Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-05-07
The Woman on the Back Seat.

rroin tne New iork Sun.
l boarded the train at o'clock in the after
noon, and had scarcely got seated when
noticed little woman on the last seat of tn,
right-hand side. I could not see her face OF
account OF the heavy veil she wore, and She
leaned over against the window so heavily tina
l thought her asleep. There we're only few
passengers OF us in the car, and everybody
seemed to shrink into himself as if Disguised.
who's the woman back there?'' l asked o.
the conductor as he sat down beside me for
few minutes.
Don't know; going to st. Louis" he said.
Maybe, and maybe it's something on her
mind; I've got an idea that she's watching fol
somebody"
1t was winter day and raining at that i
was dusk. but the lamps had not been lighted
when SIX or eight people got On at station
among them Was couple whom believed to
be newly welded, although they were middle
aged The man was fine looking and the
woman really handsome, and they took a seat
about the middle of the car, with their backs
to the yelled woman. When l happened to
look back found her sitting bolt upright and
acting as II very much excited. Fifteen min
utes after the train bad pulled out of the sta
ton the little woman passed me as she went
down the aisle. The lamps were alight now
and saw pistol clutchcd in her right hand.
The couple referred to were acting very low.
lngly toward each other. but had not con.
nected the little woman with them at all. She
passed them by two or three feet and then
wheeled, raised her veil and stood with the pis.
tol pointed full IN the mans face.
NO one can be prepared for action under
such circumstances. Every one in the car was
looking at the woman and everybody realized
that tragedy was at hand but nobody moved.
For fully thirty seconds the woman stood like
statue. the pistol within two feet of the mans
face. Those in front of him said that he
flushed up at first sight of her and then grew
pale as death. He tried to speak, but his lips
uttered no sound. The woman beside him
looked. raised her hands and sank back in a
dead faint.
George, have come to say good-bye!~ said
the little woman at last, and her words were
followed by the dull click OF the hammer fall.
ing on cartridge. There was no explosion.
Her arm slowly fell until it rested beside her
and with a sobbing wall she sank down in the
aisle and was helpless
All of US moved at once She was lifted tn a
seat and woman took charge of her. We
turned to the man for explanations, but he had
fallen back and his eyes were closed Two
minutes later we knew that he was dead-as
surely dead as if bullet had pierced his brain.
doctor who came IN from the car ahead said
1t was case OF heart failure. He was the hus-
band OF the little woman who had been riding
so long on the back seat. They had auarrelied.
and he had become infatuated with the woman
beside him. The wife had planned to encoun-
ter them and kill him. He had looked into the
face OF death for thirty seconds and the strain
on his nerves had stopped the flow of life as
suddenly as ii struck by thunderbolt
A corpse, an adventures widow! 1t ended
there for Us, but not for them. Was it any
wonder that as the train rushed on through
the darkness each one Of us seemed to hear a
voice, saying:
"As ye sow. 20 shall ye reap! The deeds OF
the wicked shall recoil upon their own headsr'