The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-04-06

| passed to earnest inquiries - % the
corporate health. Then In restrained.
but very fervent language. they e.
pressed the hope that he was not given
to worldly ways. and above all. that he
shunned the use Of intoxicants. The
letter closed with an earnest prayer
for his worldly and spiritual welfare.
It was seven weeks before this letter
reached the recipient. then lying in
the base hospital recovering from .
wound. He had been struck BY .
! fragment of a shell while leading his
company to the attack. and he would
never lead It again. because . tendon
In his leg had been severed and Corp.
! Richard Barton" must go limping
through life thenceforward.
True. the limp was not . very pro
nounced one. hardly visible. in fact,
when the soldier walked, but It II
ono thing to walk across . drawing
room floor. and quite another to charge
q line Of trenches at full speed across
barbed wire entanslements, laden
with ones accouterments.
A second letter reached the two
ladies' in due course. Miss Mary, who
was Economically inclined, opened It
in the presence of her sister with .
thrill of delicious wickedness. Miss
Lizzie. however, was inclined to think
that Miss Mary had been q little indis-
Greet. She intended to tell her that in
her opinion the correspondence must
be brought to q close.
But as the ladies read it they looked
at each other in dismay.
"He has been wounded" exclaimed
Miss Mary, TREMENDOUSLY. The poor
man! I hope it is not q serious
wound"
HE says 1t will prevent his going
back to the ranks again." Miss Mary
announced. as she read further on.
"And-Oh. Lizzie. what do you thinkf
He says that some day he may come
to America for a visit. and that II he
does he will take the opportunity to
pay call upon those who were 90
kind to him."
The letter futtered out Of her hands
and she sat down in chair breathless.
Mary" said her sister severely.
this Is what comes of carrying on .
Irritation with strange mani"
SISTER" gasped Miss Mary. How
can you say such . dreadful thing!
Did you ever know mo even to think
of MANI"
"A common soldier-just q cor
poral!" continued her sister, reprov.
ingly. you know. my DEAR" she went
on, relenting, the lower classes In
England are not like they are here.
The man may be anything. Perhaps
he 10 q drinker!"
Miss Mary rose to the occasion -
she had never done before. .#
well. sister, II he 10 a drinking
man." she said. Il SHALL shall send
Willis out to buy . bottle Of beer for
him! There!" and she walked out Of
the room Indignantly.
But a. the weeks went by and moth
ing more was heard about the cor.
poral Miss Lizzie's fears gradually sub.
sided. And % tho weeks slipped into
months, and them
miss Mary. there 10 . gentleman in
the parlor waiting to see you," o..
planned the maid. He says he hasn't
q card, and he thinks you will remem.
Der his name, Mr.. Richard Barton"
Miss Lizzie looked at Miss Mary a.
the two sat together in the sewing
room.
Sister," she said, perhaps It would
be better for me to see this Corporal
Barton!"
And that time Miss Mary did not ~
ply. because she was already IN her
bedroom brushing her hair!
How desperately she brushed and
how quickly she changed her frock,
hearing q bass voice talking in the
living room below, and dreading every
minute that her sister would succeed
in Diminishing the visitor before she
could get down. And when at last
she did get down and stood before q
tall, neatly dressed, soldierly man Of
about thirty.five, her heart beat and
she felt her face suffused with foolish
bushes.
my dear, let me present Captain
Barton" said Miss Lizzie.
Captain Barton!" Miss Mary
gasped.
The captain pulled his mustache and
stammered:
We'll, Miss Penfield, the fact Is, that
when you deciphered my illegible hand.
writing as corporal the Joke seemed
too good to lose. And SO made my.
self corporal In my second letter.
know It wasn't right-but it's better
to make ones self a corporal when
ones . captain than vice versa. isn't
It? And. Miss Penfield, I assure you
that am not q drinking man."
And Captain Barton Is going to
stay to lunch" said Miss Lizsle.
During the lunch Miss Mary plucked
up courage to look at the captain. And
the more she looked at him the more
he came to resemble q certain idol In
q little secret shrine tucked away In
her heart. What was more to the point,
~.-- -s,sie discovered that the cap.
tain had made very similar discovery
with regard to her sister. And for
once Miss Lizzie INDUCED in that TO
mantle speculation that she had %
discouraged In her sister.
The captain was visiting America
on business connected with q certain