| OCR Text |
Show the tulip man! I CopvriqMtd, JW.1, by The Author! 1'iibllifiing Company. Ho was u tall, gaunt, whlto haired old man of seventy or more. Ho lived alone Just across tho Btreet, in an old fashioned framo building, covered with vines and creepers. In front was little plot a narrow strip of ground whero lilies of tho valley trow in summer. Behind was n lung garden filled In spring with rowi and rows of blazing tulips. I saw him first working with si little hoe among tho bulbs with their long, green leaves. After that I saw him often. I would stop for a fow moments on my way homo In tho ovenlng and watch him while ho went up and down tho long rows. Ho asked mo to como in, ono evening, even-ing, and look at his tulips. I wont; ho showed mo tho different varloties, otepplng among them with lnflnlto coro. Then wo sat down on n llttlo bench outsido of tho back door, where bop vines climbed up tho side of the house, and ho began the story of his life. What prompted, him to tell it was my asking if he never tried to , Crow any flowers except tulips. "Try, my man," he oald, absently, thon was silent for a while. A faraway far-away look camo into tho faded eyes. Ho took his pipe from his mouth and knocked tho ashes to tho ground. "You've never heard then? I thought everybody know about my Kitty Kitty and hor tulips. "It happened years ago ah, mo, so long ago; but it's as fresh to mo as vsr my Kitty's slranlo whlto faco and dark, pansy, oyos." His coat sleeve went across his eyes as It wip ing away a tear. "When I think of that morning when I loft hor to go away out west, I can always see tho tulips, too. They woro somothlng like these, only ahl such blood-red ones and such whlto ones, so puro and delicate. Kitty, with her white apron and whlto linen sun-bonnet, always reminded me of tho whlto ones. "Sho lived out in tho country. The house stood back from tho road and you had to go down a long lano past tho sheep pasturo and tho applo orchard or-chard to And it I went to seo hor ovcry day. Sho was all the world to j. I saw him first working with a little , hoe among the bulbs. me. I lovod hor loved hor with all . ny heart, and wo woro to be married when I cai back back from tho west, with j. pockets full of money. I bent down nd kissed her nnd said, 'Well, good bye, Kitty good byo, my girl. Keep a light heart till I como back. Good bye.' , " "But sho put hor head on rny shoulder shoul-der and cried, 'Oh, don't go, Jim don't go,' she kept stvlug over and - over to tho last. That was on tho morning heforo I went away, out among tho tulips, all by oursolvcs. "1 thought of hor always. I wroto to her every mall for moro than two years, but then I stopped wrltlnc. for there had come no answers to ray letters let-ters for a long, long time nearly a year. I thought something had happened hap-pened to my letters that they nover reached her. It was such an out of tho way sort of place, whero I was. Dut thero was monoy thcro If I would onl stick to It, and I did for two years longer, and then I wont home home to my Kitty that I know was waiting for me. "Tho little station was only a short way from tho houso about half a "There she sat at the supper table." mile. So I walked. I say walked, but It was mora llko a run. I shaded my oyes at tho head of the lane and looked down, thinking I might see her outsido, somewhere feeding tho chickens, maybo, or sitting on tho stoop. Dut I saw nothing of hor. "To tho left In tho barnyard nn old man was milking a llttlo black cow. I passed on up tho path to tho front door. I knocked; but evory thing was quiet. Tho place whero tho tulips grow was a wlldurnesB of weeds. "'Kitty! Kitty!' I called; 'Kitty, my girl, whore aro you?' I opened tho door nnd went In. It wne only a baro, smoke scented room, with a tablo In tho confer, covered with dirty dishes and newspapers. "Tho old man camo up tho path with n pall of milk in his hand. It was old Den. Ho had worked on tho placo as long ns I could rcmembor. I mot him now on tho threshold. "'Hollo, Jim, hello,' says ho; 'back at last why, hollo, hello. A welcomo toyo "Welcomo? Welcome, with no Kitty; Kit-ty; no Sweetheart to- clnlm my own; no trnco of tho old times, nothing, nothing only an old man? "Wo sat down on the doorstep and ho told mo all about It about Kitty, her troubles with Joo Mi ans and how sho finally had to marry him. "Hor father and mother woro both dead. "Only Kitty loft only Den to tako care of tho placo. No wonder my bead went around. I couldn't listen. I had to go away. I was nearly crazy crazy to see Kitty. "I struck oft over tho green fields; went over tho rail fonco at a leap, pushod through tho mllk-wocd and wild goosoberry bushes, Thoro stood tho houso! A window was open nnd 1 could look through It into tho kitchen. I leaned against a big cherry tree and looked. Thoro sho sat at tho supper table tho samo white faco tho qamo dark oyos tho samo Kitty I had workod and grubbed for through four long years. "Joo Morgans eat at tho head of the tablo. Dut I didn't look at hlra my I eyes woro on Kitty, "Well, I couldn't stay Oicto thrre was no uso. Kitty lookon contented, maybo sho was. I waited till I saw her get up from the table nnd brush tho crumbs from her lap, then I crept away and walked all night. "After that my money went: I spent It; I gave It away waste I It Why, I had lots of It. Why not? Uui I lived longer than I expoctod, and fi money went sooner than I expected I drifted here nnd thcro. but when I camo to this spot I settled down, ai. I've inado up my mind to die Iioip with my tulips. They irnl o mo thirl of her Kitty In tho ol 1 iWvb, hefn-i' anything happened, you know Kltt-wlth Kltt-wlth her whlto apron and white sin bonnet Kitty knoclltig amoui; hi', flowers, or loaning her little hend on my big shoulder, snlng she'd now like nnybody but inc." Tho old man's chin snnU c his breast, nn I ho was 811 -at for sniu time. The si.ndowa or nlrht had fn.l en. Lights were twinkling In tiu whitlow s. "It Is a sad story," I snld. 'Sad? Oh, yes, I suppose." ho ro piled, rousing himself. "Hat I'm keep lug you hero listening, my man. It 3 growing lite time for an old in in like me to go to bed; so good night Come over In thD mornltiR and I'll pull you a bunch of tulips to tako ovor home. Well, good night " "Good night," I Bnld, nnd lcTt him, It was n cold, bitter morning In winter. win-ter. I paused at tho gato on my way to tho olllco and looked across tho street at the frost starred windows of tho old man's houso nnd at tho smoko-less smoko-less chimney. Ho was in tho habit of rising early, and I stepped over to seo If anything was the matter. Thoro was no responso to my rap, so I turned tho knob and pushed open tho door. A porvaBlvo feeling of cold was In the air. A pllo of plno shavings lay In readiness on the hearth. I went over to the bed, standing In tho corner by tho stove, and there, I with ono big hand thrown out over tho thick, rod comforter, nnd tho blue lips slightly parted, lay tho old man. Ho had gone to wait for Kitty to meet hor, perhaps who knows? That day I visited tho undertaker and searched tho city greenhouses for his favorlto flowers. At last I found some whlto ones, and tho next afternoon after-noon wo laid him away to rest, with a tulip on his breast. |
