Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-12-07
T h e d ailv
Short Story
THE GIRL At THE WINDOW.
BY Donald Chamberlain

Western city to engage in hus;n..-
/ left my Office every afternoon a.r
o'clock and walked to my room !,
was winter and the climate was co,a
Each afternoon I passed house /,
which vas window on the ground
door, and | could see BY the light ts..
there was bright coal FIRE burning +
the room. Being In strange civ,
with no associates. often wished Ia
go into that room and sit before ths
fire. For ! lived in cherries ha,l
+ bedroom in a boarding house.
| One afternoon when | passed that
t house a very pretty girl sat IN ina
window could only see her head
and shoulders. the rest Of her BODY he,
j ing below the window sill Sbs
] seemed to be using her hands at some
kind OF work, but ! could not sss
what it was Her eyes were not aysa
upon it except occasionally. 7 inferred
It might be some kind OF knitting Her
presence in the room made ne vet
more DESTROYS of entering il.
Now and again when I passed tho
house on my way from business
saw the girl in the same position. ana
\ using her hands, so far as could seq
lin the same manner. Once she turned
her head and seemed To be looking at
me. but | could mot be sure. All that
winter I passed the house every dsy
always in the evening looking for the
girl in the window
Whether or not a man can fall IN
love by sight alone. do not know. b,f
I certainly yearned for nat girl. The
t more I yearned for her the more I be-
lieved she had conceived an Interest
in me. Since I was a stranger 10 her
I could not make advances. l wished
that I might smile at her; but TO such
cheap Irritation did not care to de-
scend There seemed something too
pure in the innocent face, on which
there was d tinge Of sadness.
One day ! met her on the street
walking. her hand on the arm Of
Young man The likeness was 50
strong between them thar / was sure
he was her brother She did not no.
tice me: but as I passed her she was
. speaking to her escort and believed
that her being interested in something
else was the cause of her not noticing
ne I would have given worlds for
= one glance from her beautiful ewes.
When summer came the house that
: interested me was shut up and It was
evident that the family was away. The
next winter a married lady with
t whom I became acquainted took pity
: on my loneliness and offered to intro
S sluce ne to the social life of the citr
= of my adoption told her that there
= was only one person. whom I wished
a especially to know; that I did not
5 know her name but I could give her
: the address. The lady took q memo
5 randun Of the latter and promised 10
= make an investigation Though I did
A not say as much, she knew that had
S fallen Ia love with the girl in the
g window
Mrs. Withers, the lady who had Of
S Tered to help me. made no report for
I, several weeks Then one day, while
d calling on her looking into ny eyes
/. with great seriousness, she told re
G that she had learned about the girl
who had charmed me. l begged her
TO introduce me at once. She with
+ held her consent and when I insisted
d told me that I must give up my fancy.
k jhere was d reason why | should not
h go further with my infatuation. | hss
r. better put the girl out Of my mind.
/. ] went to La lonely room, resolved
d to take my friends advice: but when
Il it came 20 putting it into practice, l
a. failed The Madonna face with a
II tiuge of grief upon il would not leave
q me, though l tried for weeks TO Danish
IT, Mrs Withers introduced me 70
many young ladies', but / took no III
l. terest in any of them. At last she
IS gave up trying to assimiiate me wits
D. girls who complained 10 her that !
"a was cold as a stone.
My sponsor informed me that sac
is had told the girl | worshiped al ois-
al tance that she had inspired Young
p man unknown to her with love IoI
10 her The girl was naturally interested
10 know who her lover was, and al
about him. but owing to the Dlgai
- that rested upon her approval OF MIS-
,e Withers' refusal TO present me TO her
n. This only made me more eager LOT
r the introduction | wrote Mrs WIN
Az ers a note in which I said that woua
: never have another love and il couiq
IL possess the girl I crayed I would slaa-
20 ~ boar the blight. the nature q Whica
T. had not been impaired 10 me. j "To'.
a. the note expecting that Mrs hl{hei'
would tell her its contents and sh'
al did She told Ame what mingled pau
~ and pleasure II had given the giFi 10
~ whom it was intended
Some months later I received /;
glorious surprise Mrs. Withers loi'
~ me that the blight from which m
=. girl I loved had suffered had been PC
- moved She had been born blind an.
:; her sight had been restored by a
4 operation,
- # was not long before meet4ai
was arranged between us. What trans
= pred cannot be expressed in ~ofa'
y There was a very short courtshipi y.
=. deed long one was immateTial q
- devotion before she had known IL
was sufficient.
~ Later / asked her what she Tas ao
Us ing when / had seen her bv the ~iA
7e' dow She said that she was reaaiH
/ a book for the blind, the letters penn
= raised.
n --=-=-=-----=----
lily of 1876 he came to Iowa His maj