The Democratic advocate., 1909-04-23
Ole
Other Girl.
Rv r A. RFAfl

copypAyhted, 1909, by Associated
Literary Press.

+ 0yVVVVvVVVVvVVVVVVVVVVVVVs
To an sheir friends there seemed to
be sonetising essentially ineongruous
IN the kAea Of their marriage. Friends.
OF couSse. as is well known, have the
right - decide those things.
Grace @rmiston was New Eng.
lbnd eAa Of an old Boston family,
who kney her Emerson by heart It
was e~ea reported that she knew
what Rsbrrt Browning meant when
be wrote.
4 setesas and setebos and Setebos.
Jim Garrison had been born and
scared en- a big Kentucky plantation,
and he had obtained his education In
that sckod which not only believes
but vows that gentleman's education
q complate when he has been taught
sto ride. 10 shoot and to speak the
truth"
Yet ther marriage had turned out q
happy one, for with all Jim's igno-
Hanse OF books he was a gentleman.
every inch Of the stalwart length of
bin. Hke did feel a bit oppressed,
though at times when his clever and
learned wife let him slide out of the
conversation" as he expressed It, and
showed BY her manner that she knew
Y was over his head and that she ex-
cused him In sympathetic kindness
The truth was that Jim would have
been quite bit the better for II IL he
had possessed more Of share Of that
of which most men have too much
concelt
Poor Jim didn't have bit, and he
used to rub his handsome head rue
fully and with very genuine sorrow at
the harassing thought that he was not
good enough for his brilliant beauty Of
a wife and that she must feel some
degree of shame for him when she was
surrounded by the wise and learned
people who called on them contin
ually.
When they had been married a little
more than year a telegram came for
Jim while he was absent In Kentucky
looking over some Of his land. Mrs.
Garrison hesitated before she opened
the yellow envelope, for she was not
q woman who believed In letting her
curiosity get the better OF her, al.
though she had her fun share of that
delightful instinct Of her breeding.
However. she finally decided that
she should open the telegram to see II
It was important enough to forward to
Jim. Surely every one win forgive
that. Women ought TO be curious. IT'S
part Of their charm. Think Of what
the world would be without woman.s
delicious curiosltyi
The message was short But few as
the words were they were sufficient to
cause something very much like her.
little worlG tumbling dianstrousiy
down around the pretty cars Of Mrs
Garrison. The telegram was dated
from village on Long Island and
said:
The Girl is dying Come at once
1t was signed jack Harrington
Grace recognized this name as that Of
one Of her husbands friends Of whom
she had often heard him speak, but
whom she had never met.
Grace was not naturally jealous
woman that IL, nothing more than 70
say that she was not any more Jealous
than IS any good, true. warm souled
woman. Shc tried 70 remain uususpi
cious; but, ay MS she would. she could
find but one Interpretation for the
message.
Her faith in Jim was too absolute to
believe that "the girl" referred 20
could be ber rival since their mar.
riage. She never gave place in her
mind for one moment to any idea that
her Jim was capable Of the shameful,
disgusting treachery such a surrnise
would presuppose.
But she could not help but sec that
this girl had some old claim on jim
and the thought Of such n claim on tho
man whom she loved so passlonately
was sufficient to drive her nearly fran
tic.
She perceived that the sender Of the
telegram had taken IL for granted that
Jim would not hesitate to "come at
once" And then She reeolleeted with q
keen sense that gave her new pain
now that Iiin always had spoken shy
~ and hesitatingly about Harrington
and had eyaded all her attempts 70
induce him 10 invite this friend OF his
early days 70 their home.
Her feeling was one OF total desola.
tion. She moaned Mt the thought there
could be anywhere In the world
woman with such claim upon her
Jim that he must go to her deathbed
Mrs. Garrison realized now and all at
once how deeply and helplessly she
loved her handsome husband and how
empty ali her world Of knowledge and
art would seem to her II that love
were destroyed
AT last, however, she began to think
Of the unknown girl who lay dying.
With a mighty effort she put aside her
own grief and telegraphed to her hus-
band:
Mr. Jim Garrison, Phenix Hotel. Lexing-
ton. Ky.
Come home Immediately A matter Of
life and death. GRACE
She could not bear to telegraph to
uiin tuht the E1fl WIS uglhE. 10 re-
fer to her in such way was repug-
nant to every instinct, and she was in
total ignorance Of the girls name.
Before noon she received the ex-
pected reply It read;
Leave a noon. Arrive tomorrow noon.
Grace Garrison, having forced her
self to sacrifice her own emotions and
her own wounded love and anguished
pride, was not the woman to shrink
from making the sacrifice complete
and deep however her feet might
bleed on the weary way.