Monroe City Democrat. (Monroe City, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1907-08-22


half turned her face until her eyes
gazed into Bob's with a sweet, child
ish perplexity. looked at her, sur
prise6 that one whom I had always
iseen so intelligently masterful should
bo passive in the face of such an
guish. Then, horror of horrors! /
saw that there was something missing
from her great blue eyes. looked;
gasped. Could 1t possibly be? With
a bound l was at her side. gazed
again into those eyes which that
morning had been all that was intel
ligent, all that was godlike, all that
was human. Their soul, their life
was gone. Beulah Sands was a dead
woman; not dead in body, but in
soul; the magic spark had fed. She
was but an empty shell-a woman Of
living flesh and blood; but the cita-
del of life was empty, the mind
was gone. What had been a woman
was but a child. / passed my hand
across my now damp forehead.
closed my eyes and opened them
again. Bob's figure. with clasped, up
lifted hands, and bursting eyes, was
still there. There still resounded
through the room the awful cultural
groans. Beulah Sands smiled, the
smile Of an infant in the cradle. She
took one beautiful hand from the pa
per and passed 1t over Bob's bronGed
cheek, just as the infant touches its
mothers face with its chubby fingers.
In my horror almost expected to hear
the purling of babe. My eyes in their
perplexity must have wandered from
her face, for suddenly became aware
of a great black headline spread
across the top of the paper that she
had been reading:
"FRlDAY, THE 18Th"
And beneath in one of the col
umns:
TERRIBLE TRAGEDY IN VIZ GINIA"
1.-THE Most Prominent Citizen of the
State, ex-unlted States Senator and
Ex-Governor, Judge Lee Sands Of
Sands Landing, While Temporarily
Insane from the Loss of His For
tune and Millions of the Funds for
Which He Was Trustee, Cut the
Throat Of His Invalid Wife, His
Daughters, and Then His Own. All
Three Died instantly"
In another column:
"Robert BROMLEY Creates the Most
Disastrous Panic in the History Of
Wall Street and Spreads Wreck and
Ruin Throughout the Country"
A hideous picture scared its every
light and shade on my mind, through
my heart, into all my soul. A fren.
zied-finance harvest scene with its
CORY crop; in the center one living
dead, part of the picture, yet the
! ghost left to haunt the painters, one
of whom was already covering before
the black and bloody canvas.
Well did the world-artist who wrote
over the door of the madhouse: Man
can suffer only to the limit, then he
shall know peace" understand the
wondrous wisdom Of his God. Beu
lab Sands had gone beyond her limit
and was at peace.
The awful groaning stopped, and an
ashen pallor spread over Bob Brown
! ley's face. Before l could catch him
he rolled backward upon the floor as
dead. Bob BROMLEY, too, had gone
beyond his limit. l bent over him
and lifted his head, while the sweet
woman-child knelt and covered his
face with kisses, calling In a voice
like that of tiny girl speaking to heI
! doll: bob, my Bob, wake up, wake
up; your Beulah wants you" As
| placed my hand upon Bob's heart and
felt its beats grow stronger, as
! listened to Beulah Sands childish
voice, joyishly confident as it called
upon the one thing left of her ole
world, some of my terror passed. In
its place came great mellowing
sense of Gods marvellous wisdom
thought gratefully of my moth
er's always ready argument that the
law of laws, of Gods and nature, is
that Of compensation. l had allowed
Bob's head to sink until it rested in
Beulah's lap, and from his calm'Nnt
steady breathing l could see that he
had safely passed a crisis, that al
least he was not in the clutches Of
death. as / had at first feared.
Bob slept Beulah Sands ceased heI
calling and with a smile raised hel
fingers to her lips and softly said;
Hush, my BOb's asleep" Together
we held vigil over our sleeping Lover
and friend, she with the happiness Of
a child who had no fear Of the swak
eninE. with = silent tsrrOg q what