The sun., 1893-05-25
CHAPTER III
TWO LETTERS.
"Two letters, Mr.. Marshall.

1.-TWO letters, Mr.. Marshan.
RAYMOND Marshall took the rendered
missiyes from the hands of the anti
ouated postmaster of Hopedale, thrust
one. an ordinary business mlssiye, INTO
his pocket carelessly, but the other
his eve frightened and his pulse came
quicker. oooo
"From Edna" he murmured, recog-
nizing the handwriting on the envei-
one. Something about, the receptlon
tonight. | hope that tiresome MI.
Brinsley is not to be her escort: II
is too precious, too sacred TO reao
here" . ,,;s.
He reached home and went TO nis
room with a gay song on his lips. Inc
memory of the girl he loved was always
with him, the possession of shy, dam
Nv enistle from her enhanced its sweet
ness. -
he carefully cut open the envelope, as
If every scrap of paper her hands hau S
touched was precious: MI. MarsnaA
why! what is this? Oh, Edna! JOKE,
a cruel hoax, surely"
The words died in q gasp. with staf-
ing eyes Marshall surveyed the letter
before him, Then staggering to ms
seat, he sat gIaring at It with oolor'
less face and chilled heart.
. A formal dismissal, cold, precise
sdisayowal of all the past, the cruel
words seemed icy fingers reaching for
his heart, to blight all the faith ana
love Of his nature with single touch.
Edna had written it-her slanting,
italian style showed in the chirOgraphy.
There could be no doubt Of that, but
the language!- oh! what did it mean!
Briefly it addressed him as might one
a stranger. Circumstances, the latter
said. had in an hour changed her des-
tiny. All was over between them. 1t
was better so since fate ordained It.
Remember her as friend, their brief
sffiirtation" as a wayward caprice for
nassing the summer months away!
.sFaIse! Deceitfull I will never be
Hove it y panted he petrifed Marshall.
"Whyl yesterday-the ring l gave her,
the pledges we made-oh! THIS Is some
farce, some hidden dream' what is
this?" -
Mechanically turning the wretched
missiye over and over in his nerveiess
hands, Raymond Marshall observed for
the first time that it was comprised
of two sheets Of paper.
And striving to separate them, he
ascertained that stray patches of mu-
cilage held the lower page to the other.
In a few minutes he discerned that. 1t
could not have been the intention of
the sender to inclose the second sheet.
That was accidental. 1t had stuck to
the top sheet and had been folded in
with 1t by hasty, careless hand.
It bore writing-not Edna's writing.
A dagger seemed driven to Ray Mar
shall's heart as he tore it free, and
the bold. masculine chirography danced
before his vision.
If he had been startled before, every
1ulse stirred with fierce fire now. The
letter had evidently been received by
Edna the day previous, and was signed
with the name Of the only rival in her
affection to whom he had ever given
Thought, Miss Chandler's cousin, Ed
pa's announced escort of that evening
Barton Brinsley.
The letter of an accepted lover ta
the woman he loved, 1t betrayed de-
cided encouragement from Edna. 1t
even bore slight ridicule of Marshall's
Edna had played him false, and while
her shy lips were responding to his
ardent expressions Of devotion her hy-
pocrftical heart was thinking of Barton
Rrinsley.
The complication was maddening.
With eyes dashed with the insanity
Of despair the tortured artist looked
up. He clenched the tell sheets
in his hand as If lley we're the false
heart Of the girl who had Tilted him,
and that of the man who had stolen
away her love.
I'll will kill him. he choked out,
his soul ablaze.
And then, realizing the folly Of such
a senument, the right Of any man to
honorably strive for woman's prefer:
ence, with the bitterness Of death COM
pretending that the woman was the
deceiyer, remembering bis mothers
tauat once made that he had better
marry some one besides 80 pameless,
homeless Hobody," he eaimed down,