The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-02-11

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= There rtsa,o through the house shrtek.
thing in your spooky talk. Good night
sis. Take my advice and practice tina
piece Reggie wants you to accompan,
him in. He is sure to ask you for it tn,
first evening after he gets home"
Good ADVICE" said Marianne, sbak
ing off the spell of Miss Monckton'
weaving resolutely and seating herself
at the piano.
Maxwell stole quietly from the room
when she Ind become oblivious of his
presence; Miss Monckton darned awhile
longer, and then she, too, left the
room; Nanny Jane came and seated
herself patiently on chair by the fire.
side. Presently, when her Chile
should grow tired of playing, she would
go with her to her bedroom and plat
her long hair into two shining coils
and tuck her in bed as she had done ev-
cry night Of the 16 years of her life.
Nanny James turbaned head dropped
forward on her ample bosom in few
moments. and the gentle sound Of her
snoring mingled with the music Mari.
anne was making. The dancing flames
of the wood fire cast fantastic shadows
Oh the walls. One steady blaze fell up
on the portraits of old Tony Belknap
and his wife as they hung side by side
ON the wall over the piano 1t was a
pleasant, hoinelike interior, the prettiest
bit in it being the girlish figure at the
instrument, which had stood in that COR
ner OF the library ever since that old
gentleman in the high satin stock had
brought that lady in curls and a very
low neoked dress homo many years be-
fore as bride.
The piano stood near one of the long
windows which opened Immediately on
tho front gallery. 1t suddenly occurred
to Marianne that sho had not heard Max
close the shutters, as was his custom
when retiring for the night She
glanced over her shoulder to settle the
point; then her hands fell upon the keys
with discordant crash that startled
Nanny Jane from slumber.
A second of profound stiffness, and
then there rang through the house
shrek that brought Miss Monckton in
cap and gown, Maxwell from sound
slumber and couple of affrighted
housemaids, all scurrying toward the
library, from whence that blood cur
ding solitary shrek had sounded.
The sight that confronted them was
Nanny Jane kneeling by Marianne,
who lay unconscious on the rug before
the piano. The old woman was rapidly
loosening bands and buttons To the
appeals for enlightenment
che had but one answer:
1.-THE good Lord only knows! She was
playing just as happy and peaceful as
could be, when all Of sudden she
screamed that one scream and just top
pied over like you see her. "
One other knew!
Fleeing away in the darkness, as Cain
may have fed with the brand of the
outcast fresh upon him, Reginald Bel
KNAPP turned his back upon the home he
had ruined. For an hour he had sat
upon the cold stones of the front steps,
aeking the courage necessary to carry
lin over the threshold. He knew quite
we'll how all the little family circle was
itself at that hour. Life
moved along methodical grooves at Bel.
haven. To him now the smoothness of
is deadly monotony was exalted into
bliss. If only it were his
o take up once morel Even Monksey,
With her silly superstitions, appealed to
be tenderer side Of his nature. He had
miled bitterly out there in the still OBJ
curity Of the starlit lawn when, not
airing to be betrayed by his setter be,
ore he was ready to announce himself,
10 had tied the poor beast to a tree in
enlistment for its first frantic yclp of
Welcome
Easy there, Joliff. Monksey will set
hose howls down to bad luck. "
Then he had resumed his scat Oh the
ront steps to wait. He must make his
tatement up before he confronted Mari
me- Somehow or other in the food of
,morse that had whelmed him for his {
riminal conduct it was his gentle {
Dung sister alone toward whom he !
based his soul in abject contrition. 6
[axwell was young, and no was u man. l
he two could weather this storm some
Ishion. But MISUNDERSTANDING, who !
nd always looked up to him as some
ling little superior to common flesh h
I'd bloodf How was he to confront her,
ok into her sinless face and tell her
at he had gambled the roof from over
n head? q
Curiously enough-if sharper it could
the sting Of his wrongdoing grew I
arper ut thought of who the new mas b
r of Belhavcn was. a
"And ! must tell her, proud little h
trician that she is, that her home, the h
me she loves with every fiber of her
fined nature, has passed into the II
nds of an overseer. b
He lacked the courage to move one d.
'p nearer to the inevitable moment of b.
Is confession. In half dazed state of d.
nd and body he crouched on his own
orstep. How long he neither knew IL
r cared. From his trance of misera. al
, ihdecision he was aroused by the NJ
ties Of the piano. Marianne was prac- m
ing the piece he had asked her 10
rfe6t herself Id by the time he got to
pk. Tender little soul, how had he ~
,arvsd to BE- so we'll bsloyed BY herr te
He &at Quito still. listening IN the aft.