San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-10-03
CHAPTER XVIII.

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CHAPTER XVIII
CLEw.
The letter which Lola had sent back
to her husband to explain her fight
was to him quite unintelligible. and
the more he read 1t the less could he
understand her motives In writing it:
M DEAREsT-would to God that could
still put shusbandi" But, my dearest ever and
| always and everywhere, what will you say
| what will you think, when you read this and
know that we are never more to meet on this
earthf As ! write you have just left me-
Your kisses are still burning on my lips, your
love warming my desolate heart, your touch
lingering on my face and my hair, your truth
keeping mo strong in resolve to right you,
| your words Of love singing In my ears. But
| nothing but memory, and this act Of mine
may even blot out yours. You will never see
me again, Jaffray, and pray you never to
| seek me. Between US there IL q bar that moth
| ing can break down. and, though am not al
| together guilty toward you, am not altogeth-
er innocent. would sooner have died than
| have done this. II would have been SO easy
Just to die in your arms. but could not take
| my shame away with me, and think have
| done what alone can cure some part Of the
| evil that have wrought. cannot tell you
what IL is pray you may never know. To-
| day when lay In your arms nearly told you
| all, nearly opened the flood gates Of all the
sorrow and the pain and the distracting trou-
| BILE, and Just let 1t all come out, but some
thing happened, a word you said or tone
| thought heard, and I stopped. and all was
blackness and gloom again. There is no way
but this and no end for me but death, though
| that may not be yet. One thing / ask-try
| ~ 20 btvI - hal, hoya
not loved you with my whole heart. Never
doubt that in any wild stories which may
| ever reach you either to the past or the fu |
ture. II am driven to what may look like
| evil and wrong and crime, remember 1t Is only
| for your sake and because there is no other
way. And now goodby, goodbyi can hard
| ly write for the tears which scald my eyes
| All, mel The last word / shall ever say to
| you'll Think, Jaffray, the last world My heart
is as broken my life. But l must say it.
goodbyl LOLA.
The writing of the last few lines of
the letter was bleared and blotted and
irregular where Lola had not been able ,
to keep her tears from running on to
the paper or to hold her hand steady as
she had penned the words.
Sir Jaffray's eyes were dim enough
| as he read the letter and tried to find
some reason for what had been done.
What could it mean?
The letter was the plant Of broken
heart, and every word and syllable of it
spoke to the love with which Lola loved
| him.
And yet she had left him.
He sat alone battling with the prob
lem for a time and trying to think what
was best to do, and when he could see
| no CLEAN of light he went out to 60 to
his mothers room, carrying the letter
| in his hand.
As he was crossing the hall it &C.
CURED to him that he must give some
| reason to the servants for Lola g absence,
and. ringing for her maid, he said that
she had been detained at LEICESTER Court
and would not be home.
Then Mrs. De Witt, hearing him,
came out of the drawing room.
"Do you know I'm all alone, Magog2"
she said in bantering voice, and then, /
changing her tone at sight of his face,
she asked: "What is the matterf What
has happened?'
Nothing is the matter in which you
can help, thank you" he answered de-
iberately. II am sorry you are alone.
but Lola has been kept at LEICESTER
| Court and will not be home tonight II
am probably going over there myself. |
| Will you wait for few minutes In the
drawing room and will see you pres
ently?"
| There was something in his manner
which shook all the frivolity out Of Mrs.
De Witt, and without word she went
back into the room, feeling grave and
troubled |
Then Sir Jaffray went on to his
mothers room.
| Mother, there is trouble. Help me
| what to think and what to do. Lola
seems to have been driven by some cause
which cannot in the least understand
to take the desperate step of leaving the
manor. Listen to this" And he read
the letter.
She sat and listened in the deepest
pain and not without some twinges of
self reproach as she read between the
words of the letter the evidence of a
heart battling with an overwhelming
sorrow and driven in upon itself for
lack of the helping counsel of womanly
sympathy.
The reading Of the letter left her
completely baffled and bewildered.
what can il mean. Jaffrayf What
can the poor girl mean? Have you no
sort Of clew, nothing of any kind to
guide your What does she mean?--
Would to God that l could still put
"husbandp'' You don't-you'ye no
cause to doubt herf''
"None," answered Sir Jaffray stern
ly. 81 would answer for her against
the world. She has been driven to this