The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-11


 T have promised to do so," said Laura. with quiet dignity.
 Mrs. Blurton turned and shufffed pop- door. = 70 '"- If yer find 1t cold in 'ere., she said kindly ''go in the kitchen. We can't aHord nore'n one fire in the 'ouse. I'll ave a look at the child for yer, and yerll write that letter. won't yerr'
 Laura dfd not answer. and Mrs. Blur ton. taking her silence as consent, ciosed the door behind her, The sound nt her slow and heavy footsteps down the passage seemed to reverberat. through the house like thunder. Laura Vane rose to her feet. and. un- earthing an ornamental ink-pot iron. the de2thss of thick wooden mat, set u on the table. She ,nen found an .elI. yeiope and. < piece of paper. both grey 1 with dust. and yellow with age. Then she discovered that the ink in the pot had long since dried ri.o hard black crust. and. taking the stump of a pen ell from the maDtelpiece, she sat down and stared at the piece of paper. Mrs. Blurton's brutal language nau driven tho truth home. IL was clear for the child's sake. that she must writo te someone and appeal for help. But 1 to whom? To William Tankerlane? To John Shii? To her father? To Leonore wife. of the man who had betrayed her?
 | The problem that confronted Laura Vane was not intricate. but 1t was in- conceivably difficult to solve. It pre- scented choice of evas. There were only four people to whom she could ap ply for heip in her present crisis, and she was loath to meet any of the four. much less to ask favor Of them. First there was William Tankerlane. hn fof aE hAr .l,f fha ax, who was obliged. and who would be glad to help her in her trouble. 1t was not till a month after she had left him that she had realized the truth so glo- rious in the case of most womon. so terrible in her own. Even then she had been sorely tempted to return to him. But after severe mental struggle her hatred of the man had conquered. and she had kept silence and hidden her. self still more securely from him.
 She realized to the full what the birth of the child meant in the strug- gle to free herself from William Tan- kerlane. It was an additional weapon in his hands. which he would not fall to use. is he once learnt of It's exist ence. Even now. with no persuasion on his part, Laura found 1t hard enough to avoid returning to him. She knew that he would welcome her to his arms, and that their reunion would restore her to the world, from which she had hidden herself in shame. All would be saved. She herself would once moro take her place among the women of her own class. Her 7 future life would be frightened by every luxury that money could purchase. She would be esteemed honored even en- vied. All would be well, save one thing-she would be tied to the man she hated most of all the men in the world.
 And this one thing stood up before her as wall of stone. over which she dare not attempt to climb. She fingered the notepaper nervously. and even went so far as to address the envelope. But the mans name on the dirty paper brought home the truth to her. and she tore the envelope into a dozen pieces. She knew that the thing was impossible. that she could not make the sacrifice. so long as any other way out of her difficulty re- mained to her.
 Then there was her own father, who was waiting for her return. He was ignorant of all that had happened since she left Laverstone. An application to him would mean an interview. She would have to explain; she would have to Iie,, There would be the child-a fact from which he would draw his own conclusions It would break his heart; it would probably kill him. He would have pity on her. and help her, and take her in his arms. But the truth would kill him. And he, too. would persuade her to marry William Tankerlane. No. she could not go to her father. She would at least spare him the shame of knowing the truth. She would spare herself the sorrow of refusing to obey him.
 Then there was John Shil, the man she loved, the man to whom she could have looked for aid and guidance in any other difficulty than the one which confronted her. But he also-so she believed-was in ignorance of all that had happened to her. It would be inn possible to tell him the truth. She foresaw, as Leonore had already fore seen that, if John Shil once knew the truth, he would not rest till he had come face to fac ewith William Tank erlane.
 There would be fight--a fight per- haps to the Gcath. John Shil was a man of quick temper and violent pas- sion, possessed, too, of enormous strength. In the blindness of his fury he would see nothing but the destruc- tion of the man who had ruined her life He would not pause to think. to argue, to listen. He would strike.
 And Tankerlane, if he left the hands of his adversary alive, would remem- ber nothing of oaths and promises He would tell ali that he knew about the death of Ben Holland.
 No, 1t was clear that the truth, apart NR NoI1 IA