Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1911-05-12
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
a 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 l were twenty l was still
q boy building castles in the air, while
ghe 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 indeh-
niteiy. / was to take a clerkship at
the bottom of the ladder, and L had
not heard that promotion was very
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 10
both.
Every WELL" ! said. DO not con-
slider yourself bound to me, nor will
consider myself bound to you. but so
sure as the world turns on its axis
will return, and if you are free and
willing I 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. l was bent on keeping my
promise and strained every herve to
achieve the wherewithal to enable me
to do it. But the luck was against me-
I had been with firm five years wheD
they failed and went out of business
/ found a position with another con-
Germ, with which l spent another hVe
years. / was just about to be ad-
mitted to the firm as a 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 1t and go home to America.
This threw me out again. By this
time | had acquired a little capital,
and, putting it with that of another
man, we went into business together.
Within a year we lost all the capital
of both by speculation. l started In
again with borrowed money and In ten
years found myself with fortune.
l was now, forty-two years old, and
Mildred was the same age. For the
hoard hftlp
from her, but knew that she had not
been married. l suppose it was pride
, or obstinacy, or both, that induced me
l to go back 20 America for her. OF
course an absence of twenty-five years
from a woman one loves-Or has loved
must make quite difference in bis
- feelings for her. 1t occurred to me
however, that when we came together
we would go on from where we lef
of. l wrote reminding her that hat
+ told her when I separated from hel
that would surely some day come
back to marry her and was now
: about to do so.
/ l received a reply to my letter the
/ day l sailed. Mildred confessed thai
1 she had been waiting for me all these
! years, since she had believed l was
Just the man to do what had said
=. would do. Fortunately" she said
call my friends tell me that look tel
:, or a dozen years younger than womeI
of my age, and there is hope that my
S personal appearance won't shock you
+ l confess / was greatly agitatet
when called on Mildred, sent up m!
card and waited for her to receive me
When she came in she was natural.
embarrassed. As for me, was sur
n prised, for she did not look more thar
twenty-eight. While she might vel
have changed 50 much that l would
not know her, saw her just as l re
u membered her, though a few year!
d 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
i Off was impossible. ! found that
I must win my love again-not that
felt any anxiety as to how my court,
Y 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 che was not so changed in
4 appearance as I, there was in her
S those other changes that come over us
v 80 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 I 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
I must get back to my business. The
ceremony was over when my wife in
troduced u lady as her older sister. l
was much disconnected.
81 remember your younger sister
F1orie, about six years old when I left
America. / never heard Of an older
one"
'T 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 one another.
II am too old for you now" said
Mildred. "but you are too good a man
to be lost to the family. have engi-
neered all this. Florie helped me-"