The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-10-26

"My husband has sold them all. -
You have nothing at all leftF'
"No.D
"Not even ring7"
"No,' she said, showing her hands,
"none except this. -
(Which is your wedding ring',',
(Which is my wedding
She stopped, nonpIused. Velmont
saw her flush as she stammered
"Could it be possible7 But
no no he doesn t
| know -
Velmont at once pressed her with
questions and Yvonne stool silent, mo-
| tionless, anxiousfaced. At last, she
replied in a low voice:
"This is not my wedding ring. One
day, long ago, it dropped from the
mantelpiee in my bedroom, where
had put it a minute before and hunt
| for it as / might, ] could not find it
again. So ] ordered another, with
out saying anything about it :.
| and this is the one, on my hand
"Did the real ring bear the date
Of your weddingf" o.,
ber.''
"And the second?'
''This one has no date
He perceived a slight hesitation in
her and a confusion which, in point
of fact. she did not try to conceal.
'I implore you,D he exclaimed,
"don u hide anything from me.
You see how far we have gone in
few minutes, with little logic and
calmness. Let us 90 on,
ask you as a favor"
Are you sure she said, "that
| 1T IS necessaryf'
CT am sure that the least detail
is Of Importance and that we are
nearly attaining our object. But we
must hurry. This is a crucial mo-
ment.'
81 have nothing to conceal" 4" she
said, proudly raising her head. "It
was the most wretched and the most
dangerous period Of my life. While
suffering humiliation at home, outside
[ was surrounded with attentions, with
temptations, with pitfalls, like any
woman who is seen to be neglected
by. her husband. Then I remembered:
in love with me. I had guessed his
unspoken love; and he has died since,
| had the name of that man engraved
inside the ring; and | wore it as a
talisman. There was no love in me,
because I was the wife Of another.
But, in my secret heart, there was
a memory, a sad dream, something
sweet and gentle that protected me
She had spoken slowly, without en-
barrassment, and Velmont did not
doubt for g. second that she was tell
ing the absolute truth. He kept 81
lent; and she, becoming anxious again,
asked:
DO you suppose that m'
He took her hand and, while cx.
amlning the plain gold ring. said
THE puzzle lies here, Your hus
band, 1 don t know how. knows OF
the substitution of one ring for the
other. His mother will be here at
II O'Clock. In the presence of wit
nesses he Will compel you to take of
your ring; and, in this way, he will
obtain the approval OF his mother and,
at the same time, will be able to
obtain his divorce, because he will
have the proof for which he was seek.
ing. :"
ri am lost" she moaned, II am
Iost!'
con the contrary, you are saved!
emily he will find another there, an
other which l will send you, to reach
you before 10, and which will bear
the date. of the 23rd of October. SO
He suddenly broke off. While he
was speaking, Yvonue' hand had
turned ice.eold in his; and, raising his
eyes, he saw that the young woman
was pale, terribly pale:
She yielded to a fit Of mad de-
spair:
''This is the matter. that l am
lost! . This is the matter,
that l can't get the ring off! 1t has
grown too small for me! Do
YOU understand 1t made no
dlherence and i did not give 1T
thought But today
this proof. this accusation.
Look 1T forms part Of my
finger 1t has grown into my
flesh and | can't
[ can't -
She pulled at the ring, vainly, with
herself But the flesh swelled up
around the ring; and the ring did not
bulge.
"Ohl' she cried, seized with an
idea that terrified her, ''I remember
the other night a
nightmare | had. It seemed
to me that some one entered nv room
and caught hold Of my hand.
And L could not wake up.
IL was hel 1t was he. He had put
me to sleep, | was sure of it
and ne was looking at the ring.
l.. And presently he will pull it off
before his mother s eyes. All,
| understand everything; that working
ieweleri He will cut it from
my hand tomorrow You
see, you see. | am lost!
She hid her face in her hands and
began to weep. But, amid the silence,
the clock struck once and
twice and yet once more
And Yvonne drew herself up with
jerk;
"Thcre he ISL she cried. "He is
coming! 1t is 3 o'clock!
. Let us go. -
She grabbed at her cloak and ran
to the door. Velmout barred
the way and, in a masterful tone:
- You shall not go! y
my son, | want 10 see
him, to take him back. ,,
.You don t even know where he
ISL
~ want TO go.'
You shall not go! 1t
~. a