Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-01-12


| It was not so much common jealousy
q mans instinct Of revolt st another mans
admiration of his handsome wiie-as 1t
was fear, q desperate, death ike feaI,
that 0eory needed somethlng 70 could
not give her 70 make her happy he
could never give her luxuries. he could
never say such things as, be fancied, Ste
phen Halliburton must be able to say to
women. But he loved her soa Oh,
heavens! he loved her 90! How cDuld he
endure that anything should come between
| them! ~ s~s - sFss
al won'twrong her and teaze Ter with
suspicious" he said to himself. In the
depth of the night. "I'll just fight my
way the bestI can against it III seep On
steady; perhaps she'll see it right y -and-
by" -, :.
own determination implied the dreary
thought that her heart was turned from
him. He raised himself on his arm to look
at her as she slept; and all through what
followed he retained the expression OF her
pure, calm face, as it pressed the pillow,
whitened by the moonlight that glinted the
frost on the window .panes and flooded the
room.
he kept silent. He knew that she met Hal
iburton at her aunt's; he knew that when
she went TO the seaside the ensuing sum-
mer, for week s.visit toni rs. Paul Apple
| ton, there he was also. He knew that she
seemed to be living a life apart from him (;
and Once-that was when the iron entered
/ his soul-whcn he went to her little desk
4 "a present he had made her during their
engagement--for q sheet of paper, and
| found ii locked, and asked her carelessly
enough for the key, she flushed and, said
she would get the paper for him.
But he kept true to the promise he made
himself He kept on, Fighting his way
against it as best he could" hoping, with
sick heart, that she might see it right by.
andby"
The months wore away. The second
year of their marriage was nearly com.
pleted. John had been very careful-as
careful as Georgy herself-that there should
be no outward and visible sign Of misun-
derstanding or GOODNESS between them.
No suspicion had come to any that the Sec
happy than the first. Nor had he ever
within his power
He had prepared surprise for her upon
the coming anniversary of their wedding
day-a present of twelve guineas, his saw.
ings during the year.
The anniversary fell upon Sunday, and
so their little commemoration OF the day
must come the preceding evening. No al
fusion had been made to any celebration
by either Of them, but John felt sure, some
way, that she could not let the time pass
without some sign. For his own part, nc
had half resolved to attempt some expana-
ton of their arrangement Anything, he
thought, would be better than the chilling
reserve. With his mind divided between
anticipation Of relief and jealous dread, he
went to the counting house that Saturday
night to receive his money. The cashier
looked up with certain embarrassment at
his approach.
"Ah, Mr. Randall, the accumulation you
have left in my handsg To be sure! And,
by the way, Mr. Halliburton spoke TO me to
mention to you there were to be some
changes made, and--and--but there he is
himself, sir"
John Randall turned, with feeling akin
to desperation, to meet his employer 1t
had gone through him Ike thunderbolt,
as the cashier spoke, that he was to be dis
placed. Stephen Halliburton simply said,
as John faced him, "Ill not detain you
now, Mr.. Randall / shall call this even
ing to let you know Of the change feel
obliged to make"
And the owner bowed and left him.
With the money in his nerveless hands,
John Randall walked homeward like
man dazed. He was to lose his place. For
what reason he found it impossible to con-
lecture. But to lose it was to lose reputa-
ton, courage-everything. He had never
imagined such possibility as that. The
money that he carried-he should not dare
to make present Of it to Georgy now.
He might have to wait for other employ
ment. II might be needed for their bare,
every day needs before he got work again.
A chilli death struck to his soul
Georgy evidently had not overlooked
the recurrence of their wedding day. The
coy rooms of the cottage all wore little
air Of festivity. Some slender vases held
the gleanings of the Observation-Disclosures
themums, blood-red, white and purple
verbenas and scarlet geraniums.
She came to the door that night to meet
him, with one other "company" dresses on,
some knots OF velvet fastening her collar,
and seeming to give glow and bright
|
she raised her face, and with wild
heart bound he kissed it, as he had not for
a year before. She was coming back to
him! That was the thought that thrilled
him Her infatuation--if such it had been
was at an end She was his own once
more! And then, close upon his new
happiness, came the dreary recollection of
his lost situation. He thrust the money
in his pocket. By-and-bY he would tell
her al.
"You won't mind waiting supper for an
hour, will you, john she asked, as she
led him in. II am going to give you
something nice, by-and by, and-and--I
think Mr.. Halliburton will be in" h
John Randall's blood froze once more
1t was not for him, then, that all these
preparations were made! Georgy had
never spoken Mr.. Haliburton's name to
him before. He could feel that she was
embarrassed, as she did SO. At
II want you TO dress, john" she added,
coaxingly. II have laid everything out
for you"
1t seemed to him that he would have
turned upon her, but that he felt 90 broken
at the thought of losing his place, and re
sented her gaiety, her secrecies-all that
had made him so miserable through this
L. ~ 4. n IL