The Red Cloud chief., 1906-11-30
I[ooNrINum.l

left you to join the man o had
fought to save me. | deserted my hus-
band and my child for the sake of the
money he bequeatbed to me-. In the
lust of wealth l strove to crush you
out Of my heart. And now that God
has humbled INT l must humble my
self. Stephen, | am not your wife. l
obtained q DIVORCE
"Nanette," he cried. II cannot bear
to see you kneeling at my feet. I ask
no revelations. ! forgive you any
wrong you may have done me fully
and freely, as I hope to be forgiven"
She yielded to his pleading and al
lowed him to raise her. For an instant
she was clasped to his breast.
'It would be happiness to die in your
arms, Stephen" she said wildly. 81 do
not deserve it, l know, but heaven is
merciful."
The dreadful idea possessed him that
In her weak state this passionate wish
might be granted.
"Nanette," he cried, you must con-
trol yourself. If you will not promise
to sit down and talk quietly l will
leave you"
She obeyed him instantly.
81 don't care how much you scold
me-" she said, 'but you must not go
away. / meant to see you before l left
Penzance. l came here that night. l
looked through the window. l saw my
daughter and her adopted sister listen
ing to you and weeping because Of a
-.-Al~.-y. zlo.~. Yrl.o. 4 40, x,o l1ck
my senses. l ran away. l remember
nothing else until l woke up to find
Constance caring for me-in your
house."
He tried to break In upon the trend
of her thought. This was by 10 mean
the line he had intended to pursue. His
hope was to soothe and calm her, to
part from her in amity and without
giving her cause to deplore a loss of
dignity.
~ am only too pleased that when ill
ness overlook you you were committed
to my care and to Constance. Poor
girl! She thought you were dead"
"Did you tell her that?"
"No, but l allowed it to be assumed,
which is the same thing"
when did she know the TRUTH"
"In the h~otel-after you left the
room. l had to say something. 1t was
-better-for you-that l should say
you were my wife"
80 even in that trying moment you
strove to shield me from unjust suspi-
cions. Stephen, how could l have acted
toward you as l did,"
Again he ~endeavored to lead her to
talk of the future rather than the past.
There is one great surprise in store
for you" he said. "But it is a pleasant
one in every way. Enid is Mr.. Trails
daughter"
81 am glad" she said simply. 81 do
not understand, but you must tell me
another time. Just now l can think
only of you and Of myself. You must
listen, Stephen. l will do all that you
demand, hide myself anywhere, but
you must know everything. When we
parted, when deserted you to nurse a
dying man, l vas foolish and willful,
but not wholly abandoned. Nor have !
ever been. | was rich enough to graf
ify my whims, and for a time l lived
III To VA tAS . 80
and In Biarritz. But l was always
meeting people who knew you, and.
although my wealth and perhaps my
good looks kept me in q certain set, l
felt that our friends invariably took
your side and despised me. That i'm
Filtered me the more. At last your ia
ther died, and saw some vague refer
ence to your disappearance from soci'
ETY.. l employed agents to trace you,
They failed. Then ! went to America
and lived On a ranch In Nebraska,
where l obtained a divorce from you
on the ground of desertion. Desertion
Stephen! That was the plea l raised"
She gave a hooking little laugh
Brand, thinking 1t best to fall In will
her mood, sat In silence on a chail
which he had drawn close to the win
dow. From his house he could SCI
the wide sweep of Mounts bay. The
Trinity tender was steamlng out from
the harbor. 1t struck him as an ex
traordinary fact that this was the da.
Of his relief had he served his full tw,
months on the rock.
Today by his own design the secon
era of his ~checkered career would hav,
come to q peaceful close. Within
little while he would have taken Con
stance and Enid, II unmarried, on tina
long contemplated continental tour
But the hurricane came when 9TH
blast Of the terrible ones Is as
Storm" and the pillar. the refuge o
his distress. became the center Of infu
ences destined to mold his life afresh.
What did 1t all meanf He bowe,