The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-08-11

tnisI fauperS! dependent on hcnafd
Staunton for the very bread we have eaten,
he will demand his payment of me, and
dare not refuse it, / know the kind of man
he is-he would set us adrift, penniless,
homeless, to beg, or stawe, should | prove
false to that silly pledge given in childish
thoughtlessness, and oh! SO bitterly re-
pented of sincep'
Her voice sunk into low, sobbing MUIR
murs, and her mothers pity for her was
mingled with eXultation that she seemed
to yielu at once to the necessities of her po-
sition, and accept the fate it was so much
to the interest of the whole family that she
should not refuse.
A week passed away and nothing was
heard of the expected lover from Califor-
mia, although he had written that he should
not be many days behind his letter, 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 fe-
yer, and for days she lay vibrating between
life and death, raving in widest deirium,
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, vet the deepest dread in
her heart at this dreary crisis was, that in
the death of Kate the prospect of wealth
must pass from them all.
Edna watched unweariedlv by the sick.
couch of her sister, and Mr.. Loser devoted
himself to her assistance. He was great
help to her, for he had studied medicine in
his youth, and he undertook the manage
ment OF the case himself, declaring that he
could bring Kate safely through all the
phases of this torturing illness. He had
given her potion which would not only
break the fever, but so affect her brain that
for time she would have but little recol-
lection of recent events, and so would not
be apt to say anything to Staunton about
her lover, Harry Conrad.
A few hours after Loser had administered
the dangerous potion to Kate, Staunton
suddenly arrived. He was man six feet
in height, magniicently proportioned, and
might indeed have passed as a demi-god
among men of lesser mould, for his head
was massive and handsome as the marble
bust of Napoleon. His eyes were dark ha-
eel, well set and expressive, but with a
geam in them which showed that if things
went wrong with him temper might he
aroused which it would be difficult to
quell.
Loser, who had warned his wife and Edna
with regard to what he had done, was the
first to meet Staunton, who had heard of
Kate's illness ard eagerly questioned her
step-father as to her condition.
Losers face fell slightly as he saw by
Staunton's manner how difficult it was GO
ing 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
: H. ia, 7 4,
i am almost sure, that with care she will
soon be restored to u.s."
Good Heaven! is she so far gone as
thatl' cried Staunton, with paling face.
"What caused this illness? What is the
matter with her? 1t was not brought ON
her by dread of my arrival, hope"
His ewes famed, his lips trembled and his
brow grew stormy as he uttered the last
words.
Catching at the chance his Jealous fears
had suggested Loser deliberately said
"No-not by that, but by the shock she
received when she heard of the danger you
were in. She bore up few days, but when
no further news came from you, we-that
is. the women-gaye you up as lost; but j
have believed through all that you would
come back to us safe and sound"
Quite overcome BY this false statement,
the strong man sat down on the first chair
he came to, and covering his face with ms
hands, wept a few delicious tears over the
supposed despair of Kate over his own loss.
Loser watched him cyEiCally, wondering
if Kate's memory would be so deadened by
the potion he had administered to her as to
enable her to play the part he had assigned
her in the tragi-comedy about to be en-
acted.
Suddenly Staunton lifted his head and
asked:
when can l sec my dear girl? must
Judge of her condition myself, and she had
best be prepared to receive me. Her moth
er can do that"
Loser was nearly at his wits ends, at
loss to know how he should deal with this
impetuous man, and quite certain in his
own mind that his sudden intrusion into
the sick grls S apartment might produce re-
suits as fatal to his happiness as to Kate's
life.
After pause, he replied:
"You do not understand how low Kate
is; size IS sleeping calmly now under the i'll
tluence Of a narcotic, and | hope for the
best results from the first quiet sleep she
has enjoyed since the commencement OF
her illness. My wife is utterly broken
down by what she has gone through, and l
have had to use my skill in her behalf, too;
her nervous system is prostrated, and she
is living down now, trying to- sleep, and
Edna is watching by Rates bedside. You
must be patient awhile, Dick"
"Patience never was my forte you know
of old, Luis" replied Staunton, obstinately,
'and what you tell me of my poor darling
only increases my uneaSineSS and my desire
TO look on her sweet face again, even II she
is unable TO spring to my arms and tell me
how true she has been to me through all
that long and weary absence. ] feel as if
every moment away from her now is a
wrong to both of us. Please send Edna to
me-
"Of course III GO; but wouldn't it be bet
ter for you to tell me something about
yourself before | seek Edna? The child
will ask thousand questions, and perhaps,
be unwilling to leave her sister for a
moment. She knows that this is the crisis
of the fever, and that every thing depends
on careful nursing"
Staunton regarded him with searching
stare, and then impetuously said:
"Before the Lord, Loser, | could almost
believe that there is something wrong here,
and that you are in quandary as to what
course to pursue. / am losing the last
grain of patience that is in me-" he cried
almost furiously. "Words words! words
do you think am to be put off with them
Luis, when my very heart is aching to sec
that dear face which has been my beacoI
star through all the efforts / have made tc
make myself rich for the sake of the smiles
it would avsih on me in the time to come
Go! go! | will not be trified with another
moment"
Loser thought it best to obey this imperi
Gus command, and got out of the room a
quickly as lie COULD but he paused mo
ment in the hall to review the position
and reassure himself as to his power t.