Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1894-08-23

puSuSu u CIlsllI lONdIu MIN.
"Sit down, sir. You are i'll"
Sir, am not ILL deny it. l de-
cline all courtesies. Do not offer me
any. If you do, you will regret it when
am done. am to be spurned and spit
upon. That is my only use in society,
and may mention parenthetically that
society found that out some time ago.
Don't forget that, sir. IAwill not detain
you. / will not needlessly keep you
standing here. have come to tell you
what / neglected to tell you before about
this child whom brought up"
"Wellp calculated Maxey nervously.
Mr.. Dye cast an apprehensive glance
at the artist.
"Say you do not want to hear me, sir,
even now, and will go away, and you
nor she shall ever see me again. Do you
say it?''
Mr.. Dyes tone was portentous and
beseeching. For an instant Maxey hesi-
tated, but for an instant only.
mo, Mr.. Dye, I do not say it. Go on,
sir. Tell me the truth"
"Sir, you have pronounced your ver-
dict. For better or for worse l shall
speak now and ease my conscience of q
bad matter. I told you Ibid not know
this child's parentage. / told you a
falsehood. know both her parents. One
was scapegrace son of a proud family;
the other was a servant in his fathers
house. Now you know the whole. 1 am
done.
The blood rushed to Maxey's head.
"The proofs! Where are the proofs?"
Mr. Dye again glanced at him appre-
hensively and backed step or two near
Ell the door.
"Sir, there are no proofs"
"None?"
"Not scrap. 1t all rests upon the
word of worthless vagabond whom no.
body would believe, who is in fact such
villain and liar that he can hardly
believe himself. If you wish to believe
chat he has lied, there is everything to
encourage you in that belief, nothing to
discourage you.
"And why have you come here to
tell me this?"
''Did I not explain? Twas forced to. :"
''By whom?"
"Sir, not by whom-by what. By
my conscience.
Maxey raised hts arm with gesture
of impatience The somber ran shrank
back as if he expected blow. He cried
out apprehensively:
Don't believe me! Don't believe
mep'
"Do you acknowledge it to be lie?"
"No, no. Not that, only-don't be-
lieve me"
"Mr. Dye" said Maxey suddenly,
twill you swear solemn oath, here in
my presence, that you have told me the
truth?'
"Sir, will not, No oaths Not to-
night. No oaths. I have said it, and /
will do no more. No, not if the sword
falls, will say no more. That is all I
came to say. I have said it. I will go
away again"
"Go, then" cried Maxey hotly. go,
while you can with safety get out of my
reach, and if ever you show your face
lin this house again, unless you either
come to confess that you have lied or
hold the proofs of what you have said
in your hand, you will regret it to the
last day of your miserable life. Hold
ON bit! Not quite SO fast, my good
man. have not done yet If you ever
breathe a word of what you have told
me today to any living soul, and hear
it,
Maxey did not finish his sentence but
he was all the more impressive, for he
looked unutterable things.
Pardon me, sir, the caution is not
needed 1t has cost me much to say it
to you. 1 shall never repeat it. But ]
must, I must warn you that I am not
the only person who knows this to be the
truth. If I had been, never should
have come. Sir, I thought it was better
that you should know the whole before
before you took any rash step or steps,
than hear of it afterward, when it would
be SO much more painful to both her and
yourself. You understand me now?"
Mr.. Dye suddenly turned, opened the
door which led into the vestibule and
glided out. Maxey sprang after him, ex-
claiming:
"Stop, sir, stopl I do not-I do not
understand youi''
Maxey reached the vestibule only O
second or two behind his strange visitor
and would undoubtedly have dragged
him back over the outer threshold, but
at the very moment when he put out his
hand to seize him he heard the rustic Of
woman's dress. He changed his inten.
ton in the twinkling Of an eye. In an.
other instant Mr.. Dye was free, the outer
door was closed, and Maxey. pale and
breathing heavily, stood upon the inside
with his back against it, facing the as
tonished Annette, who was coming,
quite unconscious of any intrusion, into
the vestibule.
''Is anything the matter, Mr.. MaxeyY
"Nothing-nothing at all. It was 6
mere You startled me; that was all. y
"Who has been here?"
"You do not know, then? You heart
nothing Of what he said?"
"Why, how strange you look! How
could II"
II don't look strange" said Maxey
"It's the bad light I'm in. It was no
body you care to know. Let us 60 bacl
to work again. There was something
was going to say when I was interrupt
ed"
|
Mr.. Dye was staggering down tn
steps, clingins to the railing with ON
hand, looking the personifcation of de
spair. He muttered as he walked ant
crushed with his left hand paper il
the pocket of his threadbare ooat-a pa
per ON which delicate feminine hant
had traced these words:
L =