The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-04-09

will finish what have begun, though IN,
heart break
With this she took her seat at the desk
and worked steadily for several hours. stop
ping only once to partake of light lunch
She was still busily writing when sh,
heard her husbands foOtstep in the entry
She rose hurriedly, and tried to close ant
lock the folding leaf, but had not sue
ceeded in doing so when Cadwallader en-
tered. He noticed her agitation, bu
stopped TO pick up a torn piece of note
paper which had fallen to the floor. anC
stood twirling it in his fingers as he in
| quired:
"Wel, Cynthia, what's the matter
Aren't you going TO bid me welcome?
came home early on purpose to please you.
Standing there in that quiet, eXpectan1
attitude, L doubt whether the most critica
! physiognOmist would have detected in hi:
appearance an indication of craft or guile
In his cool, passionless gray eye lurked nc
suspicious CLEAN; and the lines about his
large mouth were drawn as evenly as i'm 9
preraphaelite picture. Mrs. Tapscott ad.
vanced mechanically and kissed him.
is anything wrong, my love" he
asked anXiously.
Cynthia's heart was beating wildly. but
she endeavOred to control her voice, and
answered with as much unconcern as pos
sible:
Nothing, thank you.'
Now it was CadWallader's turn to be
mystified. He repaired to his dressing
room, and began to arrange his toilet for
the evening. What had come over his
wife? Why did she cram those papers
into the desk as he entered the room
! Why, in fact, had she acted so strangely of
late in everything affecting that escritoire
and why was she to-day so diStraught and
absent-minded as to forget her customary
salutation? 1t was unaccountable.
All at once his eye fell on the twisted
bit of paper in his hand, and he unfolded
it. 1t proved to be the blank side of note
sheet, such as his wife used to jOt down
memoranda before entering them in her
! journal. On it was the inscription
"Mem.-Ed. writes me, requesting in
terview at his Office, Saturday, 10th. He
wants proofs. Have answered, promising
compliance
Mr.. Tapscott did not sink into a chair ;
he did not utter a stified moan: he did not
allow the paper to fall to the floor. He
simply looked daZed and said something.
What he said is neither here nor there; |
am sure the reader would not wish me to
record it.
Then he read the words a second time.
'And who the dickens is Ed.?" he de-
manded, directing the question partly to
his shaving-glass and partly to vacancy.
" He wants proofs, does he? By the
powers he shall have them! I'll give him
all the proof he wants of one fact: that
it's not safe to cultivate the acquaint-
ance of Mrs. Cadwallader Tapscott with
out the cOgniZanee and consent of her hus-
band"
He folded the paper carefully and put it
in his pOrtemOnnaie.
mo wonder she's acted so oddly, car
rying this thing on under my very nose !"
he added, as he resumed his dressing.
" Saturday, Ell? The very day of my ap-
pointment. Well, this being of primary
importance, the other can wait. The first
instinct in a married man, by Jove! is self
preservation"
No sooner had her husband left her
apartment than Mrs. Tapscott burst into
tears. They were the first she had been
able to shed, and brought her world OF
relief. Suddenly she started up, bathed
her eyes III cold water, and hastened 10 the
floor below.
81 am wasting valuable time,' she solil-
oquiZed. HE carries tablets in his over
coat. Who knows but they may contain
Jlle very lnIOruatlOn WanJ!
So saying, she went TO the hat-rack and
began rifling the pOckets of Cadwallader's
surtOut. The tablets were soon forthcom-
ing, and under the head of Saturday was
the inscription:
AfternOon-Afiss Isabel Whitney, y
Marcelin Place.
Every lingering hope of her husbands
innocence now vanished every doubt was
dispelled. She must face the dread reality
and make the best of it.
Returning the tablets to their proper
pocket, Cynthia adjourned to the dining
room and employed the ensuing interval
in giving orders to the servants and look
ing after the dinner. When husband and
wife next met both were as calm as usual,
and the evening meal was eaten as though
nothing had happened, or was about to
happen, to destroy their domestic peace.
If anything, they were more twin-like than
ever.
The following morning, when Mr.. Tap
scott entered the library, he beheld his wife
engaged in reading the advertisement col
umns of the Messenger. As soon as she
saw him she made some excuse to lay the
newspaper aside and leave the room. His
curiosity was now on the alert, and he was
fortified against any surprise after the de-
velopments of yesterday. He bit his lips
when he noticed that a certain item among
the Personals" had been partially cut
out. What did it meanG
WILL meet you as per yesterdays MESSENGER.
c. T.
c. T.-Cynthia Tapscott! 1t was plain
as day.
Nevertheless, to make assurance dOubly
sure. he sent a servant to find the supple
fnr. ha no a1
with the mutilated copy, which had been
stuffed away with a pile of old papers
down. stairs.
So Mr.. Tapscott INDUCED in another
ejaculation very like one l mentioned lit
tie way back.
When breakfast was over, and he pre-
pared to 90 out, his wife proposed accom-
panying him. With a wOman's tact, she
managed TO direct their course through
Marcelin Place, and past No. %. 1t was a
handsome house-much handSomer than
the one she lived in-with brown-stone
facings and a broad flight of steps. On
the door-plate was the name Whitney,"
in large, prominent letters.
"This, then," she pondered, sis the
abode of the woman who has stolen my
husbands confidence from me. Oh, the
wretch!" And her teeth closed so violent
ly that the very eXhalatiOn of her breath
caused faint hiss.
She glanced up at her husband. He,
too, was regarding the house with a
strange expression, and as her eye encOm-
tered his she fancied he changed color
slightly.
"Can she suspect anything" he was
asking himself "She looks very curious
lv at the house. l should like TO know
whether she has received any hint of what
is going on"
And thus the pair moved along, their
minds actively at work, but their lips silent.
Shortly afterwards Cynthia requested her
husband to put her in an upward-bOund
and left him to continue his walk
alone.
Arrived at his office, Cadwallader sent
clerk to the printing house, with instruc-
tons to obtain a yesterdays Messenger at
any price. The boy returned with his
booty, and his employer found the notice
he had anticipated.
One and one make two: am as good
at addition as any other blockhead, when
it is drilled into me,n he remarked lacon-
ically. by the by, this is what made her
so inquisitive yesterday morning. She
almost drove me into a corner with her
questions. Considering the position af-