Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-02-03


thing away he said, ignoring ner
words. 'It gives me the horrors to
look at it,
! Il am not surprised to hear you say
so; but l shall not remove my pict-
ure," declared her ladyship declsiyely.
For q few days after that the cap
! tain did not seem SO careless or SO
light hearted. GA Womans Martyr
|dOm,'" he repeated to himself over
and over again. 1t was not quite
/ nleasant for him. reckless as he was,
to know that his wife regarded her
self as a martyr; but he tried to con-
vince himself that her martyrdom eX-
listed only in her imagination, and rea-
soned that fair haired, fair faced WON
/ en- seldom had much depth of feeling.
He could not attend to al the wants
and whims of his wife, and he felt
that she ought to be we'll content.
Still the matter weighed upon his
mind SO much that he spoke to Gladys
about it.
You see," he said, 81 do not believe
! in sentiment-in fact, I hate it; but
( this makes me feel uncomfortable"
They were together on the new pier,
! the captain having met Miss Rane
quite by accident. They stood by the
| rail. nothing before them but the
wide open expanse of sea.
Gladys looked at him thoughtfully.
"There are so many forms of mar
tyrdcm," she observed quietly. eff it
is a question of real suffering, | think
my pain is greater than Lady Laura's'
! She has you; l am alone"
The thought of his wife's suffering
| had not occasiCned Vance Vineyard a
moments regret; but at the thought
of Gladys pain his heart ached.
'Does your wife really love your
asked Gladys,-"love you with all her
hearth"
ct believe she does,P he replied.
81 am sorry for her, then" said
Miss Rane. But with his words there
crept into her heart deeper Jealousy
of the fair-faced woman who had the
only claim &c his love.
One morning, when the band was
playing and the pier was unusually
crowded. Captain Wynyard escorted
his wife and step-daughter to the pier
head.
Having found seats for them, he
proceeded to move about among the
crowd.
Whilst thus wandering aimlessly
/ his attention was attracted by the
conversation of two gentlemen stand
'ng near him, one CT whom uttered
his wife's name.
Lady Laura Wynyard--the one
with the golden hair. All the town IS
talking Of her beauty
''She was a widow, was she not,
when the captain married her?7 asked
his friend.
Eyes; she was a widow, with one
daughter-that lovely young girl who
is sitting near her. Lady Laura looks
very delicate | have heard strange
things about her."
What have you heard?'
"Why, that the captain,-I do not
know him-do you?-married her sole
ly for her money, while he was deeply
in love with Miss Rane."
"Do you believe it?'
what I have heard of the captain
is not much in his favor, and | should
say that he was quite capable OF that,
and worse. If anything were to hap
pen to Lady Laura, rumor says he
would not lose much time in making
Miss Rane his wife,
"That is true" said the captain to
himself, with a grim smile. None
! the less l should like to send the fell
low over the pier head for saying So
Nothing but the lives of those two
delicate women stands between Cap
tan Wynyard and that enormous for
tune" one of the speakers remarked
presently; and from that moment the
world was never the same again TO
Captain Wynyard,
The sound of voices, the sweet mu-
sic the wash of the sea round the
pier died away; he heard them no
more But the words, Nothing but
the lives Of those two delicate women
stands between Captain Wynyard and
that enormous fortune" rang in his
ears. to the exclusion of every other
sound
what is in them?" he asked him
self, sharply. Nothing. He had al
ways known that fact. But it was
not at all likely that two women, both
young, would die to oblige him! Then
the band played the gay ''Sweethearts'
Waltz" and before it ended, he was
saying to himself that. even if his
wife died, he would be no nearer the
+ fortune While Angela lived. But if
Angela died first, and his wife fol-
lowed, the money must be his, and
he could marry Gladys Rane. It was
absurd however, to think of such a
/ thing ever happening True, his wife
was delicate: she did not look strong;
but Angela might, and probably would,
live fifty years. And, with these
| thoughts running through his mind,