The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1899-08-18
CHAPTER VII.

When the door closed upon Mar
guerite Lilbourne, as she left the law
yer's Office in Lance Lane, Valdane
Martineau walked up to it and turned
the key in the lock. Then he went
back to the table, sank down in the
large armchair, leaned his arms on the
plotting paper which covered the
desk, and dropped his head upon them.
What was there in Marguerite's art
less narrative that could have so deep
ly shaken the habitual composure OF
this man of the world?
The bowed head did not stir for up
wards of half an hour. Valdane Mar
tineau was alone in the company OF
thousand evil thoughts, the phantoms
of discreditable past.
Presently he raised his head, the
powerful hand which lay on the desk
was clinched, and through his set lips
came one word:
"Traitorw
He pushed back his chair, and began
to pace the room as If rest were i'm
possible to him.
"That she should have come to me,
of all men in the world" he said
aloud. "Talk Of poetical justice-talk
of the irony Of fate! Ye gods, that
she should come to me for her rights. ="
There was pause. He went to the
window and gazed blankly out, then
struck the woodwork with force that
shook it.
IT can't do it," he muttered between
his clenched teeth-"no man could do
1t! But I'll have my revenge on him,
he cried, with a sudden inspiration,
and, darling back to the desk, he
seized pen and began to write:
Sir-Three years and six months
ago, when I was penniless adven-
turer, you tempted me, and I fell. 1t
may be as we'll that I recall to your
mind the exact terms Of the conspir-
icy. You informed me that you had
a niece-orphan daughter Of your only
sister. This child was heiress to an
enormous fortune, and you were her
sole guardian. By the terms of her
fathers will you were to have entire
control over her during her minority,
and If she married against your wish
before she attained the age of FL, the
whole of her money came to you. Your
suggestion to me was that / should
go through the form Of marriage with
your niece, apparently without your
sanction, in order to enable you to
claim the money due to you in that
case. You represented to me that
your niece was mad-hopelessly out OF
her mind-and that on that account l
should do her no harm by going
through this form, as nobody else
would ever be likely to marry her.
There could be, you represented, no
difficulty in the matter, as the young
lady in question was to all appearance
quite sane and perfectly docile and
submissive. At the church door my
part OF the contract was to cease.
You undertook to provide for her fu-
ture; all had to do was to go through
the marriage ceremony. For this SER
vice you offered me bride tnal daz-
zled me. I was half mad with diff
culties, penniless. in debt. I urged,
however, that the step you wished me
to take would hamper my future, as
could ask no other woman to be my
wife so long as this poor girl lived.
This was just what you wanted-to
secure my secrecy; so long as l kept
secret the fact of the conspiracy, you
kept secret the fact of my marriage.
was to sign false name in the regis
ter, and there would be nothing to
witness against me-nothing to dam
age my future career.
Ito be continued)