Page 106 - 1918 VES Meteor

TnE itmTEon
lie sank from bad to worse, until one clay, wandering
about the docks of a great city, pennilcs:;, di~couraged, and
. 0' lonc:rl·ng glances at the black water whlCh sucked and cast1Do o
tugged at the huge piles, he espied a paper, dropp~~ on the
the wharf by some passing excursionist. Its ~annhax type
drew his eye and he picked it up. It was his ho.me-tow.n
pa "'r Some perverse trick of fate ha.d brought 1t to h1s P~. ..
hand, and the intelligence it contained to hts heart; ~or m it he read of the death of his mother. The paper s:ud she died of age, but•he realized with terrible force that he had broken her heart and brought her to her grave.
A lost spark of his manhood reasserted itself, an~ ~e sought a job-not a position--on a farm far f1·om the ctty s lure and clamor. There he was making good, and the clean life strenothenecl his muscles and brought a measme of rest
to his m~d. So well was he doing that be fell in love with
a p1·etty country girl. Feeling sm·e of his power to master
himself he'married her, and, lu1·eJ by higher pay, retumed
to the ;ity. At first all went well. A child-a little boy-
was born to the happy couple, and the intnre seemed clear
at last. But one evening :Mason, feeling elated at his rctur~
to prosperity, indulged in one little drink. The next clay ~t
was t·wo, and, like water 1·ushing through a broken dam, h1s
old habits thrust aside his newly acquired strength, and
bronrrht him down. Then the second great grief of his life 0
came 11pon rum, and halted him in his mad rns~ to to.tal ' d e s t r u c t i o n . H i s w i f e di~>d, u n a b l e t o b e a r h 1 s h a b 1 t s . Sobered and terrified he had stood by her bedside and listened to her lust words. "Take care of Billy," she had said, and then the pale eyelids had closed in eternal sleep,
leavinO' the broken man alone with his little son. Once more be fonght to overcome his failings, and this time he was successful. He placed his son in school and worked as a laborer to pay his board.