San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-12-22

THEY READ THE MESSAGE FROM THE
put it-ail save this fver-in the desk
upstairs, and tomorrow I'll bank it,
bright and early. And now must leave
You. Promised to meet my benevolent
patron at the club, and talk over a new
idea"
"ke-" but | close my lips in time.
should be criminal to suggest such an
awful possibility as has flown like
devil into my brain. "Good-by, old
boy, and don't stay too long away, for
Crutchy and are a slim battalion to,
cope with any burglarizing foe"
That long, long night my searching
hand touched an empty pillow. Keith
does not come home. The morning
dawns. Crutchy crawls downstairs, ,
looking white and haggard; evidently
she has slept as little as have |. At
noon we hear the stopping of a vehicle;
my husband is brought home. We pay
the men for their services, and turn to,
face our grief. The money has been
too much for him-his fiattering friends
too seductive; we see it all, Crutchy and
|, and sit there, silent in our anguish.
Next morning Keith tells the story
that we, being women, intuitively
know. He gropes his way upstairs,
sober, sad, suffering, and has not had
time to more than cross the room when
may Heaven save me from ever again
hearing the sound | now hear-there
comes a shrek that resembles the cry
of lost soul. | rush up the stairs,
while Crutchy follows slowly.
Its gone! The moneys gone! I'm
robbed.-Im robbed"
| fall upon chair, stunned; nor do
| seem to awaken from my stupor for
hours and hours. Officers of the law,
detectives, all who can aid in the search,
come and goa baffled lot. The money
is not to be found, nor any trace of it,
But the shock and my apathy arouse
my husband. Like one touched by
powerful battery, he springs into new
life, and swears, by all that he holds
holy and dear, to have done with strong
drink. And know that he means it.
But Crutchy grows thinner as the
days shorten; and when the sun enters
Libra, feel that the frail tenement
will hold her but little while longer.
She feels it, too, and, nesting close,
tells me of her gratitude.
Il couldn't do much for you, dearie,"
thus she pet-names me, but what
could. | did And when die"
so, Crutchie," wall
q
something in my hand. hope I'll live
till New Years, dearie, cause somehow
it nd mean more then. If | die afore,
and it amt too long, keep me till New
Years, dearie. if you can
scarcely hear, SO great is my grief;
but recollect, afterward, what | now
promise her.
"And, then, the last thing, dearie,
open my Grimm's Fairy Tales, and
you'll find something that I've wrote
there"
She lives until New Years eve. | al
low no hands but mine to touch the
dear, misshapen body, but place it, my
self, reverently to rest.
With choking sobs bid Keith fetch
the book she loved so well; and, as he
goes to do my bidding, place the satin
bag she asked for in her nervcless
hands.
Keith comes to me, at last, and to-
gether we open the message from the
dead and read:
DEAR ANGLE UPON ERTH | stoed the mon
ny. You'll find il in the Sattcn bag toled you 10
putt in my Hand stolcd it cause | was Trade
monny to spend fer drink. | was gOan to kepo
il til new years and then Civ it back and make
him promuss to do Right take it Now and tell
him how it was god bless you bottle
from
"CRUTCHY."
Dnnd Rhn nnilU jnht