The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1897-09-17


1 tried in every way to force the mem
DRY of Viola from my mind. For awhile
1 blush to say sol drank to excess;
perhaps | hoped to kill myself. In these
and other unworthy ways | passed half
the year.
Then came the reaction-the loathing
of self--the disgust of the life l was
leading, I sickened at the sight of my
boon companions. Everything was
WEAKNESS; nothing brought the flush of
excitement to my cheek or carried me
for a moment away from my grief. Sud-
denly I turned my back upon all my
pursuits. l went down to Herstal Alb
hey, which was o at my disposal,
and, with as supreme a contempt for
mankind as ever my predecessor felt,
| buried myself even as he had done.
And people around said that eccen-
tricity ran in families, and that young
Mr.. Lorraine was following in his faith
er's steps.
But why during these months had l
not sought the excitement of revenging
myself Upon the man who had wronged
me? Why had l not kept my vow of
killing him when his dream of JOY was
at it's height? Simply because 1 knew
not where to look for him. He and his
no less guilty companion had left no
trace behind them-no clew that might
be followed until it brought me face to
face with them. l had made inquiries,
and inquiries were still being made on
my behalf; but as yet I had not discov-
cred Grants hiding place. He seemed
to be a man with, so far as l could as
certain, no friends or connections. Miss
Rossiter, with whom he or Viola might
have correspondent, died two days after
the elopement. Her brother T found,
but he could give me no Intelligence.
Mr.. Monok, the solicitor, acting, he said,
on instructions, refused to give me any.
So l could. do nothing but grind my
teeth, and long for the hour when my
path might once more cross Eustace
Grants. 1 was fatalist enough to be-
lieve that, sooner or later, this must
happen.
I lived on in the dreary solitude of
Herstal Abbey. Each day found me
h4OAS W IL op1SdAy u
each day l renewed my vow of ven
geance. Its accomplishment was the
only thing in life to which I could look
forward. When Grant lay dead at my
feet, life for me would be at an end. So
the months passed. If the original Ju-
liam Lorraine could have seen me, as I
sat hour after hour brooding in his
nh oi,, bo would hovn t1,nnoht tho ~
his adoption we'll worthy of his choice.
So the long months passed. Spring,
summer, autumn, winter came and
went, making little difference to me.
Once or twice I forced myself to quit
my seclusion, and pay d visit to Lon
don or Paris, in hope of finding distrac-
ton and forgetfulness. My efforts
awaited nothing, and returned to my
home more moody and miserable than
when I left it.
I had, for the sake Of occupation,
performed a task until now postponed.
l went through my reputed fathers
letters and private papers. I found
nothing that in any way bore upon N.Y.
self, except a written account of the
oulp w SCh, duu LILY Dlllu Ou Luc UdIGSu
rock. 1t was signed by the narrator.
Although the existence of this paper
made no difference to me, I put it away
under lock and key. Yet, for all I cared,
the whole world might know that Ju-
liam Lorraine was not my father. Such
trivial things as accidents Of birth we're
now matters of Indifference to me.
The other papers I burned. 1 did not
read one-half of them. They clearly
showed what manner of man was
Julian Lorraine before he bought erstal
Abbey and settled down to the life of a
r%ecluse. My life, 1 told myself, was
spolled-spoiled by a woman's treacn-
cry! And yet I could not. bring myself
to hate her. No-let the truth be known
II loved her ever now-loved her, al
though She was living in shame with
my enemy. I hungered, l craved for a
sight of her face. The touch of her
hand would have thrilled me as of old.
Although I told myself that were she at
my feet praying for pardon I would
spurn her and cast her from me, I knew
that l lied. knew that if Viola came
to me-if my eyes once more met hers
Il should throw all manhood's pride to
the winds, and-such a the strength
of my passion-take this faithless wom-
an to my heart, and hold her there I'M
til, as I told myself bitterly, some fresh