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About The morning Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1899-1930 | View Entire Issue (July 15, 1908)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15 THE MORNING ASTOBIAN, ASTORIA, OREGON. v I waiting ror I The Verdict I Bjr T. W. WYNDHAM. X Q Copyright, I IK, by T, W, Wyndlwim, A Copyright, I IK, by T. W, Wyndhnm. T1II0 ormolu clock on tbo mantel piece ticked monotonously, The llttlu regular Mound ticgnn to Slin n tun ,lor f"'n1"' B,u von thought that tier finger imthnii. leilljr drummed the air upon lior kuoe. It wn some Inane tuno of the hour. IU rhythm fltted In excellently with the ticking of tbe clock, and both Jnn fled In her brain with Irritating per sistence. Everv detail of the room bad stump ed Itself upon her mind during them, minutes the bud int thereminutes ws It or botirs since the great doctor bad said to her In a voice that had truck hr as strangely gentle: "Wllj you kindly wait In the waiting room, Mra. Alnslle, while Dr. Bryant and I talk over mat torn r 8be had attractnd many curloua and admiring glance from other men and Women who waited In the big, gloomy rooui. One little, sbsbhlly dressed wo man wbo eat In tbe corner wstched tier almost enviously. The shahhy wo man' ohservaut eye noted tbe other' fair loveliness, bur eiqulsite drew, the atmosphere of earn and luiury and comfort that surrounded ber, tbe at mosphere of one who baa always been cared for and sheltered, upon whom no rough wind have ever blown, and tbe ababby woman wondered what bad brought thin pretty, beautifully dressed little person Into the doctor watting room. The thought flashed through tier mind that It wa probably acme funded ailment for which ahe bad come. It wa ImpoMlble to Bssoolute tbe idea of sickness or pain with that Jovely fare, those amart garment. How much longer, aba wondered, did these doctors Intend to keep ber In this dreary room while they discussed her case? hurrlodly turulng tbe pages, siting at nolutely nothing. "And his fare looked so kind and-so-sorry." Her thoughts ran on till ber heart qulekDil It beat again, "If nonsense to be nervoue," (hu told, herself. "I shall try to rend and forget." Mm resolutely took up a magazine and read a page slowly and carefully, then rend It over again with equal care, but ahe found herself spelling each word In turn, and the sense of tbo phrases did not penetrate liito her brain. Nobody con take In tbe meaning of story, she thought, wbuu people whisper, and ber glance fell, upon a stout widow who sut opposite whisper ing In tbe ear of girl beside ber. Tbo little lady watched the widow's head bob up and down a her word became more and more emphatic. Hlie noticed how dusty tbe crape wa upon ber rellt ''AflfJ that's tbe worst of crape," she said to iiersolf. "Tbe least thing makes It took ababby, f always tell Robert 1 won't wear crape when I'm a widow!" are not afraid of-of-an Hut there la no operation sure'' you operation. that we can do" Again she was conscious of a little movement on the part of tbe silent man by tbe window, and ahe watched with a curious sort of fascination how, tbe pattern of tbe dancing leave oat Ide was repeated In dancing sun beams upon tbe carpet within. -"No operation?" site asked. "Bur Then ber eyes went back to Dr. James' face. "But la continued, after that queer little pause, "then It Is not sell ing a nair. TThat a pluckf soul! My ooa, wnat a plucky soul!" , Looking from the window of tbe alt ting room, the shabby woman saw tbe little lady shake hand smilingly wltb her doctor and drive away. And tbe shabby woman said to fierself, "Flow young and happy she Is, wltb all ber life Ix'fore ber-and such a happy lifer But the shabby woman never knew what the verdict hod been which tbe little lady had waited for so long! HE LIKES AMERICA ou at all. I suriDoser Dr. James lifted his bend quickly, resident Of Penman Republic I and their eyes met 80 profound n pity lay In Jhcm that he drew back a trifle. Iter own eye never faltered, only the band that beld her handkerchief clutched It so tightly that It waa almost pain. "I have never bad a border thing to do tban thla, Mrs. Alnslle," Dr. James aid. "You must prepare for a great bock very great shock, We cannot operate because an operation would be A iniHe flickered over ber face, and J J2i .bS.Hh rwtn Is so serious Her case! me snaony woman in tne comer, watching her, thought eurlously how happy ahe must be to smile like that t nothing, Half an hour now! Half nn hour for two clever doctors to discuss one tiny lump which looked like almost nothing! How she and Bobert would laugh presently over the elowness of these medical men! But if they kept her much longer she would be late for lunch, and then Itobert would be In a flurry ami wonder wbnt bad become of ber. Ob, why were they not quicker? Time dragged woefully. There wos something aggravating about that tire some clock on tbe mantelpiece with Its persistent voire, and the pair .of can dlesticks exactly alike that flunked It ana uie iwo vases mat were such a precise match annoyed ber. A wild desire seized ber to set them all crooked I Then she waa tired of looking at that hldeons allver creation on the side board. Rhe wa certain It must be a testimonial! And what an ugly one to be saddled with for the rest of one's natural life! She remembered with what dismay she and Robert bad re ceived some ghastly old family plate rrom a rich uncle and how thankfully they had relegated It to a little used a one that" "It will kill me, do yon mean?" she aid, and the color flushed over ber It was funny to think that they could talk about ber easel Why, she bad al ways been tbe Incarnation of health. ' Everybody had always aald ahe was so strong and well. It waa too ridiculous that she should be sitting In a doctor's waiting room, and she herself would naturally never have dreamed of con sulting the great specialist at all If ber own doctor's fare bad not grown 0 absurdly grave when ahe had gone to hint yesterday about tbe lltttle lump which anuoyed her. Personally she thought be hud made rather an unnec essary fun, in fact, she bad told Dr. Uryant as much to bis face-bad, In deed, asked blra why he could not sim ply cut the tiling away then and there and have done wltb It Twenty minutes! How could It possibly take those two doctors twenty minutes to dlscuns her simple case? Why, she bad con sidered It no simple a matter that she ' room, Robert saying laughingly that it would come In aa an heirloom for tbelr grandchildren! . A vision of herself as a white haired old lady made her smile again. She al ways intended to grow old gracefully when tbe time for growing old came! But it was a very, very long way off, and sho and Itobert bad only -been married six short months they had yeara and years of sunny life in front of them before- Tbe door oiened. "Mrs. AIiihIIo." said a trim parlor maid, and the little lady rose and fol lowed ber. And all at once her heart gave that frightened leop again, but ahe wa smiling when she entered the great doctor , room. Both doetors were standing, and a queer feeling came over ber as she aaw their faeea-that they watched her pitiruiiy-as ir-oa If she were that prisoner at the bar one of them was 1 i ' AW TBI LADI SUA II BIKDfl WITH BIB 1 DOCTOR. had not even told her husband about just going to put on the black cap. It or tbat she was to come and see Dr. James, the famous specialist this morning! Robert was always In such an agony If her little flutter ached that she had refrained from mentioning the lump to him at all, and he knew nothing of her visit to Dr. Uryant yesterday, much f! n fiiiffliiinn i biniiii ii- 1 'I ill Wca It was a whimsical Idea, nor Blanco fell almost Involuntarily upon Dr. James' gray hoad, and she smiled again. Dr. Bryant leaned against the man telpiece. It struck ber that he kept bla eyes averted. She wondered vaguely why he did so. Possibly bo bad made some little mistake In diagnosis and was rather vexed about it "Will you sit down. Mrs. AlnHlee?" Dr. James voice broke In upon her thoughts. Sho sat down In the big armchair where she had sat Just now-all those mlnutes-or was It hours ago?-when she bud first come Into the room today with Dr. Bryant. Dr. James seated himself at the table facing ber. This room waa brighter than the other where sho had waited so long. The sun came Into It, and little patches of light danced upon the carpet and upon the table that was strewn with letters and upon the great man's kind, quiet face. Outside the window there was ac tually a tree. It was April, and tbe leaves wore beginning to grow green and waved gently to and fro In the soft spring air. . , . Her eyes left the dancing leaves out side and came back to the faces of the two silent men. She realized that thev "I buai.Ii thy to i.kau ai ' less about the Why, hor dear, loving, fussy old Ito'b- wfm- ftrn"lf lulfet- ... ..... V I "Wall " fillA aaf.l In A nni vvi, me aearest nubby tu the world, would think she wa going to die nt the very least if ho knew she was sit ting in Dr. Edward James' room wait ing the verdict! "Waiting for the verdict!" Something lu tho words framed by her own mind sent a quick little shiver through her for which sho could not account, and a vision rose before her of n prisoner waiting at tho bar and wondering wondering, perhaps, wheth er the Judge would presently put on the black cap or not. Ah, well, it must be terrible to be In such a position. She was only waiting-waiting for what? , A sudden recollection crossed her mind of the great doctor's quiet, re stnlncil voice that had held In some thing which she had nt the moment not quite understood. It flashed upon hor now nil at once that It was pity. But why pity? Her heart gave a frightened leap. She picked up' nn Illustrated paper from the table before, hor and began Well," she said In a gay little voice. "what Is the verdict? You"- The words died on her lips. She could not have said why, only something in Dr. Jnmes' face gave her a curious sense of suffocation. "Mrs. Alnslle," he said gently, so gently that a sudden longing to cry assailed her, "I nm afraid we have not very good news to give you." He paused, and the sudden longing to cry left her. Some Instinct Inherited from her Rev olutionary ancestors made her draw herself up In her chair dud look the old man sqrarely In the face. It was he. not her, who winced a lit tle as sho said quietly: "Is it a very serious operation, then? Don't mind telling me. I am not afraid." She was dimly conscious that Dr. Bryant turned . quickly away from where he stood and moved toward the window and that the silence following her words seemed weighty with mean ing. , "No," Dr4 Jnmes. said slowly, "I am face, but she sat perfectly still, her eyes never leaving bis. "Yes," be answered so gently that he almost smiled at him, "that is what I mean." "And-how many year will It take?" he asked, and she noticed bow still her own voice was, bow ber heart that had bounded widely a second before wa now beating quickly, "or will It perhaps be a shorter time?" She could almost have sworn that tbe gray eyea watching her grew dim. She realized that the figure by tbe window seemed to be rigid in it stillness. "It will be a shorter time tban that." The great doctor's voice trembled. She waa so very pretty so very young and pretty and falr-and so beautifully dressed. It was absurd to think of her clothes at auch a moment, but It would have been easier to tell her If she bad worn a shabby gown! It flashed Into his mind tbat U was like killing a butterfly tbat wa danc ing in tbe sunlight and yet "A shorter timer She interrupted hla thoughts. He leaned forward and laid his band upon her arm. "Yes," he said. "I know you will face It bravely." His voice broke again.- "I do not thlnk-lt will bo more than a week and we can do nothing." The silence In the room was like something tangible, made more em phatic by the chirping of tbe sparrows in tbe tree w ithout and the rumble of tho busy New York streets. It was the little lady herself who broke tho silence. "Thot was a hard thing for you to tell me." she snld gently. Then she glanced down at her own clinched hands. "Do you know," she went on, and a queer little smile flitted across her face, "1 have torn my handker chief into ribbons while I sat here. But but it won't matter now will it if It Is only to be a week?" There was no answer from either of her listeners. Words were impossible to them. Only5 a great admiration dawned In Dr. James' eyes as he look ed into the bright, resolute ones that faced him. "Thank you very much for breaking it to me so so gently," she said in tnat smootn, even tone tbat never trembled or changed. "It is a very great surprise. A a week you say?" The great man bowed bis head. Ob viously he could not trust himself to speak. "How strange!" she sold. "Next week there is a big ball and I am going I mean I was going my dress will come home and I How strange!" Dr. Bryant turned abruptly from tho window. She Baw that his eyes were full of tears. "It is so hard quite to realize," she went on, "that things will go on Just the same and I not be here" She paused, glancing out at the gieea tree uud the sunlight. "But I ought not to take up your time." She rose and turned courteous ly to Dr. James. "You have other peo ple to see, and I hope I hope you will not have another verdict to give like mine" For the first time her voice shook a little, but her eyes were still steady. "Will you have a cab called for me, Dr. Bryant? I should like to go straight home." She walked from the great man's room with head erect end unfaltering Steps, and, watching her. he said soft ly to himself: "It Is the women who jjo up to the caution's mouth without turn- In New York. NEW YORK, July 14-Gcn Andre. Avclino Coccren, commander of the Peruvian army in the war with Chile, twice president of the republic, leader of the constitutional party and at present minuter to Italy, is resting a few dayi in New York on his wav irom Lima to Rome where he will re sume hi official duties. He declared that Peru is in a pacific condition and destined to win worldly progress in emulation of America. General Caceresis a venerable man of 78 years, and for more than half a century has been one of the conspicu ous figures in South American affairs. Despite his age, he still hag the bear ing of a soldier and appears as vigor ous and alert mentallv ax when h was proclaimed president at the end of the Chilean war in 1881. He was president in 1S91. He is regarded as the foremost patriot of the country and every honor in its gift is his. Speaking through an interpreter he said be wished to express the kindly feeling .ill Peruvians have for this country. mere arc many great opportun ities 111 our country for Americans he said, "and especially for those who have capital to invest. Peruvians like the Americans seem to under siana uieir temperament. We seem to be in tunc with the keen energetic fearless way Americans 'go about things, and I predict that in the fu ture our countries will come much closer to each other." MADE HER WHITE SLAVE Awful Fate Of St Louis Girl Chicago Chinatown. In CHICAGO. July 14-Kidnapped by a band of Chinamen in the heart of Chicago and held as a white slave in some secluded den of Chinatown this is believed by the police to have been the fate of Edna Koblentz, 19 years olJ, of St. Louis. Miss Koblentz, who is a member of the Young Women's Christian As sociation, was-lured to Chicago by letters from a young man who prom ised to marry her. She came to Chic aga by last Wednesday to meet her supposed sweetheart. The address of her pretended suitor was given as 293 Clark Street. This is in the center of Chinatown. Miss Koblentz disappeared Thurs day while in the union station with Mrs. Alice Barr, a missionary. A well dressed Chinaman was seen following the two women in the depot. The girl said she had mailed the I check for her trunk to her sweetheart. Two Chinamen called for the trunk last night. They were arrested. One gave thft name of Sing Lee. He de clared another Chinaman, whom heJ did not know, had given him the check with instructions to haul the trunk to the express office and hold it until called for. The express man's companion claimed to know .nothing about the check or trunk. CARING FOR BABIES Many Little Ones Die Of Intestinal Troubles Annually ' V1-4Wt JN T w m t a in e. w lUKtv, July 14. The con ference on summer care of babies, which has just ended, has issued statement in which atention is called to the notable increase in the number of babies now dying of diarraheaf dis eases. The figures which are for babies under one year of age, show that in the six weeks from June 1, to July 11 this year the increase over 1907 is SO per cent for Manhattan and The Bronz; 80 per cent for Brooklyn 133 per cent for Queens, SS per cent. for Richmond and 66 per cent for all boroughs. The statement also shows that for the last six weeks, diarraheal diseases caused 763 out of 1,924 deaths. SHE'S A QUEEN DEVELOP TMC BUST SHE'S A SIREN i an ixprenion that u iway heard at sight of well developed woman. If you are flat cheated, with BUST undeveloped, a icrswny neck, thin, lean arm-the above remark wiU never be applied to you. "SIREN wafer will make you beautiful, bewitching. They DE VELOP THE BUST in a few week, from 3 to 6 tnche and produce a fine firm, voluptuous bosom. They fill out the hollow place. Make the arms handsome u4 well modeled and the neck and shoulders shapely and of perfect contour. Send for a hottl nA, ul., "SIREN" wafer are absolutely harmles. pleasent to take and con venient to carry around. They are o'd under guarantee to do all claim or MONEY back. Price $1.00 per bottle. to us. Inquire at good drug stores or lend DIRECT I l L Little of these beautifying wafer on receipt of 10 cent u, pay cost of packing and portaw if you will mention that va saw ths Advertisement in this paper. The sample alone may be ufficii if defects are trivial. De.k 22 ESTHETIC CHEMICAL C O 31 West 125th St New .Yorlt we Food. All our wines and li quors are guaran teed under the Pure Food Law. 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Send for FREE catalogue of titles SEE SHOW WINDOW itman's Book Store ASTORIA, TIE OEM C. F. WISE, Prop. Choice Wine, Liquor Merchaat lunch Frem and Cigar 11:30 a. a. to 1:30 m. m. Hot lunch at All Hour. a5 crt, Corner Eleventh and Commercial ate was seriously wounded. OREGON