The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-12-05
The Dream
Weaver
gA-<s
By RALPH HAMILTON
copyright, 1919, by the Western News
paper Unionl

paper Union.>
She was young and widow. There
was a freshness to her beauty that
was quite girlSSl and a token OF
mourning showed in hat and veil. Be
sides that the little three-year-old
child by her side called her mamma
and there was motherly tenderness in
the attention she received. Boyd Wis
ner sal, facing them in the street car
and studied the pair with something
of interest. .a. t..uu
He was a natural weaver of dreams,
and his avocation encouraged the. Wis
ionary. Compiler, critic and reader
for a miscellaneous publishing house,
all kinds of literary efforts were pre-
sented for his approval or rejection
He had drifted directly to the threshold
of young bachelorhood, knowing moth
ing of love except from the romances
he read, and q surfeit of them had
made him somewhat flnical as to
ideals.
He was in the midst of a pleasing
development of plot and incident when
there was grating grind and then
crash. From a passing truck box
had jolted out of place and its sharp,
sudden shadow in descent warned ana
enlightened Wisner. In a flash he dis
cerned the object aimed straight for
the window next TO which the little
girl sat. With a rapid movement he
threw himself forward. A shower of
glass rained over him, slightly cutting
one cheek and his hands. Where
corner of the box struck his back there
was painful jar, but he had thrust
the little child safe into the arms OF
her alarmed mother. Thence she put
out her arms toward him, as If fully
conscious of his heroic service.
TELL something" came the habylke
prattle, and Wisner supposlng that
she wished to whisper something,
leaned forward to receive n kiss on
one cheek.
"Other face" said the little one, and
the other cheek was kissed as well.
"She is, we are both truly grateful
Quavered the mother, all unstrung,
and then street was called by the
conductor and the little one, prattlng
about dear man." "sweet man." the
mother bestowing grateful gances
upon Wisner, both left the car and it
whirled on its way again, with Wlsner
IN, ctrn al
AS half a mile farther on he arose
to leave the car Wisner noticed an en-
velope on the floor between the seats.
He picked it up to find that it con-
tanned half a dozen proofs of a photo
graph of the lady and the child who
had so curiously come into his life. To
stay it seemed, for after that there
were few hours in the day when the
two faces did not float across his
mental vision. He made 1t point to
ride on the ears of the line where he
met them. He longed to locate them
and make an excuse for seeing them
again and the returning of the photo
graph proofs. Then after month
when he had given up hopes of again
meeting them a whimsical, vet half
romantic impulse, led him to cut out
one of the photos in circular shape and
place it in the inside case of his
watch. F..
Once a friend caught glimpse of
the picture and rallied Wisner as to
a mysterious lady love, and the fan
tasy rather pleased the young lone
bachelor At all events certain SEN
timentality came into his experience
that lifted him above the dull grind
of his routine labors. 1t was upon an
occasion when he was strolling along
the street at which mother and child
had alighted that, somewhat unwatch-
full and preoccupied, he drew back too
late to evade contact with a rushing
automobile. 1t only grazed his body,
but threw him forward so forcibly that
his head struck the curb and he was
stunned. s..
A crowd gathered and the driver Of
the auto sought to ascertain his
identity. 1t CHANGED that Wisner car
ried just then no papers that would
help out such an Investigation. As
the chauffeur, however, scanned his
watch for some name or monogram
and opened it, lively urchin of the
neghborhood, peering inquisitively
over his shoulder, exclaimed:
Say, mister; l know where he be-
longs. Those are pictures of Mrs,
Morse and her little girl. They live
in the little cottage right around the
corner"
Boyd Wisner did not, of course, be-
long to the Morse home, but those
who carried him thither were not
made aware of his being a compare
tive stranger to its inmates. Mrs. Lora
Morse and her little child recognized
their hero of the street car episode
the moment of his appearance. and
heightened color came to the cheek of
the young widow when the incident
of the photograph came to light. Wis
ner came back to consciousness little
the worse for his rude shake I'D to
meet the solicitous glance of the OBJ
iect of his dreams for a long time