The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1904-04-28

THE CONSEQUENCE.
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CO HE doctor looked into the wom-
ans brave eyes and slowly pro-
- nounced her sentence.
"The operation must take place with
in few days Or"
"or whatTT
at may be too late to operate at all"
sAnd-I will get through it safely?"
II hope so-Y
you are not sure. You think there
is risk?"
"There is always a risk in every
operation" he answered evasively.
"Tell me the truth, doctor; can bear
It,"
The old man looked into the desper-
ate eyes and put his hand gently on
the woman's shoulder.
"You are brave woman. will tell
you the truth. This operation will be
q very serious one--in fact, there is
only chance that you will survive It,
But there'is chance, and for the sake
Of II you must not lose heart"
Couldn't | walt till next month
Just for few weeks lopgerf 1t surely
would not make any difference II 1t
was postponed till then"
"My child,' the doctor answered, "if
we postponed 1t for a few weeks, for
even one week, you will lose your one
chance Of recovery. Besides, you will
suffer such agony that your life win
be unbearable. Let me advise you, and
make up your mind to go through it
Immediately"
Immediately
"Within the next few days. You
must go into the hospital tomorrow to
be prepared for it."
Then he explained the arrangements
he would make for her, and after lis
tening In dazed, half-stupid fashion,
Elizabeth said "good-by" to him, and
wearlly went out in the cold and dark
ness Of the December evening.
She drove alone In hanson with
tears running down her white cheeks,
and her heart rebelling at the cruel
hand of Fate that had SO unsparingly
dealt her this blow. Had she deserved
it? Was this trial sent to her because
she had set one man upon a pedestal
and woEshiped him to the exclusion Of
the whole vorldl Or was 1t because
she, like a fool, had thrust away with
laughing eyes the happiness that had
been held out to her, and the gods had
guessed II was only freak, and were
Furnishing her because she insolently
played with the best thing they had to
a;ve2 six months ago., when David
Meore had started to tell her how dear
she was to him, she had stopped him
With laugh, and had warned him that
1t w0ul& be wiser to wait till he re-
tanned from abroad before he decided
that she xes the "only woman in the
werld." Shs did not know why she
kad dene Il; why, when her heart was
craving for his love, she had coquetted
and waFdnd him OF. But right deep
down she Answ that 1t was for his own
sake, to Sivs him fair chance of see-
Ias other younger, more beautiful
,women, teSsre she let him tell Ifer that
she was tins best of all.
"I'll hss hack In six months, Eliza
keth," he sAsd, holding her hands, tight
". and lcsAins into the sweet gray
syes. "Vll come straight to you. You
will listen 10 me then; you will then
b.elieve that am in earnest" And so
he LETT he's.
And nsw tAe slH months we're at an
end; Fer that morning a telegram lad
come talAns her of his arrival in Eng
land, and to expect to see him tonight.
She had lived every hour Of her life
In rhese rSenths for David; everything
she did vas for his sake-was to
please aim, And now. when the time
had really come, and he would be with
her In . fev hours, she must gather
up her stmaEth and send him away
without . yord Of love, without a sign
of regret.
1t was b<c&use the pain had waged
30 AsScsly through the night that she
determined 10 30 to doctor to beg
for something to give her relief, for
the time at least. she had gone, and
had had her @Btencs pronounced.
Although Re had not actually said SO,
Elizabeth guessed that even IL she did
survive the oFsration she would al
ways be wsaA. delicate woman. And
in her great love she decided to sacrl-
fee even one hour Of joy--she could
never bear to be q drag on David, she
must send him evay again without ex-
planning the reason
When she arrived at the house where
she lived h Kensington, she turned
down the lamps under their red shades
and told the maid to put more coal on
the fire. She decfded to postpone her
preparations OF her illness until after
her visitor had gone. She would only
have time now to prepare herself for
the scene she must so through with
him.
After she had some tea she went to
her room. The frock she mad chosen to
wear was icing on the bed. 1t was a
soft blue silk. and was very simply
made. Quickly she put 1t back into
the wardrobe and took down one that
was just sufficiently old-fashioned to
be dowdy.
"Molly saidoI look twenty in blue
and thirty-fve in black" she whis-
pered, as she laid It on4he bed.
Then she unfastened her hair. She
remembered some one saying, ITO part
the hair in the center either makes a