The Press., 1883-06-14
;. [Contributed.l s.& MARBLES MISFORTUNE.
BY DELLA ADELAIDE.
CHAPTER XII.

l pardon for the haste which has caused yOr so much discomfort, and am willing te make any amends in my power. 1.t. | Helen looked up wearily.. Her agony o
 mind, mind, while believing May guilty, had I been so great that the reaction and subse
 quent remorse had left her almost incapa
 ble of thought. trH.. .s....
 ''You are very kind, she managed te articulate, while MT. Nobles continued f'Your position at the store awaits yorl1 pleasure with an increase of salary, and think, Y said he, meaningly, "when you return can promise you immunity from such annoyances as you have lately beer the recipient of But" said he, noticing Delevan, ''you must take her home with out delay. She looks like death now, and don't wish anything worse to grow out o1 this affair than has already taken place. D Helen was immediately conveyed home, Howard accompanying her, while MT. Delevan pleaded an engagement, saying he would call when she was somewhat re- covered and offer his congratulations. Mrs. Gray welcomed her with many pro- testations of affections, while Towards first inquiry was for May. @' .H5" ?. May" exclaimed Mrs. Gray. "Is she not with you? Have you not seen her ?"
 .+''l have not seen her since last evening. Why do you ask ?" " .-., ' ' "After MT. Delevan's call this morning she became quite impatient to see her sis ter, though I tried to persuade her that you would call for her if her presence were at all necessary. But she grew very anx- lous, and my arguments did not seem to have much weight So about an hour ago she left the house to find Helen. I pre- sume the dear girl did not know just where to go, and has been delayed, :" said Mrs. Gray. s..- ..... . s..... :. --.-.. -" Howard waited few moments, his i'm patience increasing as May did not make her appearance. Helen, too, became alarm ed, the fever in her veins mounting higher and higher as the minutes wore on, and anxiety for May being added to her already increasing illness. And when half an hour had elapsed and May had not returned, Howard announced his intention of pro. ceeding at once in search of her. Bidding Helen not to be anxious, for he should surely find her, "and saold her, too," he added, with 8 smile, 'for causing us need less anxiety. -.-t .H. ,. ; .l.j
 Howard had gone but short distance when he met MT. Delevan, whom he ac- costed with, ''Have you seen Mabel since lefttyou ?"g .: :. .a<".t.."t .@,@ i..
 "I have not, replied MT, Delevan. "Is she not at homeY' .. 4..-',-- .'i:s .'''
 'sShe left home nearly two hours ago to find Helen, and has not returned, . said Howard. fsI don't really think anything can have happened to her; still confess to feeling of uneasiness' - ...-
 not in love, and therefore had little sympa- thy with Towards alarm. ''That's natur- al enough. But presume she'll come around all right shortly. How did you leave Helen ?'' -~---- :, ---s- =. :
 "Quite overcome with anxiety for May, and fear really i'll. You will call ?'. fs
 "Yes I am going there now :; and you 9 "Oh I'll stroll along. Perhaps I shall meet May, when will return." A<}'- CHAPTER XIII.
 But Howard did not meet May. And that he ordered her at once to bed, and for 8 physician and though Helen de clared she was not ill, only nervous and anxious about May, and that as soon as May returned she should be well enough, the doctor did not agree with her. And, when questioned by MT. .Delevan, pro- nounced her malady typhoid; and for three weeks she fought hand to hand with death, until it was question in the minds of her anxious watchers as to which would gain the victory.
 Much of the time she was delirious, and then May was always beside her, and Helen would beg of her sister to forgive her for doubling her innocence in tones heart-rending to hear. But Mabel was al- ways stern and unforgiving, and Helen's pitiful entreaties would rise gradually into shrieks of uncomfortable agony, until na- ture exhausted itself, when season of al- most breathless suspense would ensue un- til strength returned, when the pleading voice would re-commence the unavaiing petition for forgiveness.
 ooh, May" she would cry, reaching her | wasted hands toward where her fevered imagination, pictureds her sisters form, 1 ''oh, May, my, darling, only say that you forgive me for my wicked suspicion. ] am so sorry, May, and | have been pun. ished so terribly You will forgive me, l May, for how can l. meet papa, and tell him how miserably I have failed in mak- ing his darling happy ?"
 l And again she would live over the an. guish of that dreadful night, and rave of
 the clanking of chains, and holding out Eher delicate wrists beg them to remove the irons, for they were torturing her; and scream after scream would issue from hel lips, as the feverish horrors passed before her deceased mind.
 Meantime, where, was May Nearly three weeks had now elapsed since the morning on which May had disappeared, and in all that time not one word had been heard from he., mot one clue obtained as ito her whereabouts. She had vanished as completely as though swallowed up by tsome mighty earthquake, or taken up bod lily into the heavens. The daily papers had rioted over tke mysterious disappear. ance, the city had been searched, detectives feed, all, to no purpose And the theory fpf suicide was fast becoming general in the minds of the communitys :ssgs
 Howard, however, refused to believe it. The idea of his beautiful, delicate May ly- ing in the filth and mud of East river was so utterly revo oIting that he secuted it en, tirely. And for the hundredth time visit ed the office of the chief-of-police, in the vain hope-of alighting on some clue which should lead to her discovery.