The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1875-08-25
VOL. /.

uncle's trustee, as your devoted friend,
your interests were dearer to me than my
own. Why should I not speculate with
your fortune, double it, and then say to
you, See EIlinor, here are two fortunes,
of which you are the mistress; one you owe
to Henry Dalton, under the conditions Of
your uncle's will; the other is yours alone.
You are rich. You are free, without any
sacrifice, to marry the man you love; and
this, Ellinor. is my work p This was
what ought to have said to you at the
close of the great year of speculation,
1916"
ooh, Horace, Horace! see it all.
Spare yourself, spare me! Do not tell me
any MORE"
"Spare myselfl No Ellinor, not one
pang, not one heart-break. l deserve it
all. You were right in what you said in
the boudoir at Sir Lionel's. The money
was not my own; no sophstry, no ingeni-
GUS twisting of facts and forcing of con-
illusions, could ever make it mine. How do
know even now that your interests was
really my only motive in the step took
How do | know that it was not indeed,
the gamblers guilty madness only, which
impelled Inc to my crime? How do l
know2 How do / know2 Enough the
crash came; my fortune and yours were
together engulfed in the vast destruction;
and l, the trusted friend of your dead
father, the conscientious lawyer, whose
name had become a synonym for hon
or and honesty; |. Horace Welmolen Mar
grave, only lneal descendant Of the royal
ist Captain Margrave, who persisted at
Worcester, fighting for his king and the
honor of his noble race; |, EIinor, was
cheat and a swinder-a dishonest and
dishon orable MANI
"Dishonoiable, Horace No, no; only
mistaken"
Mistaken, Ellinor2 Yes, that is one
of the words invented by dishonest men,
to slur over their dishonesty. The fraud
uleut banker in whose ruin the fate OF
thousands, who have trusted him and be-
lieved in him, is involved, is, after all, as
his friends say, only mistaken. The
clerk, who robs his employer in the in
sane hope of restoring what he has alb
stracted, is, as his counsel pleads to a
soh-hearted jury, with sons of their own
only mistaken! The speculator, who
plays the great game of commercial haz-
ard with another mans money, he. too, ,
face, and cry Alas! was only mistaken!
No, Ellinor, | have never put in that
plea From the moment of that terrible
crash, which shattered my whole life in
to ruin and desolation, / have, at least,
tried to look my fate in the face But |
have not borne all my own burdens, FL
linor. The heaviest weight Of my crime
has fallen upon the innocent shoulders OF
Henry Dalton"
| denry DaltOn, my HUSBAND!
Yes, Elliuor. your husband, Henry
Dalton, the truest, noblest, most honora-
BILE, and most conscientious of men,"
"You praise him so much" she said,
rather bitterly.
"Yes, EIlinor, am weak enough and
wicked enough to feel cruel plin in be-
ing compelled to do so; it is the last poor
duty | can do him. Heaven knows |
have done him enough INJURY
The exertion of talking for So long a
time had completely exhausted him, and
he fell back, half tainting,upon the pillows.
The sister of mercy, summoned from the
next apartment by Ellinor, administered
restorative to him; and, in low, bro-
ken accents, he continued
"From the moment OF my ruin, Eli.
nor, felt and knew that you were forever
lost 10 me. I could bear this: | did no
/, think my life would be long one; it haC
been hitherto lit by no star of hope
shone upon by no sunlight Of love
, Vogue Ia gIlere! Let it go on its own
dark way to the end. l say, | couIC
bear this, but | could not bear the thought
of your contempt, your aversion; thai
was too bitter could not coma to you
and say, Il love you. | have always
Lowell you; | love you as | never before
loved, as l never hoped to love: but
am a swindler and cheat, and you cal
never he mine No. Ellinor, could not d,
this; and yet you were on the eve of com
ing of age. Some step must be taken
and the only thing that could save m
from this alternative was the generosit.
of Henry Dalton.
81 had heard great deal of you
uncle's adopted son, and | hal met hin
very often at Arden; knew him to be a
; noble and true a hearted man as eve
breathed the breath of human life. | dc
g termined, therefore, to throw myself upo
his generosity, and to reveal all. III
will despise me, but | can bear his con
tempt better than the scorn Of the woma
| loved | said this to myself, and on
night-the night after Henry Dalton ha
first seen you, and had been deeply Ease
mated with the radian. beauty of my love
ly ward, that very night after the day 0
which YOU came of are-I took Henr