Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1884-01-10

| against being LEFT widow without in
| cumbrance are infinity to one. If there
was only some way of making a woman
widow by an act of Congress or de-
| cree of court. It's shocking to think of
the risks woman must run to attain
that seventh heaven of independ-
ence. I believe l will advertise for a
consumptive. and agree to nurse him
tenderly through the remnant OF his ex-
istence if he will o5ligate himself to die
within a given time
Mrs Ainslee, her sister, and Ter
senior by two years, turned toward her
the face of shocked and outraged wife
hood.
But Mrs. Ainslee, to the indiscretlon
of marrying young. had added the fol-
ly of spelling her u'band, and Miss
Winthrop expected this silent protest
from her.
elf you want something OF that
Sort" said the doctor. laying aside his
paper. cit is not worth while to adyer-
tise. have patient on hand that
will exactly fill the BILL
Tell me abou, him." she said with
a sudden enthus.a IN.
"He is not consumptive." tontin-
ued the doctor. ''He is even a more
helpless case than that. He may die
at any moment; he can possibly live
longer than a few months, and is as
sorely in need of competent nursing as
any poor devil l ever, saw. He has no
friends here, though he was born and
raised in this place. [ tired to get
him into the hospital, but 1t is crowded,
and there has been SO much sickness
this season that | could not get nurse
for him, though I've been looking for
one ever since he came. He was a
classmate of mine at college, but he
went away. and | had not seen him
since he graduated until was called to
attend him several days ago. He was a
splendid fellow then, but he is total
wreck now. The worst of it is that the
fellow doesn't want to get well. |
don't kuow what has happened to him
since he left here, but whatever it is it
has crushed him utterly. He seems to
have money enough for everything he
wants; the only trouble is, he can't get
4 nurse for love or mcncy.'
The doctor had forgotten what started
his recital; he was thinking only OF this
friend, wondering what could have sub
dued a jovial AMI naturally buoyant fell
low so completely. when he was sud-
denly called to order by Miss Win
throp.
You are positively certain that he
can not recover?h she asked.
I'm the natural course of events he
can not. He might be restored by
miracle"
And can only live few months at
best?"
Il should say five or six months at
most
This" said Miss Winthrop, with
perfect gravity, lis the one opportun-
i.y of a lifetime 1t would be like fly
ing in the face of Providence not to ac-
cept it,
1T looks rather pcinted,'' replied the
doctor. ''It does not often happen that
a woman while INDUCING a whim can
at the same time do an act that may
be counted unto her for righteousness.
IF ] We're to talk like that l should
expect something to happen to me-
said Mrs. Ainslee, shocked at her sister
and surprised by this unusually flip
pant behavior on TIE part of her hus-
band.
Perhaps out of regard for Mrs. Aims
lees abnormally sensitive sympathy the
discussion rested here, but the subject
was not forgotten. Miss Winthrop
pondered it in secret and ultimately
evolved a purpose.
JCSn Hemingway had been crushed
by no catastrophe. He had simply been
uniformly unlucsy. A series of UNI
profitable spcculations, each in .onsid-
cradle in itself, had me'ted his once
ample fortune TO meagcr income
barely sufficient for his needs. The
strenuous effort to retrieve it in eli
mate unsuited to him had Slapped
his vitality and sent him back, broken
in health and spirit. to de within sight
of his ancestral roof. but not leneath
its shelter. His parents were dead; the
other members of his family had gone
away; the only familiar face he had
seen since his return was that of Tcro
Ainslee, his college friend. He WAS
quartered in hired lodgings, and they
were as bleak and dismal as such PLACES
generally are. In the room where ne
lay there was faded Brussels carpet,
an arm chair out a, elbows, hair-cloth
sofa. bed and some other essential ar
ticles, in keeping with those already
mentioned. The room was hot and the
street below was no.sy. He lay there
listlcssly, looking at the stunted naples,
with leaves all covered with dust. whose
tops Just reached the open window by
his bed, yearning for one breath of
pure, fresh air, one hour of perfect
quiet. But there never would be
anything else but this until it was all
over: he would never leave this room
unit he left the world. He turned
YEARLY away from the window and
covered his eyes with his hand
There was n knock at the door, and
he responded feebly, .'Come in.'' it
was too early for the doctor; it might
be his landiaGy, who sometimes came
in to see if he needed anything, and to
give him his medicine. He heard the
rustic Oh drapery, and smelled faint,
sweet Odor. He lifted his hand from
his eyes and beheld vision. A fair.
slender woman, clad in soft white null
that seemed to make the room several
degrees cooler, was standing by the
bed. She wore a bunch of heli0trope
in her belt. whose fragrance seemed
like blessed breath from that far-away
nook he had been longing for only a
moment before; from under the fluffy. !
feathery poke bonnet fell slightly
curling fringe of bright brown hair,
and a pair OF large violet eyes beamed
Oh him with a sweet compassion.
He was an uncompromising subject
truly; his face was sharp and sallow,
and a beard about week old added |