The Desired Woman(Fiscle Part-3 Of 2) by Will N. Harben (e book reader pdf TXT) 📕

Go! For God's Sake,  _Go!_"

"All Right,  Dear." Buckton Moved Away. His Feet Caught In A Rug And He

Stumbled Awkwardly. Passing Out At The Door,  He Softly Closed It.

Finding Herself Alone,  Irene Rose And Began To Walk The Floor. Back

And Forth She Strode,  Wringing Her Hands,  The Flare Of Insanity In Her

Eyes. She Unfastened Her Hair,  Shook It Down Her Back. Suddenly She

Fell On Her Knees By Her Bed,  Clasped Her Hands And Tried To Pray,  But

Words Failed To Come. Rising,  She Went To The Table And Filled A Glass

With Ice-Water; Then,  Going To The Bureau,  She Took Up The Small

Bottle Half Full Of Morphine Tablets And Held Them Between Her And The

Light.

"Ah!" She Cried. "I See The Way--The Only Way,  But I Must Be Quick,  Or

I'll Lose Courage! Quick,  Quick,  Quick!"

She Took A Tablet Into Her Mouth And Drank Some Water. She Took

Another,  And Another,  Then Two,  Then Three,  And So On,  Till The Bottle

Was Empty. She Walked To A Window And Threw The Bottle Away. She Heard

It Crash On The Pavement. She Went To Her Bed,  Lowered The Light,  And

Lay Down. Presently She Felt Drowsy; A Delicious Sense Of Restfulness

Stole Over Her.

Shortly Afterward Buckton,  Who Was Up Packing His Trunk,  Heard Her

Gleefully Laughing. Wondering Over The Cause,  And Vaguely Afraid,  He

Opened The Door And Went To Her. She Was Lying With Her Eyes Open,

Smiling Sweetly,  And Staring As If At Some Dream-Object Or Person

Across The Room.

"What Is It,  Dear?" He Asked,  Touching Her Forehead Gently. He Fancied

That She Was Slightly Delirious,  And That It Would Soon Pass Away.

A Sweet,  Girlish,  Rippling Laugh Escaped Her Lips. He Had Never Seen

Her Look So Beautiful. A Spiritual Radiance Had Transformed Her Face,

Which Was That Of A Young Girl. Her Eyes Had Lost Their Somber

Shadows. Ineffable Lights Danced In Their Depths.

"Little Dick And I Were Having So Much Fun. We Were Playing Hide And

Seek In The Clouds With Thousands And Thousands Of Angels Like

Himself. He Said That He Felt No Pain When He Died And Came Straight

To Me Because I Needed Him--Think Of That,  I,  A Grown Woman,  Needed A

Little Boy Like Him,  But That Is Because He Is Wise Now,  Wise And Old

In The Wisdom Of Eternity."

She Closed Her Eyes For A Moment,  Only To Open Them Again.

"Leave Me Quick! I Want To Sleep. Don't Disturb Me Again To-Night.

Shut The Door And Don't Open It. He Is Coming Back,  And--And He Must

Not See You Here. Oh,  I Love Him--I Love Him! He Is The Only One I

Ever Loved. We Understand Each Other Perfectly. He Is The Sweetest,

Dearest Thing In The World. I Had Him In My Arms Just Now,  And He

Seemed To Melt Into Me And Become Myself And Yet Remain Himself. He Is

Coming To Take Me Away. Go,  I Am Sleepy--So Sleepy And--Happy--Oh,  So

Happy! It Is All Peace And Bliss Out There,  And Endless Light And--

Love. Go,  Hurry! He Is Coming! I See My Mother,  Too. She Is Holding

Him By The Hand. They Are Beckoning To Me."

She Closed Her Eyes. Tints Of Dawn Were In Her Cheeks. He Bent To Kiss

Her,  But,  Fearing That He Might Wake Her,  He Refrained,  And Softly

Tiptoed From The Room.

Saunders Was Reading A Letter One Morning As He Walked Along The

Shaded Road From The Store To His House. It Was From James Wright,  The

Cashier Of The Bank,  Who Was Giving Him Some Of The Particulars In

Regard To The Double Tragedy In Mostyn's Life.

"The Whole City Is Shocked," The Letter Ran. "Nothing Else Is Spoken

Of. Mostyn Has The Sympathy Of All. He Is Bearing It Like A Man,  But

He Is Terribly Changed. He Seems More Dead Than Alive. You'd Hardly

Know Him Now. Of Course,  When Mitchell Was Unable To Locate His

Daughter,  To Inform Her Of The Death Of Her Child,  Everybody Began To

Suspect The Truth,  Especially As Buckton's Mother Was Almost

Prostrate,  And Made No Secret Of Her Fears.

"Mitchell Happened To Be At The Bank When The Telegram Came From

Buckton Announcing The Death Of Mrs. Mostyn. Buckton Called It Heart-

Failure,  But Everybody Knew From The Wording That It Was Suicide.

Mitchell Did,  I Am Sure. He Read The Telegram With Scarcely A Change

Of Face. I Happened To Be Close To Him At The Moment,  And Heard Him

Mutter:

"'It Is Better So!'

"He Sat Alone In Delbridge's Office--Seeming To Shun Mostyn--Without

Saying A Word For Half An Hour; Then He Asked Me To Telephone The

Facts To Mrs. Buckton. I Did So,  And She Drove Down To The Bank,  So

Weak That She Had To Be Helped From Her Carriage. She And The Old Man

Held A Consultation. They Agreed To Go Together To Charleston,  And

Thought For The Present,  At Least,  That It Would Be Better To Bury The

Poor Woman There,  So As To Avoid Further Publicity Here.

"Mitchell Returned To-Day. Nobody Knows Exactly What Took Place

Between Him And The Young Man,  But It Is Thought That Out Of

Consideration For Mrs. Buckton He Kept His Temper. It Is Rumored That

She And Her Son Have Left For New York,  And That They May Not Be Back

To Atlanta For A Long Time.

"Mitchell's Trouble Seems To Have Strengthened His Mind Rather Than

Weakened It. He Is Not So Flighty Or Talkative. He Is Offering His

Home For Sale,  And Has Ordered It To Be Closed At Once. He Says He Is

Going To Live With His Nieces In Virginia,  Who Will Now,  I Presume,

Inherit All His Property. He Is Not Likely To Leave A Penny To Mostyn,

Who,  To Do Him Justice,  Does Not Want Any Of It,  I'm Sure.

"Mostyn Is Staying At His Sister's. She Is Doing All She Can To Help

Him Bear Up. His Condition Is Truly Pitiful,  And It Is Made More

Unbearable By Old Henderson,  Who Has Made Many Bold Efforts To See

Him. Henderson Is Openly Gloating Over Mostyn's Misfortune. He Goes

About Chuckling,  Telling Everybody That The Retribution For Which He

Has Prayed So Long Has Come At Last. I Had To Drive Him Away

Yesterday. He Was Peering Through My Window With A Grin On His Face,

And Started To Shout In At Mostyn. Mostyn Saw Him,  I Think,  But Said

Nothing. The Poor Fellow Is Losing Flesh; His Eyes Have A Strange,

Far-Off Glare,  And His Hands And Knees Shake. I See Now That We Must

Persuade Him To Go Away For A While. A Man Of Iron Could Not Stand Up

Under Such Awful Trouble."

Saunders Folded The Letter,  And With A Profound Sigh Walked On. A Man

On A Wagon Loaded With Hay Passed. It Was Tobe Barnett,  Who Looked

Well And Prosperous. He Was Working On Saunders's Plantation,  And

Getting Good Wages Under The Friendly Direction Of Tom Drake.

Tobe Tipped His Hat,  As He Always Did To Saunders.

"Awful About Mr. Mostyn,  Ain't It?" He Said. "I Read It In The Paper

Yesterday."

Saunders Nodded. "Very Sad,  Tobe. He Is Having Hard Lines."

"I Never Had Nothin' Agin The Feller _Myself,_" Tobe Remarked. "He

Always Treated _Me_ Right. Some Folks Said He Was Sorter Wild In His

Ways,  But I Never Blamed Him Much. He Was Young An' Full O' Blood.

I've Knowed Fellers As Wild As Bucks To Settle Down In The End."

Tobe Drove On. Saunders Pursued His Way Along The Shaded Road. How

Peaceful The Landscape Looked In The Mellow Sunshine! How Firm And

Eternal Seemed The Mountains,  The Highest Peaks Of Which Pierced The

Snowy Clouds. Saunder's Heart Fairly Ached Under Its Load Of Sympathy.

"What Can Be Done? What Can Be Done?" He Thought. "I'd Like To Help

Him."

Presently Down The Road Near His Own House Saunders Saw A Trim Form On

A Black Horse. It Was Dolly. She Was Coming Toward Him. She Had Not

Seen Him,  And He Noted That She Was Constantly Reining Her Restive

Mount In While She Kept Her Eyes Fixed On The Ground As If In Deep

Thought.

In A Few Minutes They Met. She Looked Up,  Nodded,  And Bowed.

"I Rode Over To Take A Message To Father," She Announced. "He Was In

The Wheat-Field. I Didn't Want To Bother To Go Around To The Gate,  So

What Do You Think I Did? I Made My Horse Jump A Fence Eight Rails

High. Oh,  It Was Fine! I Rose Like An Arrow In The Breeze And Came

Down On The Other Side As Light As A Feather."

He Caught Her Bridle-Rein And Held It To Steady The Impatient Animal.

"You Really Mustn't Take Such Risks," He Said,  Firmly." If The Horse

Had Caught His Feet On The Top Rail He Would Have Thrown You. Don't,

Don't Do It Any More. Don't,  Please Don't!"

She Avoided His Burning Upward Glance. Suddenly A Shadow Swept Over

Her Face. "Of Course,  You've Heard About Mr. Mostyn?" She Said,

Softly. "Isn't It Simply Awful?"

He Nodded,  Telling Her About The Letter He Had Just Received. When He

Had Concluded She Sat In Silence For A Moment,  Then He Heard Her Sigh.

"I Thought I'd Had Trouble Myself,  But,  Really,  Jarvis,  If I Tried I

Could Not Imagine A More Horrible Situation. He Is Proud,  And His

Humiliation And Grief Combined Must Be Unbearable. Losing His Son Was

The Hardest Blow. I Think You Told Me He Loved The