The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1908-10-03

Upstairs Frances Cable was battling
with herself in supreme despair. Con
fession was on her lips a dozen times,
but courage failed her. When she
heard his footsteps in the hallway she
was ready to cry out the truth to him
and end the suspense. As he opened
the door to enter the spirit of fairness
turned frail and fled before the appeal
of procrastination. wait, wait, wait!
cried the powerful weakness in her
heart. and it conquered. She could not
tell him then. Tomorrow-the next
day, yes, but not then. 1t was too
much to demand Of herself, after all.
He came in, but left a few minutes
later. She was strangely u%nresponsive
to his tender inquiries. Her thoughts
were of another was his quick conclu-
sion as he fed from her presence be-
fore the harsh accusations could break
from his eyes.
In his den once more, with the door
closed. he gave himself up completely
to black thoughts. He recalled his
words to her, uttered years ago, half in
Jest and half in earnest He had hor-
rlfied her beyond expression by telling
her how he would punish a wife if he
were the husband she deceived. With
a grim, lurid smile he remembered the
penalty. He had said he would not
kill; he would dlsfgure the woman
frightfully and permit her to live as a
moral avamnla TO nthnr mivae He
now felt less brutal. He might kill,
but he would not d~isfigure. For an
hour he sat and wondered what had
been the feelings of his old friend
George Drlscoll just before he dellb-
erately slew his faithless wife. He
remembered saying to other friends al
the time that Driscoll had done
right"
This night Of black shadows-he die
/ not sleep at all-was really the begin
ming Of the end. He forgot the presi
dency that was to be handed out t
him. He forgot everything but TIN
horrid canker that gnawed into hi
| heart and brain.
Day and night he writhed in silen
e agony, a prey to the savage jealous
5 that grew and grew until it absorbe
S all other emotions. Scandal, divorce
dlshonor. murder, swept before th
s mind Of this man who had been of til
t people and who could not condon'
e The people kill.
For a week he waited and watche
S and suffered. What he knew Of me
d told him that they do not devote then
n selves to the wives of others with hol
v orable motives behind them. He col
It WINGED himself that he knew the worll
o he had seen so much of 1t. The ma
IS aged years in that single week
e jealousy and suspense. His face WEI
haggard; his eyes took on a stranl
CLEAN; his manner was that Of a ms
Z in grave trouble.
- Day after day this piteous, frenZit
man who swayed thousands with h
y hand stopped to deal with the smalle
y movements Of one man and n W
man. Despite his most intense desi
to drive himself into other and high
; channels, he found himself skulkir
and spying and conniying with but OF
low end in view.
He employed every acute n
the effort to justify his suspicion
(, Time and again he went home at u
usual hours, fearing all the while tn
H. he might incur the pain of finding Ba
+ sener there. He even visited the mi
in his Office. always rejoicing in t
fact that he found him there at t
time. He watched the mail in t
morning; he planned to go out
no nights and then hurried home dell
i. erately, but unexpectedly. Through
no all he said no word to Frances Cal
~ or Jane. He asked no questions, b
he was being beaten down by app
tensions all the while.
His wife's manner convinced b
that all was not well with her. S
"a avoided being alone with him, keep
close to her room. He detected a hi
bred pretexts by which she manag
4 TO escape his simplest advances.
10 At last, overwrought by the stra
he began to resort to cunning-tl
man who was big enough to have &c
10 from the engine cab to the presiden
IN office. 1t required hours Of strugI
with his fairer. nobler nature to brl
"a himself low enough to do tricke
~ but the natal influence mastered.
ii, despised himself for the trick, but
&c would know the truth.
The late afternoon mail one q
brought to Mrs. Gable a brief lett
"a typewriter both inside and out.
vid Cable saw her open and read
missive, and he saw her trembll
hand go to her throat and then to
~ temple. Her back was toward b
He could not see her face until
turned, a full minute later. Then
was calm and u~ndistuvbed, but
eyes were brilliant. He ground
= teeth and tore upstairs without
~ word. David Gable had stopped ]
enough to write this letter, and
~ was paying for II.
He knew the contents far better Il
she knew them. The letter purpor
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