The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-04-18


what am I2''
"My mistress, " said the man bluntly,
throwing the last shred of conceal
mcnt and decency to the winds. "and
damned obstTeperous one at that be
went on.
Providence, but n trick got from her
ancestry wrung the words from her
lips.
'"My God! Ny Godl" she whispered
!fYou haven + any, sneered the man.
''fou told me so YOURSELF He laugh:
ed. And I believed you. + would
have believed anything to get you
realized, but she would be her own
god. Her body shrank together a lit
tie, her hands clenched. The feline
was uppermost. She could have sprung
upon him, but she waited waited for
she knew not what.
''Whom the gods Destroy ran the
ancient phrase, "they first make mad. -
He rushed to his doom with blind
folly.
''You ncedn t be jealous Of her, my
dear he mumbled on. ~ used to
think I loved her and we were mar
ried, damned foolishness, as you might
say. She can't hold candle to you,
if you are little touched he tapped
his forehead impudently-Hin the up.
per story
And this man, this degraded thing,
regarded her as a mad woman. There
might be no God, but there was devil
and he stood before her. There might
be no heaven, but there was hell and
she was III it.
son second thoughts, he rambled
on. 81 couldn't introduce you to her.
You aren't t respectable and sho is. >"
He stopped and poured himself an
! other drink.
" Respectable. he laughed. "To hell
with .respcctability. We know n bet
ter thing than that! 'Soul to soul, heart
TO heart. the union of equals without
| the trammcls of conventional bonds
for weaker beings Yes, that's what
YOU said.
And she recognized with horror that
he was quoting her own words,
"Bnt 1t doesn Z go, you see 1t s
all very well in theory, but it docsn It
work out in practice. The worlds got
some ideas of It's own. It's been hold
ing 'cm for Il good many thousands of
| years and YOU can t change them. You
! belong 10 me now. To hell with your
equality, You arc nothing more or less
than my property and mark YOU" he
reached out n trembling finger and
shook it at her, "your salvation Is
with me IL [ cast you off, YOU 60 into
the gutter
She wondered vaguely how much
moro of this she could stand and live.
''But don't be afraid,' he went on
with drunken attempt at reassur-
ance, "you are too fine and too hand
some, even if you are cracked, for
that-yet. I'm glad to see you We come
| to Your senses
He rose heavily as he spoke and felt
hs way around the table hand over
hand. He approached her. She let
linn do it. She shrank little closer
| together, every muscle tense for action.
She was no longer woman; she was
Il human tigress apd her philosophy
was gone. He was too drunk to see
it. too incapacitated to take warning.
''That's right be continued as he
| mrched nearer to her. 'EStay right there,
m coming to YOU as fast as / can and
when I get close TO you, WI kiss,
| and
He was by her side now. lie
Strengthened himself up with spas
modic effort. released his hold on the
table and stretched out his arms to-
ward her. And then she sprang at
! MIN. How she did it, she coulG ncsGr
arms grasping for his throat, struck
him in the breast. Unsteady on his
feet, he went down IS if he had been
shot. Such was the violence of his fall
that the momentum carried her With
him She fell upon him with all her
force His head went back and struck
the deck with frightful crash. She
herself was almost stunned ny the vio'
lcnce of her own fall, altho IGN MS
body broke il.
She arose and stood over him for q
minute and then she lifted her foot aud
brought it down upon him. He had
said She was mad woman and il was
true, She was crazcd by what she had
heard. by the horror of the situation
She had not changed her dress for din
ner that afternoon. Shc was wearing
pair of light boating shoes. 1t wa:
lucky for him. If she had worn even
ing slippers with high, rigid heels she
would have mashed his face bcyoIt
recognition. AS it was, she left horn
bic marks upon it. He lay absolutely
motionless She could see that he was
still breathing and was not dead. II
She had had weapon, she mia hit have
her rage, The wretched philosopher
AS no resistance came from MN, she
presently stopped, the feminine In hel
slowly rising to the fore.
She realized now that the irrevoca
bic had happened; that there was nc
longer room for two of them on thai
ship. As the mists OF passion cleared
AWAY. altUOuSH ING hiS VI AhSy s''i
burned in her heart, her mind cleared
also She thought with such rapldity
as she had never thought before.
First she picked up cloak, threw
il about her and went on deck. 4
cabin attendant was standing at th'
comnanionway, as was always the case
waiting a possible summons, She tol'
him that his master was III and dlt
not desire to he disturbed, Ho aid no
even want the dinucr things cleared
away He wanted t" be TSa left s.5,rs7 ssTTs6
smiled slightly, she thought, in th'
light iilpi from E the cabin skyigbt. She no
ticed that it was moonless night
cloudy, overcast, for she could sec NJ
stars. She knew what that smile
meant; that the man realized wha
sort of sickness his owner and maste
was liable 10. She badc him tell tn,
officer of the deck her message an'
then dismissed HIM,
Thon she returned to the cabin an'
carefully locked the door, She glance
l,x