El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-04
HIRTY-SECOND YEAR o. PUBLICATION
Love In a Cottage and After
A Short SforT.

IT WAS beautiful little place. Tru
the little house was not yer
modern in any way-it had no cen
ing and the shingled roof let in tn
light of the moon and the stars; but III
the mild climate Of the San joaquin
valley, the house was comfortable
enough And the garden surrounding
il was paradise; with its shady palms
dark leayed orange trees; fra grant Oh
eanders and rambling roses, such as
may be seen only in California The
little porch in front commanded a beau
tiful view across acres of grapevines.
to the snOw-capped tops of the majestic
Sierras.
They were two gay, foolish children
who had settled down here 5000 miles
from their native home Otto SOmmer
was just 20 and his wife 19-
At first California life seemed
perfect idyI TO them both. surfeited as
they were with the empty pleasures oil
city life in the old country. The an
was charged with energy; all nature
was beautiful; and the free, primitiv5
farm life had the charm Of the new
and unknown
Otto had not the faintest idea OF
farm work, not even of Harvesting d
horse; but kindly neighbOrs vOluteered
as instructors; and though he made
many mistakes, he quickly picked up
the general idea and got along quite
well He was big and strong, but not
used to physical work
Three years passed Otto had becOu=
greatly interested in his work, and
many were the improvements he had
made on the farm There were ceilings
in all the four rooms Of the house an
addition had been built to make room
for a kitchen and a bathroom, and the
whole house had been painted inside
and out
Lately Emily, his u ife, had seemed
more gentle and tender than usuaIa
a.
Otto noticed that she grew ABSENT
minded and Hstless, though she ALWAYS
insisted that she had nothing 70 worry
her
On one particular occasion Ot.o urged
his wife TO go to Fresno An Operatic.
company from san Francisco vas Civ
ing a one nights performance at thef
Barton Opera house there and he had.
intended to go along. but while york
ing at the hay press the day before. he
had sprained his back and was forced
to remain in bed.
When Emily had left. a peculiar feel
ing Of loneliness Overcame him It Ffasl
uncOmfOrtably hos and the pain had
made him feverish and restless A prs-,
sentiment of evil took possession of him
and his brain struggled painfully with
a confusion Of thoughts Several weeks
ago gOSSlping tongues had whispered
into his ear that his wife was TerTi
fond Of a certain young business mani
in Fresno He had treated these rumOrs
with contempt refusing to lend ear TO
slanderOus gossip
The hours passed. but no sIeep came
to his eyes At dusk Emily had not yet
returned Something must have hap
pened- His anxiety grew, but the pain
in his back prevented him from getting
up
AT six o'clock the buggy drove Up
before the house Then she had come
back after all; he had WrOnged her in
his thoughts; tears came into his eyes
as he silently prayed forgiveness.
The door opened. out II was not
Emily. Her brother. Jens. entered the
room looking very grave
Emily is not going to come back,
Otto I tried to persuade her, but she
would not come ] urged her until
little over an hour ago. She asked me
to beg you 10 forgive her She wants
you TO get divorce from her you VIII
have no difficulty getting evidence"
Otto turned pale as a ghost
rs it HaslundT' he gasped-
His brOtherinlaW nodded affirmedly.
On the following Saturday night,
there was to be a dance in the Scan
dinavian society. The idea entered
OttO's brain that he would find his vie
and her lover there In vain he fought
against the impulse of hunting them
down thirst for revenge was too
strong.
The dance was in full swing. and
OttO's eyes scanned the throng or
dancers. The couple he sought was not
there, though they had been there
moment before. so he heard They had
seen him coming. and they had made
their escape through the rear entrance
as he was coming up the stairs
A number Of his friends crowded
around Otto and tried to Wrest a re-
vOlver from his hand A quick twist OF
the hand. flash, a loud report. and the
men rushed towards the spot where
Otto lay bleeding and unconscious an
the floor Z
A few moments he died