The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1921-01-06
A CRY IN
THE NIGHT
By ULMAR

III Oy NGANG IL e OAIvx<AN Ill
Copyright. 1920. Western Newspaper Union)
Seated before the blazing crate in
his lonely home, Phillip Vance was i'm
mersed in painful thoughts. Two vivid
pictures, coming. going, haunting,
agonizing at times, stirred his spirit
to its depths.
He had known two women in his
life who had filed it and then van
ished. His lips grew stern as he re-
called Vera Liscomb and pictured her
dark, scornful siren face. It was an
instinct Of pity that had led him to
be q friend of n who came across
his path as a poor orphan girl, with
a tale of friendlessness and struggle,
the very falseness Of which made him
doubt all mankind when he came to
know that she "a a scheming, heart
less adventures. Sorry for her ap-
parent loneliness he had asked her
to become his wife. He did not love
her; 1t was all an impulse of sympa.
thy. Her brother had preyed upon
him for monetary assistance, and when
Vance was certain Of tho stained past
Of the plotful twain he had confronted
them with a stern, set face.
I'm that envelope" he said, casting
the same before them, lis money
enough, I hope, to take both Of you
out Of my life forever"
The man had seized the envelope
with eager avarice. The woman had
turned on Vance in a fury of hate
and menace. She raved, she threat:
ened, she sw0re to have revenge. She
admitted her unworthiness, she even
Haunted 1t in his face.
A year later, after the sea had
healed, he met Evelyn Wilton, a simple
country girl. She was the direct op-
posite of that other one. It seemed
as If destiny, seeking to make amends
for the first stunning blow to faith
and hope, had brought into his life
an angel. Love irradiated the hours.
They welded, and at the end Of q
year a sweet little cherub, Dorothy,
came to bless their happy lives.
And then-heartbreak, devastation.
misery, sudden as a lightning stroke.
Vance came home one day to find the
house deserted-wife and child we're
gone. For a week he sought them
frantically and then came a letter x.
planning all. It was signed with the
initials Of Vera Liscomb and it gloat-
ed owe the revenge accomplished: He
was told that Evelyn had fled from him
as from a ~pestilence. Craftily the
cruel siren had poisoned every thought
of the pure, innocent wife and he
would never see her again! Then
Vance had settled down into a dull
monotOny, suffering. feeling bereft of
all that made life worth living.
"Hark !"
Involuntarily the word rose to his
lips. Outside there was borne upon
the chill night blast a cry-long, wall
ing, fnfantile. He knew not why, but
the accents seemed to echo within his
very soul. He fastened to the door,
opened it and stared down at a basket
covered with a warm wrap. Trembling
all over he lifted it into the room and
drew aside the covering.
dorothy |" he gasped, and tottered
and reeled. His own child.
Instantly he ran for a neighbor and
his wife. Incoherently' informing them
Of the situation, Vance dashed forth
into the storm and darkness in quest
of the person who had left him a
blessing, but had disappeared, leav-
ing a mystery %unsofved. Had the moth
er brought the child, or sent it? At
least she was the inspiration for the
act. He spent weeks seeking to trace
the mother, but his efforts met with no
success.
Time drifted on and the child be-
came the one thought of his life. He
employed a kindly old lady as a house
keeper, and day by day, the little n
grew dearer and are to him. One
night a telephone message reached
him, announced as from a large city
hospital.
"A dying woman begs us to send for
you," it said, and, thinking Of his wife,
Vance fastened upon his eager mis-
sion. He was amazed when he was
shown to a cot upon which lay what
was left of Vera Liscomb. He was
shocked as he viewed the wreck Of
a once dominant grace and beauty.
II have but a few hours to live" she
breathed, catching feverlshly at his
hand. IT could not die with my aw-
full deeds upon my soul. I cannot re-
store your dear ones, for I know not
whittier they vent but oh! say that
you forgive"
Then the quivering woman sank
back. Vance stepped from the room
as a physician hastened to the cot
with a reviving cordial.
"Send the new nurse to take charge
Of the case" he directed an assist
ant. Vance, his head bowed. in SON.
Der thought, looked up startled as
from the lips Of Vera Liscomb there
burst forth the impassioned words: