The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1906-12-14

+St4Stts4 X
They had been married exactly six
months; Nell was reminding her hus-
band Of the fact as she walked down
to the garden gate with him.
"Six months to-day, George, and we
have never had the tiniest bit OF
quarrel yet"
'.No, dearie, not even the tiniest bit
of a quarrel" George echoed. DO you
remember the compact we made at
first? When some one was chatting
about family jars, we decided never to
have one at all? Hasn't 1t worked
splendidly!"
Splendidly!" and Nell gave her hus-
bands arm an affectionate little
squeeze by way Of leave-taking; ana
then she stood at the gate till a bend
in the road hid him from view.
She sang a merry snatch of song as
she came up the garden path again.
The morning sunshine fell lovingly on
the tiny house and the small patch Oh
ground which they glorifed by the
name garden, and Nell was tempted
to linger among the pansies, till the
thought of the pile Of unwashed break
fast dishes sent her indoors with
sigh.
Whilst tidying up she bethought
herself that the special occasion war
ranted something special by the way
of dinner, and she went Off in search
of her favorite cookery-book.
It was missing from its accustomed
place, and she was just beginning to
feel little irritated by the fruitless
search when she recollected that
George had been rearranging the
shelves Of the bookcase, and it was
just possible that he had put the
volume away unthinkingly.
All here it was, repcsing snugly be-
tween a fat Encyclopaedia" and
smiled to herself as she slipped it from
the shelf, and she stopped to pick up
a piece of paper which had fluttered to
the foor-evidently from the shelf,
too.
She was crumpling it up in her hand
preparatory to putting it in the
stove, when she noticed her husbands
handwriting on it, Almost uncon-
sciously she smoothed out the sheea
and read it:
My Dearest Alice: viii you please
pardon the presumption which bids
me lift my pen again I know that
your pure womanly soul will shrink
from anything like disloyalty Or du-
plicity, but pray you to have patience
with me awhile, ere I try to show you
that l am not wholly to blame for the
hateful tangle which has ruined our
lives. God knows, darling, that have
been the victim of cruel circumstances,
and l dare scarcely dwell on the mad
dening thought that never, till death
comes to either one of us, shall the
CALLING chain be broken. 1t is cruel
now to talk of the might have been.
Oh, Alice!-
And here the writing ceased.
Nell stood on the stair, looking be-
fore her with wide, unseeing eyes.
George, her George, to have penned
this infamous epistle"!
She read it again, and the passion
ate words burned themselves into her
brain and sang dizzily in her ears.
1t was incredulous, preposterous,
she told herself, and yet here was the
proof before her eyes, true and tangi-
BILE, in Georges own beautiful writing
She sank down on the stairs, limp
heap of detection That she had not
been the first the only one, after all
that was the thought that hurt most.
Everything else seemed to fade before
this overwhelming possibility even the
knowledge that her husband had
broken faith with her; for Nell had
loved deeply and passionately, and the
hot, fierce jealousy with which such
love is said to be seasoned was sting
ing her now with cruel intensity.
Trifing things which she had
scarcely seemed to notice came to her
now full Of startling moment She
persuaded herself that Of late George
had grown strangely mysterious in his
doings.
Once or twice she had surprised
him busily writing when she had ex-