The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-12-11

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much worse.
did you hear me say that I wished
you to go alone?"" I said, angrily.
Eyes, yes, Dick dear, I'll 70 il YOU
wish" Matte said, very meekly; .but
indeed I'd far rather stay at home"
you are desired to go; you have a
rose in your. hair" / said. sarcastical-
ly-oh, what a poor satire when it was
put there to please me-"and they OK.
pect you; SO now go and enjoy your
self,n added, by way OF q sting to
my sensible speech.
II can't enjoy myself, Dick" she
said, gently, ''unless you come too.
Let me stay"
~ desire you to go!" l exclaimed,
banging my hand down on the desk.
She looked at me with the big tears
standing in her eyes, and then, coming
nearer, she bent ove me and kissed my
forehead.
'HNill you come and fetch me, Diclc?,
she said, softly.
"Yes-no-perhaps-I don't know"
| said, roughly, as l repealed her ca
resses. And then, looking wistfully at
me, she went slowly to thedoor, glided
ouG dila WaS gone.
That broke the spell, and l started
from my seat, more angry than ever.
was wroth with her now for obeyins
me SO meekiy, and l gently opened the
door, to hear her call the maid to ac-
company her as far as the Wilson's
The | heard them go-heard the girl
return, and / was alone.
Alone? Well not exactly, for so to
speak, | was having an interview with
my angey self, asking how I could let a
feeling OF annoyance act upon my bet
ter nature, and make me behave as l
had to the sweet girlish being who, dur
ing the six months we had been mar
ried neve looked at me but with eyes
of love.
"Change your things and go after
her something seemed to say; but I
repealed t,threw my writingdesk aside,
kicked off my boots, snatched my slip
pers out OF the closet, thrust the easy
chair in front OF the fire, threw myself
into it, and then, with my feet on the
fender and my hands in my pockets, l
sat, morose, bitter and uncomfortable,
gazing at the glowing embers.
"She had no business to gol" I ex-
claimed. .'She knew | was up all last
night writing that miserable book, and
was out %ofsorts, and she ought to have
stayed"
Then l reviewed the past half hour,
and grew calmer as | leaned back,
knowing as / did that I had forced her
to go, poor child, and how miserable
she would be.
She'll forget it among allthose peo-
ple,' | said bitterly.
Butt did not believe it, and ct last
l sat there calling myself an idiot,
blind, mailman, to plant as | had the
first seeds OF what might grow into a
very upas tree ofd%issension, anil blight
the whole of our married life.
poor little darling!!" | said at last;
'1H wait up till she comes home, and
then tell her how sorry | am for my
folly, and ask her forgiveness. But as
a man, can | do that? Will it not be
weak? Never mind" Exclaimed, "Ill
do it! Surely, there a be
no drawer thing than to own
ones self in the wrong. Life
is short to blur it with petty
quarrels. And suppose she were taken
i'll to-night-my darling whom l love
with all my heart? Or suppose she
went too near the fire and her dress
caught alight? There, how absurd!
Thank goodness, she is in silk,
and not in one OF those fiy-away mus.
linsl'
sat on, musine, till suddenly there
a buzz outside the hc!se, and
then the rush of feet, Ifancied / heard
the word sire!" repeated again and
again, and, turning to the window,
there was a glow which lighted up the
whole place.
| dashed down the stairs and out of
the door, to find the road thronced,
for a house a little lower down was in
flames, and, to my horror, l had not
taken q dozen steps before | found it
our friends, the Wilson's.
There was no engine. but a
crowd Of excited people talked eager
ly; and just then the. fire escape
came trundling along the road. 1t
was quite time, for the house
as | reached it, was blazing furiously,
the flames darling out in long, fiery
tonguesfrom the upper windows, while
at several there were people piteously
crying for help.
/ fought my way through the crowd,
and tried to run up to the house, but
half a dozen otficious people held me
back, while the men with the fire escape
tried to rear it against the house; but
it would not reach because OF the gar
den in front, so that they had to get
the wheels OF the escape over the iron
ratings, and this caused great delay.
Let me so!'I painted to those who
held me '.Let me go. Some one
some one is in the housell'
"1ou can't do any good, sir" said
q policeman. roughly. sHrhe escape
men viii do all that can be done"
But ! struggled frantically, and got
loose, feeling all the wkile a horrible,
despairing sensation, as | knew that
my poor darling was one of theshriek-
ing suppliants forhelpat the windows,
and that but for my folly l might
have savedher.
As freed myself from those who
held me, and al to the escape, it was
to find that the man who had ascend
ed it had just been beaten back by the
flames.
cts no good" he said; eve must
trythe back of thehouse."
He was about to drag the machine
away, when l heard my name called in
piteous tones; and as | was once more
seized, | shook myself free, rushed up
the ladder, with the flames s~corching
and burning my face and painting and
b%reathless, | reached a window where
Matte stood stretching out herhands.
] got astride OF the sill, the flames
being waited avayfromme, and threw
my arms around her; but as | did so
the ladder gave away, burned through
by the flames that gushed ~furiously
from the lower WindoM. and | fnltthaE