El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-02-22
Catherine
A short story.

on her arm. though she was strong
Just then Col Won Finkelstein
crossed the street to enter the bar
racks The young girl rested her
basket on the snow covered sidewalk
to see the setnry guard suddenly trans
formed into rigid statue II never
seemed that the thing was done
naturally. But the gray mantle Of the
officer disappeared through the gate
and the muscles Of the soldier sud-
denly relaxed Evidently she was ad-
miring him, so he smiled at Catherine.
a smile which covered his whole broad .
face from ear to ear.
The little laundry girl blushed
snatched up her basket and hurried
on.
You cOnceited fool" she muttered,
the expression Of disgust and cOn-
tempt told the man Of his mistake
Catherine hurried towards Kinkel-
STEMS handsome Bavarian. who al
though he was serving only in the in
fantry. made love like hussar-
Should 1t really be possible that this
girl who had shown such contempt
Of the sentry might be susceptible to
the love Of a "Prussian2'
Perhaps not quite, but there was
in Catherine a little Eve who was
never asleep. Sure enough the man
who wore. the kaiser's uniform was
nothing but a foreigner; but the for
hidden fruit always attracted the
daughters of Eve. and this fellow was
that Catherine sometimes deigned 70
listen to him
Suddenly she shivered- She thought
Of her grandmother her only Hvin-
relative, with whom she lived The
old woman was not a little worried
to see how her pretty granddaughter
attracted young men They came to
the laundry under all kinds OF pre-
lenses, and some times without any
pretense whatever. She knew ve-y
well that unselfish suitOrs are exceed
ingly rare Her old heart trembled
at the thought that Catherine might
become inveigled into a love affair
which might dishOnOr their name. But
that Catherine might throw herself
into the arms Of a "schWab" was a
thought which never entered the mind
Of the old Alsacienne. whose husband
had fought valiantly in the Crimea
war and the dreadful fight Of 1871
IF she knew" Catherine thought
She felt just a little ashamed now and
walked more slowly. She dreaded the
idea Of causing the dear old woman
moments sorrow. but she was young,
her life was so dreary and monOtouOus,
that she could not resist the tempta-
ton of listening to the compliments
Of the handsome and gay flatterer.
She entered the villa. handed over
the laundry to Nine Won kinkelsteiu's
chamber maid She was about to leave
as looking backward, when she felt a
hand on her arm
How proud you are tO1ay, pretty
one, won't you even say hOW-dO-ycu-
do to me2'
The merry blue eyes Of the Bavarian
enjoyed the young girls embarrass-
ment.
.I--was in a hurry an
Never mind. forgive you One al
ways forgives a pretty girl everything
But tell me, little one, when are you
gong TO meet me as You promised
WHY don't know that I
Now you are just trying to tease
me"
-Oh. how can you say such a thinges"
Somebody called from the floor
Must 60 said the young man.
But listen Catherine, When you go
to the midnight mass tonight. leave
home a little earlier than usual I WI
be waiting outside the barracks at II
o'clock and we viii have a nice cnar,
you and / VIII you Gomez
Sure OF his victory he stopped to
kiss her, but Catherine slipped away
from him witha laugh. She had not
asserted herself but she was vel
aware that she had not denied her in
quisitOr either.
Never had Catherine worked IS
swiftly as today. Her iron never
rested, and piles Of laundry were done
up by her busy hands with amazing
rap1dity- Still her thoughts were rot
with her work
Should she go? Should she not2 She
struggled and struggled with herself
but could not decide
She did not notice how often her
grandmother eyes rested on her and
how the old woman shook her head
as II she had an idea Of what was
going on in the young girls mind.
When dusk came she went Up 10 Cath
crime and said. surely you have
worked enough today. and besides it
IS holy evening tonight, dear"
so II is, grandma" Catherine sighed
4 have a little surprise for you,
dear Just because you are such z
good girl. have a little reward for
you
She led Catherine from the laundry
into their only living room which had
to serve as kitchen and bedroom as
-oh grandma" cried Catherine, ia
On the table was a Christmas tree.
pretty little fir tree with a score Of
candles, and trimmed with tinsel sp-
pies and gilt walnUts. At the foot
of the tree were numerous parcels
Catherine stood looking at the tree N
silence for several minutes until che
old woman put the parcels into her
hands.
rs it really Christmas gifts for me-
she cried
The old woman smiled and watches
GATHERINGS def fingers opening TIE
parcels
Why grandma. il is the green keF-
chief / have admired so much, And
silk ribbons and a warm petticOat. and
an Alsacian apron Of real linen! on
grandma. / feel so ashamed that /
have nothing at all for YOU
We old people don't need anything,
dearest We have our souvenirs"
The girl looked around and saw en-
the other side Of the tree, all grand
ma most precious relies: Grand
Iather's snUffbOX. her fathers silver
watch, her mothers earrings, and a
golden lOcket
suddenly she trembled- Through The
mist she saw a picture Of her grand
rather In the French emperor's uni
Catherine stared at these relies rep
resenting the past the glorious past
or her ancestors Her heart beat vlo-
lently, a lump came into her throat
and her eyes filled with tears. Sne
felt how near she had come to com
nit the dreadful crime Of(dishOnOriug
her people; but now she was SAFE.
her nerves We're no longer able 20
Withstand the shock and she threw her
self into her grandmOther's arms sob
bling
Thank you. grandma. thank you
The old woman understood that the
moment was critical and whispered in