The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1912-10-25

ried out. / did not see her again FOR
five days. Then she came with the
great American and took me to the
Hotel Continental and to my husband.
Madame Duroque kissed me at the
door. put my certificate of marriage
and the wedding ring in silk bag
and fastened 1t around my neck with q
little gold chain. Then she took me
to one side. and bade me remain with
my husband and demand hundred
thousand francs before I would, set
foot out OF Paris. after which she
went back to her lodge.
"The father prepared then to return
with US to America. / refused to go.
and my husband, who was now
aroused, refused also to go unless I
accompanied him. I got finally the
one hundred thousand francs and We
arrived In New York. My father-in-
law, who owned railroads In a west
ern state, took us there and installed
my husband as the clerk of court in
little town built along the side OF
mountain above the fork of river
where three railroads joined. He was
trying to make man out of my hus-
band, he said. At his urging, l In
vested the money which l had re-
ceived in the bonds of railroad which
he was building through the county.
1--WE lived there five years in the
smoke, the mud, the unutterable drear-
mess of this frontier village. One
day my husband fell and broke his
wrist. He went to hospital in a
neighboring town to have the bone
. set, and died under the influence OF
ether on the operating table. found
in his pocket this letter, which he had
written to me before the operation"
, She took one of her hands down
from her face, unlocked the bosom
, of her dress, took out letter and
read it. 1t was a meager note, sort
. of memorandum to her, in the event
OF any serious consequence attending
the operation. 1t told her briefly that
the money which she had invested
was lost, that his father had wrecked
the railroad, reorganized 1t and alb.
sorbed its assets; but that there were
twenty-five thousand dollars in tin
box in the bottom of his trunk in
her room. She should say nothing to
any one and keep that money for her
own. It was all the provision he could
make for her.
She laid the paper before Randolph
Mason, then she took newspaper
clipping out of her purse and held ii
in her hand. ...
81 found the money packed in big
bills In the tin box. In few days
knew where my husband had got this
money" " .
Then she read the clipping. 1t was
an ordinary newspaper notice, recit
ing the death of the clerk of the court
and the fact that a sum of twenty-five
thousand dollars which had been paid
into his hands could not be discov.
cred anywhere on deposit in any OF
the banks. This money he had re,
ceived under the following conditions:
The main line of the railroad belong
ing to the clerks father had con.
demned and taken the bottom lands
of the town for a freight yard, and
the land owners refusing to take the
money allowed in the condemnation
proceedings and the circuit court not
being in session, the railroad had paid
1t into the hands of the clerk of this
court.
The woman crumpled up the piece
of paper and threw 1t on the floor
set her elbow on the table, pressed
her open hand once more against hel
face and hurried on with her story.
my husbands office accounts were
gone over and this money could not
be found. He was presumed to have
spent 1t. said nothing. 1t was
. merely my one hundred thousand
: francs with it's interest returned to
|, me, and from the very one who, In
his own fashion, had taken it. was
, glad. glad of this settlement by the
!, good God, glad to the very bottom OF
my heart. 1 made ready to return to
, Paris, to Madame Duroque, to life
Then I learned another thing"
She moved uneasily in her chair
: her voice sank lower, her fingers
tapped nervously on her face.
} There was one honorable man in
this hideous village. From the very
} day on which we arrived he did in,
credible things to make life possible
J for us. He got a house, servants
everything that long patience could
secure for our comfort. l came to re.
gard him as an elder brother. My
husband would have been a common
drunkard but for him, and l should
have been stark mad from dreariness.
Well. he came to me and said that he
was the surety on my husbands bond
, as clerk of the court, that II the
, money could not be found the rail-
road would force him to pay 1t. He
: was not rich, 1t would take all he had.
! He did not believe that my husband
had used the money; 1t ought to be on
deposit in some bank, or locked up in
box in some trust vault. l set my
teeth down on my tongue and made a
pretense of helping in the search.
} Months passed. | remained in the
village, unable to decide between this
mans ruin and Madame Duroque."
For the first time in the torrent OF
words. the woman hesitated. her voice
became almost inaudible.
IT learned also In this time thing
that 1 had not suspected-that the
man loved me. Oh, don't mean love
as I have seen 1t all my life long, the
passion of the hunter, hunger to be
fed I mean something like religion