The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1890-12-20

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Tho Casa this scene. the uninanly and
ungentlensnly advantage Jon have
taken OF my position. would b more
than sufzlcisnt 70 kill outright not only
such feeling. but the last lingering
spark OF respect I. might have enter
talned for you In the bargainl'
She paused. aud she now for the first
time perceived that she was trembling
In every limb. Hammond had made
no sound--had not stirred In his place.
Only after what seemed an Inter-
minable pause sho heard him m i've to-
wards the window. When he spoke
his voice had changed rs much as
though It were the voice OF another
man.
you are entirely right. beg your
pardon. / acqulcsce entirely In the
opinion you have formed OF me. !
have labored under great delusion.
But It Is still possible. perhaps. to save
you 10 another way from the conse.
qnsnccs OF this unfortunate accident"
The scattered clouds had broken Q
little and projected against the pale
square Of night-light in the window.
Virginia could see the vague outlines
Of his head aud shoulders. Suddenly
he seemed to swing himself upward.
A sharp pang Of underlined terror
clutched her.
What are you going to dop"
Swing myself on the top branches
Of that tree, and trust to heaven to get
to the ground safely from there"
'.Mr. Hammondw She had started
forward. her knees quaking under her.
1T is not possible that you can be SO
insane so foolhardy-"
Her words broke In low cry. An
evanescent ray Of moonlight had
filtered palely through the clouds. and
Virginia saw the mad leap-heard O
sharp creaking and swapping Of boughs.
Thon tho moonlight disappeared. The
clouds closed again over the place where
1t had been.
Virginia had sunk on her knees.
The next thing of which she had o
consciousness was OF the bright light
from lantern that had been swung
upon her face. Don was licking her
hands aud face Ia canine transport OF
10y and alarm. Voices resounded
around her, and she recognised the
kindly accents of gardeners wife.
whose cottage. a mile of, she had FREE
quently passed in her walks.
Its tainted she has, poor dear!
And no wonder! Shut up here In the
dark alone. and how do you expect she
ever got up herep Mr.. Hammond was
right then when he said he thought he
heard voice calling for help from the
top Of the tower rs he rode by down
by the entrance to the grounds"
1T was pretty far Off to hear" an
swered the voice OF the woman's hus.
band. Still, when the night Is SO
quiet. But the funny thing is
Mr.. Hammond didn't stop to see what
1t was himself. instead of riding on SO
far as our house."
He said he wasn't sure, Caleb.
Only when he come to think of 1t he
suspected more and more that some
thing might be wrong But he didn't
have time to 80 back then"
Virginia had aroused herself then.
her bewilderment all gone. He had
shielded her carefully then to the last!
Heaven be thanked. miss!" ex-
claimed the gardeners wife. Are you
feeling betterp And how did 1t ever
happen, ma'amo"
II will tell you later. Could you get
me home nowp seem to have little
strength"
Before the two worthy people retired
definitely for the night, the woman
said to her husbands:
II tell you it's been dreadful shock
to Miss Redwood, Caleb. Did you see
how strange her eyes lookedp so full Of
pain. likeP and whiteP White as o
ghost!"
In the lush freshness of the following
June the county house of Conrad
Hammond stood bolted. barred, and
unfinished. He had been away nearly
year. and work thereupon had been
suspended indefinitely. To the letters
OF his lawyer aud agents he had re-
piled. Leave everything as 1t is. I
don't know when l shall return" For
the rest the sleepy old historic village
ceased to wonder and settled again in
to its somnolent indifference.
The silence of tho weed-grown
grounds was now so rarely broken by
human voice or football that the sud-
ueu call, DOH! DOn! DOWu BIZ
reverbated strangely under the shade
OF the pathway. At its turning q man
had suddenly appeared. and Conrad
Hammond and Virginia Redwood
looked wordlessly, breathlessly into
each others faces.
II thought you were abroad" stam-
mered the girl. How should she account
for her presence hereunder the very
shadow OF the tower In which such
words had been spoken the last time
she had ever seen himP and what
would he think Of the hot blood GRIM
soning her cheek, and the trembling Of
the hand that held Don In leashp
And I thought you had gone to
India" he said.
II go next week"
.And you came here-here-once
again before leavingP" He had drawn
closer to her, and his hungry eyes read
her timid ones. Virginia. are you
sure YOU did not make mistake that
night ten months agop II I should
tell you now what / told you then
would you answer as you didf Would
you still go to Indiap"
She had covered her face with her
hands. Her words came broken and
slow.
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