Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-02-17


the man himself is changing his mind
You should have seen him deyoting him
4 self to Miss Forrest out here one evening
Now. there IS girl y no would appreciate
his money and spend it for him like 9
duchess -
But Mclean was silent.
Did You ger to know her at all well? .
asked Mrs. Miller, presently
'XerY slightly indeed
g And yet living in the same building
| with her as you and Mr. Hatton did
fancied you would see her quite fire.
quentiy >
! 81 didn t. believe Hat did?''
g Yes-his rooms being up stairs and
| opening on that gallery where she used to
promenade so much it was natural that
he should see more of her. 1t worried
! JEANNE Bruce not little I never
| knew whether she cared for Mr. HattOn
or not until Miss Forrest took to parading
up and down in front of his rooms
Hat says she never came as far as his
window. She turned about before she
! reached the hall dOOr-alwayS -
Tell me, Mac. DO you think Mr.
! Hatton liked her? -
Mclean IS pale cheek flushed a little.
He felt that questions were trembling on
| and the one thing he could not do was
equivOeate
81 d rather You d wait and ask him, -
he finally said
"Oh! don t mean as he likes Janet
Bruce; what l meant was-well, you or
he or both of you-did you feel that you
-well-trusted her?''
Mclean fairly squirmed in his nest
under the sheets. This was just the drift
he had dreaded. How he wished Weeks
would come in and tell her they were talk
ing too much and would be sure to throw
him into fever again, but no Weeks
was to be had; he had gone home for a
rest, and probably would not show up
again until afternoon. He glanced I'M
easily into the front room.
ono! The hospital attendant is not
there, Mae. I sent him of on an GRAND
You need not be afraid of his hearing
and, besides-he has heard you talk
about her. l thought you ought TO
know, -
Has heard me talk about her-Miss
Forrest? What on earth do you mean,
Mrs. Miller?' And now he had turned
towards her, his face filled with anxiety
and alarm.
don t worry Mae I found it ont
instantly You know he is a married
man and his wife has been my Iaundress
for over five years. You talked about
her when you were delirious not very
much-nothing nothing / did not
already know, but DR.. Weeks turned
him away and took care of you from the
moment Lachlan went for him and told
him you were talking wild, and of course
his wife wormed out of him why he was
not needed for two days and, little by
little, what you had said Luckily she
came right to me and put d stopper on
her tongue.
.'My Cod Ny God! What have I
done?'' mOaned Mclean as ne threw his
arm oyer his ewes. ''What did | say?
What have l revealed, Mrs. Miller? L
must know. -
Nothing, again 1 assure you nothing
that we-that is I did not already have
good cause to suspect and know 1t came
to me from Robinson, Mac; before you
dreamed of anything of the kind so you
are in no wise responsible She must
have mania, there's no other explana-
ton for it, but we re going to keep it all
quiet. No one is to know until Capt.
Forrest gets back at the end of the cam
paign. Then he VIII be told and restitu-
ton be made. But ism t it dreadful?
shake his head. He was stunned-horri- |
fed at the thought of the wild revelation |
he had made. He could not bear so !
speak of it. Yet now he felt that he
must know how much he had let fall.
1T is the last time that fellow Lachlan |
shall enter this room, - he muttered be-
tween his teeth. IN have Weeks send |
him back to his company this very day -
''No, don t blame Lachlan. The poor
fellow meant no harm He only told it
as evidence of the extremity of your de-
lirium. He does not dream the truth
with regard to her, though [ fear
his wife does. Why, Mae, if they
had not come away from Robinson
when they did the whole post would
have been in an uproar. Things were
all the time-money and
since they left there it
has all stopped, but has begun here.
You and Mr.. Hatton are not the only
losers. Mr.. Holmes confessed to me how
his portemonnaie had been stolen from
lis fur overcoat the night we were there
1t the doctors and l saw her standing by
t, patting it and pretending to admire
t, and L know that she has been sending
registered letters away and that bills are
coming to her from the east.
Mrs. grimm told me so. And then
Mr.. Hatton-well yea know he has con-
ided IN me in ever so many things
he told me u good deal before he went
lway. No indeed, Mael 1t ism t that
'ou have revealed anything 1 did not
Know. 1t is only that felt you ought to
,e told of it, -
But Mclean could not be oomforted.
{ Who else knows of this?' he presently
sled b.
81 have told the major. We had
alked it all over before your illness.
frs. Bruce knows, for she too got letters
rom Robinson. And perhaps there are
ne or two who suspect, but that is all.
Ir. Hatton is the one who knows most -
bout it all and has most reason to be-
eve in her guilt. When did you become
onvinced?''
81 don't knOw-that night Hatton
Did me .suppose-the night the major
anne to see me and Hatton begged off
'ou know about it?''
''The major told me he had gone to see
on about some evidence you had: Mr..
Iatton met INN at the door and ex
lained that you were asleep. Was that
le night you mean, MIR. Mclean? Was
nat the night you became convinoad .