The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-12-09

name of a town, but the place was
growing and had some good lumb
| interests and was looked upon as q
prosperous pioneer settlement The
tavern was called the Orient by that
peculiar idiosyncracy of nomenclature
which distinguishes the rising west
It was here that the night stage coach
stopped on its way from Lapeer, where
| it had met the train from the east.
and left one passenger. young
woman neatly and becomingly dressed,
who gave evidence of wealth and re-
finement. Something in her air be.
spoke Boston culture; perh APPS it was
an underlined touch of severity that was
expressed both in her dress and in her
personal repression. or in her absolute
control of all emotion as she entered
the hotel alone, a stranger, coming on
a most unpleasant Grand the outcome
| of which was to affect her whole future
| life.
Her satchel was taken by grinning
factotum of the house. who showed
her into the parlor while he went to Sc
| cure room for her.
|
the prosperity of the town. 1t had q
hair-cloth suite, and a tall stove that
was nearly all nickel There were
several lace-shrouded windows, and at
one of these girl was sitting. She
stared at the woman entering the room,
and advanced to meet her.
This girl was still in her teens, but
looked as if some great sorrow had
overtaken her. Her eyes were red
with weeping. Her pretty pink cheeks
looked shriveled and wan in the morn
/ ing light Her blonde hair was care
! lessly arranged She did not offer any
! form of recognition to the stranger,
but asked in an emotional voice:
You have come to save him.
II am his wife" said the newcomer
in cold, incisive tones; who are you?"
I-I-thought / was his wife-we
were so happy, and he never told me
of any other Oh, cannot believe.
He was too good, too kind to deceive
me- There must be some dreadful mis-
! take"
THE court will decide that" said the
other woman, coldly.
But you will save him-you have
money, and can buy off these people.
You viii not let him be kept in jail
SO happy"
Peace. girl, he never loved you,
and you-how dare you talk to me of
loving the man who is my husband? l
daresay he was taken with your baby
| face, but that he should have gone
through any mock ceremony of mar
riage / cannot believe. If he did, it is
for that he will go to prison, and you
are the cause of it."
That am not, cruel woman. tell
you he loved me and loved him-well
enough 10 go away, and never look
upon his dear face again if you will save
him from the punishment you have
| brought upon him. Is that not proof
! that love him?"
There was no emotion visible on the
face of the woman appealed to, except
a more determined tension Of the mus
/ cles. Her eyes held no tears, nor was
there any tremor in her voice. She
turned upon the girl:
Have you no shame that you openly
avow your love for man to whom YOU
have no claim9 How viii you answer
TO the court for the position you have
taken? Now at least you are not de-
ceived. since your victim is behind the
| bars of the county jail"
Who placed him there' Not I.
proud woman, but you-you yourself,
vino are his legal wife as you say
while I-I-oh. if l could die 10 save
you from this, my darling. | would be
glad. thankful for the privilegei'
oh" said the other in repressed
voice, and raising clenched hand,
small, but like a hand of iron, as if she
would strike the other woman TO the
earth But she did not strike That
was beneath her dignity, to touch such
creature as this And the girl, who
had dreamed every hour of her life
away beneath her fathers roof. stood
facing her with little care whether the
blow fell or not In her heart We're
only love and conscious innocence at
that moment That she had been
cruelty deceived did not seem to mat
ter, in view of the greater calamity,
the loss OF her love.
There was consultation with law.
yers in which the real wife gave her
credentials. and produced her certifi-
cate OF honorable marriage with the