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Show 3 New Loves I for Old I ;5 t s I By &cto aidiffe 51 -J 3 icopj-rlght 1 -in, w W- G. asmin' Face to face for the first time in fifteen fif-teen years with his almost forgotten early love, Mr. Archibald Newton raised his hat politely and his face became be-came pleasant. The lady shook bauds with him and smiled with a genuine greeting for an old-time friend. "A happy surprise," remarked Archibald. Arch-ibald. "Some changes since you and I last met. Married, of course?" "With two children," and the lady's face saddened as she murmured softly soft-ly "widow." "Widower," explained Archibald. "Two children also girls." "And I have two boys," supplemented supple-mented Mrs. Burton. "You do not live here, surely?" "But I do," replied he, with a rather rath-er proud wave of his hand, including within its scope fair acres enclosed by the fence against which he had been leaning. "How strange!" observed Mrs. Burton, Bur-ton, witn a slight flutter in her voice "I have just bought the place adjoining." ad-joining." "You don't jay so!" exclaimed Mr. Newton. "Then we shall be neish-bors." neish-bors." "And friends, I hope, as we always were," added his companion. "Those dear old days!" antl she lowered her eyes and he sighed. "I declare! Mary has made a fine looking woman," commented Archibald Archi-bald as they parted for the time being. be-ing. "I always thought Archibald handsome," hand-some," Mrs. Burton communed with herself. "He's more so than ever now." And Archibald smiled with warmth and Mrs. Burton simpered, and it brightened the moment for both in a pleasing happy way. In about a week the Burtons moved Into their new home. Mrs. Burton explained ex-plained that she had seen it advertised adver-tised and had purchased it on the recommendation rec-ommendation of a lawyer friend. She had never dreamed of the good fortune for-tune of getting next door to a helpful accommodating old friend. It was when for the first time 'Archibald got sight of the two boys that he seemed to get a new life impulse. im-pulse. They .'em bright, lively, up-to-date urchins, eight and ten years old respectively. Such lads! It made Archibald chuckle over his own early boyhood as he watched them up to all kinds of fun and mischief. They climbed trees to the topmost branch. They hitched up the cow to a dog cart and had a runaway. They "How Strange!" Observed Mrs. Burton. Bur-ton. slid down the barn roof with Indianlike Indian-like yells'that set their mother in a tremor. "I declare, Mary," exuberated Archibald, Archi-bald, "I never saw smarter lads! They've got activity and brains. How I'd like to own them!" "What! With those two little angel girls of yours? Archibald, they're so sweet, I feel like hugging and kissing them all the time."' Certainly the little girls ere very Ifuylike and well-behaved. The) had B somewhat .bdued air about them, however, and Archibald spoke of it. "You can't expect an old fossil like me to bring the up cheerful and happy hap-py iike a mother," sighed Archibald. "Tliey need a woman's direction and company. See lots of them, Mary, It will do them good." "And Archibald, do' try and tune down those rude boisterous boys of mine." "You don't give them work a.id they like it," explained Archibald. "Mary, I've an idea." "What is that, Archibald?" inquired Mrs. Burton .jweetly. "Let's trad j." "Oh, dear!'' "1 mean for a time. See here, give these girls the advantage of your kind motherly gen'Jeness and love for a month or two - Meantime trust the boys to me. I'll show you the real merit there is in them." The bargain was really made. Of course every da the families visited to an" fro. The girls beg? i to lose their shyness and reserve. The boys became interested in everythins about the Newton place. They loveu practical prac-tical work, and the cheery helpful old man was constantly with them, for the time being a boy at heart and chirpy as a lark. Ono day there was quite a row at the Newton home. The hired man had got intoxicated and had a runaway. The boys were with him and both were slightly bruised. This angered Archibald. He discharged the man. "I'll get even with you!" threatened the latter. "Don't show your face around here again," ordered Archibald. "Yah!" retorted the insolent fellow. "Mighty loving about those two mischievous mis-chievous brats, ain't yer? Huh! guess it's the mother you're after." "You wretched scoundrel!" raved Archibald, and made for the man, but the latter darted away and back to his cups at the village tavern. A week later one morning the younger of the boys startled Archibald Archi-bald with a quick alarming cry. "Fire see, it's our house!" They all ran for the Burton home. The girls were outside on the lawn, weeping. They had been carried tc safety by Mrs. Burton. "Where is -he?" shouted Archibr'l frantically. "She went back to get the bird you gave her," replied one of the little misses. "Why, she's hemmed In with the flames!" cried Archibald. It was fortunate that he entered the burning house, for in one of the upper rooms he stumbled across Mrs. Burton. She had fainted away. He lifted her in his arms. She partially recovered sensibility. Her arms encircled en-circled his neck. He felt quite the hero as he got her safely out of the house. "The house was set on fire, Archibald," Archi-bald," declared Mrs. Burton that evening. eve-ning. They were all housed comfortably comfort-ably now in the Newton home. "The flames started in the cellar where no one had been for two days." The village marshal was advised. He started a still hunt for the Incendiary. Incen-diary. Archibald and Mrs. Burton were discussing dis-cussing her plans for rebuilding the nexl evening when the marshal appeared. ap-peared. The dismissed hired man was in his charge. "I've found the person who set that fire," said the official. The hired man looked reckless and ugly. "What shall I do with him?" inquired in-quired the marshal. Archibald hesitated. It eemed so nice and homelike to see Mrs. Burton under his roof that he almost forgave the firebug. "Make him jign the pledge and send him away. I don't want to start any man on the way to the penitentiary," he said. "But why Jid he set fire to my house?" inquired Mrs. Burton in an injured tone. "Revenge, ma'am," muttersd the incendiary. in-cendiary. "Why, I never harmed you." "No, ma'am, but I was mad with drink and down on Mr. Newton for discharging me from his service." "What had I to do with that?" asked the lady. "Well, I knew it would hurt him worse to have you suffer than himself." him-self." "I don't understand " "Because well, because ap. was in love with you!" blurted out the man. Mrs. Burton looked at Archibald. Both blushed. The officer and his prisoner departed. Archibald crossed over to the woman's chair. Mary," he said softly, "we don't need two houses. One will do, if " "Oh, my!" fluttered Mrs. Burton. "If we bring up the boys and girls under one roof. Make me happy, Mary," and Archibald was eloquent and earnest as a young lover of twenty-one. "I wish I could," responded Mrs. Burton "as happy as I am myself after aft-er what that man said." "It's true, Mary every word of it!" declared the ardent swain thrillingly. And then he kissed her, just as he had in the far past when she was a blushing girl of sixteen. |