The Iola register., 1901-06-07
Copyright lsos By B. Lippncou Company.

life would kill the will Of my husband.
for public policy would not compel
Frances to marry you to inherit her
property. 1t will not compel a young
girl to condone immoral conduct for
which II would grant married wom-
an divorce"
Then we are ruinedl" said Ray
moud. 81 shall look out for myself.
Promise her anything tonight" The
selfishness of the decision would have
been appalling 10 anyone but his
mother. She looked at him a moment,
sarcastic smile lowering about her
lips.
And 1 shall look out for myself"
She began this self-preservation in
stantly, and with falsehood so in
genious that its use at that moment
would alone have proven her ability as
a diplomat. But hard sit is upon me,
great as is my dissppointment, for
you the blow is heavier; l should not,
except under these circumstances, tell
you, as do tell you now, that Frances
and have reached an agreement;
she has consented to carry out her
laNncT MlhHChg bh0 lHhAhAoh phAg
that you were not to be informed OF
this agreement until she chose 70 tell
you; she will not place herself in
| position to be harassed or worried by
a lover now; her whole thought is on
the wounded soldiers" She saw the
sudden rush of blood to her sons face,
and then the pallor return. a groan
burst from him, and he turned'away;
and therein was apparent the vast diff
ference in the natures of mother and
son; helplessness, weakness and sur
render was possible with tho man; but
with the woman, though storms of ad-
versity might ovorwhelm her and
clouds darken her path, nothing could
long dAunt her fierce, relentless sirit.
For her there was no such thing as
complete despair. Her time had come
In this battle which sho was fighting &
against odds: she approached her
aespsiring ally and laid her hand upon
his shoulder.
Raymond" she said, "what would
you sacrifice to clear the way for mar
riage with Franoes?"
Ho saw the calm. confident look in
her face, and breath OF hope stirred
his fainting manhood.
ANY thingl" no said AZ
length.
"If you will yield implicit obedience
10 me-it you will bo guided-I shall
slear the way for you. VIII your
"Yss"
Human life or h<ss must not bo
regarded We have no friends; we
are surrounded by enemies; wo must
put aside conscience and sentiment to
win; we must hesitate nowhere. Do
you underNAnd9 And do you con-
sent2"
81 shall leave II all to you, moth
sr. What is fret to be done2"
Meet Louise here at six O'Clock,
and take your cue from mo. She
mnst be disarmed of suspicion"
From the moment Of his surrender
Raymond Holbin was ripe for any
thing his mother might suggest. II
was her mind that conceived the plan
to convince Louise that she would
be permitted TO ride through the con-
federate picket line; that, under an
arrangement secured by Raymond
through friends in tho war depart
ment, only q pretense Of firing upon
her would be made. It was a plan
that would have deceived no othor
than @ woman.
That six o'clock tea was Tho trt
umph of brilliant diplomatist's ca
reer. Louise was forgiven, carssssd
TRNpiWAh h..v. - = J.,
family, her claims and wrongs &C
knowledged, and full reparatioy
agreed upon. No one could have ex
celled Mrs. Brookin in the tender
meas with which she treated the nov
happy woman. She blamed Raymond
openy for having concealed tho truth
from her.
II knew nothing OF the unfair adj
vantage he took of you-nor of the
child" sho said 10 Louise. my hus
bands nisoSl II was inased crime
And yet see now that I largely hav,
boon to blame. I threatened him; my
hoart was sat upon another plan. NJ
dear child II loving care and sym
pHthy ean compensate in part foi
what you have suffered, they shal
be yours But although the GlPoum
stances SOON to demand that mar
Tiags should at once be solemnized
tho oeremony must not be psrformec
in Richmond In all likelihood thii
city wiz bo your home and yol
should como hero AZ Baymond's wife
Fortunately, he has given no one her,
reason to suppose ho is single, snt
1t will be very easy at the right timt
to have you and the little girl arrive
I assure you, my daughter, that you
reception will leave no room for doub
as to your future position" Al
Louise sat looking into the benevo
lent faoe OF the Older woman will
tearfH eyes, her heart overAoweC
with gratitude
my child, madam" she faltered
''WhoF0 10 shs3''
Near the oiby, bus just now be
yond tho linO@ You will b0 directed
hsw 70 reach hor when you ge
through; or botter, Raymond viii
JOIN y0u, and together You will fint
hW."