Evening star., 1915-02-26
THE EVENING STORY.
ELEN0R AILEEN.
Copyright, 1915, by ". werner.)

The Ogden estate lay just beyond
the village. Carr. the firstborn of the
Ogdens, could not remember time when
he had not loved every foot of the fields
and meadows, the sloping hills with
their great trees. the lake. a skating rink
in winter and place for fishing, rafting
and swimming in summer.
Some day." he would proudly say to
the chums watching with him the acorns
in the hot ashes of the great fireplace
and the long row of wrinkling. red
flecked apples on the hearth. ''it will
all be mine. The marsh by that time
will swarm with ducks. And. chaps.
every fellow of us must save up his
money for gun. Well"
He stopped there. his cheeks glowing
and his eyes shining and each boy
silently hugged himself in anticipation
Of that greatly to be desired day.
But between that scene and the pres
ent long years had drifted. The shin
ing eyes now glowed with steady
light, the smooth forehead bre lines not
altogether of age. the crispy black hair
Showed hints of white; the enthusia SIN
of the boy had burned out and the chill
dish prophecy. Some day it will all be
mine" had only just now come true.
terly. A sharp October breeze sudden
ly showered him with its burden Of dy-
ing leaves, and he shifted his seat and
drew his coat about him. If it could
have come when he and Loris. the girl
he had loved and married. found heaven
in the plain little home out west, where
his work had kept him. perhaps
But no. Lack of money was not the
barrier that rose between them. Loris
had been satisfied with what he had to
DIV nd tod NC
of poring over ladges and pages
Of figures. feeling that merely getting
home was sufficient compensation for
them, he groaned aloud. If Loris had
only been what he Believed her to be.
or, If he had never known. then he might
not have been a wanderer over the
earth until father and mother and the
brothers and sisters who had come SO
tardily, by mighty scourge of typhoid
had been swept from time and the old
home had become his.
And what a small beginning the ruin
that finally ingulfed him had had. He
remembered as though it were yester-
day the evening when he picked up a
book she had been reading and idly
turned the leaves found the inscription,
From F. G. W.
who is he?" he asked.
Loris had looked over his shoulder.
oh she said. "a friend of the old
days." and in a moment added. Some
She had left the room Immediately
and something seemed to drag him
bodily to the library shelves. Even
when there he was ashamed to touch
volume. He told himself he was not
curious, neither was he suspicious, yet
before he turned away he knew that
more than half the volumes bore the
same legend and that many pages were
copiously interlined.
"HulIo!' he called to her. This fell
low doesn't seem to have confined him
self entirely to quoting
Loris appeared inquiringly at the
door and her voice. when she spoke, was
peculiarly tender. TT was his way of
expressing his thoughts Of the book.
she said.
At the moment he was not conscious
that doubt of Loris was in his mind,
but in constantly poring over the books
he read more between lines than in
them, and she. often silent and some
times moody. unconsciously added to his
convictions. Presently he had come to
the point where he believe her unhappy
in their marriage, and then one day
he-disappeared.
MY goodness thin little voice
close by suddenly enunciated, "you look
as blue as 1 feel
"At any rate" he replied. encounter
ing the gaze Of a pair of wide. black
eyes, II don't feel as gay as you look p
The child laughed comfortably. "I do
look nice she said. Red is becoming