Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1894-06-08
At War With HERSELF.
The Story Of a Woman's Atonsment,
by Charlotte N. Braems,
CHAPTER xLrT-contlnusta. i.

S>OoAO 0AAV0S0A"IV10kS WxIAx u kAkuU Ou
her noble face-the light Of fixed, do
termined resolve. She set the lamp
that she carried in her hand down on
the table, and went up to Leonie. She
knelt down by the bedside, and placed
her hand on the hot brow.
"Leonie," she whispered, "Leonie,
my darling, 1 could not help coming to
you'll could not part from you in an
ger, as we parted tonight. We are,
both of us, motherless-we have
neither OF us q sister-and we have
been u great deal to each other. I
could not retire In anger, Leonie, be-
-.>.e you 30 dearly"
mo noble face softened into unutter-
able tenderness as she bent over tho
angry girl.
II know you are not pleased with
me-" she continued, in the same low
voice. "If you wore but on Indifferent
acquaintance, your right or wrong do
ing would not seem important to me;
but you are my dearest friend, Leonie,
ably without coming to plead with you."
Il hope you will spare mo all preach
Ing. Ethel. 1 had quite enough of that
this morning"
II want to plead with you, not to
preach to you,s said Ethel. you shall
not harden your heart against mo, Leo
pie: you shall not turn coldly from me.
I love you, and by right of my love you
must hear NO."
Il cannot really see what it matters
to you,' said Leonie. slow does it
concern you? You can have NO inter-
est in tho Inheritance"
DO not speak to me 80, Leonie; my
interest is in you, and in your soul; it
is for your SOULS sake that l come to
plead with you now"
II can take care of my soul myself"
said Leonie, abruptly.
sYou Gun; but will you do 80? Let
me speak to you as your own sister
might speak; try to think that l am
your sister, Leonie, and then you will
have moro patience with me. My dar-
ling. right and wrong are so clearly
them. Relieve me, unless you give up
this inheritance, which never was
yours. you will be unhappy all your
life; you will never know peace or rest
again; you will even despise yourself.
Honor and honesty both call upon you
to give it up"
@Then they call in vain, Ethel, for I
shall never do so."
"You will. l have moro faith in you
than you have in yourself; you will do
right in the ond. It is terrible temp
tation-I admit that. Because you love
luxury and magnifcence SO dearly-be-
cause you love oil that wealth brings
1t is o great temptation; but, Leonie,
there is something far above all this"
THAT is preaching, Ethel"
Miss Dacre bent owe the fair face;
she looked tenderly at the rare perfec-
ton of it's loneliness.
You are 80 beautiful, Leonie," she
murmured; your soul should match
your face. See, my darling, there are
two paths before you: have patience
with inc while I sketch them"
Il must listen, l suppose" said
Leonie, resignedly.
Yes, you must listen, Lesnie. Sup
pose you do what is right-you give up
To Paul Flemyng, before your marriage,
what is justly his-the money, estates,
laid, and tito tho late Earl meant to
leave him. Before God and man o
will then have done q just and honora-
bio decd; and what will you be the
worse for it,: Your husband-who will
never. know of this argument-will adj
miro You as the most loyal of women,
ard people will have faith in you he-
cause you have proved yourself capa-
BILE of being honest at any cost to your
self. l can see naught in which you
can suffer, but in every respect you
will gain. You will have q fair name
before men, and o clear, bright, brave
soul before heaven. oh, Leonie, think
what that means; think what it is to
have the clear light Ct heaven onyou-
to live so that you may find a home in
that better land. There is the other
path. You may, with perhaps some
show of legality On your side, keep this
inheritance; you may humiliate the
man you are going to marry by giving
him everything, which in reality he
ought to give to you; but | say to you
chat in doing SO you imperil your own
soul. Ieonie, those are not light
words. Suppose that half of England
were yours, and that q wonderful ex-
tension of life were given 10 you-that
you were allowed to live over a hum
dred years-you must die ut last, what,
you had been rich or poor: The great
concern would be to have saved your
soul. Leonie, a you say honestly
that you are even trying to a " your
soul whom it is weighed down by such
Q sin as this? Can you fancy what the
hour of death must bs for one who has
lived q life of fraud? You know that.
If you keep this which is not your own,
you a never honestly raise your head
among your fellow-crcatures; you will
be buldened with q sin of wrong-doing
and misery that can never leave you"
.Ethel, you are wasting your time"
said Leone.
mo, 1 do not think so. You turn
from mo proudly now; you refuse to
listen to me; you despise all that I am
saying-but you will remember my
wordA Ia all that, Leonie. You will
remember that I, who love you with q
deep, true, disinterested love, have
knelt here to pray you for your souls
sake to act rightly and honorably.
Lconie, I have another idea about you;
II l am wrong forgive me-. 1 have
fancied from your manner, from your
feverish restlessness, from your crav-
ing for excitement-I have fancied,
Ieonie, that all this Is not strange to
you; that you had perhaps found the
will, and had hidden it,"
A low moan answered her. When
a.