Asked by Mr. Saltus why she had spoken of the accident, his wife replied that she had but told the truth. At this Mr. Saltus flew into a rage, declaring, as he used to put in his copy, "Truth must be pleasant, or else withheld."
The incident was slight, but that which followed was not so. He being unable because of his ankle to get about freely, and wanting some cigarettes from a trunk, Mrs. Saltus volunteered to get them. She got the shock and surprise of her life as well. Carelessness over his personal effects was a characteristic of Mr. Saltus'. That carelessness was his undoing upon this occasion. Beside the cigarettes lay a letter from Mrs. A——. His wife read it. There and then she knew she had married him as the result of a fabrication. A scene followed. Furious at his detection, Mr. Saltus upbraided her for reading a letter not intended for her eyes. It was the beginning of the end.
In one of Mr. Saltus' note books is the copy of a letter sent to his wife shortly after the episode:
Elsie:—
To be quite candid with you I cannot be candid. I cannot write to you as I used to do. I no longer know what you will keep to yourself, what you will repeat, nor yet how you will distort my words. The flow of confidence is checked. An artery has been severed.... If reading has given you any idea of what a battle is, you will remember that in the excitement of danger men may be shot and slashed and not notice their wounds until the fight is at an end.
Not until I got here did I realize what you had done in telling your mother you had married me under compulsion. Then I discovered that during the fight which I had entered single handed for your sake, I had been shot—shot from behind, shot by you.
There has been a great change in the weather, from being very hot it has become quite cool. I hope you are well and enjoying yourself.
As ever,
E. S.
The letter speaks for itself. In the same note book are entries made during the same time:—
May 3rd, 1896.