Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1886-09-11

well-polished deadly blade of my vision. 1t
was old-fashioned, rusted, of quaint shape.
with q clumsy handle of bone, curiously
carved and stained. I took 1t up in wonder.
It seemed to me that the handle was still
warm from the grasp which had held 1t a
few moments before. What did it portenda
! How came this fearful confirmation of my
dream into the room where 1t had certainly
not been when I retired to restl What
meant all the mysteries that seemed to
haunt this house, and to envelop all the
jewellers in it,
Istood, candle in hand, by the side Of the
bed, asking myself these questions, and a. I
did SO my eye suddenly lighted upon some
thing which was lying, apparently where it
had slipped from the sloping pillow, on the
sheet below. It wa q scrap Of paper-a
note! l seized it with eager hands, and in
an instant all the ave- fears that had been
creeping into my heart vanished. I forgot
ghosts and Nightmares, and even the hateful
Flinter himself with his deadly knife, and
with allow cry Of delight I pressed the little
note to my lips, for saw that It bore my
name in the handwriting Of my darling.
With trembling hand I opened It and
read the message which it conveyed to me-
. message written hurriedly in pencil
soh, my darling" she said, ut is hard,
hard; but we must part, just when I have
found you. I knew. how it would be If 1t
was discovered. I knew we should never be
allowed to meet again if they could help it.
You must leave this place to-morrow-for
your W sake even more than for mine.
But do not suppose I shall forget you. !
shall be free some day, I hope. God grant it
may come soonl Whenever it comes you
may depend upon me. Do not go far away,
dearest, If you still care for me. If you 90
to Scarborough I shall know where you are.
and that at least will be some comfort.
Good-by, darling, for I shall not be allowed
to say it by word of mouth. But remember
That shall always be true to you. DAISY"
There was a postscript written in char
acters SO struggling that 1t was clear that
they had been penned under the influence Of
some intense agitation. II have had a terri.
bic scene with my uncle. He came to me
when he left you. Icould never nave thought
that he would nave been 10 cruel"
How the long remainder of that night
passed I cannot tell. I was almost stupefied
by this browning misfortune. The secrets Of
the haunted chamber no longer troubled me;
nay, l cared nothing now for Flinter's hardly
concealed animosity: The thought that
overbore all others was that, as Daisy her.
self had put II, I had found her but to lose
her. In comparison with this, all night
mare visions, secret visitations of my bed
room, and even p~ortents like the rusty knife,
which had SO mysteriously been placed upon
my bed, seemed Of no consequence. I dressed
and sat in dreary suffering, waiting for the
coming Of the morn.
Much sooner than might have been ex.
pected In the ordinary course of things
heard q servant moving in the outer room.
l was aware that a fire was being lighted,
and by and by the rattle of cups and
saucers told me that a table was being laid
In the room. 1 was somewhat surprised, as
l had been given to understand on the pre-.
vious night we would all breakfast together
In the hall below. waited impatiently to
learn my fate.
was not very long in suspense. Long be.
fore eight O'Clock there was a tap at the door,
and I opened it to admit the servant who
came laden with hot water and the neces.
saries for my bath. He stared in amazement
when he saw that I was up and dressed. It
may have been that part of his astonishment
was due to my appearance. I was conscious
Of the fact that the experiences of that terri
bic night had given me a face so haggard
and worn that I might have been years older
than I looked when I retired to rest.
He made a few inquiries as to the services
I required, and then, in a somewhat hest.
tating manner. as though he were aware
that he had unpleasant news to communi.
cate. he said:
"Your breakfast, sir, will be served in
your own sitting room in half an hour, OF
sooner, if you wish it; and my master has
ordered me to tell you that you will find .
letter from hin on the breakfast table"
Then he retired respectfully.
Too well I knew what the letter would say.
I was utterly jaded and dispirited by that
night Of agony. And yet, when I thought
that 1 was about to be expelled from the
house which sheltered the woman I loved,
and that I should be compelled to leave her
In the society Of such a man as Flinter, ]
felt ready to do anything and defy every.
body il I might but be with her
Ibathed and redressed wearily, and then
in the sitting room l read the letter
addressed to me from Mr.. Mauleverer. II
was very courteous, but very cold and EN-.
phatic. The writer said that he had learned
with surprise n pain that l had been
guilty Of conducHwhich he would never have
thought Of attributing to me-. Ihad, in ef-
feet, made love to his niece-his adopted
daughter-the lady who was. as everybody
knew, his destined heiress. He could have
forgiven this conduct on my part-strongly
as he must have objected to any marriage
between me and Miss Stancliffe-if I had
acted openly, as he should certainly have
expected me to do. But In seeking sur
reptitiously to win the affections Of his
niece l had adopted a course which he re.
Trained from characterizing, because he had
no wish to wound my feelings by the use of
strong language, but which, he regretted to
Jay, made it impossible that he should con.
hnue to receive me as his guest. Orders had
been given for the brougham to be ready
Tor me ut nine o'clock precisely, and it
would take me to Lorton station in time for
the express train. He concluded by wishing
me a polite but very formal farewell
In my rage, humiliation and bitterness
rat down and dashed off one of those i'm.
petuous letters which are only penned by
young men in love. In it I r~epudiated with
scorn the notion that the wealth Of which he
was unhappily possessed-so I put it-had
anything to do with my love for his niece.
md while expressing my regret that had
not secured his approval of my suit before l
spoke to Daisy, l declared emphatically that,
loving her as I did with my whole heart, 1
should never willingly relinquish the hope of
making her my wife.
Possibly there might lie other phrases in
this letter that were calculated to wound tho
natural pride Of a man like M~auleverer. I
hardly now whether this was 80 or not, for
it was written while my mind was agitated
by a whirlwind Of passion and grief. Be
this as it may, however, when by and
by l was taking my seat in the
brougham. prepared to leave Great
Lorton Hall with crestfallen head and