Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1898-09-29
CHAPTER XVIII.


/. decided departure and written the let
ter which shall explain her temporary alb
sencc to Angus (the epistle, BY which he
will learn how much his mother is ready
to sacrifice for him will lie dispatched
from Antwerp. she has fairly wept her
self dry. and is waiting i'll her sitting
room, helpless and hopeless indeed, but
camer than she has been all day.
She has been expecting Angus to return
each hour and every fresh fOotstcp that
has sounded in the marble corridor has
been n fresh disappointment to her. but
row that she believes he has come she
feels as if it were impossible to meet INN.
She stands by the door, breathleSS, I'M
decided whether to remain or fly, as the
manly step strides up the corridor III the
direction Of her room. The FLEMISH
wench appears first, grnnihg from ear to
ear as she endeayors to make her under
stand that the Baron Gustave Sake de-
sires to have an interview with her.
Il cannot see him. l cannot see any
one!' exclaims Della, hastily, but the or
der comes too late
The baron has followed the servant to
the door Of her apartment: he is even now
standing before her; she has no alterna-
tive but to receive him.
''Entrez. monsieur she says, courte-
ousIy. but all the color has forsaken her
cheek, and she trembles so that she al
most totters back to her seat
To my regret | find madame on the
eve of departure" says the baron, but
] trust it is not for long. Your determine
ton has been sudden, surely. | met
Monsieur Moray yesterday, and he said
nothing Of such 4 plan to NE.
He is a fine. soldierly man in appear
0nce, this Baron Gustavc SAKE, with blue
eyes and brown hair, and heavy mus
tache of reddish tinge, that droOps over
his mouth. In age he may have number
cd about fiye-and-forty years, but he car
ries them bravely, and has all the bearing
OF young and gallant man. He is an
Austrian. and Il colonel III the army, the
brother-n-law also of the Cheyalier de
Landry. in whose house Della has adj
ranced to considerable terms of intimacy
with him. And his presence has the pow
er to make her quail at the idea of the
step she is about to take as she never
quailed before.
My departure is sudden, monsieur"
she faltcrs in answer to the barOn's queS-
ton. Il have friends in Bruges who wish
me to accompany them to Antwerp for
few days 1t required no consideration.
1t-it-is nothing, you knOw-only trip
of pleasure"
Then we shall see you back again soon
on which day, Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday? l believe my nieces return
from the country on Thursday. You will
be here to receive them, will you not:'
You are very good, monsieur. Your
Kindness increases my gratitude. | am
perfectly aware of the difference in our
stations in life, and that | have not even
the commonest claim upon your consid-
Grafton. Hence it becomes all the more
valuable because undeSeryed.'
You have the commonest and yet the
highest of all claims to myself and every
thing | possess replies the baron, the
claim of woman upon the man who
loves her. All, madame! pardon me if l
am too abrupt, but for many weeks L
have tried to say this to you, and now
that you are about to leave us, | can no
longer hold my tongue. You must have
seen my love my devotion You will not
dcspiSe me when l confess that YOU fill all
my thoughts. and that l have but one
earnest desire in life-to make You my
wife,
In his arior and foreign sense of chiy-
airy he has thrown himself at her feet,
on level with her own face, are the
mpassoned eyes and glowing visage of
the Baron SAKE. while both his strong
arms are clasping her own Us in Il wise
And the temptation of it!
If this offer had but come month be-
fore from what suffering might it not
have saved her. AS the wife of this gal
liant Austrian soldier and noble, who
would have dared to assail her fair fame,
even though she had been mad enough to
play with it as Il child plays with vase
Of ineStimable value, never caring if he
smashcs it or not in the encounter.
You are an Austrian NOBLE says De-
liz, drawing her hand away. "a man of
high position. and great wealth. | am a
pcnniless widow, neither young nor hand
some-the governess of your sisters chill
dren. You shall make no mesalliance
for my sake, Baron Sake"
And who dareS to say it will be
mesalGancer he eNclaims. You are of
gentle BIRTH can read it in your voice.
your shape, your manner-and l am no
more
1T is true | am what you say" replies
Della. with touch of pride; flor my
father was an officer in the Royal Navy
of England. but | was not educated in
the same class rs you have been. | was
early left an orphan. to depend on my
own resources. and for many years | was
nothing but an actress on the public stage.
singing, dancing and playing. night after
night. for the sake OF the bread l put into
my mouth. And an actress is no fit per-
son to place in the enyiable position of
the Baronne de SAKE"
And | respect and admire you for the
strength of mind you showed in working
for your independence and that of your
child. 1t is your bravery that first drew
me to you! Do you think | want Il silly
idle girl for my baroness-who shall be
able only to look pretty and shipper, and
dress in a new costume each day? No,
Della! l want a friend-a companion
woman! just such woman as you are
who has the strength of purpose to do
what is right, and the strength of mind
40 confess it, And now that that matter