The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1893-06-15
CHATTER IX-(Continued.l

A~OA&S@A@N~'t
when you enter this house." he
said, you close n door on the past
never to be opened. Poor Rooney! he
died in bringing you to me. He was
my best friend. All these years, amid
my Imprisonment, my fugitive wander
ings, he has been true to me. He alone
knew where you had been placed.
Now, under new name, you come to
share my loneliness. Fear not! 1t will
only be for a few brief years. Then,
mistress of my fortune, you can go
forth into the world and enjoy the lid
erty denied me-"
Father, l do not understand" muir
INJURED the false daughter.
DO not try to. An innocent man,
have yet been called upon to suter the
penalty of a crime unjustly laid to my
charge. Even now / am a fugitive
from Justice. Hunted down, reward
upon my recapture. | sought TINS Sc
Guided spot to die in peace. Here we
will live in quiet contentment, your
love and care the solace OF my de-
clining years. Are you not content Win
that, Alice, my child"
Yes" murmured Beatrice, since
you will it So
Why not? Life here, surrounded by
every luxury would not be so arduous
that she could not find some enjoy
ment in it, and later on!-her eyes
glOwed with sinister triumph-thefe
was Il farther plot to carry out, there
was Raymond Marshall to think or,
the man she was determined to win,
come what might.
Imperfectly understanding the vague
mystery surrounding RalstOn, she yet
realized that he was in danger or APP
prehension for some ENGAGEMENT OF
the past. Some day she must possess
that secret in full. 1t would give her
added power to sway him to her will II
ever her imposture were discovered:
She could scarcely comprehend the
rare success Of the imposture as, ater
that evening, she sat in the boudolr OF
the suite of rooms apportioned to her
in the old mansion.
Not a breath Of suspicion had Deen
aroused. Placidly, unequivocally had
old Mr.. Ralston accepted her as the
child he had not seen since infancy.
Her past, like his own, he would never
seek to probe or revive. Yesterday
was as dead and gone as the ages past.
Here she could change her own identity
in the undisputed possession or a royal
fortune. Ralston dead, that fortune
acquired, and with her youth, beauty
and intelligence, she could go out into
the world and become queen among
women, tread a velvet path through
life-she, the poor, obscure teacher on
half-pay, the friendless drudge or
Hopedale seminary.
Yet there was a canker at the heart
| If the rose. Conscience did not trouble
her. She even justified her fraudulent
representations No, all she thought
of, all that disturbed her was men,
DRY of the man she loved.
How she loved him still! How the
handsome, animated face OF Raymond
| Marshall haunted her.
For his sake l did 1t all!' she MUIR
INJURED unanimously, He must ben
eft by it all. How? All! patience, my
eager heart! / hold the strings Of des-
tiny! If | make no misstep, fortune and
love are both mine in the end"
Her rooms had been papered for her
with infinite care. They were more
| than luxurious, they were elegant. The
steward and housekeeper were the
| sole servants but they attended like
mute slaves to her every caprice as the
| days went by.
RalstOn was not eXacting. He asked
an hour or two of her time each day
| to read to him in the garden, or play
for him in the great, somber drawing
! room on the piano. Ever under the
shadow Of some great fear, he never
| left the walled grounds of the estate,
and requested her to confine her long
drives to the unfrequented roads lead
ing away from the village.
A week passed thus, then the novelty
of her new lifn began to wear away
| The false Alice Ralston, the real Bea-
tricc Mercer, began to grow restless,
| anxious, moody
Then she fell to plotting. If she
could only drag from that past life the
| object of her love, Raymond Marshall,
| she would he content:
You are getting Wearied OF the lone
illness here, I fear" spoke Ralston,
| anxiously, one evening.
| NO, father"
! You are deceiying me. can read
if in your face 1 caught you crying
Yesterday. Speak, my child, If you have
| a1,y secret so1lOw."
The vetlsd eyes Of the siren gloWed
triumphantly. The heaE had come for
a master stroke Of tinesse. -
Shall l tell you the truth, even If
it disturbs your" asked Beatrice, In a
low, purring tone.
| Always, my dear"
II am happy here, only there IL q
chapter in my past that haunts me,
l nursued the false-hearted Beatrice. Il
have friends whom love, whom left
in poverty, trouble Father, If I had
the means to visit the4a, to place them
| in a position beyond want, would ie,
turn here satisfied, never to leave you
again"
You mean this. my daughter?"
II mean it, father
"As l understand it, you wish to go
to these friends-to bid them final
farewell, and to enrich them?'
Yes"
He led her to n room guarded with IN
iron door. With a key he unlocked q
cabinet. 1t was stored with money
coin, bank notes, bonds.
Yours" he said generously; al
yours Take what you want. l shall
never ask how much. nor care. Deal as
literally with your friends as you Ike
only-must You go 20 themf =
i must father"
| Alone
ST will be careful-nothing will hap
pen to me-"
Il shall wofry-your absence will tor
| ture me"
Not for long. Oh! dear father, you
make me happy i'll enabling Inc to make
my dearest friends happy. Let me &c
at Oncev-to-night ta-mQrr9W: In
week-twO, at the faHhest, | shall re
turn. Then shall forget them-~all thI
| world save you"
She had carried her point. The frs
important step in the plot of her Lift
was accomplished.
AS the next morning, little money
filed satchel in her hand. she left iii,
mansion bound for HOpedale, her con
tident heart told her that she woult
never return until she had won the MAJ
she loved.
l CHAPTER y.