The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1883-09-01
HER LIES SECRET.
BY JENNIE DAVIS BURTON.
Author Of :" Strangely We'd" "Ihe Thornh,rst
Nvstsry." "The Mddicst Marriage Ertr
Was,"" Cecfrs Secret" a Mer-
cilSss Foe" etc., etc.
CHAPTER XX.-CoNTINuED.

"Quest told you, but Quest did not
know the wretched story of my girlhood,
did not know the prosecutions with
which Varick followed me, until l was
driven TO that horrible deed. | went
out with the set purpose of killing him,
or myself, or both of us, that night 1t
seemed to me that was justified in do
ing it; sooner or later knew that blood
would be shed. 1t was either to kill
him then, or to have him and Rodney
meet, and one Stay the other. Of the
consequences. further than to save my
husband, / never thought. When / saw
him before me, knew that he had wit
messed that deed, l tainted, and after
that knew nothing for long weeks.
When came back to myself at last my
father was with me. He gave me to
understand that Rodney had left me.
took no interest in anything beyond that,
and it was easy for them to keep me in
ignorance of the truth. You were born,
and when l began to gain strength, they
broke it to me and gave me the letter
he had left
OF her horror and agony she spoke,
rs person telling the story of another.
There was murder branded ineffaceably
upon her SOUL but it was the murder of
the husband who had given himself up,
a willing sacrifice, for her sake, rather
than of the man whose blood she had
spilled. She had accepted unquestion-
ably the one penance he had asked of
her when she gave up her child. She
had laid out for herself life of atone
ment by good works, and when the
yellow fever broke out in Havana she
was one of the first to volunteer as a
nurse. All she hoped for was to lose
the power of suffering in an early death,
but Death passed her by, so near, in
deed, that she felt his cold breath, but
she was spared and struggled unwill-
ingly back to life.
But it was new life she came back
to. All natural feeling had not died out
of her heart. Lcve came back to it.,
first for her child, then for the man who
thought he knew the darker part of her
history, yet who knew nothing of the
fact that it was her hand which sped
the fatal ball; that secret, intrusted to
Rose Sangerford, had ever been held
inviolate by her; of that, and of much
in her earlier life, he suspected nothing
She knew she was doing wrong in
listening to him at all; she tried to do
right, yet we know little of the mental
struggle through which she passed She
did yield, and the great, overmastering
passion of her life grew up for the hus-
band whose loved and loving wife she
had been for SO many quiet years.
Quiet, but hardly happy. Love could
not still the throes of conscience entire
ly. Fear of exposure she scarcely had,
L
own breast. She only learned better
when she questioned Lex regarding her
knowledge of Mr.. Quest, day or two
subsequent To that scene in the library.
Lex, in utter frankness, betrayed the
admission he had made her.
'He said that he had very nearly
committed n bank robbery once, but
was saved from it and almost frightened
to death by having a murder done right
under his eyes. That he had got away,
but expected to convict the murderer
yet, or words to that effect !"
From that hour Mrs. Oliphant knew
the doom which hung over her head.
Quest knew her and meant to betray
her. He discovered the secret of
Dana's parentage, but greater than
that was the secret of her guilt and
crime.
Those last few days at the cottage
seemed TO her now like horrible, dis
tempered dream. Every hour she ex-
pected the blow 10 fall, and through all
the long agony of suspense which wore
upon every nerve, one idea prevailed
which kept her from absolute madn S.,
1t was this: That she would fly when
the actual time came; she never could
look into the face of hush nd or child
again after the truth was told them.