El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-07-16
The Gold Coin
A short Story.

/ short Story.
~ hey picked up his mangled body
at the foot Of the cliff In his
pocket was a letter.
: To-day 1 went TO meet you, child,
when YOU came home from the office.
/ You like so much to have me come and
meet you these bright summer even
ings when it is still daylight at
I o'clock. But you DO not like me to
call YOU on dark winter e-enings You
are so full Of loving care for me child
"Ou the corner Of Bergstrasse 1
stopped to wait for you. From this
/ corner I can see the big office building
IN which YOU are working. I stood
J looking towards the door anticipating
the moment when YOU came out.
The clock in the church tower
struck S and filled the air with the
sound OF Its chimes and suddenly the
thought struck me today is the last
day of the month when YOU receive
''yOur months salary. his viii make
YOU come a little later.
Then a Stylishly dressed young
woman went by. tall and straight and
. handsome. I recognized her face under
the big hat; ii was Crete Allmers, your
former friend and school mate. Now
she is Crete AllmerS no longer. for
she mas married a rich husband whose
name / forget She saw me too. and
nodded her head with Il friendly smile
a poor old man / followed her with
. pleasure just to look at her. And
then ] saw you coming out of the
door and ran almost INTO the arms of
your friend. Crete AIlmers laughed and
there was happiness in her voice, and
YOU smiled as YOU often smile. And
then. quite suddenly ! saw something
1 had never seen before a mother
perhaps sees such things coming, a
father does not see them until they are
there. ] saw that You are no longer q
d. q linz
longer red and that there are lines
running from your nose to your mouth.
Never, child, did I see this before I
never noticed that time put new lines
into your face, but now I suddenly dis
covered them saw how bitter was
your smile compared to your friends
happy young laughter You and she
are the same age still she looked the
same as always. while YOU had aged
You came towards me. You were happy
and smiled. And L looked at your
smile, child, as I have never looked be-
fore.
Was the evening long or did it pass
quickly I do not know. Then We
said good night and when I came
into my room I found what I have
round every month In all
these years. your gold coin. When
you. seven years ago got your present
good position and for the first time
brought home your salary, you came
TO me, your eyes beaming with Joy and
said Look father-what a lot of money
am making I won't need nearly all
of it, What does our little house
keeping cost2 We are only two peO-
pie Now please take this for your
self. for some little thing YOU might
want Do take il for my sake And
I took it. not for the sake of the ten
marks. but for the light Of happiness
in your eyes. And since then the same
thing has happened every month.
When I have come into my little room
/ have found your little cold coin You
never wanted me TO thank you for it.
My thanks were to be the spending of
the money. And I have spent some OF
it. because YOU have watched me too
closely to put all aside, but spent
far from all of it. Many Of your
gold coins are still lying in a drawer
of my desk. When I looked at the gold
coin tonight I suddenly understood
what had been struggling within me
all night. 1t was as if an iron gate
were suddenly opened and the whole
pack of thoughts. that had been
suddenly released and rushed at me
Golden COins-that is all YOU have
received in return for your youth. mis-
cradle gold coins You have done things
in an office which scores Of people
could do just as well, your young life
was nothing but a small part of a
dead machine.
You have not married. No husband
has enjoyed your youth No children
have come TO you to keep YOU young
All that remains of your youth are
a heap of golden coins.
ooh, my child. this is what has hap
pened and I have not seen il happen.
It is as 4 the seven years had suddenly |
acquired voices that shout at me Until
now they have been silent, and have
hidden themselves in the darkness, but
now they rush at me a dreadful host
and their shrieks resOund in my ears
"a painter who understood to paint Z
pictures only but not to sell them a I
pitiful. perhaps a heroic figure-then
game the paralytic stroke. and the .
hero became martyr Was IL then I,
really 500 Was II perhaps not quite I
You have not only made the I
necessary money to provide for US ]
both YOU have nurSed me. YOU have +!
tive without any help. YOU have cooked :
our meals, YOU have sewed and worked. 1
Never in my life have I sold 1
painting below my price I could never !
cheaper my art. And now voice with /
i'm me shouts that 7 have always val /
ued myself too highly. far too highly. !
must die now I have no right to /!
live. child. You viii suffer at first 7 /
know YOU viii suffer, because YOU !
love me. But that suffering was bound ]
to come some time anyway, and there I
are sufferinEs that come too late. Your
salary viii be more than big enough I
for YOU now that YOU have nobody to |
share it. You Will have no money troU-
5les. You will not have to work like
q slave before and AFTER Office hours,
on viii travel and see things that will
make your eyes bright once more and
make your smile young again
You know that 7 love the path
across the Ottersberg mountains. I
20 there. very seldom because YOU are J
a fraid something might happen to me. 7
It is a dangerous path with a deep !
abyss on one side and no railing. Sew
=ral accidents have happened there
But IL will be hard. very hard at (
The last moment. The gold coin 7 I
found here in my room tonight. ] shall 3
take with me and look at it before
] n- GfTnnU n ]
10 it."