The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1917-05-19

! ends Of envelopes an( lay IN IN
ready for Mr.. Shields, Ut not ~ op
or read any letters uni So ca'ieu ~
TO do SO. Two letters uddresseu ~
maSculiu& hand she had notlceu NC -
tossed into the Wastebasket
even taking them from the envelope. ~
first She thought not much ABOUT ~
suppoSinG he took it for begslhs ~
ter or some incOnScQuentlai ma
about which he did not wish to De Do'i
cred But she noticed that AFTER e''oh
Of these letters he seemed lrrltaoAe'
When the third one came, ana ihel
with the same reception, Jean ) "on
/ derment and curiosity reached tiio
/ boiling point. Among other wiz SUI
misses one suddenly struck her WIFI
| force. Suppose these letters were
| from the son trying to see or SpeaA
with this father?
She could see the corner or the le'
ter sticking out between Others oli'
/ was entirely alone with that letter w
| one would ever know if she read II. bu'
Jean had q strong sense of honor. l"
read another persons letter was 10 i'.''
about the same as putting her manu- III
his pocket and taking something; SUM-
she reasoned, perhaps she couid help
this man in some way, if she only hlie"
how. She was aware this was Sopii!s-
try, but it got the better of her. ohe
looked again at the letter, drew 1t out,
and read it,
Dear father" 1t said, II have re-
ceiyed no answer to any Of my letters.
At first | thought you might not nave
gotten them. but | am forced no" tG
think otherwise. Still l am making
one more appeal, for it seems hcreu-
ihlc you should go on believing me
what you said. 1t has come nearer
to breaking my heart, and ma.dsg
a wreck Of my life than anythto II
in the whole bitter experielf mo if
you will not listen to me or seen
least let me know if you are'wo
have been out of prison for ovei slx
months, but have found 1t hard I'd ger
anything to do. The faint followsYme.
At present l am working on railroad
with day laborers, but this job Will
not last very long"
Jean copied the address, and put the
letter back in the basket.
Her thoughts played havoc with her
work. The appeal and pathos Of
the letter haunted her. 1t seemed
tragic to her that this father and
son should be so far apart. But
hr;p
gether, what would she be doing for
herself? She had begun almost to
know that Shields felt toward her as
though she were daughter, and her
future seemed assured.
Il am well punished for my curiOs-
letter alone, l would not have to be
lighting this battle with myself"
Day after day she put off doing any
thing, till only short time interviewed
before the two weeks would be up.
There was only one right, one just thing
to do, and that was to try to bring this
man into his own. She wrote to him,
explaining who she was, and telling
him his father had never opened his
etters. She asked him to have con-
idence in her, and to let her know any
'hange in his address till she could ad.
Use him further. He answered, ex.
PRESSING his gratitude for her kind
ness.
One day in the parlor of her board
ne house she faced man of about
hlrty, with clear-cut features, q good
'aIr of shoulders, and the bearing of
Gentleman. 1t was Nathaniel Shields.
lie told her something of.his story. A
Toman whom he had found out to be
n adventures, had managed to gain
ne affections of his father some three
r four years after his mothers death
nd when he had finally succeeded in
her to his father, so that
ne engagement had been broken off
er revenge had not rested till she
ad succeeded by the help of one Of
er pals IN throwing the guilt of the
)rged note on him. After his con,ic.
on she had written his father that he
leant to give the money to her. as
had been giving her large sums to
ny her silence, since he was deter,
iheu sne should not marry him, and
lat all his stories were lias.
Jean believed him. TIE moro Che 4
NV OF him. the more was her conf
ence enlisted in his behalf, One dav
he SAID to him: Il can see a.
ing to 90. l will bring You -
; sends me from the house ne
tier it again, it must be tried AZ :,
II can't let you do It," he sa,o =.
You must" she answered -
kinder to me to do as ask tbon
fuse" ii"n "
The next day she took him with how
the house. She put him in tho
awning room, knowing that Shields
1uld not be likely to go In there In
g library she found the elder mo,
Ihere IS someone waiting for YOU"
e said. Someone You ought TO-
No !" he broke IN seeming at onoo
divine who it was.
Yes, she said. by the eterna,
'tice. by Gods justice, you mustr,
She went to the other room, and
)uEnr with her Nathan Shio,, ~,