Devils Lake weekly world. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1911-1914, 1911-11-10
Their Secret
By EDWARD TURNER
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

I, being a clergyman, was called
upon last summer to marry g boat.
man about fifty years Of age to wo-
man of thirty-ive. The man was a
the woman widow with
son about sixteen years old.
care you the second husband?"
asked the groom after the ceremony.
"I'm the second or the third, I'm not
sure which," he replied, panied e1
preston passing over his face. I ask
ed him to explain, but he seemed re-
luctant to do so. l was about to turn
away from him when he said:
"You're clergyman and good
man to confess to. II you'll keep the
secret III tell you"
do as you please about telling me.
If you intrust me with the secret I
shall certainly keep it."
"When I was about as old as my
wife is now" he began, "she was a
thin slip of a girl, all arms and legs,
like colt. But she was purity, all the
same, and soon after that filled out.
There was mighty soft spot in my
heart for her. But I, be;n' man of
thirty and she striplin' of fifteen, J
wouldn't "a said anything about it for
the biggest ship that floats. l watch
ed her grow up, thinkin' that when
she got older l might muster up cour-
age to ask her to marry me. But to
young gal like that there's heap
of love maxim before she's even twen-
ty.
"Her father had Teller picked out
for her. His name was Pillsbury-
Jack Pittsburgh mighty good young
man. He was first mate of a 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 N1aggie-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 we'll satisfied
with Jack and always looked for him
to come back from his cruises. But
! after awhile he went on a cruise that
he didn't come back from. He was
due in year, but three years passed
and he didn't show up.
After awhile, when it looked as if
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, and
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 if he wasn't she was living
with man that she warn't married
to and the boy was illegitimate.
All this time was dom friendly
things for the woman, she not know
in anything about how I really fel
toward her. She give me her con
fidence and told me what troubled
her. One day after storm lot O
wreckage come in with several deat
bodies. l was out in my boat and saw
Maggie beckonin' to me from tn
beach. I went in to where she wa
and saw that she was standin' by {
body. She was the wretchedest look
ing woman ever saw.
'It's jack" she said.
True enough, there was Jack COM
back dead. ..@
! took in the situation at once
Maggie said, there's just on,
way to keep you from bein' know
as woman who has lived with maj
who wasn't her legal husband ant
your boy from KNOWN he's illegiti
mate. Don't you say word abou
this. I'll take the body out in m!
boat and give it a sea burial"
: II think 1t was sparing her boy pail
: and disgrace that decided her. At an,
rate, she consented. put the bod
into my boat, took It out into deep wa
, ter, tied my anchor to the ankles AM
hoisted it overheard. No one saw me
and If any one had I don't reckon l
would have made any difference, for
wasn't everybody about there tina
would have remembered Jack anyway
maggie was good deal cut up abou
the matter, not knowing whether sh
had done right in saying nothing to he
husband. You see, 1t made horribl
secret between her and him that wa
always on her mind. I relieved her a
well as could by reminding her that
though it might not hurt Jim special,
to know the secret, we couldn'ts tel
exactly how he would feel about he
and my action in the matter. didn'
see how it would help matters to tel
him.
"Jim died about ten years ago, an,
I've waited since then till fey
months ago to tell Maggie my part o
the story. We had been drawn 81
together by the secret that it WASH
much Of surprise to her when salt
what had to say. And think tn
secret helped me to get her. want t,
know what you have to say about II
Do you condemn us?"
GAS to the wisdom Of your course,
I replied. II have no comment to make
In your action see nothing to con
DENIM"
"I'll go and tell her that" he said
preaflv ralinrad MIt,ll mal.a hor foo