Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1899-02-09
Continued

You could DO nothing 50 huttfui 10 ms
memory as TO let this secret be known.
All England reveres him now all
England does homage 70 him. He is
numbered among the great ones Of the
nation o Veronica how they would
denounce him those who have loved
him best il they knew that in very
truth he had left his wife and child to
bear the brunt and burden Of his con
eealment, They would blame where
they have praised You will take a
hero from his pedestal You viii
shadow a grand memory detract from
a fair fame, If you tell his secret. And
you will gain what a fortune that
you will never enjoy an inheritance
tfai viii prove more Of a earse than
a blessing, an inheritance that viii be
almost a fraud Veronica, burn that
cruel will"
but others must know Of IT, she
said
NO. asserted Lady Brandon the
lawyer who drew up that viii is dead
dead ! tell you | remember that
Sir Jasper went to strange lawyer
whose name was Mathews, ana that
some days afterward he said that
strange thing had happened He had
asked Mathews to attend to some lit
tie business for him, and a few days
Nfterward he had died suddenly |
emember It so we'll One never misses
what one has never had, Veronica,
You have never been considered or
treated az the heiress of Queens
Chace. You would not miss the dis
tinctiOn But Katherine has Kathe-
rine has grown up with the thought;
IL has formed part Of her life My
dear, plead to you, | pray to you
urn that viii For Katherine's sake,
~ your love for her by your promise
10 shield her, for your dead fathers
sake, to save his name from rade com
ment to shield his memory from all
stain OF reproach l. your fathers
widow II, Katherine's mother kneel
20 YOU | beg Of you to grant what
ask And Lady Brandon knet be
fore Veronica with outstretched hands
Veronica rose, sublime in her
emotion q light that ala not seem 70
be of this world shone ON her face.
For your dead fathers sake, Yer
nnical" sobbed Lady Brandon
Il will do IL" she replied Il will
burn the VIII. and / will keep the
secret till | die; and in death I viii
keep 4 stlll
l.aty y andon rose ana drew The
girl Is h, fathers side.
swear IL here" she said lay
your hands on his breast above his
heart here Now swear to me that
sou will never take Katheriue's in
hrritance from her that you will
never lay claim TO It. that you will
never betray the secret Of your birth
and parentaEe!"
Veronica swore Il
Kiss bis lips cried Lady Bran
don, they would open to bless you Il
they could
Veronica kissed his lips
Ut will lie between ms, father she
said. this secret of ours
Then she started mp in alarm. The
Brandon, she hal fallen 70 the ground.
Thc servants who came 20 her help
that she was III from grief. and they
bore her with plying words TO her
ehambe", while Veronica went back
90 her room like one In q trance Not
Tor long had she been heiress Of
Queens Chace not for long had she
called herself Veronica Brandon Sir
Jaspgr's daughter All the nOhler,
higher, better part OF her nature had
been aroused by Lady Brandon's pas
sionate appeal She forgot in her en-
thusiesm an that the sacrifice would
cost her She remembered only that
she was securing kathorines bapp-
ness and saving her fathers fair name
She SAT quite sttll and silent while
the birds sang outside hor window
Rnd the sunlight frightened the
sNole glad earth how many hours she
.cver knew She reflected that her
golden dream was over that She would
bc Veronica al Cynthia now until She
died Then SHE reused herself TN,
will must he burned before She saw
Lady Brandon again She would not
read it That would simply renew hei
pain and could not benefit her She
must destroy u at once She went (,
the box In which SHE had put it away
and took it ont she read @.rbe las
will ana testament of Sir Jasper Bran
don, Baron OF IluratWool etc. Sh,
kissed the name and her TEARS FOL