The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1918-08-01
THE BIG JOLT
BY A. M. CRAWFORD.

encounter his wife. He had ended the
last argument about taking his young
stenOgrapher to lunch, To dinner and
to places of amusement by telling his
wife that he wanted an excuse to get
| a divorce.
They were wholly unSuited to each
other so why be millStOnes around
each others necks? She was young,
pretty, too, and he would see to it that
she drew sufficient alimOny to insure
| her every luxury. AS for himself-he
was a man Of the world and could not,
would not tolerate bonds that made
him accountable to any woman for
| what he did.
If he chose to take a pretty girl to
| lunch, there was no harm in ii. He
had always been true to his marriage
vows, he had told his wife stifTly.
He had deposited money in the bank
regularly for her sustenance. Now he
had arrived at his lawyers office to In
quire about the divorce proceedings.
| The attorney informed him that his
wife had not drawn a penny from the
bank.
GLOW did she live, then?" David
brought himself up with Il jerk.
"She has been Dan Goldman's sec
rotary ever since the day after you
left her"
"And the bOy?" His voice was low
with suppressed emotion.
"Old Sue the only servant she
could afford to keep, is taking care
of him. They are living in two
rooms, far out where the rent is cheap
and the boy has a chance to get out
in the sunshine every day. See here"
said Steele, leaning forward, there
was another woman, wasn't there?
Well, what's become of herr"
From somewhere down below came
the excited voices of children play
ing in the sunny streets. The balmy
breath of an awakened earth stole
In like q quiet, soothing incense.
''There never was any other
woman" said David BrysOn slowly.
81 took my stenographer out a few
times, d bad taste, but lots or
men do those things-and Kate heard
of 1t and asked me not to do 1t
again. said that no woman could
dictate terms to me-we never quar-
relied. Kate was too fine for that sort
of thing-so left in fit Of passion,
as you know"
He turned to look the lawyer In the
face. 81 let that stenographer go
on the first excuse / could find and 1
hone that never see her face again ]
Kate working in old Dan Goldman's
Office! Why didn't somebody tell me
beforeT
"Why," demanded John Steele sharp
ly, "do men want to make fools OF
themselves for a bit of fiattery?
man likes to think that he Is regu-
lar devil with women and always ne
has a Jolt coming to him like you are
getting right now. II were In your
place, I would give Kate chance
to be free, to be courted, to be loved
as she so richly deserves"
David Bryson stood up suddenly and
like a drunken man, stumbled into
little writing room. He dropped heav-
: ily into a chair and seized paper and
pen In his shaking hands. His wife's
face seemed to smile at him from
the white paper. 1t was no time TOT
idle fancies. He shook himself and
= rubbed his eyes. What would he
saw to her, to Kate7 She would love
him always, always. He was sure Oh
that. Then he began to wonder. She
had refused his help. She had never
, lifted a hand to call him back to her
, Most women would have found out
that he had been bluffing about his
stenographer and would have sent FOL
him on some flimsy pretext. Wha'
would he do? He leaned his head or
his hands. Then q ghost Of long ago
spread a magic tapestry before hi'
tired eyes.
He was once more in that little blut
2 room at home and 1t was qui,e dari
5 save for the single night lamp thai
burned on a low table beside the bed
r Again the agony Of young father
nOOO Idlu Ills STlppihb manu- opOA -..'
heart and his eyelids burned will
tears, manfully restrained. His mint
groped for words to tell the swee
young girl wife how much he lovet
her as she lay there, white and spen
| from the birth pangs Of his tiny son
II love you" was all that he coult
say. ooh, my dear, I love you So.
"And our son." she had added weakly
/ He knelt down by the bed and lat
his head lightly against her full
breast. He felt her soft fingers stray
ing over his hair. sand love you,
she had whispered, ooh, my dear, yo'
know now, how very, very much.
Something warm like rain fell Of
his cheeks. He put up his hand ali
sently, and, unashamed. wiped tn
| tears away. He reached for fresl
| sheet of paper. He wrote somethin
| on it. and slipped 1t into an envelope
| called one Of the club servants an
| dispatched 1t.
The note was addressed to his wifi
at Dan Goldman's Office, and 1t cal
ried a simple message: 81 love 20
more than life itself, Kate, dear. Wi