Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1902-01-30
CHAPTER XIII.
Mrs. Reeks Sits Up Late.

Ony of a somewhat drab existence.
Whatever dreams Mrs. Reeks might
once have cherished in regard to Mr..
Reeks. or to life in general, had long
since been d~issipated, and now only re-
turned, in a sort of w~ashed-out form,
on the occasion OF a hot supper, when
luck happened TO come in the way of
Mr.. Reeks, or when, from the pit OF a
cheap theater. she saw the Might
Haye-Been" behind the footlights and
renewed her youth. She was a good
woman. and a kindly one; but fate had
not treated her well. and she had
learned to expect little except Bullets
and Knockout blows. But she pinned
her faith to Mr.. Reeks, and was moder-
ately happy.
Now. when things looked BLACKLIST,
and a big cloud of debt doomed heavy
above her, there had come a CLEAN OF
hope. This husband, in whom she had
never ceased to believe. was, by the
sheer power of his intellect and his per-
scnality, to secure at least E100. Nay,
more-was 1t not possible that he might
permanently take the place of this nan
who had disappeared: that he might
rise to something even more lucrative
than either OF them imagined2 In the
full flush of glorious expectation, Mrs.
Reeks sent the small seryant out for
something hot. and prepared to make
herself comfortable, pending the tri-
umphant return of Mr.. Reeks. hen
some dim touch OF the old romance
came back TO the poor, commonplace
woman, and she dreamed a dream.
She thought that the days OF squalif
struggling In Camden town were over;
that a newer and a brighter world had
opened for them both, and that they
sailed out to 1t over a sunlit sea. She
had ne notion where they were going,
except that she was confident in the
strength and power OF some promise
which had been made to her. She
knew with absolute certainty that
tIoubulous times We're ever and lone
with. She was floating put on a broad.
open sea. on the way to a new life, un-
der happy conditions. Then the vessel
on which she sailed began TO rock and
plunge. and Mrs. Reeks. starting awake.
found herself nodding In her chair-tha
fire out-and the clock pointing towards
, In the morning.
Nils IAEGA5 6NnAt Y w hiGL lGCl III
looked about her. 1t became evident In
a moment that MIR. Reeks had not come
home his slippers-like a melancholy
ghost OF the end of him--stood inside
the fender: mis- pipe lay on the table.
ready to his hand. 20 be smoked before
retiring to rest. In a word, Mr.. Reeks
was. above all things. a model husband;
and this was the first occasion on which
81 - REz L~l - - 4l-e 1871
fireside, at such an hour, alone.
Thoroughly awakened from her
dream, Mrs. Reeks shook herself, got
mp and went to the window, pulled the
blind aside and looked out. 1t was a
dark enough night. and 1t happened
that. just unier the lamp outside the
window. a policeman had halted on his
cherries beat TO loo about him. Mrs.
Reeks instantly dropped the blind. with
a gasp. and retired to her chair.
:: done like IL at ALL" she muttered
n herself. " wish I'd never urged him
% so in for IL. It's been a hard life.
and. heaven knows, We want the mon
ey: but IL this Gilbert Rlckerby Is dead
fas he well may be, to be advertised for
like this) 1 cont rare for the thought
that George Reeks is stepping into his
shoes. Nearly 3 o'clocki If tanything
has happened to MIN I'll never forgive
myself. It's false pretenses-goodness
knows what IL Is or what 1t isn't"
She started up again and went to the
window. looked out, and saw. to her re-
lief, that the policeman was one i
thought. perhaps. he was watching the
house. she murmured TO herself.
''Poor George -he's got the heart of a
lion: but you could crush him I'm a mo-
ment with ~unkindness. I hope, lie they
find him tut they won't be rough with
him"
AT last. after wandering about the
room restlessly for a long time. she
caught up the light, with an air OF de-
termination. and went up to h bed
room, tied on her bonnet with come
fierceness and threw a cloak about her.
Then h came down stairs, extin.
guished the light and went into the
streets. taking the key of the house
with her.
She set off rapidly in the direction OF
st. Johns Wood, taking the broader
thorcughfares, and only stopping to ask
the way once or twice, with something
OF fear, OF a grim-looking constable al
q street corner. So she came to the
house, and had her unsatisfactory In
teryiew with Cornelius, and went away
again, buoyai up with the hope that
George Reeks had taken another road,
and had reached home in her absence.
But she found, on arrival. that there
was no sign of him: with a sinking
heart she let herself in to the little
house. and sat down again to wait.
Meanwhile. Mr.. Reeks himself had
been raising through exciting expert
ences. After that struggle In the gar
den. he found himself. as he stood help
iessly looking on. grasped by the arm
n hurried along at top speed into the
darkness. Looking up. timidly.s he saw
that Gilbert Rickerby was his guide.
Come along. Mr.. Reeks.'' cried Gil
bert; Eve haven't a ome to lose.
The game is up, I'm afraid; but
don't want to get you mixed up In any
OF "a disasters. There is a way out
here; you must leave me to look after
myself. Remember, however'-they had
got to the little gate leading into the
alley at the back of the house; Gilbert