Semi-weekly independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1895-1897, 1895-12-25
A HUSBAND
TAKEN BACK.

The bed stood in the middle of the
ROOM its foot III the open window. From
far beneath came the night hum of
Chicago. but ii was quoted by the dis
tance 10 a mere lullaby. SO high was
the top of the great hotel that the gar
ish blue-wlite of the electric lights,
which so lav:shly dotted the city. was
toned down to Il gentle luminous haze.
The man on the bed tossed from side
to side uHeasily, rolled on his back, lay
with his mouth upon the pillow. III his
right hand he held crunched letter
written in wOman'S writing, apd as
certain waves of dream crept over him
he rumpled the letter Sayagely and
mumbled through his clinched teeth
words of inart:culate fury. At last his
dream seemed to eliminate. and he
broke into parOxysm OF coughing,
which awoke him. HIS senses, dim 1T
first. drew rapidly TO the alert. His
eyes. so recently glued with sleep, OPP
ened quickly To their fullest stretch.
His nestrilS worked like the nOstriis OF
dog on a trail.
Smoke. Tobacco smoke: / don't
think so. 1t smells 10 ne like the reek
Of burning wood"
His eyes were beginning 10 open
wider with the unnatural expansion
OF terror. George Carr had been in
America before. and knew what these
things p0rtended Quickly dropping
his feet on to the boards of the floor.
he walked across them, unlocked his
door, anu opening it, looked into the
passage lie had no doubt then as to
what had occurred. Not far below him
was the crisp cracking of flames, and
with it came the cries OF badly frighten-
ed women and men.
My God, the hotel is on fire." he eX-
claimed 1t is built of wood from eel
lar TO roof tree; it is crammcd with
people, and / am close under the shin
giles Oh the eleventh floor.
He went out on the landing in his
night gear as he was. and attempted to
descend. Columns of gray vapOr which
stung the eyes and nostrils rolled UP the
shaft of the stairway. and, looking over
the balusters, he saw through the
smoke arms of tawny flame which shot
greedily ND toward him. The heat was
terrific: it drove him back to his room
even before the smoke forced a retreat.
Baked by the continued heat of sum-
mer. the great wooden hotel was burn
ing as though it had been anointed with
tar.
Carr ran back 10 his bedroom and
stood in the midst of the floor, trem-
bling like a leaf. He still held in his
fingers the crumpled letter in wOman's
handwriting-his wife's, bat, remember
ing It. broke out into new fury, and
tore it into tiny squares, which fiut-
tered like white butterflies before the
rising draUght.
"Grasping, heartless wretch that she
:s,'' he cried. eff it had not been for
this letter, gOading me to make more
money and still more money, l should
be catching this mornings home boat
from New York harbor. AS it is, I'm
here to burn slowly to death unless l
choose to make quicker ending OF it
by jumping out on to the road 200 feet
below" He gave q fierce snort of q
laugh Suicide is wrong, we are told.
/ wonder if it would be sinful for me TO
end my m;series quickly, instead of re-
naming till life IS tedously roasted
out of PIE here. IL is nice point, but
l shall not argue it out now. I'm going
to shut my eyes and jump-intO eter-
nifty"
He walked steadily across TO the win
dow, put one leg over the sill, and look
ed down from a dizzy height which nc
fire escape on earth could span. Flames
were beginning to jet through many OF
the windows below. In the street two
steam fire engines were already n
work; others were coming up Will
teams ut a furious gallop. The blacl
carpet of people in the vacant space
had a curious white mottling Of upturn
ed faces. Carr threw the other leg Over
the sill, and, STOPPING over, wondered
where he should drop. He wanted t,
fall clea.'. and-the CHASTITY though
would coiae-he did not want to splasl
anybody.
The booming roar Of the flames i'm tn,
shaft of the stairs drew nearer an,
nearer. 1t was Of no use to wait. o
earthly hope none could come. III
made up his mind that he would juml
then without more tOrturing delay. But
when 1t came to the actual leap, hi
limbs somehow failed him He seem