The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1894-10-25
Katherine BlOunt's hove.

weaker, his heart relented. Striding
across the room to her side, he accepted
the proffered hands.
You have conquered" he said,
hoarsely. Il leave you my full and free
forgiveness! Take 1t, and be happy
In your new life. But, for all that, It
Is indeed, farewell between us two.
shall never again enter your presence,
or listen to your voice, or look on your
beloved face, so bid me good-by, now,
and-and may heaven bless and keep
you, my one lover His accents were
broken with emotion.
When he was gone, Lady Warrenne
went up to her own. room and dressed
herself hurrledly to go into the woods.
Having gained small copse on her
right hand, she saw Blackwood Craven
walking before her, gun In hand. She
had seen him barely for an instant
nay, afterward 1t almost seemed as
though there was not seconds inter-
val--when the report of gun rung
through the air, followed by a sharp,
agonizing cry that told but too surely
of deaths victory, and Blackwood, with
dull, crashing, lifeless sound, fell to
the sudden earth.
Lady Warrenne sprang forward and
knelt down by his side, just as Sir
Mark, from an opposite direction, came
hurrying up, having also heard both
the gums report and its attendant cry.
Katherine had Blackwood's head on
her knees, and was pushing back the
hair from his forehead, in a half un-
conscious, daZed manner, when he
reached her.
Katherine" he exclaimed, "what has
happened?" STOPPING down and tearing
open the young mans coat, only to
lay his hand upon q heart that but too
surely had ceased to beat,
Sir Mark felt his face growing cold,
his limbs trembling. 1t was too awful,
too horrible to contemplate; he could
not believe it. Only half an hour since,
Craven had been in such life and spir-
its-it appeared to Sir Mark now that
he had never seen him in such good
spirits as that morning and now
noW--katherine, too; how did she
come there? 1t was no place for her,
poor delicate darling. She must be got
home in some way or other. He step
ped forward and tried to raise the
lifeless head from her supporting arms.
She pushed him from her.
DO not you see that he is dead 2"
she said, in an awful whisper dead :?
Go away, and do not disturb him. He
Is mine now, you know; my own; you
cannot grudge him to me any longer" !"
placing, as she spoke, her small fingers
over the dead eyes lovingly.
"Katheriner' Sir Mark exclaimed,
half fearing that the horror of the
scene had stolen away her senses, and
half fearing something else that sent
the blood rushing wildly to his heart.
do not speak like that, darling Give
him to me, and tell me how it happen
ed, if you cam
His gun went off and shot him. I
saw it all quite distinctly" Katherine
explained, methodically. "He gave a
cry-oh, such cry!-and then he fell
Do not change his position, Mark; it is
useless; and he is lying just where he
would have chosen to lie, could he
but know it." Then, her tone OF hor-
rible calmness suddenly changing to
one of the widest despair, she exc,aim-
ed, passionately wringing her hands,
''Oh, Blackwood, speak to me, speak to
me! I will not believe that you are
dead! Mark, save him! Do something
for him! Do you wish him to die, that
you can stand there so coldly, without
an attempt Of any kind to save him?
Oh, my love, my love! why cannot I
lie there instead of you, peacefully at
rest?
Her eyes were dry and fearless, but
hopeless misery was written on every
lineament Of her expressive face, and
she seemed to take no notice whatever
of Sir Mark, who stood beside her in
e,i11 @<SN ex@-, o1r D1R4S
speech OF any kind, but waking slowly
to the consciousness that his wife
whom for all these months he had been
cherishing in the fond hope that one
day she would love him as he loved
her had long years ago given all the
priceless treasure of her heart to an
other man.
And Blackwood- for the first
time, he understood his evident reluc-
tance to visit Warrenne Hall, a reluc-
tance that at the moment had seemed
to Sir Mark so singular. Poor Craven!
though 1t appeared to Warrenne just
then, standing there full of life and
health above the dead man, that IL
Blackwood had been carrying as sore
heart In his bosom as he himself was
carrying now, his lot was by far the
happier of the two. At this point In his
meditations the keeper appeared at
some little distance among the trees,
and Sir Mark went hurriedly to meet
him.
"Mr. Craven has shot himself" he
explained, briefly. Run to the house
or one of the nearest cottages and
bring something to carry him home
upon"
After to what seemed to the silent
watchers an interminable delay, the
man returned bringing with him some
farming hands and rude impromptu
litter, ON which, with gentle, kindly
hands, they laid poor Craven and bore
him in solemn awe-struck speechless-
ness to the Hall.
Here they were met by Archibald
Blount, shocked out of all his indolent
Selfishness as he gaZed with uneasy con-
science at his nephew's corpse, and re-
membered with deep remorse, for the
first time. how fatal all that past scene
In the manor library had been to the
happiness of the poor boy now lying
dead before his eyes.
They carried Blackwood upstairs, and
laid him upon his bed, after which doc
tors were sent for, as matter of duty.
though in this case there was not the
faintest ray of hope to sustain the
mourners with fond delusive dreams
until the final fiat should be uttered.
When all was done that tenderness
and love could do. Lady Warrenne
went down stairs pallid and heartbrok-
en-, to where Sir Mark was sitting in his
private room, his face buried in his
hands.
II have come to tell you all about it"
she said going over to him, and laying
her hand lightly on his shoulder.
He rose, placed a chair for her, with
WEAKNESS in his manner that at any
other time most surely must have
touched her. and then motioned for her
to proceed. She told him her whole
story from beginning to end, glossing
over nothing, making nothing worse,
and waiting when her sad story was
| finished to hear what he would say, to
receive all the hard words all the hard
| reproaches which she felt she deserved
| af hio handS-fn roam fha frt1ff of hny,