Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1901-09-19

you, Austin, I think YOU have remained
away from your sweetheart TOO long
From what A1owbray let foil. she seems
10 think YOU ere dead: the father, OF
course, concluded you had consoled
yourself with another girl. Anyway.
no letters have reached them from you
for nearly a year now. and II the repor.
that Clarice Is going TO marry this rich
mar has any truth in It. don't think
the girl is to blame. She looks sad and
hearttrcken, and. for my own part. l
think there has been treachery, lying,
enc something very much like force
Used to gain her consent. MowbraY
die rot tell me that his daughter was
really engaged to Grayson. and, there
fore, 1 suppose she Is not. yet; but
from such things as he did say, l
learned that the millionaire is very far
gone; and if / know Brian Mowbray,
he's not the man to let the chance or
such fortune slip through his fingers
for want of little SHARP. practice
sc mewhcre.'
"Nruch more my friend Brownlow
said. and questioned him wildly, ca
gerly. scarcely hearing half what ne
said or waiting for his answers, for my
brain seemed on fire.
"At last suddenly flew from him. L
suppose my idea was to take the first
possible means of reaching Clarice, but
all at once the light died out of my day,
the earth seemed to surge and tremble
beneath me, and when I was again
conscious, a week had passed, and l
was lying on cot III a public hospital.
"I had been found unconscious in the
street, overcome by the illness which
had been in my veins. and which this
terrible news had turned into delirium.
''My gold dust was gone. Whether l
had lost it or been robbed of it l never
knew; but my watch and few little
trinkets had or me were safe.
LAS soon as I was allowed to leave
lie hospital, turned them into money
and started for Melbourne, Tor my ILL
ness had left my head clear. I remem-
tered every word that had heard from
Brownlow, and I knew by intuition,
whe had intercepted my letters to C!ar-
ice. 1 hated myself that had been SO
easily dupel, for I ought to have
known, from tine tone of the later les-
tiers which, I had received, that some
thing was wrong.
"By the time I had reached Mel
bourne had thought everything out;
a dozen small matters, that had seen
nothing much in at the time, returned
with new meaning TO my memory. and
by the tine had reached the home Of
Adele Lingard I mad pieced out the
whole story, so that was able to sug-
gest it to her almost as wei. as she WAS
IL %o11 t,A or IN ma
''Mr. Lingard, happily, was away. I
fc.r nd Miss Lingard alone. The sight
of me Grove every vestige of color from
her beautiful, false face; she felt that
1 knew all, and read guilt in her ter
rified face.
"'You devil!' screamed. Where are
my letters to Clarice, and hers to- me?
Give them to me! Confess the truth,
the whole: truth-every thing, or 1 will
destroy you where you stand. I will
tear you to pieces hera IND now!'
she shieked for mercy, for help, but
no one came. The servants were in
some remote part Of the house; the
doors were closed and locked, and ter
ror deadened her voice SO that it sound
eG rcarse and low, even in my ears.
''She flung herself ut my feet, but 1
never released my hold on her arm:
and no doubt she saw in my face that I
was ready to abide BY every word
had SAID.
"Fear overcame her. Between gasps
and prayers for mercy she told sll--pot
much. though it has wrecked several
lives-and all confessed in a few llur-
ried words. She had stolen every let
ter I had written to Clsrice, and hac
opened every letter to me. She had
initiated Clarice's handwriting so per-
fectly as to deceive even me, and the
letters complaining III u wrote colby,
and upbraiding me for not writing Oft
ener. The letters that grew colder and
colder, and all so unlike Clarice, were
written BY this fiend, in order to break
off the correspondence in q natural
manner, ard, by wounding my pride,
prevent me from demanding an ex-
PLANTATION. Oh, it was cleverly done
Last of all, my lettari telling Clarice
that I had gone to the gold fields, and
reiterating all my VOWS of love, was
taken from the mail bag and destroyed.
My poor darling had not received one
word from me for long, weary months.
w
!ieved me dead?
Having fms hed her confession, this
fiend of wom"n then drew from her
pocket the picture of Clarice, dear to
me as my own life; and when I would
have sllatched it from her she flung it
on the floor and crushed it beneath her
feet in a sudden transport of jealous
rage.
IT turned and rushed from her into
the street. 1 feared that I would kill
her If l remained longer in her pres
ence, and my one thought was tolreach
Clarice. Perhaps could reach her yet
before 1t was too late. Nothing but my
own presence would suffice, I knew. I
could trust neither to letter nor tele-
gram now, for her father had never ia
fvored our engagement; and if he had
persuaded her of my death or false
hood, he would never let any message
reach her from me, unless my own lips
spoke it.
II had a friend in Melbourne who
procu1 ed me passage in a+yessel sailing
that very afternoon, and before night
had fallen I was outward bound toward
Clarice. '' d. "
Heaven knows how the time passed.!
The fever returned, and was so i'll that
/ despaired of ever seeing her again
Put had sworn fo 500 her Onca moro