The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-09-22


Clara heard me come in, got up quick
ly, and carried me off to the kitchen.
Jessie is i'll; she can hardly get her
breath. l have sent down the canyon
for DR.. hutchinson; watch for him,
and bring him to me when he comes
Then she went back to her child.
Il had been III the kitchen less than
ten minutes when Clara called:
Harry, come quick, l can't make
Jessie answer me!'
I'm second | was at the bedside;
one look was enough. Clara, chatting
Jessie's hands, started to ask some
! question; she must have read my face,
for with cry she sprang from the
bed and moved towards her husband.
But when she saw his condition she
shrank back, hesitated, then crossing
to where | stood flung her arms about
| my neck and kissed me. l wasn't sur
prised; it seemed right. it seemed
natural-but. an! how wanted to say
something that would comfort her;
yet-God! man, couldn't get grip on
words; so l just lifted her face and
kissed IT.
81 know what you mean, Harry
she said, softly. For a moment l
seemed all alone, now know that I'm
not
Then she went back to her dead
child. Idon't know what should have
done next. The sight of that kneel-
ing woman, that dead child, and that
drunken man, fired my blood; but Just
then the doctor and Jim arrived. She
had friends to help her now, and I
slipped off to my own cabin.
"Cowardly of me to clear out?-I
know that's what you think-but l
couldn't help it. Something had woke
up in me | couldn't understand and was
afraid of. wanted to be alone to sort
things over and get a new hold on my
self. And that night, on the broad
of my back, 1 did think it over, saw
what | ought to have seen months be-
fore, and made my plans. | loved
Clara, and she loved me-those two
things were clear as day. If STAYED
i'll the valley there would come
trouble. We were boy and girl yes
terday; we would be man and woman
the next time we met. Luckily, so it
seemed to me that night, Simpson. a
mining broker in Denver, had written
me few days before that he could sell
my property for & 49, 600 if | would 90
over to London and close the deal.
Before that night ended | decided to
close with his offer and go-go with
out seeing Clara again. The old val
ley doctor was splendid fellow, and
would stand by Clara; she'd miss me,
feel hurt at me, | knew. 1t wasn't a
pleasant road l had marked out to
travel; but then the choice wasn't be-
tween a good and bad road, bat be-
tween bad and a worse one. Then.
too, I'd write to her from London, and
maybe Jessie's death would pull Ames
up and make a decent man of him.
That's how l argued it with myself. At
daybreak l was riding down the
Boulder canyon.
Il reached Denver all right; saw the
broker, but found out that ! could not
get the papers fixed until night. This
left me with a lot of time on my hands.
and, not caring to loaf about and
think, | ran over to Boulder City to
look up an old chum. But first | made
that broker promise me faithfully to
send all the papers to my hotel. so that
| could start east by the Atlantic eX-
press. | didn't have any luck at
Boulder-chum had been dead six
months-and got back to Denver two
hours before | calculated As | passed
into the hotel the clerk called out:
'Snowdon, No. IFS? There's some
one waiting for you in your room
Simpsons man with the papers, I
said to myself as hurried up the steps.
When | opened my door was face
to face with Clara Ames.
God! Clara, what brings you here?'
That's what | said and was trem-
blirg all over. Clara let her brown
eyes into mine for moment; then
She crossed the room closed and locked
the door, and facing me, said:
I'm going away from Colorado;
going away tonight, and with you
"'No, no, Clara cried. You don't
know what you are saying
81 do, exactly. Ames hasn't drawn
a sober breath since Jessie died. You
are all have left. I'm--I'm a woman.
not an angel. It's go with you, or
this And drawing a revolver from
her dress she tapped nervously on the
barrel. l tried to speak, but she pulled
me up.
1--we done with Ames; done with
some other things. Don't drive me
to this and once more her white
fingers toyed with the shooter.
BE at the railroad station tonight
at eight o'clock; we must not be seen
together in Denver That was my
answer, Howard. When the woman
you love gives you such a choice, by
Jupiter, she doesn't give you any
choice. Isn't that SOP"
He did not give me time to answer
this question, but ran On:
THAT night we left Denver together;
both very quiet, both very happy; aft
er the first plunge it didn't seem bit
strange. Queer, wasn't it?
"There's not much to tell about our
journey, except that soon discovered
/