Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1900-05-10


1t had been terrible to her that COM
ing home; the sight Of the familiar.
much-loved spot seemed to show her
| more clearly than ever what depths of
degradation separated her from the
gay. proud young Ethel who had been
mistress there. She walked under the
shade of the tall, spreading trees, and
the rustic of the wind among the
branches seemed to have a voice.
That voice said to her:
you are the first degenerate Cor
don Your predecessors were faithful
and true; you are the first who has
married a forger and a thief
y !. She walked in the long pictures gall
4 lery, and the fair, proud faces of the
Gordons long since dead seemed to
loci. down on her with scornful pity.
"A forger and theft She fancied
each proud mouth repeated the words;
and she passed along the gallery, pale,
frightened, the shadow of her former
self
,
how many deaths she had died before
the golden autumn faded into chill
winter She dreaded lest this terrible
secret of hers should be known. She
would have endured any punishment,
rather than that
What if Laurie should write and
claim her, saying that she was his
wife? True, it could do him no good;
it could not save him from the conse-
quences of his crime. Perhaps, re-
membering how young she was, and
how completely he had deceived her,
he might be merciful and spare her.
She was so innocent, so inexperi-
enced, that she did not know where to
write to him. She had an idea of
sending him a passionate appeal for
silence and Compassion; but how
could she address her letter? Her life
had passed so happily until now.
She knew, in some vague kind of
way, that there Were sin, sorrow, and
crime in the world; that life had a
shady side all unknown to the inno-
cent she knew that there were pris-
ons and scaffolds; but il was all in the
vaguest fashion. She had never seen
anything of crime, and now she was
suddenly brought face to face with it.
Her own husband-the man whom she
had married in secrecy and haste-lay
in felon's cell. The man through
whose aid and help she had intended
to triumph over her rival, was bound
hand and foot in the trammels of
stern, terrible justice.
What should she do if ever he wrote
to claim her? She raised her beatlti-
full, despairing face to the bright heav-
ems
II should kill myself" she said. "A
Gordon could never live in shame"
Every loud ring at the hall door,
every Unexpected noise, every look of
excitement on the faces of those near
her, sent thrill of fear to her heart,
bleached her face, and made her hands
tremble so that whatever she was
holding fell.
1t seemed TO her that her living mo-
ments were dying ones; yet she could
not tell what she dreaded. Her hus-
band could not seek her, and it was
| improbable that any one else knew the
secret; still the terrible fear never left
her, never died away.
That was herfirst punishment; the
second was her gradual awakening to
a sense of what she had done. 1t had
seemed like a feverish dream to her
She had been led on from hour to
hour, day to day; she had been drawn
so insensibly so gradually, into the
net that she had not noticed it. Her
senses had been stepped in a glamor
of flattery, homage. and fancy which
she had mistaken for love.
rhe desire for vengeance had hur-
ried her on; the pictured dream of a
clever triumph had closed her eyes to
all else. 1t had been a dream, and the
awakening was terrible to her
Looking back calmly. she could not
believe that she-Ethel Gordon-had
been so blindly misled. Now that it
was too late. she asked herself where
was her pride, her dignity, her self-re-
spect-where the pride of race and
name that should have kept her from
so terrible blunder. so great folly.
so miserable a sin?
Perhaps that was the greatest pun
ishment of all. She would look around
her with despalring eyes. asking her
self how long she had to 1--we; how
long she must carry this terrible bur
den OF sorrow and shame. There was
no help for her; no human aid or
power could help her. She had taken
her vows before Heaven. and only
Heaven could release her from them.
No wonder she buried her face in her
hands, hated the bright sunshine, and
longed only for death.
There were long nights when no
sleep came to her, when, with rapid
step, she would walk up and down her