The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1918-02-21

on me angrily You're here for copy
You've got mo Think Of your bead.
lines Id have been worth more 10
you 20 than I'm worth
10 anyone alive"
SO that was it And here he stood.
quiycring with life. and II had
CHANGED 10 sleep one hour longer
With what sailors neatness he had
CLAIMED ~ One moment on the end
Of his diving board. a mole In his tenn
pie. and deep. sapphire waters meet.
ing over his foolish. wasted youth
While | was agonlzing for the word
TO ease him. for the wisdom To hold
him and yet not make light OF bis
fault, the thing. the only right thing
OF itself naturally happened. was
crying. bitterly. as. his sister might
have cried
why do you do that7" he asked,
presently adding, I'm nothing to you.
only copy for your aunt"
The time had come to speak You
are not even so much" ] took him up.
DO you suppose we're scayenging for
things like that My poor little aunt,
She's literary critic for our village
paper at home; she'd rather die q
thousand deaths than mention you!"
Then why ?" He pointed
downward to his lost pistol But
why not let me what busi
ness OF yours7"
None" | confessed But come.
Frank Liston! Let us talk this QUIT"
you're woman" he objected.
| You - He eyed me doubt
fully. You're not old"
Any woman worth the name is old
enough for that"
But women-ladies-" he corrected.
don't cant
Listen, boy" ] turned on him.
This is bad enough, big enough, for
you to die of. you strong. young
thing, with a mother at home maybe.
and a sweetheart" How he WINGED at
that! And you stop TO think whether
we. you and !. two human beings. can
talk It out! And three days ago you
didn't stop at doing IT,"
He shook his head You don't I'm.
derstand No woman can! don't
see why II is. myself. but so II is"
After minutes brooding
Suppose the people at home don't
find out, Can go back. and al
ways think some day they surely Will!
You don't know what she's like. She
believes" The inarticulate young
creature paused. struggled with some
inner pocket, and held me out q pic
ture girl with starry. trustful look!
Again my eyes fifled.
What is IT." he again asked.
only thinking how she would have
looked tonight, when the cable came.
You would have been well out Of IT,"
| could not spare him now.
He pondered. "But II she really
knew
Women" broke IN, know far
more than you ever dream. Look at
me. You say I am not old! You say
don't understand. Why. lad. it's
simple. simple as the tides. and
death, and life! Why? Who can say!
But so II is
when we came down here" at last
he softened, 81 never meant :"
Everyone knows that" treasured
him ITS only this. You had been
kept thirsty In desert. Thirst Is
natural. Deserts are torments. Then
you came where there were only gut
ters Saints and heroes resist! But
you are neither And must you die,
because you fall short Of the best?
It's hot here. and strange, and dis
turbing. That woman, yesterday, felt
defiled at being under the same roof
with you Today, 1t seemed, poor lad,
that you were copy for harry of a
newsmonger You forgot that what |
ever lay against you, you'd never been |
coward. You had risked all this. |
rather than leave dying girl You've
stood like a man, ready to pay; why |
default now?'
He raised his head little. not meet |
Ing my eye. 81 couldn't leave her!"
1.-The others did" I laid my hand |
on his shoulder
Suddenly he broke out with his pent-
up horror. If you only knew how lit
tie | liked 1t, Time and time again |
they say, Come ashore with u.s. And
you don't go There's your girl at
homel And you write letters. You
read stale books. you smoke pipe after
pipe and but then |
there comes a time. you never know
why
"Ah, lad! Who does? But II
you're fiawed, pick up the pieces and
go on I'm often In New Hampshire;
some day I'll see that girl of yours.
Shall she be wearing black, and liy-
ing under a silent dread half knowing.
half fearing to know"
But the trial, the COURT" He OBJ
jected
Write her today. don't leave 1t to
chance," ! pleaded. Tell her you've
been In scrape, a bad one. That
you tumbled in, lad, because you were
a man, and for the same reason you
did not crawl out That girl Of yours
will ask no questions"