Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-04-06

were bosom friends. and Jim MacAleS-
ter and Edward Dudley were insepa-
rable These two young men used TO
come to see Helen and me always to-
gether till time came when we paired
off, Jim and i making one couple, Ned
and Helen the other.
I don't know a better way TO make
matches than for two girls. chums.
and two fellows, chums, to form
quartet for spending their leisure
hours. Almost always one OF the
couples will get to lovemaking. and
the other will catch the infection. jim
and caugh. 1t from Ned and Helen.
l think it was their example that set
Jim and me to thinking about mar
rage At any rate, Jim began to grow
spoony, and 7, thinking that 1 was not
likely to do better. encouraged him.
In due time he proposed. and accept
ed him. At this time Ned and Helen
had been engaged several months and
! had fixed their wedding day. But be
! fore IL came round Helen was taken
| i'll. and it was put off. Helen recovered.
| and another day was fixed. but this
time Ned fell sick. and there was an
other postponement.
When Ned improved his doctor order
| ed him to the mountains, where he
would breathe dry air. He went out
TO the Rockies, to be gone few
months. at the epd of which time and
on his return the wedding day was to
/ be fixed for the third time. We all
went to the station to see him off. He
did not wish to go any more than
Helen wished to have him go. Jim
| consoled him till the train started, and
Helen went home in the carriage with
me, weeping on my shoulder as though
her heart would break.
Ned wrote that he was picking up
marvelously out in the mountains. and
when two months had elapsed he
wrote Helen to brush up her trousseau.
for he would be back in a few weeks
for the wedding. Poor Helen came
to me with a lugubrious face about her
trousseau, for the fashions had chang
ed couple of times since it was first
made. Articles that were cut short
then had since been cut long: those
that had been made scant were now
made full. She had bought several e1-
pensive hats. very small, and the fash
ion had bloomed out to enormous pro-
portions.
1 helped her prepare new trous-
seau; but, alas, it. too. passed out OF
fashion in closets and bureau drawers.
Ned, instead of coming home. wrote
that he had bought a gold mine and
was going to make fortune. He had |
some property and put portion of it |
into his gold mine and felt it necessary |
that he should stay where he was till |
the property had been placed on /
paying basis.
When this next period had passed |
Ned turned his property into cash and |
put it all into his gold mine. He wrote |
Helen that this was necessary. because |
If he didn't he would lose what he had |
already invested. I
HelenS trouSSeau had now been made |
over so many times that it would not |
bear any more altering, and it was |
down to date for Ned was delayed in |
getting his mine into shape to leave.
All was going on swimmingly when
considerable flow of water was struck.
A large pump must be ordered, and
when it arrived it was found not to be
large enough. Then there was labor
strike among the miners. And so it
went on. first this trouble. then that,
till finally all Ned's fortune had gone
down into the big hole in the ground.
Ned wrote Helen telling her what
had happened-that he had no income
and would remain where he was till
he had recovered what he had lost
He offered to release her from her en-
but so far as he was con-
cerned he would never marry any one
else. When he got his affairs in prop
er shape to take a wife. if Helen were
free, he would claim her. Meanwhile
he would not blame her if she married
another.
Helen replied that she felt just as
Ned did about it. Her heart had been
given te/him and she could not if shs
would give it to another. If at the end
of five. ten, even twenty years he
claimed her he would find her ready
TO give herself to him.
Meanwhile Jim and l were married
md getting on nicely. We regretted
that our companion couples affair had
not turned ont so well. l did my best
TO cheer Helen. and Jim wrote TO en-
Ned. But the case looked
hopeless to us. Ned was long while
after the collapse of his mine getting |
my kind of start and when he got |
,ne it wasn't enough to marry on. Sew
eral years passed. and he felt that he
ind Helen had waited so long that he
iidn't care to marry without getting
ais Affairs into excellent shape.
A dozen years passed. during which
Ned Dudley went up and down hill
lumber of times, never remaining on
crest long enough TO warrant-accord- ]
ng 70 his own ideas-his taking
wife. He kept Helen's picture with
lin and never failed for Il single day
o look nj IL. for il was on his dressing