Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-06-03
TIM

TIM.
In the dimly. lighted apartment WON
an was pacing up and down In an Impa-
tient manner. woman young and beau
tiful, with a strange sadness III her large,
black eyes. As she walked bitter hook
came in her face bu1, stopping suddenly
beside a small trundle ped, look Of III
finite ter derness took the place Of the Bit
ter one A baby, the counterpart Of the
mother, lay sleeping in sweet unco aslous-
ness. Claspiug the chubby hand on the
coverlid she kissed il passiOnately again
am again.
Len fearing lest she would awake him.
sic G8e, quickly donned her wraps, and
pa ed ouC Of the door, locking 1t behind
her. Margaret Moore was an actress,
supp rting herself and 2 year old baby.
Three short months ago she had II from
her brutal, drunken husband and now
lived in ear lest be try to force her TO re-
turn. She had learned to hate him, and
to meet him again would, indeed be a
terrible thing to her.
Never had the play seemed 50 long as to
night. In a fever of Impotence she paced
the dressing-rOoms ill time tor her TO go
on. Again and again she was called be-
for the curtain; long and loudly the PEG.
pie dpplauded. When at last 1T ended.
and the manager pleased and smiling
came up 10 Ter, she scarcely heard him
One outside the heater she Fl nv rather
than walked along the moonlt street. Ar
rlVI1g at her rooms she was startled to
find the key III the door, the door itself un-
locked. Passing in quickly she nasteDed to
the little bed Merciful heavens! L. was
empty! On the coverlid, where the baby
hand mad rested few short hours ago, ID
slip of paper was pinned, GA whic 4 was
simply line: Revenge Is SWEET
With wild eyes she read and recognized
the writing. With cry full of agony
and despair, which pierced the stiffness Of
the night, she fell forward on her face and
lay there IN full flood of the moon. A
mouse, treasured by the stiffness, ventured
into the room, but scampered back to
safety, frightened by the form of human
. being so still in the moonlight.
The day was raw and windy. The busy
crowd suTged along the great thorough
fare. A little out of the way of the crowd,
and sheltered from The cold by a number
of boxes, group of ragged urchins stood
gazing up at the show bills at the entrance
of the Grand Theater. They were telling
there, the beauties of the tbeater itself,
and began to wonder if it d not cost a
heap" of mones t. get in there Then
they began to speak in low voices of the
beautiful SAD woman who was to play to-
day, each glanClng around lest she should
hear him, but, seeing no one, soon passed
on, leaving one of their number behind.
No one OF them even glanced back.to see
If he was coming. He did not seem one
of them. He said very little but kept on
dreaming.
To-day, however, he had heard every
word. He bad listened with rapt atten-
ton. Many time before he had heard it.
but 1t never tired him. Every day of the
year he came to look at the bills yearning.
ly. He lOnged to be like the people of
whom he heard much. Now he began
TO think of the beau iful lady.
Tim, for that was his name, lived in a
miserable alleyway, in an equally miser-
able place called room, with a drunken
father and old bag, whom ne called
gran.
All! many a beating they gave poor
lin In their many drunken fits, and most
quickly Of all when he asked for his moth
er Tuat she was beautiful he knew be-
cause the face in the little locket told him
So
And one night when then thought Tim
asleep, he heard them speaking of her and
calling her lone of them actors" So he
had come every day 20 tae thelter, hoping
and longingtto see her, and live with her
So when the boys IefC him, b. thought of
the beautiful woman. Could sh- bp mis-
mother? Poor Tim! he was very tired,
and sick, too; his body ached, his head
throbbed with a terrible pain. Lifting
his baby face, so full of beauty, he gazed
again lOngingly into The tLeater. The
people had been going in, few at first, now
they crowded and 'mmed against one an
other ny the marble steps. Some one
knocked against Tim, and before he knew
1t, he was showed from the place on with
she crowd past that terrible ticket man, in
to the gorgeous hall. He held his breath
In an ecstacy.
The music stirred his very soul. And
this was where his mother PLAYED. Inau
his dreams he ntvT saw any thing so
grand as this. TIE curtain went up and
the actors began to play A beautiful la
dy came Out. He could rot as yet see her
face, but hes knew it was she
b the way they clapp-
ed their hands He pushed them nearest
nlDl llJue. lie scarcely knew 1t IN MS
eagerness TO see her. He saw at last m 2
face or which he had locked so long H
almost screamed In his joy, and scarcely
refralned from calling mamma How
the people loved her. Again and again
they call ID her before the curtain and a la t
when It was all over, the people passed
out and again joined the busy throng.
Tim sat down IL one of those lovely chairs
to wait for her. He would tell her who
he was. How glad she would be TO see
him! How she would kiss him and cry
over him. With those thoughts he sat
and waited patiently. Still ii seemed
long. Not for ore moment did he think
she would not come. He did not think
she had not seen him.
Soon he began to nod. The pain came
back, and, despite himself, he sank to
sleep on the velvet cushion arm. He
dreamed. he was coming iuto the tn. alter
again; the crowd was larger than ever
the people began to applaud before the
curtain went up, and when /. did 60 up it
was not the beautiful lady that came out.
but TIM Ne longer beggarly, ragged
Tim! but Tim gorgaouslY dressed. Again
and again lie was eneor, d The beautiful
woman was there, kissing her hand to him,
and smiling her sweet, lovely smile. t e
curtain went down! He heard the sad
strains of music, far away! A woman
screamed. Then all vas oblivion.
Six years had passed since the time that
Margaret Moore bad paced her dressing
room an ilnpatiently And now she was