Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1912-02-08
"You see that | r-nupm,mr

stead bitterly. awtully ro,d -, N"ry
heart seemed frozen. ana 'i". - ,.ilre
was dreadful. but ! ""n,n no; ~l".aH: |
could not answer her
"'YOu have "srrr,I.n". she now
went on. WHY did Won r"h me OF my
one happiness: AirI WV have robbed
me. Carmtr. d" you Ln"w why am
here? shook my head. Il am here
to II i, all. SAID she.
II '"'l"r'"l at this threat. and she. 4
mother !" -" rom my cradle. started
instinctiveiN 20 catch me. but the feel
ing left her before she had taken two
steps. and she stopped still. 'Drol,
your hand: she cried. i want to SEE
your whole face while | ask you one
last question. could not read thu
note. Why did you come here? i
dropped my hand. and she stood star
ing; then she uttered a cry and
quickly toward me. What is it,
cried. What has happened to you? Is
it the shadow or
Il caught her by the hand. l could
speak now. 'Adelaide.' said l, you
are not the only one to love to the
point Of hurt. l love you. Let this
little scar be Witness Then. as her
eyes opened and she staggered. l
caught her to my breast and hid my
face on her shoulder. You say that
tomorrow | shall be free to receive
notes. He will not wish to write them
tomorrow. The beauty be liked is gone
If it weighed overmuch with him, then
you and | are on a plane again-or l
am on an inferior one. Your joy will
be sweeter for this break
She started. raised my head from
her shoulder. looked at me and shud-
dered. but no longer with hate. Car
mel she whispered. the story-the
story l read you Of Francis 1. and
Yes | agreed. that made me
think Her knees bent under her; she
sank at my feet. but her eyes never
left my face. 'And-and Elwood?'
He knows nothing. l did not make up
my mind till tonight. Adelaide. it had
to be. | hadn't the strength toto
leave you all or-or to say no if he ever
asked me to my face what he asked
me in that note.'
And then l tried to lift her. but she
was kissing my feet. kissing my dress,
sobbing out her life on my hands. Oh.
l was happy. My future looked very
simple to me. But my cheek began to
burn. and instinctively l put up my
hand. This brought her to her feet.
You are suffering she cried. You
must go home at once. at once. while l
telephone to DR.. Carpenter I'VE will
go together l said. We can telephone
from there But at this the awful
ing her forget my hurt. l forgot it. too.
in dread OF what she would say when
she found strength to speak.
1T was worse than anything I had
imagined; she refused absolutely to go
back home. Carmel said she. 4
have done injustice to your youth. You
love him. too-not like a child, but a
woman. The tangle is worse than l
thought; you heart is caught in it as
we'll as mine. and you shall have your
chance. My death will give it to you
Il tried to dissuade her. I urged
every plea. even that Of my own sac
rifce. But she was no more her nat
ural self. She had taken up the note
and read it during my e%ntreaties. and
my words fell on deaf ears. Why,
these words have killed me!' she cried.
crumpling the note in her hand.
What will a little poison do? 1t can
only finish what he has begun
Poison! ! remembered how 1 had
heard her pushing about bottles in the
medicine cabinet and felt my legs
grow weak and my head swim. You
will mott! I cried. watching her hand.
in terror of seeing it rise to her breast.
"'When l came here she said. L
brought q bottle Of cordial with me
and three glasses. l brought a little
vial Of poison. too. nee ordered for
sickness. l expected to find Elwood
here. If had l meant to drop the
poison into one glass and then fill
them all up with the cordial. We
should have drunk. each n of us his
glass. and one of us would have
fallen. / did not care which. you or
Elwood or myself. But he is not
here. and the cast of the die is be-
tween us two. unless you wish a GER
tainty. Carmel. in which case l will
pour out but one glass and drink that
myself
"She was in a fever now and des-
perate. Death was in the room. |
felt it in my lifted hair and in her
strangely drawn face. If 1 screamed
who would hear me? l never thought
of the telephone. and l doubt if she
would have let me use it then. The
power she had always exerted over
me was very strong in her at this mo-
ment.
"'Shall I drink alone? she repeated.
and l cried out. No. at which her
hand went to her breast. as I had sc
long expected. and l saw the glitter
of a little vial as she drew it forth.
"'Oh. Adelaide" l began. but she
needed me no more than the dead.
ION leaving home she had put on a
long coat with pockets. and this coat
was still On her and the pockets gap
ing. Thrusting her other hand into one