Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1900-10-25

rZnf III EOUt DItdSAs NANAA
give IL into h hands Of one as un-
scrupulous as yourself. and make IL
The weapon 10 strike at the neart OF
your husbands honori Did you thinh
TO escape the consequences OF such al
actr Do you know that as / look at
YOU al. your beauty seems ans 10
me7 / seem TO see the
scales. I seem to hear the
hiss. Between US yawns a great, I'M
uassable gulf, and in its lackest
depths YOU would hurl the honor OF tn
name you bear"
THE name / bear" she echoed,
s~cornfully. "And what Is an empty
name? See," pointing TO the paper
how readily another may hlch IL from
us, II Is an accomplishment upon
which you pride yourself. You say
Won wrote his name and ! stole III
from you for purposes OF my own"
How will you prove this? II seems a
strange. unnatural stcry-does II not!
You wrote Grace Hawthorne's name IN
idle lest. Your friend raised money on
il for fifty thousand dollars. The cay
the note falls due you sail for Eu-
rome. A coincidence, merely, the lat
ter, you explain. You were IN no way
DESTROYS of being absent when the note
was taken up, whose existence was
alike unknown 10 and unsupported by
YOU. Perhaps you viii drag the mat
ter before the courts. Perhaps you
would lay the guilt upon your wife.
To do so would not rob her Of the
name OF which you are so proud. That
YOU would drag it and her through the
mud in order that your own skirts be
cleaned. But suppose your wife denies
the story? Suppose she declares her
self the innocent one? Suppose that
Harvey Barclay supports her proof.
and tells how and where you signed
the note? Are not two witnesses bet
ter than one. Meantime, agitation,
they say. will prove fatal to your
father. Do you not think, Harry Rey-
nolds. we had best let sleeping dogs
lie? You hold the note. The proof OF
your forgery is in our own hands.
Grace Hawthorne alone believes you
guilty. At what cost could you con-
vince her Of your innocence?"
Twice Harry Reynolds essayed to
stem the b~reathlass torrent Of her
words, but from his ashen lips escaped
only a low, gurgling sound. The air
appeared to have converted itself into
hammers, which struck necessarily
against his temples and prevented
thought.
"This-this is your internal plot" at
last he was able to gasp out; and then
the room again grew dark to him.
He reached out his hand to steady
himself against the table, but, with a
an;-- "a --s.A Aswa - @a11 q
dead log Upon the floor. while around
were scattered glass and china-fit
emblem Of the frailty of his own hope.
and the SCATTERING Of his brightest and
most beautiful dreams.
Helen, bending over him, thought.
for the moment, that death had inter-
cepted in her behalf to keep her secret;
but as she wrenched from his rigio
fingers the paper he had clutched in
his fall, she felt the skin warm TO her
touch.
A hasty knock sounded at the door.
She thrust the paper into her bosom
and rose to open ii.
Grace stood, pale and breathIess. on
the threshold, with Andrew close be.
hind.
What has happened?" gasped the
girl.
Harry is ILL.," answered the wife,
calmly. IF DR.. Hope is with Mr.. Rey-
nolds, let him come up at once. Mean
time, Andrew can lift him on the
lounge"
But, ere she had finished speaking,
Grace lad sped on her errand-a dull,
dead weight of an awful fear upon her
] haarf x-lnra fla hfrls- --~ - -,--
to silence.
The physician looked very grave as
he felt the pulse of the unconscious
nan Surely, he thought, there must
be some skeleton hidden in this splen-
did mansion, to cause father and son
alike, within twenty-four hours, to be
stricken with sudden and desperate
illness; and, in~voluntarily, he glanced
toward the young, beautiful woman
who so calmly awaited his verdict and
directions.
THE brain is affected, Mrs. Rey-
noids," he said, finding the face he
STUDIED an inscrutable mask. Your
husband must be kept perfectly quiet,
and his recovery must be unattended
by the slightest agitation. All excit-
ing causes, If any exist, must be ban
ished. His youth and strength will.
doubtless, soon reassert itself. Mean
time, I leave this prescription for him.
Please give II according to exact d.
rections, as in itself it is a powerful
poison, and must be carefully admin
istered. ] could trust ii to no one but
yourself; 1 win see him again in a few
hours. OF course, his father must
know nothing of his Illness"
Helen bowed her assent and under
standing; but, when the door had shut
behind, him he stood in the attitude he
had left her. only with her eyes fixed
on the white face resting upon the pill
lows of the lounge. The dark ewes
were open now, but they had a restless
CLEAN of vacancy, and seemed un-
mindful Of her glance. Neither pity
o remorse was written in her own
face; only a desperate hardness gath
cred there.
IF I had loved him. he might have
saved me-" at asst she murmured. halt
aloud. "He is worthy only a good wo-
mans love. and I'm not a good wo-
man. And besides. besides. all I hao
to give belonged to Harvey long before
/ ever looked upon your face, Harry
Reynolds-to Harvey, who would trick
| and chat me- rrA1 A--.-.