El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-06-03


ended had the thought not come to
\ me, as if by inspiration, that
could, at least, Ice Of some small ser
vice 10 her. yet keep my identity il
the BACKGROUND After waiting in Au-
gusta one more week in anxious hope
mat each day might bring a letter IRON
her j took the train for Atlanta. anC
there began a search for the holders
of the mortgages on the ElneS. ~ lun
good references [ presented myself al
the office of one of the large trust
companies and authorized its agents
to trace the mortgage and to secure II
at any cost After weeks Of 1ncessani
work we traced The holders somewhere
in the southern part OF the state, ana
an agent of the company was dis
patched there TO take up the mort
gage. The utmost caution was neces-
sary to secure the consent Of Bud with
out eXciEing his suspicion The mold
ers of the paper were instructed 70
say that they had to sell and that they
had found a company whose business
iC was to lend money Wiling 10 &c
cept it. Nothing was said about re-
duciuE the interest IL was not unLli
the transfer had been made known to
Bud that the company had reduced the
interest from six TO four per cent
I had followed the transaction with
the keenest interest. and the officials
who were in my confidence became as
interested almost as /. / told them tnat
under no circumstances were the Iur-
pins TO know anything about me; that
everything must be done through
Them T6ev understood the necessity
Of secrecy, as I told them that the
beneficiaries Of this act would reject
IT and force a foreclosure had they any
reason TO suspect that the interest nau
been reduced through any desire to as
sist them in any way. satisfied that
had done something for Miss Ellen 4
determined to leave for the west. II
was while going 10 take my tram LnaL
a circumstance occurred that delayed
my departure for several days more.
I was late and was hurrying through
the depot when 1 ran fairly IN Ine
arms OF Bud. / did not recognize MIN
at first. and il was only when 1 stepped
back with a conventional apology tnat
saw the strong outlines OF MS race
and knew il to be that Of Miss Ellen's
brother. 1t was only momentary
glimpse had OF him, but he looked
older and more careWOrns IT seemed
to me. He seemed preOccupied and
old not recognize me- for, lowering my
face, 1 hurried past him and reached
the WaitingrOOm- abandoned all IN
tentiOn Of taking the train that day,
for I at once suspected that my secret
had. become known and that Bud had
come 10 Atlanta with the determination
of either having the transfer revoked
or else forcing me to accept the former
interest on the mortgage By a cir
cuitOus route I reached my hotel and
sending for a messenger, dispatched
note at once TO the company informing
the officials Of the arrival Of Mr. Iur-
pin.
The next day I learned that Bud
thinking the transaction somewhat
queer had come to Atlanta to see about
il himself, and I strongly believed that
Miss Ellen had urged him TO 1t TO sat
isfy herself that / was in no way con-
nected with the benefit which those at
the Pines would derive from the reduc-
ton OF the interest. Bud demanded TO
know TO whom his family was indebted
Il L..
osity. Ny agent told him that these
mortgages had become very valuable
and that his company had been autnOr-
lied TO secure as many OF them as pos
sible and to reduce the interest on
them to four per cent Satisfied that
the matter was a business transa ctiOn,
Bud left for the Pines again, ana
had reason to believe, with q lighter
Lost in the background and cOngrat-
lIating myself on the success of my
scheme, / wandered into the west The
face OF Ellen was ever before me Night
and day the picture of her, clad in a
simple Bingham frOcks her sleeves :
rolled up, and her hand pointing IN the
direction Of the old memorial bridge, /
was ever in my mind. Several times ] I
tried to resume my writing, but my /
pen seemed TO drop from my fingers or !
Use my mind refused TO respond to my !
VIII. In detection Of spirit my head I
would fail over on my arms and ! 4
would sit for hours dreaming Of the I
Pines and Miss Ellen In my apathy ] 4
to Japan, and for a while !
ife seemed brighter in that mosaic /
cooking country, but so where I would (
here was ever recurring to my 4
thoughts the picture Of Miss Ellen, and I
ny heart would swell and tears rush 4
to my eyes as remembered 4
)ur parting There was talk OF war 4
between my country and Spain, but I
his interested me little, I seemed to i
nave lost my sense Of the proportions /
az na= Ha 10 mil
he thread Of my life and begin anew
started for the States. Almost the
.irst thing I learned on reaching the
Pacific slope was the fact that war
rad been declared The viii of an in
iignant people had swept aside poll
les and diplomacy and had surged with
such force about the nations rulers
hat no one dared TO stand in its
The martial spirit Of my ancestors
had never burned within me, for my
mind had always been set in other di-
-ecuOnSs ana my pursuits were those
II peace Never hesitatine a moment Z
however, I started across the continent
BY telegraph and letters I collected
ny scattered influences and, backed
" my delegation IN congress, asked
he governor Of my state for a. COM
MISSION 1t was secured without much
rOubles and was mustered in the I
service as a first lieutenant Of vOlun-
GERS in one Of the regiments from
massachusetts,.
Then began the weary weeks-and
months, it seemed to some Of Us-of
rating. The excitement Of enlisting 4
md drilling the men, organizing the
companies, and getting the recruits
informed acted on me like a tonic. |
ceased to brood over my disappoint-
nent, and while my love for Miss Ellen (
vas as great as ever, yet felt that
lad regained my manhood, and the war I
pirit, once aroused IN me, drove me
Ike a master. The day for quitting |
he state was a sad one for many, but
was not so for me. Ny heart bound Z
d with JOY when the order for our
movement was read at headquarters.
IF all the officers I think I was the
My one whose departure was not I
'lessed with the tears of mother. sis
er. or sweetheart. Ny father, now old
nd feeble, came to see me, and his
yes became wet as he beheld me for
he first time in my uniform and fold /
d me in his arms. Ny mother had