San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1886-11-16

had given his darling back to him, and
! watched them gain the ground in safety
ere the ladder fell with a sickening crash I;
then, a. with the last instinct Of srlf-preser-
Walton, | leaned farther from the window
a fresh blaze il.umined me, shouts arose
again from the crowd, and some men hold
Ing out beneath cried 10 me, Jump and
jumped downtown into uncOnsciOusness
again.
| only broke my arm in my fall; say
only, because leaping from that height, even
though fell upon the carpet held for me
below, il would have been an easy matter
to have broken two or three of my limbs or
NV neck.
But only broke my left arm, and though
that and all the fear and the trouble | had
undergone made me very i'll for a time, |
was so young and strong that it was not for
long time. The shock to my nerves really
did not seem to have aft cted me so much
as it had done Miss ROssel.
She came to me one day, when was ~
ing alone on n couch drawn up before the
fire in the pleasant new room inhabited
Only the one wing in which the haunted
room was, had been burned of YOxley Hall,
and the house was large enough to accom-
mOdate all of us in the portion that remain
ed uniniured.
Miss ROsSel came 10 me looking so white,
and thin, and i'll, that exclaimed:
You grow worse instead of better, Miss
ROSSel"
II believe shall never get better until |
make full confession" she said with a
bitter smile, $50 have come to do II now"
fixing her eyes on my wondering face. You
can't guess at all, | suppose, what | have
come to cOnfeSS?"
"NO,' | said, utterly bewildered, no"
"Oh, you dense baby You hardly de-
serve to hear, yet you must. told yOu-at
least, made you understand by insinua-
tons, that | was engaged to my cousin Her
mon"
Yes" family. Oh, why had she come to
talk on that subject?
at was utterly false. am not, and never
was engaged too him."
you are not? Whyare you nOt?" sitting
up In my excitement.
For very simple reasOn-he never
thought of asking me TO become so; he new
er cared one atom for me; it was you he was
in love with"
turned my head sharply away, almost
cOursing through my veins.
at was you alone he loytd and loves"
continued Miss Rnssel slowly. Il saw it
instantly. The first moment he saw you al.
most he fell over head and heels in love,
but had made up my mind since babyhOOd
to marry him, and was not gong to be set
aside, so | told myself, for chit of child
like you who could not even see for your
self when man was paying you real atten-
ton, so when May alarmed you about
ghost in your room the hIea seized me to
play ghost for you until you should be fright
ened away from YOXIry.
ut was perfectly easy matter, for there
was sliding pan i between one of your
cupbOards and the pl, sage outside my room;
it is burned now or wOLld show you it
81 dressed like the ghost, carried dag
ger, hid one hand, whltened my face enter
ed your room without sound or anyOne's
knowledge, and your nervous fears and your
nice old Disgusting mirrors did the rest.
81 was frightening you away, you see,
only scarcely quick enough for my purpose,
as HermOn made such great love to you; so
made little mischief, too, about Mr.. Larl-
renee.
Il made lIeTmOn believe you encouraged
him the most, and would accept either who
proposed first and, little SimpletOn thatyO
were, you fairly helped my deception.
Then, just before knew Mr.. Laurence
would propose, L lnsinuated that was en-
gagged to Hermon, thinking that then surely
You would accept him."
But dld not cried impulSlyely.
You did not. You were stronger there
than thought-truer than thought. And
then you saved my life Her tone sudden
Nv CHANGED and for tlp first fine | heard