Wichita eagle., 1890-02-09

still nesting her aching head on the
warm bosom of her betrayer, ''all shall
be sacred between you and me-.
"Weu, then" continued Clare, "I saw
Guy L'Estrange strike this wo AN down,
as have said, and she saw me and knows
that was witness to all. She viii tell
| this when she RECEIVERS her senses, and
they will force me to be a witness against
him. But he has quite cleared himself
in nv eyes. That woman is not his wife
nor ANYTHING to him. She never was;
! of that he has convinced me. 1t was all
| Matched up story to extort money, but
so well was it concocted that, in his hor-
ror and dismay TO find that his marriage
with you would be put off and all his
prospects Of happiness perhaps blighted
| forever, that he lost command over
himself and struck her, never intending
to deal SO violent blow"
"But it was cowardly to strike a
woman at ALL" sobbed Nav.
Eyes; it would have been utterly cow
ardly and wicked had he meant it" said
Clare, ''but he did not do it in pren,edi-
tation, and he was bitterly repentant
after. He wanted to remain, and do bis
best to restore her to consciousness, but
persuaded him to fly while no strangers
were about: and having seen that the
! woman was quickly recovering her
senses. and hearing footsteps approach
ing, l confess 1 fed, too. 1t was then /
met Guy again and heard from his lips
the proof Of his innocence of what the
| woman charged him with.
"What is to be done, thenl" she moaned
81 wish he had not struck that woman.
1t seems to lower him in my eyes. Oh,
Clare, if that part of your story could be
blotted out should be a happy girl"
''You do not love him, then" said
Clare, gently putting her from her and
rising; ''if you did you would find ex-
cuses for him in his utter despair at be-
ing compelled to leave you as he feared
he would. Good night, May. He sent
you hopeful, loving message. l don't
think it would conduce to his well doing
if he heard your doubts and complain
ings tonight"
but stay, Clare" cried May, clinging
to her: "what is to be the end of it all?
If he did this thing, if that woman forces
you to speak, he viii be convicted.
There is no doubt of that, said Clare;
"and he will be heavily punished. We
must make up our minds to bear that
unless one of two most unlikely things
happens"
"What are they?'
s'Eitller that the woman dies before
she RECEIVERS consciousness or that he eS-
capes The latter is the more improba-
bic in these matter of fact days OF well
built places of detention and wide awake
police. And yet such things do occur,
and there is at any rate bare possibih-
ty that he might escape. If he does he
will, of course, have to fly the country"
''That would be a confession of guilt"
said May.
"Well, what else could he do?" said
Clare; ''if he remained he would simply
be placed back in prison, under far more
unfavorable circumstances. No. If he
once escapes he must leave England, and
it is very unlikely you would see him
again for years. unless, indeed, you fled
with him. But l must go to my room
now, and you, my dear, look as if a long
sleep would do you good. You must try
and keep up your strength, for who
knows what fresh trials the morrow may
bring?"
She bent to impress treacherous kiss
on the girls forehead, and then fastened
to her own room.
Here she at once began to undress,
sitting the while before the mirror and
admiring the Juno like beauty she re-
vealed.
How can he prefer her insipid beauty"
she muttered to herself, as she surveyed
again her own ample charms-''a weak
faced, helpless child! Bah! l hate my
self when l find myself pitying her. l
must and will 90 through with my plan.
l have begun it. What a pitiful coward
should be TO abandon it now!"
For hours she sat there perfecting a
schelne-a scheme diabolical in its treach-
cry and cruelty.
But what of that?
1t meant Mays shame and ruin; but,
then. to Clare Raymond it meant the
love of Guy L'Estrange. L
Was not that worth fighting for?
And while this arch fiend was con-
cocting plans for the destruction of her
helpless, innocent foe, May. lying in her
lonely bed, was revolving in her mind
the words which Glare Raymond had
spoken.
Unless she were to fly with him they
might not meet for years"
As if she could doubt?
As if. were she to hear his dear voice
and feel his kisses on her lips, she would
not yield to any proposal he made!
Escape!
What delight there seemed now in
that one word!
IL might mean to others a confession
of guilt and shame.
But to her it meant the safety of her
lover and their fight to happiness to-
gether.
And so at length, tired out by the ex-
citement and her sorrow. she slept in
sweet peacefulness, dreaming of happy
days with Guy, and never once seeing
dimly, in all her visions, the sword which
was about to fall.
V.
The days passed YEARLY,
The condition of the woman up at the
infirmary had not changed. and nothing
further had transpired.
1t was a dead level of monotony-wait-