Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1904-01-28

They were playing-I hear it yet-'The
Girl Left Behind Met And as we
stood and listened my dear love drew
me closer, and he whispered:
1 "'Oh, my darlingkbe true to me!
will come back to you! AS surely as
there is God in heaven, will come
back to you'll
"Then sorrow came-sorrow and the
knowledge Of cruel wrong. So tram
pied my hearAsA;id buried it! thought
him dead; desyssr tore open the grave
made.
"On the old love which lay within,
my hot tears fell and woke it again to
passionate life. Now | have seen him
i know he lives! Fire, fate, death
itself could not part us!, He lives. and
he will come back To me-he will come
back to mel"
She paused, thrilled from head to
feet with strange, intense feeling.
And Cynthia Lennox never forgot
| her as she looked that 1noment-a
| slender, erect, black-clad figure.
Her head was flung back in exultant
confidence and conviction. A heavy
braid of bronze-gold hair had fallen
across her shoulder, and rose and fell
with her quick, hoarse breathing. Her
face was like the face Of one inspired
glowing, fervid, radiant-eyed!
sfHe is not here!" Cynthia said.
mot here! All, he has been de-
layed He will be here soon! The
train must have arrived last night.
But Il had to walk; it is that makes
me so late. l have given up trying to
hate him-I gave UP hong ago! You
know he sinned against my father-he
sinned against me! He made me What
I am-the child of galley -slave. Ert
l love him! Oh, know what that
means! 1t means that | am weak and
vacilating and cowardly Fate has
been too strong for me- nature has
been too strong for me; my womans
heart has conquered mel love hirl.'
Through Cynthia's bewildcred brain
peated in her hearing:
1--WE would suggest that the wonan
flashed the words Mr.. Lynn he'd re-
calling herself Laurence Iisle be held
to await the result Of further investi-
CATION"
And this was Laurence Isle here be-
fore her now! Was there any posi-
bility, any fear Good heavens, it
was too horrible!
For one moment she clasped her
slim, brown hands above her temples,
as though in pain.
Whom she looked up her glance fell
on a few men coming up the avenue
the undertakA and his assistants,
Some distance ahead of them walked
Mr.. Stack. How unconscious she
looked!
DO you not know?" Cynthia asked,
and her ready speech faltered. "Hava
you not heard?"
what! is any one i'll? There was
a queer man at the gate who tried 70
stop me, but l told him l was coming
up to Blackcastle, and Hark!"
There was an imperative, subdued
knocking below.
Perhaps that is he!" she cried,
wildly. Come, come! Perhaps it is
Cliven
She caught Cynthia's hand and drew
her with her along the corridor, to-
ward the grand stairway. Coming in
by side entrance, she had assembled a
narrow flight of stairs, and had not,
consequently, before crossed the main
hall.
This Cynthia remembered with a
sudden shock of dread. But now-ah,
now it was too late!
They were passing close by room
the door of which stood wide open.
And within, stiff and cold, on car
peted floor, was stretched the corpse
of a murdered man.
All, if she would only not look! Pray
God she would not look!
She turned her head-she glanced
in. Glanced in and shuddered back
back with a wild, shrill Shrek of hor-
ror and dismay.
"Come!" Cynthia said, and strove to
draw her away.
But she stood rooted to the spot,
still as stone, an awful, ghastly pallor
sweeping all life and color from her
face.
':Come!" Cynthia urged again
But she did not move or speak one
word. Her eyes, startled and dilatea.
were riveted on it in irresistible fas-
cination.
But even as that wild stare discov-
cred and recognized every revolting
detail of the fallen, stark, distorted
figure; Of the thin, harsh, cruel face,
frozen forever ii sneer;ng rage; of the
cleaning, tlght-shut teeth and clenched
but inpotsat hanls-at that very mo-
ment through the great western Win
dow tie sunshine streamed, and food
ed it all in billow of gold.
That reused her from her trance Of
tetror-that horrible-horrible radi-
ance!
"Oh, what is it-what is it?" she
walled. what does it all mean? He
is dead! Who did it? Who could have
done it? Oh, am afraid, afraid