Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1886-11-20

quit my post to summon assistance and so
leave Beatrice entirely at his mercy.
glanced round the dressing room, and the
window cord caught my eye. 1t was new
and strong. cut it as high as could reach
and crept back to my hole at the curtain.
Crawford was growing rapidly angry.
Give me that boyE he cried, roughly.
Get out of the way, Beatrice, and let me
have him." and he caught her by the arm
and dragged her from the cot.
Arthur, Arthur! husband, sweetheart"
She claSped both arms around his neck and
raised implo'inS eyes to his, but the sight of
| the thin white face only moved him TO greater
wrath.
at is all your fault | have not made You
| strong long ago. he exclaimed, irTitably
You never laugh now, and you can't sing
and you won't dance
Dance! O yes, | can. Look, Arthur
She drew rapidly back toward the cot, speak
ing in her ordinary quiet voice You shall
do what you like with Berthe; | was only jok-
ing Only we must have our dance first, you
+! know
With sudden movement she stopped and
| lifted the sleeping child from the bed, talking
| all the time i'll an arch, merry voice, that still
retained its Old power over the poor mad
man. He nodded approvingly as she began
rocking TO and fro with the boy in her arms,
| and he moved a chair or two TO give her
more space.
Dance, Beatrice" and he began whistling
a then fashionable valse, beating time to the
air with the dagger of which he never re-
| linquished his hold
Very WE'LL she responded, cheorily
stand by the mantclpiece and give us plenty
of room. Now, then, my baby boy; one,
two and off we 60"
| My life has shown me instances of self
devotion in plenty. l have seen proofs of
ready wit and more of indomtable pllck
but have never seen them so marvelously
combined as on that terrible June night
| Instinct taught me what She meant to do
She had persuaded her husband to stand at
| the end of the room furthest from the cur
! tain that hid her one means of escape and
now she intended to hazard her only chance,
dash through it, lock the door on the other
| side, and then go for help Backward and
| forward, round and round, she circled, a
weird enough figure in her white drapericS.
| The little white feet We're bare and it taxed
| her utmost strength to hold the heavy boy in
| her arms; but with sublime heroSm of
| which | should never have believed her Capa-
| Die, she never once paused for breath. A
miracle alone kept the child asleep; but when
| saw the poor mothers lips move dumblv be-
| tween the snatcheS Of the gay valse she was
| cumming felt that she was praying God he
might not waken. Nearer and nearer the
curtain she came, but to my horror per-
ceived that Crawford was growing uneasy
and advancing slowly in the rear.
Mrs. Crawford! Quick
| There was not minute to be lost. tore
the curtain aside, and she rushed toward me,
| but ere l could tasten the heavy door her hus-
| band was upon us. With a Yell of baffled
rage he was tearing after her through the
| open doorway and III another moment would
| have reached her with uplifted knife, when l
| trippcd him up, and he fell headlong to the
| floor. He was stunned by his fall, and while
fastened his hands and feet by means of the
cut window cord his wife went back to the
inner room and rang loudly for assistance.
Ere he came to himself Arthur Crawford
Was safely secured iii my own room Lcag-
hg him there under charge of the men ser
wants l went back 10 see Mrs. Crawford. She
was lying on the bedroom floor with her
nervous fingers still tightly iGterlaced, and hy
| her side sat her httlc son, warm and rosy
from his broken sleep lie was kissing the
palinE LIPS as | came hastily into the room,
and now held up warning finger as knelt
beside them.
Poor mamma Is fast asleep, he whispered.
| And she is so cold.
She was not dead. The long and frightful
mental strain through which she had passed
brought on brain fever, and for some DAYS
we despaired of her life; but she came
| through it bravcly and ere the summer
waned | had the satisfaction Of installing
| both mother and son IN a seaside cottage far
| enough away from her Berkshire home.
Crawford, poor fellow, only lived a few
months, for dangerous fall IN The asylum
| grounds put merciful termination TO his
confinement During those few months ]
visited him occasionally, and he always
spoke most tcnderlv ct his wife, whom be
| imagined 10 I've dead.