The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-09-10
note lying ON her lap.


for happiness. She had striven hard {
retain it in her grasp. but the fates wer
fighting against her, and there wa
nothing left but to own herself beate
and accept the defeat as best she could
IL was hard to give il all up-hardes
of all to lose Jaffray's love and to fee
that be would know her for cheat ant
liar and worse.
She ran back in thought over TIN
events of the time since her arrival il
England and smiled in self contempt al
she saw one after another the line q
false steps she had taken. How paltry
and unworthy seemed now the little
ambitions which she had cherished then
how utterly weak and poor the objects
for which she had strivenl
To be the wife of rich man she had
schemed and plotted and intrigued.
And what had it proved to be? The
one sacrifice that now caused her the
least regret was that of her money and
position. The one thing she dreaded to
lose now was the one thing which she
despised then-Jaffray love- She had
traded on his love to win wealth and
honor for herself. The end was nothing
but dishonor for him and a desolate,
broken life for herself.
Yet he had loved her---loved her like
the true, gallant nan he was. The
thought cheered her, though il brought
scaldlng tears to her eyes, which she let
gather and blur all her sight and then
fall unchecked. In all the years TO
come and whatever might befall her or
him he would never blot ont from his
memory the love he had once had for
her, and she loved the thought of that.
If only the truth could be kept from
him for always! She would give her
life, she thought, if that could be.
What would he think of her if she
were TO die? How would he feel if he
Were to come into the room and find
her dead?
Now she recalled some words that
Pierre had spoken about drugs that told
no tale and left TO sign. What were
they? How could they be obtained?
How would it be to go to Pierre as he
said iii his letter, TO seem to fall in
with his plan to poison Jaffray, to get
from him the drug for that purpose
and then herself take it? That would
be easier than to find some poison by
herself. Yet stay-there was 10 diff
Guilty. 1t did not need any such elabo-
rate preparation as that.
She had but TO feign bad headache
with sleeplessness and take sleeping
draft strong enough-for her to wake
no more
No one would think of poison. Her
life lay all before her. bright with a
dazzling promise of happiness, thought
the world. How little the world knew
Two people would understand, however,
and know the truth-the man who held |
her in his merciless power and Beryl, |
who had guessed the secret.
What would they think? Nay, what |
would they do?
Would Beryl tell? She thought of the |
girls cold, firm, deliberate nature and !
tor moment wavered how to answer !
the question. No; Beryl would not
carry any feeling, however keen, be- |
u.
had paid the penalty with her life,
Beryl would be as silent as the grave in !
which she herself was to bury the secret
But what Of Pierre? AS she thought
II him she was cold and sick. She knew
90 well what he would do. He would |
eek at once to trade on the shameful !
He would tell the whole J
story to Jaffray, threaten him with ex-
'osure II he were not paid hush money,
md thus hold him i'll bondage by the
Of her shame till ,Jaffray
mould come to hate her very name and
,urse the day when he had grown to
owe her.
The gates of death We're thus shut
against her, and she felt that she must
work out some other means of escape.
Not once i'll all her misery did she
mink of telling Jaffray. She knew him
o thoroughly and knew how he would
urn from her act and her shame that
he mere thought CT facing him at such
moment was more than she could en-
lure.
For this there was another reason.
nown only to herself, and the knowl-
dge of it had set up in her mind hun.
reds OF confusing thoughts, fears, i'm
ulses and emotions. There was the
ope OF little life that was some day
0 be born, and, like a sword piercing
no flesh and turning in the wound TO
rolong the agony, was the knowledge
hat the child-hers and Jaffray'
'ould be the child of shame.
She knew too well what Jaffrav
'ould feel and think and say if once
MS knowledge were forced upon him.
nd the fear, and the shame, and the
I'VE, and the misery all blended to drive
ne wretched girl to distraction.
Gradually out of the binding mist
nd sorrow AN idea began to take shane.
she were to see Pierre and lure him
to delay any evil plans he might have
'rmed by promising to work with him.
might happen to prevent his
DING any harm.
Or, better still, if she were 70 Av
ON the manor house and let him know
iat she had done so, he might be driven :
ON his purpose altogether.
She COul 500 him, tbo.