Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1905-08-04

The very day he had discovered the
unfaithfulness of his wife, Feodor Feo-
dorevitch Sigajeff went TO Schmuck d
Co.'S, dealers in firearms. and was now
busily engaged in selecting a revolver.
His face expressed anger, hatred and
grim determination.
Il Know what l nave to do he said
to himself. The honor of my family
has been dragged through the mire and
1T is my solemn duty as a man and as
a Russian to take revenge for this in
suit. First l shall kill her, then her
lover and hen myself"
He had not yet selected a revolver
nor killed anybody, but in his magma
ton he saw already three bloody bod
les, scattered brains, a crowd Of peo-
pie, sensation and autopsy. With de-
light he pictured to himself the sorrow
OF the family, the death struggle Of the
u~nfaithful wife and the Ions articles
In the newspapers.
The salesman, a little Frenchman
with tight trousers and white vest.
spread out before him a number OF re-
volvers.
IF you will take my advice, Gospo-
din Sigajeff, you will buy this Amer
lean revolver, the most ideal OF weap-
ons. Its penetrating power is enor-
NOUS. and you can hit the bullseye at
a distance of sixty PAGES. 1t is the
most up to date of all systems and we
sell daily dozens of them to be used
against burglars. wolves and lovers
1T kills both lover and wife at once,
and f~orspeople who think of committing
suicide, / tell you. monsieur, 1t can
not be beaten"
And the salesman cooked 1t and
pulled the trigger. blew into the bar
rel and made a face which was meant
to express the greatest delight. Look
ing at him, n should have thought
that he had no greater desire than to
SEND a bullet through his w brain
with this excellent weapon.
And how much IS it?" asked Siga-
jeff.
"~Forty-fve rubles, Gaspodin Siga-
jeff"
HUI! That is rather too much"
Then with your permission l shall
recommend o another system. Please
have a look at this one. 1t is a Ger
man make n costs only eighteen
irubles, but-and here he made a ges-
ture of contempt-it is out of date.
1t is only bought by the lower classes
of people and not by gentlemen like
yourself. To commit suicide or to kill
ones wife with a German gun Is de-
icidedly mauvais ton. Society recog-
nizes only first class weapons"
Nothing Is further from my mind
IAtloIA ~ Vi "a a
body" replied Sigajeff abruptly. Il
want the revolver because / am going
away to the country and want 1t for
protection against burglars"
ut does not In any way concern us,
monsieur. for what purpose you want
the gum" replied the salesman. with a
modest smile and downcast eyes. IF
we demanded every customers reason
FOR buying a revolver we might as well
close the store. But to use against bur-
glars, Gospodin Sigajeff, a German pis-
toll is absolutely nc good. 1t makes
no noise whatever, and o had better
buy a duelling pistol"
Ought |, then, challenge him.
thought Sigajeff. but no, that would
be doing him too great an honor. The
scoundrel deserves to be shot down like
a mad dog. When / come to think 1t
over, l will kill only him and myself,
and let my wife be tortured to deSth
by her guilty conscience. To q ner-
vous creature like her that will be far
worse tina death"
And now he saw before his mind his
own funeral. He saw himself, the in
suited husband, in the coffin, q quiet
smile on his face and his widow in
vain trying TO get away from tire con-
temptuous gaze of the crowd.
But ! am sure, monsieur, hat after
all you like the American pistol the
best; all connoiSSeurS do, n if the
price is too high l will let you have ii
for five roubles less. But we have
many other makes which are cheaper"
and he spread out before him another
dozen of revolvers.
Here for instance is a revolver
which costs only thirty roubles. 1t
is very cheap when you consider how
the value of government paper money
has gone down and the high duty. /
assure you, monsieur, / am a conserya-
tive man, but even I begin to growl.
1t has really come to his that only
"a capitalist can afford TO buy a decent
gun, the middle classes must be sat-
bsfied with the domestic make and those
Iguns made at Tuiu are worse than I'M
reliable. A mar tries to shoot his wife
land hits himself in the elbow"
Slgajeff began to feel pity for him
self: IT even appeared to him another
insult hat he should be dead and not
be allowed to witness the remorse of
his wife. Revenge is sweet only when
you are able to see II and enjoy II, but
what sense is there IN lying in a grave
and know nothing?
Perhaps l will do this" ne thought.
Il viii shoot him and then / will go
&c his funeral, and then after the fu-
neral / Will shoot myself-but no. / will,
Of course, be arrested before the flu
neral. And still why should I not let
myself be arrested, there will always
he time enough to commit suicide. In
thai way l shall even have a chance
10 lay bare before the audience ut the
while IL I kill myself that deceitful
woman viii lie herself out of the whole
affair and people will laugh at me-
sBut. why the deuce should / Kill INV