaking her heart about you"
ct have hardly had time to won
| der why she did not write" said
Arthur, passing his hand over his
brow, until the last few days"
"How could she write, not knowing
where you were? There are several
of your letters now at the Poste
Restante at Gpucy."
"But I wrote to her twice, both to
| her and my uncle in Liverpool. My
letters to Tola told her everything /
do not understand it."
"What can have become of them
| Poor Tola has not had one line from
you. The suspense has been very
great"
"And you came in search of me in
consequence? How good you are,
Irvine. / will make close inquiries
| about the letters. 1t is most extra
| ordinary"
"Now, tell me first. Arthur, what
is your position here?"
| I'VE have been battling for life
and DEATH" said Arthur. "The strug-
| gle has been terrible, and we have
had a terror of worse than death.
He shuddered slightly. "But it is
over now"
"Thank God!" said Irvine, earnest
ly. Have you been allowed to be
with herr"
"Yes. She is not in the hospital,
but in private apartments, and un-
der the charge, not only of the nurs-
ing sisters, but of DR.. Simon's wife,
a good, kind woman, who has been
like a mother to US both. Now she
sits up; she is very weak, but is get
ting we'll, and I am allowed to be
there frequently"
| Mr.. Irvine, looking more closely
at his friend, saw in his face traces
of long-continued fatigue. He had
grown very thin, and looked white
! and tired.
/ "You have had dreadful time of
it," he repeated, and Arthur nodded.
"She will be too tired to see you
| just now," he said presently; "but
tomorrow you must come. Mean
| while, we may as well go back to the
hotel and make inquiries about the
letters"
They made the closest investiga-
ton, and after time the truth came
out. Arthur had employed boy
from the hotel to post his letters who
had long been suspected of petty dis
honesty. He had regularly cut off
the stamps, and posted the letters
down grating, where he thought
| they would never be discovered, and
as no inquiries were made, and no
trouble came of 1t, ne went on doing
so with impunity.
Il can scarcely regret it," said
Arthur, "since the result has been
such a proof of friendship as your
coming out in search of me-"
The next day he took his friend to
visit Antoinette. They found her ly-
ing on sofa in the apartment of
the hospital that belonged to DIR.
Simon's wife, and Mr.. Irvine, when
his eyes rested first upon her, thought
| that he had never seen a creature so
fragile and so fair. Her face was
still white, and so delicate that the
pink color rose and died away at
every movement. Her little hands
| seemed almost TRANSPARENT hut tho