Griggs courier., 1894-09-07

Of . girl upon Carrington's mantel.
piece, with ''Nora Thurston" scrawled
across the foot. Doubtless that was
| she..
''Oh, If might be just o little beau
tiful, just for q little while!" she
sighed to herself. Then, rejecting
that the wish was absurd. she had her
supper-a couple of biscuits and a
glass of milk-and went to bed.
There are two kinds of women
those who offer sacrifice and those who
demand it. The latter must have some
thing to lean upon; the former must
have some one to support, somebody to
feed or fondie or convert. 1t may be
husband, it may be curate or q cat
or a cannibal. Now. Marion Norman
was one of those women who long
vaguely for some one for whose sake
they shall have q right to sacrifice
themselves.
A fortnight had passed, and the op.
Grafton was over. For some days Lewis
Darlington had lain upon his sofa in q
darkened room with bandage across
his eyes and terrible dread at his
heart. He was waiting for the remov-
al of the bandage to know whether he
was to see or be blind for the rest Of
his life. Marion had been with him
all the time, waiting upon him and
reading to him. She had not been so
happy for years, for Lewis Darlington
depended entirely upon her. Every
day she had been downstairs to answer
the Inquiries of fair-haired girl. 1t
was the girl whose photograph stood
upon the mantelpiece. Every day she
had been able to tell her that Lewis
was going on we'll, and that there was
every hope that he would see as soon
as his eyes were strong enough to bear
the light.
The evening before the day on which
the question was to be decided, Car
rington was restless and nervous. Ma
rion read aloud to him to keep his
thoughts from the morrow. But she
saw his fingers twitch upon the arm o4
his chair and knew of what he was
thinking. At 10 o'clock she insisted
on his going to bed. But for more
than IN hour Marion, who was listen
ing by his half-open door, heard hin,
tossing from side to side. She had de-
cided to give him soothing draught
when his breathing became more regu.
lar, and at last settled down into the
rhythmic respiration of the sleeper
So Marion lay down on the sofa in the
sitting room.
She had been asleep, MS it seemed
but little while when something
awoke hor, and from where she Law
she saw Darlington standing in tho
doorway between the sitting room and
his bed room.
''Mr. Carringtoni What is the mat
ter? Can I get anything for you2' sha
said, starting up in alarm. .-,-
He did not reply. but walked slowly.
without turning his head, straight
across the room to the window, over
which heavy pair of curtains hung.
'Mr. Darlington" she said again.
But he did not answer. And then
she understood that he was asleep
For the moment, in her halt-awak.
ened state, she could not think of the
right thing to do. She watched him
pull one of the curtains aside. The
light from a gas lamp in the street be-
low fell full upon his face. And by
the light she saw that his hands were
pulling and tugging at something up
on the back of his head. He was try
ing to take of the bandage from his
eyes. In another moment If he sue
ceeded, the glare of the gas lamp
would meet them and extinguish for
ever the feeble glimmer of sight. Her
senses, half dazed with fatigue and
sleep, Marion, in that instant of
startled comprehension, saw but one
thing, that Lewis Darlington would be
blind, and being blind
Her heart gave great leap of exul-
tation. Motionless she sat, watching
him as he still fumbled with the band
age. =.
''The lover is always selfish, espe-
cially if it be a woman"
The words broke in a flash across
her mind-the last sentence she had
taken down from Carriagton's lips.
In an instant she was by his side,
wide awake, every nerve tingling with
shame.
"Come-come with me-" she whis-
pered in his ear, laying her hand upon
his arm and gently drawing him away
from the window.
With sigh he turned, and suffered
himself to be led back to his room.
For minute or two Marion watched
him as he settled again into peaceful
sleep. Then she bent down and hast
lily touched his forehead with her lips,
and returned to her sofa. But not to
sleep. She was crying, first because
she was wicked enough to be tempted,
and then because she was not wicked
enough to yield to temptation.
The next morning Lewis Darlington,
knowing nothing of his narrow escape
during the night, was waiting for his
eyes to be uncovered. The doctor had
just arrived when the servant opened
the door and whispered something to
Marion. Without saying anything
Marion left the room and ran down
stairs. Nora Thurston was there.
"Come up" said Marion. "You are
Just in time. think he can see vou."