Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1907-06-01

II Was from Boston, from Betty.
hope that ! do not deceive myself In
thinking ! was honest there. More
truth, perhaps, than you guess"
She looked shrewdly at me-and
She laughed queerly. and struck the
guessed" said she. "Nobody's ever SO
blind as he let's others think It's
funny, isn't it? There are things in
your mind that you'd never tell me,
and things in my mind that I'd never
tell you And each of us guesses most
OF them, without ever letting on"
She laughed queerly. and struck the
horse smartly so that he leaped into
a gait at which conversation was inn
possible
When we resumed, the subject was
the details of our wedding.
At home again. | found my mother
too i'll to leave her bed She had
been i'll before-many times when she
wouldn't confess it, several times
when she was forced to admit 1t, but
never before so III that she could not
dress and come down stairs, Il shall
be up tomorrow" she assured me,
and almost believed her. She drew
a letter from under her pillow. This
came while you were away" she went
on. ~ kept IL here, because" a look
of shame fitted across her face. and
then her eyes were steady and proud
again-"why should l be ashamed OF
it? | had the impulse to. destroy the
letter. and I'm not sure but that I'm
failing in my duty
I took it-yes, it was from Boston.
from Betty. | opened it and FORUM
ately had nerved myself against show
ing myself TO my mother. There was
neither beginning nor end, just
single sentence:
From the bottom Of my broken
heart | am thankful that | have been
spared the horror OF discovering l
had bound myself for life to a coward"
The shot went straight to the cen
ter OF the target But There lay
my mother-did she not have the right
to determine my destiny-she who
had given me my life and her own?
| tore up Betty's letter, and | looked
at mother and said: There's nothing
in that to make me waver-or regret"
It was the only lie ever told her
told it well. thank God. for she was
convinced. and the look in her face
repaid me a thousandfold. II repays
me once more as | write.
Carlotta and | were married at her
bedside. and she lived only until the
next day but one. When the doctor
told me OF the long concealed mortal
disease that was the cause of her go
ing, he ended with: And, Mr.. Sayler,
1t passes belief that she managed to
keep alive for five years. | can't I'M
derstand it," But | understood. She
simply refused TO go until she felt that
her mission was accomplished.
We must never forget hers said
Carlotta, trying to console me by
grieving with me.
did not answer-how could | ex-
plain? Never forget her! On the
contrary, | knew that | must forget.
and that | must work and grow and
so heal the wound and cover its scar.
! lost not day in beginning
To those few succeeding months
owe the power | have had all these
years to concentrate my mind upon
whatever I will to think about: for
in those months | fought the fight
dared not lose-fought it and won.
Let those who have never loved talk
of remembering the dead.
I turned away from her grave with
the resolve that my first act of power
would be TO stamp out Dominick But
for him she would not have gone for
many year. II was his prosecutions
that involved us In the miseries which
wasted her and made her fall a victim
to the mortal disease. 1t was his
malignity that poisoned her last years.
which. but for him. would have been
happy.
AS my plans for busting Dunkirk
took shape, / saw clearly that, IL he
were to be overtbrown at once must
use part OF the existing control of the
machine OF the party--it would take
several years. at least three. to build
up an entirely new control To work
quickly, | must use Croffut Dunkirks
colleague in the senate And Croffut
was the creature of Dominick.
Early in September Woodruff came
to me, at Fredonia, his manner iubi-
liant Il can get Dominick," he ex-
claimed He is furious against Dun
kirk because he's Just discovered that
Dunkirk cheated him out of 100000
on that perpetual street railway fran
chise last winter"
said l.