Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-12-20
q yellow Qster*
BY lot p

She often seemed to herself as If
she were caught in the whirl of mad
intoxicating race with fate; 1t was
glorious; it stimulated her like
d,aught of wine; it filled her veins
with fire; it was as if the spirit or
the world had got into her spirit and
shot streams of the strength of i'm
mortality through all her being.
fate was as a thing Of naught. This
She was as a god to herself, and
| ever; but even in these earl! days
there came moments of reaction in
their due season. Fortunately she
| knew the symptoms of their approach,
and could hide herself away from her
| husbands eyes. Her room could tell
| strange tales whenever Gwen shut
herself in anr threw up the sponge till
! the next round.
Then there came shame into that
proud face, fear into those fearless
eyes, a stoop into those stoopless
| shoulders She neither ranted nor
raved, she dared not; if she had once
raised her voice, she knew quite well
she must shrek, and howl forth the
terror and disgust and dismay with
which the possible ending to this race
with fate filled her.
Sometimes she would pull off her
shoes and stockings, and go barefooted
to and fro the length Of the long pol
ished floor with its strips of eastern
carpet-the cool slippery surface sooth-
i,,rr tln f lnr Twin n
variably she would pull off her guard
and wedding ring and lay them with
curious gentle usefulness down on tn,
table. Once when she did this, she
drew deep breath, threw out hel
arms and laughed,
Il am free, free!'' she cried, ''my
body is my own again, and my soul,
and my brain! l am myself again,
Gwen Warning, a self-respecting Great
ure, with no mans brand on me- >
In few minutes she came back
and looked at the golden bands.
what is the use Of lying?" she said,
that mends nothing, and only de
grades me. | am not free; whatever
| happens, whatever could possibly
happen, | shall never any more be
what | was! Good GOdi And yet
women take marriage as they do a
box at the operar'
But it was not in the strong nature
of her, wholesome what there was of
it awake, to lose courage often and
her powers of recuperation were SUI
peru. Half an hour after she was
striding wildly through the room, she
came down as unruffied and more I'M
transferable than ever, to propose
some expedition.
Strange looked at his watch "Too
late for that, suppose we go and see
BrydOn?"
'Oh, yes, let us CO." she said eagerly
He looked at her, and knew all
| about it.
For minute he felt an Overmaster-
ing desire to shake her, and make heI
eyes speak plain English, he was get
ting tired of their hieroglyphicS. He
was buttoning her glove at the time
and invciuntarily he gave the button
a cross twist and twitched it out
ooh. hang it, is the glove rotten or
are my methods? Will it matter?" he
asked.
ooh, not at all, my sleeve will cover
it,"
1t was a diabolical lottery altogether,
in him. 1t was even worse than he
had anticipated in the first hot CLAM
our of love. He freely confessed this
but he had sworn to himself, in his
foolish raptures, that he would face
hell for rhe girl, and he was not the
man to eat his words.
They walked to Brydon's.
Gwen took great delight in going
in and out among the streets, and a
shame-faced pleasure in listening to
her husbands stories of every twist
and turning in them.
"There is no one like him for COM
panion!" she often confessed to herself
angrily, mo one 1 know that comes
near him. What made me marry him
what? Even this part of him l can't
accept and enjoy without disgust and
self-loa thing"
At last they got to the little street
that Brydon lived in, and climbed to
the fourth fiat of tall house.
When Brydon saw Strange he red,
dened with delight. but when he was
presented to Gwen, he paled suddenly
and his eyes fell.
"You could have knocked me down
with a featherr he explained after.
wards, to his chosen comrade.
1t was a superb compliment to her,
and her husband laughed as he saw it.
And then queer wonder took hold
of him as to the sort of ending this
good-humored halfimpersonal pride he
| took in her cOnquests would have. then
this evolved another wonder which
deallh with the birth of strong wom-
ans passion.
Strange pulled himself Up and thrust
this out of his mind with a rough
| shove.
ION the whole, what's the result so
far Charlie?' he asked. when that
young man had established his wife
| in a big cane chair, Softening the
light from one side and Strengthening
it from another in a lingering, alb
sorbed way. as with half-cloSed eyes
he furtively drank in the fullness of
her beauty.
The question stripped the glamour
from him at a rush, he Topped Imply
down on to a seat.