Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1903-12-29
CHAPTER vII-fContinuadl

CHAPTER VII.-(Continued
Will had been determined to be found
out early. In taking a wife he had not
proposed to cripple himself His friends
called him the married bachelor and
he was proud of the title. 1t bespoke
the fact that he had surrendered moth
Ing of his liberties; that the yoke which
weighed on most men who married had
found no place upon his shoulders.
His wife was little to blame, therefore,
If she discovered the fatal error into
which she had fallen a little earlier than
most women would have done. And now,
before she had found time even to begin
to reconcile herself to her situation, she
and her husband were put to open
shame.
The blow fell dull at first and it was
an hour or two before she began 10
know what pain it carried. The maid
came to tell her that dinner was ready.
but she would not trouble even to make
a pretense Of eating. In g while a tear
or two began to flow, and when once she
had given way so far she had lost control
of herself. and flying TO her bedroom she
locked the door and cast herself upon
the bed in an abandonment of grief
The weary, dreadful day crawled on.
minute by minute and hour by hour,
when this burst was over. and she paced
her room to and fro as she looked at the
future. More than once gust OF wrath
passed over her spirit and stirred the
sick waters of despair. But she would
have none of that, and wrestied against
herself with all her forces. She had no
right to anger-no right to reproach; she
had thrown those rights away.
All the while her heart cried out for
her mother. Pride held Ter back, but
gave way at last before the imperious
call of nature. The friendly darkness
had fallen, and no one would see her
come and go. She was not certain that
she was not prisoner, and even that
fear spurred her little in the way of
her own desires. for she wanted to test
il and to know the worst, if there were
verse than had happened already. So
she slipped on bonnet and shawl and left
the house, no effort being made to re-
strain her. She sped swiftly homeward
the mothers roof had always covered
home-since her marriage rs before it;
and as she went there was such a prom
Use OF the peace she longed for in her
mothers arms that it impelled her to run.
Blank disappointment at the door.
Mother and daughter had had but little
intercourse of late, and the estrangement
had grown so far already that Mrs. How
arth had gone away on a customary sum-
mer visit of a week to her sister with
out letting her daughter know of it. Her
father was indoors, said the domestic,
and would be glad to see her. No. she
made shift to answer, she would call
again when her mother had returned. She
dared not face her father with the news.
The night had grown black and tenn
pestuous. She had had no leisure to
notice this before, but she saw it as she
turned. and the gloom and threatened
storm added their quota to the weight
which rested on her. She sank upon a
hillock beneath the te overhanging
hedge and burst into new passion of
tears. Only a minute later she heard
between her own sobs the sound of a
quick footstep the path, and rose to
her feet TO find somber figure bending
over her.
MY poor creature said a plying and
familiar voice, what's the matter? Don't
be afraid of me. l wouldn't hurt you
for the world
Ned Blame!