Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1914-01-24

quite well the importance of ms
npighbor's first movement We're he
20 tear those letters into shTcds,. lie
might be thus tempted All depended
on the strength Of his present mood
and the real nature of the secret
which lay buried in his heart
There Was sound as of settling
coal Only at night would one expect
to hear so slight sound as that in a
tenement fun OF noisy children. bu.
the moment chanced to be propitious'
and il not only attracted the attention
Of Sweetwater On his side OF the wall.
but it struck the ear of Brotherson
also. With an ejaculation as bitter
as it was impatient. he reused him
self and gathered up the letters.
Sweetwater could hear the successive
/ rustlings as he bundled them up in
his hand. Then came another silence
then the lifting Of a stove lid.
Sweetwater had not been wrong in
his secret apprehension. His idenu-
fcation with his uuimpressionabie
neighbor's mood had shown him what
to expect. These ietters-these limo
cent and precious outpOurings of a
rare and womanly sOul-the only con
ceivable open sesame to the hard
locked nature he found himself pitted
against. would soon be resolved into
vanishing puff Of smoke.
But the lid was thrust back, and the
letters remained in hand. Mortal
strength has its limits. Even Brother
son could not shut down that lid on
words which might have been meant
for him. harshly as he had repealed
the idea
The pause which followed told lit
tie. but when SweetWater heard the
man within move with characteristic
energy to the door. turn the key and
step back again to his place at the
table, he knew that the danger mo-
ment had passed and that those let
tiers were about to be read. not casual
ly. but seriously, as indeed their con-
tents merited.
This caused Sweetwater to feel seri-
Gus himself Upon what result might
he calculate?
Impossible TO tell. The balance of
probability hung even. Sweetwater
recognized this, and chung, breathless.
to his loop-hole. Fain would he have
seen, as well as heard
Mr.. Brotherson read the first letter.
standing AS it soon became public
property, will give 1t here, just as il
afterwards appeared in the columns of
the greedy journals:
Beloved:
When | sit, as | often do, in per-
feet quiet under the stars, and dream
that YOU are looking at them too, not
for hours as do. but for one full mo-
ment in which your thoughts are with
me as wholly as mine are with you, |
feel that the bond between us. unseen
by the world. and possibly not wholly
recognized by ourselves, is instinct
with the same power which links to-
gether the eternities.
1T seems to have always been; TO
have known no beginning, only a bud
ding, an efliorescence. the visible prod
uct of a hidden but always present
reality A month ago and | was igno-
rant, even, of your name. Now. you
seem the best known to me, the best
understood. of Gods creatures. One
afternoon of perfect companionship-
one flash of strong emotion. with its
deep, true insight into each others
soul, and the miracle was wrought.
We had met, and hencefoTth, parting
would mean separation only, and not
the severing of a mutual bond. One
hand. and one only, could do that now.
l will not name that hand. For us
: there is nought ahead but life.
Thus do | ease my heart in the ST.
! lence which conditions impose upon
US. Some day | shall hear your voice
again. and then"
The paper dropped from the read
er's hand. 1t was several minutes be-
fore he took up another>
This one. as it happened, antedsted
the other, as will appear on reading
it:
My friend:
II said that l could not write to you
{ -lEdl We luuSL Will. 1Ou we're VIII
ing; but there is much to be accom-
plished and the silence may be long.
My father is not an easy man to
please. but he desires my happiness
and will listen to my plea when the
right hour comes. When you have
won your place-when you have
shown yourself to be the man ! feel
| you to be, then my father will recog-
nize your worth, and the way will be
/ cleared. despite the obstacles which
now intervene
But meantime! All. you viii not
/ know it, but words will ris2-the heart
must find utterance. What the lip
/ cannot utter, nor the looks reveal,
these pages shall hold in sacred trust
! for yon till the day when my father
will place my hand in yours, with
heartfelt approval.
is it folly? A woman's weak
/ evasion of the strong silence of man
You may say so some day; but some
/ how. ] doubt it doubt it,"
The creaking of a chair-the man
within had seated himself There was
/ no other sound, a soul in turmoil
wakens no echoes. Sweetwater envied
/ the walls surrounding the unsympa-
! thetic reader. They could see. He
could only listen.
A little while; then that Slight