Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-09-12
The Daily Short Story
Storm and Sunshine.

/ SOuPAS' nc was -, Sne "A years ola.
He was easily irritated and unreason-
ably jealous of his wife
| At first there We're only chickering's,
which ended in kisses. Then the bick-
erings grew to Quarrels. The husband
spoke ugly words and made threats.
The wife, woman like, retorted in kind
But they loved each other, and soon the
clouds on the conjugal horizon passed,
and in the surety of their absorbing
love they laughed over their folly.
OF late the clouds grew denser. For
some reason-business troubles. per-
haps-Alois Stefan was more irritable,
more jealous. than ever. Once he adj
vanced toward his wife with burning
lamp, and another time he actually
struck her. Mrs. Stefan cried bitter
tears, left the house and applied for
divorce.
Poor woman, she never dreamed that
it would ever come to that. He, too,
realized now that he had gone too far.
He could not bear TO lose the wife, the
mother of his darling child, the sweet
heart of his boyhoOd.
| Did he tell her so in good, kind Ian
guage, with his arms around her neck
and stroking the pretty, bright hair he
loved? Not he! He was too stubborn
| too proud, he called it.
IF you leave the house, I'll murder
you" he yelled at her, and she, now
really frightened, rushed from the
| house to lodge complaint against him
He was arrested for threatening her
| life. and the case was docketed for
trial.
Meanwhile the suit for divorce was
/ called and tried. The wife appeared
| timid and uncertain of her actions. The
| husband, too, was in softer mood, but
| that awful demon, jealousy, troubled
him more than ever. Friends, SO called
| friends, had gossiped and carried tales,
| and they had worked their worst.
| Forgetting the courtroom, the pres
ence of the judge and a curious au-
dience, he approached her.
what about HERMANN" he Missed.
A moment before the woman had sat
with tears in her eyes. Now she felt
| offended at his charge and made bitter
retort. Following the custom of ages,
the judge tried TO pacify their angry
passions and reconcile them with each
other.
The seed of jealousy, however, was
too prodding in the man. His abuse
had been too much for the woman.
Suddenly Stefan rushed up to his
wife, threw out his arms as if to en-
brace her, caught her face between his
hands and bit her in the right check.
The woman screamed aloud. Bailiffs
ran to her assistance and dragged him
laway. The spectators jumped to their
feet and looked threats at the man. OF
course there was nothing to do for the
judge but TO give Mrs. Stefan the di-
vorce. \ warrant was sworn out
against Alois Stefan for assault.
Man and wife lived apart now. The
latter took her little daughter with her,
and the husband had ample time to re-
fleet upon the situation. When Alois
lStefan's case for assault came to a
lhearing, the wife refused TO testify
against him. The prosecuting attorney
postponed it, sending for other wit
Inesses. They came to the second hear
ing of the suit, but their testimony was
in nowise effective.
Mrs. Stefan was pleased with the
Iprogrl IS of the case, or, rather, with
1.-THE evident prospect that Justice would
be defeated. Stefan's attorney saw his
advantage and succeeded in convinc-
ling the jury that, so far as the threats
lmade against the wife by her husband,
mo testimony had been elected that
lshould condemn the accused, and the
Ibite in the cheek was made while the
husband was almost insane with grief
lover the turn his affairs had taken.
AS soon as the jury withdrew the
lwife left her seat among the spectators
land joined her husband. Only a scar
remained as a silent reminder of the
Enthusiastically caress. Stefan clasped
his wifc's hand. and they whispered
with each other like happy lovers.
The prosecuting attorney watched
them scornfully, but the stern and wise
Judge smiled significantly.
| The jury returned in less than 10
minutes. Stefan was acquitted on the
first count, that of threatening his
wife's life, but for the second offense,
tof having bitten her in the cheek, he
WAS sentenced to a weeks imprison-
lment.
| With beaming cOuntenances husband
and wife received the mild sentence.
1t was first he and then she who shook
the prosecuting attorneys hand, that
of the foreman of the jury and the
stern judges. Then and there they
declared their intention to remarry.
No pair of lovers about TO take the
first plunge into the matrimonial sea
looked more happy, more eager, more
assured of that perfect felicity that
comes with the union of two hearts.
ut was storm and sunshine" said
the stern and wise judge, gleefully rub
bling his hands over the outcome of this
peculiar case.
| 81 hope it will never get squally again
with them,' he added as they left the
courtroom, he to begin his weeks i'm
prisonment. she to accompany him to
the door from which he would emerge
| IN, n ,r-nnI- To take hni. q rnfn to the mar