The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1905-07-20
HARTLEY's uAND CLOSED.

shall thank you for coming in person in
response to my note concerning Mrs
Hartley's letter of Instructions Shall
send the bronze to you?"
ION second thought" said Caldwell, 81
believe l will not take it. / care very
little for it. and-that is, you may make
whatever disposition of it you please"
The Wretchedness of the speech struck
Hartley. Had the man cared anything
for Elise, after all? If he had not, then
not for the world should he have the
bronze.
But Caldwclrs eyes were on the little
jar. His mind swung back to the old
days in Rome, Elise by his side Again
he was bartering with the shopkeeper for
the jar, saw the little aperture where poi
son was said to have been once concealed,
and in that aperture he had crushed his
wild declaration Of love.
NO" he said Il will take it," and
placed his hand on it.
But HartIcy's hand closed over his hot
ly. For a moment the men looked fiercely
into each others eyes.
'ENse!" Hartleys lips murmured mute
ly; ''Elise!" And his fingers relaxed.
Caldwell caught up the bronze.
q hope" he said, your usual trip
abroad will hold its usual distractions.
And he was gone, leaving Hartley in his
chair his gaze fastened on the spot where
the bronze had rested.
His face was white and drawn. His
fingers tightly clutched the arms Of the
chair
''Elise!" he murmured; "Elise!'
Caldwell went along the streets in wild
est humor. He had been to the man Elise
had chosen in his stead. He had his
revenge. Elises husband had never cared
for her, and she had been a woman who
craved love.
He tossed the bronze from hand TO hand
He would further humiliate her memory
He would give the silly jar to some be-
sotted passerby, some humble, poverty
stricken soul who would at once dispose
Of the thing for a few cents with which
to buy liquid warmth and wealth But
he reached the club before doing SO. He
got into an untenanted alcove in the read
ing room and set the jar before him on
the table. Only little while ago! And
this was the end! Oh, those days in
Rome! Those days in Rome
And what fool I was!" He took up
the bronze.
How did old Ananias say was the way
to get at the secret?"
He fingered the base of the jar
Loss is common" he laughed. "'Nev-
er morning wore to evening but some
heart did break"
And old Nicholson He would write at
once, declining the consular appointment.
See, here was the almost imperceptible
threadlike groove in the bottom of the
jar! You ran your finger nail lightly
round it till you heard a faint click
Could 1t be possible the old dago had
told the truth and that this thing had
been a poison jar?
Poison! Love was a poison, insidious,
deadly.
He heard a faint click The base of the
bronze in his hand slowly revolved till it
hinged round and showed the interior of
the false bottom.
He gasped. A paper folded and folded
till 1t was an inch square lay there He
dared not touch it,
He trembled from head to foot. Elise's
voice was in his ears. He saw her face
Suddenly he reached and drew out the
paper. He cried out and tore at it and
spread it open.
1t was his old declaration of love.
He gazed at 1t for a moment; then
S"ushed it to his heart
Had she never found it-never guessed
at 1T?
No, she had never discovered the secret
Of the Jar. Hartley had come with his
specious wealth. her mother was anxious
for the match, Elise had thought she was
the sport of the poorer man-she had
trIS sured this little bronze, the one GIFT
he had ever offered her. She never knew
she had loved him, she had loved him
And. oh, to reclaim himself for sake of
her love and hist For she loved him. she
loved him, she loved him!
And he, too, murmured her name:
"Eliser'