Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-06-29


would build a new house on it.''
Capt. Poindexter smiled and nodded at
the picture. sob, he did say that, did he?
Well, thdfs evidence. But you see he
never gave you the deed, and by sunrise
tomorrow his creditors will attach it.
unless
"Unless-?' repeated Mrs. Tucker,
with kindling eyes.
"Unless," continued Capt. POindexter.
''they happen to find you in possession"
''Il CO." said Mrs. Tucker.
sol course you will" returned Poin-
dexter, pleasantly. sOnly as it's a big
contract to take, suppose we see how you
can I'LL it. It's forty miles to Los
CuervOs, and you can't trust yourself to
steamboat or stage coach. The steamboat
left an hour ago."
''If / had only known this then!v ejacu-
lated Mrs. Tucker.
II knew it, but you had company then"
said Poindexter, with irOnical gallantry,
''and l wouldn't disturb yOu.v Without
saying how he knew it, he continued:
SIN the stage coach you might be recog- I
nized. You must go in private convey
ance and alOne-eyen l cannot 90 with
you, for l must go on before and meet you
there. Can you drive forty miles?2
Mrs. Tucker lifted up her distracted
pretty lids. Il once drove ffty-at home.v
she returned, simply.
stGood and l dare say YOU did 1t then
for fun. Do it now tor something real and
personal-as we lawyers say. You will
have relays and plan Of the road. It's
rough weather for paSedF, but all the
better for that. You'll have less company
FNOn the road"
Chow soon can l goH' she asked.
'sThe sooner the better. I've arranged
everything for you already" he continued
with laugh. ''Come now-that's COM
plIment to you, isn't itE' He smiled a
moment in her steadfast earnest face, and
then said more graYely: "YOu'll do. Now
listen"
He then carefully detailed his plan.
There was so little of excitement or mys-
terry IN their manner that the servant,
who had returned to light the gas, never
knew that the ruin and bankruptcy of
the house was being told before her, or
that its mistress was planning her secret
fight.
''GOod afternoon; Will see you to-mor-
row, them" said PondeXter, raising his
eyes to hers as the servant opened the
door for him.
''Good afternoon" repeated Mrs. Tuck
er, quietly answering his look. GYOu
need not light the gas in my room, Mary
she continued in the same tone of voice
as the door closed upon him; ~ shall lie
down for few moments, and then / may
run over to the RobinsOns for the even
| ing"
| She regained her room cOmposedly. The
! longing desire to bury her head in her pill
low and ''think out" her position had
| gone. She did not apostrophize her fate,
she did not weep; few real women do in
the access of calamity, or when there is
anything else to be done. She felt that she
knew it all; she believed that she had
! sounded the profoundestdepth Of the dis
aster, and seemed already so old in her
experience that she almost fancied she had
| been prepared for it. Perhaps she did not
! fully appreciate it; to a life like hers it
was only an incident, the mere turning of
| page OF the illimitable book of youth;
| the breaking up of what she now felt had
become monotOny. In fact, she was not
| quite sure she had ever been satisfied with
| their present success. Had it brought her
all she expected? She wanted to say this
to her husband, not only to comfort him,
poor fellow, but that they might come to
| a better understanding of life in the fu-
| ture. She was not perhaps different from
other loving women, who, believing in
| this unattainable goal of matrimOny,
have sought it in the various episodes of
/ fortune or reverses, in the bearing of
| children or the loss of friends. In her
! childless experience there was no other
| life that had taken root in her circum-
stances and might suffer transportation;
| only she and her husband could lose or
| profit by the change. The "perfect'' I'M
| derstanding would come under other con-
| ditions than these.
She would have gone superstitiously to
the window to gaze in the direction of the
vanished ship, but another instinct re-
strained her. She would put aside all
| yearning for him until she had done some
| thing to help him, and earned the conf
| dence he seemed to have withheld. Per.
! haps it was pride-perhaps she never real
| ly believed his exodus was distant or COM
| plete.
With full knowledge that tomorrow
| the various ornaments and pretty trifes
around her would be in the hands of the
| law, she gathered only few necessaries
/ for her flight and some familiar personal
| trinkets. j am constrained to say that
| this self-abnegatiOn was more fastidious
/ than moral. She had no more idea of the
ethics of bankruptcy than any other
| charming woman; she simply did not
! like to take with her any contagious
memory of the chapter of the life just
closing. She glanced around the home
she was leaving without a lingering re-
| greet; there was no sentiment of tradition
or custom that might be destroyed; her
| roots lay too near the surface to suffer
from dislocation; the happiness of her
childless union had depended upon no do
nestle centre, nor was its flame sacred to
! any local hearthstOne. 1t was without
sigh that, when night had fully fallen,
/ she slipped unnoticed down the staircase.
At the door of the drawing-room she
paused and then entered with the first
guilty feeling of shame she had known
that evening. Looking stealthily around
she mounted a chair before her husbands
picture, kissed the irreproachable NOUS
tache hurriedly, said, "You foolish darl-
ing, you!' and slipped out again. With
this touching Endorsement of the views of
a rival philosopher, she closed the door
softly and left her home forever.