Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1889-06-28
CHAPTER y.
! 80. 80 -HEAVEll.

. =
Dead Mans Cottage"
As the morning wore on, Guy grew more
nervous and i'll at ease
1t was necessary that he should return
to BOnnyview Hall and watch the pro-
/ gress Of events there.
If TOinette would only yield, what a
! dramatic situation it would be to con-
front Dulcie with his wife and claim her
birth-rightl
At length he said:
You must be worn ont with this strug-
/ gle. Why protract anything so foolish
and useless? It can end in only one way.
viii you 60 with me now to the nearest
/ parson?"
Not now nor everi" she cried, despsr-
ately.
He ground out a curse between his
teeth, and continued to pace the room for
a while longer, but finally took key from
his pocket and unlocked the door.
@YOu are holding. out longer than I an
/ ticipated, be said. Il am compelled to
/ leave you for few hours. I hope to find
you in a more reasonable frame Of mind
on my return.
With these words he left her.
Once relieved of his hated presence,
TOinette could move freely about and col
lect her confused thoughts.
She had not once closed her eyes all
that long terrible night. Now she even
Ventured to snatch a few moments of
the Old-fashioned arm chairs.
When she aWOke, Deb had been in the
room and left food upon the table. TOi-
nette sprang up, and rafting the knob,
made the place ring with her frantic
| cries.
They brought the woman to the door,
| but she did not open it.
! You will only make yourself hoarse,
miss, she called through the key-hole.
/ Nobody will hear you.
} "Let me out; be my friend and viii
reward you handsomely. Pity me! Be
merciful. as you hope for mercy.
Poor TOinette might as well have ap-
! pealed to stone. To all her entTeaties the
heartless creature only answered with q
laugh. She soon desisted and sat down
to think. Guy Vaudeville would be COM
ing back presently. There was sufficient
food to last some time. Gould she con-
triVe to secure herself against intrusion
she might possibly hold out until relief
came.
Looking carefully around the room for
means to secure the door, she found moth
/ ing better than one of the dinner forks.
/ It was of steel, with three stout prOngs.
! The door opened into the room, and she
/ drove the fork into the casing at an angle
! that promised to hold it fast. Still dis
| satisfied. she next piled the table and all
! the chairs save one against it.
! The next day was wearing slowly on
/ when Guy returned. At the first sound of
! his heavy tread, Toinette felt thrill of
! fear shoot through her heart. He turned
! the key, attempted to push open the door,
| then said, in hOarse, excited tones:
''Let me come in. Something uneXpect-
| ed has occurred. You have no cause to
| dread or fear me now.
Toinette sat mOtionless though she
! knew from the sound Of his voice he was
! speaking the truth.
81 come from BOnnyview Hail." he
! cried. 'Open the door. You will have
! cause to regret it unless you hear me now"
| There was no movement, and he put his
/ shoulder against the stout oak panels.
! The steel prOngs were torn from the frame
\ work: Toinette's frail barricade fell rat
thing about her, and Guy strobe into the
room.
Il am the bearer of tidings that will
bring you to TERMS he said, hurriedly.
Philip Rsynor has returned from
abroad"
Toinette caught her trembling hands
! together.
| ''Thank GOdi he will move heaven and
! earth to find me!'
''You forget that you are bIotted out of
! existence as it were, and little Dulcie
! stands in your shoes"
"Of course, she would instantly tell him
ALL"
Tell him?" with a ieering laugh. Not
| she. RaynOr has been back several days;
the two have met again and again. I
/ found it out by accident. To be frank, I
! suspected something was amiss, followed
| the girl, and played the role Of caves
/ dropper at a stolen interview they held
! this morning. TOinette, you made great
mistake when you selected the cats-paw
you did.
face.
What do you mean? OF course Philip
| detected the impOsture at once.
There you are wrong. Dulcie has
| played the part you assigned her so we'll,
/ he does not even suspect the truth After
| an absence of nearly two years, one is pre-
| pared for some changes, you know. The
/ girl will keep her secret to the end. Why?
/ Because she has learned to love Philip
/ Raynor, with all the passionate intensity
| of her impulsive heart. Nor is that all.
! She has consented to fly with him this
/ very night, and become his wife.
Some instinct told TOinette that the
/ jeering wretch spoke truly. She staggered
/ weakly against the wall.
This was heavens vengeance for her
/ sin. The girl of whom she intended to
make tool had supplanted her in the af-
! fections of him she loved.
This is terrible!" she exclaimed, livid
with anger. What shah do?"
! "DO?" echoed Guy. You must come
| With me, confront the impostOr, and de-
nounce her before the contemplated mar
rage can take place"
Toinette gave a shuddering start, like
one reviving from a stupOr, and darting
breathlessly into one corner of the room
where her wraps lay, began hurriedly to
put them on. She was shaking from head
to foot.
Yes, yes; you are right. We viii not
lose a moment. See, I am ready. Come
quickly. We have a long distance to
travel, and it is already past noon. Oh,
/ God, We might be too Late"
She caught her breath sharply, faint
ness like death coming over her at the