The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-06-22

He lifted his head. The righthandha,1
seemed to be flying past; the roar u the The
weir was deafening. The sliff was ha;,,
hurried along like leaf. He laughed
harshly.
"Too late" said he, hoarsely. IAN the
better"
A moment later the skiff came crasb;ro
| against one of the posts, and shiverpd n
pieces like firewood at the shock Tda
sprang up with a shrek, and her Whit for
shone out in the glare of lightning aosb
as, stretching out her arms toward her b,,s-
band, she tried to ca Il him by his mama She
had not time In the ru sh of the stream
passionate husband, remorseful wife and
the remains of the frai / craft that had held
them, were washed down into the seetb;rp
swirling water.
| Edward Moxon was good swimmer. hit
struggling against the force of the rushing
water, sucked down by it again and again.
the moments seemed to be years before he
got fairly out into the stream. Then he
reached the left bank quickly, and scrarab-
| ling on to the loose earth, breathless and
half stunned realized that he had escaped
death. There was no joy for him in the
thought even in tn at first moment Of safety
|
with look he scarcely underst TODD. she
stretched out her rals toward him, was in
his mind as vividly as if sh herself had
been still before his eyes. Breathing heav-
lily, and with strainin g eyes, he peersd into
the rushing water, few yards from him.
which he could not do ubt was the grave of
the fair woman he had loved. As heRazed.
his doubts, his misery, overcame him His
remorse in that weak moment m asN inn his
reason, he told himself that pIfe VR-A
| should end it all. k--.l b. r%s<
But what was it that the current<Tss
bearing toward him, like dead leaf rJected
by the torrent? Close to the bankh was
now, almost within his reach. I'm as it
appeared it began to disappear, Sinking
| again under the water on the psom Of
which it had just risen. The bly, OF his
wife! He swan out few stroke caught
the inert figure as it sank, and tth some
difficulty got ashore with his buIen. Cold
as stone and still she lay, as he bent over
her, calling to her.
A mans rough voice called ou suddenly
| close to his ear
''Is she done for! Let me SEQ Tain't the
| first case of droWnding or halfrowning as
| I've seem
IL was waterman with Pntern. nc
! had heard cries. and with an eJ to business
had got into the private groufs which at
this point raA down to the liver. he at
once set about trying to restoe conscious
ness to the inanimate womanat the same
| time addressing to the anxius husband
such rough consolati on as hi deemed ap-
| propriate.
''Tain't pleasant death die, though
| they do say it's easy one A drowned
| corpse never makes a pretty corpse, to ny
mind.n
Edward Moxon did not eve hear him. As
he bent over his wife's bdy, the little
| locket which hung with heassel at the end
of her watch chain caught his eye. he
opened it with shaking fngrs. The portrait
| was his own.
| In a moment he understood the trick she
had played him; he himself was the mar
ried man. she had ''gone off WITH that very
| day. She was innocent of any greater sin thn
| bitterness of heart at his desertion. winch
| proved conclusively that shestill loved Inn.
| He swore at that moment solemn oah
| that if she should be restored to him he
would cherish her, bear with her week.-mrs.
as he had never done before. Then, WITH
anxiety which blanched his lips and seepd
to gnaw his very heart, he waited. wen
he had borne minutes of suspense, whichle
took for hours, the waterman noddedAt
him, and announced briefly: - ~
"She's coming tor
A few minutes more and Ida recGntzed
her husband. With weak, faltering arms
she chung to him, whispering:
"Forgive me. 1t was all a trick. WANTED
to punish you-for leaving me-so
| coldly. And nearly drowned US both!
But will be so good, so sweet; only
don't leave me again.
Not if you make me walk over red hot
plowshares," whispered he, huskily.
AS they went back to town Ida explained
how she had plotted with Jimmy Constable
to play him this trick; how she had waited
at the hotel at Sunbury and borrowed Miss
| Halliwell's hat, to the intense amusement
of that frivolous young lady, who had done
her best to help the disguise, which, under
cover of the darkness and Edwards absorp-
ton, had proved so effective
When Jimmy Constable was taxed with
his share in the affair, his excuse was char
acteristic
''My dear boy" he said, "you had grown
so internally disagreeable that thought
you deserved to have your wife back again.
But the misogynist had overeached him
self; for Edward Moxon and his wife had
learned a lesson by which they profted to
the end of their lives.-Flornce Warden,
in Chicago Inter Ocean.