The House in the Mist

I had witnessed, horrors which acquired a double force from the contrast presented by the peace of this quiet spo

t you have escaped the doom which has overtaken those

to them? You are breathless, trem

food and wine to your uncle at a supper; he, though now in

with the same note of death I had heard before, had gone up aga

sing the day he was born! We are an accursed race. I have known it all my life; perhaps

ected in my whole life before. In the concentrated experience of the last two hours I seemed to live years under this woman's eyes; to know her as I did my own heart; to love her as I did my own soul. No growth of feelin

lf its difficulties when trodden by two. Shall we

its thrilling low sound. As I recognized the latter emoti

delicious "Yes," when suddenly there came a shock to the partitio

or even of each other while these men, all relative

her safely on the floor at the foot, she passed in front of me again; but once up the steps and in front of the

stopped to look. It was upon something that mingled with it, dominated it and made of this chaos only a setting to awful death. Janet's face, in all its natural hideousness and depravity, looked up from the floor beside this heap; and farther on, the twisted figure of him they called Hector, with something more than the seams of greedy longing round his wide, staring eyes and icy te

in whose false sheen I had seen so much of evil, were glazed now, and his big and burly frame shook the door it pressed against. He was staring at a small slip of paper he held, and, from his anxious looks

ng I can do for

aze he had hitherto cast at the wall; then some

if Luke is gone, and William, and Hector, and Barbar

pen the door before which he had been standing, and, lifting the almost fainting Eunice in my arms, I carried her out into the night. As I

alarm given by the lawyer, and it was these good men and women whose approach we heard. As we had nothing to fear from them, we went forward to meet them. As we did so, three crouching figures rose from some bushe

re them, these lanterns were held up, and by the light they gave we saw, first, the lawyer

lawyer, seeing by our fa

d lost none of its virulence by b

d the man on his

was my so

faltered the lawyer; "

I rep

led, then died out in tumult

had left open behind us, then rush in, leaving a wail of terror on the shudde

despairingly. "I do not know

uestion came from o

o your uncle's will, could be forfeited only by a failure to arrive at the place of distribution within the hour set by the testator. As I see the matter now, this appeal to the honesty of t

ho was the last to perish in that house of death should return to make this calculation hateful. It was a blow which struck deep, deeper than any either of us had sustained that night. As we came

ifficult and the need of companionship greater. Sha

AND THE

should remain at my desk, even though there was an unusual stir c

t for home, an imperative ring call

this the pol

t

too discreet. A valuable jewel has been lost, which must be found before the guests disper

who is spea

. As

of The Evergreens an

be sent at once. Whe

at the rear. Let him giv

ood. Go

od-

discreet, but neither united both qualifications in the measure demanded by the sensible and quietly-

rough the fast falling snow when my attention was drawn to a fact which struck me as peculiar. These carriages were all coming my way instead of rolling in the direction of The Ever

rred at The Evergreens. Rapidly I paced on a

w nearer I perceived many an anxious head thrust forth from their quickly opened doors and heard many an ejaculation of disappointment as the short int

, I listened to what he was sayin

hing has happened which makes the reception of further guests impossible. To-m

had probably been received with the same mixture of doubt

me, I pressed up still nearer, and, bending toward him from

nni

h professional sang-froid, proceeded to take my way to the house thro

self until I stood in front of it. Then I saw that it was brilliantly lighted and gave evidence here and there of some festivity; but the guests

being the one I sought. Pushing it open, I entered without ceremony, and speedily found myself in the midst

? I am told that I shall find

" was the c

nni

low

et, where I was left, with the assurance that Mrs. Ashley would presently join me. I had never seen th

d this fine, well-poised woman was telling her story in the st

had attended the great foot-ball game in the afternoon, and it was on the college campus that Mrs. Burton had first dropped her invaluable jewel. But a reward of five hundred dollars having been at once offered to whoever should find and restore it, a great

or class. He had been the first to detect its sparkle in the grass, and those who were near enough

ng man just starting life. But he was weak enough to take this girl into his confidence; and on their way

As the occupants of this buggy were ladies, and seemed to have no control over the plunging beast, young Deane naturally sprang to the rescue. Bidding his own ladies alight and make for the porch, he hurriedly ran forward and, pausing in front of the maddened animal, waited for an opportunity to seize him by the rein. He says that as he stood there facing the beast with fixed eye and raised hand, he distinctly felt something strike or touch his breast. But the sensation conveyed no meaning to him in his excitement, and he did not think of it again till, the horse well in hand and the two alarmed occupants of the buggy rescued, he turned to see where his own ladies

that there was only one other carriage behind the one in which Mr. Deane had brought his ladies. Both of these had stopped short of the stepping-stone, and as the horse and buggy which had made all

on joining him, and the two looked the ground over, inch by inch, from the place where Mr. Deane had set foot to ground in alighting from his carriage to the exact spot where he had stood when he had finally seized hold of the horse. But no ruby. Then Harrison (that is my son's name) sent for a broom and went over the place again, sweeping aside the surface snow and examining carefully the ground beneath,-but with no better results th

caught me by the hand, and I thought she would faint. For this jewel is of far gr

must tell you, to show how imperative it is for us to recover it; also to account for the large reward she is willing to pay. When he last looked at it he noticed that the fastening was a trifle slack and, though he handed the trinket back, he told her distinctly tha

dam-" I

wo men to the gates with orders to hold back all further carriages from entering, and two others to shovel up and cart away to the stable every particle of snow for ten feet each side of the front step, I asked to see Mr. Deane. But here my son whispered something into my ear, which it is my duty to repeat. It was to the effect that Mr. Deane believed that the jew

dive and vanished from the room. Some impulse made me follow her. She is a conscientious little thing, but timid as a hare, and though I saw she had something to say, it was with difficulty I could make her speak. Only after the most solemn assurances that her name should not be mentioned in the matter, would she give me the following bit of information, which you may possib

e, to the step, but the other,-the one who came last,-did not do this. She stopped a moment, perhaps to watch the horse in front, perhaps to draw her cloak more closely about her, and when she again moved on, it was

lady dressed

ks, but one of these was Mrs. Dalrymple, and I did not give her or her cloak a second thought. The other was a tall, fine-looking girl, with an air and bearing calculated to rouse admiration if she had not shown so very plainly that she was in a state of inne

it, really to see if anything could be shaken out of it. Of course, I met with no success. I had not expected to, but it is my disposition to be thorough. These wraps I saw all hung in an adjoining closet, the door

d where the youn

Do you see your way to accomplishing this? We are, from this very moment, at your disposal; only I pray that you will make no more disturbance than is necessary, and, if possible, arouse no suspicions you can not back up by facts. I

ng undue annoyance upon the innocent. Then I inquired whether it was known that a detective had been called

roceed when anothe

aid whether the carria

s thoroughly overhauled, and be

this over

any other hand than his own

o approach Mr. Deane on the carriage-drive pr

acks in the snow of any s

myself, but I said nothing; and in sile

I felt that I must rely on insight in this case and on a certain power I had always possessed of reading faces. That the case called for just this species of intuition I was positive. Mrs. Burton's ruby was within a

rything else about the place that night, greeted us as Mrs. Ash

of the cheer suitable to a great occasion; but in spite of this, the effect was altogether melancholy, for the hundreds who should have graced this scene, and for whom this illumination had been made and these festoons hung, had be

ed nothing in them but annoyance at a situati

to point out her son, adding that I should be glad to ha

there. He is quite upset. Not even Mrs. Burton

Mrs. Ashley called him to her, and in another moment

and told him my bus

ich has just been lost on these premises." Here I smiled. "She evidently ha

it had also a very candid expression; the eyes looked straight into mine, and, whil

rstand that you were on the ground almost

the suspicious action of the young lady who had been a member of that gentleman's party, and s

one all we can. The next

im, still with my eyes fixed scrutinizingly on his face,-"a univers

flushing. "Such an indignity offered to gu

offered to submit t

y? H

empty out your pockets in the sight of every one, don't you think that all the men, and possibly all the women

aightforward air, which rais

hink what it would demand from these boys who came here for the sole pu

of the

knowledged, growing res

ckets. This left but two persons for suspicion to halt between. But I disclosed nothing of my thoughts; I merely asked pardon for a suggestion

It adds to our difficulties, but that can not be

wish to sp

er a sight of

I perceived a young man sitting, with fallen head and dejected air, staring at vacancy. By his side, with hand laid on his,

he still has the jewel, he would not try to carry off the

tone, and the depression into which he fell when he realized that it was not to be found,

some one touched his breast on the driveway strikes me as a trifle suspicious. Your mother sa

and wheel-tracks, for several carriages had already passed over it. Then th

that he was to

es

here to touch

ley was

d." Then, as we turned to put on our coats, I asked with suitable precaution: "Do you suppose that he has the same secret suspicions as ourselves

t somewhat start

aw Miss Glover do. I could not bring myself to ment

s words, and neither of us spoke again till we stood on the exact spot in the

t a shrub. If the wind were blowing as freshly as it is now, and very probably it was, one of those slender branche

ranches would need trimming in the spring, and yet I never so much as

back I made

account, we can credit his story as being in the main true, which," I calm

now at the threshold of the

wing me the young lady in whom, from this moment on, we are especially interested. If you ca

she is. I shall hav

it by the

e. "Come," said he, and led me in

oung lady standing with her back to me on the farther side of a flowing lace curtain, I took a few steps toward her, hoping that the movement would cause her to turn. But it entirely failed to produce this ef

ng, which it would be folly for me to attempt to describe, represented not only the best efforts of the dressmaker's art, but very considerable means on the part of the woman wearing such a gown. This was a discovery which altered the complexion of my thoughts for a moment; for I had presupposed h

g a moment's respite from the dance. It was rather that of an absorbed mind brooding upon what gave little or no pleasure; and as I further gazed and noted the droop of

r which I had risked this daring move. "Your pardon," I hastily apologized. "I mistook you for another young lady

tions, looked so distorted with distracting emotions that she was no fit subject for any man's eye, let alone that of a hard-hearted offi

d first offenders are amenable to influence, especially if they h

learn what I could of the character and antecedents of the suspected o

usiness or my reasons for being in the house, since all this gave me authority, I modulated my tone to suit her gentle spirit, and, above all, I showed the utmost sympathy for her lover, whose

r trouble than Mr. Deane. Why is this? You brought her here. Is her s

kes me, but not well enough to cry over our misf

you can

rise was

lled in, as I understand, to recover a stolen je

make my position

ething from the driveway, where no one

en? Who

uring your passage from the carriage to the stoop. As you preceded her, you naturally did not observe t

r what she had found and I should have insisted upon an answer. I love my friends, but I love t

you answer my former question? What t

her beautiful new dress would please her, but it does not seem to. She has been unhappy and preoccup

? What have

ust now. I would

added this word and now you must tell me what it means. You were going to say she

hen he acknowledged that he expected it to bring him five hundred dollars before midnight. But any g

thy? She wears a very ex

s not called very well off. But perhaps she bought it with her

eparted, held in her possession, probably at this very moment, Mrs. Burton's magnificent jewel. But where? On her person or hidden in some of her belongings? I remembered the cloak in the closet and thought it wise to assure myse

h must have struck dismay to the soul of this self-supporting girl, who probably had no idea of how a French dressmaker can foot up items. Four hundred and fifty dollars! and for one gown! I declare I felt indignant myself and could quite understand why she heaved that little sigh when Mr. Deane spoke of the five hundred dollars he expected from M

indy porch, she watched the progress of the search, which every moment made it not only less impossible for her to attempt the restoration upon which the reward depended, but must have caused her to feel, if she had been as well brought up as all indications showed, that it was a dishonest act of whi

ned. No, she would keep the compromising article a little longer, in the hope of finding some opp

harsh measures. I was sure, from the glimpse I had caught of her face, that she longed to be relieved from the tension she was under, and that she would gladly rid herself of this val

and drew

ot found it

, "but I am posi

here i

Glover's un

ley turn

it hence without making her shame public. Lis

nt for a moment, then nodd

moning her son, who was never far away from her side, she whis

ne present, followed by a breaking up of the only too small circle of unhappy guests into agitated groups. But I appeared to see nothing of all th

in the great feed caldron over the stable fire. We expect to find the ruby at the bottom, and Mrs. Ashley invites you to be pres

rls bounde

! where are our cl

o the excited circle of young people, and were met by the two maids who were bringing in their wraps. Amid the bustle which now ensued, I caught sight of Mr. Deane's face peering from an open doorway. It was all alive with hope. I also perceived a lady looking down from the second story, who, I felt su

, and though she followed in the wake of the rest, it was with hidden face and lagging step, as

ove. As pains had already been taken to put out the fire in this stove, the ladies were not afraid of injuring their dresses and consequently crowded as close as their numbers would permit. Miss Glover especially

; then the lights glowed as suddenly as they had gone out, and while the glare was fresh on every face, I stole a glance at Miss Glover to see if she had made good use of the opportunity just accorded for ridding herself of the je

he rich folds of her new and expensive dress; but her eyes were fixed straight b

but before they could be lifted out dripping, half the ladies had scurried back, afraid of injury to their pretty dresses. But they soon sidled fo

est lips forgot to chatter, and eyes, whose only business up till now had been to follow with shy curiosity every moti

ch would naturally hail the first sight of the lost ruby. Conceive, then, my chagrin, my bitter and mortified di

thi

every lip. Drawing Mr. Ashley aside (who, by the way, seemed as much affected as myself by

hat is

show me what she picked

she re

tion, where we have women who can make

nvoluntary gesture o

uch a fine figure of a girl! Did you notice how bright and happy she

conclusions. I shall have to ask you to procure me an

eet you in t

my own daughter's age and, had it not been for her furtive look of care, appeared almost as blooming and bright. Would it ever come to pass that a harsh man of the law would feel it his duty to spea

with the tears of alarm and grief rising in her eyes) "but you can tell me something which will greatly sim

I

in her cheeks. I had to force my next words, which, out

were seen to pick up from the drive

mbled backward, tripp

I could not tell, she coldly answered: "Oh, that was something of my o

ely, yet not with just the clear light I should,

en picked up from the driveway after Mr. Deane's loss of the ruby; and though we do not presume to say that

o collapse and she look

they would fly to her aid. Then, in a burst of indignation which I was fain to believe real, she turne

aker's bill?

for a moment, then sank upon a ne

ate publicly that Miss Glover brought an unpaid bill to the party and that because Mr. Deane was unfortunate enough or careless enough to drop and lose the jewel he was bringing to Mrs. Burton, she is to be looked upon as a th

than any likely to rise in a breast wholly

, if you will go with that lady to her room, and make plain to her, in the only way you can,

can not! I can not! Oh, I shall die of shame! My father!

an never pay for and which, in spite of the misery it has caused me, has failed to bring me the-" She did not continue. She had caught my eye and seen there, perhaps, some evidence of the pity I could not but experience for her. With a s

ilt. Yet where could that ruby be, if not with this young girl? Certainly, all other possibilities had been exhausted, and her st

out before them all and ask to have it proved

uld find-Halloo

isen from the

hom I had left scattered about in the various parlors. I thought he looked peculiar; certainly his appearance differed from that of a quarter of an hour before, and when

word settled

! Do you want to see the culprit?-for there is a culp

rward with beaming eyes and instinctively lifted hand. But some of the ladies loo

word found, but had drawn herself up by this time and was awaiting his further action

"You must see him, mother; you must see him, ladies, else you will not

t front door swung slowly forward, revealing the sturdy forms of the t

shout of hilarity, caused the animal, unused, no doubt, to drawing-rooms, to rea

to rob them both by grinding his hoofs all over the snow of the driveway till he came upon the jewel which Mr. Deane had dropped from his pocket, and taking it up in a ball of snow, secrete it in his left hind shoe,-where it might be yet, if Mr. Spencer-" here he bowed to a strange gentleman who at that moment e

d the clatter of the retiring beast or the heavy clang made by the two front doors as they shut upon the robber. Eyes and tongues were too busy, and Mr. Ashley, realizing, probably, that the interest of all present would remain, for a few minutes

rayed. "All our trouble

e floor in a dead faint. With a murmur of pity and possibly of inward contrition, he stooped over her and together we carried her into the

Ashley was now lost, but, in the satisfaction I experienced at find

full to Mr. Deane, who went home in as buoyant a state of mind as was possible to him after the great anxieties of the preceding two hours. Miss Glover was sent back b

been subjected, I visited her in the morning, with the intention of offering a suggestion or two in r

ed the dress could possibly cost more than a hundred dollars, and I offered her that sum if she would

nd I may have a bone to pick some day. But I s

to-ni

natural flowers, will make me look festive enough.

nce was more eloquent than words, and I was not surprised

m which made her especially desirous of attracting and pleasing him. Not understanding the world very well, certainly having very little knowledge of the tastes and feelings of wealthy people, she conceived that the more brilliantly she was attir

dressed herself, and, being urged all the time to hurry, hardly stopped to give one look at the new and splendid gown which had cost so much. The bill-the incredible, the enormous bill-was all she could think of, and the figures, which represented nearly her whole year's earnings, danced constantly before her eyes. How to pay it-but she

ng eyes in the house, and she was as ashamed of that bill as she might have been of a contempl

the early evening. There was a young girl present, dressed in a simple muslin gown. While looking at it and in

simple white than in the elaborate si

ready sufficiently stricken and uneasy breast and were the cause of the tears which had ar

s and no emotions of contrition and pity had been awakened in her behalf in

MIT OF

PTE

AN INDI

esting sights constantly offered me. I might have done so,

d so rapidly, one upon another, the greatest was the hour I spent in my window after the day's dissipations were all ove

not a young face, but it was ver

uliarly secluded and secretive look. The windows were all shuttered and closed, with the exception of the three on the lower floor and

ck wall in our direction; the line of separation wa

k's oldest families. That its present owner was a widow of great eccentricity of character, who, with her one child, a daughter, unfortunately blind fr

d himself for five years with a solitary life in this dismal mansion, without friends, almost without acquaintances, though he might have had unlimited society and any amount of attention, his personal attractions being of a very uncom

e day, and I had been

ce in the study. Suddenly my attention was drawn from him to a window in the story over his head, by the rapid blowing in and out of a curtain. As there was a lighted gas-jet n

But Lucy was in the front area and Ellen above, and I was on th

re of Mr. Allison. I sprang through the gate and knocked w

ack till his natural instincts of courtesy recalled him

e is on fire! Up

e him rush into the open air with loud cries for help. But instead, he

any one in; I will fight the flames alone!" and seizing a lamp from the st

could sustain without emotion; and spellbound under

bell rang. It was the front door-bell,

he staircase I was so painfully watching, and Mr.

whose voice I heard in the hall, I do not

ery much like that of a frightened child, for

and how can I sufficiently express my regret at

of inner perturbation that I hardly knew w

dressing?" he asked, in a tone I might

a country girl, sir, v

he himself opened the door, and bowing low, ask

I dashed from the house and fled with an incomprehe

d watching for me. I did not vouchsafe them a word. I could hardly formulate w

PTE

WEDDING

pers, not only called the next day to express his gratitude for what h

nvariable custom to have the table set for three, so that he might never be surprised by her arrival. It had become a monomania with him. Never did he sit down without there being enough before him for a small family, and as his food was all brought in c

me very much, you are so faithf

gave me first a hard look, then an indulgent one, and fi

hey may return at any minute? Miss Hunter, what I do in the loneliness

nd hide my cheeks, I tried to stammer out some ap

love me or you would never have rushed so impetuously to warn me of my

it seemed I had done a very good thing. She congratulated me heartily, and, seeing I had certain fear of taking my aunt into my confidence, promised to sit down

e dominating power of his passion kept me from seeking that advice even from my own intuitions, which might have led to

und of wonderful music, in a certain

for him to take me out of the city at present. It wa

rving man with whose appeara

hen I saw through an open door the glitter of china and glass,

ful as possible with flowers and the finest of dinner services. But t

gotten. To be consistent, I should have rejoiced at this evidence of sterling worth on his part; but girls are not consistent-at least, brides of an hour are not-and I

Mrs. Ransome and her daughter should ret

d expected in reply did not come. Something in my tone or choice of topic jarred upon him, and his answer was a simple w

ill sit,"

mal affair, and would have been slightly depressing, if I had not caught, now and then, flashing glances

PTE

FROM A

urself with these pictures," said he; "I have a little task to

ing out," I cri

led, "I am n

his steps moving about the house, rear and front, and finally going up what seemed to be a servant'

s a little thing I noted, however. His hands were tremblin

cided: "but I will find my own way into those l

unused rooms, with dust on the handles of all the doors. I scrutinized them all; for, young as I was, I had wit enou

the one above. A hurried search (for I was mortally afraid of being surprised by my husband), revealed to me at last a distant door, which had no dust on its knob. It lay at the bottom of a shut-in staircase, and convinced th

but I was uneasy from that hour. I imagined all

ut the house, when suddenly I felt something small bu

et wrapped up in paper; but it was no bullet; it was a bead, a large go

I have been imprisoned five years. Search for me in the upper story. You will find

PTE

RN HY

ognized one fact; that I must not betray by l

t eyes. The bead and the paper I had dropped into

we going to leave this house

r his accustomed trip down-town, but he sto

d travel will benefit you. Dearest, we

PTE

STOL

onceivable wrong, I was bound, not only to make an immediate attempt to release the women he so outrageously

the day with the Vandykes instead of accompanying him down-town as usual. I think he was glad of the freedom my absence offered him, for he gave me the permission I asked, and in t

nwilling face met the light, "is this the wild-wood

hoing house! I am afraid in it, even with my husband. It give

onest, amused and entirely reassuring laugh, that

from the house-top. I had never been any higher up than the third story of any house I had been in, and could not, I told her, go any higher in the house in which I

st interested in, and I found m

sible in the roof, the top of this must have held the skylight, which, being thus lifted many feet above the level of the garret floor, would admit air

n away in my vinaigrette were true. To do this openly would cause a scandal I was yet too much under my husband's influence to risk; while to do it secretly meant the obtaining of keys which I had every reason to believ

room, where I had been accustomed to wait for him, than I saw what sent the blood tinkling to my finger-tips in sudden hope. It was my husband'

he least hesitation, and fingering it was the lightest of touches, found in the smallest of inside

d leaving word that I had remembered a little shopping which would t

ame key, the only other door that had a streak of light under it, I had gained a certain degree of tense composure born of the desperate nature of the occasion. The calmness with which I pushed open the door proved this-

self. Was this why Mr. Allison's countenance expressed so much agitation when he first saw me? The next moment this latter lifted her head and looked directly at me, but with no

ghter's hands in some needlework, felt tha

scribable mellowness of voice, whose tone t

, but he always knocks; besides, it is

o time to indulge in them, for the mother turned at the gasp which left my lips, and

ind girl, herself rising and beaming

son's wife. I have come to see if there is anythin

t mother had suffered, the daughter had experienced nothing but satisfied love and companionship in these narrow pre

that all was not as it should be with them, I felt such a rush of awe sweep over me that some of my fathomless emotion showed in my face; for Mrs. Ransome's own countenance assume

e door is open and you can descend; but that means--Oh, madame, I am filled with terror when I think what

nother face than his. But I do not want to go now, to-day. I want to prepare Theresa for freedom; she has lived so long quietly with me that I dr

gain through my old halls into the room where my husband died; and if Mr. Allison objects--My dear girl, you know now th

. I do not know my husband's mind. It is a fathomless abyss to me. Let me think o

his care. He wants to be relieved of the dreadful secret which anchors him to this house, and makes a hell of the very spot in which he has fixed his love. Shall we und

an my daughter's till I looked upon yours to-day. If you bid me hope, I will hope, and if you bid me trust, I wi

for a billet under the door. It will tell you

pes revived again when I saw the vest still hanging where I had left it

PTE

OTHERS

escape of Mrs. Ransome and her daughter; so a crowd we mus

ed to its utmost, I sat down at his side that evening to plead my cause, I knew by the sparkle of his eye and the softening of the bitter lines that somet

ce with my promise to Mrs. Ransome. Then I wrote her a letter, in which I gave her the minutest directions as to

I think his judgment was asleep, or else he was so taken up with the horrible problem presented by his desire to leave the city and the existence of those obligations which

the ni

nt of going down-stairs, my husband suddenly clasped about my neck a rich necklace of diamonds, I was seized by such a bitter sense of the contrast between appearances and the awful reality underlying

ry roof, I can not say. I thought how it was a message of release to those weary and abused ones above; and, filled with the sense of support which the presence o

received the congratulations of the hundred or more people who were anxious to see Mr. Allison's bride, and o

the effect of marriage upon you. You are the most bril

ll. But what of the awful morning hour that

om the room and ran up-stairs. Here all was bustle also-a bustle I delighted in, for, with so many people mo

lay, succeeded in unlocking the door and disappearing with my bundle into the fourth story. When I

m false, for I was risking life, love and the loss of everything I prized, to save him from himself; but that his love for me should be so strong he could forget the two tortured hearts above, in the admiration I had awakened in the shallow people about us. But I smiled,

n I expected, sooner perhaps, than I was prepared for it, the man who attended the front door came to my side and informed me that

movement was made, I had bounded, in laughing confusion, to m

returned without warning, and to-night she will part

with the seeming merriment in my eyes which I did not allow to stray from his. He thought I was mad, then he

athering in her own house, or will yo

in the nondescript black coat and bonnet I had provided her from her own wardrobe. She had slipped a few moments before from the house with her daughter, whom she had placed in a carriage, which I had ordered to wait for them directly in

moment, added such apologies for the merrymaking in which she found us indulging

hat imposing bearing which great misfortune, nobly borne, gives to some natures, and feeling the eyes of many of her old friend

ent toward one so young and pretty. Where is your husband, dear? He has served me well in my absence,

t his keys, showed in what a tumult of surprise and doubt he had been thrown by this unaccountable appearance of his prisoner in the open hall; and if to other eyes he showed n

proffered hand, bowed over it. "Welcome," he murmured, in strained tones; then, sta

but to-morrow you may come and see me at the -- Hotel. You wil

admonition to those about her not to let the bride suffer from this interruption, she disappeared through the great front door on the arm of the man who for five years had held her prisoner in her own house. I went back

ave me one look. Did he suspect me? I could not tell. After that, there was another blank in my memory to the hour when the guests were all gone, the house all silent, and we stoo

acing a finger on the

look, then he grew as white as the pap

Mrs. Ransome's money; her return has undone me. Delight, I lov

not think so, Humphrey. If the money you have put away is not yours, my first care would be to r

k. The only thing in my life I have not to blush for is my love for you. This is pure, even i

of her retreat? I, Humphrey. I wanted to save you from yourself, and she underst

own breast? For a moment I could not tell; then the white horror in his face broke up, and, giving me a

her women's faces, I have learned not to look upon him with distrust, and to thank God I did not forsake him when desertion might have meant the destructio

THEIR BOOKS INCLU

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Old Sweetheart

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Valiants of V

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contents for ea

left as in source ("had

lusion" ("To my mind, it added an ele

to "Vandyke" ("Mrs. Vandyke