The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1874-10-30

you-that stud is formed out of one of
Arabella's front teeth g.
His smile as he said this was not
pleasant to contemplate. His confess
sion had certainly startled me. There
was something dreadful about It. and
he had the air OF an Indian brave ex-
hibiting a scalp. He gloried in the
possession of ArabeIla's front tooth /!
How had he obtained it? Iventured
to demand. Was it pledge of affee-
ton? Could they possibly have ex-
changed teeth as ordinary lovers ex-
change locks of hair? I hardly knew
what was saying, or of what I was
thinking.
SCI was dentist in those days." he
said. What he had been before that,
and since; what profession he followed
at the moment of his addressing me,
really had no idea. 'sAnd Arabella was
one of my patients. But she was no or
| dinary patient. She was something
more, much more than that. She was
for while my afianeed bride. I loved
her, and she Loved meat least we
| thought that we loved each other"
And you didn't ?"
Well, we didn't, as it happened,
| love each other quite so much as we
| thought we did. In fact, both were dis
| appointed, and perhaps trif1e deceived.
| She thought had money hadn't. I
had been told that she was an heiress.
| Well, she was nothing of the kind. Still,
I am man of integrity, though you
may not think it. I had promised mar
riage; I fully pUrposed to be as good
as my word. The idea of terminating
our engagement did not come from me-
But Arabella's temper was imperfect;
& hn for oh
bilious, and, I must add, avaricious and
deceitful. She trihed with me. She
still held me enchained, but she encour-
aged the addresses of another and a
wealthier suitor. She designed to en-
plOy me merely as a means of irritating
his jealousy, and of stimulating him to
declare himself. Then was to be flung
aside as something worthless, because I
had served her purpose and was done
with. In good time I discovered her
treachery. I had intercepted her let
ters-no matter how and knew all.
But of that she entertained no sort of
suspicion. She had always fond smiles
for me, and false words and artificial
caresses. It was maddening. Well, she
was, as I have said, my patient and
she suffered much from toothache. She
came to me in order that might extract
a tooth that panied her. It was ar
ranged that the operation should be
performed under the influence of chic
roform."
He paused.
"But surely you didn't"
Hear me out, he said, and he
smiled, I thought, horribly. "It was
accident, of course, pure accident. I
was dreadfully nervous. Was that sur
prising? I loved her, and she was
amazingly beautiful. It was accident,
as I have said, or call it, if you will, an
error of judgment, but nothing worse
than that, as you value my friendship" E"
CAS- matter of fact I did not value his
friendship in the slightest degree, but
I did not saw SOL INV conduct. I do
assure you, was strictly professional. I
did not even kiss her but I extracted
the wrong tooth
"That was your vengeance" I inter
iected.
"No. She said so; but it wasn't
true. extracted, as I believed, the
tooth she had pointed out, desiring me
to extract it. Was it nv fault, that it
was perfectly sound tooth, and front
one, too ? She said it was but women,
you know, are not reasonable In such
cases. 7 was q dentist then, with a rep
utation to lose; I was a lover then,
though a deceived one. However, there
was no pacifying Arabella. She was
persuaded that had done it on pur-
pose. She was most violent. She had
predetermined on a quarrel with me,
although she had not perhaps fixed up
on the precise period for its occurrence.
Well, she brought in on then. It was
an awful scene. How she abused me
What language she permitted herself
How she screamed What Mysteries
she went into However, the tooth was
out. there was no mistake about that.
Here he smiled again, most malevo-
Iently, as it seemed to me.
''Her treachery toward me was pun
ished, although, as I have stated, by
pure accident or error of judg-
ment, which you please. But
Arabella vowed vengeance against me.
In that respect I am bound to say she
had been as good as her word. It's no
thanks to her that am living to speak
of these things tonight"
"Then you really believe that she
let fall the opera-glass on purpose %
''I am quite satisfied of it. She
meant my death. She knew I was there. |
had noticed her before leaning out of
her box, and taking note of my position.
I was Just thinking of changing it, sus
was struck down. Arabella is a woman
who knows what she is about. She was
always that kind of woman. I know
her. I've good reason to. And it's not
the first time she's planned to punish
me as savagely as she could. You did
not know until tonight perhaps that one
of my eyes was artificial ? No natur
ally you didn't. Well, that was her
doing"
".WhatP The artificial eye ?"
"Don't be so stupid" he said, rude |
ly. No doubt I had been rather OBJ
tuse; but had heard of ladies paint
ing on glass and doing potichomanie
and other strange things in the way of
fancy work, and for the moment, alto
gether, my mind was In rather a con-
fused state
"No," Stericker continued, "but
owe to her the necessity for wearing an
artificial eye. It happened at the flower
show In the Botanical Gardens. There
was dense crowd It was in the tent
where the pelargoniums are exhibited.
Not that I care about such things, but
it so happened. A lady advanced with
her parasol held In front OF her. Sud
denly she seemed to thrust it at me, as
a lancer might his lance. Her aim was
wonderfully true. The sight of my left
eye was gone forever. It was quite
mercy that the spike of her parasol did
not penetrate to my brain. That was
Arabella's doing, of course. Part of
her revenge"
And she said nothing %
She said calmly, I beg your par
don. 1t was an accident, and passed
on. She looked very handsome. She
was superbly dressed. However, that
oh Al L 3 -