Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-11-24

"You must register vow to me"
he said. 81 will not hear that mans
name again. l forbid you to mention
it. Swear to me that neither his
name nor that Of the girl he has
taken with him shall ever pass your
lips. Swear it, Hettie.D
Pale and trembling, the girl looked
at him.
Il am afraid" she said. Il have
never sworn in all my life. Let me
promise that l will do as you wish,
father; that will meet the case as
well. shall keep my word
mo, you must swear it, Hettie.
For the rest of my life [ shall trust
no one-neither man, woman, nor
child; every promise made to me
shall be bound by an oath. You need
not tremble, child; many persons take
oaths."
'"But if l break it.
"That is me very thing" he said.
"You hesitate, Hettie, not because
you are afraid of an oath, but because
in your heart you intend to keep up
a correspondence with Leah. If you
do so, you will never more be child of
mine If ever l find that by word or
deed you have in any way sought her
or held any communication with her,
that moment we part, and the curse
of an unhappy, disappointed father
will rest upon you until you die
oh, not that! Do not say that"
cried Hettie.
E"Then swear what l wish you to
swear, and bear in mind always the
punishment that will follow if you do
not keep your oath. Swear to me that
the names of the two in question shall
never pass your lips, and that, in no
circumstances will you ever hold any
communication with either by word,
deed, sign, or letter."
She was timid, frightened, loving
child, and she swore as he bade her;
then he was content.
Il am going out, Hettie," he said.
'While I am away see that everything
belonging to my dead daughter is
sent from the house. You can give
them away, burn, or destroy them;
but they must not be here when l re-
turn. After that, our new life will
begin
He went away, and Hettie was left
to her sorrOwful task-to look at the
bookshelves and take from them
every book bearing the beloved name,
to go to the room where only on the
previous night they had talked, and
wondered, and slept, and remove
from it everything that belonged to
Leah-to take from the drawers all
the neat pretty dresses, to collect all
her laces and ribbons, every little or
nament, and pack them together.
What tears she shed What anguish
Of heart, what sorrow, what I'M
utterable pain she felt! She cried
until she became i'll and faint.
At last her task was accomplished,
packed in one large trunk; then came
the difficulty-what was she to do
with it? She remembered that not
far away a girl lived who had been an
invalid for many years, and who
would doubtless be delighted with the
contents. To her Hettie sent the
trunk saying that her sister had de-
parted from home, and had left these
things to be given away. And, thus,
when Martin Ray returned, and look
ed inquiringly at Hettie, asking if his
commands had been obeyed, she was
allie to answer Eyes"
Then they began the new life; but
oh, the blank, awful horror of it
the gloom, the chill that came over
them! Martin Ray sat modify smok-
ing his pipe, while Hettie tried to
interest herself in her domestic
duties. There was no Leah Ten
times an hour Martin Ray turned to
look for the beautiful face he had
loved SO well; then with muttered
cath, he told himself that she was
dead. Twenty times in an hour
Hettie turned with an involuntary