Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1906-09-06
CHAPTER XVI. (continued.)

head. AS well that 1t did not finish
with Her Majesty having no further
need for his services" he muttered
to himself, by Joye! There Is some
mystery. believe there is. And yet,
his keys, the servants who saw him,
his inability to prove an alibi; even
that Eighty Polish countess admitted
his having called there, but she and
her servants all swore to his having
left again befor eleven-and only the
lads power of making one fond of him
to set against 1t ALL"
Ursula read 1T with eyes that flashed
Indignation and then filled with tears.
my poor, poor darling! 1t is too I'M
just, too disgraceful! What he. must
gone from Portsmouth when the tardy
Gazette appeared. Another aide-de-
camp filled his place at Government
House, and was the admired and
soughtafter OF the Southsea maiden,
and he had left no trace behind. Ur-
su1a had watched and waited for him
to come to her at Nutwood, but he had
not given a sign Then she wrote to
him, and poured her heart out in the
letter as she had never done before.
You cannot think mean to accept
what you said that day at Government
House as final. refuse my release
Do you think promised to be your
wife only while fine weather lasted
and not when the storms came? Is
my love for you the kind of thing,
Noel, that can be laid aside at will ?
You know better. will not think so
meanly of you as to suggest that you
could think that of it. You know it is
as faithful as your own. And because
a terrible misfortune has happened to
you, thing that no one can under
stand, you ask me to take back my
promise to you. There is no taking
back. / am all yours for the rest OF
life that is left to both of us. end for
the life beyond that will have ito end.
I love-love love you, Noel. | shall
never change, and SO claim the right
to still belong to you. / shall ask my
fathers consent to cur marriage as
soon as see him, if you will not.
Whenever you come to claim that sa-.
cred promise gave you am more
than ready for YOU Noel, don't make
me wait"
And in answer to that he had writ
ten a letter passionate, heart-brolen,
full of despair my best. my dearest,
Heaven bless you! But 1t cannot
/ ~ = -, Sc1, n ics
graced, shamed in the sight of those
who believe me criminal. cannot
stretch out to you hand that is
stained, though am gufltless of soil
ing it. / cannot take the gift YOU Of
fer me- i shall 60 down to my grave
loving you--and you only-the one
woman the world holds. But till 1
stand clear in the sight of all my
world, and they acknowledge they
have misjudged me, must stand
aside out of your life. / am going to
try il there Is any place for me in an
other land, since my own has shut me
from her doors. sail for South Afri-
ca to enlist In. one of the irregular
forces there, and live by my pistol and
sword. It may be that the cloud out
there may burst sooner than any of US.
look for. could almost find it In my
heart to pray that it may. / want to
fight hard with sometime some one
IL want to wipe f,5:2,, my name the
first smirch It ever carried. want to
feel free to look on your face once
more. If not--why, then only pray
Il may find the grave of soldier In a
land that is. not my own:
1t was his farewell to her. How she
read and re-read and wept over, only
the silent hours Of sleepless nights
could tell. Ursula knew the words of
it by heart. and they were dear to her
even in their sharp painfor the
worst trial Of her happy life was hard
to bear.
He was IN Africa; the other battal-
Ion OF her fathers regiment was some
where out there, too. He must go and
Join It on his promotion. She might
go out, too. It gave a new hope to her
dreary future, from which the sun
seemed suddenly to have faded, to
think that they might be in the same
land again.
And then came a hasty letter from
her father from Plymouth
and sent !: 81 ere e pilot The tel
egraln had Just reached him of his
succession to the command OF the 9th,
Ell battalion, and he was to proceed at
once to the cape. Meet men IN town,
ut the Metropole, . the message ran
that his letter brought. You must
get your things In as much Of q hurry
as you can manage, for have to sail
at once. It's rather rongh on . man,
certainly, to hustle him out Of the
country again the hrst time he sets
foot Ii It after 30 many years. But
what must be can't he helped, II sup
pose We will stick In some theaters
and that kind Of thing betore We so. I
I hope you've had q rafting time at
!. home, for, 81 course, the Cape Isn't
India or the shires. However, we gem
orally manage to enjoy ourselves any.
where, don't We my little girl? I've
missed ~ Bear awfully I can tell you.
and hope she has missed her old
father. Nobody else taken his placs
/ yet eh =.
ri Ursula packed her boxes md aid