Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-03-23

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that man could do or threaten, but when
be had the power to put out the lighted
love which had thought would never
be kindled was desolate. He came and
forced himself upon me, and dared not
defy him utterly. dared not tell you,
because it meant-I must lose you, Jaf-
fray. In a moment of madness and
thinking could play desperate game
with safety 1 tried to hold him ut bay
and yet to keep your love for myself,
but it was useless Some one else had
learned the truth-Beryl here. and 1t
came near costing her her life, for that
evil, reckless man sought to take it even
in thih house. But, like woman feel
ing for a womaG's grief, Beryl tried to
make the trouble as light for Inc as 1t
could be. Heaven knows how have
thanked You for that and for all, BerylP'
cried Lola, breaking off a moment to
kiss the girl at her side
"But there was no hope OF escape, .
she resumed. Failing in his attempt
to kill Beryl, the madman came to ME
with a plan to kill you, Jaffray, and
but you remember the scene that morn.
ing which you interrupted. l knew then
that every door of hope was shut against
me, and when he had gone went up to
nv room and tried to think out the best
course. Do you know what determined
me? Can you guess?'
She paused just an instant and looked
at him as if hoping that he could read
her thoughts, but before he had time to
answer she continued:
"No, you will not guess after what l
have said and what has happened. l
wanted to find some way out of the
trouble which would have left some OF
your love for me remaining. l thought
to kill myself, but knew that then the
man who is dead would have told you
all my guilt and have tried to trade on
the knowledge till the thought of me
would have been hateful to you. | tried
to tell you that afternoon, but the words
were chilled Oh my tongue, and could
not. Then 1 saw 10 hope but to 60 away
and so prove to the man who was thus
between Us that he could no longer
profit by his secret, and / planned it
easily. He wrote to me that afternoon
telling me to meet him at night at 9
O'Clock near that cottage where he seems
to have met his death. Then Beryl's
letter came. and you know that it was
to ask me to 90 to her, and it formed
Just the excuse I wanted. left word
that was going to Leycester Court, and
drove over there, stopping just short
of the housl and telling Robbins that l
was uncertain what time should re-
turn, and tlat one of the Court carriages
would take me back, and as soon as he
was gone walked back. You know the
lonely path across the fields. came
that way and did not meet any one the
whole time.
Ibid you 90 to that cottage that
night?" asked Jaffray when she paused,
but Beryl sent warning glance that
be should let her tell the whole story in
her own way.
eyes, I met him there. It was before
8 O'Clock, aud we walked back along
the path I had come, stopping every
now and then. I lied to him in one
thing, knowing him-I told him that
you knew everything, Jaffray; that I
was fugitive of my own free will,
that never again should he or you set
eyes on me, and that, though he had
beaten me, the victory should be as grit
and ashes between his teeth. ! tainted
him with the blows that you had show
cred on him in the morning and mad
dened him with jeers at the failure OF
his plans. What did not let him even
guess, however, was that my heart was
sick and my spirit bruised to death. We
parted, blasphemous oath on his side
and curse on him from ME, and set
my face to the darkness and plodded on
through the night, alone with my grief
and my knowledge that the sun could
never rise again in all my life. One
single, solitary ray of comfort in it all
/ had-that perhaps you would never
learn how false l had been and so come
to curse me for it. y
Her hearers had listened breathlessly
to this part of the story, marking every
syllable, and when she stopped they
could not understand her. Sir Jaffray
himself had seen her hours later than
she said close to the cottage.
Where did you 60, Lola, and where
and what time did you leave that man?
be asked hurriedly and in some excite
ment.
81 was with him probably an hour,
not more, and | left him to walk
straight to Branxton, in order to catch
the mail that stops there at in the
morning I did that We parted about
two miles from the cottage. should
think, Oh the field path that runs from
there to the main road to Branxton
and close to the road"
81 am bewildered," he said again.
"If am under the impression that l
saw you close to the cottage in Ash
Tree wood at time past midnight that
night, is it not possible for me to be
right?"
"What do you 1nean-that was by
that ruined cottage after the time tell
you?"
"Let me make this clear, he ex-
claimed "When l found you had gone,
l rode first to Leycester Court That
was directly after dinner. came back,
hoping you might have returned, and
then they gave me your letter When
had pulled myself together, | started of
as hard as l coald gallop to Mrs. Will