Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1897-07-29

thinking 1e must he awfully IN the way,
| left us Ia the drawing room together"
"By Jove. do! Ii you hadn't treated
NE as Ii had been dog, II you had made
one appeal to me as a wife to her huS-
band. should have taken you to my arms
ut once and told you. what l swear to
you so!Gunll uow. that there has never
been between Lady Kildonan and HE
| the"
Armathwaite could imagine the dignity
with which she interrupted him:
There are some explanations to which
| a wife of years standing may listen.
which ought never to be needed to .
| BRIDE
well. you were old enough to know
that you must take a man us you find
| him.
How can you complain? l listened to
you: made you the only promise which
| even at that moment you cared to ask
| that | would not let DR.. Peele know the
circumstances of our honeymoon. l have
| kept my promise. and your place in his
| will is quite safe
| "Nh hat rubbish are you talking? The
doctors will is nothing to me; he's got
his own wife and daughter to provide for.
and I'm quite independent of him or any
| body. | only don't want to hurt the old
| man by letting him know we have made
| Il failure of it,
IL think the fault must lie in your own
conscience and not in my eyes, Ned. For
| if you would look ut them, you would see
| as much sorrow for you as for myself.
| You are not happy. For weeks past YOU
have looked harasscd and worried. 1t
| is only my eyes you avoid, but Uncle
| Hugh's. DR.. Peele's. everybody's. but
we can't go on like this: think my very
presence exasperated You now. Let me
! go away--for my health: since | have
| grown so nervous and depressed it will be
easy to say that. When you want me, not
| as Il shadow to haunt the house, but as q
woman to comfort or nurse you, if not rs
a wife to love you. l will come back-in
| stantly. But l cannot bear the strain OF
| this life any longer. l must CO."
mo. no, you shall not, you must not
! These words came SO rapidly that Anna.
| thwaite could scarcely distinguish them.
! wait. wait little while, and it vii! all
come right. l will be kinder to you, you
shall see DIR. Peele, you shall do any
thing you like; but you must not, shall
not go away
There was pause. Then came the
answer to this outburst in a very weak
voice.
"Ned! Ned! What do you mean? You
don't care for me-you almost hate me.
| Why do you want me to stay!'
| "Why do you want to make a scandal!
| For you know it would be scandal.
| whatever reason we might give. What
would people-what would Lord Kildonan
say:''
"Oh, Ned! For heavens sake don't let
me think you only want to keep me here
for--that"'
Don't make a scene, for goodness sake,
and fill the house with walls and groans
in the middle Of the night! l only want
to keep you here because it's right and
proper and better for a wife to remain in
the same house with her husband what
ever their mutual relations may be.
want you to stay here; it is because am
harassed and overworked and driven, and
if am left to myself here do not know
what will become of me. For mercy's
sake, Alma. stay till the spring. and |
viii be better husband to you. swear
| it. Promise, Alma. promise"
| There was long pause, and another
Of those quivering signs which had first
reused Armathwaite from his sleep Then
| sound like faint, heart broken laugh
came to the young doctors ears.
IF l stay till the spring shall get my
change for nothing. Ned. PROMISE
There's good girl. Now l know you
must be dying to get to bed. You look
awfully tired. Good night"
| Good night
| There was the sound of brief per.
functory kiss, and in few minutes q
mans steps came stealthily along tho
corridor past Armathwaite's room. Again
| the young doctor heard the long drawn
| signs of the lonely woman. But he could
bear it no longer. Understanding by this
| time that communication had been es-
tablished between the two rooms to en-
able the late proprietor of the house to
| keep constant unseen watch over any one
of his patients whose case rendered such
a precaution desirable, he cut the m,m.
munication off by transferring the pillows
to the foot of the bed, where he passed
the remainder of the night without fur
Their disturbance. But he had little more
rest. The astonishing nature of the reye.
lations he had just heard. as we'll as of
the accident by which they had reached
him. the emotions reused in him by the
pitiful story. and the startling problems to
which it gave rise, kept him wakeful un.
til long after the rising sun of win.
ter morning had filled his room with a din.
and murky light.
(To be continued.)