Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1898-09-22
CHAPTER XVII.

his uncertainty does not arise from any
fear for the failure of his suit with Ga
brielle, males her forget everything but
that she can answer his question with
truth in the affirmative.
My darling child! yes! of cou.Te | was.
Who has been so wicked as to try and
make you think otherwise"
Il knew til was sure of it!' exclaims
the young man joyfully, as he catches
her in his arms and kisses her. What
Il fool / was to doubt you for moment!
Give me your certificate of marriage,
mother, and I will flourish it in the face
of that liar tomorrow, and tear his false
tongue out by the roots afterward."
Something of the danger flashes on her
mind.
\ MY good name Angus, for the love
of heaven, tell me what is all this about!
Who has dared to asperse me to you, or
to cast doubt upon my responsibility
my uncle, William Moray
''Your uncleu' she almost screams.
"Where have you met him? Not here!
Not in Bruges?"
"Yes-here! in Bruges."
"What does he say?' she whispers in
a voice of fear.
He says that when my father died he
left me to his guardianship, to be brought
up as his heir, but that when the time
came for asserting his authority, you set
it aside on the plea that | was illegitimate,
and no one but my mother had any claim
upon me- And that, but for your declara-
ton to that effect before witnesses,
should have been one of the richest men
in London at the present moment. Is it
true?'
"Forgive me, August she cries, as she
throws herself upon her knees before him.
Il did it for your sake. All! you cannot
know-you never shall know the misera-
BILE life l endured before / was tempted
to tell so foul lie. You were all had,
my darling! For you had worked and
labored through pain and wretchedness
and discomfort, such as never woman en-
dured before-for you had suffered VIC
lence and insult and contempt. And then,
when it was over-when at last heaven
mcrcifully delivered me from an unholy
bondage, and / was looking forward to
devoting the remainder Of my life to you
they told me that your father had made
will by which you would be torn from my
arms-never to be mine again in the sweet
companionship Of mother and child-and
I could not bear it. The burden was too
heavy for me, and l escaped from it by
the only means l could | destroyed the
certificate of marriage which possessed,
and denied there had ever been one"
you blasted my whole life, in fact, by
falsely branding me with illegitimacy."
Angus! Angus! do not speak to me in
that tone of voice. l did it for your sake"
ITO crafty your own wishes, you mean.
Don't say you thought of me in the trans
action. My welfare was the last consid-
Grafton you must have had"
mo! no! indeed it was not. What
should l have done without you? You
were my all-my whole earthly posses
sion. l loved you as my own lifeH'
"And nice way you took to prove it,
by taking from me the only thing which
/ possessdd-my fathers name. Do you
know what that man said to me to-day?
That my proper name was not Moray, and
that if l used it for the future, he would
publicly denounce me as an impostor."
''The wicked, cruel man! He knows
you are his own brothers child-and ex-
cept in that one matter 1 have never
harmed him-why should he rise up now
to destroy all my peace of mind?'
Because you put it in his power to do
so. BY this lie which you told him to Sc
cure a temporary pleasure for yourself,
at the price of an everlasting shame for
me, you placed weapon in his hand with
which he can stab us both to his life's end.
Do you know the mischief he has done
already with it? He has related the whole
base story to DR.. de Blois, who has per-
emptorily refused, in consequence, to give
me Gabrielle in marriage"
''Ah, no, no, Angus! it cannot be. You
must be mistaken. Think how long we
have lived and been respected in Bruges
what honored friends we have gained
here. DR.. de Blois will never take the
word of a stranger against the proof Of
his own eyes. He did not tell you SO,
surely?'
''To all my entreaties that he would ex-
plain himself more satisfactorily, with re-
spect to refusing my offer, he had but one
reply: Ask your mother-she ought to
know"
and would you rather, then, that l
had let you go to your uncle, AngusY'
she cries in an agony of pain. Would
you have given up my love and tender
ness for all these many years for the sake
of that mans riches?'
Il would have given them up for the
sake of an honest name," he answers
quickly; and then. seeing how he has
wounded her, he adds: Don't think un-
dervalue your love, mother; but you might
have found better way of showing it for
me than you did,"
And this is the end! This is the fruit
of all those weary, fearful years-that
cheerfully borne labor. and those cheer
fully expended earnings, that her boy
might have everything of the best that
she could give him-Angus tells her that
he would have resigned it all to regain
that which her own hand wrested from
him!
ITO think" he exclaims, as he rises and
PAGES the room, that for single lie, nv
life and my affections are sblighted for
ever; that have lost my Gabrielle and
my good name at one and the same mo-
ment; that here in this city, where have
been reared to hold my head up with any
man. l must stink through the streets
with downcast eyes. l will settle up nv
-. Al