The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1906-12-01
66eRisk She Took
toriginal.l

1
Miss Brereton was a very excellent
type of the new woman. ! say an ex-
cellent type, for Miss Brereton was
simply educated and energetic with
out being mannish.
Miss Brereton, who was an orphan
and possessed Of means In her own
right. having been graduated at col
Iege. concluded to complete her edu-
cation by seeing something OF the
world one day she returned to New
York and had under her protection
young Indian woman dressed IN the
costume she had worn in her native
land. The woman attracted a great
deal of attention. and the immigration
commissioners asked many questions,
none of which Miss Brereton answer
ed for her charge except that she
would guarantee that the woman
should not become care to the Amer
lean people. Since this promise fui-
flled the law there was nothing 10
be done but pass the Indian Every
body believed there was story ID
the case. and there was. 1t Is this:
In a little seaport town in India OPP
posite house in which Miss Brereton
was living a man died. When Miss
Brereton learned that he was an old
man and had left young wife. who.
according to the custom Of the country.
was expected to immediate herseif on
her husbands funeral pyre, all the an
taponism of an advanced American wo-
nan living in the foremost hles OF
time" rose up against this tragic In
iustice done to one of her sex. she
stool at her window watching the
preparations In the house opposite. her
wrath boiling and bubbling.
From this excited condition she grad
ually curbed herself. Then she gath
cred her wits, and instead Of putting
her neck In halter openly put 1t there
:. with a cunning she had never suspected
q possible In herself She sent for an
Indian costume, put 1t on and, bronz-
ing her face and hands, went across tne
< street and asked to be permitted to
dress the hair Of the widow for the
sacrifice. Contrary to her expectation
;. she had no trouble In gaining access
and found young girl Of twenty sit
- ting with her hands folded. picture Of
dependency.
n How Miss Brereton made herself
= known to the young widow, how SIT
al found bits of opportunity to give ne
plan and persuade her to adopt u
would make very long story. Tn
nj widow had hope in 1t for herself. bu
none for her preserver. At last Mis-
Brereton carried her point and tina
x night visited the widow again. Nea
Iss midnight the first part Of the plan wa
carried out. The widow as Miss Brer'
&C. ton went to Miss Brereton's apar
is ments; Miss Brereton remained TO :
w. sacrificed.
Miss Brereton had made provision
which might or might not be success
" full. for her safety. She had sent
statement Of what she had done to q
XXI American consul. When the cons
opened and read her communication
made an ejaculation that shook Z
whole house. Erratic as he knew
the countrymen to be he had no IDEA I'd
-, one of them would be so idiotic as
rush thus into death. especially dea
by fire.
what does the lunatic expect
'ro- to DOR he howled. and. getting up frs
tch his chair. he thrust his hands In
the rockets and thrashed the floor with
strides back and forth.
rict Now. there would be no story In {
the case without bit of luck. Miss Bre
l to ton would have gone to the funeral p,
the and been burned. whether she declal
herself or not, and the fact might n
u. or have been known But this was
to be. She was to live to browbeat
Immigration commissioners at \
.pppe York. . While the consul was tear
inn about in his office, looking out on
long harbor in which were two Chin
and junks and French merchantman,
utu- saw on the horizon a man-of-war.
aan, ting his glass, he brought 1t to bis
AZ and there, fluttering at the peak,
rluh the stars and stripes.
w.l While the vessel was coming !
him. procession was forming to take
Brereton to be burned with ano
! and woman's dead husband. Miss Br
Z ala ton. who kept her face well cow
uhsei and remained In the dark as faI
.. possible, knowing what was tai
: orr place and hearing nothing from
,had- consul, began to feel that she had
by all en- a risk which as ner en'nus'
club. cooled and she neared a martyrs
o the was appalling. She had not rea
that a man representing what she
sym, sidered the greatest Of nations s.
ssr =. handed was powerless to prevent
~, 49," III eral thousand people who had
Him welded for centuries to their Gus
from carrying them out In her cas-
these When the chief men OF tne Tow
ne rec tered. led her out. placed her In
ted in tion In the line and she began to