Wichita eagle., 1890-02-09


heart turning sick with dread
But he listened to the end without IN
terrupting.
Then the whole thing was clear tohim.
ssShe has been cajoled away-deceived
by likeness" he said. II know now;
/ feel now that the whole secret OF this
infamous affair lies IN nutshell. had
twin brother (which was the cause of
the strange marks on our arnls), and l
was led to believe by M father and all
nv family that he died at the age of 16.
have discovered since, through my dear
friend. Paul Armstrong here, that. he did
not: but was expelled from school {while
| was at home in bad health under
tutor and sent abroad.
He married in Australia the beauti-
full but unfortunate creature. who died
today, under the name of Roy Talbot,
his real name being Ernest L'Estrange.
Before her death she exonerated me
from all blame. In her lucid moments
she recognized the difference in our
faces, in the color Of our eyes, in the
marks upon our arms. When she found
he had fled, leaving her, hike the infa-
nous scoundrel he was, she found let
ter which told her of his destination, and
she followed him. She mistook me for
him, and, when / rushed from her, she
encountered him as If by miracle. 1t
was he who struck her down. and who
was seen by another woman, who, from
the description given by my brothers
wife, l believe now to be you, Clare.
Tell me-" he added sternly. what did
you tell her? How has she been de-
ceived!
II told her what I saw" said Clare,
"and she fed"
She thought it best to keep back the
truth even yet. Fate might still play
into her hands. Before the news of Guy
L L'Estrange's release reached London she
might be the wife of Ernest L 'Esuange.
She was silent, therefore. as to her
meetings with Ernest in the woods and
the infamous conspiracy between them
for the ruin of Mays happiness forever.
'We.., them" said Guy, rising, and
pressing the hand OF the startled Mrs.
Raymond, who had not yet been able to
utter a word or to thoroughly oompre-
hend the meaning of the scene, eve must
not loiter here, Armstrong. We must
go to London after my darling"
Clare's patience gave way at this.
"What!' she cried; '.you, Guy LES
TRANCE, the last of noble house, will
stoop to follow the footsteps of a runa-
way girl who fed from you at the first
breath of calumny? Shame upon you.
Rouse your manhood and your pridel
Let her go! She is not worthy of sec
ond thoughtr'
He read her secret in her parched lips,
her shifting color, her heaving bosom,
her wistful eyes.
This woman loved him with an absorb
ing passion as yet unknown to him, but
which, now he had realized its existence,
explained all that had occurred.
Il shall follow the dictates of my
heart, Clare" he said, land that bids
me save my darling if 1 can"
At this moment there was apain a
knocking at the door, and servant en-
tered presently.
"a groom has ridden round from the
park, Mr.. L'Estrange," she said. Miss
Fielding is there. She was brought there
in a carriage, very ill.,
Guy waited for no more. not even to
ask the lawyer to follow him; but, rush
ing out, he leaped on the groom's horse,
and was off like lightning.
Paul Armstrong, before he went,
turned to Clare Raymond, saying in
low voice:
Young lady, you played a desperate
game, which might have resulted in very
serious consequences. suspected you
all along"
Then, bidding adieu to Mrs. Raymond,
he hurried out, just in time to catch the
groom gossiping with the servant, and TO
walk quietly with him to the park.
May Fielding was delirious when her
lover reached home; and it was many
long day and night before she recovered
sufficiently to look back upon the past
and comprehend the present.
1t was to Guys aunt that she poured
forth all her troubles-her interview with
Clare: the coming of her supposed lover
to the lodge; his entreaties; her fight
and her revulsion of feeling: how she
only saw her pretended lover by night;
how she strove to love and respect him,
and how her heart all the time was
yearning for home and for something
which she seemed to have lost
In his secret heart Guy had felt sorely
aggrieved that May should, even for
moment. mistake another man for him;
but the illness, even unto death, through
which she had passed; her wistful, child-
like eyes; her pretty penitence and self
abasement conquered him, and he took
her to his heart as truly and as lovingly
as ever.
Ernest L'EStrange saved a great deal
of the inevitable exposure by putting an
end to his OVID existence when. on the
morning which was 70 have seen his
marriage with May, be was arrested at
Mrs. Preston's; and as he was easily
proved TO be the Thomas Hartley to
whom May had assigned her money,
Guy. as next heir 10 his brother, received
it back.
so You seq / shan wed pennies
bride after all" he said. as they wan
dered in the shady avenues Of LES
TRANCE Park
"Ah. Guy she said, II deserved to
lose both my fortune and your love. far
my folly in being 20 deceived. But yet
al the while there was feeling in my
heart that 1t was 10. Guy; his ulAansrs
were not the same, and -
"Ani [ nnrre his klesee xera rscrr he