The Southern herald., 1916-08-25

there ran a vision Of a stalwart, man
" Young fellow lolling in the ham
mock, her good, kind soul was at fault
not vanity nor the base maneuvering
of really designing woman.
How her innocent tender heart
futtered as the postrnan handed her a
letter postmarked "GOsport." That
was the town where Abel Drake was
visiting his folk. She opened it with
trembling fingers, she perused it with
longing eyes.
ooh, he is comingw she breathed.
"Will he remember the old daysF
Abel had written a brief respectful
note. He was coming to Wayne on
business, he said, and would be glad
to meet her again. Her reply was for
NAL but it put her in futter all day
long. Then her days of days! She
had donned her new gown with all
the pretty ornaments she possessed.
She might well feel thrill Of pride
as she glanced at the mirror. A regal
ly beautiful woman showed. Letitta
was not vain, but she could not but
realize the fact.
She felgned to be trimming the rose
bushes lining the fence when she saw
her expected visitor coming down the
street. Her breath came quick. All!
he had stopped to greet an old friend.
Then neighbor, woman standing at
her gate, detained him so long that
Letltia fairly stamped her foot in vex-
alton. And then-he came, and his
brOnzed, handsome face filled her
vision and she was happy.
From the first she detected certain
constraint in his manner and marveled
at it. He was distinctly formal and
insisted that he could stop for only a
moment. Her heart sank as he told
her that he was going to return to the
West. Then-sadly, she fancled, quite
sadly-he bade her good-by and was
gone.
It was all so hasty, so different to
what she had anticipated, she sat
down on the rustic bench-alas! so
lonesOme-looking now. The tears came,
Her proud woman's heart sought to
stem the overpowering torrent of dis
pair vainly.
II loved him sO-oh, l loved him so,
she sobbed forth, "and he is gone for
ever!"
"Oh, Miss Parker, please mamma
wants to borrow three eggs, If you've
got them. We're going to have com
pany for supper, and she didn't ex
pect 1t, and she'll send them back to
morrow, and please don't cry. Are
you sick, Miss Parker?"
It was quite natural that the little
prattler, when she returned home
should tell of the kind lady she hat
found in tears. Her neighbor, Mrs
Earle, at once OWNED the reason. Abe
Drake got a new viewpoint Of things
in general. His hostess corrected some
false impressions he had received.
II fancied from what heard in tht
town and the general air of prosper
ity about the place, that Miss Parkel
had got far out of my sphere of lin
tied means" and then from what sh'
told him he learned the truth.
Letitia, seated on the porch an hou
later, started as a firm hasty footfal
crunched on the gravel path.
II could not go away without see
ing you once more" spoke Abel, seri
ously, steadily, "after coming so ia
only to say to you what has been il
my heart ever since left here flv
years ago."
And then he told Of his hard wOrI
to acquire a few thousand dollars
seeming to him pitlfully small whe
compared with the apparent wealth Q
the woman he loved.
And then the truth came Out-sh
was poor, and glad of it, for he wa
rich-oh, infinitely rich in love! an
hnI ,o4 &C.,