The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1891-06-05
A TRAGEDY OF ERRORS

Young and pretty woman, was dressed
for dinner. and sitting at the window
with her embroidery. that she saw
messenger boy crawl up the street,
stop to throw a stone at another boy.
and finally rung her door bell
A moment after this Bella, the up
stairs GIRL brought her n note. It
was from her friend. Edwina Jones.
Familiarity Ned. who had come from
afar to pay her visit. and being tim
orous. had decided to wait at the depot
until she came TO meet her. There
was no time to lose. Mrs. Jeffries
gave few directions to her cook. and
hurried away.
Half an hour after she had gone Mr..
Jeffries returned home and let himself
Ia with his latch key, wondering that
his wife did not come to meet him.
Mr.. Jeffries had been a very Jealous
man before he married. He confessed
it. he would not permit any one to
pay the least attention TO his Emma
Jane. Even cousins of the first degree
made him suffer pangs of grief un-
known when they called of Sunday
afternoons. and an uncle. who was
unusually Young for that relationship.
while as yet unknown, had driven him
to the most serious thoughts of suicide.
for Emma Jane had kissed him in the
front hall.
do you really think. jefferson JEFF
fries. that / can endure such conduct"
his Emma Jane had remarked. is it
possible that any one can put up with
being followed around like that. and
stared at like that? Do you think 1
willPn and then she had given him
back his ring. and he had ground it
under foot.
However. he bought her another in
do r.
and married; and Mr.. Jelfries. warned
BY the past. had behaved himself very
we'll indeed. and he had never yet
been jealous of his wife. when one
afternoon in August he came home
early to dinner and found her gone
OUT
Bella. did she say where she was
goinga" asked Mr.. Jeffries.
No. sir. said Bella. She gave
out the things for dessert and went out
in q hurry loike. in her best things.
just after she got a note loike. brought
by a hoy dressed like tallygraph.n
.-Ah,'' said Mr.. Jeffries- Il trust
her mother is not i'll. 1t really seems
as though something must have hap
pened.
He went upstairs when he had said
this, and looked about him for the
message. which. doubtless. she had
left lying somewhere. He could see
none He opened the drawer in which
Emma Jane kept her trifles of lace and
ribbon and quilted muslin, and still
saw nothing. But. giancing into the
waste paper basket. he discovered a
twisted paper. and, as it was the last
of the little heap. picked it out and un-
folded it.
Spreading out the wrinkles, he put
his glasses on his nose and read And
as he read his cheek grew pale, for
these were the words:
DEAREST EnMA JANE-Meet me on the New
York side of Twenty -third street ferry. long
70 zee you after our long parting , Yours
very, very fondly. NED
..Nedlr calculated Mr. Jeffries;
..NedIn He ground his teeth and
clenched his fists. He could have
howled with rage. but for the propri-
!. cites which we generally observe in
our greatest agonies. This was the
end Of it all then; Emma Jane had
gone to meet her old beau. Old or
new, who. could tell? A lover. any
how He tried to be calm; but he
could not believe himself mistaken.
He knew her brothers and cousins
we'll They were Peter, Paul. Will
liam, Elias, Samuel and James. Even
her father, who would not have signed
his first name was Adoniram. There
was no way out of it
No end but one" thought Mr.. JEFF
fries, as he sought for the pistol gener-
ally kept on hand for possible burglars.
Il must follow them. find them, shoot
him first. her next and myself last
No one shall know why; but the trait
ress will know as she dies!
He put the pistol in his pocket,
crowded his hat over his eyes and
rushed out of the door A Twenty
third street car was passing; he jump
ed into it and retired into a corner,
folding his arms
sFarer cried the driver. Mr.. JEFF
fries mechanically deposited some
thing in the box, and sank into his
seat and black study again. A vol
ley of shocking reproaches from the
driver aroused him. He found the
passengers glaring at him.
I've had this trick played on me
before" 4" cried the driver through the
door. you're a nice one, ain'tyou.
at your age, to put a coat button into
the box?n
Mr.. Jeffries received the remark
without an answer, and repaired his
error by putting quarter into the
same aperture into which he had drop
ped the button.
my belief is you are crazy" re-
marked the driver.
Zach, yesi'' responded an old He
brew lady, shaking her head
Mr.. Jeffries only groaned. What
was silver to him? He rode, the OBJ
iect of much comment.
Shortly after friend entered the
>ar. He was man of lovIal dlsposl-
ton, and, as he said, fond of his joke
After nodding and smiling in vain. he
bethought himself to poke Mr. Jef-
fries in the ribs with the immense
knob of the handle of his umbrella.
Taking the passengers into his conf
dence by knowing wink he stole
forward and perpetrated his joke.
The punch" was hard one; the
result an explosion. If any one had
tried to fire tho Sistol in that manner
he would have failed. Accidentally
Mr.. Joblings had done it.
Mr.. Jeffries gave groan, started NJ
and fell forward on his face, blood
trickling over his stocking. The car
was stopped. and policemen carried
Mr. Jeffries into Il drug store. The
penitent Joblings was in custody, hav-
ing voluntarily delivered himself over
to Justice The wound was not per.
haps a dangerous oae, but Jetfries re-
mained unconscious. Joblings accom-.
panied him to his home in cab. and
having told the tale in court of jus
/ tice, was permitted to go free on his
own bail. And just as Jefferson JET
1. I.,va