Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1875-04-23
MARK SKELETONS WIFE.
BY OLIVE BELL.

One cold morning IN Decemner
Mark Shelton, ESQ, and his wife sa
down to breakfast in one of th'
contest Of dining-rooms; Mark witt
a cloud on his usually pleasant face
and his wife's placid countcnanc.
wearing a puzzled and sorrowfu
look, for when had he been angry a
her before?
He had scarcely spoken to her th'
previous evening, and he looked sui
len and gloomy still. What had sh'
done? She had pondered tn
thought over and over, yet she hat
not dared to ask him.
The morning sunlight streamet
into the room as they silently drar
their coffee and abstractly nbblet
their mullins; and broad stripes o
yellow gold lay on the sea ground o
the carpet, mingling softly with th'
bright tints of the autumn leaves tina
sprinkled it; and lighting up the pic
lures on the vanished walls, unit
they stood out vivified into life-lik'
perfection IN the mellow light. Tht
fire burned cheerfully in the polished
CRATE, the canary chirruped blithly il
his gilded cage, while the trailing
vines that festooned the recesses o.
every window turned each delicate
tendril to the warm sunlight, as il
thankful for the warmth and comfort
and hallowed glow that filled thai
filled that pleasant room.
Mr.. Shelton finished his breakfast
and took up his morning paper. Mrs
Shelton pale little woman, whose
chief beauty lay in her eyes, which
were so blue and trusttul one could
not help loving their owner, watched
his moody face uneasily. Hel
smooth purplish black hair was coil
ed up in loose double twist, with
here and there tiny curl peeping
out, giving her girlish look that
Mark had often admired. Hel
morning dress Of navy blue cash
mere, with snowy lace at the throa,
and wrists, was simply elegance itself;
and better than all was the work OF
the slim fingers that were nervously
twirling the silver teaspoon i'll hel
dainty coffee cup.
But Mark was too much engrossed
in his own moody thoughts to find
any interest in wife or paper, for, after
a vain attempt at reading, he laid the
latter down and sat silently staring
into the fire.
"Mark," burst out his wife, who
felt as if she was under the influence
of an nightmare, "what on earth is
the matter with you:"
And Mark answered her with that
sensible masculine evasion, "Noth-
ing"
II know there is something wrong
went on Mrs. Shelton,
desperately. care you angry with
me, Mark"
"No, Alice, I'm not angry with
YOU"
"Then tell me your trouble. l
never saw you SO depressed before,
and we are married five years to-day,
Mark"
"Bless me! So we are! l had en-
tirely forgotten it." Mr.. Shelton
looked up for the first time, and
glanced across the table at the little
woman in blue, whose cheeks had
lost the peachy bloom they had worn
that day five years age. But the
dear face was as fresh as ever in his
partial eyes, and his heart ached more
for her than for himself, for he knew
she would suffer keenly in the crisis
he was dreading SO much. ''If the
children had been spared to U.S." he
said, mentally, thinking of the two
little graves i'll Greenwood, "they
would have been comfort to her.
But he kept his thoughts to himself,
and id, instead:
'Will you attend Mrs. Austin's
party, Alice?"
Son the goth? Yes" The un-
easy light left Alice Shelton's loving
eyes, for since he was not angry with
her she did not care to pry into his Sc
crets. And yet if he only would con.
tidc in her, she would feel so relieved!
"Will you go, Mark?"
~ think not" A curious smile
parted his lips.
''Why?" in a tone Of surprise.
81 shall be otherwise engaged"
"Nonsensc, Mark. You must no,
be such a slave to business. Few
men are as prosperous in the world
Il have been prosperous" dreamily
"but''--hc never finished the sen
tence.
Sand the panic never affected you
in the least" innocently remarked
Mrs. Shelton, who knew as much
about the subtle workings Of the fl
nancial world as she did about
mythical inhabitants of the moon.
h.r. Shelton jumped up, slightly
flushed in the face.
"What idiots women arew was the
complimentary exclamation that met
his wifc's ears, rs he went hurriedly
from the room, needless of her ex
cited, "Mark-"
But Mark was out in the cold, sun
lit street, before the little woman had
recovered from her astonishment; his
white, even teeth clenched tightly
together, as he hurried down to the
dim, musty office, where SO many ar
duous duties demanded his attention
Many of the business men who me-
or passed him on the streetlooked curl
ously at his downcast face; for hi'
mind was too much preoccupied to
take any interest in passing occur
ances. He heard nothing, saw moth
ing, but the blue, numb HANDS O
street beggars, who seemed to bese'
his path every few rods, for his char
acteristic charity was well known
and few were the palms that did no
close on the coveted penny.
For Mark was a good man, humane
charitable and generous in all things
and until a year back the world hat
gone we'll with him. But the panic
swamped dozens Of his debtors; hi
business was dead in a financial sense
and his creditors were clamorous fol
bills he could not meet. He hat
never been careless, unwisc or extrav