Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1909-05-26
treme edge of the village. aScluster
of red-roofed houses separated sSr3by.


treme edge of the village, aScluster
of red-roofed houses; separated SEby
narrow, insanitary streets, crowded
upon the black mud Of the, shore.
Here they bsgan5their work. The
missionary who had preceded them
had left; some weeks .before..s-hIs.
health having broken down, and
there was much to- be done. The
dispensary was thrown open.. and
Lyall busted himself In reaching the
souls of Ills charges through their
bodies. Edith did what she could
with the women and children. But
the work was slow. ),
The sense of isolation weighed her
down. She felt that she could not
have. supported 1t save for new hope
that she began to whisper to herself
"a hope delicious, bue as yet too
uncertain to be spoken aloud even
to her husband. About him she
now began to be greatly ts9.bles.
While at WORK he vas quietly happy.
But, at other times he would stare
about the rooms with, aapained ex-
preston. as though the lost memory
were struggling against the bars of its
prison, striving to return and to take
up It's proper abode. One evening
she found him tapping at the wall.
When questioned, he muttered some
thing about setting the barometer.
But there was no barometer there;
and from that moment she formed
the incredible suspicion that he was
not living with her, but in past
wherein she had no part-in which
she but served to remind him Of one
who had been his wife, but who was
now with the dead.
The thought pierced her keenly.
but she fought against 1t, hoping for
better times with the birth of her
child. Surely that would reknit the
bond of affection that had bound
them together. Yet every day his
fits of abstraction became longer, his
manner more strange. He spent hours
cleaning and polishing his revolver.
He merely shook his head when she
asked him the reason. Day by day
she became more and more filed
with the conviction that the story OF
her life was to end in tragedy. But
she was no fatalist, and she fought
hard against the feeling. She told
herself that she had SO much to- live
for. She. determined to live. She
resolved that when the next junk
called she would send message to
Chungking, asking for relief and a
leave of absence for her husband.
One night she awoke from the
sleeping mattress that served her for
bed to find him absent from her
side. She sat up and looked about
her. Beyond the window the night
was calm and the moonlight streamed
upon the floor, lighting the further
room through the open door. In
that room, their living room, she
could see the figure Of her husband
going to and fro with stealthy foot
steps, peering through the chinks OF
the shuttered windows and drawing
back again with nervous haste In
quick alarm she rose and went to
him. At her touch. he turned and
gripped her wrist fast, his eyes aI1ght
with insanity.
.'They are coming! They are COM
ingi" he wispered- II hear them
whispering all about. They will be
upon us SOON"
Dearest" she cried, anxiouslyr
there lis nothing-no one. The
night is calm. There isn't a sound. "
Listen he said sharply, releas-
ing her wrist and lifting up his hand.
In the silence that followed she
strained her ears to- hear what he
spoke of, but in vain Not even the
gentlest murmur Of the wind broke
the peace of the night But his face
was distorted with terror. He cast
his eyes upward and shrieked aloud.
"The smoke! The smoke!" he
cried. Look at it curling up there.
They have fired the house. They are
devils-cruel devils with yellow
faces! Lucy, we must part. You
must not fall into their hands alive. "
She felt pang at bis words She
had never heard the name Of his first
wife before. But she had little time
to think A revolver cleaned in his
hand, ard he forced her upon he1
knees.
John! John dear!" she cried IN
utter terror. There is nothing. AL
4, is qufet!"
The sharp sound of the shot shat
tered the silence. She pitched for
ward without groan. She lay very
still. little tgickle of blood gather
ing in pool upon the floor. Out
side in the night the unhappy maj
raced madly along, firing at imagin
AIRY foes, shouting and clutching a
the air. The wheel had come full
circle. He had passed back through
years of forgetfulness to the poin
where memory had been lost.-In'
Sketch.