Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1886-01-15

sage No doubt they s"ene onA0 Aoo
must sit down and take your tura at wait
ing, Mr. Lorraine"
y waited half an hour, then determined to
y, search Of them. It was Impossible
thew had gone to look for mefsso went
down into the street and asxaktne driver
O. the broueham if hs had sesashe lady
Eyes. sir; she wenl by abs an hour
ago with a tall gentleman
Which way?
sIdon't know, sir saw them bal a cab
and drive off Ididn't notice IN which di-
recton they went" NE
Why In the world should theYhave taken
a cab, when the brougham was Ct the door!
Z was very cross at the thought OF Vlola's
driving about london in a cal Hfth Enstacs
Grant; but, as the brougham was still wait
ing at No. So, it was clear that they meant
to return. After all, the best thing could
do was 20 wait As yet. not athough5 OF
the truth had ventured to invade my brain.
So / waited on the pavement sutside Mr..
Monks office for at least an bqur longer.
San no sign Of my wife. gre. nervous
and anxious Surely solAe accid mt sa.,sts
have MISUNDERSTANDING that obIg ed her
to O. straight to the hotel. But even then
Grant would have como 10 let me know it.
s i'll not thought of the dreadful TRUTH
But where could she bes
Ii 1mped in5o the br ugham, and drove to
the hotel. No; Mrs. Lorraine was not there
l drove to Miss r siter's. Viola uai
leen there in the morning, but had left
about 1880 o'clock. l did no. Sc, Mss Ros-
sitter who, l was sorrv to heer, was II in
b,d. As last resource, l drove to Grants
house AMI ask d for him. H, was out
Hal not been home since the morning.
Quite uncertain when he would return
2 0fc;nek Anyinnc and
an11oyel, could do nothing but go back to
the ho es and wait my wite's return. Sill.
not III, ught OF the truth.
I spent the rest OF the afternoon and evel.
ino passing from the hotel to Miss Rossiter's,
from there to Cranes lodgings, and from
GRAMS lodgings back to the hotel Oniy
at one OF the 9 three places could / hope to
f;,t; ddings OF Viola. Repeatedly as I mad
called. it was not until nearly II O'clock
that found Eustace Grant at home.
But b, now was in different mooI.
Shall b. tlamed for saying that this IONS
an. unexp alned absence of Vo.as in COM
papy. it seemed, with Grant, brought hor.
rlble dread which l scarcely dareo 70
breathe to myself? The news that Grant
was at last at home lifted weight from my
heart He would b. able to tell me when
and where he parted with Viola. No doubt
he hal message for me which would clear
up ev ,rythlng.
Bu5 alth ugh Mr. Grant was at home,
the servant informed me that he would see
no one tonight l made no comment on
tn denial simply fore d the door open,
and, putt ,g the frig atened servant aside,
strobe through the hall and entered the
sitting room in which Grant had. on the
night when I first met him, interrosate1
me. it was empty. l threw myself into
a chair, and waited until some one made
nv presence known to the man whom was
bent upon seeing.
No doubt he heard the noise Of my forcible
entrance In a minute the folding door,
which, as is often the case in lodgings,
divided he sitting-room from the bedroom,
opened, and Eustace Grant appeared. AS
he did so / caught a glimpse of the bed
room from which he emerged An open
portmanteau, apparently half pac ied, was
lying on the bed, and there were other eva
dences of preparation for journey.
Grant advanced toward me, but he made
no pretense Of greeting me. He neither
offered his han nor babe me good evening.
Irose and faced him.
He was pale, almost CHASTITY pale. His
brows were bent, and slight t,Yitch Of the
nostrl told me he was suffering from some
great, though Suppressed, emotion. He
looked at me haughtily AMI angrily; but
whatsoever he had where with to reproach
himself, there was neither fear nor triumph
in his gszs. looked at him and wond sred
but felt certain that he knew all about
V.ola's absence.
Still, as that absence might even now be
satisfactorily explained, 1 resolved that
would not, by evincing premature distrust
or suspicion, let this man triumph over me
So spoke with forced composure:
"Mr. Grant, I have missed my wife
somewhere. Can you give me tidlngs OF
hera"
II cannot" he replied, colily.
'Where did you part with hera You left
Mr. Monk with her in cab. Where did
you leave herP'
~ cannot tell you, Mr.. Lorraine"
ADo you mean that you are ignorant OF
her whereaboutss''
You have had my answer"
My blood boilel. you mean you will
not, dare not tell me, you utter viliainP' l
cried. Il will know, or will kill YOUR
The table was between us, or / should
have sprung at his throat.
II care nothing Tor your threats. Mr.. 10
ralne," he said. with calling contempt.
wherever Mrs Lorraine may be, she is
there of her own free choice"
''She is herein this house with your
exclaimed.
LOOK for her-search every cupboard
and eranny 1 will ring; YOU shall be con-
ductsd over the whole building. Make it
public property that you are JEALOUS hus-
band looking for faithless wife. No; that
shall not be done, for her sake Wherever
she is she is not here"
He spoke as if expecting me to believe
him Stra lge to say, I did believe him. The
thought that his house would be the last
place in which he would hide Viola from
my search, no doubt conduced to this be-
Lief. But now I could no longer doubt the
horrible truth. This man. by some devel sh
craft, had torn my wife from me-had
taken away the woman who, few hours
ago, pressed Judas kiss on my lips, even
as she was going to meet her lover.
Stavl perhaps he had killed her. Such
thinos have been done before now by men
who fail to win the woman they love. Per-
haps he had decoyed her away, and was de-
tanning her against her will Eve now
she might be longing for me to come and
free her.
All these thong hts whirled through my
brain, and for a moment unnamed me. l
sank upon a chair, cold and trembling in
every limb. Grant stood like statue until
RECOVERED myself
''You villainl' gasped. ~ will know
will see her! Tell me where she is!'
He leaned forward. He looked at me
sternly.
',Listenr' be said. in fierce voice. SIN
this room I said to you, Take her, and
make her happy Have you done sos'
l laughed wildly. "If being willing to
shed ones blood for her can make false
woman happy, she Should have been happy.
Does she expect to find bliss in lie of
shame with your
His eyes blazad "You had better gol'
he said 'Go at oncef'
1 laughed mockingly. Now that had
lost all hope; now tnat my one desire was
vengeance I could speak calmly.
81 shall stay here" I said, until you
leave to join her. shall follow and be
with you. Surely bridegroom can claim
the right Of bidding his bride Godspeedl
Here stay.
For repIf Grant rang the bell Leave
the front door and this door wide OPEN"
he said to the servant; then go out OF the
way"
He came toward me. I started to my
feet, and struck fair and full at his white,
set face. He parried the fierce blow, and
in a moment his arms were around me