Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1903-02-13
OUTRIGHT, 1893. ey 8. IlPnhooII CO.

1885, Gs ~ u J. ~
Ron caught sight or her father riding
hard down the avenue. He passed them
and called to them to hurry on after
him.
Lali had not the slightest sense Of
fear, but she knew that the horse had
gone mad. When they passed through
the gate and swerved into the road, a
less practiced rider would have been
thrown. She sat like wax The pace
was incredible for mile and though
General Armour rode well he was far
behind
Suddenly trap appeared i'll the road
in front Of them, and the driver, seeing
the runaway, set his horses at right
angles to the road. 1t served the purpose
only T. provide another danger. Not far
from where the trap was drawn, and
between it and the runaway, was a lane
which ended at a farmyard in cul de
sac. The horse swerved into it, not
Stacking its pace. and in the fraction Of
a mile came to the farmyard.
But now the fever was in Lali's blood.
She did not care whether she lived or
died. A high hedge formed the cul de sac.
When she saw the horse Stacking, she
cut him savagely across the head twice
with whip and drove him at the green
wall. He was Of too good make to re-
fuse 1t, stiff as it was. He rose to it
magniticently and cleared it, but almost
as he struck the ground squarely he
staggered and fell, the girl beneath
him. He had burst blood vessel The
ground was soft and wet. The weight
Of the horse prevented her from getting
free She felt its hoof striking in its
death struggle, and once her shoulder
was struck. Instinctively she buried
her face in the mud, and her arms COW
cred her head
And then she knew no more.
When she came to, she was in the
carriage within the gates of GreyLope,
and Marion was bending over her. She
suddenly tried to lift herself, but could
not. Presently she saw another face
that Of General Armour. 1t was stern,
and yet his eyes were swimming as he
looked at her.
"Howp' she said to him. Howl"
and tainted sOe'n
Lali's recovery was not rapid. a
change had come upon her. With that
strange ride had gone the last flicker Of
the desire for savage life in her. She
knew now the position she held toward
her husband; that he had never loved
her; that she was only an instrument
for unworthy retaliation. So soon as
she could speak after her accident she
told them that they must not write to
him and tell him Of it. She also made
them promise that they would give him
no news Of her at all, save that she was
we'll. They could not refuse to promise
They felt she had the right to demand
much more than that. They had begun
to care for her for herself, and when
the months went by and one day there
was q hush about her room and anxiety
and then relief in the faces Of all, they
came 10 care for her still more for the
sake Of her child.
As the weeks passed the fair haired
child grew more and more like his "a
Their, but If Lali thought Of her husband
they never knew by anything she said,
for she would not speak Of him. She
also made them promise that they would
not write to him Of the child's birth
Richard, with his sense of justice and
knowing how much the woman had
been wronged. said that in all this she
had done quite right; that Frank, If he
had done his duty after marrying her,
should have come with her. And be.
cause they all felt that Richard had
been her best friend as we'll as their own
they called the child after him. This
also was Lali's wish. Coincident with
her motherhood there came to Lan q
new purpose She had not lived with
the Armours without absorbing some Of
their fine social sense and dignity. This,
added to the native instinct Of pride in
her, gave her q new ambition. As hour BY
hour the child grew dear to her, 30 hour
by hour her husband grew away from
her. She schooled herself against him.
At times she thought she hated him.
She felt she could never forgive him. but
she would prove to him that 1t was she
who had made the mistake Of her life in
marrying him; that she had been
wron0ed, not he. and that his sin
would face him with reproach and pun.
jshment one day. Richards prophecy
was likely to come true. She would de-
feat very perfectly indeed Franks in
tentiona After the child was born. so
soon as she was able, she renewed her
studies with Richard and Mrs Armour.
She read every morning for hours; she
rode; she practiced all those graceful
arts Of the toilet belonging to the social
convention; she showed an unexpected
faculty for singing and practiced IL
faithfully, and she begged Mrs Ar
mour and Marion to correct her at every
point where correction seemed neces-
sary. When the child was two years old.
they all went to London, something
against Lali's personal feelings, but
quite in accord with what she felt her
duty.
Richard was left behind at Greyhope.
For the first time in 10 months he was
alone with his old quiet duties and REQ
reationa During that time he had not
neglected his pensioners poor, sick.
halt and blind-buta deeper, larger in
terest had come into his life in the per-
son Of Lali During all that time she
had seldom been out Of his sight, never
out Of his influence and tutelage His
days had been full, his every hour had
been given a keen responsible interest
As il by tacit consent, every incident or
development Of Lali's life was inf1u-
enced by his Judgment and decision. He
had been more to her than General Ar
mour, Mrs. Armour or Marion. Schooled
as he was in all the VI rs of the world,
he had at the same time mind as sem
sitive as o woman's, an indescribable
gentleness, q persuasive temperament
Since. years before. he had Withdrawn
from the social world and become q re-
cluse many Of his finer qualities had
gone into an indulgent seclusion. He
had once loved the world and the gay
life Of London, but some untoward
event, coupled with q radical love Of
retirement, had sent him into years Of
isolation at Greyhope.
His tutelar relations with Lali had
reopened many an old spring Of sensa-
ton and experience Her shy depend
| ency her Innocent inuuisitiveness had