The Muskogee cimeter. [volume] (Muskogee, Indian Territory, Okla.) 1901-19??, 1909-04-09
woman who wrote 1t Ter away at

woman who wrote II hr away at
home.
The night before the Starr.Snell
nuptials Miss Smell did what all other
girls would have done religiously
burned all those fantastic. extravagant
letters the Boy had written her. II
was rather peculiar that she found the
rCd-stained letter which had been the
! Boys death-warrant and his last let
ter 10 her from Honolulu lying to-
gethcr In her bureau drawer. apart
| from all the others. heapcd carelcssly
In compartment of her escritoire.
Sho did not remember putting them
away among her laccs and her bon.
bonnicrcs, but there ,ncy were. so she
took them over TO the fire a little
glngerly and tossed them after their
fellows into che dancing flames.
Then she sat down and watched
them curl and crlnkle in the eager.
tapping flame, till the draught caught
/ the featheTy black ashes ard carried
/ them up the scoty chimney nue. Spec.
ulaton on Mss Snell's thoughts at
/ this time is, | think, entirely problem.
atlcal
Popular fancy has It that Just be
/ fore death and just before marriage
ones thoughts grow rapt--abstructed,
/ and the faces Of old loves and the
/ faces of old friends come to look in Oh
| one as they knew one in bygone days.
/ So II is reasonable to suppose that as
/ Miss Smell languidly reposed in the
/ glow Of her bedroom hearth, among
! the faces that chased one another
/ across her mental vision was the hag
| gard, appealing face OF the Boy this.
| however, Is not given us to know.
/ The wedding on the following noon
/ WAS an event of social importance
| the crowds and the music, and the
! flowers, and even the six charming
| Vatican shepherdesses with ribboncd
! crooks. who were the bridesmaids, do
not concern us here. In fact. my
friend. Mrs. Starr's physician. tells
me that all have written so far Is
! rather incidental and almost super.
/ iiuous. He quite refuses to acknowl-
edge the connection between the past
events of Mrs. Starr's life and what
happened later. Our premises are so
| radically divergent that with him It
/ could not be otherwise. But let 1t be
| plain there is no question at all about
what is to follow.
Hardly had the couple returned from
their wedding journey. when Starr
called on the doctor and told him "he
was worried about the health of his
| wife. Mrs Starr" he said. was in an
unaccountably nervous and hysterical
condition, and was growing more wan
and hollow.eyed as each day went
! by. The man of medicine went and
looked at her, found that this was
true. prescribed the usual remedies
| and continued TO visit her occasional
| ly: but he did not learn the cause OF
her trouble till some time had ex-
| PRED and. when he did learn, II was
from Mrs. Stars own lips that part
of 1t came. Starr himself not only
corroboratirg In general all size said,
but adding a great deal more.
The first evening of their honey.
moon, when unpacking her things,
Mrs. Starr was rather unnerved to
find. all covered up among the dainty
feminine belongings In the tray OF
her trunk, the two identical love let.
| ter5 that she had watched burn to a
| crisp and fly up the black chimney
Hue. UneNplninable as their presence
was, she could only put 1t down TO a
, mistaken impression on her part, and
She made certain to destroy them this
time beyond question Or doubt. lnto
Il eas jet she hastily thrust them, and
n second time she watched the fame
creep over the unwClcome letters
turning them into two charro2 black
Curlg which fell in broken flakes on
the floor, ana there were ground into
,mpuipablc dust by two angry little
heels. That this was not witnessed
by her husband is alclost unnecessary
10 add.
when Mrs. Starr found the very
samo letters In the very same place
day or so after, thrill of alarm
chilled her through and lhvaugh. VIII
siCkcning dread she tore them into ;
hund'nl Fragments, and throw then
] A' NIlNliA hN' bl itI NlI'bN lNtb llt
hurlyhUrly ct a winter storm.
Although she became positively q
from he scare at the supernatural rc
appearance OF the letters, she cid 10
, til her husband about tho matter
but, womanike, tried TO pray hcrsel
Into belief that IL was only a mis-
take after ala mere common or
dinary everyday mistake. And thi
was wrong,
/, IN short time the couple rcuynC,
4 10 tho city, and Mrs. Stars condition
, so alarmed her husband that H. caua.
Z On her physician she kept the caus
r az her trouble entirely secret. but how
p often she found ana destroyed thos
two mysterious letters daring this tim
, e. not known, Physically she nridl,
, grew worse, though her husbaa,
, showCrcd on her a wealth of loy,n.
=. care and attention, For peace of min,
;, and her happiness were fast bccouln,
= utterly destroyed.