Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1894-09-28
BET RAYED;;
q DARK MARRIAGE
MORN.
A Romance Of LOUe, Intrigue and
Crime
BY MRS. ALICE p. CARRISTON.
CRATER XXu.- -tcantinucdJ

lie admired her like rare plant,
beautiful object, IN exquisite work, IL
which nature had combined physical and
moral grace with perfect proportion and
harmony. His department as slave neal
her was not long polfor nance.
Our fa r 70 GERS have, doubtless, re-
marked an odd fact, which is, that where
a reciprocal sent meat cf two feeble hu-
man beings has reached o certlin pO'nt
of maturity, chance never fails to furnish
Il fatal occ 5 on which botrays the seer
OF the two hearts, md Suddenly launches
the thunderbclt which has been gradually
gathering IL the Clord5.
This is the CT SIS Of all lO;e.
This occasion presented itself to CT ra
Denton and Warren elend in the form
of aB unpoet il ciGoDt. with which tho
rag picker ald his little grandchildren
Terc Intimately connected.
1t was the enl CT the month. Leland
had gore out al cr dinner TO take ride
IN the neighboihood. Night had already
fallen, ,lsar and cool; hut as lie could
not see Mr.. Denton tbGt evening, lie be
Gau TO think only cf being near her, and
felt that uuNiilin ,ues5 to work common
TO lovers, striving to kill time, Whlca
hung bCGYv Oh his hands.
lie hoped also that violent exercise
might calm his spirit WHICH Ia / never
been more prJ.OUnlly egitated. still
Young ana Impractical in his pl1'esS sys
Gem, he was troubled at The though Of
victim 50 i +, a5 Clara Denton. 10
'raDlplc on the life. the Iep0se, nd IL
heart of such a woman, as the horse
,ramples Oh the .rass of thelOal, with IS
littlo care CT pity. VS. hard for novice.
AS strange as it may appear, the idea
of marrying hcr had occurred TO him.
Then he said 70 Lims lf that this weak
ness was IN direct coI!r dictiOn TO his
2rincil les. and tias sEo would c.Us5 hlm
10 lose forever the MASTERY over hlmsoif,
and throw bDG b Ca into the nothins ness
Of his past TO- Yet, with the corrupt
inspirations Of his deprayed soul. he fore
saw that the mOmont re touched hel
hands with the lips OF lover, new
sentiment would sp ing ~, in her soul.
AS he oomdonea himself to those p 8
siopatc imagiuipgS, the recollection o.
my RrCwnol camo back slddenly 10 BIS
memory.
lie grew pale in the darkness.
At this moment la was passing by the
edge Of piece Of woods a portion OF
which had beer cleared.
II WIS uOt Gran G alono that he'd dl-
rccted hun to this point. Clara Denton
loveltuis spot and frequently takon
him there. AMI on the preced nG evening,
accomp MED by her daughter AMI Mil
dred Lester. had VI tied it VitI. lin.
The site was pee liar one. Although
not far from houses. the woods were very
wild, as though thousand miles dietani
from any other place.
You would have said ii was virgin
forest, ntouch Il by the aX Of the pio
nceI. Enormous st0mps without bark
trunks Of gigantic trees, covered pei
mell the decivty Of the bill, anu barr
caded here and there, in picturesque
mann +, tho current Of tie brook whioi
IN iut0 tn valley.
lttc higher up tho dense To, o
tufted trees contributed 10 clhUse tina
religious light halt over tho rocks, Tx
brushWOod and The fertile soil, and OF
the limpid va.cr, which is the charm an
horror Of Old II elected woods.
L. this solitude, AM on quite space
OF cleared ground, roe pO0t cottage
This was mics home, and here he
children and her father lived with her.
The old r.g-picher interested Car
Denton greatly, probably because, Tx
Leland, 10 had bad rcp putatlon. Hh
iONGN lH9 NGltOitN. lbp, NHO, "hO"S'
dirty. were lo,dtiiul as angels, and ST.
pitiel tier moth.r.
The little ones had been quite i'll
Clara had helped to nurse them. and ap
parently tley Il ID recovered; ndecd, On
the cycning b fore Leland and the par.
with him had net thcm wandering IN t.
woods, careless and happy as chi!dIoi
ought to lie.
leland slowly walkcl his horse oyc
the rocky ard Winding path On the Stop
o. tho hiilock. This was the mcmen
when the ghost OF Amy Brownell had, a
it were. risen before him, and he believe O.
he could almost hear her crJ.
All at once this Illusion z We place 10
strange re lity. The voice OF wom"
IL inly called him 10y name, in accents O
distress:
Mr.. Leland. NFr. LclGnd."
Stopping his hor On the instant, h
felt an icy sh oder pass through hi
frame.