The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1920-05-19
THE WAN,DERER
RETURNED
BY GENEvIEvE ULMAR.
tcopyrirht. 1890. western Newspaper unionl

He had left his native town raw,
undeveloped hamlet, he had returned
to find 1t small city. In those back
years q narrow-gauge cut off had run
baggage and second-class passen-
ger coach once day; now the trunk
line direct operated twenty. The estab-
lishment Of four great plants at Vir-
den had come about. and Donald Bruce
strained his gaze to find something IA
miliar, and experienced a strange
sense of disappointment, Of loneliness
and of fear, for he knew not how
many of those he had come back hop
ing to find might have passed away
with the new order Of things.
He was bronzed, bearded, uncouth
Is to dress, and his pose was not that
Of man attended by fortune. He
met no one he knew as he left the
depot. He passed the site of the old
Railroad house to find it occupied by
. = magnificent hotel. Where a minia-
ture lake had covered the center Of
the public square there was an ornate
city hall.
Donald checked his steps as he
turned 4 corner round which he had
B played "hunt the gray !" In his boy
hood days. His eager glance sought
the pleasant porticoed structure he
had known as home. It was not there.
a public garage had superseded It.
His heart sank. An oppressive, brood
Ing chill assailed him. Home, father,
mother these he had dreamed of, and
had 1onged for and now the Initial
augury was one Of .menacing despair.
Eight years exile, long. weary watt
ingi He turned from the spot feeling
4 like q stranger in a strange land. A
/ square farther on his glance swept
q neat little cottage, set In q charm
Ing nest Of greenery. 1t was the first
rsmaining token Of the past that had
met his view. There was the old-time
garden. and even the horse block upon
which he had often rested. Donald
at down upon 1t now, his head bowed
n reYerie.
His mind went back eight years to
the old home. now swallowed up by
the monster Of progress. His father
conducted q village general store
slow, methodlcal, plodder. For two
years Donald worked there. He was
paid no wages. He rebelled at strict
ness and discipline.
tsFather talks OF slow but sure 1t
ISN'T the worlds way nowadays" he
had one day told his great friend, Lucy
Gray. the daughter of the village ply
stefan, whose house he now faced.
Sim tired Of It! I'm going away to
re real life and earn real money"
And then and there he and Lucy. mere
children that they were. pledged them
selves one to the other and parted with
q kiss.
How he had dreamed Of pretty. low
I ing Lucy all those succeeding years
How he had built up fabric Of gaudy,
gilded ambiti0n-a fortune won. a re-
turn to his native town loaded down
With riches. to prove to his methodical
father that dull grubbing was poor
business system!
But his was not the path Of for
tune. He had worked hard, but sue
GERS had always eluded him. He lost
Z his grip-his nerve at last. He was
homesick, dispirited, all broken up.
Without dollar he had left virden,
without a dollar he had come back.
Contritely. humbly, he was ready and
willing to assume the burden he had
once disdalned, to acknowledge that
his father was right and he himself
wrong, longing for the old sweet home
life, with all its loneliness as the
greatest boon In the whole world.
And now? His soul shrank within
him. His parents were probably dead,
the little business enterprise Of his ia
Their engulfed by the rush and havoc Of
the new rule Of advancement. He start
ed up as a step sounded near him,
and a kindly voice spoke:
'What is 1t. my manT
Donald thrilled as his eyes rested
on the speaker. He recognized him
imam instant. It was Doctor Gray,
changed, grown old, but the friendly,
sympathetic face was the same. At
that mement q speeding automobile
passed by. Its electric lights focused
on his face.
''Why. 1t Is Donald Bruce!" ex-
claimed the doctor. He sat down on
the horse block, retaining his hearty
grip on Donald's hand. 'Where have
you been all these years? Get in, !
A want to talk to you"
Doctor Gray led the way to the
gravel roadway where his old-fash-
Toned phaeton stood ready for him.
!. Slowly the ancient horse attached took
I them down the street. With manifest
interest the physician listend to, the
story OF the wanderer. As they reached
the city hall he said:
aYour father passes most Of his
time there just elected mayor for a
second term"
I Then, after urging up the laggard
e stAxaA End ron ching handsome man.