The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1903-03-19

L
II know that he seemed to do So"
he answered, "but you must admit that
| he was tickle as the wind. You must
either call him that or very devil OF
falseness. Are you going to talk OF
| him any more, Rachel?'
"But surely IL cannot' be any worse
TO talk of him than to think Of him all
the time. Let me talk, Vance. WheE
/ you are away from me just eat my
| heart out with thinking"
IF you feel any relief, then" he said
in despair, talk all you wish. l shall
not forbid you"
| AS If the permission had made her
! silent, Rachel did not speak for some
time, and during that time Rothesay
! busted himself in producing some
I bread and butter from shelf. Then
from his pocket he drew a small flask
OF wine.
q suppose you have not thought to
eat since morning" he said, when he
had put the articles on a chair neal
her.
I'm truth / did forget" languidly
looking at the food.
Then how DO you expect to gain
strength so that we may leave This
place." he asked.
Forgive me-" she replied, humbly,
and took some Of the bread, which she
found very difficult to swallow. But
the wine she drank thirstily.
Vance looked at her in silence, not
eating himself.
They could not be anything but
glomy thoughts as he looked at this
wreck of his sister. He recalled the
time when she had been gay and beau
tiful and trusting. That time was
three years before, when she was hard
ly eighteen. a ;
Then Ralph Caryl had met her. The
man had been struck with her face
and her grace of manner, and at the
same time he thought she was pos
/ sessed of fortune, and he had wooed
her with an ardor that was felt at the
time, for Caryl had that dangerous
power of throwing himself with HIS
whole energy into the pursuit of the
moment
He had become engaged to Rachel
I >
bad discovered that he had been mis-
taken as to her fortune-that she only
had few thousand. He had really
been somewhat attached to the girl,
who,he saw, had Iavished the whole
treasure of her affection upon him.
But he had no real hesitation in de-
sorting her; and about that time, also,
he got into trouble with the firm for
whom he was pretending to work, and
he escaped to Europe.
The difficulty" as he called 1t, was
in reality the fact of his forging the
signature of the senior of the firm.
Fortunately for him the gentleman had
been attracted to and interested by
Caryl, and took no proceedings against
him, hushed up the affair, but turned
off CaryI and advised him to leave the
country.
So 1t happened that Rachael Rothe-
says life was Swallowed when perfect
! happiness appeared about to be hers.
Though young in years, she had
! more deep capacity both for enjoy.
, ment and suffering than most women
and the blow was more terrible to her
: than words can tell.
She did not apparently droop SC
much under it as her brother Vance
had expected. But her whole nature
, seemed changing into something hard
, and reckless.
/ Perhaps never had Vance Rothesay
so missed his mother as he did wher
| watching helplessly the wreck of his
| sisters life. The girl had NO mother
nor sister, no one but Vance, who die
all brother could do.
In his heart there grew up a mos
bitter hatred toward Ralph Caryl, ant
, it was not to be wondered at.
When he saw how Rachel encour
aged her admirers she had many
how she led them on to loving her
and then with cruel pleasure tossed
, them from her: when he read how ter
ribly unhappy she vas, and it was cas-!
to tell that when he saw her alone, b,
!. grew really alarmed as to her eyentua
, fate.
He thought of her when Kate Pur
cell had said the voice he had heart
! below his sick chamber was the vote
OF Ralph Caryl. He remembered al
!. Caryl had done, and the curse in hi
r heart sprang to his lips.
4 Now, though Caryl was dead, a
J. Vance stood and looked at his sister
z the hatred sprang up again as fiercel,
o as ever. Ralph Caryl had made tina
q girl what she was. He had blaste
+? both then lives. How had Rothesa,
a ever dared to think Of love. bound, a
he was, to one who was stained wit
: crime--to one whom he must Away
r protect and serve to the uttermost.
; oh, what had love to do with such a
he? Was he not even now in DANCE
4 of apprehension for the deed his siste
had done? Was it not for her sake, t
i shelter and save her, that be had con
L cealed himself? And, so far as b
e could see, he could never come out an
l. avow his innocence, for who would be
e lieve him?
In his sisters hands was the vinui
t cation OF his innocence, and she coul
h only clear him by confessing her ow
guilt
!; AS yet she had not the remotest ide