The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1913-05-22

All ne uiu was 10 ulleE = BFuQL ina
might have meant anything and wal
consequently safe.
That's what his marriage has done
for him. and that's the state that WON
an has ground him down to. Shed
worked on him till she'd got him to
come up here and ask for II q few
minutes before the people began to
arrive! That's what she made him
dol"
And you wouldn't give it," he In.
quired mildly. inwardly surprised, as
he had been often before, at the ran
cor displayed by women in their quar-.
rels.
Give IT." she exclaimed, well. !
guess not It would have been my
surrender. I'd have thrown up the
fight forever II / did that" And then
as IL she had read his thoughts: "It's
not natural meanness either. There's
only one hope for me-for me and for
Dominick. too. Divorce"
He did not move its chin from its
resting-place in his up-curled hand,
but made slight asserting motion
with his head, and said:
| Il suppose that's the only thing"
That's been my hope since the day
when | first saw her. l didn't know
then she'd been anything to Dominick
before the marriage, but knew the
first look ! had at her what she was.
That long, mean nose and those sly
eyes. and seven years older than the
boy II she was day. You didn't
have to tell me any more. l saw then
Just like fash in the dark what my
son had let himself in for. And then,
not month after, l heard the rest
about her, and knew that Dominick
had started In to ruin his life about
the best way he knew how"
Cannon gave another grunt, and
this time 1t contained a recognizable
note Of sympathy. She went on, alb
sorbed in her recital, anxious to pour
out her griefs, now that she had be.
gun.
Right there from the start I
thought Of divorce. knew 1t was the
only way out and was bound to come
IN time. The woman had married
Dominick for money and position.
knew that, saw 1t in her face along
with other things. There was no love
In that face, just calculation, hard and
sharp as meat Ak. l shut down on
the money right there and then. Dom.
mick had three thousand a year, so
l knew he couldn't starve, but three
thousand a year wasn't what she'd
married him for"
She's got along on it for over two
years"
That's 1t. She's beaten me so far.
I'm the keeper of Con Ryan's fortune
and just closed my hand on 1t and
said to her in so many words, Not
cent OF this for you thought she'd
tire Of struggling along In a fiat with
one Ch1naman and not a soul to come
near her. But she's stood it and she's
going to go on standing 1t. Where
she's concerned, I did something the
smartest men and women sometimes
do-underrated the brains Of my en-
envy"
Shes pretty smart, l guess" said
cannon, raising gravely-comment-
ing eye to his companions face.
That's what she is-smart and
long-headed. She's more far-sighted
than women of her kind usually are
and she's got her eye on the for
tune. She's not going to give us
chance for divorce. She's not going
to make any breaks or mistakes.
There's not a more respectable wom-
an in San Francisco. She doesn't 20
with any one but her husband and her
own sisters, two decent women that
you can't believe have the same blood
in them. She's the quietest, most do
mest1c kind Of wife. 1t don't mat
ter. and nobody knows, that she's
making her husband the most miser-
able man in the country. That doesn't
cut any Ice. What does is that there's
no ground for divorce against her. II
she had the kind of husband that
put up with anything from a woman,
all he could do would be to leave her |
and she'd go around then getting ev-
erybody's sympathies as a virtuous, |
deserted wife"
The old man gave his head an ap-
preciative jerk, and murmured:
"A pretty smart woman, all right"
She's all that-that and more. It's
the future that she's banking on. I'm
nearly seventy years of age, Bill Can
non, and this has broken me up more
han anything that's gone before. I'm
not the woman l was before my boy
married. And what's going to hap
pen when l die? I've only got two
living children. Outside them there's
nobody but some distant relations that
con made settlements on before he
lied. II left all I've got to Cornelia,
'r divided 1t up between Cornelia and
charity, cutting off my son because
led made marriage I didn't like,
would such will as that stand? Why
lad l left nothing to my only son?
Because he'd married a woman
lidn't think good enough? And what
vas there against her? She'd been a
typewriter and her husbands mis-
ress for six months before he mar
led her. The mistress part Of 1t had
'een condoned by marriage and good
after all, how many
antilles in San Francisco and other
'laces were founded on just those
AS for her being type
writer, Della Ryan herself had been
washerwoman, washed for the min
rs with these hands: :"-she held out
er blunt, beringed hands with one Of
hose dramatic gestures natural to
he Irish-"when Con was working un-
erground with his pick was at the
Va ah .fIIh and TnadA VVnonov thok NOV |