Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1911-06-24
WHEN THEY
MET AGAIN
BY r. PEMBERTON SLADE
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

cent in the world, nor had she A girl
at that age is far more developed than
man of the same years. She seems
to advance quicker. but not so far as
the man. l know there are women
nowadays who will not admit this, but
am not going TO stop in my story to
argue the point. At all events, when
Mildred and were twenty was still
a boy building castles in the air, while
she was looking at her and my pres
ent and future status in a rationalistic
way.
was going out to China to engage
in business and 20 live there inden
nitely. | was to take a clerkship al
the bottom of the ladder, and l ha0
not heard that promotion was veC
rapid. / was unreasonable enough to
urge Mildred to engage herself to me.
OF course she declined, but not for
any reason except that she considered
that an engagement between us under
the circumstances would be unjust to
both.
"Very WELL" said. "Do not con-
slider yourself bound to me, nor will l
consider myself bound to you, but so
sure as the world turns on its axis
will return, and if you are free ana
willing / will marry you"
So we parted. l went to China de-
termined to attend strictly to the work
of advancing myself so that l might
return for my love. l wrote her oc-
casionally and received replies to my
letters. I was bent on keeping my
promise and strained every nerve to
achieve the wherewithal to enable me
to do 1t. But the luck was against me,
I had been with a firm five years when
they failed and went out of business
/ found a position with another con-
Germ, with which l spent another five
years. I was just about to be ad-
mitted to the firm as Junior partner
when the head of the house died. His
widow insisted on the business being
wound up that she might get her capt.
tai out Of it and go home to America.
This threw me out again. By this
time / had acquired a little capital,
and. putting 1t with that of another
man, we went into business together.
Within year we lost all the capital
of both by speculation. started in
again with borrowed money and In ten
years found myself with fortune.
/ was now forty-two years old, and
Mildred was the same age. For the
last ten years l had heard very little
from her, but knew that she had not
been married. l suppose 1t was pride
or obstinacy, or both. that induced me
| to 90 back 20 America for her. OF
course an absence Of twenty-five years
from a woman one loves-or has loved
must make quite a difference In his
| feelings for her. 1t occurred to me
however, that when we came together
we would go on from where we left
off. / wrote reminding her that l had
told her when / separated from her
that l would surely some day come
back to marry her and was now
about to do so.
/ received a reply to my letter the
day sailed. Mildred confessed that
she had been waiting for me all these
years, since she had believed was
Just the man to do what had said
would do. Fortunately" she said,
call my friends tell me that look ten
or dozen years younger than women
of my age, and there is hope that my
personal appearance won't shock you"
/ confess I was greatly agitated
when called on Mildred, sent up my
card and waited for her to receive me
When she came in she was naturally
embarrassed. As for me, was sur
prised, for she did not look more than
twenty-eight. While she might well
have changed so much that I would
not know her, saw her just as re-
membered her, though few years
older, and yet not old enough to take
her beyond the pale of young lady
hood.
After a separation of more than two
decades beginning just where we left
off was impossible. / found that i
must win my love again-not that l
| felt any anxiety as to how my court
ship would result, but that we were
both changed. / knew very well that
! Mildred would not have known me
had she not expected me. And as for
her. though she WIS not so changed in
appearance as 1, there was in her
those other changes that come over us
so imperceptibly that ones friends do
not notice them unless they are sepa-
rated from us for long periods One
change in her was more marked than
any other. had left her an extreme
~ matter of fact woman. Increased
years seemed to have developed a GER
tain ideality that / had not noticed
when she was younger. But am In
clined to think that every trait there
is in us is developed as we grow
older.
In a month we were married, since
] must get back to my business. The
ceremony was over when my wife In
troduced a lady as her older sister.
was much disconnected.
IT remember your younger sister
Florie, about six years old when l left
America. I never heard Of an older
one"
II am Mildred" said the older.
"And am Florie," said the younger.
/ stood mute. looking from the one to
the other. / can't say that any one
defined feeling prevailed. They neu-
tralized ono another.
81 am too old for you now" said
Mildred. "but you are too good man
TO be lost to the family. have engi'
ueered all this. Florie helped me-"