Should She Have Left Him? — page 188: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

182 SHOULD SHE HAVE LEFT HIM? “My mother?’ interrupted Dorothy, scarcely believing that she had heard aright. “Yes; I refused, and ErTaue es Tene believe me, Mrs. iT rarothe immediately.” “Where?” demanded Darckivs. “Where did you see my mother?” The story that Mrs. Courtenay had carefully kept to herself came out, and Dorothy knew of the rapid journey to Buffalo, and the defeat of her mother. Dorothy was angry. Angry because of her mother’s unwarrantable methods, and because of the cruelty to the crushed woman who had come to her in such simplicity and confidence. She found upon inquiry that all this time Elsie had remained in the belief that her marriage to Adams was invalid, and that Adams being free, hope of reconciliation was lost. Mourning and grieving over this in secret, the spirit of the once madcap, reckless, gay Elsie Hallock had been crushed. _ With earnestness and enthusiasm almost, Dorothy presented the common law marriage theory, trying to persuade Elsie that hope of reconciliation was far from lost, since she was still the wife in law and in fact. It is doubtful whether Elsie comprehended Dorothy’s important communication, for she shook her head sadly and seemed to regard Dorothy’s in- formation as only another complication in the con- fusion in which she was involved. But whether or not Elsie comprehended, Dorothy got back to the assertion that there was no danger to her of separa. tion from Mr. Trescotte. Comicboolkkxs C@©