People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-11-22

! right, and now both were lying,
stricken by the self-same hand, in the
sleep that knew no earthly waking.
And that hand was the hand of her
own dear husband! The mockery,
the cruelty of it came very near over
towering her altogether. But she
was strong woman, we have said;
strong in that moral courage which
most men lack so deplorably, and
which the majority of women possess
in only moderate degree.
She had proven her husbands guilt
and treachery. Now it remained to
prove his crime. The one was no
worse than the other in her eyes. In
fact, to kill her might have been
mercy, and SO the first great sin
seemed overshadowing the other.
She started at last to leave the
house and was confronted by the vic
TINS mother. She was an aged wo-
man, very gray, and now so sad that
her very soul seemed bowed with hor-
! ror.
The mother did not know, itseemed.
She thought her daughter was the
lawful wife and this a wicked inter
loper. In the very height of agony
and scorn she shook her finger in
Grace's livid face.
BE gone!" she said hoarsely. "How
dare you profane the presence of the
dead?" and Grace Denison, her face
flushing holly, only stood still and
thought second and then went
meekly from her presence.
But in that momentary hesitation
her plan Of mercy was conceived.
With the dead girls face still wildly
before her eyes, she hurried to where
they were keeping her husband. At
first when she saw him he was still
the man she loved, the man whose
name she bore and whose slightest
wish it was her only joy to pamper.
There were tears in her eyes, tears in
her voice and tears in her heart when
she asked of him the fatal question.
Charlie" she whispered fondly,
swear to me it is not true, this hide
GUS story that they tell about you.
Tell me that l am still your wife, that
you love me and that this other fend-
ish thing is but the wild conception of
our tattling neighbors. Tell me"
she began again, but stopped as she
saw his guilty features.
There was fear in his eyes and
guilt in his soul as he rose at last and
tried to face her.
1T is all quite true" he said eau
tiously. Ssh e was my mistress and l
killed her in fit of passion. 1 have
wronged you and have got to die,
unless" and he paused for mo-
ment's breath, unless you forgive
lhO ouu VIII Wy W Save me.
With mighty scorn singing in her
heart Ora ce Denison turned upon her
heel and left him there.
'Die!" she NUT tered hoarsely as
she walked away. Death is too
good for such as you, and it is what
you have given your innocent victim. {"
Then when she was alone once
more she began to think about the
future. What was there left when
love was gone, what happiness could
soothe her sorrow? To die was peace
and blessed rest, to live meant fierce,
perpetual anguish.
Why should she be the one to live
she the most innocent of the three, so
far as the opinion of the world was
concerned. 1t was almost more than
she could bear, this looking forward
to the future.
She hurried back to her home, shun-
ming her eighbors on the way and
half afraid of harmless strangers.
Once inside the door she pulled the
ring from her finger and threw it in
a distant corner, then jerking the
bible from its place she tore to shreds
that precious page that proved her
sacred, legal marriage.
1t had occurred to her that in that
distant city no one would know tue
truth and she might save the dead
| girls name even at the price of her
own sweet honor
Was it not her place to undo her
husbands evil deeds, and make good
his theft of woman's reputation?
1t was the victims mother that had
put it into her head, the fact of her
having been taken for the guilty mis-
treSs.
To decide was to act, and still
silent, still sorrowful, but brave in
heart, she left her happy home for
ever.
Two days later her husband was set
free. Grace Denison had sworn that
through jealousy she did the wicked
deed and then sat meekly in her cell,
waiting with some impotence for the
fatal day which should bring oblivion
to her and condemn the man to per.
petual memory.
The Location Of Memory