The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-07

eagerly. AA' sAeu
 T told the truth. argued, that if the girl did not love him, she would pernaps be glad of an escape from bondage and that, whether she loved nm or not. 1t would be better for her 70 know the truth. intended, If she wished it, to divorce him. so that ne could be legally married to her"
 'fou did right" cried Laura, fiercely. them
 T believe" continued Mrs. Bonsai, as though she had not heard the cues ton. that did right--am sure did rignt But 1t was a cruel blow to strike.
 And what happened tbeny" Iarra repeated, with her eyes fixed on Mrs. BonsaPs face.
 The actress did not answe.. Her story had come to an end. The rest lay in the future. Her fertile brain could easily have invented a conclu- sion to the tale, but she wished to arouse Laura's suspicious of the truth. an. in order to do this. she kept
 Surely that Is not the end of the story" continued Laura, with dogged persistence. ~Did the girl love the man or not7 Did the result justify your actionT'
 "The girl did not love the man." Mrs. Bonsal replied with downcast eyes, and an intentional hesitation in her voice.
 What did you dor asked Laura. She had as yet no suspicion of the truth.
 The situation was becoming un- bearable.
 Mrs. Bonsars heart beat very fast. She had resolved to tell everything, but she had no wish to do 1t in so many words. She wanted Laura her. self to guess the truth. She was again silent. and twined her fingers together nervously. She desired to let her ac- tions speak for her. It seemed impos- sible that any one could fail to misin- terpret her confusion.
 That is a lame end to the story. Leonore," said Laura, after long pause. Why don't you look at me2 Is the end painful An, I see. things did not turn out right after all. You found that you had not acted for the best. Well. don't tell me any more. dear. I am sure that you were right in what you did. My husband, I sup pose, thought that you were wrong. As a friend of Mir Bonsars. he thought you had acted from motives of Jeal- ousy and spite. But you were right. No good. no right woman could have acted otherwise"
 Mrs. Bonsal was silent. and her face grew very white and haggard. She had failed to arouse any suspicion of the truth. It would have to be spoken openly It was a cruel piece of busi- ness, but it would have to be carried through remorselessly. No deficacy Of speech or language could hide the bru- tality of 1t. Mrs. Bonsal rose from her chair, and. falling on her knees py Laura's side. took hold of the thin white hands and pressed them to her lips. F@
 ''What is 1t, dear?" said Laura. T am so sorry--I wish l had not asF.eo you to tell the story
 Laura" replied Mrs. Bonsal in voice that hardly rose above whis- per, lis it possible that you do not un- derstand? I have tried so hard to make you understand-so hard. Laura. She bowed her head over the girls hands, and the white fingers were wet with tears.
 Laura looked down on the dark masses of lustrous hair, and wondered why this woman had flung herself at her feet. It almost seemed as though she were praying for forgiveness. But still no suspicion of the truth entered her mind,
 "oh. why can't you understandT cried Mrs. Bonsal. raising her tear stained face, and looking at Laura with her large bright eyes. Must l tell you in so many words; must I tell you that there Is no end to the story you have just heard, because-the end has yet to come?" and once more the woman bowed her head, as though she were about to receive blow.
 Laura looked at her for a few mo- ments in silence, with puzzled ex- pression on her face. Then suddenly the truth came to her like a blfndtng flash of light. It leapt into her eyes like fire, and famed forth in crimson on her white cheeks and brow. Mrs. Bonsal could not see her face. but she knew by the thrill that had passed through the girls body that at las. she understood.
 Laura" she murmured in a broken voice, 'if I have not done right, for give me. have accepted your judg- ment. You told me that I had done right"
 Laura did not answer. The color had died from her face, and the light from her eyes Yet the shock of what she had heard vibrated through every nerve and muscle of her body. For the moment she could not think; she could not realize her position. Tank erlane was a dim figure set afar in the udTkneSS1 lHc WOIlAdH dL ASCl W oS a mere picture, an inanimate object In the foreground; she herself seemed to hve no connection with either of them. She had been swept out of touch with all the realities. Vague thoughts and ideas poured through her brain, but before she could grasp them, they had fled. She heard a faint sound in the distance like the moaning of the wind among trees. It was Mrs. Bonsal cry | ing softly to herself.
 Then by degrees her mind seemed to | focus itself, and things began to show more clearly out of the whirling chaos. | She saw Mrs. Bonsal, crouching like some poor suppliant, with bowed head, and eyes that dared not look at her. | She moved her hands. and raised the womans face till she could look straight into the large dark eyes. For one brief moment the two wo- | men looked into each others very | hearts. Then Mrs. Bonsal rose quick | ly to her feet and walked away to the window. Laura stared after her, as though she did not yet realize what had happened. And then at last she | spoke.
 "So-you -are-Mrs. --Tankerlane. |" she said slowly. as if she required time to gh the value of every word.
 T am Mrs. Tankerlane." replied the other woman in a passlonless voice. and without turning round. And I?' continued Laura, Who am I?' She paused for moment. and then she rose to her feet win q IOOk oF