Daily camera., 1897-08-30

pleasure, MIR. Morley, and o1fer me an
opportunity to lay before you sub
ject which may prove unpleasant" l
said, eagerly.
Mr.. Morley started; then tremor
ran over him What was the matter
with the man that he seemed to take
alarm, first at my presence and now at
my words? If he was so bound up in
lis daughter that he was fearful OF
laving her leave him, even to marry the
nan she loved, there seemed small hope
If obtaining his consent.
In the fear that should lose my love,
after all, l poured out my earnest
words.
4'Mr. Morley. I want Florence to be
| my wife. There is no use mincing mat
ters; the simple fact is. ] must have
her. She loves me. and my love for her
is part of life itself. Will you not give
your consent|' ~
To my disappointment he lodged the
question altogether.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
"Here?"
Yes Why did you come to Nelson
ville?"
"To find rest and quiet and peace; to
escape peoples cruel tongues | ex-
claimed impatiently. 81 give you my
word of honor, sir" ! went on. think
ing / OWNED what his thought was. 81
knew nothing of your living in Nelson
vile. No idea was farther from my
mind than that should meet Florence
here. But 1 cannot help telling you
| how my meeting her has lightened the
burden of the past year, how her love
makes my life appear bright before
me, and shine even through the cloud
| which still rests upon my honor. You,
of course, can withhold your consent,
but, l tell you openly, shall in that
case do my utmost to persuade her to
| marry me against your wish.
l was startled by my boldness in
| speaking as | did, but the words were
out, and would not have recalled them
if l could.
Florence would not marry without
my consent Mr.. Morley remarked,
with the trace of smile.
".Ah, sir, I know that well. We can
wait until my innocence is,proved. But
| it would be most cruel to us both should
you withhold your consent
"You are still sanguine, then, of
| your innocence being established?'
"Most assuredly, sir"
Why an anxious look should appear
! on his face l could not tell then. l
know the many sudden changes of eX-
preston which came over him during
| the conversation caused me consider
able surprise at the time.
IL have not kept track of that af-
fair he began feebly, having been
| fully occupied with my own concerns.
Have-er-have there been any new de-
velopments, any discoveries upon which
you base your hope?"
"An innocent man cannot be made
to suffer forever. according to all laws
of truth and justice. l firmly believe
my name will be cleared, perhaps soon
er than expected" a.
Then your hopes are based on mere
sentiment, and not on any discovery
bearing on the case?" Mr. Morley asked.
"Mostly on the idea that truth will
eventually prevail" replied, epigram-
matically. .=.
"a most unstable anchorage nova
days. Facts and proofs are what the
practical world demands. SO, then, you
ask me to rescind my request made of
you a year ago, Notwithstanding the
fact that the conditions remain the
same. You have broken your promise
to me; how then am ] to know that your
protestations of love for my daughter
are sincere?"
stared at the man in astonishment,
for his words were delivered in cold,
matter-of-fact manner, and, if there
had been any reason for it, l should
have thought there was triumphant
ring in the tones of his voice. ~
| The idea that Horace Jackson had ac-
tually succeeded in persuading the IA
ther that l was the; guilty one in ref
erence to the bank robbery flashed
across my mind. | knew, too, that,
deep and sincere as Florence's love
was for me, she would never be my wife
against her fathers wish r.
| In bitterness of heart l broke out in
a volume of words, urged on to earn-
estness by the fear that my darling
would be lost to me: af S8t
Good God. sir! You love your dahggh-
! ter: you love her tenderly. Your deso-
ton to her has been synonym of ia
therly love; everyone has spoken of
it that knew you. Then how in heavens
name can you endanger her happiness
in life by persuading her to marry a
man she cannot love-one whom she de-
tests, the very sight of whom is abb
| horrent to her? Oh, sir, she is young
and has a lifetime of happiness or mis-
cry before her, whichever you may
choose to make it. You are--pardon
me for saying it-you are breaking
man. Mr.. Morley sprang from his
I seat at these words, and stood erect,
confronting me with glare of angry
resentment in his eyes. But went on.