The L'Anse sentinel., 1923-12-14
Some Call Il
Luck
,o. lyas. western Newspaper Union. i,
Observation-Disclosures
By ELLA SAUNDERS


U STHER SoMERS looked at Lev.
ering, ut ner siue. US u he were
u stranger.
And, tne present seemed SO unreal
that 1t obnterated the unreal past. and
for the first time she found herself
judging herself with clarity.
Tne die was cast. After five years
Of married life she was leaving her
husband.
And she thought Of the vain regrets
of those five years, and had the In
tense desire that she could try once
more.
1t was too late. Everything had
been arranged. Levering and she
were on board the train, bound for
Washington on their way south. At
that moment Somers was approaching
the little town on the local, return
Ing commuter. He would return to
find his home desolate, and the letter
Esther had left for him.
To add to the poignancy, the train
on which Esther and Levering were
speeding south passed within hun
dred yards of their home.
The station from which they had
started-to avoid observation-was
II miles away. Levering had met
her and motored her over there In
his car. Now they were on their way.
and already the familiar view Of the
home town was coming In sight.
Somers was almost due. Perhaps
their train would pass him.
And Esther looked at the man be-
side her, letting her hand lie passive
In his, and instead of the deep love
she had thought she felt for him she
was conscious Of intense revulsion.
Levering had been Somer's best
friend. He had grossly betrayed him.
She tried to picture the scene when
her husband got home and found her
letter.
He would be stunned by 1t. Al
though they had never got along well
together, he had not dreamed his wife
would ever leave him-least OF all
with another man. He would not be-
lieve 1t.
What would he do then? Would
he start in pursuit, to execute dra-
matte vengeance upon them? She did
not know. She had never understood
her husband
But she felt guilty, guilty, and she
looked at Leverlng beside her with
dismay and disgust and horror.
Was 1t too late? Could she not yet
reverse her decision? If she had not
left that letter behind her any plausi-
BILE excuse might have sufficed for
easy-going, unsuspiclous Dick.
Now 1t was hopeless. Somers was
almost due at the station. That must
be his train whistling
Suddenly there came grinding of
the brakes, shouts, confusion. The
roof of the compartment seemed to be
falling in on her. There was a mo-
ment of horror-then Esther knew no
more.
She awoke to find herself In the
debris Of the wreck. Hands were
raising her. She was lifted to her
feet. She had been momentarily
stunned, but was otherwise uninjured.
Seeing this, they left her to attend
to the others.
She leaned, sick and dizzy, against
IN end Of II carriage. What was that
form That they were carrying out2
lowering! Stone dead She cast
one glance OF horror at the mangled
bcdy, and then turned away.
A train had run into them-the 10
cal, she heard somebody say. She lis
tened without comprehending. but, lift
ing her eyes, she saw her home, her
own home, hundred yards away.
The two trains had collIded almost
Immediately in front Of 1t.
Some one was touching her arm.
She looked at him vacantly; she rec
ognized one Of the neighbors.
We've found your husband, Mrs.
somers,' he said. AHe isn't badly
hurt"
Tie drew her away. She saw Dick
sitting up on stretcher. One Of his
arms had been roughly bandaged.
Hello, old girl r he saluted her.
"NQt badly damaged!" !" -
And then Of a sudden she realized
all. 1t had been Dicks local with
which the express had colllded. Lev
erlng's death had wiped out all the
past, and Dick imagined that she had
come down to find him. No one had
seen her leave the town In Levering's
motor.
"we1l take him straight to the hos
pital. Mrs. Somers," some one was
saying. s,rrs as D
She breathed a prayer Of thankful.
ness. There was only the letter now,
and that could be destroyed. She fell
upon her knees beside her husband.
"Oh, It's so merciful," she sobbed.
I'm glad, Dick, I'm glad, gladI" u,
- "a -. 49, II