The Irish standard., 1889-09-21
CHAPTER XVI.

y Allan Percival satin his hired apartments
at No. 90 Rue de st. Helene, Trouyille.
Trouville across the river, not the grand
sweep of bright beach dipping gently down
into the bay this side.
$50 she has written to her solicitors con-
corning the Heatherleigh estate, and desires
them to dispose of it, with the exception Of
few things in the Hall, for which she will
send her cousin, Allan Percival, shortly
reading from a newly-arrived letter.
Il swell, let me see. What is it she wants
unearthed from that cursed ruin, any
wayg" and he draws forth ship Of paper
from the letter. "Oh, yes; her mothers
Jewels, to be found where she concealed
them before her fight from Heatherleigh,
behind the third row of volumes on the
library shelves Behind the third row at
the left-hand end will find a secret panel;
slide it to the right hand and bring all i
find ih the little recess" reading from the
slip .Then there is more in that.secret
Cupboard than Lady Percival's jewels,
Judging from this" he said, meditatively
swell, whatever is there win get.
s.What a life she has led, to be sure, dear
grill But after this earth shall blossom out
a paradise for my darling,' he added, with
emotion. 81
Then he fell into areveris, and slipping
the letter into his desk he sat gazing out of
the window, oblivious Of every thing around
him; regardless of every thing excepting
his own spesulations. If the chain Of
thought traced by his busy brain had been
resolved into words, they would have read
something like the following:
III don t wonder Miriam doesn' t want to set
foot in Heatherleigh Hall again w hat a lot
OF misery has been entailed on the I'M
fortunate ones of the Percival house. Godl
i. only had lived to thrust q sword up to
the hilt in the heart of that depraved an
cestcr before he could have uttered that
malediction that has cursed the lives Of my
nearest and dearest .sS'. II b
ssFoor, dear love !! and she bids me come to
her. Happy man that I am! Strange,
wasn't it, that she should come to me first
and nurse me through that terrible illness?
And loved her passionately before she had
been there two hours !; but she thought it,
an nfatuation or hal1ucination of the sick
room. And, too, her heart was sore over
her husbands death, and she was in no
mood to listen to me. en- "a
ssWell, ! was fool to imagine she might,
( but had always led such a lonely life, even
d before my parents died the curse was on
them, too, and Iexisted in its shadow also
and after that, ] was lonelier that ever be-
d fore. was poor, too, then and there is no
knowing what she may have thought Of my
1 importune love making. No. / did not
consider, for the very reason that I was
1 madly il. love with my beautiful cousin. .
never thought Of any thing else. But 1t
\ was the love Of my life, as no one knew bet
4 ter than myself, and now, after years Of
separation, I am called and I am going to-
her, my love, my life, and ne will be very
happy. But I must 60 to Heatherleighi
i frs:: Armed with my letter Of introduc-
{ ton 4 will see her solicitors, and then CO. to
Il the Hall for her
81 am glad 3 am here to Ga; she must be
spared the;pa the sadness OF thisSlvisit,
and q will bring tho Jewels and vhatever3
else she has hidden behind the panel Mir
N lam was crafty; cunnin g,S WASH 10
Is al ttlis S. the midst of % much
h else. ~ be spre, what asly love ~
haye Ha5s
Ana he A,p mile n, his
dsone faos to 1Ilt II
ass eloss the c1Os ss,f I, and some.
.sI a
folli
aI MN sySF the Stedy
E oos IN onn ~