Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1903-05-29

cane rather than by an order for hi
release. The citizens are great,
aroused over the alarming frequenc.
of such occurrences, and as many o
the offenders have lately escaped pun
ishment by reason Of court interior
ence I fear this man Brandon will hav'
to bear the brunt, in the London mind
of all these unpublished crimes.
will be next to impossible to liberat'
him except by arranging privatel!
with the keeper for his escape. III
could 20 down into the country ant
wait In seclusion until 1t is all blown
over or until London has a new victim
and then an order can be made pardon
ing him, and he can return"
"Pardon;ng him! What are you talk
ing of, my lord? He has done nothing
to be pardoned for. He should be and
shall be rewarded" Mary spoke i'm
petuously, but caught herself and tried
to remedy her blunder. "That is, II /
have heard the straight of It. have
been told that the killing was done in
the defense Of two-women." Think
of this poor, unconscious girl, SO full
of grief and trouble, talking thus to
Buckingham, who knew so much more
about the affair than even she who had
taken SO active part in 1t!
"Who told you Of itT' asked the
duke.
Mary saw she had made a mistake
and, after hesitating for a moment,
answered.: "Sir Edwin Caskoden. He
had 1t from Master Brandon, I sup
pose" Rather adroit this was, but
equidistant from both truth and ef-
fectiveness.
II will go at once to London and ar.
range for Brandon's escape" said
Buckingham, preparing to leave. But
you must not divulge the fact that
do it. 1t would cost me all the favor
enjoy with the people Of London,
though l would willingly lose that ia
vor a thousand times over for smile
from you"
She gave the smile, and as he left
followed his retiring figure with her
eyes and thought, after all, he has a
kind heart"
She breathed sigh Of relief, too. for
she felt she had accomplished Bran
don's release and still retained her dan
gerous secret, the divulging Of which
she feared would harden Henry's heart
against her Establishments and strand
her upon the throne Of France.
But she was not entirely satisfed
with the arrangement. She knew that
her obligation to Brandon was such as
to demand of her that she should not
eave the matter OF his release to any |
other person, much less to an enemy |
such as Buckingham. Yet the cost Of |
his freedom by direct act of her own |
would be so great that she was tempt |
ID to take whatever risk there might /
,e in the way that had opened itself to
Ter. Not that she would not have
made the sacrifice willingly or would
Tot have told Henry all If that were
he only chance to save Brandon's life,
tut the other way, the one she had tax
n by Buckingham's help, seemed SAFE
nd, though not entirely satisfying, she
ould not see how it could miscarry.
buckingham was notably jealous Of
us knightly word, and she had un-
'ounded faith in her influence over
i'm. In short, like many another per-
on, she was as wrong as possible Just
t the time when she thought she was
ntirely right, and when the cost of q
listake was at its maximum.
She recoiled also from the thought
I Brandon's escape" and it hurt her |
hat he should be fugitive from the
ustice that should reward him. yet
be QUOTED these disturbing sugges- {
Ions with the thought that it would
e only for a short time, and Brandon.
be knew, would be only too glad to
lake the sacrifice if it purchased for
er freedom from the worse than dam.
alton that lurked in the French mar.
age.
All this ran quickly through Mary's
IND and brought relief. but it did not n n