Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1908-02-21
A WILD VENGEANCE
BY Author If Surrender of Mary Etc

ems I ne met MN and thought him a
nne fellow. He showed an uncommonly
Keen interest in him. Why, what's the
InatterF You look vexed Do YOU sun.
pose he knows anything about his peo.
plep ~ ms teO
How can l tell?" said her ladyship
snappishly. 1--WE told you again and
again he was brought to me by a stran.
ger, who gave me no means at all of
Identifying him"
1T has occurred to me lately" uursued
her son nonchalantly, that you do know
more than you admit. You see. mother
this discovery about myself, for instance
shakes my old confidence in you. know
now that you can scheme in secret"
Flncent" cried she in terrible voice
How dare you speak to me like that +?
Do you forget what I have done for
your"
Not at ALL" returned he coolly, the
new insolence in his manner becoming
more apparent. "But the remembering
OF 1t makes me wonder what else you
may have done. There is no DENYING
that he and l are alike Also there is a
photograph in the drawing room"
Lady Avrill stepped quickly up to him.
great glare of anger blazing in her
eyes.
''Re silent, Vincent" she commanded
imperiously. "You fool-you fool! Can't
you see the wisdom of silence?''
He looked at her, half awed by her
manner, the habit of lifetime not being
suddenly and easily broken. Then he
reused himself to fresh assertion.
go fhara % -. L
about ?" he remarked significantly
You'd better tell me what it is"
II shall tell you nothing" she returned.
"There is nothing to tell. But for your
own sake it would be wise not to eneour-
age baseless and dangerous gossip"
Vincent laughed sneeringly.
"Ah, my lady, you're clever! But once
bit, you know. You duped me finely
over myself; you're not likely to do it
again. l shall find out the truth about
John Dene."
do So" she said-"if you can, if you
dare!"
And Vincent rushed out of the room
in rage, aware that she still held the
cards, and that, as she had limited, it was
wiser to let sleeping dogs lie.
| Meanwhile Honor was facing her
changed outlook with gallant courage
which her aunt found wholly admirable.
Perceiving the necessity of relieving the
old lady from the burden of her ma inte-
nance at once, she determined to take
the first situation she could get, and then
at her leisure discover if possible some
means by which she could contribute to-
wards a more comfortable home for Miss
Challis than her own slender income
could give. She had heaps of friends.
and did not doubt that some one would
find her what she wanted, seeing she was
prepared to take anything,
And she was right. Within a week
she had entered on an engagement as
governess to four children under ten.
One of her friends had met a Mrs VII
mot Blake in society and heard of her
distressful condition owing to the depar-
ture of her governess to nurse a dying
mother Mrs Wilmot Blake offered q
generous salary and demanded no eertif-
Gates or testimonials as to efficiency. So
| Honor went straightway. After she had
been installed in her post for three days
she resolved never again to undertake
any work Tor so entirely unexacting an
employer. Mrs. Wilmot Blake carried
her amiable habit of exacting nothing in
particular from any one into every pos
| sible relation of life, with the result that
her house was a veritable chaos.
| Honor realized this at first with a
stunned dismay. Then she courageously
| set herself to evolve order at any rate in
her own domain. But it was not easy.
Mrs. Wilmot- Blake disregarded all rules
and regulations, and would trail her
rustling skirts into the busy schoolroom
| for gossip, or take one child or another
away from it, Just as the fancy seized
| her.
| Still Honor toiled theoretically and al
most forgot her heartache in the midst
of her multifarious duties For her own
| four charges depended on her for every
| thing, and there were two more in the
nursery whose neglected condition in the
midst of so much luxury filed the girls
soul with compassion.
"She's a treasure positive treasure.
She will do anything" Mrs. Wilmot-
Blake used to say gushingly to her init
mate friends. And to do her Justice she
was sincerely grateful to her governess,
and did all she could to her to make Miss
Challis happy.
Honor was not so miserable as she had
expected to be- She was doing real
work, and she knew it. And the chill
dren-the younger ones at any rate-re-
paid her for her devotion by their affec-
ton; the two eldest had been spoilt long
enough to be fractions and disobedient,
and her worst times were with them.
She had flung herself heartily into her
new life and refused to let her mind
dwell on the past 1t was all ended, all
except that faithful service which was
to last as long as she lived. Honor hid
that certainty deep down in her heart,
and glowed and smiled to herself as she
remembered John Dene's steadfast eyes
and earnest words. He never meant less
than he said. And if she were indeed
more precious than anything else on
Garth
Farther than that she did not allow
herself TO 90, but turned resolutely to
her troublesome children and waited for
her next letter for John wrote to her
regularly. To his own amazement he
discovered he had got into the habit Of
sending her long letter twice week,
and, what was more, of receiving brief