Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-19
but your words cut my

I'll, we calculate TO De received On
| two chips" piped out Mrs. Dean. 1--WE
braced up to do dooty like Christians.
no matter how hard we might be fnsulted."
Her voice was as sharp as her face.
you can't deceive us an atom" put in
Mrs. Frazer, determined to have her
laurels. too. mot an atom. We have see
everything. We have even see the cold
feelin's betwixt you an Mr.. Mayhew-a
| man that this hull town, from one end to
the other, looks up to. Everybody has seen
the cold feelin's that's come betwixt you"
Now, indeed, Mrs. Mayhem was like
white lily, smitten and crushed by a storm.
She chung, trembling, to the chair. and
| looked at them with dark. terrified eyes.
..s .Srhis-this is my mother she faitered
"She is old and feeble, and she-She had
trouble. 1t affected her mind. l had her
brought here. SO l could care for her as a
daughter should" She gathered courage
as she went on "He-my husband-did not
for my strength would make me i'll.
| -. But it would have killed me to see
her taken" She burst out into wild
sobbing. II couldn't. But he was angry.
| Oh. he made it hard for me to do
my duty to her. l almost went mad my
self. gave up everything, and there was
| so much work. could not have even one
servant, l could not bear that any one
should know. She was my mother,
| my dear, faithful mother! My heart has
bled night and day, but I have done my
duty to her. He has made 1t hard
| for me, but it has been hard for him, too.
He does not see it in the right light He
loves me tenderly that he feels my duty
| is to him only. There has been trouble be-
tween us because Of it. Have you not seen
that he looks ILL
I'VE have seen that" interrupted Mrs.
Hostetter, deliberately. HE looks mighty
ILL., Most men would-to get anonymous let
tiers a-tellin' EN- that their wife hung out
bird cages on the right side O. doors, an
| that then men come a-sneakin there"
"Oh. surely said Mrs. Mayhem. gazing
at her with wide. fascinating eyes, mo one
% % nv he kno a a n11t
it. He is in the house now. And then, to
hurt him with such letter To let him know
that l was suspected. And he never
told me! He bore that, too, for my sake, in
silence!'
"Oh, he's in the house now, is he?' cried
Mrs. Dean, in her shril staccato. You'd
like us to believe that, would you? You'd
like to make us believe he knows all about
the man you've got hid som'ers here now"
Nothing would make believe your
husband is in this house now but seem him
solemnly May the Lord have mercy on
you for a sinful woman! Your only hope
of salvation is to make full confession of
your sins; Bring out the partner of your
guilt" she exhorted in loud voice.
Bring him out, an let him suffer the aw-
full effects of his secret sin. Nothing can
| save either of you but bein' purged with
fire. Mebbe you think it was pleasant fer
us to come here an be insulted? We've
done our duty like Christian women, an
were ready to leave it all to the Lord.
Bring out the partner of your guilt
Her voice faltered. The door of an inner
room had opened. A young man came
slowly toward them
Not greatly like triumphant lover look
ed he. He was pale and haggard. The
three women started and grasped hold of
one another convulsively. He faced them
with an air Of desperation.
You want to know who I amp he said.
Shed die, or lose her reputation forever
before she'd tell YOU but I'll tell you I'm
her brother; the son of her mother. l live
in a hut up in the forest, and l don't dare
to show my wretched face to man. I'm an
escaped convict from the penitentiary,
where l went for forgery. 1 was guilty
too 1t Is my fault that my old mother sits
there in bed a jbbering idiot. 1t is my
fauI. that this awful burden is on my sis
ter. Yet twice a week for months she has
been letting me come here, because my
mother knows me and is Gained by my
presence. Only an angel would have chung
to such an abandoned wretch as l am and
tried to make man of him. She has never
once reproached me; never once lost faith
that L will yet be a man. Her husband,
modest ladies. knows all about my COM
ing. The bird cage was not hung out to in
form me that he was not al home, but that
none of her kindly interested neighbors
were making afternoon visits. Since you
have known of my visits for six months [
am almost stunned with wonder that you
ola not drop in before. I marvel, in fact,
that you did not take up your bed and
board in this unhappy home. Your delicate
He paused for second, in absolute need
of breath. When he spoke again a glance
at his sisters face. which showed signs of
deep suffering, had changed his look and
tone. Well" he said, deliberately You
have invaded the sacredness of my sisters
home. You have wormed out her sorrowful
secrets. You have tried to estrange her
husband from her You have bounded
down guilty, repentant wretch, who had
nothing left but to be near his mother and
sister, whose lives he had ruined, and who
must now start out again on his lonely
wandering with no place in which to lay
his head You belong to the church. You
call yourselves Christians. Are these the
things Christ taught you to do? Are
these"
Hey, hey," cried the old creature on the
bed. Whats all this fuss about?" She
peered at them with dreadful eyes; the
pupils were like little blue-biack bullets.
why don't you give 'em a cheer? They
don't look like ladies, but give EN- cheer,
anyhow
And now concluded the young man,
walking TO the door of the inner room and
throwing it open. my sisters husband
will say few words to you, and then we
will regretfully permit you to depart
When the three women became convinced
that it really Mr.. Mayhem who was
entering, their faces were things to behold
and remember. Mrs. Frazer confessed af-
terward that she had '.giddy feeling-as
if she'd let all hollis go; the very carpet it
self went uo and down in waves under
her" Mrs. Dean shrank back against the
wall for support. Mrs. Hostetter's fine
fighting feathers dropped, but she stood
her ground braVely.
Mr.. Mayhem advanced and stood beside
his wife. He was pale and worn-looking.
He spoke in quiet, even tones
Il have heard all that my wife said, al
though she did not mean for me to hear it,
and 1 am glad. She spoke the truth. 1
have been jealous of her devotion to her
mother. 1t made me miserable, and /, in
turn, made her miserable by my hardness
and GOODNESS. Until this hour have been
unable to appreciate the unselfishness and
nobility of her character. Her brother, too
has spoken the truth. The letter which
one of you must have been kind as to
write me made me feel more bitterly
toward my wife for having placed us both
in false positions l brooded over it with
out telling her. But. foreseeing that soon
er or later the author of the letter would
make the visit of investigation which you
are now doing US the honor to make, 1
have remained at home every Tuesday and
Friday since, to protect my wife when she
needed me. My wife"-without looking at
her he reached out for her hand, which
she gave him quickly and silently, draw
ing nearer to hints a woman who will
let me atone and make her happy that
she will forgive me. Henceforth 1 shall
bear her burdens and help her to do her
duty. Now you know all And now-as