The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-09

Darnel the history OF her unhappy son. she had
spoken of him as of one whom she believed to be
dead. The knowledge that he still lived had
come TO her very soon after her marriage, and
she had kept that knowledge from her husband.
That had been her greatest sin. In her agony
as a mother, ashamed of the son who only
pealed to her for money. whose vices and follies
had been a continual drain upon her purse, she
had shrunk from the acknowledgements of his
existence. She had hoped always to keep him at
arms length till at last repentance and reform
should come, and he should begin a. new hfe In
new land. The new land had been tried, and
had proved q failure a means of reform; but
he was young enough for the possibility OF refor-
nation, and the mothers heart still clung to that
hope.
In this. and in this only had she acted as
hypocrite. She had kept the knowledge of this
burden to herself She had kept the secret of
this ever-preSent care, this perpetual dread Of
what the day might bring forth. This constant
anxiety had preyed upon her. undermining her
health, making her ftful and low spirited and
her anxious husband had told himself that it was
her womany pride that suffered, and that it was
the coldness of his old friends which made her
unhappy.
II will tell him all, by-and-by when he is
strong enough to bear an as,itatng conversation"
she said to herself, after long meditation upon
her husbands conduct, ''and if find that have
lost his love--welI must bear the blow It will
not be the rrst of my trials, and it ought to be
the last Ii that loss does not kill me nothing
can"
Second only to the horror of having forfeited
her husbands love was the agonizng thought Of
her sons infamy. thief and only by Gods
mercy little short of murderer He, her
only son. had fired upon her husband with the
intent to kill him. He had escaped from that
house, carrying with him four hundred pounds
of stolen money. Where was he nowa felon
marked man. pursued by detectives; perhaps
before long to stand in the feions dock, and to
answer for his crime. Then the whole story of
his wretched existence of his mothers bitter
burden, would be unfolded for the qualification
of the curious and all those old friends of Sir
Allan who had held themselves aloof from his
second wife would say, ave did well to suspect
this woman's antecedents. The mother of such
son could not be good woman"
NOT once In her conversation with Grace had
Lacy Darnel limited at her knowledge Of the
girls acquaintance with the advehturer who had
called himself Victor de Camillac. 70 do that
would have been to reveal too much. She was
determined to guard her step-daughter from any
future dealings with her son. should he
again dare to present himself upon the scene.
But 1T was her DESIRE if possible, to get him
out of the country before he was called upon to
pay the forfeit of his crime Miss DarnePs
prompttude in putting the case into the hands
of the police made her position all the more
difficult. Her only hope was that Mr. Penwern,
having got upon false scent, would continue
to go aStray, and would devote himself TO the
pursuit of Jaker while the real criminal was
making his escape. 1t was not to Dora Darnel
that Clare owed her knowledge of Mr. Penwern's
movements. That lady went about with locked
hips, the very incarnation of secrecy. But in
country house secrets of this kind pervade the
air, Mr.. Penwern had been made very comfort
able IN the housekeeper's room and, though he
had been discreet. he had not, altogether, been
silent. Lady Darnel's maid told her that Jaker
was known to have stolen the money, and that
Mr.. Penwern wanted to stop him from getting
off to America. The idea of his guilt had been
confirmed by the disappearance Of Mrs. Jaker,
whose cottage had been found empty one morn
ing, she and her brood of brats having slipped
away under cover of the darkness, almest as
quietly as Robin Goodfellow and his goblin
crew.
ITO BE CONCLUDED NEXT suNpAyl