Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1904-10-05
Ter pardon now. never understood

her pardon now. l never understood
her.
ut was all planned by him-I have
no head for such things. Sadie helped
him-Sadie was my friend-but Sadie
had not much to say about it, for he
seemed to know just how to arrange
| it all so that no one Mt the seminary
should know or even suspect what had
occurred till we got ready to tell them.
He did not even take his brother into
his confidence, for Wallace kept store
and gossiped very much with his
customers. Besides, he was very busy
just then selling out, for he was going
to the Klondike with William, and he
had too much on his mind to be bother
ed, or so William said. All this must
tell you or you will never understand
the temptation which assailed me
when, having returned to Washington,
awolke to my own position and the
kind of men whom could now hope
| to meet. was the wife-oh, the folly
of it-but this was known to so few,
and those were so far removed, and
one evening" friend Sadic-being dead
why not ignore the miserable secret
ceremony and cheat myself into be-
lieving myself free, and enjoy this
world of pleasure and fashion as Cora
was enjoying it antitrust? Trust
| what? Why the klondike! That
swallower-up Of men. Why shouldn't
| it swallow one more? Oh, know that
it sounds hateful, but l was desper-
ate; had seen you.
II had one letter from him after he
reached Alaska, but that was before 1
left Owosso. never got another. And
never wrote to him. rode and
danced with you and went hither and
yon, lavishing money and time and
heart on the frivolities which came in
my way, calling myself Veronica and
striving by these means to crush out
every remembrance of the days when 1
was known as Antoinette and An
toinette only. For the Klondike was
far and its weather bitter, and men
were dying there every day, and no
letters came u used to thank God for
this, and need not think-not yet
whittier was tending. One thing only
made me recall my real position. That
was when your eyes turned on mine
your true eyes, SO bright with conf
dence and pride. l wanted to meet
tlicm full, and when could not sud-
denly knew why and suffered.
II did not accept your attentions nor
| agree to marry you without struggle.
You know that. You can tell as no one
else Gun how held back and asked for
time and still for time, thus grieving
you and tearing my own breast, till q
day camc-you remember the day when
you found me laughing like n mad wo.
man in circle of astonishcd friends
You drew me aside and said words
which hardly waited for you to finish
for at last was free to love you, free
to love and free to say SO. The morn.
ing paper had brought news. A tele
graphic dispatch from Seattle told how
man had struggled into Nome, frozen
bleeding and without accouterments OF
companion. 1t was with difficulty he
had kept his feet and turned in ut the
first tent he came to. Indeed, he had
only time to speak his name before he
fell dead. This name was what made
this dispatch important to me. 1t was
William Pfeiffer. For me there was
but one William Pfeiffer in the Klon
dike-my husband-and he was dead
That was why you found me laughing
But not in mirth. I am not so bad q,
that. But because could breath
again without feeling q clutch abou
my throat I did not know till thel
} how nearly had been stifed.
l 1.-THE week of our marriage came.
!. was mad with gayety and ecstatic Will
S hope. Nothing had occurred to ma
r my prospects. But God had his ey,
o upon me and in the midst Of my happi
ness and the hurry Of our final prepn
l rations his bolt fell. 1t struck me Will
t l was at the-don't laugh; rather shud
] der-at the dressmakcrs shop in -Four
:, teenth street. l was leaning over tn
), bic, chattering like maggie over tn
f way wanted gown trimmed, whel
!, my eye fell on scrap of newspape
n in which something had come rolled t
S madame. 1t was torn at the edge, blu
o on the bit lying under my eyes say
f my husbands name, William Pfciffel
s. and that the paper was Denver one
l. There was but one William Pfeiffer II
= Denver-and he was my husband. An,
= l read-feeling nothing. Then I rea,
n again, and the world, my world, wen
n from under my feet, for the man VIII
= had fallen dead in the camp at Nom
s was Wallace, Williams brother, an,
s not William himself. William hal
t been left behind on the road by hi
! more energetic brother, who had push
t ed on for succor through the wors
G storm and under the worst condition
| possible even in that God forsaken re
gion. With the lost one in mind, tn
: one word that Wallace uttered in sigh
2 of rescue was William. 1t was Wallace
2 who had fallen dead, and while William
| might have persisted also, and doubles
had. l had no certainty of it. And m,
r wedding day was set for Thursday.