The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1913-01-31
THE ROSE in
THE RING
By George Barr M'Cutcheon
Copyright 1910 ~ Dodd. Mead 4 Co..

was, compelled to pay into court all
that was due me as part owner of Van
Slyes. ! had my own money in the
snow. l could not be robbed of that.
His wife tried to make trouble for me.
You heard that"
Il knew she would, sooner or later"
You knew it?"
She wasn't blind"
But how could she dare to think
that L"
She knew her husbands reputation,
that's all. He was careless about wom-
en- His face went black as a thun.
der cloud. But he's had his day"
Tom" she cried, clutching the lapels
OF his coat, you shall not leave this
house until you've promised me to do
nothing"
Don't come n of that, Mary. II
won't do any good. | was just bad
enough to fall, you were too good to
even stumble. Then he landed me in
the pen. Maybe you won't believe it,
Mary, but | had not touched a drop for
nearly three months. Then | looked up
Barnum to get a job as ringmaster. !
was going under the lame or Bradford.
Joey Noakes came through the west
with a pantOmime show about that
time. He told me you were in Europe.
First thing I'd heard of you, that was,
Mary. Then he told me you'd got your
money out Of Grand, le%gitimately, he
iswore. | didn't believe him. | stood it
as long as | could, and then | broke
for New York. Ernie Cronk began
filling me up with stories and had got
me clear off my head, nagging me day
and night. / found Bob Grand and,
like a fool, started in to tell him what
| was going to do to him instead of
doing it first. All OF a sudden he
pulled a gun. | had no chance, so !
bolted. He fired twice and yelled for
the police. They caught me, and !
had a gun in my clothes, too. The
neXt morning he came to see me in
the station house-to identity NO.. he
said. Then he told me he was soing
to send me up for highway robhery,
but he was willing, for your sake Aad
Christine's. to say nothing about the
past, or anything. He did swear me
into the pen, and ! kept my mouth
closed. But, Mary, | am not a thief
at heart-I never was one. What
ever | did that was crooked in the old
days was due to whisky. It's a habit
men have, | know, blaming everything
on whisky, but-but, oh, say, Mary,
you know | wasn't that sort of a mar
when | married you"
You are not to leave this house,
Tom. until you have promised she
said firmly. All the time he was
speaking she had stood like a statue
before him, never taking her eyes from
his distorted face.
"Oh, I'm not, Ell? Well see!"
What are you going to do to Colo
mel Grand?"
I'm going to"-he checked himself.
I'm going to beat him to a jelly"
You mean you are going to murder
him." She shuddered as she said 1t.
: No. he said with grim humor. I'm
only going to help him to die"
The time had come for the strong
appeal. She laid her hands on his
shoulders.
tom, have you thought Of what it
will mean, not to me, but to Chris
tine?"
She knows by this time that I'm
an %ex-convict. 1t won't hurt her to
| know I'm even worse"
she toes not believe you were
guilty. She always has said you could
have beer a good IA If you had let
whisky alone"
/. He told me-" went on B%raddock,
that he had won your love. He lied.
II could kill him once for that lie. He
told me that you and he were going
! to sell Christine to a certain French
| nobleman who already had a wife
and family. He lied again. could
!, kill him once more for that lie. He
. told me"
Don't! Don't! For Gods sake
; don't tell me any more" she groaned.
"He laughed at me because of the
! drunken bargain l had made with him
had turned out to his credit, after
all"
THE sale?"
"Yes."
He looked away. The expression In
her eyes cut him like a knife.
Il ought to have been shot for that,
Mary" he said.
you owe me a little happiness and
peace, Tom, after all these years"
"Oh, I'll go away all right. This
is the last time you'll ever see me-"
1T isn't that that | ask. There vas
a time when we were happy. you and
l. l do not forget the old days, before
you'll mean, when we were working
together, you and l, to get control OF
the circus. Not that l liked the life
God knows l did not!-but that we
were striving for big, good things.
i"
She went on eagerly. You are
obsessed by this idea of vengeance.
You say you are going to end your
own life as we'll. You will escape the
consequences. as any coward would,