El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-07-21
When the Sun Rose
Al Short STORY.

III was dDSOlulely sui IN the large
dark room where the patient lay.
= A small lamp with a dark shade
family illuminated the heavy silk cur
tains which covered the windows. In
4 corner of the room stood the little
bed in which a small feyerish body
was struggling with death A beauti-
full young woman was sitting at the
bedside, her eyes anxiOUsly following
every movement Of the sick child
Her costly evening gown showed that
she had returned direct from some So
ciety affair Her gloves and fan she
had thrown carelessly- on the table
A lew hours ago she had been sitting
at the dinner table covered with flow
erS and surrounded by merry people,
when a messenger had arrived with the
word that her little boy had suddenly
been taken i'll
She hurried home as fast as her big
car would carry her and now she was
sitting there full of anxiety and de-
spair.
Over and over again, she asked her
self If it could really be possible that
she was about to lose her fairhaired
little darling Oh, no, God could not
est, her only JOY. She realized that
more than ever now, when she was
in danger Of losing him
She wondered If she had always
thought so, and her whole past life
came back to her mind
She saw herself as a happy, lively
and spoiled girl, whose every wish was
gratified- She saw herself surrounded
by admirers and suitOrss who flattered
and envied her, but she never felt, not
even for a short single moment, the
real true joy which fills and takes
possession of your heart and soul
Then the learned and famous pro
fessOr BOrnemann was introduced in
her parents hcme- He fell in love with
the young, lively girl and she ac-
cepted him though he was 20 years
older than she
Did she love him then?
No unfortunately not
Rich as she was. she decorated her
nome with every possible luxury and
comfort and filled il with guests, balls
and dinners in endless succession.
For a time her husband let her do
as she pleased. but one day he took
both her hands and looked earnestly
into her eyes, while he said in his
gentle voice;
Let US be done with all these empty
pleasures and let me see that I have
a splendid little wife. who cares more
for her husband and her baby than for
all the dances and dinners in the
world"
At first she stared at him in sur-
prise unable to understand him Then
she tore her hands away and answered
angrily-
aI do not see how You can make
such request You are old and have
enjoyed all the pleasures Of life, while
1 am young yet and have right to
enjoy myself
He looked at her sadly. then he
turned away and left the room with
out another word And since then her
life had been one mad round Of pleas
ures, while her husband and child
were left to take care Of themselves
And had she then found the hap
piness she sOught2
No, not for a single minute
The child in the bed moved again
Mama" the little feyerish lips
whispered.
She bent forward and stroked his
hot forehead with her cool hand
Mama" he mOaned once more
She felt cruel pain IN her heart
Had she done anything to deserve to
be called mama2 She bent lower still
and Two big tears fell on the golden
cCrls on the white pillow
The door opened Her husband en-
tered followed by the doctor. Her
eyes sought his. which looked deep.
deep into her soul
The doctor felt the boys pulse and
shook his head graEeIy
Il cannot say anything now. I shall
return IN an hour, when the crisis is
due. Until then we have hope With
a silent bow he left the room
The professor had sat down on
chair on the opposite side of the bed.
His grey eyes looked at the little hg-
ure in the bed with infinite tender
ness The young wife fell down on her
knees at her sons bedside
The boy tossed about restlessly,
while the minutes dragged along
slowly.
In a quarter OF an hour, then
It was the same thought that filled
the minds of husband and wife as
they looked at each other across their
little sons bed. Then both looked at
the hands of the clock
The child was still restless and few
erish- Over and over again the moth
er strOked her boys forehead with her
cool hand Then she let IL slide down
on the silk cover and inch by inch it
crept closer to a strong manly hand,
until she took courage and touched it
Their eyes met and a new sacred, 81
lent understanding was born
The clock struck s. The boy was
resting easily, his breathing regular
and his cheeks had lost their feverish
color. The crisis was over. The child's
life was out OF danger.
The professor stood up. went over
to the window. drew the curtains aside
and opened 1t Then he went back
to the bed and kneeled down at his
Wife's side.
The fresh air filled the room-and
then the sun rose