The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-05-09

you, but am q physiognomist and
psychologist, and I speak painful
truths"
"Oh, Doctor Macdonald, you are
preiudlcedw exclaimed Mrs. Hamilton.
"You don't like handsome men--"
"We won't discuss that, my dear
lady, but don't keep Miss Polly wait
ing; send her young friend to her.
BE hurried away before Mrs. Hamil-
ton, who was indeed too much dazed
to pursue the conversation, could say
anything further; and she mechanically
proceeded toward the room of Dolores;
remembering now what she had been
too excited to remark, although dimly
conscious of it all the time, that not
withstanding the tumult Of alarm con-
cerning Polly, Dolores had not yet ap-
peared to inquire into the cause OF it.
MARY would like to speak to you,
Dolores, ;" she said, when the latter
opened the door. "She is in her
| room" Il ta
Never had Mrs. Hamilton addressed
her in such tone, and Dolores, who
had been colorless as marble, felt her
face flush to the very roots Of her hair;
for there was contempt, anger, scorn
and wounded feeling in the voice of
Polly's mother-that voice which had
always been filled with maternal gen.
tleness toward the lonely and mother
less girl. -. . n
IT will come to her at3once," was
the answer in low and tremulous
tones, which went to Mrs. Hamilton's
heart; but she would not permit her
self to be moved. T.,
What kin6 of girl was this, who
could remain in her room without so
much anxiety as to ask question
when the whole household had been
turned upside-down by Mary's mex
plicable illness? It was evidently not
ine1plicable to her, or why was she 80
pale and agitated? And by this time
Mrs. Hamilton had remembered that
Dolores was in the drawing-room
when Stanley had been shown into it.
She must, then, have stilEbeen there
when Mary entered. She must have
known why, she had tainted. More
than that, ,shs. was, perhaps, the cause
of that dreadful and unexplained
swoon which had seemed to threaten
the very life of her child. All this
passed through the anxious mothers
mind in an instant, and produced its
effect before she was aware of it, and
although she felt the unconscious
pathos in Dolores's voice, she hard
ened her heart against it, and turned
resolutely away.
Dolores was only vaguely aware that
something terrible had occurred. She
knswthat the nervous seizure, trance,
or whatever it was to which she was
occasionally subject, had overtaken
her while listening to the frantic ad-
dress of Clarence Stanley. She knew
that he had professed to love her; but
of all that had been said, either by
him or through her own lips while she
was in the mesmeric condition, she
was entirely ignorant. She only knew
that when she recovered from it, like
a person awaling suddenly but COM
pletely from o brief sleep, she saw him
as through some luminous mist, star
ing straight before him, with fixed
gaze and apparently terrified. She
was herself aware of that strengthen
ing, comforting and tranquilizing
presence that had so often come to her
in moments of peril or other critical
times; and then she glided quickly
from the room, and in doing 30, size
seemed to be obeying directing voice
which, without being heard, made it.
self entirely understood.
But she had neither seen Polly
Hamilton enter, nor had she any sus-
picion that Polly had come upon the
scene unperceived. She seemed I'd
herself to have awakened from a
dream, which she vainly tried to re-
member; and she was thinking, in
rather frightened way, of this curious
trance" which had now twice over
taken her in Stanley's presence, when
she became aware of the sudden COM
motion in the house; and opening her
door to inquire the oanse, she heard
Mrs Hamilton giving wild directions
about sending for a doctor.
Dolores retreated into her room, as.
if she had received a blow.
With appalling clearness, she felt
| what had taken place, and she was
overcome with all the horror of one
who has unwittingly but surely killed
the dearest frienl on earth. She sank
into chair and rocked to and fro in
abject misery, wringing her hands and
repeating over and over again:
"Maruja knows! Maruia has heard
all! What shall I do? What shall I
do? It will kill her, and I shall be
the unhappy cause! Oh, why did I
not 90 at first? Why did I inger
here after I saw the first suspicion in
her mind? What fatal fascination
what misunderstood terror of that
man-held me here? If I had only
listened to the inward prompting of
my soul when I first saw him! But
feared to leave her. I hoped to
have helped her. I was in o
maze of doubt and uncertainty.
Even the intuition that has always
kept my spirit free in it's darkest
moments seemed clouded, 30 that I
no longer understood its guidance.
Then he came, and in that brief mo-
ment of our meeting it seemed as
though our spirits touched. The soul
looking out Of his eyes into mine
seemed the other half of my own, and
to the last moment of existence I
| ,,anst fool tlat am ono with him and