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Speaker 1: My Wife's Tempter by Fitz James o'bryen one a predestined marriage,

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Elsie and I were to be married in less than

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a week. It was rather a strange match, and I

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knew that some of our neighbors shook their heads over

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it and said that no good would come. The way

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it came to pass was thus. I loved Elsie Burns

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for two years, during which time she refused me three times.

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I could no more help asking her to have me

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when the chance offered than I could help breathing or living.

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To love her seemed natural to me as existence. I

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felt no shame, only sorrow when she rejected me. I

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felt no shame either when I renewed my suit. The

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neighbors called me mean spirited to take up with any

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girl that had refused me as often as Elsie Burns

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had done. But what cared I about the neighbors. If

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it is black weather and the sun is under a

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cloud every day for a month, is that any reason

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why the poor farmer should not hope for the blue

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sky and the plentiful burst of warm light when the

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dark month is over. I never entirely lost heart, do not, however,

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mistake me. I did not mope and moan and grow

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pale after the manner of poetical lovers. No such thing.

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I went bravely about my business, ate and drank as usual,

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laughed when the laugh went round, and slept soundly and

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woke refreshed. Yet all this time I loved, desperately loved

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Elsie Burns. I went wherever I hoped to meet her,

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but did not haunt her with my attentions. I behaved

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to her as any friendly young man would have behaved.

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I met her and parted from her cheerfully. She was

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a good girl too, and behaved well. She had me

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in power. How a woman in Elsie's situation could have

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mortified a man in mine. But she never took the

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slightest advantage of it. She danced with me when I

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asked her, and had no foolish fears of allowing me

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to see her home of Knights after a ball was over,

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or of wandering with me through the pleasant New England

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fields when the wild flowers made the paths like roads

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in fairyland. On several disastrous occasions. When I presented my suit,

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I did it simply and manfully, telling her that I

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loved her very much, and would do everything to make

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her happy if she would be my wife. I made

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no fulsome protestations, and did not once allude to suicide. She,

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on the other hand, calmly and gravely thanked me for

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my good opinion, but with the same calm gravity rejected me.

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I used to tell her that I was grieved that

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I would not press her, that I would wait and

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hope for some change in her feelings. She had an

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esteem for me, she would say, but could not marry me.

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I never asked her for any reasons. I hold it

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to be an insult to a woman of sense to

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demand her reasons on such an occasion. Enough for me

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that she did not then wish to be my wife,

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so that the old intercourse went on. She cordial and

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polite as ever. I never for one moment doubting that

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the day would come when my roof tree would shelter

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her and we should smile together over our fireside at

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my long and indefatigable wooing. I will confess that at

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times I felt a little jealous, jealous of a man

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named Hammond Brake who lived in our village. He was

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a weird Saturnine fellow who made no friends among the

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young men of the neighborhood, but who loved to go

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alone with his books and his own thoughts for company.

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He was a studious and I believe, a learned young man,

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and there was no avoiding the fact that he possessed

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considerable influence over Elsie. She liked to talk with him

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in corners or in secluded nooks of the forest when

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we all went out BlackBerry gathering or picnicking. She read

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books that he gave her, And whenever a discussion arose

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relative to any topic higher than those ordinary ones we

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usually canvassed, Elsie appealed to break for his opinion as

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a disciple consulting a beloved master. I confess that for

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a time I feared this man as a rival. A

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little closer observation, however, convinced me that my suspicions were unfounded.

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The relation between Elsie and Hammond Brake were purely intellectual.

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She reverenced his talents and acquirements, but she did not

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love him. His influence over her, nevertheless, was none the

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less decided in time, as I thought all along, Elsie

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yielded I was what was considered a most eligible match

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being tolerably rich, and Elsie's parents were most anxious to

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have me for a son in law. I was good

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looking and well educated enough, and the old people, I

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believe pertinaciously dinned all my advantages into my little girl's ears.

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She battled against the marriage for a long time, with

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a strange persistence, all the more strange because she never

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alleged the slightest personal dislike to me. But after a

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vigorous candidating from her own garrison, in which I am

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proud to say I did not in any way join,

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she hoisted the white flag and surrendered. I was very happy.

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I had no fear about being able to gain Elsie's heart.

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I think, indeed, I know that she liked me all along,

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and that her refusal were dictated by other feelings than

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those of a personal nature. I only guessed as much. Then.

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It was some time before I knew all. As the

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day approached for our wedding, Elsie did not appear at

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all stricken with woe. The village gossips had not the

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smallest opportunity for establishing a romance with a compulsory bride

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for the heroine. Yet to me, it seemed as if

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there was something strange about her. A vague terror appeared

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to beset her. Even in her most loving moments. When

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resting in my arms, she would shrink away from me

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and shudder, as if some cold wind had suddenly struck

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upon her. That it was caused by no aversion to

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me was evident, for she would, the moment after, as

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if to make amends, give me one of those voluntary

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kisses that are sweeter than all others. I reflected over

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this gravely, as was my custom, but could come to

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no conclusion. I dismissed it as one of those mysteries

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of maidenhood, which it is not given to man to fathom.

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The day came at length on which we were to

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be married, a glorious autumnal day, on which the sweet

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season of fruits and flowers seemed to have copied the

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kings of old and robed itself in its brightest purple

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and golds, in order to die with becoming splendor. The

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little village church was nearly filled with a bridal party

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and the curious crowd who came to see the persevering lover.

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When his bride, Elsie, was calm and grave and beautiful,

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the sober beauty of the autumn itself seemed to tinge

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her face. Only once did she show any emotion, when

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the solemn question was put to her, the answer to

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which was to decide her destiny. I felt her hands,

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which was in mine tremble, as she gasped out a

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convulsive yes. She gave one brief, imploring glance at the

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gallery on the right. I placed the ring upon her

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finger and looked in the direction in which she gazed.

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Hammond Brake's dark countenance was visible looking over the railings,

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and his eyes were bent sternly on Elsie. I turned

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quickly to my bride, but her brief emotion of whatever

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nature had vanished. She was looking at me anxiously and

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smiling somewhat sadly through her maiden's tears. I kissed her

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and whispered a loving word or two in her ear,

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at which she brightened. And her grave, decorous old father

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and quaint, tender hearted mother kissed her, and we rode

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all alone through glories of the autumn woods to our home.

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Two the Strange Book. The months went by quickly, and

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we were very happy. I learned that Elsie really loved me,

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and of my love for her. She had proof long ago.

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I will not say that there was no clout upon

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our little horizon. There was one, but it was so

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small and appeared so seldom that I scarcely feared it.

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The old vague terror seemed still to attack my wife.

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If I did not know her to be pure as

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heaven snow, I would have said it was a remorse.

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At times she scarcely appeared to hear what I said,

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so deep would be her reverie. Nor did those moods

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seem pleasant ones. When wrapped in such her sweet features

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would contract, as if in a hopeless effort to solve

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some mysterious problem, A sad pain, as it were, quivered

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in her white, drooped eyelids. One thing I particularly remarked,

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she spent hours at a time gazing at the west.

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There was a small room in our house whose windows

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every evening flamed with the red light of the setting sun.

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Here Elsie would sit and gaze westward, so motionless and

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entranced that it seemed as if her soul was going

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down with the day. Her conduct to me was curiously varied.

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She apparently loved me very much, yet there were times

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when she absolutely avoided me, I have seen her strolling

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through the fields and left the house with the intention

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of joining her. But the moment she caught sight of

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me approaching, she has fled into the neighboring copse, with

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so evident a wish to avoid me that it would

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have been absolutely cruel to follow. Once or twice, the

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old jealousy of him and Brake crossed my mind, but

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I was obliged to dismiss it as a frivolous suspicion.

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Nothing in my wife's conduct justified any such theory. Brake

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visited us once or twice a week. In fact, when

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I returned from my business in the village, I used

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to find him seated in the parlor with Elsie, reading

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some favorite author, or conversing on some novel literary topic.

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But there was no disposition to avoid my scrutiny. Brake

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seemed to come as a matter of right, and the

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perfect unconsciousness of furnishing any grounds for suspicion with which

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he acted was a sufficient answer to my mind for

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any wild doubts that my heart may have suggested. Still,

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I could not but remark that Brake's visits were in

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some manner connected with Elsie's melancholy. On the days when

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he had appeared and departed, the gloom seemed to hang

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more thickly than ever over her head. She, on such

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occasions all the evening at the western window, silently gazing

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at the cleft in the hills through which the sun

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passed to his repose. At last I made up my

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mind to speak to her. It seemed to me to

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be my duty if she had a sorrow to partake

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of it. I approached her on the matter with the

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most perfect confidence that I had nothing to learn beyond

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the existence of some girlish grief, which a confession and

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a few loving kisses would exercise forever. Elsie, I said

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to her one night, as she sat, according to her custom,

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gazing westward, like those maidens of the old ballads of chivalry,

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watching for the nights that never came. Elsie, what is

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the matter with you, darling. I have noticed a strange

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melancholy in you for some time past. Tell me all

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about it. She turned quickly and gazed at me with

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eyes wide open and face filled with a sudden fear.

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Why do you ask me that, Mark, she answered, I

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have nothing to tell from this strange startled manner in

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which this reply was given. I felt convinced that she

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had something to tell, and instantly formed a determination to

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discover what it was. A pang shot through my heart

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as I thought that the woman whom I held dearer

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than anything on earth hesitated to trust me with a

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petty secret. Elsie, I said, don't treat me as if

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I were a grand inquisitor with rags and thumb screws

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and readiness for you. If you prove contumacious, you need

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not look at me in that frightened way. I'm not

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an ogre child. I don't breakfast on nice, cozy little women.

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Five months married. Supposing you do owe a bild to

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the milliner in Boston, what does it matter? I'm tolerably rich.

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How much is it? I knew perfectly well that she

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did not owe any such bill, but it was a

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mode of testing her. A look of relief passed over

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her features as I spoke mark, she said, stroking my

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hair with her little hand and smiling faintly. You're a goose.

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I don't owe any bill to the milliner in Boston,

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and I have no secret worth knowing. I know I'm

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a little melancholy. At times, I feel weary, but that

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is not unnatural. You know just now, Mark dear kissing

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me on the lips. You must bear with my moods

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for a little while, until there are three of us,

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and then I'll be bitter company. I knew what she

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alluded to, but God helped me. I felt sad enough

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at the moment, though I kissed her back and ceased

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to question her. I felt sad because my instinct told

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me that she deceived me, and it is very hard

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to be deceived, even in trifles, by those we love.

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I left her sitting at her favorite window and walked

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out into the fields I wanted to think. I remained

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out until I saw lights in the parlor shining through

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the dusky evening. Then I returned slowly. As I passed

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the windows, which were near the ground, our house being

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cottage built. I looked in hem and Brake was sitting

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with my wife. She was sitting in a rocking chair

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opposite to him, holding a small volume open on her lap.

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Brake was talking to her very earnestly, and she was

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listening to him with an expression I had never before

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seen on her countenance, all fear and admiration were all

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blunt together. In those dilating eyes. She seemed absorbed body

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and soul in what this man said. I shuddered at

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00:16:12,279 --> 00:16:16,559
the sight. A vague terror seized upon me. I hastened

239
00:16:16,559 --> 00:16:20,879
into the house. As I entered the room, rather suddenly,

240
00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:25,000
my wife started and hastily concealed a little volume that

241
00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:28,399
lay on her lap in one of her white pockets.

242
00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:32,279
As she did so, a loose leaf escaped from the

243
00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:36,639
volume and slowly fluttered to the floor, unobserved by either

244
00:16:36,679 --> 00:16:40,960
her or her companion. But I had my eye upon it.

245
00:16:41,639 --> 00:16:46,200
I felt that it was a clue. What new novel

246
00:16:46,279 --> 00:16:49,960
or philosophical wonder have you both been pouring over? I asked,

247
00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:54,240
quite gaily, stealthily watching at the same time the tell

248
00:16:54,279 --> 00:16:59,600
tale embarrassment under which Elsie was laboring. Brake, who was

249
00:16:59,639 --> 00:17:04,119
not in the least is composed, replied that said he

250
00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:07,599
is a secret which must be kept from you. It

251
00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:10,440
is an advance copy. It is not to be shown

252
00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:15,640
to any one except your wife. Hah, cried I I

253
00:17:15,759 --> 00:17:18,240
know what it is. It is your volume of poems

254
00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:21,480
that Ticknor is publishing. Well, I can wait until it

255
00:17:21,559 --> 00:17:25,960
is regularly for sale. I knew that Brake had a

256
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:28,559
volume in the hands of the publishing house. I mentioned,

257
00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,920
with a vague promise of publication some time in the

258
00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:39,039
present century. Hammond smiled significantly, but did not reply. He

259
00:17:39,119 --> 00:17:44,359
evidently wished to cultivate this supposed impression of mine. Elsie

260
00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:49,400
looked relieved and heaved a deep sigh. I felt, more

261
00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,319
than ever convinced that a secret was beneath all this.

262
00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:56,039
So I drew my chair over the fallen leaf that

263
00:17:56,119 --> 00:17:59,279
lay unnoticed on the carpet, and talked and laughed with

264
00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:02,519
Hammond Brake gayly, as if nothing was on my mind,

265
00:18:03,279 --> 00:18:06,240
while all the time a great load of suspicion lay

266
00:18:06,279 --> 00:18:11,039
heavily at my heart. At length, ham and Brake rose

267
00:18:11,079 --> 00:18:14,359
to go. I wished him good night, but did not

268
00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:18,519
offer to accompany him to the door. My wife supplied

269
00:18:18,519 --> 00:18:23,079
this omitted courtesy, as I had expected. The moment I

270
00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:25,720
was alone, I picked up the bookleaf from the floor.

271
00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:30,319
It was not the leaf of a volume of poems.

272
00:18:31,279 --> 00:18:36,000
Beyond that, however, I learned nothing. It contained a string

273
00:18:36,039 --> 00:18:40,200
of paragraphs printed in the biblical fashion, and the language

274
00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,960
was biblical in style. It seemed to be a portion

275
00:18:44,079 --> 00:18:47,759
of some religious book. Was it possible that my wife

276
00:18:47,839 --> 00:18:51,839
was being converted to the Romish faith? Yes, that was it.

277
00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:55,920
Brake was a Jesuit in disguise. I had heard of

278
00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:58,880
such things, and had stolen into the bosom of my

279
00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:03,920
family to planned there his destructive errors. There could be

280
00:19:04,039 --> 00:19:06,960
no longer any doubt of it. This was some portion

281
00:19:07,039 --> 00:19:12,000
of a Romish book, some infamous Popish publication. Fool that

282
00:19:12,079 --> 00:19:15,759
I was not to see it all before. But there

283
00:19:15,839 --> 00:19:20,839
was yet time I would forbid him the house. I

284
00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:25,680
had just formed this resolution when my wife entered. I

285
00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:28,880
put the strange leaf in my pocket and took my hat.

286
00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:33,400
Why you are not going out, surely, cried Elsie, Surprised

287
00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:37,680
I have a headache, I answered, I will take a

288
00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:42,079
short walk. Elsie looked at me with a peculiar air

289
00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:45,759
of distrust. Her woman's instinct told her that there was

290
00:19:45,839 --> 00:19:50,119
something wrong. Before she could question me, however, I had

291
00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:52,799
left the room and was walking rapidly on him and

292
00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:57,079
Brake's track. He heard the footsteps, and I saw his

293
00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:01,079
figure black against the sky. Stopp up and peer back

294
00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:04,920
through the dusk to see who was following him. It

295
00:20:05,039 --> 00:20:08,759
is I, Brake, I called out, stop. I wish to

296
00:20:08,759 --> 00:20:12,480
speak with you. He stopped, and in a minute or

297
00:20:12,519 --> 00:20:15,119
so we were walking side by side along the road.

298
00:20:16,559 --> 00:20:19,559
My fingers itched at that moment to be on his throat.

299
00:20:20,559 --> 00:20:26,319
I commenced the conversation break, I said, I'm a very

300
00:20:26,319 --> 00:20:29,720
plain sort of man, and I never say anything without

301
00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:33,200
good reason. What I came after you to tell you

302
00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:36,200
is that I don't wish you to come to my

303
00:20:36,319 --> 00:20:39,440
house any more, or to speak with Elsie any farther

304
00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:45,039
than the ordinary salutations go. It's no joke. I'm quite

305
00:20:45,039 --> 00:20:51,799
in earnest, Brake started and stopping short faced me suddenly

306
00:20:51,799 --> 00:20:56,799
in the road. What have I done? He asked? You

307
00:20:56,920 --> 00:21:01,160
surely are too sensible a man to be jealous, dayton, Oh,

308
00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:05,480
I answered scornfully, not jealous in the ordinary sense of

309
00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,599
the word a bit. But I don't think your company

310
00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:12,279
good company for my wife, Brake, if you will have

311
00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:14,799
it out of me, I suspect you of being a

312
00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:19,240
Roman Catholic and of trying to convert my wife. A

313
00:21:19,279 --> 00:21:22,440
smile shot across his face, and I saw his sharp

314
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:26,920
white teeth gleam for an instant in the dusk. Well,

315
00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:30,799
what if I am a papist? He said, with a

316
00:21:30,839 --> 00:21:35,519
strange tone of triumph in his voice. The faith is

317
00:21:35,559 --> 00:21:39,160
not criminal. Besides, what proof have you that I was

318
00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:44,640
attempting to proslate your wife? This said I, pulling the

319
00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:48,279
leaf from my pocket, This leaf from one of those

320
00:21:48,319 --> 00:21:51,119
devilish papist books you and she were reading this evening.

321
00:21:51,799 --> 00:21:55,119
I picked it up from the floor. Proof enough, I think.

322
00:21:57,079 --> 00:21:59,319
In an instant, Brake had snatched the leaf from my

323
00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:04,200
hand and torn it into atoms. You shall be obeyed,

324
00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:07,759
he said, I will not speak with Elsie as long

325
00:22:07,799 --> 00:22:11,720
as she is your wife. Good Night. You think I'm

326
00:22:11,759 --> 00:22:17,079
a papist, then Dayton, you're a clever fellow. And with

327
00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,319
a rather sneering chuckle, he marched on along the road

328
00:22:20,359 --> 00:22:30,279
and vanished into the darkness. Three the secret discovered, Brake

329
00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:34,319
came no more. I said nothing to Elsie about his prohibition,

330
00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:39,319
and his name was never mentioned. It seemed strange to

331
00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:42,319
me that she should not speak of his absence, and

332
00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:46,920
I was very much puzzled by her silence. Her moodiness

333
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:51,359
seemed to have increased, and what was most remarkable in proportion,

334
00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:55,240
as she grew more and more reserved the intenser, were

335
00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:59,240
the bursts of affection which she exhibited for me. She

336
00:22:59,279 --> 00:23:02,440
would strain me to her bosom and kiss me as

337
00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:04,680
if she and I were about to be parted forever.

338
00:23:06,599 --> 00:23:09,519
Then for hours she would remain sitting at her window,

339
00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:15,039
silently gazing with that terrible, wistful gaze of hers at

340
00:23:15,039 --> 00:23:20,400
the west. I will confess to having watched my wife

341
00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:24,039
at this time. I could not help it that some

342
00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:28,720
mystery hung about her. I felt convinced I must fathom

343
00:23:28,759 --> 00:23:32,680
it or die her honor. I never for a moment doubted,

344
00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:37,319
yet there seemed to weigh continually upon me the prophecy

345
00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:42,559
of some awful domestic calamity. This time the prophecy was

346
00:23:42,599 --> 00:23:47,200
not in vain. About three weeks after I had forbidden

347
00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,599
break my house, I was strolling over my farm in

348
00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:56,359
the evening, apparently inspecting my agriculture, but in reality speculating

349
00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:59,480
on that topic which latterally was ever present to me.

350
00:24:01,559 --> 00:24:04,599
There was a little knoll covered with evergreen oaks at

351
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:08,440
the end of the lawn. It was a picturesque spot,

352
00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,359
for on one side the bank went off into a

353
00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:15,240
sheer precipice of about eighty feet in depth, at the

354
00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:18,359
bottom of which a pretty pool lay that, in the

355
00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:22,240
summer time was fringed with white water lilies. I had

356
00:24:22,279 --> 00:24:25,160
thought of building a summer house in this spot, and

357
00:24:25,319 --> 00:24:30,039
now my steps mechanically directed themselves toward the place. As

358
00:24:30,079 --> 00:24:34,839
I approached, I heard voices. I stopped and listened eagerly.

359
00:24:36,519 --> 00:24:39,839
A few seconds enabled me to ascertain that Hammond Brake

360
00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:45,319
and my wife were in the copse talking together. She

361
00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:49,640
still followed him. Then, and he, scoundrel that he was,

362
00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:55,119
had broken his promise. A fury seemed to fill my

363
00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:58,720
veins as I made this discovery, I felt the impulse

364
00:24:58,839 --> 00:25:01,640
strong upon me to run USh into the grove and

365
00:25:01,759 --> 00:25:05,400
then and there strangle the villain. He was poisoning my peace.

366
00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:12,160
But with a powerful effort I restrained myself. It was

367
00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:16,319
necessary that I should overhear what was said. I threw

368
00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:20,200
myself flat on the grass and so glided silently into

369
00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:24,359
the copse until I was completely within ear shot. This

370
00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:29,720
was what I heard. My wife was sobbing, So soon,

371
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:37,000
so soon, I Hammond, give me a little time. I cannot, Elsie.

372
00:25:37,319 --> 00:25:40,519
My chief orders me to join him. You must prepare

373
00:25:40,599 --> 00:25:46,519
to accompany me. No, no, murmured Elsie. He loves me

374
00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:51,680
so and I love him our child too. How can

375
00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:56,640
I rob him of our unborn babe, another sheep for

376
00:25:56,759 --> 00:26:03,039
our flock, answered Brake solemnly, Elsie, do you forget your oath?

377
00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:06,119
Are you one of us? Or are you a common

378
00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,160
hypocrite who will be of us until the hour of

379
00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:13,960
self sacrifice and then fly like a coward? Elsie, you

380
00:26:14,079 --> 00:26:19,960
must leave to night. Ah my husband, my husband, sobbed

381
00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:25,839
the unhappy woman. You have no husband, woman, cried Brake harshly.

382
00:26:27,079 --> 00:26:29,400
I promised Brake not to speak to you as long

383
00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,720
as you were his wife, but the vow was annulled

384
00:26:32,759 --> 00:26:37,640
before it was made. Your husband in God yet awaits you.

385
00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:42,279
You will be blessed with a true spouse. I feel

386
00:26:42,319 --> 00:26:45,880
as if I were going to die, cried Elsie. How

387
00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,599
can I ever forsake him, he who was so good

388
00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:54,279
to me? Nonsense, no weakness. He is not worthy of you.

389
00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:58,759
Go home and prepare for your journey. You know where

390
00:26:58,799 --> 00:27:02,440
to meet me. I will have everything ready, and by

391
00:27:02,519 --> 00:27:06,759
daybreak there shall be no trace of us left. Beware

392
00:27:06,759 --> 00:27:10,240
of permitting your husband to suspect anything. He is not

393
00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:13,519
very shrewd at such things. He thought I was a

394
00:27:13,599 --> 00:27:18,359
jesuit in disguise. But we had better be careful. Now go,

395
00:27:19,119 --> 00:27:22,680
you have been too long here already bless you, sister.

396
00:27:25,519 --> 00:27:28,519
A few faint sobs, a rustling of leaves, and I

397
00:27:28,599 --> 00:27:33,160
knew that Brake was alone. I rose and stepped silently

398
00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:37,000
into the open space in which he stood. His back

399
00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:40,240
was toward me, His arms were lifted high over his

400
00:27:40,359 --> 00:27:43,720
head with an exultant gesture, and I could see his

401
00:27:43,799 --> 00:27:47,839
profile as it slightly turned toward me, illuminated with a

402
00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:51,559
smile of scornful triumph. I put my hand suddenly on

403
00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:55,200
his throat from behind, and flung him on the ground

404
00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:59,440
before he could utter a cry, not a word, I said,

405
00:28:00,079 --> 00:28:04,440
clasping a short bladed knife, which I carried answer my questions,

406
00:28:04,559 --> 00:28:06,720
or by Heaven, I will cut your throat from ear

407
00:28:06,759 --> 00:28:10,480
to ear. He looked up into my face with an

408
00:28:10,599 --> 00:28:14,039
unflinching eye, and set his lips as if resolved to

409
00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:19,400
suffer all. What are you? Who are you? What object

410
00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:23,359
have you in the seduction of my wife? He smiled,

411
00:28:23,839 --> 00:28:31,680
but was silent. Ah, you won't answer, We'll see. I

412
00:28:31,759 --> 00:28:36,599
pressed the knife slowly against his throat. His face contracted spasmodically,

413
00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:40,200
but although a thin red thread of blood sprang out

414
00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:44,720
along the edge of the blade, Brake remained mute. An

415
00:28:44,759 --> 00:28:48,400
idea suddenly seized me. This sort of death had no

416
00:28:48,559 --> 00:28:53,880
terrors for him. I would try another. There was the precipice.

417
00:28:54,039 --> 00:28:56,759
I was twite as powerful as he was, so I

418
00:28:56,799 --> 00:28:59,880
seized him in my arms, and in a moment trans

419
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:02,680
afforded him to the margin of the steep, smooth cliff,

420
00:29:03,119 --> 00:29:05,680
the edge of which was garnished with the tough stems

421
00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:08,960
of the wild vine. He seemed to feel it was

422
00:29:09,079 --> 00:29:12,640
useless to struggle with me, so allowed me passively to

423
00:29:12,759 --> 00:29:16,039
roll him over the edge. When he was suspended in

424
00:29:16,079 --> 00:29:19,079
the air, I gave him a vine stem to cling

425
00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:23,839
to and let him go. He swung at a height

426
00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:28,559
of eighty feet, with face upturned and pale, he dared

427
00:29:28,599 --> 00:29:31,799
not look down. I seated myself on the edge of

428
00:29:31,799 --> 00:29:35,319
the cliff, and with my knife began to cut into

429
00:29:35,319 --> 00:29:38,039
the thick vine a foot or two above the place

430
00:29:38,039 --> 00:29:42,839
of his grasp. I was correct in my calculation. This

431
00:29:43,079 --> 00:29:46,359
terror was too much for him. As he saw the

432
00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:50,079
notch in the vine getting deeper and deeper, his determination

433
00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:55,559
gave way. I'll answer you, he gasped out, gazing at

434
00:29:55,640 --> 00:30:01,480
me with starting eyeballs. But do you ask what are you?

435
00:30:02,359 --> 00:30:05,519
Was my question as I ceased cutting at the stem.

436
00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:11,160
A Mormon was the answer, uttered with a quick groan.

437
00:30:12,799 --> 00:30:18,359
Take me up. My hands are slipping quick, and you

438
00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:21,000
wanted my wife to follow you to that infernal Salt

439
00:30:21,079 --> 00:30:25,799
Lake city. I suppose, for God's sake, release me. I'll

440
00:30:25,839 --> 00:30:29,880
quit the place, never to come back. Do help me up, Dayton,

441
00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:35,240
I'm falling. I felt mightily inclined to let the villain drop,

442
00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:37,839
but it did not suit my purpose to be hung

443
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:41,599
for murderer. So I swung him back again over the sward,

444
00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:46,440
where he fell panting and exhausted. Will you quit the

445
00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:50,960
place to night? I said, you'd better by heaven. If

446
00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:53,400
you don't, I'll tell all the men in the village

447
00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:56,720
and we'll lynch you as sure as your name is Brake.

448
00:30:58,119 --> 00:31:02,720
I'll go, I'll go, he groaned. I swear never to

449
00:31:02,799 --> 00:31:07,359
trouble you again. You ought to be hanged, you villain.

450
00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:12,000
Be off. He slunk away through the trees like a

451
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:15,359
beaten dog, and I went home in a state bordering

452
00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:20,359
on despair. I found Elsie crying. She was sitting by

453
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:23,599
the window as of old. I knew now why she

454
00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:28,680
gazed so constantly at the west. It was her Mecca.

455
00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:32,440
Something in my face, I suppose told her that I

456
00:31:32,559 --> 00:31:37,279
was laboring under great excitement. She rose startled. As soon

457
00:31:37,279 --> 00:31:42,880
as I entered the room, Elsie said, I I am

458
00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:50,160
come to take you home home. Why I am at home?

459
00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:56,240
Am I not? What do you mean? No, this is

460
00:31:56,319 --> 00:32:00,720
no longer your home. You have deceived me. You are

461
00:32:00,759 --> 00:32:05,160
a Mormon. I know all. You have become a convert

462
00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:09,039
to that apostle of Hell Brigham Young, and you cannot

463
00:32:09,119 --> 00:32:14,720
live with me. I love you still, Elsie, dearly, but

464
00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:19,880
you must go and live with your father. She saw

465
00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:22,599
there was no appeal from my word, and with a

466
00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:27,160
face hopeless with despair, she arranged her dress and passively

467
00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:31,279
went with me. I live in the same village with

468
00:32:31,359 --> 00:32:36,480
my wife, and yet am not a widower. She is

469
00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:41,359
very penitent, they say, Yet I cannot bring myself to

470
00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:44,119
believe that one who has allowed the Mormon poison to

471
00:32:44,319 --> 00:32:48,960
enter her veins can ever be cured. People say that

472
00:32:49,039 --> 00:32:54,720
we shall come together again, But I know better. Mine

473
00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:58,880
is not the first hearth that Mormonism has rendered desolate.

474
00:33:00,079 --> 00:33:00,119
H