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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 27, 1913)
JHffl MENS CMMM :M:rSJm, . , r 4 lUustT&.ticnsrDy c? DOM.J.LW1N Cogyrigk ISWTjbcBODDS.MEPniLL CO. 14 SYNOPSIS. Hill Cnnnon. the IntinnzH klnK, and hi: fltiUKhtfr. Hose, who hml pattttwl up Mrs 'iiipIIim Itynn'M Imll at Sun Kranclnco U ti' company iinr fnther. nrrlvn ut Antelop l'r.iniiilik man i-Hllrt on hl mother tr I'nilllllirK JMWO I'HIIH fill IIIH iiivfiii. i fi i, ii bnll Invltntlon for 111 wife, ami l refunpd Tin- detrrmltN'tl "Id iHily rpfuP(i - - - 1 I l 1.... I. Inn- IW.tn- 111 I'lilKIHZi HIT llrtllKllltll 'HCItin. ww... nlflt tm.l been tntppeil lulu ft innrrtuKO will Hemlie Ivtrw)ti. ii nlf'iiiHCriipnor. e.rul i ir hi m nlor Slip qwtntlpr hlB anfn thf hBVr frcfiUHtil qiinrrelH, anil o Hlipi ii him Cnnnon nml his daughter U nil'T ItWIl v Milium llina ....-rj.-- - - ro urn wnl In ftt Antelope. Domini' X .. .. ... , ,.... .... I, uniinn. MV"!1 I" rHI'!Ml lllllll KIV1.IIII . !". W!ihis condition nml brought to Antelope niiK'l Aniriopp is nil on ny riuiiii "!'"" Pnrmni mitiip Ilnnillilck Imrk to Hip Tun w.nUii Inter Jlprrilin illnrovpm In n. , ip r when- htiBhnml In nml wrlteB IcttPr It I'ik tn Mtnoi.tli over illflli'illtlPH between h. in Dcmilnlek nt lHHt Im able tn Join M'ow nnowlHiuml prisoner In hotel pnr li i Up lone tPinper oit tnlk nt Hiifonl. nn (if lor. After three weeks, pml of lm prlHonment Im seen TelegniiiM nml, mnll nrrlvp Domlnlck khIm letter from wlfp Tl'i Iluse hp doesn't love wlfp, nml never flld Htormbound people IipbIii to depiirt Hone nml Domlnlck embrace, fnthnr Bees llicni nnd riemnndi nn explanation Hose n brother Qeiio In made nmniiKer of nmi'li, ml l to (tot It If Im Htuys inlipr n yenr. "urmnn pxptence sympathy for Poiiii nUk's position In tnlk with lloe Horn -nltk rpjurnH Iioiiip. Herny etPrtB hprseir to plcnip lilm. hut Im In InilllTprPnt Cnn non onllH on Mrn Kynn. They iIIupubb Domlnlrk'H innrrlnKM dlflUiiltlPS, nml rnn lion subkchIii huyltiK off Horny DotnlnlcK kopb to pnt-k on Hnndny with lli-rny nml fiinlly. opes Mips Cnnnon, bowH to Imt mill dtiirtn ummslnpim In Homy. In airii Iljnii'n nnitic Cnnnon nffprn IJprny w,ix to lenvp her liunlinml mid permit divorce Blip rpfiispw Doinlnli'k hpi Hone. Cor iplln Hvnn onKnK'-il to Jnk DnlTy Cnh tion offprn Uornv $100,000 nnd is turned 1iiwn Uiirny ipIIb nUtem of offer. Hu rnrd. Hip nrtor. mnkPH u hit In vaudeville. Hoiie tpllH Domlnlck thnt ho miuit ntlck in wlfp, nnd firm tlmo ncknowlpduw that hi Iovph lilm. Cnnnon offers Horny 300, ton which bIip rpf:iHB, BnylnK ('unnon wmilB Doinlnlcli far lloim. Gpno wIiib the fnnch. CHAPTER XVII. Continued. It VnB, however, lier huHbnnil'a voice tlmt answered her. Ho npoko quickly, nn If In ft hurry, telHiiR her thnt ho would not bo homo to dinner, jib a rollego friend of his from Now York had Jimt arrived and ho would dine nnd go to tho theater with him that Dvenlnp. Herny'n ear, ready to dis cover, in tho most ullen subjects, mat tor bearlni; on her husband's Interest In Hoao Cannon, listened Intontly for the man'H name. Ab Domlnlck did not glvo It alio asked for It, and to her strained and' waiting attention It Reomod to come with an lntontlopnl Indistinctness. "What Is his name?" alio called AKaln, her voice hard and IiIrIi. "I didn't catch It." It wns repeated and for tho second tlmo alio did not hear It. Ueforo sho could demnnd It onco more, Doml nlck's "Qood-by" hummed nlonp the wlro nnd the connection was cut. Sho did not wnut any more lunch mil went Into tho parlor, whero sho But down on tho cushioned window scat and looked out on the vaporous transparencies of tho foj. Sho had waked with tho sense of weight and apprehension heavy on her. As sho nresaod sho had thought of tho Inter view of yesterday with anger and also with something as much like fenr ns sho was capablo of feeling. She real Izod tho folly of tho rngo sho hnd shown, tho folly and tho futility of It, nnd she realized tho danger of nn open dcclarntlon of war with tho llorco and unscrupulous old mnu who was hoc adversary. Thin, with her customary bold courngo, sho now tried to push from her mind. After all, ho couldn't kill her, and that wns about tho only way ho could got rid of hor. lOvon IIIH Canhon would hardly dare, In tho present day In Snn KrnuclBco, cold-bloodedly to murder a womnn. Tho thought cnused 11 slight, Bnrcustlc millcto touch hor lips. Fortunately tor her, tho lawless days of CnllCarnln were passed. With the curtnlnn caught botwoen .ier flngor-tlps, hor llgure bent forward ami motionless, sho looked out Into tho street as If she saw soiunthlnR thero of absorbing Interest. Dut she law nothing. All her mental activity wiib bent on tho problem of Doml nick's telephone message. Sbo did not bollovc It. She was In that state whore tittles light as air all point one way, and to have Domlnlck stay out to dinner with a sudden nnd uupxpect sd "friend from Now York" wns tnoro than a trllle. She assured horself with slow, cold reiteration that ho was din ing with Roso Cannon In tho big house on California Street. If they walked 'ogothor on Sunday mornings, why shouldn't they dlno together on week dny nights? They were catoful of np ponrunces and thoy would never let themeelvcB bo aeon together In any public place till they wore formally engaged. Tho man from Now York was a llctlon, She that Immaculate, perfect girl hnd Invented him. Doml nlck could not Invent anything. Ho wns not that kind of a man. Hut Hor sy knew thnt all women can lie when tho occasion demands, nnd lloso Can non could thtiH supply her lover's do HcicnelcB. With her blankly-staring cyeB fixed jn tho white outside world, her men tal vision conjured up a picture of them nt dinner that ntuht, Bitting op poslte cuch other at a table glistening with the richest of glass and silver, while soft-footed mcnlnlB waited ob oqulotisly upon them. Bill Cannon was not In tho picture, borny's Imagi nation had excluded ,htui, pushing hltn out of tho romance jlntb some unseen, uninteresting region where peoplo who 4c a? i . wero not lovers dined dully by them selves. Sho could not lmnglne Hoso and Domlnlck othorwlso than alone, exchanging tendor glances over the nowost form of champagne glasses tilled with the choicest brand of cham pagne. A sound escaped her, a sound ot pain, as If forced from her by the grinding of Jealous passions within. She dropped tho curtain and rose to hor foot. If they married It would bo always thnt way with them. They would have everything In the world, everything that to Horny made life worth while. Even Paris, with her thiee hundred thousand dollars to open all Its doors, would be a savor less place to her If Rose and Domlnlck wore to bo left to tho enjoyment of all tho plensurcB and luxuries of life back In California. Unable to rest, fretted by jealousy, tormented by her longing for tho of fered money, oppressed by uneasiness nH to Cannon's next move, tho thought of tho long afternoon In the house wiib unendurable to her. Sho could not re main unemployed nnd passive while hor mind wus In this Btute of disturb ance. Though tho day was bad and thero wns nothing to do down town, she determined to go out. She might llnd some distraction In watching the pussorshy nnd looking nt tho ahop windows. Hy tho time sho waa dressed, It was four o'clock. Tho fog was thicker than over, banging over tho city In an even, motionless pull of vapor. Its bnnth had a l'ccn, penetrating chill, like that exhaled by tho mouth of n cavern. Coming down tho BtepB into It she seemed to bo entering a whlto, still sea, off which an nlr camo that was pleasant on tho heated dryness of her fnco. Sho had no place to go to, no engagement to keep, but In stinctively turned her steps in tho down-town direction. Walking would pass mora tlmo than going on tho car, and alio started down the street which slanted to a level and then climbed a long, dim reach of hill beyond. Ub emptlneHB n characteristic of San Francisco streets struck upon her observation with a aotiHO of grip ing, bleak dreariness. She could look nlong the two lines of sidewalk till they wero lost In the gradual milky thickening of tho fog, and nt Intervnls bco n tlguio, faint nnd dreamlike, ei ther emerging from spneo in alow ap proach, or molting Into It In phantas mal withdrawal. It waa a melancholy, depressing vista. Sho had not reached tho top of tho long hill beroro she decided that sho would walk no farther. Walking wns only bearable when there was something to ace. Dut aha did not know what elso to do or whero to go. Indecision was not'usually a feature of hor character. To-day, however, tho unaccustomed atrnlnof temptation and "A Man Doesn't Tell His Wife About His Affairs With Other Women." worry Boomed to hnvo weakened hor resourcefulness and resolution. The ono point on which uba felt deter mined was thnt sho would not go homo. Tho advancing front ot a car, loom ing suddenly through tho mist, di.ci.i. d her. Sho hailed It, climbed on hoard) and snn.. Into a sent on the In side There wiib no ono oIbo thuro. It smelt of dampncHB, ot wet woolens and rubber overshoes, and Its closed windows, lllmed jvlth fog, showed semicircular streaks aciOBs them where pnsBougors had rubbed them clean to look out. Tho conductor, nn unkempt man, with an unshaven chin nnd dirty collar, slouched In for hor rare, exteniung a grimy paw toward her. Ab he took tho money and punched tho tag, he hummed n tuno to himself, scorning to convoy In that harmless act a slighting opinion of hla passenger. Homy looked at him BQveroly, which mado him hum still loudor, and lounge Indifferently out to tho back platform, whero he loaned on tho brnko and spat scornfully Into tho Btreet. Derny felt thnt sitting thoro was worao thun walking. Thoro waa ho ono to look nt, thero was nothing, to be aeon from tho windows. The car lipped over the edge of an Incline, slid with an oven, skimming swiftness down tho face of the hill, and then, with n Borlos of small Jouncing, crossed tho rails of another line Not knowing or caring where sh? was, she signaled tho conductor to atop, nnd nllghtod. Sho looked round her for nn uncortnln moment, nnd then recog nized tho locality. Sho waB cIobo to tho old Union Street plaza on which tho Greok Church fronted. Here In tho days before her marriage, whon she and Hazel had boon known as "tho pretty Iverson girls," she had been wont to como on Btinny Sunday mornings and sit on the benches with such beaux as brightened tho monot ony of that unnsplrluK period. Sho felt tired now and thought It would not be n bad Idea to cross to tho plaza and rest there for a space. She waa warmly dressed and her clotho3 would not be hurt by tho damp. Threading her wny down tho street, sho camo out on tho opening where the Ilttlo park lies like an unrolled won cloth round which the Hhabby, gray city erowdB. She sank down on the llrst empty bench, and looking round bIio Baw other dark shapes, having a vague, huddled nppvarance, lounging In bunched-up attitude on tho adjacent seals. They seemed preoccupied. It struck her that thoy, like herself, wero plunged In meditation on mat ters which they had sought this damp seclusion silently to ponder. The only region of activity In the dim, atlll acono was whero somo boys were playing under tho faintly-defined out line of a largo willow tree. They were bending closo to the ground In tho performnnco of a game over which periods of quietness fell to bo broken by sudden disrupting cries. As Demy took her sent their Imp-like shapes dark and without detail, danced about under the tree In what appeared n fan tastic ecstasy, whllo their cries brolto through tho woolly thickness of tho air with an intimate clearness strange ly at variance with tho remote effect of their figures. The fact thnt no one noticed her, or could clenrly see her, affected her as It seemed to have done- the other occu pants of the benches. Sho relaxed from her alert sprlghtllneas of poae, nnd wank against the back of the seat In tho limpness of unobserved Indiffer ence. Sitting thus, her eyes on tho ground, sho heard, at first unheeding, then with a growing sense of atten tion, footsteps approaching on the gravel walk. Thoy were tho short, quick footsteps of a woman. Borny looked up nnd snw a woman, ti little darker than tho atmosphere, emerging from the surrounding grayness, as If sho were slowly rising to tho surfneo through water. Her form detnehod Itself gradually from the fog, the effect of delibcrotion being due to the fact that sho was dressed in gray, a long, loose coat and a round hat with a film of veil about It. Sho would have been a study In monochrome but for tho color In tho cheek turned to Bcrny, a glowing, roBo-ttntcd cheek Into which tho dump had called a pink brighter than nny rouge. Berny looked nt It with reluctant admiration, and the woman turned and presented her full faco, blooming as a flower, to the watcher's eye. It waa Roso Cannon. If In thuso wnn nnd dripping sur roundings the young girl hnd not looked so freshly fnlr and comely. Berny might have let her pass un checked. Hut upon the elder woman's sore and bitter mood tho vision ot ths rosy youthfulnoss, triumphant where all tho rest of tho world sank unprotcsting under tho weight or a common ugliness, enmo with a sense of unbearable wrong and grievance. As Roso passed, Berny, with a sudden blinding tip-rush of excitement, lennod forwurd and roso. "M18B Cannon," b,1hj said loudly. "Oh, MIbb Cnnnon Just n moment." Rose turned quickly, looking Inquir ingly nt tho ownor of tho voice, Sho hnd had a vague Impression of a fig ure on the bench but had not looked at It. Now, though tho face sho saw waa unfamiliar, sho amiled nnd said: "Did you wnnt to speak to mo?" The Ingratiating amiability of her expression added to Uerny'a swelling sense of Injury and injustice Thus did this alron smllo upon Domlnlck, nnd It waa a 3inllo thnt was very sweet, The excitement that had seized upon the older woman made her tremble, but sho waa glad, fierce ly, burning glnd, that alio had stopped MIbs Cannon. "cs,-" sho said, "Just for a moment, If you don't mind." Roso had never seen tho woman be fore, and at tho llrat glance supposed hor to be some form of peddler or ii porson soiling tickets. The daughter of Bill Cannon was eagerly sought by membors of hor own sex who had wares for sole, und It did not striko her as odd that bIio should be stopped In tho plnza on n foggy nftornoon. Rut n second glance showed hor that the woman boforo her waa better dressed, more nasured In manner thon the fe. malo vender, nnd sho felt puzzled nnd Interested. "You had something to any to mo?" sho queried ngnln, tho questioning in flection n little more marked. "Yes, but not much. I won't keep you more thnn n few moments. Won't you Bit down?" Bcrny designated the bench and they sat on It, n apace between them Roso ant forward on tho edgo of tho seat, looking at tho Btrnngo woman whose business with her Bho could uot gueas. "You've never Been mo before, hnvo you, Miss Cnnnon?" said Borny. "You don't know who I nm?" Tho young girl shook her head with an nlr ot embarrassed admission. "I'm nfrald 1 don't," sho said. "If I've f ver met you before, It must have bpen a long time ago." ' You'vo never met mo," said Borny, "but I guess you'vo hoard of me. I am the wife of Domlnlck Ryan" Sho said the words enslly, but her ejos wero lit with devouring fires as they fastened on tho young woman's faff Upon this, signs of perturba tion Immediately displayed them-i selves. For a moment Rose was shak en beyond Bpooch. She flushed to hor hair, nnd her eyes dropped. To a Jealou3 observation, she looked con fused, trapped, guilty. "Really," sho said after the first mo ment of a shock, "I I I really don't think I ovor did moot you." With her fare crimson alio raised her eyes and looked at hor companion. "If I have, I must have forgotten It." "You haven't," said Bcrny, "but you've met my husband." Robo'b color did not fade, but this tlmo Bho did not uvert hor oyea. I'rldo nnd social training had come to nor aid She answered quietly and with something of dignity. "Yea, I met Mr. Ryan nt Antelope when wo wero anowed up there. I suppose he's told you till about It?" "No," said Berny, her voice begin ning to vlbrntc, "ho hasn't tojd mo all about it. He's told just ns puch as he thought I ought to know." Her glance, riveted on Rose'B face, contained a llorco antagonism that was like an Illumination of hatred shining through her apecch. "He didn't think it neceasary to tell me everything that happened up there, Miss Cannon," Roso turned half from hor without answorlng. Tho action waa like that of a child whlfh shrinks from the an gry face of punishment. Herny leaned forward that sho might still see lier and wont on. "Ho couldn't tell me all that hap pened up at Antelope. There are somo things thnt it wouldn't have done for hltn to tell me. A man doesn't toll hla wife about his nffnlrs with othor women. But aometlmes, Miss Cnnnon, she finds them out." Roso turned suddenly upon her. "Mrs. Ryrfn," she said In a cold, au thorltatlve voice, "what do you want to say to me? You stopped mo just now to say something. Whatever U is, say It and any It out." Borny's rages lnvnriably worked themselves out on the same linca. With bnttlo boiling within her, alio could preserve up to a certain point a specious, outward Calm. Then sud denly, at some alight, harmless word, some touch as light as the pressure on the electric button that sets oft tho dynamite explosion, the bonds of her wrath were broken and It buret Into expression. Now her enforced re straint wns torn Into shreds, and she cried, her voice qunverlng with pas sion, shaken with breathlessness: "What do you suppose 1 want to say? I want to nsK you what right you'vo got to try to steal my hus band?" "I have no right," said Rose. Berny waa, for the moment, so tak en aback, that sho said nothing hut stared with her whole faco set In a rigidity of fierce attention. After a moment's quivering amaze she burst out: "Then what are you doing It for?" "I am not doing It." "You're n liar," she cried furiously. "You're worse' than a liar. You're a thief. You're trying to get him every wny you know how. You sit thero looking nt mo with a faco like a little Innocent, nnd you know there's not a thing you can do to get him away from mo you're not doing. If a com mon gutter girl had acted that way they'd call her some pretty dirty names, names that would ninko you sit up if you thought any ono would uso them to you. But 1 don't see where thoro'a any difference. You think because you're rich and on top of tho heap that you can do anything. Just let mo tell you, Miss (Rose Can non, you can't stonl Domlnlck Ryan from mo. You may bo Bill Cannon's daughter, with all the mines of tho Comstock behind you, but you can't buy my husband." Roso was aghast. Tho words ot Homy'B outburst were nothing to her, sound and fury, the madness of n Jealous woman. Thnt this was a lov ing wlfo fighting for tho husband whoso heart sho had lost was all sho understood nnd heard. That wns tho tragic, tho nppnlllng thought. The weight of her own guilty conscience Bocmod drugging her down Into sick ened sllenco. The only thing it seemed to her she could honestly say was to refuto tho woman's nccusntlo'ns that Domlnlck was being stolen from hor. ','Mra. Ryan," alio Implored, "what ever else you may think, do plenBe undrratand that I nm not trying to tnke your huebnnd nwny from you. You're making a ralatake. I don't know what you'vo heard or guessed, but you're distracting yourself with out any necessity. How could I ever do that? 1 never meet him. I never see him." Sho leaned forward In her eager ness. Horny cast a biting, sidelong look at her. "How about Sunday morning on Tel egraph Hill?" Bho Bald. "I did meet him there, that's true," a memory of the conversation aug mented the young girl's sense of guilt. If half this woman Bald waa mntlncBB. halt wna fact. Domlnlck loved Roso Cnnnon, .not his wife, and to Rose thnt wna tho whole tragedy. Meetings, words, renouncements wero nothing. She Btnmmored In her misery, "Yes but but you must believe mo when I toll you that that time and onco bofore ono evening In tho moon light on tho steps of our Iioubo were tho only times I'vo seen your hus band bUico I came back from Ante lopo." "Well, I don't," said Berny, "I don't for a moment bellove you. ' You must lake me for tho easiest fruit that ever grow on the tree If you think I'll swal low a fnlry tale like that. If you met once on Telegraph Hill, and onco In the moonlight, what's to prevent your meeting at other times, and othor plncos? You haven't montlonod tho visits up at your house and tho dinner to-night." Rose drew back, frowning uncom prchendlngly. "What dinner to-night?" she said. "The one you're going to take with my husband." For the that time in tho Interview, tho young girl waa lifted from tho sonso of dishonesty that crushed her by a rising flood of angry pride. "I take dlnnor with my father to night In our house on California Street," she said coldly. "Bosh!" said Herny, giving her head a furious Jerk. "You needn't bother wasting time on lies like that to me. I'm not a complete fool." "Mrs. Rynn," said Rose, "I think we'd better end this tnlk. Wo can't have any rational converBntlon whon you keep telling me what I say Is a lie. I am sorry you feel so badly, and I wish I could say something to you that you'd bellove. All I can do to ease your mind is to assure you that I never, except on those two occa sions, have scon your hUBbnnd since Ills return from the country and I cor talnly never Intend to Bee him again." She roso from the bench nnd, as she did so, Herny cried: "Then how do you account for the money that was offered me yester day?" "Money?" said the young girl, paus ing as sho stood. "What money?" "Tho three hundred thousand dol lars that your father offered mo yes terday afternoon to leave my huaband and let him get a divorce from me." Rose sat down on tho bench and turned a startled face on tho speaker. "Tell me that again," she said. "I don't quite understand it." Herny gave a little, dry laugh. "Oh, as many times as you like," she said with her most Ironical air of politeness, "only I should think It would bo rather stalo news to you by this time. Yesterday afternoon your father made mo his third offer to de sert my huaband and force him to di vorce me at tho end of a year. The offers have gone up from titty thou sand dollars that' waa the flrat one, m? Jf JmyLj J LaviM "You Poor, Unfortunate and, all these things considered, I thought It was pretty mean to the three hundred thousand dollars they tried me with yesterday. Mra. Ryan waa suppoacd to have mndo the flrat offer, but your father did tho offering. This last tlmo ho had to como out and show me his hand and admit that one-third ot tho money was from him " She turned and looked at Rose with a cool, Imperturbable impudence "It's good to have rich parcnta, Isn't it?" Rose stared back without answer ing. She had become very pale. "That," aald Berny, giving her head a Judicial nod, and, delivering hor words with n sort ot impersonal auavenesa, "Is the way it waa man aged; you wero kept carefully out, I waan't supposed to know thero wns a lady In the case, but of course. I did. You can't negotiate the sale of a husband aa you do that ot a piece of real estate, especially when his wifo objects. That, Mlaa Cannon, was the difficulty. While all you peoplo wero so anxious to buy, I wns not willing to Bell. It tnkes two to make n bar gnln." Robc, pnlo now to her lips, said In a low volco: "I don't bellove it. It's not true." Herny laughed again. "Well, that's only fair." she aald ,5. j &r with an nlr of debonair large-minded-nesa. "I've been telling you what you Bay la Ilea and now you toll me what 1 sny la lies. It's not, nnd ypu know It's not. How would I hnve found out about all this? Do you think Doml nlck told mo? Men don't toll their wives when they wnnt to got rid of thorn. They're stupid, hut they're not that stupid." Roso gave a low cxclamntlon and turned her head away. Berny wns walling for a second denial of her statements, whon the young girl rose to her feet, saying In a horrified mur mur: "How awful 1 How perfectly awful!" "Of course," Borny continued, ad dressing her back, "I was to under stand you didn't know anything nbout it. I had my own opinions on that. Fathers don't go round buying hus bands for their daughters unleBB they know their uiiughtors are dead sot on having the husbands. Hill Can non was not trying to get Domlnlck away from mo just because he wanted to bo philanthropic. Neither waa Mra. Ryan. You're the kind of wife sho wanted for her boy, just as Domi nions tho husband your father'd like for you. So you stood back and let the old people do tho dirty work. You" Rose turned quickly, sat down on tho edgo of U10 bench, and leaned toward the speaker. Her face was full of a quivering intensity of con cern. "You poor, unfortunate woman!" Bho said in a shaken voice, and laid her hand on Berny's knee. Berny waa so astonished thnt for a moment she had no words, but stared uncomprehending, still alertly sus picious. "You poor 8011I!" Rose went on. "If I'd known or guessed for a moment I'd have spoken differently. I can't say anything. I didn't know. 1 couldn't have gueBscd. It's the most horrlblo thing I ever heard of. It's too too" She stopped, biting her lip. Herny saw that she was unable to command her voice, though sho had no appear ance of tears. Her face looked qulto dlfCorent from what It had at the be ginning of tho interview, All Its ami able, rosy softness waa gone. Tho elder woman was too astonished to say anything. She had a feeling that, just for that moment, nothing could be aald. Sho waa silenced by some- Woman," She Said. thing that she did not underatand. Like an amazed child she stared at Rose, bafued, confused, a Ilttlo awed. Aftor a minute of silence, the young girl went on. "I can't talk about it. I don't alto gether understand. Other people thoy muat explain. I've been no, not de ceivedbut kept In tho dark. But be sure ot ono thing, yesterday was the end of It. Thoy'll never no one thnt 1 have nny power over will over mnko you such offors again. I'll prom ise you that. I don't know how It could have happened. There's been a mistake, a horrible, unforglvablo mis take. You'vo been wronged and Insult od, and I'm sorry, sorry nnd humlll uted and nshnmed. Thero are no words " She Btopped again with n gesture ot helpless Indignation and disgust, nnd rose to hor feot. Berny, through tho darkness of her stunned astonishment, realized that she was shaken by feol IngB ahe could uot express. (TO BE CONTINUED.) Oblivion. "If our man doesn't mnke a record In tho legislature," says tho Whltsett Courier, "we'll send him to congress, where he'll be lost sight of and never heard from again."