Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1906-01-18

AHA hdtndIluc uIVeu, Inn" Etc.
CHAPTER XLIv.
Continued.

"But you had scruples, and though
was too happy to be impatient, l felt
myself robbed Of some Of the satisfac.
ton which I had promised myself.
Montellis arrest troubled me, too, but
that anxiety was not destined to be of
long duration. Before the day had
waned, was first shocked, then deli
riously gladdened by the news that l
need fear this dangerous man no more;
that he was dead, and that one of the
most relentless claimants upon my
wealth was taken out of my path for
ever.
mot that begrudged the money he
demanded. I could have spared mill
ion and not felt 1t. But l had some
Initiation into business matters during
the transferring Of this fortune into my
possession, and foresaw that it was
not going to be so easy a matter to pro.
cure two or three hundred thousand
dollars out of this estate without ex.
citing the attention Of those who had
It in charge. This was the reason like
wise, why I accepted your decision with
80 much grace. A husband would have
been inconvenient to me in those first
days; an agent was bad enough. had
to deceive him, and I had to deceive
Hilary. In order to meet the wants of
the Portuguese, who crowded her claims
doubly upon me. when she found that
Montelll was dead, 1 was obliged to
ask for large sums of money for which
could give no account, thus acquiring
with my agent the name Of being very
extravagant, and with my friends the
reputation Of being strangely parsimo-
NOUS l went with Hilary to the sew
eral watering places, but l spent no
money in jewels, and but little in the
necesaries Of life; for looked forward
to the day when you would come back
to me, dearest, and I wished to be
clear Of all obligations. and free forever
from the hateful presence Of the Portu-
guese; for she never was long away
from me after I returned to New York.
In the capacity of my hairdresser she
visited me every day, and though but
few words passed between us, 1t was
we'll understood that certain amount
must be forthcoming every week, If l
desired to preserve pleasant relations
between us.
hillary suspected nothing. She used
to wonder why l persisted in dressing
so plainly. and limited, now and then,
that richer costume, or more gener-
Gus mode of living. would be more in
keeping with my wealth and position;
but 1t did not take much to turn her
thoughts to nobler subjects, and was
never unduly embarrassed by her ques-
tions, or annoyed by her suggestions.
II was happy-ah! how happy!-for
/ had not yet come to the full realiza.
tlon of what I had done, and saw moth
ing but complete delight in the future.
l never doubted that you would return,
or that should pay off the Portu-
guese, and thus win love and freedom
at once. enjoyed my wealth, my con-
sequence and my power, and expert
enced, perhaps, more delight in the con-
temptation of the future than l would
have done If my present had been free
from care, and had been enabled to
crafty at once my naturally luxurious
tastes. And SO the summer passed
Dearest, I have more than once
asked myself while 1 have been pour
ing out these confessions, whether If
you had been less exacting and had not
required the giving up Of my fortune,
we should have been happily married.
1t adds to my grief to think we might.
1t makes death doubly hard to dream
of what might have been, If, instead Of
asking the sacrifice from me Of all for
which had worked SO long in shame
and sorrow, you had simply folded me
to your breast and made me by that
embrace the good woman I longed to
be. But, then comes the thought that
deception never pr0spers, and that 1t
was in this way the God Of which you
once spoke to me showed His disap-
proval Of my sin and the impossibility
of my hoping to reap happiness. when
I had sowed for myself misery. And
this thought comforts me, for 1t takes
from my fate that factor Of chance,
which 1t is so maddening to contem-
plate. / die because have sinned, not
because your fancy led you to play
with my love. and exact conditions,
when all that my soul craved was per-
feet confidence on your part and a
blind affection.
1.-THE interference of Byrd in my af-
fairs do not understand. You may.
If he has any real reason to suspect
me, It must spring from the treachery
of some one of those wretched asso-
ciates of mine. Montelli and the Portu-
guese are dead, but Annetta still lives,
as well as that miserable woman Of my
name whom / have never seen. If
they have betrayed me, they have done
1t with complaints and recriminations,
and these do not deserve. Believe 1t,
and spare me any unnecessary reproach.
What / acknowledge is bad enough.
Byrd was nothing to me. From the
day I babe him goodbye in Great Bar
rington till saw him again in Miss
Aspinwall's parlors, did not bestow
upon him thought. But on that day
he showed that he had not forgotten
me-
"Do you recall that day or can you
realize even now all that 1t was to me2
You had asked me to give up my for
tune, to yield what had been won
through ways so tOrtuous and at cost
Of efforts so shameful; and I hesitated,