The St. Mary banner., 1906-01-20

l never DeIeVeu IN SuOSlS. 4 never
believed in anything much except Mar
garet Vane. | didn't even have faith
in my own courage. Ii | had | might
have made a winning fight for her
against that wild fellow, Tom Brent.
whom she ran away with and married.
l was such a man as she should nave
had for her husband, while he was such
man as no woman should nave mar
ried Yet he possessed that peculiar
fascination over good women which
seems to be present in every bad man.
Margaret Vane was rich and Tom
needed money. So did l. for that mat
ter, and | worked with my pen to get
it, while Tom got his by any means
which promised profit. l loved Mar
garet and told her so-many, many
times She loved Tom Brent, and
suppose he told her that he loved her,
as I had done, although that was not
necessary, for when the woman loves
the man he need say little more than
what must be said before the minister
of the Gospel to establish the woman's
claim upon him.
Brent was handsome, unscrupulous
and drunkard, but Margaret over
looked the handicaps to happiness and
became his wife God knows l tried
my utmost to dissuade her, but | was
neither handsome, INSCRIPTIONS or 4
drunkard, and my prayers availed nor.
For a year Margaret was blindly
happy, and Tom was unnaturally good.
Then, as if fearful that she might not
continue her affection for this reformed
creature, he swung back into the old
paths and began his old course by go
ing on a prolonged. spree. Margaret
suffered much du,. .:Ag this detection,
but frightened agaA when he sobered.
After this he div,S Jed his drunks and
had them in less p bounced form. but
with much greater frequency. He also
began to gamble am to spend money IN
the hundreds of S open to any one
who has it to spend. Margaret, OF
course, was his chief source Of reve-
nue., and she furnished him with what
he asked, foolishly hoping that her
kindness would win him to her and
hold him fast to better things.
For five years this continued. and at
last Brent became involved in dis
graceful scandal, in which a man was
shot, family broken up, and several
thousands were missing. Brent's con-
nection was not we'll defined, but it
was enough to compel his absence, and
he disappeared.
Margaret went down with brain few
er and for weeks her life was despaired
Of, but she rallied in time, and once
more was we'll. But how changed she
was! We had always been good
friends, and now she turned to me as
the one who was nearest
She was an orphan, and no other
had better right to her guardianship
than l had, now that her husband had
proved unworthy of the trust she had
Teposed in him.
Six months after he went away a re-
port came through the newspapers that
he had been lost in a hotel fire in a
northern town.
Margaret insisted on my going to in
vestigate l found that several un-
recognizable bodies had been taken
from the ruins and buried, and among
the luggage saved was trunk con-
tanning effects which conclusively
proved that Brent had room in the
hotel on the night of the fire, though
he had registered under a different
name. l claimed the trunk and took
1t back to Margaret with my story.
Her mind appeared to be at rest now,
and she began to improve In health
and spirits. But the cruel blows had
been struck and it was not possible
that she could be the same again.
AS time passed and she began 10
lean more upon me, l took hope once
more and very gently led her back to
the paths we had trod in other days.
I must be very careful, as I could see,
and l was.
Margaret did not seem to realize at
first that l was her lover still, but af-
ter many days she did, and when l
I asked her to marry me she consented.
Not joyously, as one whose heart knew
no other, but as one chastened by sor-
row, who felt the need of a comfort
ing presence.
We went abroad on our wedding
journey and were gone six months.
When we came back went to live in
Margaret's handsome house, and there
I established a den" III which