The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-05-21
TfE ADVERTISERS
 DAILY SHORT STOR |

all the strange emotions of the past few days into definite beiue and relationship. that he wa9 compelleI. upon his return home. to seknowledse and cope with the situation aS 1t was. He was a. student and philosopher. was Stephen Massard, and as tn. truth forced itself upon him in passion of sobs.
 God help mel he cried. with white face and drawn eyes. love her! I love her! love her! And she Is married. and and a eewsyd: 2 pa!trcon. ss all the rules of manhood and chivalry."
 Then he rose. white faced and calm. rBut I love her better than honor and ter one year with her in dishenor and obloquy than thousand years of honor and success and public homage. And who is this husband of hers. tinsel be. love for her. She is mine by every law of nature and affinity. By the eternal power I will have her at any cost"
 And she. retiring from the social tri- ss sss sad her bed end wept in . transport of ioy and fear.
 What Is 1t all worth?" she cried. Pc sition and hollow mockery cf social ecmmendation and jealousy; 9osSis That hs sns worth 1t all. all, Oh. God in Heaven. am ruined. want nothing. crave noth- ing. desire nothing. but Him. All else. EesponsSility. , ,nn. honor; life. is Of no avail
 There was but one ending. Of course 1t dragged itself out-this play of passion for g wearisome length. But the end
 It came one day at Newport when the two-He and She-stood together in her drawing room at the great hotel, and he reaehed out and ciasped her in his arms pasWSiGpnately pWpass ths saying sneS What. the use, There's nothing else in life. We were born for each other, destined so from the beginning of time. There have been mis- takes. horrible. ghastly mistakes but the here. will sacrifice everything--posi- ton. honor ail.N | have means sufficient. Let us go-apywhere. everywhere. only 90 we have each other" She threw both round arms about his neck and lurched forward upon his bosom with the sob of q happy. child: The door opened suddenly and Major Putnam stood before them. Neither He nor She moved muscle. The Major drew his hand across his brow as to brush aside cobweba. He and She did not stir, except that the keen gray eyes of Ste phen Massard was fixed upon the, blazing brown orbs of Putnam.
 Well" remarked Major Putnam. tit- | ing his neither lip until the blood flowed, does this mean?"
 | Stephen Massard. still holding to the wo- man. This woman-your wife, If you please-was horn for me, and for her l We found it out-we found it out the first time we met. There is no mistake about | it. The only mistake is her marriage with you. Release her, man. release her, | or by the sacred light of love will crush you out of existence, She is mine and
 The officer had controlled himself with great effort.
 T will not fight you. Massard." he said. That would be too cheap.I have been a soldier all my life-and you a recluse. Besides. there is the seancal. will leave 1t to the woman. While she has been irl- discreet, she Is still honest" God. yes" calculated Massard Then the soldier poured forth his plea for the honor and responsibility of so- ciety. for the fidelity of the marriage vows. 1Ic was at his best and most elo- uuent. The man and the woman shrunk from each ether and stood spellba'lnd by the cold lcgic of this deshinG soldier. You have been dreaming. dear. Come back to me. We will go away-to Europa to Asia. to the far East. and you will forget all this infatuation. And remem- her that I love yon better than this man. who seeks oIily your dlshonor."
 Then did Stephen, Massard stretch his tall figure to its full height and reply. concerned, Neither yon nor have ob- served its dictates Only this--God cre- ated us-you and t-for each other. know it is the road of dishonor. as the world counts 1t. but 1t is the only way for me I will give up position. reputa- fion-all the world values, Come with me Ito Italy. to France. I have sufficient means. There we will live and love for ever"
 The two men stood glarins at each oth- CT: the woman white faced and sohbing between them:
 
 The next day man and a woman boarded a steamer European bound. They did not look back. but in a clubhouse in the city from which they sailed sat man, white faced and haggard. his head in his hands. dry-eyed and moaning
 In the cozy cabin on the boat a radiant woman flung her arms about the man beside her and whispered:
 For better or worse. dear; for better or worse"