Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1911-10-18
Their Secret
By EDWARD TURNER
Copyright BY American Press Asso-
citation. 1911.

citation, 191l,
!. being clergyman, was called
upon last summer to marry 4 boat
man about City years Of age to a wo.
man Of thirty-tlve. The man was a
bachelor. the woman a widow with a
son about sixteen years old
Are you the second husbandY'
asked the groom after the ceremony.
I'm the second or the third, I'm not
sure which," he replied. a panied ex-
preston passing over his face. ask
ed him to explain, but he seemed re-
luctant to do 80. l was about to turn
away from him when he said:
you're a clergyman and a good
man to confess to. II. you'll keep the
secret III tell you"
do as you please about telling me.
II You intrust me with the secret I
shall certainly keep It"
when l was about az old a. my
wife II now" he began, she was q
thin slip Of girl. all arms and legs.
like colt But she was purity, all the
same, and soon after that filed out.
There was mighty soft spot In my
heart for her. But I, hein' a man Of
thirty and she a striplin' Of fifteen. !
wouldn't "a said anything about It for
the biggest ship that floats. watch
cd her grow up. thinkin' that when,
she got older might muster up cour-
age to ask her to marry me. But to
a young gal like that there's a heap
Of love maxim before she's even TWEEN
V.
Her father had Teller picked out
for her. His name was Pillsbury-
Jack Pillsbury-a mighty good young
man. He was first mate Of tramp.
and every time he came in from .
cruise he brought home lot Of mon
ey to invest. But there was another
Teller the little gal wanted. and he
wanted her. But Maggie-that's her
name-was mighty fond Of her father
and was bent on dom what he want
ed her to do She shipped Jim Hol-
den, the Teller she loved, and married
Jack Pillsbury.
Jack he kept on goin' to sea. and
SO did Jim. Jim was awful cut up
at losin' Maggie and wouldn't marry
any other gal. She was well satisfied
with Jack and always looked for him
| to come back from his cruises. But
after awhile he went on cruise that
he didn't come back from. He was
due in a year, but three years passed
and he didn't show up.
After awhile. when it looked as II
Jack must be dead-the ship he sailed
in was never heard from-Jim Holden
began to poster Maggie to marry him.
She held out for a long while. but at
last give In. They were married. sand
the boy you saw Just now come along.
| Jack and Maggie didn't have any chill
dren. Maggie was happy with Jim,
except that she was always worryin'
about not KNOWN whether she didn't
have two husbands. You see, she
didn't know positive whether Jack was
dead, and II he wasn't she was living
with q man that she warn't married
to and the boy was Hlegtimate.
| All this time l was dom friendly
things for the woman. she not know
in anything about how really felt
toward her She give me her con-
fidence and told me what troubled
her. One day after storm a lot o
wreckage come in with several dead
bodies. was out In my boat and saw
Maggie beckonin' to me from the
beach. went in to where she was
and saw that she was standin' by q
body. She was the wretchedest look
ing woman ever saw.
Its jack" she said.
True enough, there was Jack come
back dead.
/ took in the situation at once.
maggie" I said. there's Just one
way to keep you from bein' known
as a woman who has lived with man
who. wasn't her legal husband and
your boy from KNOWN he's illegiu-
mate. Don't you say a word about
this. I'll take the body out in my
boat and give 1t q sea burial"
II think It was sparing her boy pain
and disgrace that decided her. At any
rate. she consented put the body
into my boat, took 1t out into deep wa
ter, tied my anchor to the ankles and
hoisted 1t overheard. No one saw me,
and II any one had I don't reckon It
would have made any difference. for It
wasn't everybody about there that
would have remembered Jack anyway.
maggie was good deal cut up about
the matter, not knowing whether she
had done right in saying nothing to her
husband. You see. 1t made a horrible
secret between her and him that was
always on her mind. relieved her a.
woJI a. I c0uh nv reminding her that,