The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-07-26
White Cat
Copyright. 1910. by BObbs. Merrill Co.

anu CdlIeQ nlI1 tO her. 1rTlCdDly, Dul Fred declined to leave the wood fire and settled down in his easy chair After awhile Edith came over and joined us. but she snubbed Fred the entire evening to his bewilderment And when conversation Jagged during the evening that followed I tried ito remember what I had said. She had not been angry and she. had under stood Blessed be the woman that un- derstands!
 We broke up for the night about Il. Mrs. Butler had come down for awhile, and had even played a little, some thing of Tschaikowsky's singing, plaintive theme that brought sadness back into Margery's face.
 Fred and I sat in the library for awhile after the rest had gone, and told him a little Of what I had learned that afternoon. N
 "A second wife," he said, 'tand a primitive type, eh? We'll, did she shoot him or did Schwartz? The Lady or the Democratic Tiger ?''
 '"The Tiger said firmly.
 ''The Lady," said Fred, with equal assurance. 4&
 Fred closed the house with bis usual care Then we went up to bed.
 My bedroom was over the library, and Mrs Butler and Margery Fleming had connecting rooms across the hall. Fred and Edith slept in the nursery wing so they would be near the chill dren. Tn the square upper haI there was a big reading table, lamp and some comfortable chairs.
 I was wakened by the pungent acrid smell of smoke. My cigarette had dropped from my hand still lighted and, as is the way with cigarettes, de- termined to burn to the end. In so do ing it had fired my bed the rug under the bed and pretty nearly the man on the bed. It took some sharp work to get it all out without rousing the house. Then I stood amid the wreck age and looked rueflliy at Edith's pret- ty room.
 Three pitchers of water on the bed had made. it an impossible couch. put on dressing gown and, with a blanket over my arm, went out to hunt some sort of place to sleep. de cided on the davenport in the hall just outside, and as quietly as l could I put screen around it and settled down for the night.
 I was wakened by the touch of a hand on my face. started, think, and the hand was jerked away. l am not sure; was still drowsy. The hall was dark and quiet When found no one I concluded it had been only ar vivid dream. Then I noticed heavy, swedish odor in the air The smell was almost nauseating. For some req son or other association of certain odors with certain events--I found my self recalling the time had wisdom tooth taken out and that when I came around was being sat on by the den- tist and his assistant, and the latter had black eye. Then suddenly I knew. The sickly odor was chloro- form! .,.s s>z- ..gss. fse- :, s-s.g., ss
 had the light on in, a moment and was rapping at Margery's door. 1t was locked, and I got no answer. A pale light shone over the transom, but everything was ominously quiet be- yond the door, I went to Mrs. But ler's door next. It was unlocked and partly open. One glance at the empty bed and the confusion Of the place and I rushed without ceremony through the connecting door into Margery's room.
 The atmosphere was reeking with chloroform. The girl was in bed, ap- parently sleeping quietly. One arm was thrown up over her head, and the other lay relaxed on the white cover. A folded towel had been laid across her face, and when I jerked it away saw she was breathing very slowly, stertorously, with her eyes partly open and fixed
 I threw up all the windows before l reused the family downstairs and saw the silver was intact and the back kitchen door open. And then the doc tor came, and I was put out in the hall.
 Not until the doctor came out to ne and said she was better and would call a maid to make some strong black coffee did come out of my stupor. "The chance of doing some thing, anything, made me determine tc make the coffee myself They still speak of that coffee at Fred's. It was Edith who brought Mrs. But Ter to my mind. Fred had maintained