The Douglas independent. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 187?-1885, 1879-11-22
ExPosIAe 1 FRAUD.

marked Miss Patty Pry; DO most GER
family smell rat of immense proper
Young Mrs. Wrinkfeld dropped her
|crotehet work in her lap and started like
|a frightened little bird.
aWhat rat p she exclaimed. Patty, /
ii don't know what you are talking /
'abouta
She was q beautiful little blonde, with |
bic. wondering eyes, q gentle, pleading |
face. and voice as soft and sweet as the
cooing Of ring dove.
Her friend, Miss Patty Pry, was her
perfect opposite. A tall, grenadier- like
|5igure. with perceptible beard on her
|npper lip, high cheek bones, and elbows
M angular that no dress goods could
long confine them. Her newest dresses
always bore patches in the region Of the
elbows.
seMy dear child" continued Miss
Patty. sinking her voice to q low whisper,
ssfhe thing looks decidedly suspicious.
Wrinkfield seems so very anxious that
Won should choose this evening of all
others to visit your mother, who lives
ten miles from here.
ssBscause he thinks it would be an
agreeable change for me" replied Mrs.
WTinkfeld, eagerly.
EXACTLY" was the ironical reply,
'sand very agreeable change for him,
too.
ssWhat do you mean?' breathed Mrs.
Wrinkfield, as she turned her eyes
anxiously upon Miss Patty.
That lady gazed silently and sadly at
her companion and shook her head.
s'You are timid little goose. He
wants to get You out Of the way SO that
he can have Jolly time, invite bis
friends here, turn the house upside
down and all that. That is his real pur-
pose, you can rely upon it. ! have it
from reliable authority that Dollabee,
the caterer, has received an order for
q hundred oysters on the half-shell, q
dozen bottles Of champagne besides other
wines, and q corresponding quantity of
lobster salad, for this evening, my dear
child Soyou can easily see why your
husband should be anxious for you to
visit your mother this evening. Well,
we'll, it takes me to find out the men.
They are ali alike, every one of them.
Mrs. Wrinkfeld began to cry. II
won't go" she sobbed; Il won't go. I'll
stay athonie.
mo, my dear child; that won't do at
all; you will at once proceed to make
youissaslf IS pretty as possible and then
take the children and go on your visit.
Who knows when you viii have another
such chance? You can leave it all to
me: nothing that goes on here during
your absence shall escape my ears and
eyes.
'sYes; but how will you do it," asked
the Young wife, whose head felt as If it
was all in whirl.
ssOh! nothing easier in the world.
When you have left, viii steal into the
house by the back stairway, to which you
must give me the key, and then conceal
myself in the big dining cupboard.
There I can sit and quietly watch all
that goes on in the dining-room; will
hear all the nice stories this hypocritical
male sex spice their banquets with; all
those spicy secrets they keep 50 carefully
from us; and when you get back l will
tell you the whole story from beginning
to end. :"
"But--will that be honorableg" que
Sied Mrs. Wrinkfeid.
sHonorabler' sneered Miss Pry, with O
shrug of her shoulders. Ny dear child,
don't you know that we must make use
of every means in our power to hold this
tyrannical male sex in check.
eyes! yesl you must be right, nerv-
ously mnrmured Mrs. Wrinkheld, "but
never thought my dear Charles could
play me such q trick.
@Oh, the men are all alike, every one
of them" reiterated Miss Pry, "and we
women must keep close watch ON them
> 1 wouldn't marry one of them, if forty
were to 90 down on their knees TO me,
No. indeedl / value my independence
. too highly;;'' and she elevated her head,
half triumphantly, half defantly.
Mrs. Wrinkfield was good-natured
unsuspicious, trusting, conading, credu,
lous little body, who entertained an I'M
moderate amount of veneration for the
advice of those older and. she thought
wiser than herself.
But, as her husband, coming home an
hour later to see her of, helped her &C
tenderly and carefully into the carriage
and bought oranges for the baby and lit,
tie Minnie, her heart misgave her, and
she would have told him all had not Miss
Patty been 90 close by.
stf shall count the seconds till your re
turn" said Mr.. Wrinkfeid, as he kissed
her goodbye.
ss0hl the deceiver," whispered Miss
Patty from the other side Of the carriage
ssYou can't think, continued the un
suspecting man, "how lonely I shall bt
without yon and Minnie
ssOysters and ehampagnel whispered
Miss Patty, viciously, with her lips sc
close to Mrs. Wrinkfeld's ear that every
word sounded like drum-beat. "Of
yesi very. very lonelyp'
The carriage drove off and Mr.. Wrink
field returned to his Office. Having seer
Mrs. Wrinkheld, with the baby and little
Minnie safely aboard the train that was
to convey them TO their destination, Miss
Patty hurried back to the house, let her.
self in by the back way with the key Mrs
Wrinkfleld had given her, slipped noise
lessly up stairs into the dining room, en-
sconced herself in the big china closet,
and prepared to wait and watch.
''Dollabee always furnishes his own
glasses and dishes, she soliloquized, $50
there's no danger of anything being
wanted out Of this closet and shall not
be disturbed.
Then having nothing else to occupy
her mind with, Miss Patty constructed q
sort Of mental diving bell by which she
descended in imagination down into the
very substratum of her motives, and
picked up one by one the principles
which generated them. Having done
this she came to four conclusions
First That her only object in con-
cealing herself in another mans house
and spying upon his actions was to open
the eyes Of his wife, dear friend oi
hers, to the rascally character and double
dealing Of her husband
Second That such duplicity ought tt
be exposed.
Third That, under such circumstanl
ees, the course she had adopted was per
fectly iustiHable and in strict accordance
with the golden rule.
Fourth That, being justifable, it wa.
duty, and being duty, it was ths
proper course for . elf-denying, upright
pious and high-minde1 woman like her
self to pursue
The clock in the dining room struci
four.
Tt Is still quite early, and shall have
2 long time towaif, mused Miss Patty
hut it's better to be too early than to,
: late. II ! had delayed longer / Nigh
have encountered Wrinihefd somewhere
It Is not we'll to be too ventursAome.
The cloek ticked monotonously s--a,