Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-07-05

went 10 see him A LONDON QOcoOr came
down, and together they carried out the post
norton examination. which was OF course
insisted on, and to which Annora made not
the least objection. They could find nothing,
nothing-nothing whatever-to cause death
Ali was right; there was no latent disease, no
injury. The man we had seen alive and well
on Sunday was dead on Tuesday-that was
all.
From unknown causes the verdict at the
inquest ran
Lucy in her kindness went to see Annora
Masters after this, ITO comfort her." she
said. But apparently Annora would have
no comfort. For Lucy, whom I met few
days later asked me seriously if had ever
seen Annora Masters close; il I-lowering
her voice-thought she was madi
She had, Lucy said, grasped her wrists
tightly, and said, when Lucy tried to say
some Of the words her own sweetheart
taught her:
DEATH Sometimes death brings one
what one wantsl 1t is life that is wrong"
Then she broke off suddenly, and, dropping
Lucy's hands, begged her to come and see
her again.
THE oldest thing" Lucy went on, sis that
Harry is sure he has seen Mrs. Masters before
somewhere and can't remember where. BE
hates her." Lucy said, very low. II DON'T
quite Ike her. Shen-
.'You couldn't, N.Y.
had forgotten, sometimes did, that Lucy
was not my darling. The thought was often
bad to boar, SO I lifted my hat and left her
abruptly.
: One warm spring day three months later
+ta old brfo housa xx-llap ora
of the maid servants rushed out hastily, near
ly knocking me down.
"Ohln she cried, "come in, sir, do, while
go for the doctor. James tainted and mis-
tress, she does nothing but stand looking at
Mrs. Bent and doing nothing to bring her
round Do make her, sir, for mercy's sakel'
''Mrs. Bent" I said, grasping the woman's
arm ike wise. What is iti TED mel"
shes tainted, sir, and 1 can't get her
round, and mistress-there, sir, let me 60"
did let her go, rushed up the garden, and
unceremoniously indoors and upstairs, into a
large room where l saw-what I can see now
Lucy, white, ashen white, lying motionIess
on the dark rug, and Annora Masters stand
ing by the Inantelpiece, with one arm resting
on it, gazing on the woman at her feet.
Idont know what l did-seized Annorah
arm, / think. Still less do know what
said-words of intense hate and burning
anger, l know; but when she turned slowly
and, with slow, contemptuous smile on her
lips, looked at me- the flashing red light in
her eyes turned me to silence. had no more
words.
l whose love, whose passion lay dead there,
could say no more, could not speak,
knelt down by Lucy and hid my face in
my hands. Something so surely mado me
know that Lucy was dead-gone beyond
power of our help-that never tried to
touch or raise the white marble face. And
them do not remember anything else.
I was i'll, very i'll, for a long time after
that. When 1 got well asked, of course,
before anything, about Lucy Gone, knew
she was; but when and howl Heart disease,
they said Heart diseased My darling
1 got strong again slowly-a most annoy
ing thing for an active man, and could not
believe in my own weakness.
Perhaps my nerves were overstrung and
my perceptions unreliable, enc night, when l
had in sort Of bravado walked much far
Their than l was really able. What am say
ingi Overstrung nervesl Nonsense! I saw
them.
chapel we called it. 1t was gaunt and I'M
canny In the winter moonlight, which shone
with an unearthly sort of radiance over
everything Suddenly l saw, clear and
bright, in front of the falling, ruined win
dow, two fgures-fgures l felt I knew.
With a sudden impulse / went back into the
shadow and watched. All at once l knew.
The tall, slender, black robed woman was
Slnt J.x%a
could see the light in those awful eyes.
The other, man whose attitude somehow
seemed to me to show reluctance in every
line, upright and firm though he stood, was
-Lucy's husband. Lucy's husband cast
every thought Of eavesdropping 20 the winds
was not, after all, on the kings highways
and listened.
You will" Annora said. "You do;
knew you before this-this ridiculousiy short
life" And she laughed more werdIy than
words can say.
T-Lucy was my wife, my love. I love
her STILL" he answered, in an odd, choked
voice.
You love-ner' the cold, calm, incisive
voice answered.
And / saw it. But when think Of it, after
all these years, the same shudder comes over
me that felt then Then she looked at him.
He took her into bis arms-the arms that had
held Lucy.
| could bear no more never knew how
got home. All the way the thought fol-
lowed, accompanied, haunted me What was
thisi Who was this who threw everything
aside in this awful way, and went straight to
her own endsl Was it a wonan-or a fendi
No one ever knew more than this. How
should theyl
a room in the back of the red brick house,
IN which Annora often sat, was found one
morning locked from the inside. The serv-
ants were alarmed. Doubly so when they
found that their mistress own room had
never been entered that night.
They sent for help to force the door, and
found. in an arm chair close TO the window,
Lucy's Observation-Disclosures through the
head A pistol lay on the floor. From its
position It must have fallen from his own
right hand, which hung over the chair.
Re was alone; the window was shut but
not fastened, and there was no sign or trace
of Annora.
A small crunpled note lay on the floor.
1t was in bis writing, and contained very few
lines.
Il am writing this at home, fe ran, TO
tell VOC / cannot come; but what use Is it:
know / shall come as surely as 10 O'Clock
strikes. You VIII make me- But-naTry
you'll Iwould Kill myself first
Annora no one ever saw again; ill., three
years ago, one evening, late, in the winter
moonlight, on his grave-we buried him by
Lucy-I, coming home, ssw a wornan's figure
lying. l wen. up TO it hastily, and found
what had been Annora.-New York Com
rnerS.al Adver tisar