The Lamar register., 1901-07-24

She had never heard such a laugh
When he ran away he had changed
his name to Packard and she had new
er traced him. though his Invaluable
legal man had once eareIessly con
veyed to him the impression that a
vindictive and spasmodie search for
her strangely missing husband was
now and then made by his clients ben
efciary. Mrs. Abbott. Packard had
thanked his legal man gravely with
out vouchsaflng any information con-
cerning the recalcitrant husband to
his expeetant legal man, and had gone
10 his club to ores up franks that his
trail wAs covered.
Dr. Packard, the scientist, the IA
vored. the admired by the lovely and
gracious women Of society and by
men of anairs-what had this man in
common with the hot-headed hoy of a
quarter of a century before. whose
name was Abbott and who had been
a fool? She could never fnd him.
With short sigh DIR. Packard set
down the retort he held and reached
for the glass Of water he had drawn
some moments before. The day was
warm and he was thirsty. He drank
every drop before he emerged from
his mental wanderings and stood
blinking as one whose sleping eyes
have opened suddenly on a glare of
light. Then he stumbled. sat down.
and stared stupidity al the empty
glass. Two feet away from where 1t
had stood was another glass similar
In shape. filled with a coIorless liquid.
One Of those glasses had held water,
the other had been filed with solu-
tion he had made OF a peculiar. color
less. tasteless poison. And he had
drunk one of them.
There was dampness on his fore
head. n 1t was the poison he had
swallowed he YVES dead man inside
an hour. Then OF a sudden he squared
his shoulders and laughed harshly
with relief Hastily he reached for the
other glass-he could test it's contents
and the suspense would be over. As he
grasped 1t his trembling hand shifted.
the glass slipped Into the sink and the
contents disappeared down the drain.
The man groancd. It had come on
him so suddenly. he had awakened to
the everyday world so abruptly he had
not had time to get his balance. He
was not in a normal condition to face
such catastrophe and he sat clutch
ing the table edge with starting eyes
and a CHASTITY face He did not want
to die-he would not A blind panic
had him fast as he realized there was
no use calling for help. No one could
save him. With nerves tingling he t>.t
waiting for the first twlnge of pain. his
Imagination lending hldeous aid to
reality. In few minutes everything
would be ended for him II 1t was the
poison he had swallowed and some
thing OF his old. dominating will came
back as he rapidly adjusted his point
of view. Stubbornly his thoughts re-
turned to Bessie Abbott but not with
contempative leisure this time. She
doomed solemn fact in the life he
had suddenly become separated from
and the Idea of a full cxpiation seized
him and was insistent. With the odd
notion growing he rose and wavered
toward his desk In the next room and
wrote hurriedly. There was really no
one else with SO good a claim on his
wealth and the child. young man by
this timc--he still thought of him as
an alien, disinterestedly-m pos
sibly make some use of prosperity even
as he had done. With 1ivid face he
glanced over the unblotted letter
You could never have found me
living" 1t ran. but IT is my whim
you should profit by my death. 1t
will give New York something to talk
about and wonder over. ] do not OBJ
ject adding to the gayety of nations
for I know the devil OF ennui. Come
to the address at the top of this sheet
and take possession. Everything Is
yours. I must confess rarely remcm-
bered you till today when strangely
enough you have been much In my
thoughts. They say the mind OF the
aged reverts to scenes OF youth-pos-
ribly In my case forty Is old. IT Is
evidently sufficient in fate's Judgment
fpr in half an hour ! shall be dead.
! ooodby."