| Show THE WRONG STREET 4 by ANSE ANSELM LAI CHOMEL M n i it 11 li Short mory story rub pub t 0 hal met the young woman but once and tha by the merest hance diance lie he had bad done her some little service and been rewarded with alth a I 1 I 1 smile and gracious thanks hanks with that be had dismissed the matter from his bin mind A friend had happened on oa the acne in time to present him the loung woman oman had said bald it was a pity that ho he should have been put to so BO I 1 much trouble on her accoo and he be had bad recited a foolish speech he had read it in a french novel to the ef e feet that any man should consider it an ail banal to be her slave ile he had certainly not gone out of his way to met her nor tried to extend the beyond belond the first meeting and as for his foolish speech it was vms preposterous to torture it into an offer of marriage but thare was ann her letter and there was no rols min taking its ita meaning A mistake ot of the postman of course he thought at first but the address on the envelope I 1 mr richard broadhurst Groad hurst 54 george street settled that point against him the letter made it elcar provokingly clear that miss Il hamilton amilton looked upon him as a suitor and that she was waa graciously yielding to his en treaties why one would think from this he said that bat I 1 had thrown myself at her feet and begged her to bo be my wife i when confound her I 1 but what s the use of storming around about jtb lt I 1 must get this matter i ati lightened out I 1 for richard broadhurst was the last man on earth who was thinking of marriage hut but after all why not the bold ness of the thought both startled and amused him it came back why not lie ile could not answer the question although he called up all his old time prejudices and all the arguments which to him had bad to prove conclusively that he be should never marry lie he remembered that miss virginia was not bad to look upon that she gave evidences of at refinement and that her manner was pleasing true he ard noticed a certain haughtiness in her beating beail ng but that he thought would be for the world and not for the man she loved ills old ideas about mailings man lags might be all right so far as the rest of the women in the world was concerned but miss align virginia well that was aas another matter A wife after all it if miss virginia were t the he wife might not ie be the worst thing in the world after accepting his offer of marriage which he had not made mad miss misa vir finla had written that she would re main with her aunt in new york till a week before the wedding edding NN the date of which he be learned from her letter was three months hence 11 1 I suppose she ehe lad had written that you ft call upon your old friend mr gay to act as aa groomsman I 1 mr gay was the ho friend who had introduced them evidently broadhurst laughed lau ed there isn t much tor for the modern me ern groom to do but to appear at the er right time and put his neck into t the e yoke ke I 1 the bride tobe to be picks out the groom hints at whom she would like to be best man names the place and date of the wedding and looks after th things generally genei ally but for the tact fact that there coehn t very well be a wedding with eliminate ait oit a groom I 1 suppose they would eliminate him but ill lt it l t miss MI as V ali atnia manage this little affair then he be notified his friend gay that being inexperienced in such matters matter a he was going to put himself into gay a hands and asked him to look after such little details as aa his bride to be had not thought to arrange ile he was in a fever of excitement till gals gaia answer came but it ie assured i him it was waa as follows I 1 old hand band at the business and will see you through it congratulate you on the bride ou oil are to get now old man keep cool and dont don t get excited above all don t do foolish things just buy your vi wedding edding clothes be sure sura to got get here on time and dont don t worry about anthina an thing else I 1 win will attend to all little details really lies an accommodating fel low broadhurst thought but I 1 should like to bave something to say in this matter the 17 seems to be almost as aa artor in a wedding us as an i creditor where the assets are ten cents on an the doike then followed three months ot of oc ec stasy intermixed at times it Is a true with the fear that something might nash dash the cup of newly found bliss fi aiom am his life all s thu the passed without broad hurst hearing again from ay or flum fl lom um miss virginia A week before the date of the wedding he thought it that per haps hadd ha be ought to go over and see them but feared to intrude they were busy no doubt with wilh the a and would not care to be bothered by one who was to play tho the minor part of groom go bo impatient though he was ha be concluded to awatt await hla his cue before appearing on fon the scene then there were hta his own arrangements to look a after ate r por for the fiftieth time he be received receive d the solemn assurance of hta his tailor battor that thal his wedding cloth i 3 were prefect perfect finally his wedding day arrived air rived and he was wan at the railroad station two hours bour before beford the time for the train to r I 1 4 leave once on the train he took a seat but soon left it to find the con ductor and ask hini him hen lie he would reach his bis destina destination ollon I 1 rue he be had bad been consulting the timetable time table for or days but now feared that he might have made a mistake in reading it and then it might be necessary to send a message asking ashing them to delay the ceremony until he could arrive ills fears on this point quieted he again took his seat but it occurred to him that the locomotive might be in a bad way and cause the train to lose time but the conductor said bald the locomotive was waa never in better bater condition halt way between hits his home and that ot of miss virginia the train stopped ile ho rushed out ot of the coach with a bundred questions on his tongue what 0 he rushed out of the coach with a hundred questions question had bad caused the delay would it be a long onel anas aa there a telegraph office near ills his worst fears were realized some sam thing had gone wrong with a freight train and the way was blocked it was several miles to the nearest tel telegraph raph office the wedding was set tor for eight 0 clock adlock that evening and it was ten minutes past nine when broadhurst Broad hurat leaped from a cab in front of miss virginias virginia a home bome turned to pay the driver of the foaming boises and ran up the steps of the house ills his ring was answered immediately and lie he al most rushed into the aims of his filand gay lie ile thought ills his filand seemed at his ax ar rival I 1 I hope I 1 am not so very late he gasped the ceremony Is over gay said but you are in time to offer your con granulations come this way the bride came and gave her hand Broad broadhurst burst thought she be in might ight her future hubband nith a little more cordi cordiality alit than her man ner der indicated lo 10 relieve the embiri ras of the situation tie lie ventured to extend his congratulations and was as glad to perceive thit it must mua have been the proper thing to do since the bilde received them most graciously then with the remark I 1 want you to meet my husband she led him blin tom towards ards the gentleman who had been with her when he be entered the room after he had been presented hla his friend gay remarked to virginias bus band you have ml m friend here bero whose name by the way la is the same as aa your own richaad Ill chaid to tn thank tor for rescuing your bride some time ago when a team of horses thre threatened at ened to run her down donn broadhurst did not catch the other a reply he was dazed gay laid his hia band upon shoulder sa BB ing in alarm dick youre ill nothing eer serious lous he replied it will scion eoon pass away it if you will ex cuse me I 1 will step outside funny thing said gay speaking to broadhurst a few days later I 1 broad hurst that a the other fellow not you with a laugh had been trying to win miss hamilton a heart for a year before she consented to marry min him well just about the time you met her she concluded to accept him and alter she got to new york wrote to him to that effect ile he did not get the letto and renewed his pleadings again she BOO accepted him broadhurst wired to me an asking me to be ba beet lbert man and I 1 promptly accepted in a few ew days I 1 was surprised to get a let ter from him with the same earns i le quest I 1 concluded the dear fellow in his joy was waa losing his mind I 1 lyv etow the strange part ot of it Is that protests that he did not receive miss ii hamilton a first farat letter and that he be communicated but once with me whereas his bis wife Is 1 positive that she accepted him twice and I 1 could geear that I 1 promised an aa often to act as aa best beat man what was our friend a address bros broadhurst d hurst asked no 64 georgia street Broad burat said mald nothing but up api upi bow easy it vituld be to make a nol mistake stake and arlie george joe r ge in elead ot of georgia Geor iria |
