Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-12-10
DAILY SHORT STORY
Saved by a Woman's Love.
[Original.1


fancy dress ball. There was some
thing attractive in his appearance
Whether it was in his graceful figure
(his face was masked) or the lightness
of his step or the air of one to the
manner born no one could say, but the
fact remained that there was some
thing about him to excite admiration
and curiosity. Among others lady
robed in the period of Venetian SUI
premacy stood looking at him, and one
could see interest in her attitude if not
in her masked face.
MAY | crave my lady's hand for a
dance?" said the man to her.
with pleasure" replied the lady in
low voice.
Come; let us go into the winter gar
den,' he said after the dance. 1T is
insufferably hot here, and 1 dislike n
crowd
When they were screened behind a
miniature forest of tropical trees, the
mans manner suddenly changed.
Would you know who I amT' he
said. 81 am what the highwayman of
two centuries ago was at that time. /
do not play my pranks on the road.
levy contributions in the palaces of the
rich
'*' Where youth and beauty meet
To chase the glowing hours with flying
feet.
"I'll trouble you for that ring?"
The woman stood motionless for
time. Whether she was paralyZed
from fright or was deciding what TO do
could not be detected since her face
was covered. Presently she said
Listen to me a moment and the ring
is yours. 1t is only lately that l came
to live in the city. l was once Il coun-
try girl. There was a boy in our viii
lage, a daring, reckless spirit. forever
in mischief, and had he been soldier
he would have found his vocation.
When lie was twenty, lie became an ac-
tor. L remember the day parted with
him when he went on his first theatri-
cal tour. l had long before given my
heart to the wild spirit that everybody
loved, admired, yet at whom all shook
their heads and said, He'll some day
come to grief 1 begged him to curb
his passion for excitement, to study his
chosen profession, to be content with
what success he was sure to gain on
the stage, for he had remarkable talent.
He took me in his arms and confided
to me that he feared his love for recll-
less deeds would kill all steady effort,
but for my sake he would try to avoid
the one and cling to the other.
HE made alternate successes and
failures. Every success was followed
10y some wild freak. some desperate adj
venture. One engagement after anoth-
er was cancelled, and at last he was
forced to abandon legitimate endeavo-
and gave himself wholly to-
She bent her head and buried her
face in her hands.
The masked face before her looked ar
her with a blank stare, rigid as marble
When she stopped speaking. the man
said:
Sat our birth fate marks our courses.
To some it gives the power of becom-
ing merchants, professional men, Ia
borers-all that is honorable even if I'M
profitable. They are the fixed stars.
Others must be moving. now forward,
now backward, never steady, always
starting in an unexpected direction.
They are the planets. Both follow the
marked out for them. Your
friend, your lover. was doomed from
his birth. If he could have been saved,
you would have saved him
"Oh, Alan, had not recognized you
at once under your disguise 1 would
know you the moment you began to
speak! Why must one so gifted be
dragged down by an unconquerable
He stood mute. immovable. He had
selected his good angel for robbery.
His decisions were like lightning. and
like lightning he decided that the
he could do so without involv-
ing her he would send a bullet through
his brain. 1t was the woman who still
hoped.
"Alan, try again. Go to some coun-
try where you are not known. Live
steady life for five years.
"And them"
"And then? Send for me-"
Again there was n silence. A tremor
passed over the man, then a wave of
resolution. Was it only wave?
''Mary, sweetheart, for your sake
will make this trial"
He moved away. There was no one
20 see behind the plants, and she
showed him by her movement that she
would encourage him with a kiss. He |
put her away,
Il am still above permitting such a
'acrilege," he said. Farewell If / |
,ail, will send you bullet; if 1 sue
iced, heart"
1t was four years and six months |
lfter that eventful meeting that Mary |
Drayton received a small package by |
EXPRESS. She knew that it contained |
me of two tokens. and since the five |
7ears had not yet passed she dreaded |
est she had received a bullet, an en-
,lem of suicide. Tremblingly she took
If the wrapper and revealed a paper |
'ox. She dared net lift the lid for |
ime and only did so when it occurred |
o her that the weight was slight. |
rhpPo noSflino in cotton was Soma-