The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1917-02-23

Ole Hull SAW Luduy letters anu III
was killer anywhere he went, guess
II ketched him with his arm 'rount
Nell and I was goin' to beat him up
Wisht had. But he says they wer'
engaged. So wished 'em well, Mel
bein' happy as all get out. Then HI
gets telegram to go back to the city
He never comes back, never writes
Seemed like Nell took on more'n she't
ought to, and by and by knew why.
"Her nav didn't get any better ant
knowed what had happened to the
girl. Havin' my wife die and after
wards havin' Nell goin' crazy witt
shame at not bein' nobody's wife drove
me out of my senses kind of. 1 never
been quite right since.
II got over bein' mad at Nell, anG
we come away from there before the
things got worse. / took up the barge
business again and didn't have much
time for lookin' up Mister Freneau
When l found him by accident it was
outside your house in the city.
jumped for him and he hit me.
chased his automobile and got run over
by another one. Went to the hospital
Come out mite wronger than what
went in, I guess.
"Nell told me she'd found where he
lived and she'd went to see him, took
the baby with her, begged him to love
her again, or leastways to marry her
for the baby's sake. But no, he
wouldn't. He jest laughed at her and
told her to. go on away.
"When she told me that, my head
kind of filed up with poison. / didn't
want anything but that feller's life.
put out after him and always jest
missed him. That night I followed
him to your house, seen him go in
there, and waited for him. A police
man chased me away and he must
have went away without my seem
him, for creep back to that big monu-
ment to watch for him. He didn't
come out. but I waited. By and By I
seen somebody comm up Riverside
drive. 1t was him. 1 thought must
went crazy. I guess I had. But I
waited for him. He stopped and light
ed match to light a cigarette with,
and I creep up behint him and got a
grand holt on his neck with these old
ten fingers and"
His great crooked fingers made a
feeble repetition of their work, and
Gloria covered her eyes. Trask
laughed.
II s'pose I'd ought to feel sorry, and
/ do, now that I've got to go where he's
went. But it felt mighty good then to
know he wasn't goin' to break any
more hearts or fool any more girls.
81 left him lay there in the snow and
I got away fast as could. Next day
/ expected to see a, big holler in the pa
pers. Not a word. A hull week passed
and not word. I felt creepy about it.
Then l read about him bein' found
down in the bay and couldn't under
stand. l been driven near out o. my
senses tryin' to igger out how he got
there"
The secretary in hiding wondered,
too, but the judge kept silence and so
did Gloria on her side of the flower
screen.
Gloria was not concerned about
Trasks bewilderment. She was staring
at the little baby that Nell carried al
ways in her arm. Her last spark of
love for Freneau died out in her soul,
leaving it utterly dark. There was not
enough embers left to flare with jea-
lousy. She was restless to have done
with Freneau forever.
When Trask appealed for her for
giveness if he had caused her any pain,
she gave it freely. Her bitter heart
felt that Trask had done. a cleansing
task in removing Freneau from the
earth.
Trask sank back exhausted and his
hand relaxed its hold on her. THEN
she left him to the miniStratiOnS of
Doctor Royce, who whispered to her
that she had better not linger to the
last. He sent her away. She went to
her room in a loneliness more pro-
found than she had ever felt. She
had not even a dead love for compan-
ionship now. She found the photo
graph of Freneau there and her lips |
curled with disgust at the kisses she |
had squandered on that worshiped |
image.
In her wrath she broke it to pieces,
and laying the fragments in the empty |
fireplace, set a match to them. She
them burn and flung herself |
lcross her bed weeping madly. She
yept herself to exhaustion and finally |
o sleep. 1t was a troubled sleep with
| hideous vision of Freneau in Internal
lanes that mounted about him as the
lanes had danced around his photo
graph only they did not consume him.
He put his arms out to her through
he flames, appealing for pardon. She
leard him say: "Gloria, had repent
SING
|