The story
“The day had been unusually tedious at the Patrician Club, and an unconventional member suggested to his companions that they ask the elderly servant who waited upon them to tell them a story. It had never been done in the club before, but after considerable urging, the waiter explained that he could tell only the story of his own life. The old servant had formerly been a storekeeper in a little country town. His wife was dead, and all his love centered upon his young daughter, whom his elderly clerk desired to marry. But her father gently opposed him. Unknown to the storekeeper, a wealthy young man had been paying attentions to his daughter. The pair eloped. Fearing the worst, the father rushed out in search of the girl, and when he returned his clerk handed him a letter from the rich man saying that he was married and could not wed, but would provide a home for her abroad. The heart-broken father sold his store to his clerk and set out to search the world over to find his daughter and to avenge her. So far, however, though he had wandered from city to city, and from country to country, his search had been vain.
“As the old servant turned to leave the room, a young man, a stranger to the club, appeared in the doorway. The servant’s hand flashed to his pocket and whipped out a revolver. Before he could fire he was seized. The stranger, surprised, crossed to them. ‘He is the man!’ the servant exclaimed. ‘I have waited long for this moment.’ The stranger, astonished, recognized Aileen’s father. From his expression and the contempt on the faces of the club members, he saw also how he himself was regarded. ‘Come to my hotel—all of you,’ he said, ‘I will explain.’ The old waiter and clubman complied. At the hotel, Aileen and her father rushed into one another’s arms. The rich man had never been married before. The letter purporting to have been written by him had really been forged by the storekeeper’s jealous clerk. Conscience had troubled him, and only recently he had written to the girl’s husband a full confession.”
Summary from Reel Life · 23 October 1915
