Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-05-16

know what, Tom. Then my father put mo in the convent. and I staid there seven years, till we thought he had lost the power, or was dead, perhaps. But he found me in America and made me come back, and now it's worse than ever"
 sWhy doesn't your father have him arrested and imprisonedi It can be done"
 ssOh, my poor fatherl He cannot, Tom; do not ask me thatr'
 ''I must ask it, Kate. Remember, I love youl Why is its''
 '.My father is afraid of him too" 1" she said, chafng one hand with the other with piteous expression of pain. eff he did anything against him he would be ruined. My father cannot help me, I Tom"
 s'But do not understand. What has your father done that he should be afraid of such scoundrel as Slurkg' demand ed stern1y.
 She hesitated long before answering, moving her hands and head restlessly and fetching many troubled sighs. At last she laid her hand shrinkingly on mine, and grasped it firmly.
 'I will tell you, Tom" i" she said in fa1tering voice; "but you know would tell no one in the world but you. My dear papa did not do wrong himself, but there were people connected with him who did, and made the blame seem to be his. And there were some papers of my papa's -which-oh'-
 "Yes, yes, I understand, darling; and Slurk stole the papers?
 "Yes-that is-no; it was worse than that, for he didn't know where the pa- pers were kept-no one knew that but I. Tom, he made me sleep, and in my sleep he made me go to the place where they were and take them out and give them to him. He made me rob my own father-put my own dear papa in his hateful power. would rather have died! And papa forgaye me-think of thatI'
 "Then Slurk has the papers in his pos session, and he uses them for blackmail? But have you never thought of trying to-it sounds badly, but it would be per- fectly justiiable to steal them back again"
 "I can do nothing. He can make me helpless by look, and he always carries them with him. But, Tom, if it could be done without being found out would 1 tell papa to kill him. But cannot let my dear papa be hanged for that wretch, and you see we have no evidence"
 "Good GodI What fearful thing it is!'' muttered. What help, what con- solation could offer2 A refined and sem sitive girl under the mesmeric control of a ruffian; her father subject to his ex- | tortions and insults, and the only escape worse misery even than this-Kate to yield herself to him in marriagei Taught the thought sickened me, but it enraged me tool Kate was right-death, sudden and merciless, was the proper measure to be meted out to Slurk. If he had ap- peared at that moment I believe would have shot him unhesitatingly and re- joiced in the deed. Murder would be 8 righteous work when wrought on such as he, and if the murder were brought home to me, could suffer in better cause?
 Kate had risen slowly from her chair and was now fronting me, scanning my face and bearing with curious eagerness. She held her hands across her bosom, alternately interlacing the tips of the fingers and pulling them free again. Her lips moved as if in speech, but no sound came from them.
 I got up presently, looking dare say very solemn, as indeed I felt. Her eyes followed mine as rose; and now we gazed straight at each other for some moments.
 q promised you that you should be freed" said, ''and you shall be. shall be sorry to have any mans blood on my hands; but if you can be saved in no other way, it must be so."
 "You do love me indeedp' she mur- mured, with 8 sort of sad exultatior in her tone. But she added: "I cannot let you do it. cannot lose you, even to be freed from him. It is my fathers fault after all. Besides"-
 'I take it upon myself, interrupted I, with cignity which may have been absurd, but which did not seem so to me I at the time.
 "But it would be murder-at any rate the law would call it so. No, you must not be called a murderer, Tom. But T. they would not hang a woman-let me do it! should love to do itp
 And she spoke with look that con- firmed the words.
 Before could reply, however, her ex- precision changed again. She appeared to think intensely Tor Q few moments then her face lighted up. Suddenly she caught my hand and kissed it.
 "And kiss me, TomP' she cried, ex- citedly. "Kiss me, for deserve itl have thought of way that will save us allP'
 Much startled, and half fearing that the girls mind had given way under the pressure of trouble, I was attempting to quiet her, but she silenced me by an inn petuous gesture and went on speaking eagerly and rapidly.
 Tomorrow we had planned to go to , Kohlstein for a picnic. It's great, i'm mense rock, where robbers lived hun. , dreds of years ago. Hardly any one ever goes there now I have been there and I remember that on the top it is full of deep clefts and holes, and I thought how, if any one were to fall into one they might lie there for months without