Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1893-12-23

blows, enough starvation! The brute-the
brutel Oh, seem still to sec his red, sod.
den face 70 ncar-his surly curses ring and
ring in my brain. Baby, do you think
they've found him yet? It wasn't our fault,
was it, that he stumbled and went over the
stairs, Six flights downright! He is ~
ing there In the shadow can see him.
can see him--still-sos till-alonc. lie must
be dead. Yes, he must be-"
She laughed and the sound was strange
a mournful cooling that seemed to rise from
the ruins Of soul.
Terror enlarged her eyes as through the
falling snow she saw q police officer ap-
proach-a man she knew.
Hello, Nance. What are you dom ont
In the storm, hey." he asked kindly.
Nance? Yes. 1t was she-three years old
er, three years sadtler.
''lt's Christmas evc," she faltereti. fore
ing smile, land wanted to show Teddy
the shops. the crowds
Got n bruisc on your face againi Rad
ley's at his old tricks, chr It'd be good for
yOu il he died"
He did not guess what horror his words
had aroused. but she bent her pinched,
trcmulcus mouth down to the pale child's
face. nodded and hurried past him.
See that girl." the officer asked of a
friend who strolled up to him. 1--WE been
watching her so down, step by STEP This
New Nork's queer place, a terrible place.
] sometimes stand on my heat here and
watch the people pass. I know lots Of
them, and more about them than they
think. Well, that girl just gone by has
made n bad JOB Of her life, q lad mess Of
it,"
shes pretty still. only a bit hungry look
ing and scared. The baby hers." asked
the listener.
''Yes. the poor kid. heard her tell her
story once to police judge when her
scamp of a husband was up for street fight
ing and she tried to get him off. It was
like this: Three years ago she was singing
on the stage. and rs pretty as a rose her
face was. remember seeing her in The
Mikado' Pretty, Well, thst isn't the
word for 1t. She had such baby look in
her eyes and round her lips you'd never
thought mnn could have had the heart to
scold her, much less beat her. Well, she
fell sick and lost her voice She was all
alone in the world and poor into the lr,r.
gain. When she was hard up and des-
pcrate. she somehow met that fellow Rad
ley, who was mixed up with so many racing
swindles few years ago. He was flush
with money, initiated the swells, lied TO
her, guess. and persuaded her to marry
him. Luck was against her. He lost ev-
cry penny when Lady Betty went under in
the Suburban, and then he became like n
hcnd. went from bad to worse, and now he
has hardly n sober moment. They live in
n terrible hole down by the bridge. He
beats that poor little wife Of his. Some
night he'll kill her."
by the time this brief recital of her sad
history was finished Nance had gone some
distance up Broadway-a strange, hopeless
figure among the busy crowd.
In the shelter of "a doorway she counted
her last coins. There were just .5 cents
When they were gone, what was left? All,
whati Nance knew. She was taking her
farewell Of life today, and she would take
Il crandly, lavishly, spending all.
II was this feeling of reckless fnality
that made her hail car ard sink into n
corner. At another time she would have
suffered much before spending the money
required for fare. but it seemed a small
consideration In view of this being the last
time.
The familiar streets were coming. Soon
they would pass the theatcr where she sang
three years before. An uncomfortable mag
netism tn the spot made her alight and
stand looking up ut the brilliant crystal
lantern In the lobby. How long ago the
life there seemed Was it orly years since
she had seen Mark lsorance, Not centuries
since that white. winter night. Not saosh-