The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1913-02-21

AIaS, ne said, you are now free
but IL am a worthless cripple. You
will doubtless marry again, for you are
young and comely. and again I shall
suffer the pain of seeing you pass tc
the possession of another"
II will never inhict that upon YOU
again."
And l will not permit you to sacri.
fee a lifetime of comfort with husband
n children for me. To be near you
and not possess you would be a wretch.
ed existence for me. No. AS soon as
my wound permits l shall go away,
perhaps to America, where they tell
me that even such as. | may earn
enough to prevent his being a burden
on any one"
Louis, my life henceforth is yours
shall take care Of you and if neces,
sary work for you. But that will not
be necessary. My husband has left
me a competency, enough to live the
simple life to which we have been ac-
customed from our childhood. l have
done my duty toward him so long as
he lived, and now that he is dead what
was his is mine, and l am sure he
would not grudge me the comfort of
sharing it with you"
Nader made no reply. He was
thinking Of the words spoken by the
soldier on the field Of battle. But
now, since l am about to die, all that
has gone from me. I am even willing
that my wife should be happy with
him." He recalled, too. the look on
the mans face when he saw the flask
containing that which would quench
the horrible thirst and give him q little
strength to bear his sufferings. And
he rejoiced that he had conquered his
own craving and bestowed the boon on
his comrade.
Marya came often to see the manned
soldier, and while she rejoiced that
she might minister to him he found in
the m~inistrations of one he loved and
who loved him a solace for his mis-.
fortune. His wound healed slowly.
and since they were separated in their
homes, her attendance upon him was
inconvenient and difficult. In order
that she might do more for him it was
deemed better that they should be
married and live under one rooftree.
Some shook their heads that a widow
Of but a few months should marry.
but older persons approved Of the plan.
and the pair were made one
And now to return to the. soldier ly-
ing on the battlefield, who had &C.
copied his comrades last drink. The
same rescue party who had succored
his wounded comrade, thinking him
dead. passed on. Another party, &C.
companied by a medical officer. came.
and the surgeon. placing his a over
the soldiers heart. found that It
still beat. He ordered a restorative
and the man removed to a hospital.
There the soldier was revived, and
when he had come to a condition to be
questioned, an officer who was taking
the names of the wounded asked his
name.
The soldier hesitated. A faraway
look was in his eyes. but the officer
had no time to heed it.
Your name" he repeated impa-
tiently.
august Helm"
The officer passed on, not knowing
that the patient had not given the
name that belonged to him.
Helm. as he appeared on the hospital
list. lay for weeks lowering between
life and death. At last. pale and enact
ated. he was discharged, not only from
the hospital but from the army. and
tottered toward his home. On the
road he fell in with another discharg-
ed soldier limping along with his foot
and head bound up, and the two jour
neyed together.
II am going home" said the man to
Helm. Ito my dear wife. I have done
my duty by my country and have
earned a reunion with her l love-"
IL. too. am going home, to fnd-I ex-
pect-my wife with a former lover. l
have doubtless been reported among
the dead. since ! gave a false name at
the hospital"
"And what will you do If you find
the case as you expects"
0OU huOWS. rcplleU 11Suu.
When their paths separated the SOL
der said to Helm: "Goodby. l hope
that you will find that your wife has
loved you and remained true to you"
"Goodby." was the reply. II am pre-
pared for the worst"
Twill you kill him?"
II don't know"
Helm tottered on. stopping at times
by the way to gather a little strength
or perhaps because he dreaded to know
what he feared. He could not but envy
his comrade who had gone on to the
woman of whose affections he had no
doubt. And 10 one evening as dusk
was falling he approached the village
wherein was his home. He waited on
the outskirts until the inhabitants were
all within doors. then went on and.
coming to his wi house. looked in
through a window.
A cheerful fire blazed on the hearth.
hut there was no one in the room.