The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1913-08-01

MONDAY DN the uGdlu OF lue loIllSl
father, which occurred at Greenville
Monday morning
he brought about a grand coup, They
we're sitting alone together one eve.
ming and all had been very pleasant
when he took memorandum book
from his pocket and consulted it and
began:
ION April Z, three days after we
moved in here, a man called and you
talked with him for eight minutes by
the clock Don't deny it,"
She didn't. A man called and asked
IL any flower or garden seeds would
be wanted.
ION the 18th of that month you put
on your things and went out and were
gone forty minutes by the clock, when
| came home you said nothing to me
about it. Don't deny IT,"
She didn't. On the date mentioned
she had gone to the grocery after
soap and to a dry goods store after
dish-towels.
ION the 4th of May q man to me
unknown but who likely thought
might be watching him, called at the
home and passed a word or two with
you. and then hurried away. He
looked around him in a furtive way as
he went You made no mention of
the affair to me when l came home.
Do not you claim that you did,
The young wife made no claim A
man had called on that date and
asked her if she had seen anything
of his parrot, which had escaped from
it's cage.
"On May 14th," ran the record
you dressed and went out and were
gone very nearly an hour. You have
never yet explained to me what you
went out for. Are you ready to do so
now?"
She was ready enough, but she
didn't explain. She had ordered meat
from the butcher; a head of cabbage
from the grocer; a spool of black
thread from a notion store, and a pair
of shoestrings from a shoe store.
The husband went on until he had
read 27 different charges, and then he
glared at her for a long minute, and
put the fatal book away and resumed
his newspaper. His wife hadn't re-
piled to one single charge There
was no dispute-no quarreling. He
had shown up her deceit and duplic-
ity, and her silence proved her guilt.
Just what to do the husband didn't
know. He must think it over. He
was doing that the next day at his
place Of business when an anonymous
note was placed in his hands that
read:
Your wife is at the Three-Mile
Road House with a mani"
Stephen Knight did not faint away.
lie did not curse and tear his hair.
He did not totter to the door like an
old man. He had been looking for
this for months, and had planned his
course. He simply slipped a revolver
into his pocket and walked out to the
curb and told a chauffeur where he
wanted to go. He didn't even add
that he was in devil of hurry, nor
inquire about the coroner and an un-
dertaker, though he knew that both
would be needed. He would shoot
both parties dead!
Assembled at the Three-Mile Road
House were forty persons that had
driven out ahead of him. The list in
cluded his wife's grandfather, grand
mother, two uncles, two aunts, four
cousins, a brother, a sister, the min.
lister that had married her and Ste.
phen, and the unsuccessful suitors
for her hand The others had been
her girl friends. They were sitting
and waiting. Stephen bounded into
the room with pistol in hand All
looked at him, but no one spoke for
a long minute Then the minister
rose up and said:
"My friends, we are gathered here
on this solemn occasion to listen to
the charges preferred against his wife
by Stephen Knight I will read them
to you.
And the good man, with all due EN-.
phasis and solemnity, read the first
five charges. AS each one was finished
there were loud sighs and murmured
"Oh, mys!" from the audience, and
the guilty wife sat with her handker.
chief to her eyes. The sixth charge
was not read. Stephen Knight was no
bonehead. He saw the situation and
did the right thing.
Friends" he said, i've been all
kinds of fool, and the biggest kind
of a chump. Here's where l get off,
It's never again for Stephen. Byrn,
if you are not utterly disgusted with
me, come and kiss the biggest idiot
at large in America"
And 1t is said that even the min.
lister joined in singing that good old
song:
For he's a jolly good fellow"
Copyright. 1918, by the Mcclure News.
paper syndicate)