The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-05-27


me if you amt the gayest pair ever
knew-but one pair-my boy and girl
they were pair-gay fends-gay"
Nancy" said Luke, looking at his
sister, half stupe6ed, what are you
thinking about?'
"About Fam" said Nancy.
"You must not do it, Nancy, Harker,"
said Luke. 1--WE are uneasy enough
now in suspecting-we would be mis-
erable in knowing"
Luke" said Nancy, sternly, "you do
know it, or believe it. She let slip that
there were twelve letters in the name
of some one whom she loved. 1t may
be only a coincidence, but taken with
other things, it looks like - fatality.
See."
Nancy Harker stopped and wrote
with red chalk upon the white mating
this name:
NICHOLAS DUNN.
''That is a name, Luke, that you and
have not spoken aloud for years
the name of our father. Count the let
ters."
"Twelyew said Hammond, uneasily.
"But it is nothing more than a coinci-
dence. Let the matter alone, Nancy"
Suppose she, old Fan, is as we
think" said Nancy"
"But she IL not, confound your curl
| osity," said Hammond. "She is not
she shall not be"
Luke" said Nancy, speaking very
low, although poor Kate seemed far
from understanding or listening.
Luke, if it should be true that Fan
was the wife of the man whose name
I have written there, and whose chill
dren we are, and she should discover
the TRUTH
Hammond turned deadly pale.
Luke" continued Nancy, "she would
avenge the death Of her husband as
sure as you are standing trembling
therev'
Trembling! Do I tremble? So do
you" said Hammond.
II dol know it." said Nancy. 81
tremble for two reasons. First, be-
cause In Fan, as We call her, we may
find an enemy no less ferociously vim
dictive than Harriet Foss. Besides,
Fan Is half crazy, and her vengeance,
hate or whatever feeling may urge
her to our destruction If she finds out
who we are, and If she Is the person
we think she is, urge her to our de-
struction with means which would be
oil the more dangerous to us because
she will not pause to sacrifice her own
life in her fury"
"She may have feeling-the feeling
Of mother, Nancy, for her offspring"
"Our mother" said Nncy, never
loved us. She was devoted to her hus-
band alone-you know it. Her soul
was with him. Was it our desertion
that made our mother a lunatic? No,
our desertion killed our father, and
that crazed our mother"
"Well, let's hear the other reason for
your trembling"
"If Fan is our mother" said Nancy,
"she is deadly enemy. How do we
deal with deadly enemies?"
"But if it comes to a question Of her
life or our death, Nancy, what then?"
1T must not come to that" said
Nancy. "That would be horrible. We
must get rid of her-send her away
not harm her."
"Too late" said Hammond, clenching
his fists; "too late, Nancy"
"Why too late, Luke? Is it ever too
late to prevent crime, which We fear
We may be forced to perpetrate for
our own preservation"
"Yes, it is too late" continued Luke.
Fan is not the same woman she was.
intended that she should perish with
James Greene, but her cunning baff1ed
me. Since then she thinks she must
tell Of the scene to all who know moth
ing of it. That desire is increasing in
her heart. If we send her away she
might tell Of the affairs of Luke Ham.
mond, and then-ruin to us! Besides,
We should need another in her place,
| and already we have too many accom-
plices. Let that name that you have
written remain upon the floor. Watch
Fan when she reads it."
"She will not understand it." said
Nancy; 'she has often told me she has
forgotten how to write and read"
"She may have been lying"
"If so," said Nancy, seeing that
name there she will connect it with
our presence here, suspect and leap to
conclusion at once"
"You talk as if she was in the full
swing and sway Of her reason. You
forget she is half crazy, and though
tits said crazy people are extremely
cunning, they cannot reason, OF. if
they do, not long in a single, connected
train Of argument. Besides, if she
asks Of it we are not to see it-let her
think it vision Of her own."
"And If she proves to be our mother?"
Proof is impossible. We can only
conclude. imagine, suppose, unless she
avows that she is Ellen Elizabeth, once
| the wife Of"
He pointed at the name written on
the white mating in blood red lines.
"And then. Luke?"
"And then-and then-well, we will
talk about that afterwards" said Luke,
placing piece of gold in the centre of
the great D Of the name.
why put that money .there?"
THAT she may find the name and
not be told to look for it." said Ham
mond, with grim smile Of cunning.