The Washington herald., 1916-06-04

dsioW. Suagnt across TO the tAoie ne
went, found a scratchpad among some
odds and ends, and sat down to write
to Leila. His hand fairly shook with
joyful excitement as he began his fast
scrawied letter.
"Sweetheart-my own sweetheart" he
wrote, Great news, Glorious newsl
Wonderful news! / haven't written be-
fore because / vowed I'd wait until I
could send good news. You've had too
much of the other kind from me.
After you left for New York I called
the men together and had a heart-to-
heart Dutch-uncle talk with them. I
told them I hadn't cent, but that
was enough of a mining expert to know
there was gold somewhere in the Leila
A. if only We could blast our way
through to it. 1 asked them to take a
chance with me for three months, with
out pay; promising them double wages
for the whole time, IL we should strike
gold.
They accepted, after a lot of persua-
sion. And for the past four weeks we've
worked as We never worked before.
"Today-just one hour ago-we blasted
our way into a vein that's fairly bristling
with high quality ore. It's bonanza,
sweetheart! The biggest strike Of the
decade.
It'll be matter OF millions for us.
There's no longer a shadow of doubt.
It's the real thing"
He wrote a dozen lines more; trying TO
put into words his rapture at the discov-
cry and his loverly eagerness to see Leila
again.
Then, folding the letter. he looked
about for an envelope. He could find
none. His search brought him at last to
NJ
he had not had heart to open It since she
left him. But now he began ransacking
the several drawers.
He did not find the envelope he sought,
but he found something else. In the top
drawer, among some clothing. Leila had
left behind her in her hurried packing.
he happened upon a crumpled half sheet
of paper-the silly postscript of Nellie
Collins letter-the postscript that told OF
Halsey Brent's good fortune.
Toms eye was caught by the words:
Your old sweetheart, Halsey Brent
He read and reread the whole scrawl.
Long he stood there, moveless, the scrap
OF paper in his hand; while the gladness
and hope died out OF his bronzed, un-
shaven face to be replaced by a scowl of
doubt and Of jealousy.
He was reused from his gloomy reverie
by the jolting of the rural free delivery
buggy as 1t drew up at the gate.
Leila's thrice-a-week letters had been
the only bright spots in Toms loneliness.
Eeagerly he seized the one letter the
postman left for him today As he look
ed at its superscription his expectancy
turned to chagrin. For the letter was
not from Leila, but from her mother. He
opened 1t and read:
My Dear Tom: writing this on my
own responsibility and without Leils's knowledge.
Aha 1E z1nv vRfy
life out there in the wilderness But the doc
tor agrees with US that she must never never
go back 10 it. That is why | writing you.
assume that you not altogether selfish
and that you have Lcila's welfare at heart.
Her experience in the West proves how i'll
fitted she is for the brutaIly rough existence
Of a poor mans wife And. now that the
mine has failed. you are hopelessly poor and
are likely TO remain
Are you going 10 fogce my fragile delicately
nurtued daughter TO go on sharing your poverty
and hsrdships! II you do she will die: or
at the very least. she will become an invalid.
Or are you man enough TO give your wife
her freedom, that she may sometime Be
able TO marry a man who give her the care
and the luxunes she Graves?
If you truly love her-if her best welfare
means anything at all 10 yUu-theTe can be
but one reply 10 these questions You will
give her up to retrieve her one miserable mis-
take. by marrying as her interest and Il think
her heart dictate
Think this over. very carefully and let your
better nature guide you"
The letters contents seemed to burn
themselves into poor Tom Carter's brain
in words of fire. He tore the paper into
score of fragments in his first out
burst of indignation. Then his eye fell
once more upon the postscript Nellie Col
Inns had written.
And at once he saw the impulse be-
hind Mrs. Austin's cruel letter Among
them these SNUG relatives of LeiIa's
were trying to make her forget him and
to marry her to a richer man.
"A richer man. snarled Tom, half
aloud. "Halsey Brent is no richer than
the Leila A will make me. Nor one
third as rich. The Austins will truckle
to me fast enough when they find I've
struck wealth in the mine. But it's
no time for writing or even for telegraph
Ing. If I'm to save Leila from divorcing
me for Brent. I've got to be on the
ground to fight my own battle."
He flung a few clothes into a battered
suitcase, ran to the mine to give final
instructions and swung abroad an east
bound train three hours later.
He had counted so often on this
triumphal return to New York. Yet.
now that the miracle had come to pass
save burninsly murderous rage against
the people who were trying to rob him
of his adored wife
Tom Carter's guess as to the state of
affairs was amazingly near to the truth
Leila's Homecoming had been as the
return of a loved one who has mar
rowly escaped torturing death in some
eccident. Her parents and her friends
had showered her with attentions and
had sought in a thousand ways to make
up to her for what she had undergone.
Mrs. Austin bought her a bewilder-
tngly beautiful quantity of clothes. Her
father kept her supplied with spending
money beyond all reason. She was in
vited everywhere and made much Of
Small wonder that she grew to regard
herself as much-abused heroine; and
that the image of Tom Carter sometimes
grew dim and blurred!
One of Leila's first and most frequent
callers, at her fathers home, was Hal
sey Brent. Without presuming on his
old-time courtship or in any way over
stepping the bounds of pleasantly for
NAL acquaintance, he contrived to make
his respectful devotion quite clear to her
and to every one who saw them together
Leila had never loved Halsey Brent.
She did not love him now. And she was
not even inclined to hirt with him. But
she found it mildly pleasant to be sin
gled out for attentions by this young Ma
poleon of finance for whom a score of
girls were angling.
Wherefore she allowed him to call
whenever he cared to-Which WAS yerv