Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-08-24

voice of her father-and the next mo-
meut had rushed into the hall and
clasped him tightly in her arms.
ssFatherl fatherl"Sshe nried, with
her cheek against his rugged one.
John Summers was man of few
words, and for minute or so be did not
speak, though bis lips quivered as II
about to do so. Then, with his deep
voice broken with emotion, be said. SOL
EMMY:
..Thank God, my girl; thank God,
have found thee safe. ~
CHAPTER XLI.-A HAUNTING SHADOW.
Again we must turn to the night of the
29th of April, when, in the darkness and
the storm, Lord Gilmore disappeared,
and was seen no more. The morning
after this night Nancy rose pale. OPP
pressed and with the shadow OF coming
ill lying heivy on her heart. She was
afraid to face her husband - to go
into Hugh Gifford's dressing room after
the terrible words she had heard him
mutter in his sleep; and after seeing the
terrible expression of his face as he stole
into his room in the midnight hours.
The nurse came for the Chi Id ana she
went down TO breakfast, and after walt
ing till past 10 O'clock, she at last re-
luctantly, slowly, went up stairs again I,
and passing through her own room
raped at Hugh Clifford IS door.
Hearing something like a permission to
enter, she went in, only to start back
shocked and terrified. Hugh Clifford
was in bed. and his face looked haggard
and even chastity, and he had evidently
been drinking heavily.
care you i'll, Hugh2" faltered
Nancy.
"Illl" he answered, with a drunken
laugh, "I've got brain fever-brain
fever-feel how it burns-its GOALS on
irel''
.'Shall 1 battle it for your" asked
Nancy, trembling.
'No, but reach the brandy-that g q
good girl; there's nothing like drink; it
browns, it browns everything.
"Oh! don't take any more, Hugh, -
she prayed.
:Give me 1t; insist!' he shouted,
starting up; but when Nancy went to the
bottle of brandy which had been stand
ing in his room she found 1t was empty.
But he ordered her TO ring the bell for
another bottle, and went on drinking all
day. and by night was in a ravIng fever.
But the pale young wife who tried to
control him allowed no one else to enter
his room, and dare not send for ply ST.
clan. Strange words broke from his
lips; haunting shadow of horror seemed
ever to pursue him; and again and again
Nancy listened with shrinking heart TO
the words she had heard last night.
''Don It do it unless you are sure he is
dead: don t put him in alive!'
All night Nancy sat up with him, and
towards morning he grew very pros
trate. He then became u little calmer,
and at last fell into heavy sleep, from
which he awoke about IL O'Clock the
next day-pale, exhausted aud very ill;
but sober. He lay still without speaking
for some time, and Nancy noticed that
his eyes fell when they met hers, and
he moved uneasily. Presently he said:
'tI've made tremendous fool of my
self, am afraid, Nancy; but some men
gave swell dinner at the club aud
l drank far more than was good for me,
aud have been very near brain fever or
delirium trenens 1 believe-and 1 dare
say have been going on in yery absurd
way
tBut you are better now, Hugh, -
answered Nancy soothingly.
81 feel bad enough, can tell you; [
hope you did not let anyone else see me
make an ass OF mvselfI'
81 have been with you all the time
Hugh-no one else. -
"That's ali right then; now 1 IL try to
get to sleep again. -
But he did not easily recover, and was
in bed more than O week after the
stormy night of the Goth of April, when
he had returned home In such q terri le
state. All this time Nancy nursed him,
and gave out In the household that he
was laid up with a very severe cold, and
that he could not bear to be disturbed.
He asked for the newspapers and his let
tiers, and one morning before he was
awake, Nancy having carried up the
morning papers for him, sat down to
read one of them until ne reused himself
and was ready for his breakfast.
And she had not read long before a
paragraph caught her eyes, which, as
she read and re-read it, seemed abso-
lutely to swim before her.
1t was headed "The Missing Lord -
and detailed the strange facts that we
already know. How Lord Gilmore had
mysteriously disappeared, and had been
last seen by the stationmaster at
Maldenhead at Eve minutes before IL
o. CLOCK on the night of the 29th of April.
The 29th of April! Nancy gasped for
breath, and mentally counted back the
last seven days. AS she did so a sharp
physical pain darted through her heart,
and she had the greatest difficulty in re-
straining the cry that nearly escaped her
whitening lips. That was the night
Hugh returned in the midnight hours
with the fixed look of horror on his face;
the night when he had begun to drink
what could il all mean?
She grew faint and cold, and grasped
the chair on which she was sitting for
support. No one knew as well as she
did how Hugh Clifford had hated his elder
brother with deadly hatred that never
grew less. She had indeed ceased to
mention the elder brothers. name, as
she saw 1t was but vain thing to at
tempt TO reconcile them. And that he
should have red-Gerard-tillei
Nancy's heart with the -irest apprehen-
sions.
Presently she rose and tottsred from
the room. giving one look of fear, of ter
ror, ut the face of the sleeping man lying
on the bed, as she went out. She was
quite overcome, and gong into her pref
ty drawing-room, the door of which hap
pened to be open as she passed it, she sat
down there and covered her face with
her hands.
Long she sat the most terrible thou0hts