Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-08-18

| come soon. he WelSneQ tne ring mp and
down in his palm and laughed dry,
cracking laugh
Yes" he said, lyon have kept the
faitl-that you hadn t in me-tolerably
we'll A liar. coward. and one who
strikes from be!,ind-that is it, isn't it?
You kept the faith. and I didn't fight
the sccd fight. eli? Well. let it stand So
Will you permit me to keep this ring?
The saint needed it to remind her to
punish the sinner. The sinner would
like to keep it nov. for then he would
have hope that the saint would for
give him some day"
The bitterness Of his tone was merged
at last into strange tenderness and
hopelessness
She did not look at him. She did not
twish him to see the tears spring sud-
denly TO her eyes She brought her voice
to firm quietnezs. She thought Of the
woman. Mrs. Gladney, who was COM
ing; of his child, whom he did not rec
|ognize. She looked down yard the alb
hey. The girl was walking there be-
tween old Mr.. Margrave and Baron.
She had once hated both the woman
and the child. She knew that to be true
to her blood she ought to hate them al
ways, but there crept into her heart
now a strange feeling of pity for both.
Perhaps the now interest in her life was
driving out hatred. There was some
thing more. The envelope she had found
that day on the moor was addressed to
that wo,nan's husband, from whom she
had been separatcd-no one knew why
for years. What complication and
fresh misery might he here?
"You may keep the ring she said.
"Thank you, was his reply, and he
put it On his finger, looking down at it
with an enigmatical expression. "And
is there nothing more"
She wiilfully nisconstrued his ques-
ton. She took tie torn pieces of envel-
ope from her pocket and handed them
to him. ''These arc yours" she said.
He raised his eyebrows. ''Thank you
again. But I do nct see their value.
Ono could almost think you were a de-
tectivc, you are so armed"
| WHO is he? What is he to you?' she
asked.
''Hc is an unlrcky man, like myself,
and my best friend. He helped me out
of battle, murder and sudden death more
than once, and we shared the same
blanket times without number"
Where is he now" she said in a
whisper, not daring to look at him lest
she should show how disturbed she was.
''He is i'll a hospital i'll New York"
HAS he no friends:'
''Do count as nothing at all?''
Il mean no others-no wife or fam
ily:'
''Hc has awifc, and she has a daugh-
ter. That is all Know. They have been
parted through some cause. Why dc
you ask? DO you know him."
"No, l do not know him.
| 'Do You knew the wife? Please tell
find her, ard have failed.''
Eyes, know her" she said painful
ly and slowly. lyon need search no
longer She will be at your hotel to-
night
He started. Then he said: "I'm glad
of that. How did you come to know? Are
You friends:''
Though her face was turned from
him resolutely, he saw a flush creep up
her neck to her hair.
I'VE are not friends, she said vague
ly. but know that she is coming to
see her daughter.
WHO is her daughter:''
She raised her parasol toward the
spot where Mildred Margrave stood
and said, That is her daughter"
| Miss Margraye? Why has she diff
fcrcnt name:''
Let Mrs. Gladncy explain that to
you. Do not make yourself known to
the daughter till You see her mother.
| Believe me, it viii be better for the
daughters sake
She now turned and looked at him
with pity through which trembled
something like a troubled fear. "You
asked me 10 forgive you,'' she said
"Goot!by. Mark Telford, I do forgive
you. She held cut her hand. He took
it, shaking his head little over it, but
said no word.
1--WE had better part here and meet
no more" she added.
Pardon. but banishmont," he said
as he let her hand go.
"There is nothing else possible in this
world, y she rejoined in muffled voice
Nothing i'll this world" he replied.
"Goodby till we meet again-some-
where"
So saying, he turned and walked rap
idly away. Her eyes followed him, a
look of misery, horror ami sorrow upon
her. When he had disappeared in the
trees, she sat down on the bench. 1T is
dreadful" she whispered, awestricken.
His friend her husband! His daughter
there, ard he docs not know her! What
Will the end Of it be?''
She was glad she had forgiven him
and glad he had the ring. She had some
thing i'll her life now that helped to
wipe out the past-still, a something Of
which she dared not think freely. The
night before she had sat in her room
thinking of the man who was giving
her what she had lost many years past,
and, as she thought, she felt his arm
steal round her and his lips on her
cheek, but at that mocking voice said