The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-01-31


frst-class carriage.
l was boiling with rage, but let him
foster his absurd delusion, intending
to crush his monstrous and silly fancies
into powder when we were in the car
riage together.
The idea of Mrs. Thomas Jones run-
ming away from me!
'Now, tell me-" said Chips, when the
train had begun to move and his red
hot paw had clasped mine in his solicit
tude, "when did you first suspect
Parker?'
parker what the"
Don't get excited, there's good fell
low" he interrupted. "The only thing
is totake these matters dispassionately,
coolly, with the sangf1oid of man of
the world-to consider that, after all,
it is the best-a good radiance of bad
wife, and so look the future boldly in
the face"
"Perdition!"
"The Hatchington Post has treated
the affair very delicately, no allusion
to Parker whatever" he ran on, but
of course we have all noticed-why,
you must have noticed yourself-how
extra attentive Parker has been to
YOUR wife all summer. How dbl
beg your pardon-'how Mr.. Jones can
stand that doctor fellow sneaking and
simpering over his young wife, the
Lord knows l have said half dozen
times or more. l should have told you,
but no one likes to interfere in such
matters too hastily"
INTERPRETATIONS and blithering
iackass!" / shouted out at last, you
impairment addlepate, you silly idiot
of the deepest dye-it isn't my wife.
It's Timothy Jones' wife, round the
corner!"
What, Jones the poet?"
Eyes; there's no other Jones, is
there? And my wife is at home-and
is always at home, and what do you
mean by her simpering and Sinking
with Parker ?-our medical man-do
y-y-you dare to insinuate that there is
anything wrong between my wife and
him? You'll have to pay heavy dam
ages for this libel, sir-thundering
heavy damages-see if you don't!"
"Parker's gone, too, you know"
Chips gasped out feebly, ''and-oh,
dear-with the other Mrs. Jones, then?
l never thought of that. God bless my
soul, what a miX-up! was sure it was
your wife who had bolted. 1 am sorry
i mean, my dear fellow, l congratu-
late you heartily that the rumoH as
regards yourself is entirely false-I do,
indeedi"
I was unhappy in that office through
thinking of Parker and my wife, who
was younger than by two-and-twenty
years.
The green-eyed monster took posses
sion of me and stuck it's claws into my
heart. What right had that Chips to
tell me that Mrs. Thomas Jones was
carrying on" with DR.. Parker?
And then l thought of Mrs. Timothy
Jones and felt sorry for Timothy Jones
and wondered what had become OF those
two rosy-faced girls and that fat,
sticky boy, and, presto, once more into
the foreground stalked that abomin-
able suspicion that Chips had had of
my wife.
l met Timothy Jones in the down
train, and we were both down" enough
to match. He had copy of the Hatch
ington Post in his hand. He was trav-
cling third-class, but l got into the
same carriage with him, and disregard
ed any thought of appearances" in my
impulse to converse with him.
''Mr. JONES' | said, 81 am extremely
sorry to hear the news"
1--WE haven't got any news, Mr..
Jones'" he said quite sharply in reply.
That's the worst of it,
''Have--have you heard anything of
Parker?" l inquired.
what do you mean?"
'I-I don't know. But heard that
Tarker-"
"You mean Parker, the surgeon?"
'Yes."
ITO tell you the truth, he went away
on his honeymoon, quietly, last week.
He's a friend of mine. There will be ali
account of the wedding at his fathers
in town in the next number of this in
fernal Post"
ooh, will there? But-don't you sus-
pect-"
Mr.. Jones, L suspect nothing-only
that the editor of this paper is an in
fernal and meddlesome fool! My wife
has been missing several days, but
that's no reason why he should make
a sencation of it with his innuendoes,
and "a gentleman missing from Hatch
ing ton at the same time and all that
for which / shall have great
pleasure in pulling his hooked nose in
the course of the evening. No, no,
something has happened to her, sir.
That's the dreadful thought and GER
tainty."/
And so something had happened.
Mrs. Timothy Jones had gone to Lon
don, fallen in the street, broken her
ankle, been picked up insensible, and
her message to her husband had not
been delivered to him by the hospital
The second message was awaiting
Timothy at home that very evening,
however, and he came round to my
house to tell me, and was very glad to
see him, and to hear that his wife was
going on very favorably, indeed.
/ was sitting with Mrs. Timothy
Jones in the drawing-room when he
came in. We were talking about