Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-08-23
Under the Cloud.


the woman ne loved, VINO was his
friend, his tongue seemed lo0Sened.
! and every word came from his heart,
| while his tones betrayed even more
than he intended
The walk was over sooner than
either wished. Severn sighed for a
pleasure ended, and Ellen shrunk back
neryOusly as she remembered the or
deal to come.
''You are not frightened? Shall I 60
in with yOu?" he asked, his hard upon
the gate.
Il think it would be better to go
alone-he would like it better, too; but
[ thank you very, very much for all
your Kindness"
He looked at her a moment without
replying, then said
To-day Mr.. BoWyer spoke of you as
Elaine by mistake, and the other day
| ! heard you called so too. Is it your
real name?"
She bowed her head in assent.
Thank you for trusting me so far.
| am glad | know how to call you, in
my thoughts. The other name never
/ IL.
but Elaine-Elaine the lily-maid-It is
| the sweetest name that woman ever
| bOrer'
! To the surprise of every one, Nh
! BoWyer had so far recovered on the
| morning after his narrow escape from
being poisoned that he was able to go
downstairs to his breakfast, and sat
by the fire in his dressing gown when
Severn was announced.
! Il am glad to see you looking so
! WE'LL began the colonel, as they shook
| hands.
Then you have heard all about it
/ the accident, | mean?"
Not alP'-meaningly. But I know
you took some poison by mistake, and
must congratulate you on having so
far recovered from it's effects"
ut was rather a narrow escape, |
fancy. You see'-with an attempt at
gayety-'I am such bag Of bones and
nerves that it would take less to kill
me than most men"
A slight pause, which Severn broke
by coming abruptly to the point.
II came" he said, "to speak to you
about Miss Warde''
She is in her room, l believe. Do
you wish to speak to OF of her"
II have spoken to her already. Have
you not heard she left your .house this
morning?'
Try as he would, Mr.. Bowyer felt it
! impossible to keep an expression of
! contentment from his face. This was
! exactly what he wished her to do. To
| turn a woman out of doors was more
] than he could do, were she the veriest
wretch in creation; but, if she chose to
leave him, he was free from blame
| free even from self-reproach.
Il met her on the road between this
! and Greathaven this morning, strug-
| Cling against the wind and wet
! through with the fog. [ guessed some
thing of her intentions from the bag
: she was carrying, and afterward she
told me what had passed. and how
! it seems absurd to repeat-you thought
her guilty
IF she was not guilty, why did she
leave my house?' questioned Mr.. Bow
yer. shreWdly.
Because your housekeeper had dis
covered a secret in her past life, and
| brought such pressure to bear on her"
"Impossibler'-hal starting from his
, chair.
1T was what she told me; and | do
not think her capable of falsehood"
Mr.. Bowyer leaned back again and
|
DO you think any man can judge a
woman truly? The intricacies and
| contradictions of her character must
always remain a mystery to him, and
he is never quite unbiased by the per-
sonal attributes, perhaps attractions,
she may possess
II think" returned the colonel, de-
! cisively, that it is impossible to mis-
take bad woman for a pure one or
vice versa. Men are sometimes queer
mixtures of good and evil. but no
woman could do what you suspect
Miss Warde Of having done unless she
were utterly abandoned; and that
warmly-"I can swear Miss Warde is
not"
y
served the lawyer dryly. s Id yet /
don't know that it is only youth that
can be blinded by pretty face and
plausibility; for l too believed in her
in spite of repeated warnings, and
once against almost incontrovertible
evidence"
You were right then-you are
wrong now, assure YOU
Il wish I could believe you. I
would give more than you imagine to
know that Elaine was innocent, and
worthy of my love-"
He spoke with real emotion, and the
feeling of anger that had been In Sew
ern's heart melted as he realized it
had not been lightly or with indiffer-
pleaded had been condemned.
Where was the child going when
. you met her%'-suddenly
She did not know herself. To Lon
: don, l suppose"
impossible! She had no money, or
at most a few shillings, in her pocket.
She would have starved
Il am very thankful that l met herr
And so am l." declared Mr.. Bow
yer. earnestly. L should never have
forgiven myself if anything had hap
pened to her"
'sThen l may tell her she is to come
no al ~ iDuuiriDply