Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1893-12-07
A COWARD.

A COWARD.
'If there should be trouble at the
works suppose you will leave?"
HermiOne spoke with an impercep-
tlble smile Of contempt. She saw. as
she turned to the door, rapid
twitch OF the muscles OF his lids and
mouth. His face was calm as her
own, however, when he replied:
IL do not think So"
He was gone, and Hermione me.
chemically turned to letter that lay
before her, q letter received that
morning. There was passage in it
which she had already read twice.
II think YOU do your husband an in.
justice. l do not often make mis-
take In reading character. Caspar
Whitehouse struck me as being full
OF moral force and energy. Believe
me. men judge of these things better
than women"
These were the words of Uncle
John, her best friend. He had not
approved, a priOri, of Hermione's I'M.
conventional! marriage, but once con-
summated he had appeared to lean
strongly in Caspar Whitehouse's favor.
"Moral force and energy" These
had been also her stepfather's words.
almost identically; the words OF his
will and the words in which, feeling
the ena approaching, he had urged
this marriage upon her. 1.-THE works
are worth Millions he had said.
'.But my grasp is dropping from the
wheel just when the ship stands most
in need OF prudent steering. Let a
weak. or rash, or bungling hand take
nhe dictatorship now and everything
Is lost l have no children OF my
own l loved your mother; 1 desire
you to benefit by what l leave. l
know but one man who can save the
situation-Caspar Whitehouse. Marry
him. He loves you. BY this mar
rage he, too, will benefit in the d.
tential fortune l have built up
And this / desire, for his father was
my bOyhood's friend. And there is
no one whom reverence for moral
strength and integrity as l do this
young man."
After all, Hermione had since asked
herself, why had she consented? She
did not know. She had been hur-
rted away by the stress of circum-
stances This young man, whom she
had known but few months and
whose infatuation for herself was
evident, was not distasteful to her,
and she trusted her step fathers YER
dict The latter had seen Caspar
Whitehouse of and on. whenever his
affairs took him to the Northwest,
whittier Caspar had gone. very young,
as civil engineer, and where he had
later become superintendent of
mining company.
Well, they had been married very
quietly a few weeks after her step.
fathers death, and upon the after
noon of the same day they had, ar.
irving at the small wayside railway
station, found horses awaiting them
10 con- ey them to the works twelve
miles distant
THE roads are too heavy for a
vehicle" had been the explanation of
the old servant who had come to
meet them from their future dwell.
ling.hOuse adjoining the works.
HermiOne, calmly enough, had re-
signed herself to mounting her saddle
In her traveling-dress. The roads
had, in truth, beer well-nigh washed
away In places by recent rains The
country was wild and desolate and as
the evening fell it became necessary
to ride more slowly. Then, sudd emily,
at turning In the road, there had
happened that which in Hermione's
mind. had left picture, never to be
edaced. Out of the darkness group
of savage-l0oking men had fallen
upon the newly welded I,air. They
were SCOT begrimed and carried heavy
sticks and spades, and the leader was
The herculean, blond. bearded fellow
whom Hermione. on her first visit to
the works some months before, re-
membered seeing. He had sprung
forward and seized her bride. Two
men had strobe to the neck Of Cas-.
par's horse. Then, before she could
realize his action, her husband had
wrenched himself loose and, turning,
mad galloped away, leaving her to
face that wild gang of twenty des-
peradOes alone!
Even now, ten months later, she
laughed out in supreme sarcasm, as
she remembered that moment She
seemed tc see the leaders face-the
grim contempt upon it; CONTEMPT
mixed with something else which she
could not understand; as he stepped
back.
''We don't fight women" he said
sullenly 'Come boys" And the
Others had followed unquestioningly
the authority OF his tone.
'.Moral force and energy" forsooth!
She had N lrried coward. A cow
ard! She, OF all women, endowed
with an almost masculine spirit; she
in whom the usual feminine admira-