Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1915-current, 1915-12-20
A CHRISTMAS STORY
BY U

fair; a little stream ran bubbling at
the end Of the garden.
It was just here he had taken her
into his arms and kissed her swiftly,
and Miss Emmeline's soul had drown
ed in the kiss, as the shadows OF the
budding trees overhead drowned in
the water of the stream He had
spoken no word. There had been no
time. Interruption by others had fol-
lowed Immediately on the kiss, but as
they separated he had said to her
Tonight"
And the night had come, dressing
the April sky in pale stars and Miss
Emmelnie in satin and pearls. But
the man himself never came. She
had new een or heard from him
again. Indirectly she learned from
village gossip that he had been called
to town, but from him there had come
no message out of the void.
The days crept into months and
heightened into years, money came
to Miss Emmeline, and a spacious
house and friends in plenty. 1t was
only love that had passed her by. The
eager, happy girl, turned into the cold,
hard m One day she learned
from an announcement in the papers
that he had m~arried-years afterwards
from h same courc that he was
dead. And only a few months before
her nephew, the one human being in
ed what affection she had left in her
to give, had married the daughter of
the man who had won her heart one
Spring day and thrown it away as
way a faded flower from his coat.
But had he? Was it possible that,
after all, they had been separated not
by his indifference but by some awful
mistake? Had fate interviewed, police
man-like, and diverted the traffic of
their lives into separate turnings-
Had he-Miss Emeline's breath caught
in her throat with a queer little spasm
q hCA ollSl III n 1lIIol
doomed up before her as the envelope
fell away from the sheet. Then the
mist cleared and the sun danced mer-
rily upon its shiny surface as she
read:
MY dearest. have no right to call
you this yet, but l am hoping that you
will give me the right by return mail,
for l am in town, Emmeline, suddenly
called there by most pressing and
urgent business. l had no time to
write and explain before l left yester.
day. l am afraid you must have
thought my absence in the evening
will forgive Inc. Love you will find,
is mostly that-forgiveness. But do
you love me, Emmeline? That Is the
question l want above all others to
have answered. Had l leisure l would
write you words hat like faith, could
remove mountains Of opposition and
compel love, but this business presses
so hardly on me at the moment that
it is with difficulty 1 have snatched
the time to write even these few
words.
But, whether or not you love me,
believe Inc that l am ever your de-
voted lover"
RALPH"
The letter slipped from Miss En-
meline's hand with a little rustling
sound as of protest as 1t met the stif1
haired, sedately CARRIED, as she was.
was in the arms of her lover. What
matter If the man who wrote these
magic words were dead, and that 1t
last she need be ashamed of her owe
nc longer, she could bring it forth, a
thing of joy, into the sunshine of her
thoughts. He had returned her love.
the desire of his youth.
Miss Emmeline rose proudly from
her chair. She trailed her skirt a.
ross the room with the air of a queen.
When the butler answered her ring,
she spoke imperiously:
Barnes, I want this telegram sent
at once. Also please tell Mrs. Yates
that l am expecting my nephew and
his wife at any moment, and that l
wish rooms to be prepared for them
Immediately"
When the man had left the room
again Miss Emmeline walked across
to the long French window, and, smil.
ing happily, threw 1t open. She was
anxious now to hear the bells. All