Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1895-10-21

1eCU commence observed DeUW.XU Sucn
relations r.. .rt
Had .Franklen but have limited to
his wife what he had been told, all,
must have come forth; the confidence,
whichwas yearningfor bestowal would
have been his. oH -+t-a3 .a-o
Could Nelly only have related to her
husband how that for days past she
had scare crossed the threshold with
out meeting Meghorn on her path and
of the reason she had to dread and
avoid him-of the fear and self-re-
proach' that haunted her, even to caus-
Ing her illness of that day-Well, hadit
been so, all might have been very diff
ferent. se ,75r
But various motives held both 81
lent. s
Once raising her pale face to his, she
! put her arms about him. s''
J. r"Aaron, dear husband!'H7 gE~F
He bent down to her pillow 10
eyes, dearest Nelly"
She paused and sighed: then-I do
SO love you, dear; sometimes, when !
am by myself, | get SO miserable,
thinking if I was to lose you. Oh,
dear Aaron! what should do with
out you to take care Of me?" .@
She spoke tearfully, but with O
world of affection ia her. tones
/ He was silent. Could he doubt her?
No, no! she must be true to him.
'Iet the past be past, said the hon
est fellow to himself, II will not pain
her by bringing it up.'' And he kissed
her and answered back her words OF
love =
'' '''4 CHAPTER ~. - a5
THE STORM BURSTS. y...,
THE days passed on; Nelly's brief
indisposition% went with them; and her
health restored gave no Immediate
cause for anxiety. ire .eaam #
Great bad been the loss of life and
disasters Of shipwreck on that coast
in the early spring months.
Nor was Aaron Franklen absent at
the call of duty, though the anxious
fears of Nelly often had the effect OF
OBTAINING him when care for himself
certainly would not.
His situation was irksOme; he re-
solved that, with his Wife's concur
renee, they would, after a certain
event, remove to q village some miles
down the coast. .e& ats''a~
Nelly, on her part, had her secret
source of trouble. an
Relieved for some time past of the
mwelcome presence OF. Saul MeghOrn
on her path, she was seized with the
fear that her husband, whom she
knew to be in frequent communica-
ton with him, should enter into any
closer engagements, such as might in
volve his coming to the cottage.
The pure-minded wife shrank from
the idea of ever. renewing an acquaint-
ance with q man between whom and
herself existed the secret of her having,
unknown to her husband. as she be-
lieved, received. a present from him;
and, though Aaron never named Saul
to her, she heard enough from the
neighbors to know that they often
were thrown together.
Many a poor family blessed Aaron's
skillful ingenuity and willing labor,
blessed him for what was even more
to them than money, the service of
strength and activity.
He had spent the day, after a night
of toiling at his own craft, in assisting
the removal of one Of those .unfortu-
mates whose home had been broken up,
and VINO now sought refuge in the
town.
The night was far advanced when he
returned; he hoped to find that Nelly
had gone to rest, but she was up, and,
as is not surprising, all considered, in
no pleasant humor.
She began by gently upbraiding him
for not being more careful OF his health,
and neglecting needful rest, but from
one root of complaint grew another.
"You leave me SO long alone, and to
serve strangers, too; sometimes
think you don't love me as you did
once"
II might often doubt whether you
ever loved me at all" said Aaron,
with more bitterness in his tone than
he was perhaps aware of.
''Ah! perhaps I didn't" his wife re-
piled, her eyes fixed upon the fire, and
in that tone Of assumed indifference
which chilled his very soul, brooding
over that haunting suspicion. ,av..
"No" he cried hotly, "you should
not have been poor mans wife, Mel
ly; you need too much attention and
petting." 7fas. e
IL need not, unless had chosen"
she replied as bitterly.
ri daresay not! it is pity you didn't
choose better.''
ooh! it's not too late" she ex-
claimed. with. flushed cheeks, and eyes
that gittered as she turned them full
upon him.
"By-you shall rue that world"
he cried, as he. sprang from his chair,
and dashing. aon his hat he, had but
laid aside, rushed past her, flung open
the door, and leaped the low paling
out into the dark. s.' '''@'
She sprang after him to the door,
to the gate, cried aloud to him to
come back for mercy's sake-to come
back, that she was but. Joking.
.'"'Aaron! husband! dear Aaron!"
The rocks sent back the despairing
echo, the wind moaned pitifully up the
cleft; but he, far below, was dashing
headlong down the rugged pathway to
the beach, ea8sasars #etf -
''To the boats? oh, he will go out,
L