The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1915-10-27
LOVE THAT LIVES


snohe-nouse the two crOnies sat
Major Tom Bob Hart, bachelor, ex-sol
dier, and relic of romance; his com
panion, Arthur Johnson, little more
than half the age of the major.
Toward the end of a specially good
cigar the major had sat for some min.
utes. lost to the world apparently
Major, I'll bet horse that you are
thinking, this minute, of some prehis-
toric love affair All! you sly old pi-
ratel"
Arthur, boy. you like me, don't
your queried the major, in a voice
full OF pathos and touched with solicit
tude.
Who does not. major. that knows
your"
We'll, I'm glad of that. You arc
just the kind of. friend like to have.
You are fond of me without having
any very good reason for it.
In this way you remind me of
sweetheart ] had once-got her yet,
as to th-t. But her husband and are
friends.
Often she and | call each other
Honey which is common express
sion of friendly affection in the South,
where we both came from.
Now 1t may seem funny to you, but
that little woman doesn't know that |
am homely."
Is she blind?" the younger man
promptly and bluntly asked.
"Of course she's blind. Blind as a
bat, and yet her eyes are as good as
anybody's. She is simply a living ex-
emplihcation of the trite old saying
that love is blind.
I'll tell you just how II was, and
I'll test your credulity right at the
start. Make you smile, too.
Il was handsome boy.
"Geel but you do laugh, don't you?
And yet had tried to prepare you for
1t. Well, was handsome That sweet
heart OF mine and grew up to love
each other, Just naturally. and in fact
we didn't know 1t until too late.
When the war came | went Be-
fore the storm of patriotism was over,
a great, big man. who was not nearly
so practically patriotic--or idiotic-as
/ was, came along there and told my
sweetheart things that / had not
thought to tell her. Moreover, he was
accommodating gold while was not
gathering anything more substantial
than glory, but | was fairly windrow-
ing that. II has melted like the snow
forts OF boyhood.
Those who had the direction OF her
ways directed her toward him and he
gathered her in. He has her yet.
After the storm went down, strange
as 1t may seem. there was no calm for
me-perhaps there was too much
calm
AT first l frequently saw my old
sweetheart, then came long spells
when didn't see her at all. At last
II dawned upon my opaque heart and
brain that was in love with that lit
tile woman. and always had been.
Sometimes | thought | would try to |
steal her. But | thought better OF 1t,
land she-Heaven bless herl-wouldn't |
have thought of II at all.
Il did the next worst thing, how /
ever. ! told her that ! loved her al !
ways had and always would To my (
utter astonishment. dismay. and hap |
lpiness, thereby perplexing me more /
than ever, she confessed-that she had 4
loved me In the old days, and--but /
she loves her husband.
The other day was telling her that /
she was the only woman ! had ever I
loved and that she was always a
pearl She said:
You're a dear old fellow, but you
must not talk that way
"'Ohl That's all right | said. i
am old and homely enough to be
privileged character
"She leaned over, her elbows on
the marble between us, hands to her
face, and looked searchingly and in
quiringly into my eyes. Then as II
deeply bewildered and amazed. she
said:
"N-o-oi Are you homely. Honey?
eyes, indeed. picturesquely homely /
Don't you see that am old and wrin-
killed.. and bald, and STOPPING, and lame,
and querulous. and fidgety, and
"No,' she exclaimed, I only see my
gallant boy sweetheart, and his pa
tient, knightly, hidden soul. rcmem-
ber the flash of your sword in the sun
light that morning when, as the boy
captain that you were, marching with
your men to the war. you saluted the
cheering village girls in passing Tne
CLEAN of that blade has always kept
YOU and your eyes before me-
Say, my son. have clung to spar
amid the crawling canyons OF the
ocean, until dashed breathless and un-
conscious upon long stretch OF white
beach on an arid island of the seas; l
have faced the fierce sirocco and fore
most focal fire of battle, time and |
again, and felt its fiery breath blew
back the brown locks that ther were
mine: inspired by something whose
achievement might be borne to her,
nave poured out a stream OF impas-
stoned eloquence before an audience
iof heroes and statesmen, until they
climbed TO chairs and tables yelling: |
l'Old man, you're king! But never
u..o,. a., +ha daanact intensity of any |