The times., 1899-02-05
The ShuttIes Of the Web.

it had not been interrupted. None of the
rest of us caught on TO there being any
thing unusual between them until about
a year ago. Randall didn't go of on any
spree last summer. He took his spree out
at home, abusing his Wife" The young
man face hardened Il don't believe you
ever saw anything like it. Frazee. He was
mild when you were there. 1t wasn't only
that he took the tone of brute and a
bully toward her. He used to do develish
things to hurt her, and I've seen her, whsn
she was working, roll down her sleeves
right quick if she saw anybody coming, to
hide the black and blue. We boys took
him aside one night and explained to him
what we would do If he didn't change his
tactics-and he was little more decent
after that-but there wasn't any tone of Us
except Pomfret that had the courage to
show her that he saw what was going on
and was sorry for her-we were all so
afraid of hurting her more. But Pomfret
was different. He simply tod her that
he loved her and couldn't stand the sight
of what she suffered and was going to
carry her off with him out of harms way.
OF course, l didn't know about it at the
time, and scarcely had a suspicion of it,
she treated us all so much alike. But wo-
men are queer. She wouldn't consent at
first, and yet 1t didn't hurt her pride as
much to be talked to like that as to see all
the rest of us pretending to notice nothing
and looking the other way.
''Pomfret kept on urging and she kept
on refusing. but feeling more and more
all the while that there wasn't any law
of God or man to hold her. and poor Hon
ey POindexter never gave them moments
! peace. l suppose he began to feel what
( was going on, for he'follOwed her about
closer than ever. and no matter where
! they went TO talk together. Honey would
| come after her to beg her to do something
| for him, or to ask her some fool chiid's
! question, or maybe only to tell her he was
! going down town, until she got so out OF
| patience with him that she wanted to run
! away most much to get rid of him as
| to escape from Randall. Well. finally the
! time came quickly and sudden, as it will
! with a woman, when she couldn't stand
! any more and made up her mind, to go.
| You'd think she'd have been planning for
! divorce, but that wasn't her way. She'd
I got ii in her head that she'd promised
Randall, till death do us part, and she
/ believed she'd be breaking through that
just as much with divorce as without:
and then / reckon when she gave up and
| loved Pomfret she threw most every other
! thought to the winds. Pomfrst had come
/ up her to Jefferson on the morning train.
j as he often did, and they had it planned
| that she was to take the night train, and
| he was tosget on board and join her with
their two Tickets for the North" Tarle-
ton paused a moment "Frazee." he said
abruptly, did you ever let yourself start
in to overhear something. taking it for
| nonsense and thinking il would put you
| ahead OF the crowd with joke, and then
| find yourself listening to what you'd have
| given more than you were worth not to
| hear"
The older man turned from the car win
! Lot 10 Ghrat mot !, t;o
eyes rest on Tarleton. What kind of n
deal did you let yourself into?'' he asked
''Oh. just bearing the whole thing laid
OFF beforehand" Tarieton answered nom
chalantly. I'm subject to headaches. and
| one morning bad one came on just after
| | had started out in the country: so / gave
| up my days work and drove back to the
| house. There was nobody round the front
! and the parlor looked so cool and dark and
| quiet-the way Miss Lee tried to keep it
by daytime-that walked in there and lay
! down rather than go UP to my room-you
| remember how hot those chambers were.
| ] shut the door SO as not to hear the COM
ing and going through the halls, but pretty
soon the door opened kind of softly and
Honey came in and shut it again. 1t SEEM
ed like funny thing for him to do. and a
minute after l pretty near laughed right
out; for, bless you. he began to cry-just
to bluh,er In regular big gulps like kid
| supposed he had a jag on and maybe
Miss Lee had been scoring him. so | lay
quiet and said nothing. Pretty soon he
kind of swallowed down his feelings and
went to the door and called for Miss Lee
to come there. You remember how he used
to call for her-the way a young one comes
to the door OF house and shouts for his
mother. without ever taking step 10 lool;
her up is
Frazee nodded Il never thought he loy-
ed her. except just the way a boy does his
mother" he said. parity out of helpless
ness. and because she was Randal!'s wife
He was used 10 being Randall's shadow in
everything"
wait till tell you" said Tarleton.
Like fool | kept lying low back there
in the dark. for l thought their talk would
be a part OF the regular circus between
them that We all counted as belonging to
the Magnolia House bill of fare. Well
after he'd yelled a while | heard her heels
click clicking through the hall, and she
called out to him unusually sharp well
Il could see both their faces against the
white door. She was flushed and had her
lips shut tight and her eyes brighter thaU
l ever saw them, and he stood there shaiI-
ing like a leaf and white as death. / SAN
then he wasn't drunk He kept trying &c
say something. and the words wOuldn't
, come, and she stood and stared at him as
, If she wanted to face him down. After
minute he Just dropped on to the floor am
caught hold of her dress and scbbed out
, Don't go, Miss Lee
"On my soul If a look could have singej
him, like frost, Honey would have withere;
, right then. She drew herself up and pull
, ed herself out OF his reach and said, 'GC
: where?
, Honey didn't seem to notice He go
] hold Of her and pulled her inside th'
7 door, and shut it nobody could see o
4 hear. and then he told her how he,
S heard some of the things that she an'
G Pomfret said, but he hadn't thought mucl
/ about 'em except to hate Pomfret, unit
that morning he wanted her TO sew n but
= ton on for him and he went mOseying int
her room looking for her. and found he
q little travelling bag out and things sprea
c around to pack in it. Shed begun becaus
n Randall was gone, and then the cook ha
d called her. and she'd had to leave. | didn
n know how such a fool as Honey ever ha
1t the sense to put two and two together.
1t .All the time l was lying back there an
= taking the thing in-seemed as If Honey
d words fell on me like so many stones. unit
il they pretty near stopped my breath. | ha
" never thought it could come to that wit
y her, as l felt as if | couldn't wait Ion
r, enough to give her time to speak up an
2, deny it. But she let Honey get good an
X through, and there was a long while thi
e. | could hear the two Of them breathing
II maybe they could have heard me. too
], they'd listened-and then Honey he burS
: out again begging and pleading. and L,
2, pleading for himself or Randall, but fC
x her until she began to sob and threw hel
;s self on his mercy She told him of VIII
ID living with Randall had been to her, an
ie how she'd felt herself falling lower an
| | lower and losing every hold she had III