Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1906-02-05

beautiful! Any man might well lose
his heart to such woman, even
though she was not lady, and were
capable of singing such a song as
Leslie had heard those lips sing-any
man, even No, not Yorke! He
would not, could not have loved her.
1t was she, Leslie herself, whom he
loved-not this woman. Even as she
laid the fiattering JUNCTION to her soul,
her eye fell upon the locket.
1t was lying open, face downward,
upon the woman's snow-white breast.
A desire-an overwhelming desire
to take it up and see what face was
enshrined in it seized her. One glance,
and this vague, unQuiet suspicion of
hers would be at rest forever-She
knew-knew that 1t would not be
Yorke's-her Yorke's-face she would
see.
She fought against the desire, the
craving. Love was sacred tnfng to
her; and it would seem like sacr1lege
to touch this trinket which the poor
girl wore-doubtless a gift of the
man she loved so dearly-the man
whose desertion had caused her to
weary of life, to desire death.
mo, no; l can mott will mott"
Leslie breathed, pantingly; but even
as she spoke the words her hand stole
toward the locket upon which the red
sunlight was falling. Once, twice,
her hand approached 1t and drew
back; but at the third time she took
it up, raised it slowly, and then
swiftly turned it upward.
Then, still holding it, her eyes
rivited upon it with a gaze of horror
and agony, she cried:
"Yorke! 1t is Yorke!"
CHAPTER XXI.
1t was Yorke.
Leslie gazed down at the locket ly
ing in the palm of her hand, for the
moent too benumbed by the sudden
shock to feel anything.
Yes, it was his face-the handsome
face whose every line, every express
sion, were engraved on her heart. For
a second or two the portrait, as it
smiled upon her with Yorke's charac-
istic devil-may-care look In It's eyes,
gave her kind of pleasure-then she
began to realize where she had found
it-lying on the bosom of this woman.
She dropped the locsket as if it had
suddenly burned her, and she shrunk
back as far as she could without dis.
placing the woman's head from her
knee. Yorke's portrait in a locket in
the possession of another woman! 1t
could not be his face, but that of some
one-some relation closely resembling
his She took the locket up again,
and as she did so, remembering that
the woman had murmured Yorke's
name. Yes, it was Yorke! She laid
the locket down-gently this time
and bent over the white face of the
woman with strange, confusing
throbbing in her heart, loud singing
in her ears The earth seemed to rock
beneath her, the sky to be falling.
She was faint with physical exhaus-
ton, with the terrible struggle for
life, and this discovery, coming so
closely upon all she had endured, al
most crushed her. Was she really
awake, or asleep and dreaming-de-
lirous, perhaps? Yorke-her Yorke's
face lying there on this other woman's
heart! 1t was incredible.
All this passed through her mind,
her heart, in a few seconds-ohe can
crowd an awful amount of misery,
anguish, joy, into a minute-and by
this time the woman had revived.
where am I?' she breathed, star
ing up at Leslie.
Leslie did not answer, but continued
to gaze at her with wide-open eyes, in
which a horror was growing more in
tense each moment.
Where am I? Have been i'll? Ali"
she drew a deep BREATH remem-
Der. Are we safe? Why don't we
go? What are we staying for?'
She raised herself on her elbow, and
half sat up, pushing the black hair
from her face and passing her hand
across her eyes. Then she looked
down and saw the locket, and her
hand flew to it.
''Whose-whose portrait is that?"
The woman looked at her, and a
dull red stole into her face.
whats that to your" she retorted,
half defiantly. you've looked at it,
haven't your"
Leslie moistened her lips. They
were SO hot and dry that she could
scarcely speak.
Eyes. l have lookea az It," she said.
Il know"
"You know who it is?" AS she
spoke she closed the locket hurriedly
and buttoned her dress over it. 'You
know Who are you? What is your
name " and the dark eyes scanned
Leslie's pale face with suspicious
scrutiny.
"My name is Leslie-Leslie Lisle,"
said Leslie, slowly.