Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1901-01-13
HIS GRACE"
BY MRS. c.. N. WILLIAMSON.
Author of "The Barn Sor1ners" T11e Woman in Grey
fortunes Sport "The House by the Lock"
"a Man From the Dark" "Lady Mary
Of the Dark House." "Her
Royal Highness' etc.

prison from believing himself to be in
love. She was only little typewriter
Of Chicago with fluffy hair, too yellow
to be beyond suspicion, piquant pro.
file. bewitching smile, and contract
ed waist. Her name was Netty Snythe
and she was the sister of the young
hunchback mentioned by Jack as his
only friend. Indeed though the little
romance had not been included in his
narrative to Savernake, Miss Netty had
been factor in her admirers crime
ana its punishment. 1t had been for
her sake rather than her brothers that
the shot had been fired which landed
him in plisCn, and Jack had gloried
in it and kept the memory Of his act
warm during his long period of incar-
ceration, believing that what he had
done would have been appreciated by
his little goddess.
Even the wild plan proposed by
Savernake had brought with it a sug-
gestion of the tuffy-haired Netty, who
was the only good and pretty girl Jack
Maynard had ever known with any de-
gree of intimacy. What would pre-
vent him, he had vaguely thought
from sending over for Netty when he
should have been established in his
dukedom? No need of saying any
thing about it to Sayernake of course
but Netty might be trusted to hold her
tongue he was sure; and though he had
never gone so far as to speak a word
of love to her, he had little doubt that
she would come when she was in
vited.
He did not know much of the world
of society, but he had cleaned the i'm
preston that girls far higher in the
social scale than poor typewriter Net
ty did not wait to be twice asked to be-
come Duchess.
: 1t was therefore something of blow
to be told that his duty as Maurice
IBlandon lay towards a certain Lady
Anne O'NaiI.
Lady Anne" sounded slightly repel-
liant in his republican ears, and he
could not fancy himself in the position
of husband to a being by such cold
and majestic appellation.
Still, after having forcioly and short
ly remarked The deuce" on hearing
his fate from the lips of Savernake, he
ended by Struggling his shoulders and
putting at his pipe. After all, Lady
Anne might not like him. for he would
not give himself much trouble to re
tain the regard she had felt for the
late duke Then when she had thrown
him over. disguised, could carry Out
the original programme regarding Net
ty. 1t seemed to him. as day after day
passed on shipbOard. and he looked
over into the grey water, and smoked
that this course would be preferable to
pouring his little embryo love tale into
the unsympathetic ears of Savernake.
Yet he liked Savernake. AT first he
did not quite trust the man, but after
wards he found himself falling under
the spell of a magnetism that few had
been able to resist. And the very ad-
miratiOn he felt fer his companion
made him an apt pupil in all the thou
sand and one things he had to learn.
The programme as finally arranged
between the two was a bold one. And
as it grew in Savernake's brain, taking
shape upon his lips, it accounted with
a certain wild precision 70 reach day
in the Dukes three weeks of absence.
The very :mr1obabilty Of the story
win be in its favor -Severnake nrg-
ed. when he had explained all and yet
his companion doubted. People
won't believe that We should have
dared to make it up out of the whole
cloth; and, besides. your actual pres
ence will refute all doubts. You are
the living image of the Duke. No one
will dream that you are but counter
felt presentment. Indeed, in my opin-
ion the truth is far more marvellous
than the deception. There will stand
the Duke of Leicester himself. to give
the lie to those who assert that he was
drowned or who would otherwise scoff
at the genuineness of the narrative