Gilpin observer., 1911-04-06
In the wallet-and taking the other.
she stepped out into the night.

cllmDeQ INTO the early mall train al
Bursbro, and in two hours she was in
Buffalo. Then on again, without a
break. to Cleveland. In two days she
had answered an advertisement and
secured employment as servant to .
suburban family.
1t was late when the Brute awoke
and struggled to his feet. cursing his
wife for not having called him. He
stumbled out into the kitchen and
noted. with rising rage. the disorder
of the night before-the uncleared ta-
ble-an overturned chair-the unlight-
ed fire. Then his eye fell upon the
red stain in the floor.
Gone to those id Watson's
again!" he growled viciously, as he re-
membered her refuge on previous sim
liar occasions. "Ill teach her afore
night cuss her!"
But before night, Mr.. Schofield was
under arrest and in Bursbro Jail, on
charge Of numbering his wife. Her
disappearance and his known abuse Of
her led to quick suspicion, and
search of the premises easily revealed
INC hOOi anu anu
the damning hatcher In time. the
grand jury sustained the charge and
he was held for trial at the next ses.
sion-to be held two or three months
later.
An exhaustive search for the body
of his wife revealed nothing. With
the sharper instinct of woman, she
had evaded detection as effectively as
the most experienced criminal could
have done.
So the Brute, in the seclusion of his
cell, sobered off. AS his mind cleared
and his hot blood cooled, perhaps his
thoughts ran more on his wife's fate
than on his own jeopardy. In his
dreams and in his waking moments.
he felt an ever-increasing dread of
hearing of her-fearing the worst
He grew strangely apathetic about
himself, and when. week before his
trial, word was brought to him that
he was free man-that his wife had
made known her existence and where
abouts. he walked from the Jail with
out comment-went to his farm and
picked up the thread of his life. alone
and soon unnoticed.
Over in Cleveland the suburban
family were congratulating them
selves on the cheerful. never-failing
industry-the quiet thoughtful deft-
ness of their servant Often they won
dered at the tincture Of sadness which
seemed to overshadow her: and won
by their sympathetic kindness. she
had told her story.
Then came sickness-severe, but
not lasting-and after that a letter
from Kitty. her bosom friend. With
what delight she tore 1t open! How
hungry she was for news from her old
friends and neighbors-perhaps also,
she was hungry for news of him.
One paragraph of the letter read:
He (you know who I mean) is back
work. He has sold the cows. so he
never comes to the village with milk,
and he keeps out of sight when any
one goes along the road. SO you see.
Molly dear, l can't tell you much Of
anything about him-and you don't
care. l guess!"
Then as she read big. pearly tear
drop rolled down the pretty cheek.
and splashed out the don't care"
Presently came another letter from
Kitty, plentifully embellished, as
usual. with parentheses and quotation
marks. and with a paragraph which
brought more tears and long period
of gazing at nothing.
Bob (the goose still comes to see
mel says that he calls in to see Jim
(your Jim, l nean) whenever he
passes the farm. (you know they used
to be great chums before). He says
that Jim seems sad and talks very
little. But he works like a Trojan!
(whatever that Isl and he hasn't
drank anything since they took him to
Bursbro."
A week later the little wife alight-
ed from the stage which journeyed
between Bursbro and Dentons Cor
ners. Much to the drivers surprise.
she had insisted upon getting off a
quarter of a mile before reaching
the Schofield farm.
1t was after dark. but she trudged
along the well known road. carrying
her bundle, while the stage disap-
peared in the gloom. When she came
In sight of the house. there was a
light In the kitchen. but around the
dooryard all was quiet and deserted.
She crept to the corner window and
peeped beneath the shade. She noted
the CHEEKY fire in the well-cleaned
stove. and the tidiness Of the room
By the table sat the man-her Jim
holding big needle up before the
lamp; and the tears welled In her
eyes and a great sob choked her. as
she saw the big hand clumsily 1ab-
bing a thread at the eye.
Climbing softly onto the porch, she
lifted the latch and stood before him.
The man stood up, amazed and doubt.
ing. He stretched out his arms ap-
lAl