The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1895-03-23
THE WIFE OF THE FUTURE.
Or just What Man Fancies the New
Woman VIII Come To.

Or just What Man Fancies the New
Woman VIII Come To.
He stood in the dark at the bottom
of the stairs. His coat was over his
arm, his shoes were in his hand, his
collar was unbuttoned, his hair dis
heveled. and his breath would have put
the strength of Hercules to blush. He
was musing. What was he to say to
her this time? That he had been with
a sick friend? Bah. that chestnut dates
with Noah when he got back from his
FIRST night out of the ark. Lodge?
Political caucus? Pooh! as soon might
he tell her h a there are June bugs in
January. Why not tell her that he
a been dallying the chips at the club
and then pass over a hundred of his
winnings for herself by way of repara-
ton? All right in theory, but where
was the hundred? He had lost just a cool
hundred and fifty to Col. Keenwun,
and the Lord knows it would take a
month OF ~severest economics to make
that up. well, 1 might as we'll go
n face the music" he said, despair
ingly, at last, as he softly mounted
WIZ oboli AihC "IdlIll VI NSOuCS-
Once in his room he disrobed with in
finite caution, drank a pitcher of wa
ter, ate a handful of cloves and nerved
himself upto the proper pitch. Throw
ing open the door of his wife boudoir, he
suddenly stood staring. She was gone!
A horrible query seized him. Had she
fled to her mothers? Had she eloped
Nth tha& +I,+ o,I-.I of Iz--L
marq uis who was SO excessively polite
to her of late? Oh, no. that thought
was madness. He approached the bed.
No, she had not even been there. The
sweat was oozing from every pore. He
made his way to the bureau and drew
forth a revolver. ''Blood.' he NUT
tered. "Blood-mine, his, any body's,
but blood"
There is no telling what he might
have done had not at that instant a
rattle at the keyhole below startled
him. He struggled to the bannister
and looked over There was the wife
of his heart taking her shoes off at the
bottom of the stairs and trying to hang
her hat on several imaginary pegs.
Slyly he crept back and leaped into
bed. feigning sleep.
She entered. Her face was a little
flushed. her eyes some what bleary, but
she had the very air of her own hus-
band when he had got his story down
pat. Instantly the outraged sleeper
awoke with a start. Madam, what
does this mean?' he demanded, rubbing
bic aya ssI,ra - - -aar1. jn,1s-LN
and you-you, the wife of my heart,
the mother of my chi-hildren-just
come in at this disgraceful hour from
God only knows where. Give an ac-
count of yourself. Where have you
be-hen-oh, wh-here?"
But the calm wife only faced him
cynically. Il will not work off any of
your own stale old canned goods about
lodges sick friends and 'caucuses,'"
she began, a tri1e thickly, but I'll
come right to the point and the truth.
l spent the evening at the Dorcas Adj
vanced Woman's league. where we had
a little quiet game. Here. my dear"
she followed, tossing aroll of bills upon
the bed, take this and buy yourself a
sealskin overcoat or a diamond ring.
Suit yourself. l won two hundred and
fifty dollars from Mrs. Keenwun, the
.colonel's wife,"
Then the foxy old duffer drew a long
sigh, grabbed the roll as a ship-wrecked
sailor clutches a spar and buried his
nose in his pillow. Forgiven he
murmured a moment later when he
caught his breath from the sweet shock,
and lay awake a whole hour winking
the clean hundred the two of them