The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1915-07-09
His Fiancee
He Had Intended to
Be q Father to
to Her.
By ESTHER vANDERVEER

! By ESTHER vANDERvEER !
Il may not see you again for years.
VIII you be true to mer'
Rather ask yourself whether you
will be true to me. You are at an age
when a mans fancy is liable to great
changes"
Il shall not change in my feelings to-
ward you"
I'VE shall see. Now, come and kiss
baby; then you must be or"
Hugh Edgerton, twenty years old,
had become enamored Of a young wid-
ow, Mrs. Clara. Pomeroy, two years his
senior, with a child, a girl in her third
year. He had been offered a position
in a banking house in Hongkong, Chi
ma, and vas about to proceed there.
Full Of the hope of youth, he was in
tent upon making a fortune and return
ing to spend what remained to him of
life with Clara Pomeroy for his wife.
He followed her into an adjoining
o where the child lay asleep in her
crib. Bending down, he kissed her.
Dear little thing!' he said. when
l return l will be a father to her."
He took the child's hand in his, and
so soft, so dear was it that he could
hardly bear to release it, but the moth
err admOnished him that his time was
limited, and drew him away.
"Goodby," she said; whatever is in
store for you and me in the future
"And baby"
Eyes, and baby. l will say this, you
are a fine fellow and deserving Of a
good wife,
1t seemed to EdgertOn that the kiss
she gave him lacked the fervor Of q
woman deeply in love. But 1t had
always been so between them. The
widow, though but a few years his Sc
nior, had Il far wider range Of ex-
perience than be. and a woman of
twenty-five is usually much more ma
ture than u man Of twenty. When he
regretted this lack Of fervor she al
ways said to him. when ten or TWEEN
ty years have passed it will be I who
will have cause to reprOach you for in
difference"
While OH his voyage to China Edger-
ton spent the most Of his time writ
ing letters to his fiancee. If an anal
ysis of his feelings were possible it
might show more distaste for leaving
home and friends for a foreign land
thar love. but no. one has yet been
able to isolate Ove-as they say of
germs-and, after all, our affections are
largely a matter Of association. Never
theless Edgerton pinned for his widow
and the time when he would be unite |
with her, and the dear child he had
seen sleeping SO peaceful and innocent
in her crib was v e present in his
mind. -
Edgerton on arriving In Hongkong
was given a position Of some impOr-
tance,. for he had had several years
experience as a subordinate in bust
ness and was advanced rapidly. But
unfortunately when he reached a status
in which be- might begin to- accumulate
the house he was with made some i'm
portant losses and wound up their
business. Edgerton Joined forces with
others and formed an independent
house. They made money for a time,
but one Of the partners proved dis.
honest, and after getting him out OF II
they, had a considerable deficiency to
make up.
Meanwhile Edgerton wrote regularly
to his tiancee and received letters
from her. 1t was due to her encOur-
agement that be was able to stand by
what he had undertaken, for when I'll
luck befeli him be was sorely tempted
to give up aud 90 home. He had with
him a likeness of his hancee, and.
though the years were passing and
each year added to her age, he con
tinued to think of her as she had ap-
peared when he parted from her. He
always referred to her little girl az
the baby" and forgot that while her
mother had passed the climax of youth
and beauty the daughter was ap-
preaching 1t.
Years passed before Hugh Edgerton
came to q status wherein he could close
out his business In China and return
to America with the fortune he had
set out to win. Indeed, it was due to
a fortunate rise in an article in which
he had made an investment that at
last enabled him to do 90. 1t was q
happy day that he announced to Mrs.
Pomeroy that he was independent Of
the world and in q few weeks would
return to claim her as his bride.
Sixteen years had passed since Ed
gerton had left his native land. He
had been so engrossed in business that
they did not seem to him more than
six. Nevertheless he realized that there
must be some change. especially In
baby" He pictured her as a CIR
playing with her doll, but nearing an
age when she would lag it aside. Hel
mother doubtless would no have