River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1904-12-15

the glass door and stepped out upon the
porch. A man walking away resolutely
from the door stopped and turned back
eagerly. But the lonely woman had
grown singularIy fearless from long liv-
ing alone Needless alike of shadow
and substance, she stood in the stream
of light studying the stormy skies.
There was self-reliance, aye, self-sufh-
cheney in every point of her poise. The
man swung on his heel. Then quota
ton slipped from her:
safe in the beautiful heaven" and
he wheeled again in time to catch the
pale fash of her face in turning-those
lines of lip and brow that told of silent
self-repression.
Had she suffered? People were fools
most Of them. Those tales they had
told him about her Indifference and"
He, too, had had Is years in which to
school himself in self-control, but his
voice shook in his turn when she her.
self opened the door to his knocking.
81 should not have intruded-at this
time-but saw you on the side
porch" The chords of his throat
frightened and cut off his stammering
speech.
There is fire in my study" she sug-
Sested, courteously, when he paused. 1t
was a reporter after stuff about her last
book? He seemed to be new at the BUSH
ness, she reflected, and would probably
give herself heavy half hour to hold,
but she would have been impatient with
Insolence had it spoken with that voice
So she led the way down the dimly ligfrS-
ed hall, speaking pleasantly Of the
weather, and by the time they reached
her study he had got back the mastery,
please don't turn up the lights on my
account" he begged, with touch OF
peremptoriness that soothed even willis
it hurt
well, if you don't mind" she agreed.
lightly. my eyes are bothering me
Bit
Your eyes? Why, what is the
trouble?"
And instead of resenting the solicitud6
in his tone, it came to the woman in
swift flash of sweetness that she would
like to shed her blood for this unknown,
her dear long-dead. She smiled at the
thought but as she answered:
"Why, dare say the trouble with my
eyes is merely matter of over-driving.
One doesn't violate Natures laws withA
out paying the penalty"
Nor the laws of man, either" he
supplemented, nervously.
"The laws of man? Deliver me. Give
me rather the Comedy of Errors for a
CODE" She spoke lightly. He was plain
Iy ratified, but then nothing short of
brass itself could force an interview on
Christmas eve without being bit ems
! barrassed. Her words, however, seemed
to have helped the man to better grip.
1.-THE law does make an occasional
mistake" he said, gravely.
Il should say" she retorted dryly.
"Convicts hundreds of men yearly for
crimes they never dreamed of commit
ting"
The man leaned forward and held his
hand to the fire. as though conscious Of
sudden chilliness.
Reminds me Of discussion / over
heard on the car coming up. Seems that
the crime was committed several years
ago, but there is still doubt as to
whether it really was a crime"
ooh, there is generally doubt, don't
you know? Plenty of innocent men die
on the gallows."
He took no notice of the comment.
But it was a peculiar case. 1t seems
| that the accused himself said frankly
| that he didn't know whether he had
killed his friend, or whether his friend
had done the shooting. 1t was Christ
mas eve; they had been out calling to-
gether-you know what that means p
egg nogg every few minutes. When they
came home to their rooms, l suppose
| they put some finishing touches to the
| situation. At any rate, it wasn't long
before one of the men was dead with a
bullet hole in his heart and-well, the
| other fellow was sent up for number Of
years"
Twenty" she cut in, laconically, and
added, with a thrill of triumph in her
tone: "But he died within a week. I"
Then, as in the sharp effort for self-con-
troll. her mind returned to the dreary
monotone of the evening:
Gust as we'll he died, I imagine. No
doubt living a life in prison is good
deal like heaping up silver as dust
eyes," he admitted, deliberately; sit
is rather that way"
"Have you tried it?"
"Oh, yes; l knew Gilmore for years
He didn't die. He paid pretty penny
to get that rumor started from strong
| source"
"Why!"
Some one on the outside, I fancy,
! whom he thought would be happier if
she thought him dead; happier and
freer. And"
He has been in prison all these long,
wretched years-and l never knew"
A sob caught fiercely at her voice and
the man started joyously to his feet
We'll" he said, slowly, che is not in
prison now. He has been pardoned
| for"
LAUREL"
| When the midnight chimes rang out
i in welcome to the merry morn the man
spoke softly with his cheek against her
| hair:
"Just think, dear, Il you had not come
| out on the porch 1 would be hundred
| miles from shore. We would have gone
on till death heaping up silver as dust"
Hear the bellsi" she said, happily,
&ho1- hou5