The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1904-05-26

The little silver ornament was, indeed
as Frau Lohn once said. hammered to-
sether' not trace OF any lock or
spring could be seen. Raoul took out his
hunting knife. inserted the sharp blade
between the edges OF the silver. and
succeeded at last In swapping IL asunder.
ana fortunately. too. in not injuring the
seals attached 10 the paper which lay In
side, and which had evidently not been
disturbed since the Lotus-fower placed
II In the little silver box after passionate
~ kissing II the morning IL was written
Uncle, this document here must be
considered 10 be binding on me as well
as on you. Whatever NJ contains we
must accept; and you know that you
once said that you would respect a proof
u this kind IL II existed"
No answer followed this remark, and
Raoul continued:
! Look at the seal; but tomorrow, by
daylight. we will examine that, though
we can even see by this light how clear
and distinct the impression is. And here
is the date underlined. too-'Wriuten In
Schonwerth this tenth day OF Septem-
ber
Then carefully extracting the paper
from the box. he began unfolding It. and
a moment later exclaimed:
/ why, IT In addressed TO mei-To my
nephew. Raoul Won Mainau.'" And with
hasty fingers and excited mien he opened
the paper and read its contents aloud.
~ began by declaring that In conse-
/ quence o<--his bodily and mental inhrni-
ties,th dying man knew that he had be-
come imprisoned In the hands OF his
\ brother and the priest. and that although
/ he had been assured by=tham that the-
Lotus-nower was faithless. yet he had
still wished TO mako his will In her favor.
but that ell his entreaties had been OF no
avail. Even his doctor had been bribed
I into Asserting fhpf HegHra fha
presence OF his lawyer 20 insure the fu-
ture rights OF his beloved one was the
deiirfum Of fever and that worn out by
the continual repetition OF his wife's
black-hearted faithlessness, and by the
terror OF his own state. he had at last
yielded TO their solicitations: but that
now he knew the falseness OF their state
ment. know that a son was born to him.
whose existence had been kept secret
from him, and knew also OF the wrong
hia brother would fain have done his
honor I'm order TO crush the wife OF his
heart, and that the only being TO whom
he had IL in his power TO apply 20 for
protection for his wife and her interests
was his young. hot-headed but Eood-
natured nephew" 10 him. therefore. he
appealed TO carry out the last wish of
a dying man. And then the paper went
on 20 assert that the Indian girl was
his wife as legally as the laws OF the
country where he married her could
make binding on her; that she was not a
Bajadere, as had been falsely asserted
but a maiden OF good descent and pure
life; further. that he acknowledged the
little Gabriel as his own lawful son. en-
titled to all the rights of his father, and
appealed TO his nephew to protect. to the |
best OF his ability. the two helpless be-
ings he now intrusted to his care. and |
especially carrying out his dying wish, |
hQ IN anti saf hA vrfn 20 fha l.
vision OF his property that he had been |
forced into signing, that LIS son was 10 |
1ee ea ptized- tn his fathers TttFffe and re-
ceive a third OF all the landed property |
he should leave behind him at his death: |
and that TO prevent this document fall |
ing into the wrong hands. ne had ordered |
the faithful, true and devoted Lohn 10 |
give this personally TO his nephew: and |
that further 10 prove the genuineness OF |
this his last written will and wishes, he |
would Immediately give TO his worthless |
brother the emerald signet-ring where |
with he sealed this document In two |
places ION this tenth day OF September"
well, well, my amiable brother has
given me a nice character, I must sayl |
And that is all the thanks I get for |
weeks OF untring watching and sleepless |
nights" remarked the Hofmarschall In /
grumbling. injured tone when his neph-
ew ceased reading. ''He was always
thankless individual, even as you see, 20
his dying hour and those two lying wom-
en- seem 10 have made him do as they
liked. Bah! What angers me most is to
think that such a creature as that Bohn
dared 10 make a dupe Of me-, and as he
rose from his seat and drew nearer 10 the
light one could see the nervous agitation
working in his face.
Raoul folded the precious document, and
quietly put It in his breast-pocket as he
moved away from his uncle. with marked
disgust and contempt visible in his man
ner
shall I put this"-and he pointed TO his
breast pocket as he spoke-"shall put
this into the lawyers hands tomorrow"
"Ahl one must have time TO think a
little. There are other documents as we'll
as that one; and we shall see who will
win. you with your secret paper. or the
church with that document In the inlaid
cabinet Then too, there Is the chaplain,
a much worthier witness than Frau Lohn,
a serving-woman-h'm. think you will
hnd that that famous bit OF paper You
have hidden away 80 carefully In your
ast-pocket will cause you more trouble
than you imagine. You had better look af-
ter your wife there; 10 appears to me that
his intrigue. which she has set going
with so much energy. has been too much
Tor my lady"
Which was only too true The shivers
which the young VIE felt creeping over
her when she first returned TO the draw
nz room had greatly increased in force,
md several times during the reading OF
he paper she felt as IL the room were
illed with thick, heavy mist, which
prevented her breathing. and even as the :
spoke she stretched out her ,
arms. and with a loud scream, fell sense '
ess on the floor
A couple OF hours later the first physi-
ian from the town was standing by the
bedside OF the young mistress OF the cas-
lie. whom he pronounced to be suffering :
rom severe attack OF brain fever.
CTo be continued)