The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1908-06-09
A Decision
~. OF Fate.

kenneth; cannot De your wire.
"Why not?"
Mother. | 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
be in store for us-for you-under such
circumstances"
"What?"
"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."
81 do--that is, If have one of my
own. prefer to keep it myself. But
there are other considerations. Moth
| er requires 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
lstay there all the evening. She would /
wish to have me with her. l would
remain with you. She would call me. |
l would say: No, mother; you have
had me with you all day. My husband
needs me now,' TO which she would
reply: Il shall not live the night
through. Goodby. die of cruelty
Then you would say: Go to her. To-
morrow we shall be free i would go, |
but we would not be free tomorrow |
or the next day or the next"
"You mean that in time she would |
be free; we would do the dying"
mo; we would drag out miserable
existence"
1.-The picture interests me. Go on"
"Then occasionally we would have a
little misunderstanding"
Never
ayes, we would. All married people
do Mother would be aware of it. She
would take my part and would treat
you like criminal. That would make
you furious. and we would be forever
making up. Then she would be con-
tinuously discovering that you had no
respect for the hardships l was endur-
ing. She would consider you a model
n of selfishness and treat as SUCH"
Y 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 u fuss about
1t being left alone that we would have
lie to give up such pleasures. Then you
% might wish to go on journey and
a take me with you. | couldn't leave
J., mother. Then you would begin to
= curse and to swear and wish her at
\ the bottom of bottomless pit or in
n the hottest of fiery furnace, 1t would
re be terrible"
p, There was a long pause. Presently
j. 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
n red morocco? Well, tomorrow morn
\ ing when you come downstairs there
n will be Yes in one volume and a No
ID in the other Choose one. We will
abide by the result of your choice"
no hard. That night when all were il
I'd bed he slipped downstairs in his stock
" ing feet and went to the library. III,
Vi opened volume one and found Eyes,
then volume two and found also
: YES" Rubbing out both, he wrote
y. NO for each, put them in and sto
upstairs to bed.
no The next morning when he heard he
leave her room he left his, and the.
went downstairs together He went t
He the library, hesitated long between tn
ne two volumes. lifted his eyes as If II
OF silent prayer, then took out volum
to two, opened it, read the word mo" an
ng sank limp in chair. Then, with
IN moan. he rushed from the house
OF There were complications for a fe,
vn. days.
he Then he wrote Mother" on a sill
Ssh of paper and Kenneth" on another
on placing one in each of the red morot
len co volumes. The next morning sh
was TO draw as he had drawn He di
it'll not slip downstairs that night to max
en- both Kenneth" Indeed, he feare
er. that If Kenneth were drawn it woul
r?'1 mean both Kenneth" and Mother
on, a combination he especially wished I
lin avoid But as the clock struck til
midnight hour there was a silke
tread on the stairs. A white figure d
scended and. going to the library. toe
.rt- out the slip on which Mother" ws
ing written and wrote Kenneth" in i
A. stead
ar Fate has decided in your favo
a Kenneth" she said after drawing, an
inc he held her in his arms But If q
her does not turn out as we'll as you e.
,ne pect you mustn't blame me-"
, it There was an interval of ten years.
the WIN tne ola nehd i've forever
Aro "NOw. Kenneth. / will not hear W