The Ordway new era., 1918-04-26
A Government
Pen
oo
By AGNES L. PRATT

From my position on a desk by the
window / can look out over the green
sward, Just at present with beds of
Haunting tulips and its great fountain.
whose jeweled drops scintilate in the
sunny air.
The grass is like square of emerald
velvet, bordered along its sides with
gray. chiseled granite; and the lac
quered iron seats scattered here and
there, look inviting.
1, myself. am old and battered. hav-
ing been busy for months recording the
emotions of the human souls that
stream in at the revolving doors yon-
der, and out again, Mt the one near
me. can see for myself that the
building wherein i have an abiding
place is magnificent. behold the mas
sive front of red brick, with costly
trimmings of brown stone. Two i'm
mense electric lanterns throw floods
of light, nightly, through the lace-like
iron filagree that protects them, on the
masses of humanity that beat with
rythmic tread the wide sidewalk be-
meath the window.
In my short life, for the existence of
pen in the service of this great gov
ernment must of necessity be abbrevi-
ated by the democratic handling 1t re-
ceives, / have recorded more than one
pitiful life story.
1t is not long ago the noble elms sur
rounding the green were bare and
gaunt against grayer sky. that
young men with hopeful eyes leaned
over the desk where / was lying, idle
for wonder, and reaching out, grasp
ed me tightly. AS l flew. with impa-
tient strokes over the white sheet, 1
found that / was writing thus:
Dear Mabelle-I may write-may 1
not what cannot say, for when l am
with you my lips are ever silent. l
followed you to the city, dear. | sought
and found work-because-because-I
wanted to be near you. And now l find
that want to be near you always, so
much so that l am willing to brave
your disapproval, which / have often
seen growing In your clear. brown eyes
and ask you to marry me, dear
now, tomorrow-next week-any time.
only that you will have it some time.
81 am in an awful hurry, or would
say more But have an appointment
at the quarry and all this means money
and. perhaps you-to me. 1 have
stopped here, in the post ofice. to pen
these few lines. with a horribly poor
pen, by the way. ~-s-s r--- .H.-
"Please answer at once, and say yes
-to-Jack."
could forgive him the ill-mannered
reflection on my character, when felt
the pace his heart was going commu-
nicate itself to me through his fingers.
hoped she would say yes as l rolled
complacently over on my side, when he
laid me down, and amused myself
watching the gardener raking here and
there among the stubbly brown grass
that clothed the green.
Dipped thousands Of times in Ink. as
/ was daily. the foregoing episode had
nearly faded from my mind, when
presently 1t was abruptly recalled. A
young girl in n jaunty gray jacket. with
an aureole of violets shading her sunny
brown hair, came hastily to the desk,
picked me up, looked at me with dis
approving eyes, laid me down, tried
another pen, and then returned to her
old lover, meaning myself. A strag-
Cling sunbeam kissed her shining eyes
till they glinted an old-fashioned gold
stone and lovingly caressed. with rud-
dy fingers, the chestnutty ringlets Of
hair beneath the violet aureole.
And, as / reposed snugly in the en-
brace of her gloveless fingers, she
moved me rapidly over the paper and
inscribed, in graceful characters. an
application for money order.
1t was prosaic elimination Of my
ardent and romantic desires. but had
only to wait few moments when
something followed. Without hesita-
tIon, though each stroke of my rusted
tip was cutting through two quivering
hearts, she indited the following:
Dear Jack-I know what you will
say when you read this-you will say
/ am hard-hearted, that / do not care
that 1 ought to leave all and cling to
you, II i love yOu-but i cannot do
what you wish me tS And Jack. dear.
l do love you, too. But they. my
parents, need me-need my help.
have left them up there, in the coun-
try home, while go battling with the
cruel world. so that ! may be of use
to them, wh3 did for me as long as
they were able. You know the whole
pitiful story. Jack.
"A breath just now from the newly
springing grass on the green brought 1t
back to me, and have half-closed my
eyes so the tears should not fall on
my letter. Father blind, mother his
only attendant, and feeble herself.
with only my arm-Jack, my woman's
arm-between them and want. You
would say, If you were here and was
taItipy NOW instead of writing this