The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1907-10-05
CHAPTER xx.-(Continued.)


and crumpled dress, and her hair wildly
disarranged, ran out of the room, skim
med downstairs like a swallow, opened
the street door with her own hands, and
left it wide behind her. The coachman
jumped down, but she was at the carriage
door before him, and he stared at the
wild disorder in which she appeared.
1.-THE Palace Hotel" she said. Quick
ly. Go as quickly as you can"
She was taken at once to Angela 8
apartments.
"Oh, julia" Angela began, "how kind
of you to come so soon. We only reach
cd town yesterday"
| Read that!'' said Julia, in voice so
harsh and strange that it surprised her
self.
Angela took the wet and twisted letter
from her outstretched hand.
Julia! You are ill. You are in trou-
Bile. You are crying. What is the mat
teri"
She FASTENED toward her friend, who
repulsed her and said: Read that y
again in the same strange voice.
Angela skinned the letter as bird
skins water, and arose to her feet. -
angela Butler" said the little widow,
did you have that sent to me-?
NO" said Angela. How dare you
think such a thing of me? How could
you think it?"
"Who sent it?" she sobbed. WHO
dared to send it?" Angela's mind was
darling this way and that in swift in
curry but she knew too little of the pat
riot and his affairs to find the faintest
clew to an answer. Who could have
known enough to write the letter? Lucy
Farley, Maskelyne and O'Rourke himself
these were ALL 1t flashed across her
suddenly that O'Rourke had possibly
boosted of his own insolence. Men did
such things-she had read of them. Even
to the confused mind of the sufferer An
gelas passionate start at this fancy
meant no less than discovery.
HE is wretch!' cried Angela.
"Who? Who is wretch?" demanded
the little widow, with appealing hands.
Angela began to cry with her friend, and
fell to kissing and mourning over her.
oh" cried Mrs. Spry, wringing her
hands and weeping all the more for these
demonstrations of sympathy, "who-who
is wretch?"
HE is wicked, bad, unprincipled
man." said Angela. "Oh, my dear; l am
30 sorry. l saw that you were beginning
to care for him; but 1 could not warn
you. Why are we so tongue-tied when
we see things going wrong?"
angela" said Mrs. Spry, gulpingly,
show dare you say SO? I'm sure he's
the best and noblest of men,"
| Hes the basest and most dishonorable
of men ~ cried Angela, stung by her new
suspicion of him, which, following on her
old certainties,~ made her feel altogether
merciless.
| angela" said the widow, clinging to
her and looking at her imploringly, did
he make love to you before he met me?"
| "Only a few days BEFORE" Angela an
swered. land he knew then that George
that Mr.. Maskelyne He professed
to be Mr.. Maskelyne's dearest friend.
hated him from the first"
II don't believe it!' said Mrs. Spry,
withdrawing her clinging hands and be-
taking herself to walking up and down
the room. you wanted him for your
self You know you did"
"You are very grieved, l know, dear"
said Angela, 'or you would never think
or say such things. / did not want him
for myself. You know that Mr.. Maske-
lyme and l are going to be married?
loved him long before he came over to
Belgium to visit U.S. l should never have
married another man if he had never
spoken to me. But Mr.. O'Rourke heard
that l had money and he tried to come
between us and to separate us. If he had
not done that, l might have liked him
very well. But he succeeded for awhile,
and made us both very unhappy. Then
he met you, dear, and found that you
had more money than 1, and so he pre-
tended to fall in love with you-the mer-
cenary wretch! Then he boasted-I can
see it ALTO some man friend of his
about his impertinence to me, and 1 am
made to seem as if he had thrown me
away like an old glove He is a base,
unworthy creature, Julia. Throw him
away. Be brave and forget him.
This was one of those thigs which are
much easier to advise than to do. But
Angela since her engagement had learned
from her lover most that was to be
known from him, and she tried to
strengthen her friends mind with it to
such effect that at length she drew from
her a declaration that she would see
O'Rourke no more. When she had
achieved this triumph she took pen, ink
and paper and wrote this note, whilst
Mrs. Spry still lay dissolved in grief on
the sofa.
"Sir-Oblige me by reading the inclos-
ed Should you desire to answer it you
may do so in person. / am staying with
Miss Butler, and you may meet us to-
gether at any time it may suit you to
appoint"
After a prolonged effort she succeeded
in persuading the widow to copy this, and
to address it to O'Rourke, accompanied
i by the Fraser letter. This feat accom-
plished. the poor thing was got to bed,
and after a weary while to sleep. An
gela rejoiced in this victory for Mrs.
/ Spry's own sake, and held her saved from
the most terrible of fates.
CHAPTER XXI.
/ Mrs. Spry and Angela were sitting to-
gether when O'Rourke's hastily penciled