The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-12-04
POiLY'S SOLDIER
BY ELLIS GRAHAM.

Wlue-eyed, sat silently tanning
wounded soldier
He had been brought in during the
day with a shattered arm and a bull
let wound in the side and now he
tossed feverish and delirious on his
mattress bed, one of two dozen IN the
ruins of the old mission. The heat
/ was almost unbearable, not a breath
of air stirring in that desert region.
! The little nurse was thinking as she
famed, and this was what it was all
about:
1t was cherry time and a girl and
a man were out under the crimson
heart tree. The girl had a color in her
. cheeks almost as rich as that of the
cherries the young man had hung over
each of her ears, and her lips, Juice
stained, We're too tempting to resist.
Il love you, Polly" he declared. i'm
petuously Selling her in his arms.
Tell me all over again"
81 love you, Willr' she declared hap
PLY, smuggling up close to his breast.
"And you'll never, never forget
Promise"
Il promise.
And no matter what anybody ever
says, you'll never go back on me- Cross
your heart, Pollyi''
And Polly solemnly crossed her
heart.
That evening at dinner Polly's IA
Their said: ut looks as though we are
going to have war The militia has
been ordered out"
Poor white Polly had dropped her
| fork and the cheeks that had matched
the cherries had gone white as the
! tablecloth. For Will was captain in
| the local Guard and that meant-oh,
| what?
Are you sure, daddy?"
YES, Pauline I'm sorry to say it's
! true"
What's wrong, Polly?' exclaimed
her mother.
Nothing" she answered with dry
| lips, except that / was thinking that
| some of the boys we know will nave
to 60"
Il suppose so. Will Fielding has
something to do with it, hasn't he?
| Why, Polly" For the girl was I'M
able to endure it any longer, had
| rushed from the table to her room.
! She knew her parents were discussing
! her behavior and that her conduct
/ had been as good as a confession. but
/ what of it? She loved VIII Fielding
! and there wasn't any reason why thew
shouldn't know.
But, later, her mother came to her
and kindly but firmly told her that she
was too young 70 fall in love. and, be-
! sides, that although personally she
! liked VIII we'll enough, the family was
new and she couldn't consent to a
/ daughter of hers marrying into a fam
/ lily no one knew anything about
And 50 things went on for three
! days. Then something occurred, some
thing dreadful. Polly had never
| learned the exact truth, for no one
| would tell her. 1t was something
about the diamond ring her mother
| lost
She had dressed for a party and
| gone to the kitchen before leaving TO
tell Nora about dinner. Finding tina.
| her rings interfered with her gloves,
she had drawn them off and laid them
on the table in the kitchen, intending
| to drop them into her bag But she
| was half way to the car before she re-
| membered them and returned. Norah,
In the meantime, had taken a basket
/ and gone out for cherries for pies leav-
| ing the doors open. That was all they
| would tell her, except that when her
| mother returned the two-carat diamond
was gone, and that night her parents
| made her promise never to see VIII
| again. And on the other hand, the
| company marched away with never a
/ goodby from VIII, nor so much as a
! salute from him as he had passed
The sick man moaned and muttered
something.
Polly. Good-by, Polly" he said.
Wont you say good-by? What's the
matter with everybody" More NUT
tering and then: Nobody was at
home, Polly. l cut across the back
way and Duke ran into the kitchen. |
| chased him out, and he tore your
mothers silk dress. She hates Duke.
Poor Duke. Good-by. Polly. dear"
WILL breathed the little nurse
softly live for my sake Will There
was some mistake | am sure, and it
will come out all right"
Dawn came swift and hot and a
horse galloped near. 1t was a messen-
ger with mail. There were letters for
/ Polly, one from home and she opened
it eagerly. Dear little girl" wrote
her Mother Il hope you are safe and
well and not working too hard Fa-
Their and | are so anxious about YOU"
and SO on. Then, after other bits of
| news, you'll be surprised to hear |
! found my ring. 1t was very queer the
way it was lost. We found it stick
ing to the bottom of the old cherry
basket. Nora must have set the
basket down on my rings that day