The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1896-08-05
TEDDY CAME BACK AT LAST
And Found the Nursing He So Badly
Needed
Then All the Parties Concerned Ask Con-
undrums But No One Has Any
Answers to Give

him. That, however, cannot be proved.
Mrs. Bronckhorst was not exactly young,
though 8 years younger than her husband
She was large, pale, quiet woman, with
heavy eyelids, overweak eyes and hair
that turned red or yellow as tho lights fell
ON it,
Bronckhorst was not nice in any way.
He had no respect for the petty public and
private lies that mako life little less
nasty than it is. His manner toward his
wife was coarse. There are many things,
including actual assault with the clinched
fist that wife will endure, but seldom q
wife can bear, as Mrs. Bronckhorst bore,
with long course Of brutal, hard chaff,
making light of her weaknesses, her head
aches, her small fits of gayety, her dresses,
her queer little attempts to make herself
attractive to her husband when she knows
that she is not what she has been, and,
worst of ALL the love that she spends on
her children. That particular sort of
heavy handed jest was specially dear to
Bronokhorst.
I suppose that he had first slipped into
1t, meaning no HARM In the honeymoon,
when folk find their ordinary stock of en-
dearments run short, and so go to the
other extreme to express their feelings. A
similar impulse makes man say, "Hutt,
you old beast" when favorite horse noz-
zles his coat front. Unluckily. when the
reaction Of marriage sets in, tho form of
speech remains, and, tho tenderness having
died out, hurts the wife more than she
cares to say. But Mrs. Bronckhorst was
devoted to her Teddy, as she called him.
Perhaps that was why he objected to her.
Perhaps-this is only theory to account
for his infamous behavior later on-he
gave away to the queer, savage feeling that
sometimes takes by the throat husband
90 years married, when he sees, across the
table, the same, same face of his welded
wife and knows that, as he has sat facing
1t, SO must he continue to sit until tho day
of it's death or his own. Most men and
all women know the spasm. 1t only lasts
for three breaths, as a rule, must be a
throw back" to times when men and
women were rather worse than they are
now and is too unpleasant to be discussed.
Dinner at the Bronolshorsts' was an in
Fiction few men cared to undergo.
Bronckhorst took a pleasure in saying
things that made his wife vince When
their little boy came in at DESSERT, Bronck-
horst used to give him half glass of wine,
and, naturally enough, the poor little mite
got first riotous, next miserable and was
If that was the way Teddy usually behaved,
and whether Mrs. Bronokhorst could not
spare some of her time to teach the ''little
beggar decency.' Mrs Bronckhorst, who
loved the boy more than her own lifo, tried
not to cry-her spirit seemed to have been
broken by her marriage. Lastly Bronck-
horst used to say: There! That'll do
that'll do. For Gods sake try to behave
like rational woman Go into tho draw
ing ROOM" Mrs. Bronckhorst would 80.
trying to carry it all off with q smile, and
the guest of the evening would feel angry
and uncomfortable.
After three years of this cheerful life
for Mrs. Bronckhorst had no woman
friends to talk to-tho station was startled
by the news that Bronckhorst had insti-.
tuted proceedings on the criminal count
against a man called Biel, who certainly
had been rather attentive to Mrs Bronck-
horst Whenever she appeared in public
The utter want of reserve with which
Bronckhorst treated his own dshonor
helped us to know that tho evidence
against Biel would be entirely oircumstan-
tial and native. There were no letters,
but Eronckhorst said openly that he would
rack heaven and earth until he saw Biel
experimenting the manufacture of carpets
in the Central Jail. Mrs. Bronokhorst
kept entirely to her house and Let charita-
Bile folks say what they pleased. @
Opinions were divided. Some two thirdS
of the station jumped at once to the con-
clusion that Biol was guilty, but Il dozen
men who knew and liked him held by
him. Biol was furious and surprised. Ho
denied the whole thing and vowed that no
would thrash Bronckhorst within an inch
10
vlct man on the criminal count on na-
tive evidence in a land where you can buy
a murder charge, including the corpse, all
complete, for o. rupees but Biel did not
care to scrapo through by the benefit of q
doubt. He wanted the whole thing clear
ed, but, as ho said one night, "He can
prove anything with servants evidence,
and I've only my bare word" This was
about month before the case came on
and, beyond agreeing with Biel, we could
&c little. All that we could DO sure of was
that the native evidence would be bad
enough to blast Bells character for tho
rest OF his service. for when native begins
perjury he pcrjurcs himself thoroughly.
He does not boggle over details.
Some genius at the ono. of the table
whereat tho affair was being talked over
said: "Look here! don't believe lawyers
are any good. Get man to wire to StrclS-
land and beg him to come down and pull
us through"
Strickland was about $50 miles up the
liue. He had not long been married to
Miss Youghal, but ho scented in tho tele-
gram chance of return to the old detective
work that his soul lustod after and next
night he came in ard hoard our story. He
finished his pipe and said oracularly: "We
must get at the evidence Oorya bearer,
Mussulman knit and methrani -ayah, sup
oso, arc the pillars of the charge. am
n in this piece but I'm afraid I'm get
Ing rusty in my talk
He rose and went into Biel's bedroom,
hero his trunk had beon put and shut
% door. An hour later we heard him
": I" hadn't the heart to part with my
ID make ups when I married Will this
~"
There was loathly fakir salaaming in
no doorway.
Now lend me so rupees" said Strick.
land, "and give me your words of honol
that you won't toll my wife,
He got all that he asked for and left the
house while tho table drank his health.
What he did only he himself knows. A
fakir hung about Bronckhorst's COM
pound for 10 days. Then mehter ap-
peared, and when Biel heard of him he
said that Strickland was an angel full
f1edged. Whether the 1nehter made love