San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-01-21

parties, which simplifies matters. This
case is reduced to matter of mere
form and business"
apparently, then, my statement may
be tissue of lies from beginning to
end, for all the difference it makes" OBJ
served Thorne, curious to discover how
small a penknife could now cut the bond
which once the scythe of death alone
was held to be able to sever.
'For your veracity, Mr.. Thorne, your
appearance is sufficient voucher" re-
sponded the lawyer with a ready cour-
tesy. "And the looseness on which you
comment, recollect, is all in your favor.
When man has an unpleasant piece of
business in hand, it's surely an immense
advantage to be able to accomplish it
speedily and privately"
Thorne walked in the direction of his
hotel in state of preoccupation. He
was sore and irritated: he disliked it all
intensely; it Jared upon him and Of
Tended his taste. Over and over he
cursed it all for a damnable business
from beginning to end. He was per-
fectly aware, reasoning from cause to
effect, that the situation was, in some
sort, his own fault; but that was poor
consolation. That side of the question
did not readily present itself; his horizon
was occupied by the nearer and more
personal view. He loathed it all, and
was. genuinely sorry for himself and
conscious that fate was dealing hardly
by him.
AS he turned corner he ran against
tall, handsome young lady who put out
her hand and caught his arm to steady
herself, laughing gayly. Take care,
Nesbit~ she exclaimed, "you nearly
knocked me down. Since when have
you taken to emulating Mrs. Wilfer's
father, and telling your relatives to the
earth?"
"Why, Norma! is it really your" he
questioned, refusing to admit the evil
dence of sight and touch ,unfortitied by
hearing.
He was genuinely delighted to see her,
and foresaw that she would be a comfort
to him during the days that must elapse
before it became possible for him to start
for Illinois He needed sympathy and
some one to make much of him. And
Norma, with her lustrous eyes aglow
with the pleasure of the meeting, ap-
peared to divine it, for she set herself to
entertain him with little incidents and
adventures of her journey from Virginia,
and with scraps of intelligence of the
people at home. She did not mention
Pocahontas, save in reply to a direct in
quiry, and then simply stated that she
had spent night at Lanarth day or so
before coming north, and that the family
were all well.
She cheered Thorne wonderfully, for
she seemed to bring Virginia and the
life of the last few months nearer to him
the peaceful life in which new hopes
had budded, in which he had met and
known and loved Pocahontas. Norma
did him good, raised his spirits and
made the future look bright and cheer
full, but not in the way she hoped and
intended. She had come north with the
hope of furthering he own plans, OF
making herself necessary and agreeable,
of keeping the old days fresh in his men,
DRY. And she was necessary to him, as
trusted comrade who had never failed
him, clever adviser in whose judgment
he had confidence, charming friend
who was fond of him and who had but
now come from the enchanted land
where his love dwelt Of her plans he
knew nothing, suspected nothing, and
the days she brought fresh to his
thoughts were days in which she had no
part.
In little while he went west, and
there was period of uneventful wait
ing, after which Norma received west
ern paper containing a short and unob-
trusive notice of the granting of divorce
to Nesbit Thorne from Ethel, his wife.
She bore it away to her room and
gloated over it greedily. Then she took
her pen and ran it around the notice,
marking it heavily. This done, she
folded, sealed and directed it in clear,
bold hand-General Percival Smith,
Wintergreen county, Virginia. 1t would
save elaborate explanations.