The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1907-08-08

Yes, ma'am. It all begun out there
leastways it begun before that with
me. It was all my fault. deserve all
that's comm to me, I guess. l done
wrong! I done wrong! I'd oughtn't
never to Of went out there yesterday"
She checked herself sharply, but
after a moments pause continued, en-
couraged by the grave kindness Of
the delicate face in the shadow Of the
wide white hat. II oughtn't to Of
went" she repeated ooh, I reckon
I'll never, never learn enough to keep
out O trouble, even when I see it
comm! But that gentleman friend of
m1ne-Mr. Nashville Cory's his name
he kind O. coaxed me into it, and he's
right comical when he's with ladies,
and he's good company, and he says.
'Claudine, We'll dance the light fan
tastic,' he says, and kind O. wanted
something cheerful. I'd ben worl1in'
steady quite spell, and it c,ked Ike
he wanted to show me good time, so
I went, and that's what started it,
Row that she had begun she babbled
on with her story, at times incoherent-
~, full of excuses made to herself
more than to Ariel, pitifully endeavor-
Ing to convince herself that the re-
sponsibility for the middle she had
made was not hers. "Mr. Cory told
me my husband was drinkin' and
wouldn't know about it, and, Besides
he says, whats the odds?' or course
I knowed there was trouble between
him and Mr.. Fear-that's my husband
"a good while ago, when Mr.. Fear up
and laid him out. That was before me
and Mr.. Fear got married; I hadn't
even ben to Canaan then; I was on
the. stage. I was on the stage quite
awhile in Chicago before I got &C.
quainted with my husband"
"You were on the stage?" Ariel ex-
claimed involuntarily.
'fYes, ma'am-livin' pitchers at Cold
berg's rat'skeller, and amunchoor
nights I nearly always done a sketch
with gentleman friend That's the
way met Mr.. Fear. He seemed to be
real struck with me right away, and
soon as I got through my turn he asst
me to order whatever I wanted. He's
always genlemanlike when he amt
had too much, and even then he vurry,
vurry seldom acks rough unless he's
Jealous. That was the trouble yes
terday. I never would of gone to the
Beach if I'd dreamed what was CON-
In! When we got there I saw Mike
that the gentleman that runs the
Beach-lookin' at my company and me
kind of anxious, and pretty soon he
got me away from Mr. Cory and told
me what's what Seems this Cory
only wanted me to go with him to
make my husband mad, and he'd took
good care that Mr.. Fear heard I'd be
there with him. An he'd ben hangin'
around me every time he struck town
Jest to make Mr.. Fear mad-the fresh
thing! You see, he wanted to make
my husband start something again,
this Mr.. Cory did, and he was fixed
for it,
II don't understand" said Ariel.
tits this way: If Mr.. Fear attacked
Mr.. Cory, why, Mr.. Cory could shoot
him down and claim self defense. You
see, it would be easy for Mr.. Cory, be-
cause Mr.: Fear nearly killed him when
they had their first trouble, and that
would give Mr.. Cory a good excuse to
shoot If Mr.. Fear jest only pushed him.
That's the way it is with the law. Mr..
Cory could wipe out their old score and
git off scot Free"
"Surely not!'
eyes, ma'am, that's the way it would
be. And when Mike told me that Mr..
Cory had got me out there Jest to pro-
woke my husband went straight up to
him and begun to give him a piece of
my mind. didn't talk loud, because I
never was one to make a disturbance
and start trouble the way some do,
and right while I was talkin' we both
see my husband pass the window. Mr..
Cory give kind Of yelling laugh and
put his arm round me jest as Mr.. Fear
come in the door. And then it all hap
pened so quick that you could hardly
tell what was goin' on. Mr.. Fear. we
found afterward, had promised Mr..
Louden that he wouldn't come out
there, but he took too much-you could
see that by the look Of him-and fer
got his promise forgot everything but
me and Cory, guess.
'He come right up to us, where I was
tryin' to git away from Cory's arm-it
was the left one he had around me and
the other behind his back-and neither
Of 'em said a word. Cory kept on
laughin' loud as he could, and Mr.. Fear
struck him in the mouth. He's little.
but he can hit awful hard, and Mr..
Cory let out screech, and see his
gun go off right in Mr. Fears face, I
thought, but it wasn't. It only scorch-
ed him. Most Of the other gentlemen
had run, but Mike made a dive and
managed to knock the gun to one side
jest barely in time. Then Mike and
three or four others that come out
from behind things separated 'em, both