Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-09-29

. the clock and all the girls who come
to see me will know at once and
and"
They didn't speak once during din
ner; After dinner Bob went out and
took q long walk. 1T was late when
he returned, and Kitty sat on her rug
crying but he didn't seem to see her.
He saw the cat, however, and he took
her up on his knee and smoothed
her down and warned her that mar
riage was q failure and that she must
never try 1t. A husband might slave
and economize and half starve and
lug rugs around. and at the end he
would find an ungrateful wife. He
had hoped that his case might be
different, but had been bitterly dis
appointed, and Of course separation
or divorce must follow.
Next morning he went OF to the
Office for the first time without the
usual kiss and pat. He was a martyr.
He knew he was, and his fellow
clerks said he looked just like one.
One OF them went as far as to say
that II he was martyr he would
commit suicide.
This gave the husband an idea. AT
night when he went home there was
no wife to greet him-no table set
no aroma of coffee and fried chicken.
AT the rear end OF the yard there
were two shade trees. Looking out
Of the dining room window he saw o
noosed rope dangling from the limb OF
one of them, and on the ground
under 1t sat his wife. She was also a
martyr. She was also getting ready
to 60 hence.
Mr.. Anderson placed the bottle Of
carbolic In the middle Of the unset
table, tipped over a chair with q
crash and then went off to restau-
rant to get som ething to eat. He had
been gone ten minutes when the wife
came slyly in and found the bottle.
He must have looked out and seen
the hangman,s rope and her sitting
beneath 1t. He must have realized
that she intended to hang herself as
soon as dusk came, so that the neigh.
bors shouldn't see her kicking, but
he hadn't come out to say a word!
No! He had sneaked off to give her
full swing. He was glad that she
was to choke herself to death. Now
she must surely go through with It.
She went back and sat down and
shed more tears and babe the world
adieu. and the evening came down.
She was wondering, how bad 1T would
seem when voice sounded near and
q voice hoarsely said:
Yes, l must die! This carbolic
acid will do the business. OF what
use to liye when my wife says l
don't know tapestry rug from a
five frame body Brussels"
Il die by the rope!' announced
Kitty, with sob in her throat. Il
had saved and saved and saved, and
wanted to surprise Bob with q new
parlor rug, but-he-he-went and
bought one himself and then jawed
me! He will find my dead body
swinging here and and
"She shouldn't have called 1t an
old tapestry rug!" broke in the
other voice.
"He should have known tapestry
from a five frame"
4.They say that carhohct acid gives
one excrnciating pains, and that It
is hours before the end comes,
but" Il
1T must hurt any ones neck aw-
fully to hang, but as am an I'M
loved wife" .
And then the billy goat who was
prowling through the alley found the
hole in the fence and entered the
yard. He saw two human forms un-
der the trees. Human beings had
stoned and dubbed and scorned him.
They had written jokes on him for
the newspapers; they had thrown old
cans out for him to feed on; they had
set dogs on him. He boiled over at
the recollection, and down went his
head and he charged.
"Oh, Bob, what is IT." asked Kitty
as she got through rolling over and
over.
cts that blamed goat, dear!"
j And then they laughed and kissed
and pulled the rope down and threw
the bottle away, and though 1t was q
late dinner, it was joyous one, and
they even sold the tapestry rug to q
next day for all 1t cost.