Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1893-07-20
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CHAPTER xIL-CoNrNUED.

y 49,
him the whole truth? Mr. Norcross, 1
mean
Mrs. Norcross laughed again. There
was none of the silvery merriment in
the sound that the guests downstairs
had heard before this person had in
truded like deaths head at her feast.
It was a CHASTITY sort of laugh, and,
leaving her seat, she began pacing the
narrow dressing-room with long rest
less strides. Suddenly she turned
fercely on Nora:
sWhy did you come here, Nora Hem
way2 Why did you come here to spoil
my beautiful bright, gay life2 The
child would never miss me. She did not
need me. heard you had married that
stupid John Lorimer and gone away to
the country to live, and was glad"
"Glad. Mellie?"
Eyes, glad! glad! glad! For Eugene
Norcross never would have made me his
wife, If he had not believed 1 was abso-
lutely alone in the world. And wrote to
you, throwing myself on your mercy.
told you that my past must be a dead and
buried past. l begged you to help me
make it so. 1t was to avoid just such
mischances as this that 1 wrote that let
ter. / told you all about the money I
had put in the bank for the child. You
might have let me be happy, Nora. God
knows 1 have suffered enough in the
past
''How can one be happy living lie,
Nellie? How can you be happy without
letting him know all about Sibley Fair
banks? You were innocent then
Amelia, bnt You are guilty here-horri-
bly, guilty"
do you want me to kill you, Nora? I
feel equal to it-quite equal to it-you
wretched, pulling moralistl''
She stopped in front of her sister,
quivering from head to foot with pas
sion. Every vestige of color had fled
from her beautiful face, leaving it
drawn and CHASTITY. Her small, jeweled
hands were clinched until the pink nails
penetrated the soft flesh. AS she stood
with her back to the chamber door, she
looked quite equal to carrying her wild
words into execution.
Nora, looking at the wildly excited
creature more in alarm than in anger,
became conscious of third presence.
A dark, stern face was framed momen-
tarily in the doorway behind Amelia's
back, then quickly withdrawn.
''There is some one in there!" she
said, huskily, pointing toward the bed
room-''some one who has heard our
talk
If possible, Amelia's face grew yet
paler. She sprang like some beautiful
panther toward the open door, then
stopped, paralyzed. Her voice sounded
husky and feeble:
''Eugenei You here?"
''I am here, Who is your visitor, Mrs.
Norcross?"
ga poor sewing woman"
She had disappeared within the room.
and pushed the door after her. It did
not close fully upon its hinges. Nora
sat still, so absolutely dazed and
wretched that it never occurred to her
to put herself beyond the reach of the
voices in the next room. Where, in
deed, in this strange house, should she
go?
"You are at home early, Eugene"
1t was Amelia's voice. The effort to
make it quite natural and soft was
pitiably apparent to her sisters tortured
ears
1t was not a pleasant voice that an
-swered her:
Eyes, 1 am at home early. 1 came
home to give my wife some advice. "
There was concentration of wrath in
the voice that set Nora's heart beating
with apprehension.
Advice for me, Eugene?'
eyes, Mrs. Norcross, for you" Then
followed the rustling of some papers.
1.-THE next time you write letters con-
tanning secrets touching upon your own
immaculate past, be more careful. Mrs.
fumed stationery was inadequate to
this bulk, but it was a clumsy mistake
to inclose your communication to your
dear Norrie' in one of my business en-
velopes- Perhaps you have never no
ticed the explicit printed directions for
its return to Eugene Norcross, II Caron-
delet street, or perhaps, again, you did
not calculate the chances of non-deliv-
cry. Such mishaps are unfortunate
Another silent moment. Then Anne
liza, in the voice of frightened child:
''And that letter came back to your
''And that letter came back to me-"
"And you have read it?"
"And have read it."
E"Then You know everything"
II know everything"
what are you going to do?"
In the dreadful silence that fol
lowed, Morals sense of honor pricke6
her into action. She must put hersel1
beyond the sound of that disgraceful al
tercation. With her hand upon the
knob, she paused inyoluntarily. Eugene
Norcross was answering his wifes last
question: "Whatam going to do about
it? By Cd, what ought to do is
kill YOU"
"a bully and q coward said Nora
scOrnfully, as she closed the dressing
room door behind her. ''But the prov
Ocation has been tremendous"
The chatter of women's voices, the
clatter of teacups, and the overpower
ing scent of tuberoses floated upward
to her as she stood hesitatingly on tn.
landing of the staircase, scarcely know
ing how best and quickest to make he
escape from this gildcd closet with it
hideous skeleton. She breathed NOR,
freely when she was once more fairly il
the street, outside of Amelia's home
Amelia's home!-she repeated tn,
words bitterly as she hurried downtown
towards the dingy boarding hous
which she called her home.
Coming down to its dreary breakfas
table the next morning. she found tn
boarders in a state of Mortified curiosi
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