The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1893-12-30
A CRUEL DOUBT.
How q Loving husband Wronged
q True Wife.

The fishing feet had set out early in
Che morning. The atmosphere was
very clear and the boats could still be
seen in the distance, strung out in
line across the horizon between the
Criel beach and the Pointe de Cayeux.
A few sailors wives, children aud old
men still loitered on the jetty, all in
excellent humor, for with such weather
there should certainly be fine haul OF
fish. The sea was admirably blue; but,
dashed by the wind, it broke into little
waves which rushed, uninterrupted,
toward the shore.
.'Do you see it yet, mammaw asked
little fellow who had stayed away
from school that morning in order to
see his father start with the feet.
His mother had marine glass-a
luxury that her neighbors envied her
In such clear weather as this II they
could not distinguish the men they
could at least make out the gigantic
numbers ON the sails.
He would havc remained long time
watching his fathers sloop as it grew
smaller and smaller In the distance,
but his mother led him away. They
must 20 back to the house to their
work.
They loitered along the harbor,
which had lost its animation now that
its fleet of fishing craft was gone.
On the side toward the town few
small boats were waiting till the sea
went down q little before venturing
out, and on the other side half dozen
ships were discharging their cargoes OF
coal and taking on phosphates.
Nine. Fournier stopped mechanically
in the middle of the quay to look at
fine English three-master. the Harding,
which came every week with cargo
OF coal A sailor, leaning on the roll
Of the ship, saw her and waved his hat
rayly at her. She turned away and
hurried up the Rue de la Falaise to her
home.
Two hours later the loupRers OF the
Rue de la Falaise were greatly sur
prised to see Master Fournier, the own
er of the fishing-sloop T 672, fastening
angrily homeward.
He had not entered the house before
his neighbors had run to learn the rea-
son of his sudden return.
Why had he come back?
It was that way that they had OF
leaving port, with all sails set, what
ever the weather, which was known all
up and down the coast as ''Treport
sailing."
Her bachstay had been broken, and
Fournier had had to come back to port
for repairs. These were already under
way, and, once he had his men at
work, he had come up to see his wife q
moment.
"Your wife-she has gone out, but
she will be back directly"
He was pouring himself glass OF
thin wine from the pitcher he had
drawn that morning before leaving
when he noticed the inkstand open ON
the table and the pen beside 1t still wet
with ink.
1t was his sons pen and inkstand'
but DIS the little fellow never wrote
during the day he concluded that his
wife must have been writing. Almost
at the same moment he noticed let
ter in the blue vase on the mantel,
an without thinking he opened it and
read:
NINE FouRNIER-I love you more than cor
tell implore you to set o time when we cur
meet You are free-your husband Is gone
HARRY EVANS
my Godr' cried Fournier. Harry
Z Evans!'
He knew him we'll. this handsome
English sailor of the Harding, who
had already ruined more than one
home in Treport--a tall fellow, as tall
as Fournier himself, fair, with the
complexion of gill and tender blue
eyes
He sprang up to rush to the quay and
strangle the Englishman, when he
heard his wife returning Evidently
she had answered that insulting letter,
and she would tell him what answer
she had given. He trusted his wife.
~ hurried back" she said, as she
came in. II heard of the accident as
was doing my marketing"
As she laid the purchase she had
made on the table he had time TO thrust
the letter back into the vase. He would
wait for her to speak.
Nine. Fournier continued to busy
herself with her household duties. He
watched her and found her still young,
Drowned like himself, almost as tall,
gracefully poised on her pointed sabots
and with waist still slender.
From time to time she looked at him
with a smile. She was not surprised
to see him looking somber after the &C
cident. She did not say anything about
It, for she had given him her advice on
the subject long ago, and it was the
sole matter on which they disagreed.
"Wife, have you nothing new 10 tell
me?"
Nothing, my dear husband"
His face contracted as with a sudden
pain. His wife, thinking it due to
chagrin at the accident, kissed him
tenderly.
He pressed her to him with unaceus-
toned force. Never, even in the fiercest
tempest, had he suffered as he suffered
now. Suspicion entering his simple,
loyal heart ravaged it terribly.
well, good-by. am going to the
harbor We shall 20 out with the next
tide il the backstay is repaired. Good
by"
She accompanied him to the end OF
the street and babe him farewell with
20 frank an eye that he asked himself
II it were possible that such woman
could lie.