Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1905-04-27

| OF course she is-or do you mag
inc she could mistake you for her be
loved young Clarence Darrell, who
some young man" said Martha.
And how do you know that?" growl
ed Bashfort, trimming the wick of his
lamp, "You have never seen this
Clarence Darrell she keeps up such a
talk about
Helen had continued to hold her
| hands toward Bashfort and to speak
of Clarence thus:
They said you were in prison in
London, dear Clarence-the sorcerer
who deceived me into taking his
trance-pellet told me so; but | see you
| have escaped. All, | know you are
near me, dear Clarence, and that you
! have come to rescue me! l will be pa
! tient and cunning and wait, dear Clar%
ence! They think l am delirious, but
I am not! | am deceiving them, am
not, dear Clarence"
You see" said Bashfort, with
drunken gravity, she takes me for
| that accepted lover of hers-of whom
my lord and his son knew nothing I'M
If she takes me fer her lad, why, he
must resemble me very much indeed
and be very good looking fellow
REESE mble you!" repeated Martha
in high scorn. about as much as a
| young eagle resembles an old owl.
Why, | have seen his picture"
ooh, you have seen his picture!
Well now I would like to know when
and where you ever saw picture OF
Clarence Darrell, and how you knew
| 1T was a picture OF him?" growled
Bashfurt, with a hiccough that nearly
| threw him over backward.
"The sorcerer showed the poor
young lady miniature portrait in
| this room when her senses were com
ing back to her," replied Martha
'And she recognized it and called it
| her dear Clarence Darrell-and the
miniature fell to the floor and | had a
| good square glance at it before the
sorcerer snatched it up, which he did
monstrously quick, can tell you. And
| hlole Sul lCll Solt--llS PlSlulC w aS
| the image of Claude de Lavet-'
| Martha would have said more, but
the above name had scarcely passed
her lips when Bashfort grasped her
throat with his right hand, wheeled
| her around toward the door, pressed
her back tiercely against it, and hold
| ing her there in his throttling clutch
snarled out:
"Stlames Speak not that name
again The name of the man THAT
died at York! / had forgotten the
name! Yes, Claude de Lavet-would
to heaven that could as readily have
forgotten the deed! Would that I had
never done the deed! Twas my first
murder!" he added, suddenly releas
ing Martha from his sitting grasp, as
she drew her knife from her girdle
after she had struggled vainly to tea1
and tug his fingers from her throat.
Wretch! Would you murder me
too?" gasped Martha, GREATNESS al
most, and amazed by the unexpected
| assault.
But Bashfort had reeled to a chair
ere Martha could speak, and was sit
| ting there. staring at the floor
Helen, terrified by the sudden VIC
fence of the man, and by the brief but
/ furious struggle, sank back upon her
| pillow, and turned her gaze with a
helpless, pleading expression to the
ragged hole in the ceiling.
The hanging laths moved slightly
and She heard a scratching, rasping
noise, like the gnaWing of a rat
She knew that Clarence was still
/ there. and that he was gazing down
upon the scene, though She could not
see his face through the ragged fringe
of interlocked laths The noise was
/ the same as that with which he had
often signalled his presence at the low
/ cottage window of her first humble
home in Bradford.
Often, when She knew Clarence al
| Bradford-and while she sat at night
| in the little study of the old church
clerk who had adopted her as his
1 daughter, copying ancient manuscript
! for that good old man-had she heard
i II: sound on the in
dow sill without; and recognizing il
as the sly signal, stolen forth to meet
/ her dear Clarence.
/ And recognizing the signal now, hel
heart took fresh courage, and she
smiled and kissed her hand toward
1 the broken ceiling. knowing that the
eyes Of her faithful lover were upon
| her.
Bashfort. raising his eyes from the
floor at the moment, and seeing the
smile, the gaze and the gesture. and
hearing the rasping noise, said with q
hoarse laugh
"Of course she is delirious! She
takes me for her lover, and she kisses
her hand to the rats! Don't stare and
\ glare at me, woman"--th to Martha
i roughly, who had received no reply tc
/ her indignant question, and who con
4 tinued to regard him with angry ewes
i How did you know that his name was
1.-THE name you called just now /? Don,
/ speak it again. or III serve YOU as
did him. he added. ferociously. and
a hall -drawing his knife from its sheath
Il Il was not married ia yn,,--I ho i !, ~,