Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1890-01-10
women TO sit by silent fircsidcs alone and
hear tf,o.znot; one.u,,ra;,,,,,~ !. \, "

ing TO- cseap pc trom, herself. There she
drew of her gloves with feyerish haste
and passed her hands repeatedly oyer her
forehead. Tho thought ,Nof Gilbert
Fralepyilow only presented itself tosher
in tho light OF h.limmensc tcniptattop.
BY Just SO much u.s. she felt herself pre-
cipitatcd toward linn byhcr love and the
inexoFa5le impetus of womanfs fate did
she Struggle against the tide that was
bearing hcraway and fastep herselfblind-
~ to the one thought tbatssthi sacrifice
must be made, laid on the altar of that
divine gift of which She felt herself only
The receptacle, the repository. = Many
other considerations had entered hereto
fore into. her battles with herself. Tie
fear that Gilbert would think it weak
hearted shrinking from poverty with hun,
IN ignoblc desire for the riches which she
could command if she went upon the
stage had been one of them. Now moth
ing remained bdtSI desperate {, ldt Criminal
ton to hold faststo' Fan itlcalAsuch de-
termination as might have inspired the
Vital virgins, also custodians OF Il holy
t:$mc! And sitting. down, without Civ,
ing herself time for hesitation. she wrote
the few lines following with II flying
pen: Ra-SJ ssos6 rsssS,
H H: DEAR SlR-L have decided
to accept your Offers for an engagement.
should be glad to h. able to see you, with II
view to the settling of certain details, and
with as little delay ms possible, T. I,ii
When Gilbert ,Fraleby left the office
of Fielding, Homer \ CO, lawyers, he
left it u ruined man. A man -whom ono
speaks ofsas ruined is usually understood
to have fallen from some at least moderate
height. But this was not the case with
Gilbert Fralcby. He had always been ii
poorlman and, Inc. expected foreman "a
poor man. He had always had saturn
inc contempt for the greed Of wealth.
Walking along the crowded downtown
thoroughfarc now he asked himself
whether he had been in his. right mind
the past year that he had so far departed
from the customs of his whole life as to
be drawn into these speculative transac-
tons which, through the rascality of ono
who had called himself his friend, had
suddenly left him literally bcggarcd.! It
seemed to him that he must have lost his
mental balance We'll, the retribution
for his folly had como upon him swiftly;
he thought Of it with half Whimsical
bitterness. lIe should have to begin
again nov from the beginning. Gilbert
suddenly WINGED. Octavia's name had
confronted him. staring conspicuously
from a poster. 1t was not the first time.
She was being well advertised for her first
metropolitan appearance. lie went on
bllndly enough for moment and uncon-
soious of the surging crowd around him.
lie found himself at ferry before he
realized the direction he had taken. i
Mechanically he passed his money through
to the ticket tallcr and walked on to the
fcrry-boat and to the extreme forward
part of it.
1t was at the crowded evening hour,
and the men stood, closely packed to the
Furthermore edge. A breeze blow .sthly
In Gilbert Fraleby's face and the slantinr
sun rays dazzled him. He leaned over
the railing and s:arcd down at tho churncd
track of white and green waters beneath.
\ sort of dazc had como over him. A
veil seemed to cover the future. He
realized that his life, which had seemed
to break sharply that day, had really
broken a year ago. 1t did not seem to
matter much how he ever took it up
again. He felt himscltssuddcnly pushed
from behind, and the crowd surgcd for
warl.
AS he raised himself there was shrek
from the Threats of the terrified women.
y dark form had thrown itself over the
edge. glimpse OF one mtflung arm,
of a tattcrcd plai,l shawl, rose above the
water. Gilbert Fraleby tore off his coat
and plunged after it.
There was a moment Of wild confusion
on board. A bell ram. The engines
stopped. Gilbert Fralcby rose once to
the surface and again disappeared. The
second time he clutchcd the woman. 4
small boat had been put out. A rope
was lowered. The woman was dragged
up. Gilbert Fralcby, exhausted, sank
again. As he came to the surface for
the third time, he struck, with head and
shoulders. against the side of the boat.
Then followed unconsciousness.
Life returned to him in the ambuiancc
and driftcd away afresh, TO renew itselfI
once more in the narrow hospital cot.
Clean, white curtains surrounded, him;
and Il tall, straight, middle aged woman,
with stout face, and awhite apron and
some white about her neck, lowered over
some bandages and bottles near his bed,
which was the Inst one in the ward. Then
everything grew confused, and intervals
of dclirium followed sanity after what
seemed ages =
One morning, at last, sanity remained.
An ugly, snub faced, good humorcd
looking young doctor was smiling broadly
down into Gilbert Fraleby's eyes.
"Wcil, you'll pull through now; that
was fipe thing you did. The woman's
case has got in tho newspapers, too.
Guess I'll have TO let the reporters know
you'll soon be on your feet again, as we'll 1
Good deal of interest felt about it,
There's been subscription raised for the
woman. Guess she won't be trying. to
make way with herself Immediately
again
"Poor, wresch!s The best thing,I could
have done for her would have been to let
her go down" 5QlLS x Eetii8l
The young doctor stared, then laughed