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Show ! LILACS I Dy NELLIE A. FAIRBANKS. (O Ull. by McClur. Ntw,ppr Sjndlc.lr ) Bill Curtis vigorously applied the old stubby brush broom to his well-worn suit, then stopped for n mntnont to gnro out ncross the1 great green Held. For 10 cars, weather permitting. Hill hnd watched nnd loved this tltno of dny, when tliu tain wns cuatliiK Ita Inst Hlantlng rays. Tonight he wns leaving the home he , . Lt k loved so well nnd Uie man who had 7 i 'Ml shnred tils home nnd with whom ha I find worked for 10 jenrs. That wbb 'j thu hard pnrt of cuing. Something i that looked suspiciously like tenri welled up In his honest hlito eyes, Hnd he guzed for u minute at the man at tho sink, doing up the supper dishes. As a rule this man was talkative, but J tonight ho wns strangely silent. if The arduous tusk of making un old ' suit look something llko new was thiol- i ly cnmiilcted nnd Hill stepped out on thu little platform that serve! us a t (ilnzzu. lie looked widly ut thu two empty arm chairs. "At the end of two days' Journey I will be with' .Marcla ngnlu," nnd once mure he could see the little whlto-lnd whlto-lnd tlgure ns ho left her that Inst evening. Again he could hear the soft sobbing as she begged him not to bo away long, and Dill held her iloso as lie whispered: "When I have made the little fortuno I have dreamed of, than I will cooo hack to you. And when I do come back, Marcla, It will be In lilac-lime, Just llko It Is today." The first few weeks had been unbearable un-bearable to lllll; then ns the months ! xiud yeurs passed he, fell Into that rut of being perfectly satlslled with working hurd nil dny nnd spending thu long evenings with his fnlthfnl companion and his pipe. Ills little pile of money grew big-r big-r ser each year until he at Inst decided It wns time to go hack to tho old home jukI Marcla. Ills heart heat faster us he pictured the little vision In white, and lie sighed happily as he nguln viitcrcd tho little cottage. Hut Ids splrlrs drooped when he beheld Jim. witting with his head testing In his two hands, n picture of despair. Going Go-ing over, ho placed his hand on Jim's dhouldcr and sold: "We've spent some very happy years here, old scout, hut now I must be ' olng back to ilnrcla. I wish you .-ould see her, Jim so miall, wld wavy tresses and " "Yes, but 10 years makes nn nwfol difference, old man," Jim aitsweicd. "Yen, yes," lllll niurmuteil, half ab-t-ently; "In some people, but not Marcla." Mar-cla." At last the time came when the comrades parted. Jim drove mil over thu two miles to the railroad station, nnd they silently pressed ench other's hand,' for neither could speak Just ' then. I 0 Jim drove back to the lonely cot tage, seated himself In Ills arm chair beside the vacant one, nnd when the I Mg full moon arose its beams Tell on ouo lonely figure, and an empty chair. In tuc meantime thu train sped on tovvnrds mil's old homu and Mnrcla. Ills Journey ended at noon two days later, but us Hill felt terrlblj toman-lie, toman-lie, ho waited until the sun was set- j ting, then Marcla must seu him II ret I by thu Iliac bush near her door. As ho neared the house he wished lie hud kept corresponding all theso jenra; but then, he felt suru Marcla loved lilm enough to wntch nnd wait for him even though It was sixteen yuura. ilu wns almost at the gato when a Midden fear took possession of him. Things did not look Just right. What if Mnrcla had gone away, or had died; but no, he must put such thoughts " nwny. At tho gate n piercing scream reached his ear Just as he was by thu lilac tree,, where Marcla must see lilm first nnd two dirty-faced boys eiimo rushing around the corner of the house, the larger one finally ovcrtak- lug the other, nnd they Immediately 1 . started n fist light. I The. door of tho house opened quick- ( ly, nnd n woman, one who would easily eas-ily tip the scales at two hundred, up-' up-' jieured In a soiled gingham dress, Meoves rolled to her elbows, exhibit-'f exhibit-'f ' I iir n pair of fat red arms thickly cov eted with white suds, mid the equally ,." ted fnco showed plainly she hnd Just emerged from tho family wiislitub I - Hill rubbed his ejus and looked J' itgnln. There might Just have been un ordinary double chin attached to dial face, but Ulll could swear he saw I'sf four. lie- ulso noticed the lliln, half 1 . cray locks, twisted Into a little hard ll-S knot ut tho back of her head. Crash-'$! Crash-'$! lug the Innocent lilac where he had a few moments before so loinnntlcally ,rfj- , placed his hand, he stepped back n lit-,1 lit-,1 3 tie farther. ij There was no mistaking. The eyes ;"W i - ,rl)VC, n was Mania, and if there wns'tho least bit of doubt left In hlH " mind, 11 dlsappeated when a man tn - overalls brushed past lilm and called t "it, "Hurry up und get my dinner, " W . Mnrcla." "' Ai'd .Marcla was Just starting back "r for the kitchen when she espied the limn by the lilac hush, liaising her . voice, die willed out loudl : "(littuwa) fiom them Illuca or I'll Kt '' ll the dog." 'jt ' Three dajs later Ulll turned the -.', corner of his own little cottage, und 4' K'eklug through thu window, beheld Jim in tliu act of setting one single Tt ; rhieo.ut the table. A ' "St-j It for two, old man' Ulll sang a?,., out cheerily. "And Jim, wheu you '1 . .uld a lot could happen In 10 years, I you said something." '' '' 1 I |