The San Angelo press. (San Angelo, Tex.) 1897-1907, 1905-04-27

You know that You can tell as no one
else can how held back and asked for
time and still for time, thus gr'eving
you and tearing my own breast. till
day came-you remember the day when
you found me laughing like mad wo.
man in a circle of astonished friends2
You drew me aside and said words
which hardly waited for you to finish,
| for at last was free to love you. free
to love and free to say 80. The morn.
ing paper had brought news. A tele.
graphic dispatch from Seattle told how
a man had struggled into Nome, frozen.
bleeding and without accouterments or
companion. 1t was with difficulty he
/ had kept his feet and turned in at the
| FIRST tent he came to- Indeed, he had
only time to speak his name before he
fell dead. This name was what made
this dispatch important to me. 1t was
William Pfeiffer. For me there was
but one William Pfeiffer in the Klon.
dike-my husband-and he was dead
That was why you found me laughing.
But not In mirth. am not so bad as
that. But because | could breathe
|
my throat. | did not know till then
how nearly had been sthed
The week OF our marriage came
was mad with gayety and ecstatic with
hope. Nothing had occurred to mar
my prospects. But God had his eve
upon me and in the midst Of my happi.
ness and the hurry OF our final prepa.
rntlons his bolt fell. It struck me while
| was ut the-don't laugh; rather shud.
der-at the dressmaker's shop in Four.
teenth street. was leaning over n tn.
BILE, chattering like maybe over the
way | wanted a gown trimmed, when
my eye fell on scrap of newspaper
In which something had come rolled TO
madame. II was torn Mt the edge, but
on the bit lying under my eyes I saw
my husbands name. William Pfelffer
and that the paper was n Denver one
There was but one William Pfeiffer in
Denver-and he was my husband. And
| read-feeling nothing. Then | read
again, and the world, my world, went
from under my feet, for the man who
had fallen dead In the camp Mt Nome
was Wallace, Williams brother, and
not William himself. William had
been left behind on the road by his
more energetic brother, who had push
ed on for succor through the worst
storm and under the worst conditions
possible even in that God forsalsen re.
gion. With the lost one in mind, the
one word that Wallace uttered I'm sight
of rescue was william. 1t was Wallace
who had fallen dead, and while William
might have persisted also, and doubtless
had, had no certainty OF II. And my
wedding day was set for Thursday.
why didn't tell Cora? Why didn't
| tell you? Pride held my tongue; be-
sides, had had time to think before
saw either of you, and to reason bit
and feel sure that If Wallace had been
spent enough to fall dead on reaching
the camp, William could never have
survived on the open road for Wal
lace was the stronger of the two and
the most hardy every way. Free
certainly was. Some later paper would
assure me of this. But for three nights
| did not sleep,
THE caprice which had led me to
choose the old Moore house to be mar
ried In led me to plan dressing there
on my wedding morning. 1t was early
when we started, Cora and l. for
Waverley avenue, but not too early
for the approaches to that dreadful
house to be crowded with people. eager
to see the daring bride. Why should
have shrunk so from that crowd can.
not say. trembled at sight of their
! faces and at the sound of their voices,
and II by chance head was thrust
forward farther than the rest | cow
cred back instinctively and nearly
screamed. Did dread to recognize u
too familiar face? The paper | had
seen bore a date six months back. A
man could arrive here from Alaska in
that time. Or was my conscience
aroused at last and clamoring to be
heard when it was too late! On the
corner of street the carriage sudden.
y stopped man had crossed in
front Of IT, caught one glimpse Of
this man and instantly the terrors of a
lifetime were concentrated into one in
slant of agonizing fear 1t was William
Pfeiffer. knew the look; knew the
gait He was gone In moment and
the carriage rolled on. But knew my
doom as well that minute as | did an
hour later, My husband was alive and
he was here.
you were waiting at the curb when
| arrived, and | remember how my
heart stood still when you laid your
hand on the carriage door and con
fronted me with that light on your
face l had never seen disturbed since
we first pledged ourselves to marry. In
terror | seized the hand which seemed
my one refuge in this hour OF mortal
trouble, and FASTENED into the house
which for all its doleful history had
never received within its doors a heart
more burdened or rebellious, | pressed
your hand with mine and smiled. oh
God! If you could have seen what lay
beneath that smile For with my
entrance beneath those fatal doors q
thought had come. | remembered my
heritage. remembered how had beer
told by my father when | was a very
little girl presume when he first
felt the hand of death upon him-that