Wanderings of French Ed

by J. Adelard René

The three sat and talked until late. The Russian took a great fancy to the old actor, who in turn was favorably impressed by Ben. This meeting was the beginning of their friendship, and they visited each other, finding much pleasure in their relations.

It was decided that Edward would leave the next morning, and the old actor agreed to be at the station to bid him good-by.

When they returned to their room, Ben went to bed, but Edward sat down writing letters until late in the night. Among these letters, one was difficult to write satisfactorily, and he wrote many before he was satisfied with the one he was to send to Nellie. He bad decided not to let her know his whereabouts; this, at the suggestion of his friend, the old actor. The letter he decided to mail to Nellie, read as follows:

"DEAR AND KIND FRIEND NELLIE: After much thinking, I have come to the conclusion that I was not born to be an actor, and furthermore, that it would not be right for you and me to carry on our little romance. Life is not a dream, and while I have greatly enjoyed our little trip in dreamland, I foresee the day when we would both have to face life in its reality, and I feel that bright as life has been with you thus far, the day is not far distant when we both would see the clouds of unhappiness accumulate over our heads—and I know it is better to part in sunshine than in the shadow of unhappiness. I cannot find words to express how grateful I feel toward you for your extreme kindness to me. I leave it to your kind heart to imagine the greatness of my gratitude, and the immensity of the sacrifice I now make. The moments spent in your presence were the happiest of my life, and my soul never knew how much a human being could enjoy the happy dreams of life until I came under your influence. I will always remember you as the brightest star in the firmament of my life, and I will pray that you may never know the bitterness of misfortune. With a last loving kiss, good-by, and forgive me! My friend, Ben Oresky, will some day pay you back the loans you made me. "Yours, with best wishes for your future happiness, EDWARD."

He could not help but shed tears as he sealed this letter, but at the same time he felt satisfied. He felt like a man after accomplishing a hard duty; but it was done and he was almost proud of the fact.

The next morning, at the station where Ben accompanied him, they met the old actor who, true to his word, was there to bid him good-by.

Once more Edward was carried to an unknown country, but this time he felt easy. He was strong with the feeling of having sacrificed much for the sake of his duty, and already there seemed to be much more room in his heart for Marie Louise, of whom he could not think without blushing. After a day and a half of fast traveling he arrived at Grass Village where he was met by Mr. Goodnow, to whom he had written. This gentleman was a real western type, and Edward was pleased with the cordial manner in which he was received. After being taken to the house, Edward gave Mr. Goodnow his letter of recommendation from his old friend, and went upstairs to a room to wash himself. When he came down, he met the whole family, and felt at home from the first.

While Edward was getting acquainted with his new duties, his letter to Nellie had reached her, and as she read it, she felt hot tears come to her eyes, and for an instant her heart felt as if pierced by an arrow. She had never realized until then how much she really loved that young man. As she eat holding his letter in her hands, she saw her dream of anticipated happiness crumbled to pieces, and such a despair as had never before entered her soul came to her. "My God! My God!" she said, and then closed her eyes.

The heart of a woman is a strange thing, and Nellie's heart was one of the strangest. Having never before known what love was, she had all at once felt her whole being infected by a mighty passion, a passion such as no human being can feel twice, and now the object of her love had vanished. He was gone without even saying where. Her sorrow was almost as great as her love, and from this time Nellie King was a different woman. She broke her engagement in New York and came back to Chicago, where she tried in vain to learn where Edward had gone. The Russian had promised Edward not to reveal where he was, and he was true to his promise, hard as it was to refuse Nellie, to whom he owed his situation.

For twelve months Edward had lived on Mr. Goodnow's ranch, and his reputation as the best and most fearless rider on the ranch, as well as the most graceful, was a recognized fact, and that was enough to make him popular. His little mare, a perfect type of that class of horses, called "bronchos;" was the prettiest and swiftest on the ranch, and he had named her "Nellie," and indeed, any woman would have been proud to give her name to such a beauty. There were twelve cowboys on Goodnow's ranch, and every week, one of them had a day off, which was spent at his own discretion.