The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1908-07-07
a Decision
OF Fate.

) OF Fate.
%[OrtginaL]
ut is useless for you to press me.
Kenneth; cannot be your wife,
"Why not3'
Mother. l cannot leave her alone.
Old age is coming upon her: she would
suffer untold misery"
"She can live with u.s."
Kenneth. do you know what would
b In store for us-foF you-undef such
circumstances?"
"What7"
"You don't know women. Mother has
been head Of her house all her life.
She would regulate ours"
II don't mind who keeps house,"
II do-that Is, II l have one of my
own. | prefer to keep It myself. But
there are other considerations. Moth
er requires a very high temperature.
You, ! know. like a cool house. When
you came home to a hot one you would
throw open all the doors and windows.
Mother would retire to her room and
stay there all the evening. She would
wish to have me with her. l would
remain with you. She would call me.
I would say: NO, mother; you have
had me with you ali day. MY husband
needs me now To which she would
reply: i shall not live the night
through. Goodby. l die Of cruelty
Then you would say: Go to her. To-
morrow we shall be free I would 60,
but we would not be free tomorrow
or the next day or the next"
you e that IN time she would
be free; we would do che dying
mo; we would drag out q miserable
existence"
''The picture interests ne. Go on"
'Then occasionally we would have a
little misunderstanding" !,
Never"
Eyes. we would. All married people
do. Mother would be aware Of 1t. She
would take my part and would treat
you like a criminal. That would make
you furious, and we would be forever
making up. Then she would be con-
tfnuously discovering that you had no
respect for the shardships l was endur-
ing. She would consider you a model
Of selfishness and treat as such"
"Any more OF it?'
YES; you would soon lose your equa-
nimity and treat her harshly. That
would stab me to the quick and would,
only irritate her the more against YOU
go on"
Occasionally we would wish to go
out to a theater or to visit our friends.
Mother would make such a fuss about
being left alone that we would have
to give up such pleasures. Then you
might wish to go on a journey and
take me with you. I couldn't leave
mother. Then you would begin to
curse and to swear and wish her at
the bottom of a bottomless pit or in
the hottest Of a fiery furnace. It would.
be terrible"
There was a long pause. Presently
he said, but with a faint heart:
II love you SO well, sweetheart, that
/ would rather stand all this than give
you up"
She wavered and at last said:
Let fate decide for us. Do you see
those two volumes in the library in
red morocco? Well, tomorrow morn
ing when you come downstairs there
Will be a Yes in one volume and q NO
in the other. Choose one. We will
abide by the result Of your choice"
For the rest Of the day he thought
hard. That night when all were III
bed he slipped downstairs In his stock
ing feet and went to the library. He
opened volume n and found q EYES,"
volume two and found also q
Yes" Rubbing out both, he wrote a
NO for each. put them In and stole
upstairs to bed.
The next morning when he heard her
her room he left his, and they
went downstairs together. He went to
the library, hesitated long between the
two volumes, lifted his eyes as IL In
silent prayer, then took out volume
opened II, read the word "No' and
sank limp in a chair. Then, with q
moan, he rushed from the house.
There were complications for 4 few
days.
Then he wrote Mother, on d slip
Of paper and Kenneth on another.
placing one In each Of the red moroc.
co volumes. The next morning she
was to draw as he had drawn. He did
not slip downstairs that night to make
both Kenneth" Indeed, he feared
that II Kenneth" were drawn It would
mean both Kenneth" and Mother"
combination he especially wished to
avoid. But IS the clock struck the !
midnight hour there was a silken
tread on the stairs. A white figure de. |
scended and, going to the library, took
out the slip on which Mother was
written and wrote 'Kenneth" Ia its
stead.
Fate has decided in your favor,
she said after drawing, and
he held her in his arms. "But il all
does not turn out as well as you ex-
pect you mustn't blame me-"
There was an interval Of ten years.
"Will the old fiend live forever"
Nov. Kenneth, l will not hear you
call poor mother an old aend. I told
you when you persisted just what you
had to expect. You were willing to
leave 1t to fate"
"But ! wanted to steal a march on
Fate"