| Show BACK TO MERIVALE by PRANK FRANK FILGON I 1 suppose it la is human nature to be interested in the misfortunes ot of our fellow beings and that excuses excuse the interest that everybody to in We merivale Merl vale took in jenny walsh it vi was an not ant mated by any spirit of unkindness but we all wonted wanted to see ee how bow jenny I 1 would take it frank elgh and his hl bride were booming back to merivale Mert vale jenny had been pretty once that was ten years yeara before she wasu wagne t much to look at now though some coma thought that she bhe had but charm last much beyond thir ty five at least ill qualify that by relating what our mayor doe doc williams said after thirty live five he said eald a woman must have matronly char charm because the girlish charm has hag gro crofta a tale stale that bore out his reputation as aa the village vil seacie and jenny was still slim and girlish but she bhe avas aa growing into a middle aged woman yet tet it seem beem so eo long since prank frank had bad been madly in love with ith her she as aa a lighthearted light hearted girl in those daya she had known brank since ince they were children but the eha re ejected him nobody exactly knew why some thought the eho vaas OB in loe ione with neer dowell do well tim gutber lr anyway prank frank stockleigh Stock elgh leigh in ent west wc aland and now he as aa returning the 0 oner nor of the montana copped mine and a mil leonaire llo lio several times over ile ho had bought squire grays house and an that he be and hla his wife vere cre oming coming back to make Meri merivale rale their home he and his wifel he had married a montana girl and that was one of the things we wanted to know how jenny would take it does doea need courage for a maiden lady of thirty A 7 7 tood up and tried to speak five ave la in not very nourishing stillness tan cei to look her bar rejected reject id Ld lover in the face when he cornea comes home with a wits wife and several millions of dollar so a well especially when people thought she aha had been in love with jinx jim purler furber abo was serving a ten years sentence in the penitentiary for stealing fifty thousand thoua and dollars from the bank that had employed him nobody knew for certain that jenny had cared for jim but anyway there he was waa shut up behind prison wells walls for a goodish part jf if hla hit working life would jenny go to the train we were frankly curious we wanted to be there when jenny met frank there was to be a town welcome and a spread for the and hla his wits wife in doe doc williams house hour yes yea jenny was waa going to the whole of Merl Mer vales ivales inhabitants had gone trooping don and all the offices were closed you see it often a millionaire comes come to merivale Merl valo to settle down and we had bad never had bad a millionaire before who went out of the village a penniless youth jenny and frank that was waa the ab corbing problem when we heard beard she was going nothing could have re trained strained us u it seemed endless that waiting but at last the train steamed in frank slid and ua his wife were in the front carriage he jumped dou daan n like EL a holy boy and swung a pretty buxom lady to her tt test and ad stood staring blaring at the crowd then he gave a whoop and stretched out his hand to the mayor my but im glad to see youl you he yelled don t tell we me you re not pets pete williams redheaded red headed pete who nh used to go fishing with mea me address of welcome what mayor petel pete mayor and doctor Will Willi lami amol catch me somebody ome bodyl V then he presented doo doc to his wife and soon oon we were all thronging round p the couple and giving them the beat welcome in merivale Merl vale and jenny jenny was waa blushing like it a schoolgirl and before anybody know knew what was wa happening jenny had kissed frank and frank had bad kissed her and jenny had bad kissed mrs mm frank and UN prank frank had bad kissed her bar too we were aleso excited about this that nobody noticed the thin tired looking man with the closely cropped hw hair who had bad got out of the same am and now stood behind frank hla his yea eyes roaming restless ly IT about until they lit on jennys jenny but danl dd nl jenny sprang forward NA and in a moment the thin man had her bw to in hi hia arms armar and ahe abe was waa hla his shoulder boulder and then they began kissil fich other right in front croat of the crowd I 1 there was a sort ort of universal gasp of stupefaction frank elgh cleared hla his throat and thu then he looking rt at the crowd nay nion but only at jenny walsh and the two thin man who was still till hugging her the gasp w waa succeeded by a breath less leas silence hence then mayor williame william hard into the thin mans man face ace and suddenly he cried jim furber as ae I 1 am alive 1 he spun pun round and jenny too and she he was wa looking at us ui with a kind of gentle defiance in her eyes eye and they were holding each others other hands I 1 why I 1 thought you were I thought you were stammered doe doc williams and that was HI an far an aa he could get he exactly tell him ha be thought he was in prison and yet the surprise of jims reappearance and 4 his appearance in franks company made the mayor forget himself yes tea I 1 was answered jim looking at him with the blinking gaze of a 4 man who been tn in the free air a much as he should have hare been 4 1 aa in the penitentiary eight yew ream nut and he broke oft off in a sort ort of choking sob and jenny linked her arm through his and then them for once mayor williams did the right thing jim you and mr and mm stock leagh are going to be my guests at dinner he said so come along all ot of you straight up to the house and you of co cauree ourse uree mise jenny he be continued flut but it was not until the dinner wax was over that the mystery was explained fand it was as frank who ho cleared it up TrI friends ends he be began and there was something tn in his tons tone which checked the air of jollity 1 I am bil bringing nging back to you not only my wife here he boned toward her but also your fellow citizen mr furber you probably know the sad mad circumstances connected with his ahti disappearance L let 0 t me ine eay say that after eight years imprisonment s his innocence has haa been proved by the conte confes BAton aton of a dying man hy by his bl own desire mr furber has haa preferred to remain under a stigma rather than drag the name of the dead mans relatives relative into publicity you cannot give him back those thoe sight eight years but you can take him into your heart 1 in a moment every man there and every woman too was waa crowding around jim shaking hla his hand and I 1 think in that moment the memory of those eight years fell from his mind and he became a normal man again ile he stood up and tried to speak after several everal attempts he found hla his voice thanks thank to frank elgh he said I 1 it was waa he be gentlemen who dis alb covered had happened to me and traveled east and spent thou thousands of dollars proving my innocence and I 1 ask you to drink to drink to frank and his bride and aldand and my wife whom you know as an miss mine walsh you see he be added choking more and more we were married when 1 I 1 I was waa in an prison eight years ago 11 copyright 1914 by W 0 |
