The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1903-08-13

large tears in her eyes.
He caught her by the hand.
"Wlnifred." he said, sudden passion
in his voice and eyes. "tell me one thing
more. Do you in truth love meT
She looked brayely up in his face.
Il have never left off loving you"
He drew her toward him in strong
clasp, until her head rested on his breast.
II think it is true" he whispered, that
we love that best which is most dearly
won"
CHAPTER XIX.
II was almost dark when they returned
to the Court.
"Your idea of the length of half an
hour must be sngularIy vague, Mr.. Hast
ings.p smiled Lady Grace. "Surely you
| have been further than the Farmg'
"Not even as far, Lady Grace" he re-
piled, with glad smile; and then Wini-
fred being gone, he told her his story.
81 am very glad" she said, kindly. II
could wish you nothing better than to
have such wife as Winifred."
All obstacles surmounted. and the en-
gagement between them being ratified by
the consent of all parties. Mr.. Hastings
would not hear of any objection to the
marriage taking place Immediately.
Remember, darling he said, when
Winifred would have urged him to wait,
Il have loved you for more than two
years. Having made me so miserable,
surely you owe it to me to lose no time
in atoning for it. Pray get that horri-
| Bile trousseau business over with all
speed, or shall think you do not love
me cas- love YOU"
Sir Howard was delighted when he was
apprised of the intended marriage, and
insisted that Winifred should be married
from Hurst Manor. She had fancy for
being married in the little church where
she had so often sat when she was only
farmers daughter. She was not the
simple little country girl now, but an ele-
CANT young lady, accustomed to luxury
and good society. Enrol would have liked
much better that she should come to him
| portionless, but that was not to be as he
| desired.
Sir Howard Champion gave her twenty
thousand pounds, and Sir Clayton ten
thousand, viii le Lady Grace provided her
with magnificent trousseau. Mr.. Hast
ings had the family diamonds reset and
remounted for her, and would have had
her wear some of them at least at the
| wedding.
"Please not, Errol," she pleaded. 81 do
not like all this grandeur. would 7ath-
J er not forget that my early life was sim
/ Pile"
Mrs. Clayton was of course to have
been at the wedding. She was looking
forward to it, glad at heart at the part
she had taken in bringing together two
people who cared for each other. Three
weeks before the day fixed she received
a letter with foreign postmark.
"Who can it be from?' she said, turn
ing it over in her hand, and speaking to
| Winifred. II do not know the hand; it
seems grabbed and foreign, and has been
forwarded from London. 1t is addressed
to Milady Clayton, too" And Fee con-
tinued to look at it without, however,
breaking the seal. who can it be
from?" she said again.
IF you open it you win soon see, DEAR"
Winifred replied, laughing.
Il don't quite like to do it," Mrs Clay
ton remarked presently. 81 suppose It is
because | am nervous and unwell; but
always feel as if every letter | received
contai.ed bad news. VIII you open it
for me"
And she tossed it across the table.
| I II
And Miss Eyre proceeded to tear the en-
velope. II should imagine it contained
some mysterious secret. from the way it
is gummed together. must take knife
and slit it open from the side"
With some trouble she got at the con-
tents-a dirty scrap of foreign paper,
with few grabbed hieroglyphics. and be-
gan to read aloud:
"Miady and honored excelency-I av
te profonde regrette to annonce to you
dat te Milor Clayton-monsieur yor hus-
hand av bin took wild de horrible maladie
of cholera an want to see you. | av sent
for the principal docteur an am at yor
orders. G0DEFR0I LUPIN."
A horror seized upon Mrs. Clayton. She
had never loved her husband; lately she
had hated him; but the idea of his being
i'll alone among strangers brought the
tears to her eyes.
30, Winifredf' she exclaimed to her
friend. in whose face she read consterna-
ton, II must go to him at once"
"You cannot, Fee; weak as you are Il
would be madness. The address is some
obscure village in Switzerland. Let us
90 and ask Sir Clayton what had best ba
done"
"Who do you suppose this letter to be
written by?' Sir Clayton asked. when he
had read the curious missive.
81 cannot tell. Perhaps the hotel keep
er."
HAD he a foreign valet. do you know
MarionY
mot when he left London. Simmons
was with him then: but he may have left
he was always threatening to leave, ant
, then, Of course, it is most probable that
Francis would engage a foreigner"
Something must be done at once. YoJ
cannot go yourself, Marion-that Is quite
out Of the question-neither can | very
well. Perhaps Alfred Clayton is IL
; town: he was coming up, | know. | vii
telegraph to him. Stay, | am not sur'
; where he would be. will go up to Lon
} don myself at once"
And Sir Clayton rang the bell and or
dered the carriage.
! "But | feel that | ought to 90 myself
! Sir Clayton; the letter said he wished
I to see me-"
l MY dear, do not think of it; the jour
] ney would kill you. To cross the channe
+, ia this cold weather and with these TEN
! pestuous winds. would be nothing shor
Of madness"
I Sir Clayton dressed hurriedly for hi
/ journey, jumped into the carriage AM
drove of to the station, leaving Nini
E fred to explain matters to his wife. HI
just caught the up train By q minute; tn
' horses had accomplished the FIVE miles Il
q exactly twenty-five minues. Sir Claytoi
: had told the coaehman that 1t was g mat
\ ter Of life and death, and the old man
D sorely against his viii. had driven hi
; favorites the whole distance ct the tcp 0
e their speed. Sir Clayton reached Londol