Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1885-10-09
A Family Affair
BY HUGH CONWAY.
Autlor of "Cdlzed Back'' and "Darkss Days
Continued from last aoeek.

shortly aIJer Jne Uraln IeIJ stuttgart
the steward looked in and in broken Eng
lish suggested that the beds should be pre-
pared. Mrs. Miller shook her head, and
signifed that she had no wish to retire to
rest. Hervey ordered more brandy and
also declined the proffered couch. The
steward wished that he could have the re-
fusal of one of those unmade couches and
the time to occupy it, shrugged his should
ers, and withdrew. The travellers were once
more alone In less than five hours the
journey would be at an end.
Suddenly a wave of inspiration flooded
the poor woman's harassed brain. An in
spiration which made all things clear as day.
A strange brilliancy shone in her eyes, In
flash she saw, or believed she saw, to what
end these things were leading. Gods hand
was at work.
Had she not dreamed dream in which
Maurice Hervey figureds Had she not per-
suaded herself when she first saw him that
she had seen written in his face that his
DAYS were numbereda Was she not sure
sure as she was of her own eternal con-
demnation-that God meant Beatrice to
taste happiness as well in this world as in
the next? The hour of deliverance was at
hand. The inspiration which had told her
that her errand would be crowned with sue
cess was not that of a lying spirit God
was at work Hervey had been led to take
this journey; to break the promise he had
made; and thereby accept the fate fore
Swallowed by the fearful words to which his
finger had fortuitiously pointed. This jour-
ney, begun in craft and in defiance of Gods
warning conveyed through herself, would
never be ended. She, by the light of her
wild faith, read the Divine purpose plainly
as if it was written in letters of fire.
If the line of demarcation between fanati-
cism and madness in the poor woman's
brain was not by now entirely obliterated,
it had grown faint, blurred and indistinct
She was lowering on the verge of insanity,
and the method which sometimes lies in
madness was at work and supplying the loss
of the reasoning faculties. Now that the
truth had come to her, now that she knew
by inspiration why this man had been per-
mitted to trace and follow her and for a
while enjoy his triumph, she found herself
specializing and wondering how and BY
what means the interposition of the Divine
hand would be shown. She waited for the
moment when, from some apparently
earthly cause, the cup of triumph would be
dashed from his lips. She waited and
waited, and although the hours passed with
d
even at the last moment deliverance would
be brought about.
Once or twice she turned and looked at
her companion, and by the same strange
fancy which had before seized her, per-
suaded herself that the something which she
imagined she saw in his face and which be-
tokened approaching death, grew more and
more distinct She felt no pity for the
man; nor would she have dared to attempt
a second warning; but she gazed on him
with kind of awe, raised by the thought
that in a brief space Of time this wretched
creature would be lying in the place ap-
pointed for him, lying there, and to lie
there forever, and ever, and ever!
Her madness, if it may be called madness,
deepened as the time passed by. After all,
in spite Of it's claims to superiority, the mind
is but the slave Of the body. The yoke may
be thrown aside for while, but sooner or
later it's pressure becomes apparent. Fa-
tigue and want of food were, with Sarah
Miller, campl citing what distress had be-
gun. Yet to herself it seemed that she had
never seen things clearer, never reasoned
more cogently than at this moment when
her brain was taxed beyond endurance.
How would God act? Would He strike this
man dead as he sat there? Would something
IflgnGIuI nappenf Woulu inc Gralu oe over
turned? AS this question exercised her, every
jolt as the wheels passed the points sent a
thrill through her and made her fancy the
moment was at hand,
No. This could not be the appointed
method. Merciless as her creed taught her
to believe the One to whom she prayed, her
sense of justice forbade her to suppose that
many other lives must be sacrificed for the
sake of DESTROYING Maurice Heryev She
must wait patiently and in faith, not antici
pate Gods purpose, But the time was
growing very short!
Suddenly she turned and knelt on the
floor Of the carriage. She offered up a
prayer that things might be made clear to
her; that her agony of suspense might be
brought to an end. Hervey watched her
and laughed aloud.
'Quite right, Sarah" he said. SsNever
neglect your religious observances. I am