Mexico weekly ledger., 1891-11-12

glasses. This altered his appearance not
a little. His eyes were powerful, and 1t
seemed to Sallie that she had met their
glance before somewhsre-but when or
where she could not determine. The
count looked at her keen. handsome
face, at her white neck and arms, at her
graceful figure in its golden hued dress;
and he saw that she was fair. But, in
stead Of softening, his countenance grew
stern.
"You say you r willing to make
reparation for any harm that you have
doneY' said he.
She nodded her head slightly.
evil you come back to the ballroom
with me-" he continued, 'and tell the
people there who you are-and who you
are not?'
"Why should I tell them what they
already know"
"Do they know that you were never
married, either in France or elsewhere,
to Harry Trent; that he refused, in spite
Of all YOU threats and e~ntreaties, to
make you his wife; that after his death
you caused a bundle Of papers, among
which was a will purporting to be his,
to be discovered in a drawer of a piece
of furniture in a Philadelphia hotel?
And will you tell them that this will was
q forgery, copied from a genuine will
written by Trent himself, but deciding
his fortune, not to you, but to another
woman, whom he designed to marry?
Fer that woman's name you substituted
your own; and you yourself hid it in the
room at the hotel which, as you hap
pened to know, Trent had once occupied.
By means Of that will, and of the
certificate of marriage, also a forgery,
but written on aprinted form which you
had procured while travelingin France,
you made good your claim to the estate.
VIII you tell them thisY'
II will repeat no such foolish tale" re-
piled Sallie steadily. allow could l have
forged a copy of the genuine will unless
I had had the genuine will to copy from?
And how could I have become possessed
of thatr'
81 will tell you, since you have forgot
ten" said the count. "You found the
genuine will among Harry Trent's papers
on the night that he was murdered"
Indeed! Twas with him On that night,
then, it appearsT'
"You were. You were the last to see
him alive. He wa alive when you took
the japanese knife from the table and
passed behind him and drove it into his
heart. 1t was you who murdered Harry
Trent, Mrs. Matchinr
She laughed. "You amuse me-" she
said. "You seem not to be aware that
there was q trial for that murder, and
the evidence showed that but one person
was admitted to the house that night,
and that was . mantle man who was
found guilty and condemned"
eyes, I know the story" rejoined the
count quietly. "But it was not told in
the evidence that when that man left
the house, ~neglecting to latch the door
behind him, another person, who had
been hiding in the shadow Of the porch,
slipped in unseen and went up stairs to
the library where Harry Trent sat. One
Of the witnesses, I think, testified that
she had seen q short man with a dark
beard speaking with Trent late that
night"
"That evidence was not believed. But
suppose it were true, how would it affect
me? I fear your imagination will get
you into trouble, Count de Lisleg"
mems clothes are sometimes worn by
women, and a false beard is easily come
by" said he, with q slow, inquisitorial
smile. with means and a will one
years, Mrs. Matchin."
"Take care, sirI" she exclaimed, her
eyes flashing in her white face. "You
are saying what you can eve prove! !
a only suppose" she went on, con-
trolling her emotion by q desperate eff
fort, that you have been made the vic
lin of a cock-and-bun story by a man
who is believed to be dead, but whom ]
now know to be alive-Keppel Darke.
He is here under your protection, and is
rash enough to play ghostly pranks on
me-with what purpose I won't attempt
to guess. But he is IN escaped convict.
Let him look to himself ] will de-
nounce him."
81 give you full leave to do So" the
count answered unconeernedly. "But /
must tell You that there is only one es-
capped convict in this house, and that is
myself. Is it possible you have not rec
ognized met l am Keppel Darke."
Sallie stood motionless, many thoughts
whirling In her brain.
my claim to be Count de Lisle is also
legitimate, however, as such things 60"
he went on. "But . woman like you
should have q better memory. It seems
You have likewise forgotten your friend
Alon0o Garcia, though you must have
known that he lived many years in In
dia, and became an adept in Indian
magic. But the denunciation!
Let me call an audience"
He stepped to the door and pushed il
open. General Bristowe was passing,
talking confidentially to Miss Fitz-Mur-
ray, who was leaning on his arm. From
the distance came the throbbing Of the
music, playing a waltz.
pardon me-" said the count to the
two, "here is a lady who has something
to say to you"
ooh, Mrs. Trent" said the general,
coming forward, "are We to lose youl
You're all right, I trust? That juggler
was enough to scare anybody"
II only wanted to say-I didn't mean
to disturb you'll wa going-to have a
little tea at my house tomorrow after.
noon-if you-and you, too, Miss Fitz.
Murray
They bowed and expressed their &C
acknowledgements. Sallie drew her CLOAK
round her, took the counts arm and
went out.
fro BE Continued
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