The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-01-24
lcopyright. 1896. by Bachelor. Johnson and
Bacheller.l
PART L.


Two hundred thousand dollars, that,
An round numbers, was the amoun Of
nv defalcation. Somehow, 1 had never
realized the enormity of l. all until
that afternoon. Igazed blankly about
the bank, with my head upon my hand.
How would it end, how would it end?
1t may be because / was too young
-26-to feel a weight of guilt, or be-
cause / have always lived in al atmos-
pherc of falsehood, that / felt m fear on,
NV own account. / well knew how
likely detection was. Any contingency
might ruin me. And yet / felt no
anxiety as far as / alone was concerned.
IT was all for Margaret-dear, dear
Margaret. How she believed in me!
What castles in the air she built, in
anticipation of the time when we two
should be happily married.
And / loved her. / loved her so
much that I made a VOW never TO wed
her. But, like all towards, j was in
capable of honesty. L could only
drift on and on. like the ship that floats
near and ever nearer to the rock.
When / reached my rooms that
night, / tried, for the thousandth time,
to solve a plan of extrication from my
cruel predicament. But it was a vain
process. l could only look helpleasly
upon the stolen luxury surrounding mo
and at last seek Inconsistencies IN
chloroform. =
/ had been a farmers boy until dix
years ago, and luxury had all the charm
of novelty for me. ] wish / could draw
for you a picture of the regal state I
lived in. l was always literarily in
clined, and had a library of a thousand
volumes, at least, all richly bound. I
had studied hard, too, in my leisure,
and could, / think, enjoy the books.
NV carpets were like velvet TO the feet,
and my pictures and furniture did, I
hope, no discredit to my taste. Even
mt 26 a one-tiIne country boy can lose
himself in things of this sort. And I
wore the finest clothes and lived as well
ms a millionaire. Nor did the source of
my elegant ease weigh upon me. 1
looked upon the consequences of dis
tovery as the price to be paid for all
this luxury and 1 reflected that the
price was really not a high he.
= But / had reckoned without Margaret.
She was the daughter of one of the bank
clerks. / had met her but n year before
and l think i loved her from the first.
never knew what shame was until
her eyes met mine. All! how the
Thought of her even now brings back
all the pain.
1 have often wondered why she loved
me. Perhaps it was simply because /
30 genuinely loved her. They say love
begets love. / think 1 can pay her no
higher compliment han to say that
in her presence / seemed to lose my
sense of guilt. She had purity enough
for us both.
So it was the thought of her that
obliged me to take refuge in the use
of drugs. / think / should have gone
mad with the misery of it, but that
,chloroform afforded me the relief Of
Inconsistencies, and yet even that re-
lief failed me at times. For / would
awake In the dark of the morning,
with the fire glowing in the CRATE and
the clock tick, ticking through the
shadows. i would lie m~otionless amid
the rugs, staring about me with wide
ODtu, uiDtiOIiCoS CytS. VI Il Would ko
TO the window and look up at the stars.
Had / any honor, / could declare upon
it that only the thought of Margaret
moved me. / cared nothing about tho
llefalcation and would AVE been guilty
of 1T all over again, but for her. If
only Idared confess TO her and get her TO
take my view of it. But / knew that
was impossible.
The stars almost stood put of the sky
that night, / remember. / gazed fix
eddy at them in the sort of intellectual
trance that was my main relief in those
days, when n ring at my bell aroused
me.
Some M had evidently been ringing
n long time, for the bell quivered spas
medically as / pushed the electric knob.
Then a quick, but heavy step became
audible.
/ started when j saw my visitor. He
was well known TO me by sight, being
the cashier of a leading metropolitan
bank. The rapid thought that / was
mt last discovered gave way 70 the re-
election that such could not be the case,
since i would not be visited thus in that
event.
Mr.. Meldon, for his name was Meldon,
sat down without saying a word 70 Inc
and then struck a match. lie held II
over his head for a IN and sur
veyed me and my rooms by the chang
ing light. Then he looked for the gas.
soho, my fine gentleman" said ne.
sgas is not good enough for you,c eli?
Electric light and lamps. Well, you
can afford the expense, / know"
he laughed grimly and turned up an
nrc light. II did not need the quick,
significant look We EXCHANGED -