The daily Alaskan., 1915-08-03
ThePowerof
 Sympathy
By ESTHER VANDEVEER

. .
 When the Spanish-American war
 broke out Ralph and Edgar Townsend,
 brothers, enlisted in the same regi-
 ment of Sharpshooters and were Rs-
 signed to the same company. One day
 they were out on the picket line snip ing for the Spaniards. Their posi- ton was behind a stone wall, its con- tInulty broken here and there. Ralph was on one side of q gap, while Ed
 gar was on the other side, the opening
 between them being eight or ten yards.
 Edgar concluded to make q dash to
 Join hls brother. He had passed safe
 ly over all but a couple of yards of the
 distance when Ralph saw a Spanish
 sharpShooter taking aim at his brother.
 Ralph had just emptied his piece or
 he would have shot the Spaniard. AS
 1t was, he sprang between him and Edgar and received a shot which, ] grazing the spine, paralyzed his lower | limbs. He was discharged from the
 service and sent home, where he sub
 mitted to an operation that partly re-
 stored his locomotive powers. but he
 was in a measure crippled for life.
 As soon as the war was over Edgar Townsend rejOined his brother, resolv- ! ing to devote the rest of his life to i him. Ralph was twenty years old, l Edgar tyenty-two. Ralph would not admit that he was crippled and was very sensitive at the mention of his being so. As for Edgar making any | change whatever In his llfe's plans on his account he would not hear of it, nor did Ralph seem to realize that he had sacrificed himself for his brother. He considered what he had done sim ply in the line of his duty as a sol dicr Edgar, on the contrary, was ipl- pressed with the Idea that his brother had taken q burden which he should have borne himself
 Nevertheless as soon as Edgar saw that Ralph was OvcrSe to such an in- depreciation of the status between them, he refrained from any mention | 4Lr conceal any sacrifice he made for his brother he did so. He soon came to studying Rulph's wishes, and wherever they conficted with his own, made pre- tense that what Ralph wanted was dis tasteful to him.
 Then came Edith Payne into the lives of the brothers. She was sympa- thctic with Ralph, but her heart went out to Edgar. The one she loved as one who needed her, tue other she loved as one she needed Edgar, nOtic- ing that his brother was daily grow ing more dependent on her. refrained from paying her any marked atten ton.
 As time went on Edgar perceived that Edith was growing to be q neces- sity to Ralph. Moreover be noticed that while Edith was devoted 10 Ralph, there were indications that her heart was setting toward himself. One day when he and Edith were speaking Of Ralph Edgar said to her.
 q feel it my duty to say 10 you. Edith, that have seen what perhaps has passed unnoticed by you. Ralph loves you"
 Tho girl paled, and she had cause to pale. She loved Edgar and she knew that while his brother held this view, Edgar was lost to her. He would nev- CT stand between his brother and her.
 "I hope" she said presently, that you are mistaken"
 And I hope" said Edgar, If you think you cannot respond, that you are mistaken Our attentions to those de- pendent upon us often draw us to them with far greater force than We realize"
 Edith sighed She knew that the man she loved was cndeavoring to persuade her to give herself to the man she only piticd But she said nothing more. She knew what Edgar would have her do. She did not know his feelings toward her, but she surmised
 that he had no desire to possess her ! himself. Even if he had he would give her up to his brother.
 Soon after this brief dialogue Edgnr went away for a time, leaving Edith and Ralph together. Before his de- parture he said to Edith, q hope when ! I return to find thnt you have decided 1 to make Ralph happy"
 It was thus that Edith was led to bear q part of the burden of the man 1 she loved by giving herself to the man
 she did not love. She considered what 1 he had said to her a command, and
 she would not disObey, When Edgar