The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-12

hand into his when they found themselves
alone, and with longish drive before
them, in their own little brougham,
"there is something the matter. You
have heard something? Tell me what 1t
is"
Keir hesitated.
Yes" he said. II suppose it is best to-
tell you. 1t is the strange story Sir Abel
alluded to before you left the ROOM
"About-about Arthur is 1t about Ar
thur whispered she, shiNering little.
Philip put her arm round her.
Il can't say. We shall perhaps never
know certainly" he replied. But it looks
very ike it, Listen, dear. Some little
time ago-tWO or three years ago-May-
nard spent some days at one OF those
awful leper settlement-neVer mind when.
1 would just as soon you did not know.
There, TO his amazement. among the most
devoted of the attendants upon the poor
creatures he found an Englishman, young
stil. at least by his own account though
TO judge by his appearance II would have
been impossible TO say. For he was him
self far gone. very far gone In some ways,
In the disease. But he was, or had been,
a man of strong constitution and enor-
nous determination. III as he was, he
yet managed to tend others with inde-
scribable devotion. They looked upon MIN
as a saint. Maynard did not like to in-
quire wha had brought him to such
pass-he, the poor fellow, was q perfect
gentleman. But the day Sir Abel was
leaving, the Englishman took him to sons
extent into his confidence, and asked him
10 do him a service This was his story.
Some years before, In quite a different
part of the world, the young man had
nursed a leper--a dying leper-for some
hours. He believed for long that he had
escaped all danger, in fact, he never
thought of It; but 1t was not so. TheIe
must have been an unhealed wound OF
some kinda slight scratch would do II
On his hand. No need to 90 into the
details of his first misgivings, of the hor-
rOr Of the awful certainty at last. II came
upon him in the midst of the greatest
happiness: he was going to be married
to a girl he adored."
"Oh, Philip. Philip, why did he not
temp Daisy walled.
''He consulted the best and greatest
physician, who-as a friend he said-ap-
proved of the course he had mapped out
for himself. He decided to tell no one.
to break off his engagement and die out
of her-the girrs-life; not once, after he
was sure did he see her again. He
would not even risk touching her hand.
And he believed that telling would only
have brought worse agony upon her in
the end than the agony he was forced 10
inhict. For he was a doomed man,
though they gave him a few years TO
live And he did the only thing he could
do in those years. He set off to the set
call there some months later on his way
home, and the young man knew he would
be dead then, and so he was. But he
showed him a letter explaining all that he
had ready-all but the address-that he
would not add till he was In the act Of
dying. There must be no risk of her
knowing until he was dead. And this
letter MAYNARD was to fetch on his re-
turn. He did So but-there had been no
time to add the address-death had come
suddenly. All sorts Of precautions had
been ordered by the poor fellow as to dis
injecting the letter and so on. But it did
70 los nd hot hu1 aaar
taken So he contented himself by spread
out the paper on the seashore and learn
ing 1t by heart and then leaving 1t. The
sum total of 1t was what ] have told you,
but not one name was named.
Daisy was sobbing quietly.
"Was 1t he?' she said.
YES, 1 feel sure of it," Philip replied
"For I can supply the missing link. The
one time I really quarrelled with Arthur
was when we were in Siberia. He would
spend a night in a dying leper's hut
would have done 1t myself, / believe and
hope, had il been necessary. But by riding
on a few miles we could have got help
for the poor creature-which indeed did
and more efficient help than ours. But Lin
gard was determined, and no I'll seemed
to come of it. had almost forgotten the
circumstance. / never associated 1t with
the mystery that caused you such anguish
my poor darling.
1T was he" whispered Daisy. Philip
he was a hero after an
Not even you can feel that as dc"
Kerr replied:
Then they were silent.
A few weeks afterwards came a letter
from Lady West, in her far-off South
American home. Daisy had not heard from
him for years.
BY circuitous ways, l need not explain
the details she wrote, II have learnt
that my darling brother Is dead. / thought
I had better tell you. am sure his most
earnest wish was that you should live
to be happy, dear Daisy, as I trust you
are And / know you have long forgiven
him the sorrow he caused you-it was
worse still for him
II wonder" said Daisy, IF she knows
more?"
But the letter seemed to add certainty
to their own conviction.
The End.