Omaha daily bee., 1919-08-30
My HEART and
NV HUSBAND
Adele Garrison's New Phase Of
Revelations
Of q Wife
What Tortured Madge When She
~ Awoke Before Dawn.

! Vii. hiSAyb WI oPSoN ~ oeAo-
ciously" protested, feeling hypo-l
critic as I did so because of my own
thoughts,
! "Rotr Dicky rejoined vigorously.
81 remember telling you long ago
that if I were Mr.. 'Stockbridge-
Well, whether he's done it or not
doesn't alter the fact that she's dead,
and nobody ought to care darn,
least of all your red-headed friend.
Come to think of it, ! saw him
casting a sleeps eye or two in her
direction when I was out there.
Perhaps the poor devil will draw a
lucky card yet"
Dicky and I took a moonlight
drive after we had deposited Alice
Holcombe at the door.
As result l was SO drousyl that
the little black devil of fear which
bad perched up my shoulder since
Milly .Stockbridge's wild threat over
| the telephone few minutes before
her death had no chance to torture
me until the black hour just before
dawn. Then he had his revenge
for his long wait, for ] woke with a
start, and Immediately became his
prey.
The whole horrible situation un-
rolled itself before me as wildly as
If its scenes were being filmed upon
a screen. And the deep shadows of
my room, which has only feeble
night light on Juniors account,
seemed to my excited imagination
to be full of lurking, menacing fig
ures.
The Fear.
| put on my hand, turned on the
electric switch, then arose and pull
ed more closely the screen which
always protects my little sons eyes
from any sudden light. Then with
swift reassuring glance around the
room and a contemptuous anathema
against my own nervous tremors l
crouched back against my pillows
and tried to review calmy the pic
lures my memory was showing me.
The principals wife was wildly
excited when she had called me up.
Why? Had she just been through a
scene with her husband or had some
one come to her retailing some piece
Ct gossip had enraged her? l ran
through the list of possibilities that
might have caused her emotion,
acknowledged myself hopelessly
puzzled, and went on to the next
point.
She haddemanded to know of the
whercabout Of that other red-head-
ed snake" The coupling of Alice
Holcombe's personality with mine
on her rage-crazed tongue showed
that wild, insane hatred toward US
was probably the last emotion the
woman had ever felt. l shivered at
that thought, and its complement
which involuntarily came to me
the wonder if perhaps that insane
hatred had accompanied the malevo-
I lent spirit of the woman and across
the vale,/i it were not still directed
toward me.
She had said-ah! There was the
thing which made me feel as if my
bones had turned to jelly-that she
had filed a suit for divorce and had
named Alice Holcombe and me in
it-that l would find it in the papers.
The awful significance of this state
ment had not come to me before.
As | realized what it would mean to
me if she had spoken truly | put my
hands before my face to shut out
the light, and could not repress a
low mean.
Baby Wakes.
| Useless to point out to myself the
fact that none but an insane woman
could have evolved such frightfully
false accusation against two inno-
cent women. Useless 10 reassure
myself with the thought that no
sensible person, no real friend
would believe it. T. knew enough of
the world to realize that just the
publication of my name in such a
connection would mean to me, to
my husband, to-
Ny, baby unaccustomed to any
sound of grief from me, stirred at
the moan l had given, wakened and
cried out. I rose, gathered him to
me and crooned him back to sleep,
while the touch of his baby fingers
brought the most poignant anguish,
| I had vet known. as / thought of
what might shadow his life.
1 have never had much charity for
women who bring disgrace upon
their children. I have less since that
night of agony when I. guiltless:
faced the possible humiliation of
NV boy because of me. Any woman
who could wilfully court such dis
aster-I have no words to paint my
adherence Of her .
Nv brain leaped to the one ray Of
hope, the queer, jerky assurance
Kenneth Stockbridge had given me
later over the telephone: Don't
mind anything that has been said:
have attended to that" Yet |
dared not dwell upon it. 1t had too
sinister a significance in view of the
awful things which must have hap
pened within a few minutes of his
telephone talk with me.
| The morning papersl l had not
| thought of them before. If Miily
Stockbridge had spoken the truth
The morning papers would perhaps
have the tale she had threatened.
looked at my watch. Yes, the
newspaper train was due. 1t would
not be long now before I would be
able to see One, as our house is near
the beginning of the newsman's
route.