The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1920-07-10
THE BETTER MAN
BY MARY PARsoNs.
Copyright. 1915. by Mcclure Newspaper
syndicate.)

e<e
don't know what In the world to do
please help mel"
whats the trouble. now. child-is
1t Sam or Charley7"
"Neither-I mean both. I don't
know which I'm In love with. ! think
it's Sam till Charley comes to see me.
and then he Is so good looking
Just like a collar ad-and he looks
at me so deeply-you know how I
mean-that I think I'm all wrong again
and II must be he. He's ever so much
more popular with the girls. too Now,
Sam never says any of the nice little
things Charley does. and he's ever so
blunt sometimes, but somehow / don't
know. I'm not sure. but l think Sam
Is the better man. You're older and
wiser than I am. Barbara tell me why
you admire Sam more. I've always
thought you did whenever l talk about
them, but you've never said anything.
Please tell me-"
The older girl got up and walked
over to the window. For a moment
she did not say anything. Then she
sank into a seat with a little sigh.
Polly, child there isn't anything In
the world ! know against C~hafley-it
wouldn't be fair to say there was. for
he may care for you even more than
I think he does-but I'm going to tell
you a little story. II you have time to
listen"
"Of course, Babs." assured Polly, set
Ting her attractive little person into a
perfect nest of cushions.
"Once upon a time" began Barbara,
there was a girl-not a beautiful girl
just a bright, frank. cheerful girl,
with Q sense Of humor and lots of
friends. She liked men sincerely, but
she was neither very susceptible nor
very foolish. and she had seen some
thing of life.
There was one man she had known
for a long time. and she always adj
mired and liked him tremendously.
$50 they went out together. danced
together and talked together. and he
was very nice to her. She found that
she could talk to him as she had never
been able to talk to anyone before. and
he always seemed to understand. She
began to value his friendship. above
all her other friends, and to depend on
his help and advice In man little
things. He liked to help her, and as
the months passed they grew to be bet
ter and better friends. with a clearer
understanding of each other than they
had ever had.
Then. she went away for a long
visit. And he almost made her believe
that he would really miss her badly
n she vas very gian.
And she wrote to him naturally. as
q child would write to a very favorite
uncle or a dear kind friend who was
older and wiser than she. long. newsy
letters about all the daily happening
and she dearly loved to write to him.
II wrote to her twice; Their there
was a long lapse. Then. a third letter
came which might have been written
TO an utter stranger with perfect safe
ty-air and weather being the main
topics. This. was after she had i'm
pulsively written to him for help and
sympathy over what seemed to her a
very great trouble. and he had failed
her-dismally failed her. She wrote
TO him once more. but she never sent
the letter. She could not thrust her
friendship upon him II he did not want
IL.
And though she was bound to meet
him and did not wish to obviously
avoid him. she did not need to, for he
showed no desire for any sort of a
meeting and fitted about among the
girls as he had probably always done.
And she tried always to be fair to him
and not to judge him-she liked to re-
member him rather as a friend who
had died than n who had ceased to
value her friendship-she simply could
not understand. That's all I know
about Charley and It's two years ago
he's probably forgotten all about II
long ago.
That's all. Polly dear. II isn't much
OF a story. but I thought I'd tell II to
o n. Somehow. from my own stand
ards. II doesn't seem to me as If a man
who would hurt anyone so cruelty. so
blindly and with such utter indiffer-
ence. could measure up to quite the
same standard as a man like Sam, who
Is fair and square in everything he
does.
Polly sat still for a long time after
Barbara stopped talking.
Thank you for telling me the story"
she said at last.
A maid came to the door with a tele-
gram. Polly glanced at the address,
seized 1t and tore 1t open hastily. In
a moment the paper dropped to the
floor.
TITS from SAM" she gulped. "and
he's going to the front. and he wants
me to tell him before he goes-thev