The Storyteller.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7843, 8 June 1905, Page 4

The Storyteller.

■K'PHASE OF MY COUHTSHII». Hej; , (Continued.) Hl|pool° Smith ! I thought he'd peg that day, he handed me over the books. .1 saw him off. and day I impressed tHe clerk and with the way I went to 'work,' Hupi 1 think they were impressed, Hfifeua} I tyyird thP Hoy say ,to th« '' lie wants thes« lottcrsin an Hmt'to sign. He's in a beast of a ain t he? I wish old Smith Kspjta Ucndibong girls arn't too had. All made a bee-line for me, so HHrtbe mothers. Theru be no. BSntt about ■' it, I certainly* Qlayed parts up there. At ail the and entertainments. Coming tile head off.ee gave me an importance. Then there was ■mpiltlr of nielancholy ajbt>ut.me, too, HU£||bWonien like. A melancholy man mystery—sad and trying Hmjjti&gcs in "his life, awl that kind of Women uracil for mystery in tq .comfort a fellow, to ■ngfcout What it's all about. ■pßw more you refuse to tie comharder they work, ami HHwflugbei' you rise in their estima-. HKftj'Was going up by leaps and ibounds Hfe' week, because I got uiclandead tamest. It ifao ' ell .too, but I couldn't tel. ; H(> mothers aod dat&ft- : ■gPrs, r you understand. She took, the Hpff, on - account of my noVigo'ing to, J ■jjHiimpy to say goodie—girls - ex- i such iuipossibte . things, it's enHwugh 'to drive a. fellow crazy. I Hrjlbdil asked after Tony, ajid ex■BNWtheß at A length how importaift r how I had to'go .oil inHnifl9t. a hurry. S-he never answered nujj weeks, and my features, which «»de to suit a cheerful frame ; grew elongated. HRgTony wrote to me, < Dear Mr Parkes,—What a naughyou are to niaka poor Katie j not tonic ancl say good-bye ! But don't tell her I told you; fp. because she didn't know I was ] ' room when she was reading HHpftr letter. I am getting so well, ! ■pW -we gather' shells on the beach, am making a w.atch chain for you, helps ine. ■ Mr Brings ..wast and took ua for a walk. Kat■Re dkl not want to go. Sse said, bother Mr Briggg.' 1 It . was j fcame afternoon she got your b>it up we jwuld riot go with-i, her she nad to go* When W6 i home I hope ■ you w!IH come 1 too, because Katie and I will : >ou.—Your loVm« .little friend, BV TOXY SILENZI*." •said- I wfts to write, Hw.she is busy opening oysters." Katie," I said -to myself,, it come to that ? Is the niunthe I'endjbong branch ot 'S.I.C.K. Company less than aw to you ? If I were an oyster ■rati make a pearl of you, a"} 1 1* " 1". ■Egd keep you for life." I Couldn't wishmg she Could have ovcrthe last remark! it would have Httched any girl, I felt better after HBmUkaog that way, and the" thought! she crjed bceause I didn't come io »eo her kepfc tuy spirits up. wrote back, to Tony a letter that Hgtould have wrung any girl's heart ; Hg* l I w «a fflad there was someone hadn t lonely and homesick, and had Bwlfe: -Work hard. I also tokl her as>out; ■Kfcft Jfcndibong girls, and heyy ; kind wero to me, and I could) H&ga ou( every night and Saturday af"But," I finished - upi " I little girls better than ip'owniglyp oniia now, Tony, so jotr must be sweetheart, and -write me soon knew sho would show it to K tt tie IBa® 1 '? aft-_T. a few weeks' weary waitdurui ff which I had tp drink to keep me -up; I got a letter my Jady as stiff «s a piecJ of ■Kphrchnient. ?Khe didn't say a word my letter, but began on the ■Bfovgnatth business. Told me how Tony and the kids, and. her father mother, and Mr Silenzio; and' gEjnc dog and tho cat. Then she told' MSWIC politics were sick, and astronomy SSsSTIj * us CouW 1)0 expected," antf "P.S.—You will find it Quito recall und uninteresting l Q cooic bpcfc EL . e nice, little outings the Ben girls arrange for. you. Wc .all pleasoi to hear' how much | BErtrou are enjoying yourself. Oh, by; gjLptho «"aj , we Came back froin Humpy i a few weeks ago. Mr Briggs- took P* WC U'ouble to pay us a visit whei« p was down. What a nice man ho Ia ";•' I seem to like him better every t£, titne I meet him." ' i IS 1 ru ™ t ' d f °r Tony's letter and regj read. '.'She said, " Oh, bother Mr i I UrgK ß -' " I pinned the two letters to-1 » fiether, .and whenever I read the one,, ST >£ r® 111 the °tl>cr. ' Oh. bother Mr ft ' l roni keeping salt tears the rest of ir iers. Tony deserved a medal. -* l - Tonv. and I kept up -a brisk corres.pondence. She liketj i-fc— and—well, it, j* ~ suited me. Katie and I wrote ati longer intervals (her interval #as always longer than mine). I lilied itj

and—well, I suppose it suited her. I never mentioned Briggs' name in my letters, jbiut at first mentioned Miss 1 Snagfe's. Katie never mentianed Miss Snagg's, but she often . mentioned •that "nice" man, Mr BrSggs. Miss Snagg was a young lady whom I thought everybody misunderstood, until I understood her myself., iYJoung S na<gg. wafcs, ,u; >of my clerk's, and one day I met him walking along the street with- his sister. lie introduced me to her, and two days aller I got an invita- . tion to a musical evening at their place. I had three other invitations for the same evening, but fixed on Shagg's, which made the other people look coldly at me for sometime. ■Miss Snaggi was a' free, outspoken young .lady, ajid I couldn't help liking the girl for being so confidential!. It showed what an insight she had into character to trust me as' she did. We got .on very well together, and somehow it got to Katie's ears. In her next letter she said; in. her postscript, " From all accounts. we sitfall have to congratulate you very soon." 1 heard all the other girls took my part, and said Miss Snagg had made them ashamed of their sex the way th* chased roc. . I had had almul enough of Bcndibong, when one morning I struck a patch, ajid things ibHg'htened a bit. I got a letter from Stubbs, and he sakU " Smith's in town, looks lit for his grave, but says he's lit for work, so 1 expect you'll be coming back directly. It's about time, too, that miserly old bully has been working mc to death. Green doesn't change- his colour, and never will. 1 am going to ask for a holiday as soon ae you come back. I'm gone off my tucker, and the doctor says he'll give me a certificate. Sydney woulti suit me. I saw .Miss Stewart thu other day. She looks .very much oil, grants a change like myself, I guesH. Bendibong would suit her," etc. : t'puld Katie be pining for ine ? At :,all events, Briggs Couldn't be making her happy with his unwelcome attentions. Did she believe what was 'to I'd her about Miss Snagg? But, hijrrah ! Smith was better, and I'd soon be master of the position, or k fiaw the reason why. : Then I forgot all about everybody j else, for 1 received a note from Katpte, and out of it dropped a photo—the photo, she had promised me of •Herself when Tony was sick. What Viid I do with it ? 1 covered it all -■over with But look here, you've |got to go through the experience K-ourself. It makes you want to do a good turn. Her note was short. She had a bad head, felt strange, and hoped 1 js.ould excuse hor writing a long letter. Hoped, too, I'd not forgotten Smy promise. Any show for Hrigg.'i How ? She didn't even mention hisname ! ; I went straight out of the office, *and had my photo taken—four posii tions—and a few days after sent Ivatjie the proofs. "For you to decide, IMiss Stewart, if you will." And if sthat didn't let her sec how hopeless lit was with me, I reckoned nothing jelse would. '■ The proofs never came back, and 3iow I know the reason why. i Bear Mr Parkes,—l've b«m crying because they won't let me see jKatie. She is so sick, and does not jknow anybody; the doctor came twice ijto-day, and Mrs Stewart did not go fto her meeting last night " I didoH read any more after that. I knew how bad my precious queen a uist be if Mrs Stewart stayed at 4|ome. | " Oh, God ! " I groaned, "now that all is clear, can it be possible ? " But no, I could not, and would mot, believe it. 1 dashed out of the -oliice, and wired Mr Stewart. He replied, but that didn't comfort inn ynuch, because he 'told me about Katie before the eclipse. That was the Tjest proof of her serious illness. " lyphoid fever ; good constitution. .Hope best. _ Partial eclipse to-morrow Slight.—Stewart." ; What f ? My heart almost stop|pcd beating. What if the typhoid fever eclipsed my Katie before I so'W Jier again ? I thought I'd jolly well ®o mad. The day after Bulliman and Smith 'Wrote me to say I could be relieved ;as soon lis I liked. I " liked " that might, und wired Smith io came on iby mail train. :oA>W. t