Nebraska advertiser., 1880-12-09

lows, was made of baser clay than or
binary men.
By the light which he held she could
discover his face dimIy. Hardly con-
scious of what she was doing,
she went forward to him as he bent
over the safe he had opened. Both had
their backs toward her. Without a word
she laid her hand upon his arm. AT the
touch, so quick and unexpected, he
started as if he had been shot, and flash
ed the light quickly in her face. With
low cry of surprise, he met the pathet-
ic sadness of Jessie's eyes.
His companion rose hastily from his
kneeling position, exclaiming, What
does this mean?' as he saw the strange
dazed look upon Knights face, and
saw, too, that the girl was no stranger
10 him.
20, Gilbert Gilbert Can this be pos
sibler' Jessie said, with a pitiful wall
in her voice that would have moved a
heart of adamant.
He stood dumb before her. Had she
reproached him he could have retorted
angrlly; but he had no words to meet
the look in the fair, sad face upturned
to his, which he had kissed so often just
to see it flush and brighten under the
powerful magnetism which had been
the ruin of more than one woman be-
fore he had seen Jessie.
1t was a scene for painter. The
bolted and barred windows showing in
the dim light; the confused, shamed
expression on Knights face; the panied,
grieved expression on Jessie's, and the
angry disappointment on the other. At
length, without word, Knight took the
Jewels he had secreted about his person
and flung them down.
"YOu can do as you like, Kris" he
said; Il wash my hands of the affair.
1t is the last time l shall undertake such
thing. Jessie, you despise me, of
course, and | deserve it. But | shall
remember you always as the best and
dearest girl ever knew. Goodbye.
Come, Kris, let us get out OF this scrape
as soon as we can"
They left, empty handed, as they had
come, and made their escape as they
had effected their entrance, by an in
building that rose only few feet from
the workroom.
Jessie CROPPED her way back up stairs
TO the little dressing room, and, sitting
down again upon the lounge, burst into
passion OF tears. 1t had been a sad
awakening from her sweet love dream,
| for Jessie's ideal had been good, and
manly, and honorable, and the real had
fallen so far below it
She began TO realize that she must
conceal the fact that she had been there
all night, for of course she would be
questioned and she shrank from answer
ing. So in the morning she contrived
to make it appear that she had come in
with the other girls, and then later she
went out and ate warm breakfast, or
rather tried to force it down, to cure the
| fainting sensation that came over her.
Great was the surprise of all next
morning, to find the doors open, and
greater still was the surprise to find the
safes open, and yet TO Jewels missing.
Meanwhile, in his room, Gilbert
Knight was writing a note:
Miss CLIFFORD:-I dare not call you
dear Jessie, as my heart dictates, be-
cause | know myself unworthy. | have
cared for you-let me confess it-as |
have cared for many others, but | never
realized until last night that you were
woman of thousand. Something in
the tender wO,nanliness that never ut
tered a reproach to the wretch that
dared to contaminate her with his touch
went to my heart. You see | am not
altogether hardened. If | did not feel
the vast gulf there is between us would
90 TO YOU and ask your forgiveness. As
it is | have the grace TO stay away.
some time when | have redeemed my
self, may | come back?
And Jessie received the letter and
cried over it, and hen laid it away and
waited.
Milton Kent tried in vain 70 win a
place in her heart. She knew he could
never he guilty of the deed from which
she had saved the man she loved, but
she could not transfer her affections to
him. Her heart yearned over that other
and she waited.
At the end of two years he came back
and found her patient and somewhat
sad, but the old love light knitted in her
eyes at sight Of him.
Il have lived an honest, upright life
before God and man, since | left" he
said humbly. Jessie, will You be my
wife? Can Won forgive and forget?'
For all answers she reached out her
arms toward him, and was held in a
close embrace