The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1905-12-26


Alice-life went almost as badly with
them. Alice, with her superintendent
intelligence and vitality, grew to feel
as the months went by that her sturdy
and commonplace husband did not I'M
derstand her. She appreciated his
sterling worth and his unyielding re-
haplllty, but she could always touch
bottom-there was no depth to explore.
Tier uncomfortable vitality rebelled at
tne hard-and-fast bounds she found in
MS character. She adored his manly
physlognomy and his sturdy character
and she told herself again and again
that he was the sort of man to tie to
one OF the salt of the earth; but her
unquenchable spirit rebelled at bounds
ana rules, and 1t got so she fairly hated
ngures, facts and reason. She longed
Tor lights into the mystic realm of
ldeallty, into those realms where vital
forces could override rules and meth
DDS
wen, you can zee for yourself that
John could not understand anything
OF that sort. Honest conscientious
STERLING John could move only along
the lines of his own understanding
And he resented, In a. manly and hon
est way the breach Alice had placed
between them. He had disregarded
no obligation, no duty, no sacrifice. He
had been altogether unselfish and
faithful, and somehow he had not sue
ceeded in welding his life with that OF
his wife. His hopes, his ideals had
been shattered.
Now, mind you all this time while
these thoughts and ideas had been
pereolatlng through the minds of these
TOUR simpletons, they had, all of them,
peen constant companions and friends.
so It was that the artistic mind of
clarence began to appreciate the
depths and wealth of the nature of
Ailce-contrasting it to the narrow
ness and poverty of that of Gracia.
And by that same token Alice nwo,e
one DAY all of a culver with an appre-
cation OF the tremendous sweep of the
nature of Clarence along the lines of
her own aspirations.
II was dangerous discovery, and as
1t came to these two people it nearly
fioored them.
The harder they fought the more
tense the new situation grew. 10.
the soul of each the commonplace
qualities of wife and husband grew
more oppressive as they realized in
each other the joys Of perfect apprecia-
ton and perfect fellowship The
end was certain as the multiple
cation table, and finally they gave up
the struggle for conventionality anu
honor and resolved to shattor their
vows and t,s,eir regulations, to give up
kindred, t~---o4...cs and home and
wreck the structure they had been
building since childhood and flee to
an unknown country, there to begin
new life in which their mutual love
would be ample compensation for all
they left
Brave in their resolution, but guilty
In the consciousness of the great
wrong they were doing their loyal con-
sorts, the two slipped into a close
carriage on the evening of the 10th
of June, 1899, and were driven rapidly
to the depot, where they boarded
train bound for New York, there to
sail for European shores, where they
had planned to begin their new life.
In the meantime both John Bedwell
and Gracia Cole had felt the WIDEN
ing breach in their respective homes.
although neither had the slightest sus-
picion of the state of affairs between
Clarence Cole and Alice BedweH. Be
ing thrown together much, Gracia be-
gan to take new delight in the So
ciety of the sturdy John Bedwell. She
could understand his mental attitude.
his plain, everyday talk, his natural
human methods, whereas Clarence's
high-strung, artistic impulses and
localities oppressed and bewildered
her. And John, disappointed and puz-
zled at his failure to understand Alice
and weld his life with hers, and resent
ing the attitude of inferiority she
placed him in. looked with new eyes
upon Gracia and realized her surpass-
ing beauty. And as he talked more
and more to her and found that she
understood so thoroughly his thoughts |
and aspirations, his heart warmed |
toward her Finally he awakened wlth
a start to the realization that he loved
her and that his love for Alice was
dead. And presently she found her
own heart had gone out to John. So /
when the fires OF the new love had at
tanned fever heat both were more ready
to obey their impulses than the others,
for they had not the condescending |
pity-rather a sting of injured pride.
John methodically wound up his bust
ness affairs and looked up new loca-
tion where he could reestablish him
self safely, and 1t came to pass that on
the evening OF June 49, 1899, he en-
tered a close carriage with Gracia and
they were driven rapidly to the depot, /
where they boarded a train bound for
San Francisco. there to take steamer
for Australia.
The two trains stood on the same
track. the engines heading in opposite
directions. Both left at exactly Ii
o'clock. Shortly before that hour the
two couples, who had left the same de-
pot on their wedding journeys only
two short years before. and who were