The daily gazette., 1879-08-12

ana the courage she had Dattleu Sd naru
to sustain deserted her. Der breath
came in low, gasing sobs, and after
long interval Of silence, which her mother
thought would never end, she family
said:
~ understand that my fate Il settled,
then. shall be allowed no choice. Oh
1 know too well that shall be forced TO
submit my will to yours, and struggle as
l may, the net will close around me and
compel me to give my hand to one man
while my whole heart is in the possession
Of another. Oh, mother! mo,her, how
could you have suffered things to come
to such pass as this? Paupers depen-
dent on Richard Staunton Tor the very
brea we have eaten, he will demand his
payment of me, and da c lot refuse it |
| know the kind OF man he is--he would
set us adr #, p. nniless, homeless, to beg,
or starve, should l prove false to that
81 ly pledge given in childish thought
lessnes and oh so bitterly repented of |
sincel' l
Her voice sunk into low, sobbing mur-
murs, and her mothers pity for her was
mingl with exultation that she seemed
to yield at once to the necessities of her |
PUoiet'hs oLu RCNOpU idbC ~ W 90 oO |
much to the in crest of the whole family |
hat she should not refuse.
A week passed away and nothing was
heard Of the expected lover from Cali
fornia, although lie had written that he
should not be many days behind his lie =
ter, and at last rumors came that the
AlbatrOss, on which he had left San
Francisco, had been wrecked, and that
many lives had been lost.
Kate had been struck down by brain
fever, and for days she lay vibrating be-
tween life and death, raving 10 widest
delirium, and then moaning over the
cruel fate which gave her heart to one
lover and forced her TO yield her hand to
another.
Mrs. Loser was fond and proud of her
lovely daughter, yet the deepest dread in
her heart at this dreary crisis was, that
In the death OF Kate the prospect of wealth
must poss from them all.
Edna watche unweariedly by The sick
couch Of her sister, and Mr.. Loser de-
voted himself to her assistance. He was
great help to her, for he had studied
medicine in his youth, and he undertook
the management of the case himself, de-
claring that he could bring Kate safely
through all the phases of this torturing
| illness. He had given her q potion
which would not only break The fever,
but so affect her brain that for time she
would have but little recollection nf re-
cent events, and so would not be apt to
say anything to Staunton about her liver,
Harry Conrad.
A few hours after Loser had admins
tered the dangerous potion to Kate,
Staunton suddenly arrived. He was q
man six feet in height, magnificently
propoltioned, and might indeed have
passed as a mi-god among men o.
lesser mould, for his head was massive
and handsome as the marble bust Of Ma
poleon. His eyes were dark hazel, we'll
set and expressive, but with gleam in
them which showed that ii things went
wrong with him temper might be
aroused which it would he difficult to
quel.
Loser, who had warned his wife and
Edna with regard 10 what he had done,
was the first to meet Staunton, who had
heard of Kate's illness and eagerly ques-
toned her step-father as to her condi-
tion.
Losers face fell slightly as he saw by
Staunton's manner how difficult it was
going to be TO deceive him with regard
to Kate's real feelings, but he made the
best he could of the situation, saying
"Well, to tell you the truth, our dear
girl has been very ills still suffering
much, but the fever is broken, and l
think-I am almost sure, that with care,
she will soon be restored to u.s."
"Good Heaven is she SO far gone a
hat !' cried Staunton, with paling face.
tsWhat caused this illness What is
the matter with her 1t was not brought
ON her by her dread Of my arrival, l
hope"
| His eyes famed, his lips trembled and
his brow grew stormy as be uttered the
last words.
Catching at the chance bis jealous
fears suggested, Loser deliberately
said:
"No-not by that, but by the shock
she received when she heard of the dan
ger you were in. She bore up few
days when no further news came from
you, we-that is, the women--gaye you
up as lost !; but have believed through
all that you would come back to us safe
and 81 und."
Quite overcome by this false 81 ate
ment, the strong man sat down on the
first chair he came to, and covering his
face with his hands, wept few deli
cious.tears over the supposed despair OF
Kate over his own loss.
Loser watched him cynically, wOD-
dering if Kste's memory would be SO
dea lened by the potion he had admin
istered to her as to enable her to play
the part he had assigned her in the tragi-
con, edy about to tie enacted.
Suddenly Staunton lifted his head and
said
"When can see my dear girl? I
must judge of her condition myself, and
she had best be prepared to receive m
Her mother can DO that"
Loser was nearly at his Wits ends, at
loss to known how he should deal
with this impetuous man, and quite GER
tain in his own mind that his sudden
intrusion into the sick girls apartment
might produce results as fatal to his
happiness as to Kate's life.
After pause, he replied:
"You do not understand how low
Kate is q; she is sleeping calmly now
under the influence OF narcntic, and
hope for the best results from The first
quiet sleep she has enjoyed since the
commencement IF her illness. My
wife is utterly broken down by what she
has gone IL -ough, and l have had to
my skill in her behalf, too her ner-
yous system is Frustrated, and she is