Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-06-16
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utter a cry Of anguish; but apparent
1y no one noticed it.
Keeping close to Mrs. Bowen, she
walked lowly to the terrace. One
glance was enough to satisfy her that
the dead body found in the lake was
that of Gladys Rane The face that
not many hours before was so brlllian.
in it's loneliness and bloom was low
white as marble, cold, and still!
what brought her here?" Angela
asked herself Gould it be that
Gladys had come in search of her,
anu that, in trying to make her way
to the Hall, she had fallen &C
cidentally into the lake?
Every one seemed to agree that she
had fallen in accidentally. When
Miss Rane was last seen, she was
wearing valuable jewelry; and costly
gems still shone on her fingers, a
necklace of gold clasped the white
throat. They had not been touched;
therefore it was evident there had
been no robbery no assault. AS for
murder, no such thought was enter
tanned. Who would have any interest
in the death of this beautiful woman
who everyone loved and admired? No
one dreamed that it was anything
worse that a terrible accident
Angela did not go near the little
knot of gentlemen; but, seeing one
of the Culdale servants standing
alone, she went up to him.
"Does any one know" she asked,
chow the accident happened? "-and
the answer was mo-
Does any one know what brought
the poor lady to the lake. she asked
again; and again the answer was
"No."
"She must have come in search of
me-" thought Angela; and the thought
saddened her inexpressibly.
! Suddenly she saw something on the
| bank which attracted her attention
! something saturated with water, End
| lying in, a shapeless heap, something
from which the water had taken the
glistening beauty, leaving it a mere
rag. She saw the CLEAN of the sun
on the bright clasps, and in a moment
the truth flashed across her. She hao
-, left her silver-gray wrapper in the
field where she had left Gladys Rane
She had thought of it before
| Now she remembered how she had I'M
fastened it, and how it had fallen
from her shoulders, and how in 1er
| sorrow and excitment she had come
away without it. Perhaps Gladys
Rane was on her way to bring it to
her when the accident happened.
/ With a great throb of relief she re-
membered that Miss Rane I'D not
! know where she was staying, SO that
it was impossible she could have
come for the purpose of seeing her.
Besides, Miss Rane would never
dream that she was staying at Bran
tome Hall; it was the last place IN
the world where she would think of
finding her. Whatever motive had
/ brought her there, it could not have
been to see her, Angela felt fully as
sured. She remembered how she had
gone in the opposite direction SO as
purposely to mislead her.
Then it occurred to her that Mss
Rane, being stranger in the neigh
! borhood, might not have known the
| way, and she felt keen pang of
regret that she had not thought Of
telling her. Vividly rose before her
the picture of the fields and the two
rOaGs-the one to the left, narrow ana
shadeless, leading to Culdale; the one
to the right, broad and brodered with
tall spreading trees. Suddenly, as f
by inspiration, Angela felt that she
had solved the mystery-Miss Rane
had taken the wrong road! She hal
walked to Brantome instead of re-
turning to Culdale. But how the uI,.
fortunate girl had fallen into the
water was as great a mystery as even.
Still this would not have happened if
she had but thought of giving her
the needful directions. Angela stood
at distance while the men reverent-
ly raised the dead body and bore it
away to Culdale. She had hesitate1
as to whether she should say what
she knew; but a moments reflection
convinced her that it would be use
less to do so. 1t would only draw
public attention to herself and her
story, which, for her own sake ana
her mothers it was better not to dc.
She watched the sad procession AS
the men disappeared amongst me
trees. Was it possible that this was
the last she should see Of her
mothers rival, Gladys Rane? Was 1t
Gladys Rane indeed that was carried
cold and silent back to the house
where she had only a few short
hours before reigned a very queen of
beauty and grace? All, yes-neyor
more would her mothers heart ache
because of her!
But Angela was yet to learn that
the unfortunate girl had been muir
dered and by whom, yet to learn that
a chain of circumstances had placed
her deadliest enemy at her mercy.
CHAPTER LVH.
1t was still early morning when