The girl and the guardsman . Mr. Tibbetts — Understand me. Barton — I am reported dead, went on thesoldier, scanning the other resentfully,a mystification behind his resent-ment ; and I am not dead. I havehad a rough time squeezing back into 27 THE GIRL &- THE GUARDSMAN the troop of the living, and a devilishjourney home * — ** Ah ! Barton! you dont see — ** Mr. Tibbetts — whats wrong ?Nothing has happened to Edith ?She is not — No, my boy, she is nt yet —but — ** Is nt yet? Is she ill ? Tell me! ** No, no ! But cant you see ! —you are supposed to be dead. To all ap-pearances you have been dea
The girl and the guardsman . Mr. Tibbetts — Understand me. Barton — I am reported dead, went on thesoldier, scanning the other resentfully,a mystification behind his resent-ment ; and I am not dead. I havehad a rough time squeezing back into 27 THE GIRL &- THE GUARDSMAN the troop of the living, and a devilishjourney home * — ** Ah ! Barton! you dont see — ** Mr. Tibbetts — whats wrong ?Nothing has happened to Edith ?She is not — No, my boy, she is nt yet —but — ** Is nt yet? Is she ill ? Tell me! ** No, no ! But cant you see ! —you are supposed to be dead. To all ap-pearances you have been dead. Barton. ** I admit that. ** And you have been dead — as itwere — for quite a time, and duringthat period — well, you can see. Bar-ton, that if one man dies, a youngwoman might take up with cant — Barton moved impatiently. Par-don me, Mr. Tibbetts, he cried, 28. * Noihiiig has happenedto Edith? THE GIRL &- THE GUARDSMAN catching the older man by the sleeve, I dont want to be rough, but haveit out. What are you driving at ?You dont mean — Yes, I do. Barton. Edith hasaccepted another man. The soldier shrank as if he hadreceived a sharp blow. Whom ? he then demanded. Hadleigh, returned Mr. TPibbetts. Eh —you knew him. Barton ? The soldier walked to the win-dow, folding his arms with a quiver-ing gesture. O, yes! He is myfriend. . She did nt wait veryong. He did nt wait very long, Bar-ton. That was the way of it. Andso it was settled. You can see at aglance how unfortunate your cominghome is. 29 THE GIRL ir THE GUARDSMAN Barton nodded slowly. Howunfortunate ! Then he swungabout as if to discover whether thiswas not a misplaced jest. This isa cheerful welcome, Mr. Tibbetts,for a man returned from the your joke is untimely. In allof that long struoo-le back to life,throughout the bitterness of my dis-appointment in finding tha
Size: 1379px × 1812px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublishernewyorkcscribnerss
