The Mineral argus., 1884-10-23

MlAOab MLEA 1917
What are they about9"
81 am afraid you know too well what
they are about"
II! Why, it is only last night l dis
covered that Wiifrid Lane was your
brother"
"4hl You are a good actress, Miss
Craigie."
sTrevor-great heaven, Trevor-you
do not believe that I-oh, this is too alb
surd!"
'YOu know nothing OF the disappear
ance of those letters?"
Nothing, upon my word; as L stand
here a living woman, 1 swear 1t.
He shook his head; her very deter
mined assurance made him d her
more, and he turned away.
"Alas, Miss Craigie, that l should
live to say it, but till those letters are
found 1 can enter into no further en-
gagement RobbIng me of them could
be the act of no common thief, attracted
bv an open door; other valuables which
were in the room have not disappeared"
"As you will" she answered, bowling
her head proudly. "H you can believe
this of me. il Is indeed better that we
should part"
And so, as Trevor had promised, IN
less than an hour he returned to Barba-
IA in the studio; but during all that day,
and for man DAYS to come, both the
conversation and the painting went on
haltingly.
Miss Craigie he did not see again,
/ and report said she lay i'll at the vicar
age; but this report did not reach Trev-
or Lane, since he never went out OF h
house now; and so no n but his cous-
in Barbara heard it, and she, in her
gruff, rough way, said: ut was wiser to
let sleeping dogs lie, and make no allu-
sion to Miss Craigie, with whom 1t was
evident that Trevor had quarreled,"
though he had never ~vouchsafed to tell
Barbara about the letters. He did not
care to allude to them, for n reason,
and he thought their loss might worry
Barbara for another.
Heavily the weeks passed by, and the
autumn tints we're mellowing the trees
in the little wood. Madge Craigie had
left Heathfield, and already the episode
of her love passages with Trevor Lane
were forgotten. Forgotten by all but
him he could never forget the vision
of beauay that had crossed his path
and changed so speedily into a hideous
spectre.
No, he would never marry now So
he had told BARBARA more than once OF
late, and a smile had for a moment
lighted up her wrinkled, soured face
at his words.
Toward the end of October a change
came TO the everyday routine of Heath
field Cottage. Barbara fell i'll. Siezed
with a paralytic stroke, she lay speech
less and powerless. The grand doctor
Trevor sent for from London said she
might rally, but it was doubtful; at all
events she would never be the same
again.
The solicitude and devotion Trevor
showed her was rather that of a son than
a cousin, forsaking eve his beloved
painting to remain by her bedside and
minister to her every want. But con-
tent was not one of her requirements,
and she kept up her character for fret
fitness to the extent Of trying Trevor's
patience not a little. There was evi-
IDENTIFY something she wished to say
and that her loss of speech prevented
and Trevor's repeated recommendation
that she should remain quiet till she
was better, only served to annoy her.
He was sitting with her at the wane
Of the dAy, the room only lighted by &
feeble CLEAN of departing twilight, an6
an occasional flicker from a wood fire
Cousin Barbara made a strange, un'
earthly sound, and pointed with the
forefnger of her left hand to an ole
bureau which stoodin the corner. Ire
vor took little notice at first. but she
was so persistent that at last he rose
and unfastened the bureau. Its carved
doors shut in rows of small drawers, O
after another. He opened several o.
them, but found nothing, and was be
ginning to think that he was merely
the victim of a sick woman's caprice
when on a sudden he uttered a cry
There, in one of them, was the bundle
of documents marked Wilfrid Lane.
He turned and glared on the woman
, who lay in the bed looking at him al
most pitecusly. 1t was the first tim
Barbara had ever seen anger agains
, herself expressed in Trevor's eyes, anC
| she covered beneath it, closing he
own, and pulling the bedclothes owe
her face.
He did not attempt to speak to her
but taking up the letters walked out o
the room, called the little maid of tn
establishment. and babe her go to he
mistress. Then, the letters still in hi
5 hand, he put on his hat and went out
Poor, wretched Barbara; her punish
ment, when they told her he was gone
was almost more than she could bear
D He had never forgiven Madge Craigi