The River Falls times. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1894-1933, 1898-12-27

~ nurse. having lifted little Leon
80 The bed, returned to her chair be-
ll ~ the fire, while Marjorie put her
guy oround the little fellows shout
' ~, and presently fell asleep.
W. Now that the fever had actually
,od away. Marjorie's convalescence
vas rapid.
'c Che still kept to her bed, being too
~, oven to move without assistance,
~ dnring the day little Leon was con-
.,rt1v with her. She asked a few
.nootions and the more she heard the
rore her curiosity was aroused.
onp day she inquired for the grave
,,dv whose face she dimly remembered
= have seen, and who she now heard
ras the mistress of the house. In the
,sornoon the lady came to the bed
4 side
Marjorie was sitting up in bed that
day dropped up by pillows, looking the
vsrv ghost of what she had once been;
rbiIn on the bed beside her was little
Leon surrounded by his toys. He look
ID I'D, laughed, and clapped his hands
when Miss Dove came in, but she only
smiled and gently rebuked him for his
bOisterousness.
Then she sat down beside the bed
and took Marjorie's hand.
well, my child" she said, $50
YOU are rapidly getting WE'LL
For a moment Marjorie was silent
she could not speak The tears were
binding her eyes and choking her
voice, but she bent her head and kissed
the hand that had saved her.
Come, come" said Miss Dove, ''you
must not give way like this. You have
TO tell me all about yourself, for at
present I know absolutely nothing"
With an effort, Marjorie conquered
her emotion and dried her tears. But
what had she to tell?-nothing it
seemed, except that she was friendless
and alone.
NAY" said the lady, gently "You
are not that; from the moment you en-
tered this door you had friends. But
tell me, my child, how was it I found
you and your child starving upon my
threshold? You have a husband, per-
haps? Is he alive or dead?"
Marjorie shook her head.
He is here, in Paris, madame"
And his name is Caussidiere, is it
not? So Leon has told me-"
yes, madame, Monsieur Caussi-
DEERE"
We must seek him out" continued
Hiss Dove. "Such conduct is not to
be endured. A man has no right to
bring his wife to a foreign country, and
then desert her"
All, no, cried Marjorie; "you must
not do that. I will leave the house
whenever you wish, madame, but do
not force me to see him again"
Miss Dove looked at her for a mo-
nent in silence; then she rang for the
nurse, lifted Leon from the bed, and
sent him away.
Now, my child" she said, when the
Two women were alone, tell me your
Story"
And Marjorie told it, or as much of it
Is she could recall. She told of her
Early life in the quaint old manse in
AlAandale with Mr.. Lorraine Solomon
anu Mysie; of Miss Hetherington, and
the Frenchman who came with his
speciouS tongue and wooed her away.
men she told of her life in Paris, of
.TF gradual estrangement from all her
,'endS' and finally of her desertion by
lV man whom until then she had be-
'eyed to be her husband.
80, said the lady, when she had
, you were married by the
-usllSh law, and the man is in reality
~ your husband. Well, the only
!. we can do is to leave him alone
-,1Usether, and apply to your friends"
MdfJorle shook her head.
~, mat is useless, madame" she said. |
"Hen my little boy had naught but |
., before him I wrote to my
.O'ler in Annandale, but she did not
aswer me-"
Is that so?"
e.. les madame, it is true"
,, = Is very strange" she said, ''but
~, y must see what can be done, Mar
49, may | call you Marjorie? In the
, ,."lOIlne you must not think Of all
o rse SAD things. You must amuse
,,Sel1 with Leon and get we'll quick
I, S4'0 my task will be the lighter"
, ~ Ihls Interview Miss Dove visit
= ..aIJorle every day, and sometimes
: :, lOr an hour or more by her bedside:
!. ~nen at length the invalid, who