The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-04-13

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copyright. The Frank A. Munsey Coz
Mary sat by the front window,
crouched down. watching. Her eyes
were red with recent tears, but she
smoke bravely and without tremor to
someone in the other room.
There are some boys out here play.
ing tag" she said with q poor imita-
ton Of q laugh. "One Of them just
fell into q puddle. He looks 80 funny"
When Billy went to West Point he
said there wouldn't be anybody to
fight" the littlest brother submitted
shakily. LESS 1t was Indians. Now |
they send him to war"
Mary drew a quick breath. Their |
mother was sewing in the library
while Lionel read aloud to her. and
she must not hear. She must not
think they weren't being brave. too.
Come here, Bobbie," Mary said
softly. From here you can see way
up the street"
The littlest brother came gladly, be-
cause he was lonely and forlorn. On
the wide window-seat 1t was brighter,
and one could see telegraph boy a
block away If one came. Then, too,
Mary would talk, and mother was so
silent it frightened a body. Ever since
the newspaper had said. yesterday,
that an officer, lieutenant of the
Forty-second, had been killed away of
there, mother had not slept, and she
was so white 1t seemed there we're
not many lieutenants in C company Of
the Forty-second, and somebody
named Censor had held back the name.
"Will the president telegraph,
Mary?" he asked in whisper. DO
you think it's Billy, do your"
Mary was gazing wild-eyed at boy
in blue who came whistling down the
street. What should she do II he
came to their steps? Could she get
there before he rang? How could she
tell mother, how could she?
III 1t is Billy. will they put flowers
on his grave. Nary" the littlest
brother asked. MARY, is that boy
coming here, Is he?"
NO." Mary said with little gasp.
"He's gone to Mrs. Winthrops. l sup.
pose their aunt is coming to visit. Go
open the door for the postman, there's
q good boy. The postman Is coming
mother" she called. "Bobbie Is get
ting the mail"
Thus would mother be saved the
fear that message had come. Lione
closed the book. and she could heal
him speaking with brave POPULARITY
well, we'd have heard by this time
anyhow. l said all along there wasn'
anything to worry about. It isn't as Il
he were all alone. He's got a lot o.
friends in the regiment, you know, ant
somebody'd wire. They'd have plent!
Of time. because they never do mucl
the day after fight"
Bobbie brought in the mail, all cas-
aside for the picture postals from Bill!
which they admired while mother rea,
his fat letter in silence. 1t was tn,
custom to read Billy's letters aloud
but no one wanted the task now. Eacl
could read by himself. except the lii
tlest brother. and Mary read it to hin
in whisper on the window-seat. Dee
down in their hearts they knew the
might have worse than this to beal
with Billy's CHEEKY letters COMM
every little WHILE even though Bill
himself were lying silent in anothe
land, under the flag of the alien, tn
enemy. How could they bear it then
The telephone rang insistently
harshly, and Lionel, who was not VOL
ried, sprang with one leap to answe
it. his one awful thought being tina
they did telephone the kilograms some
times. The color came back to hi
face as he listened.
TITS father" he said at once. IN
says" Lionel added after a momen
"he says that headquarters has had n
news. and he thinks that Is encourai
ing. They would have heard, he think
He 10 coming home early"
Father could not do any business
then? What mattered 1t whether Their
was any business done any more
what mattered anything? Mary. o
the window-seat, her arm over Boil
bie's shoulder, could see. hundreds Q
miles away, the little group of me
fighting desperately against the az
vancing hordes and one by one fallin
where they had stood. guarding tn
stores. A lieutenant was very younl
just out of the Point. gay, debonair, a
fectionate, home-loving boy that h
was!
So the time dragged along and (,
Their came home. He talked abou
business and the men who had bee
In to see him, about a runaway hors
that had upset a banana cart. an
about a story in a magazine. but b
said no word Of Billy. He and mothe
sat side by side as he talked, an
when mother laid her hand on tn
arm of his chair he put his hand owe
hers and held it. The papers tosse
on the library table no one ha
touched The wild excitement owe
the war, the thrill at news of battle
the patriotic anxiety to do somethin
to help had left them under the clou
of possible personal loss. Billy
Why. il was only last winter he ha
been with them. acting like a sma
boy, with more charming pranks in
~ penular Russian Bevsrnos.