The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1883-06-21
of she knew not what. She knew what

Uncle Trevor waited upon her one
morning in her private room, and sat
down with his hat o Taking from
his pocket a large wallet, he opened it
with elaboration, rah over its contents,
and handed her, without a word, a bit
of paper. 1t was a note for a large
sum, signed by T. Eversley, which was
upon the market, and had been pre-
sented to him for payment. That told
the whole story. 1t was a forgery-a
cunning forgery-for it was the name
of both uncle and sister, and both
names carried weight. Her heart beat
SO heavily against her side it seemed
impossible that it should beat again.
Her color fell; she could not lift her
eyes. For him to ruin them all!
"WellP" her uncle said, in his hard
voice.
She still held the bit of paper, held it
SO tightly that her fingers were white
and her nails blue. What was she to
doP Her thoughts ran swiftly as light
ming rum To paythis note would ruin
her, close up the business, return her to
the tyranny of her step-mother, destroy
all the hope that she and Laura had
had of independence, put them back
into their old slavery of waiting for a
dead mans shoes. But not to pay it!
To let another soul beside herself know
of the disgrace of her fathers son; to
let the miserable boy suffer any more
agony than the acknowledge of his
base act; to let his poor mother suffer
such shock, such shame, such misery!
It was all in a second. "Wellp" she
said, her heart gathering its strength
again. Perhaps I don't understand.
Why did you bring me my notep Have
you bought itp You need not have
done that, Uncle Trevor. 1t was very
kind of you, but 1 am good for it. This
is a day too early, you see, and it's not
very business-like to pay your notes be-
fore the last day of grace; but, so long
as you're here, I may as well take it
up"
"Do you mean to say" said the old
man, in a slow and terrible way, 'that
this is your note?"
Certainly l mean to say it," she
answered him, although it seemed as if
her voice were some infexible weight
that she must needs pull up from vast
depth and distance. '1s not that my
manner" pointing to the signature. us
not that my handwritingF The room
was growing dark, vas beginning to
whir1; she put out her hand in a blind
way, but grasped nothing, and the note
futtered to the floor.
There was silence for a moment. Her
uncle looked at her slowly from head to
foot.
You are a handsome GIRL" he said
then. every inch a Trevor and an
Eversley. Dark as a gypsy queen and
proud as a royal duchess. Yes, you are
a handsome girl-but you are a liar.
That note was neither given nor signed
by you. 1t is the forgery of your brother
Trevor. And the scoundrel knows that
he is safe because it is his own name
also. What ais my brothers child"
he cried, I" thath he shouldd do this thingP"
and his mother does not spell her
name with a .p'r!' said Teresa, to break
the force of the horror that was freez-
ingthem, and bursting into a laugh that
would have been historical if she had
not remembered Mrs. Eversley's habits.
She olasped both hands about her throat
in the effort to quiet herself, and stag
gered to a seat.
"Well?" her uncle said again, 81
suppose you'd have brazened It out to
the end with anybody else. You're a
plucky girl. As for your being a liar I
won't say you lied in a good cause; but
the truth should not be spoken at all
times, we've heard say. And I don't
know as I should be the one to reprove
you, as 1 shall pay this note"
"Your"
"I. I gave you a hard trial, and 1
find you hard material. I'm glad of it.
I'm glad there's somebody to uphold
the Eversley name when I'm gone. And
that won't be long now. For this thing
this finding my brothers child a ras-
cal-has given me a blow. There never
was a blot upon the name before"
1t was very plain it had given the old
man a blow. He stopped and picked
up the note, trembling from head to
foot as Teresa did, although making a
strong fight. She crossed over to his
side as he turned to go, took his two
hands in hers, and kissed them.
"They are cleaa hands," he said,
looking at them then in a half-wonder-
ing way. "They never did a thing I
am ashamed of before God. And if
they have not been open hands it is be-
cause they have been busy ones. Well,
well, WE'LL" and he went stumbling
down the stairs, and Teresa left the
room to set her girls their tasks through
Miss Mahala.
How long that day seemed! And
when it ended, what thenP To go home
and keep the horrid secret burning in
her heart. How terrible a thing was
life where lover failed, brother betrayed,
home was a desert! She would have
been glad to shut her eyes upon it all
that moment in the marble sleep from
which no one wakes. And leave Laura?
Poor little Laura! No; there was one
thing left. She would live for her and
feel rewarded in the living.
The effort she had made to control
herself had called up the richest color
that the pale olive of her cheek could
wear, her eyes were full of soft fulgent
splendor, she was erect and stately as
any young empress, when a group came
into the drawing-room where her cos
tunes were displayed-a dowager, a
pretty, pleasant girl, and a plain little
overdressed creature, who tossed her
head fippantly, and whose sentences,
as she moved along, spoke for her al
most as plainly as if her history had
been pinned on her back. Really"
said Miss Mahala, ''this little fancee
has been here before, and she has not a
particle of intelligence"
Gut Teresa was acquainted with her.
She was the only child of the famous
broker Briarley, the heiress to his i'm
mense fortune. Teresa had been at
school with her and knew that if she
was not hopelessly feeble-minded, it WA
because we do not call it so when they
are heiresses to immense fortunes.
And this gentleman who had paused
in the reception-room to take a check
for their wraps-Great heavens! could
it be Harold Van Duysen who had come
with this fool to buy her wedding gar
ments? She had known that Harold
had been away with an exploring expe-
dition for a year or two; she had said
to herself that she would do him justice
to believe that it might be his absence
that had weakened the bond between