Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1908-05-14

| hHOWlSuSS OI IL ulduo II DIS LISoA W
her as if the tragedy had been the
| event of yesterday.
! And now she saw that this fact
threw a flood of light on many things
| the true meaning of which she had
not perceived. She saw, too, that the
| knowledge of it was not confined to
herself-that Lady Sisterson, Max
we'll and Mary Sisterson, and Dr. Flint
undoubtedly knew the truth.
Here was the explanation of those
| intimations she had received of the
nature of Sir Johns "delusion" from
Lady and Maxwell Sisterson.
Here was the explanation of those
fits of deep depression that beset and
overwhelmed Mary Sisterson, of those
| strange speeches of hers in which she
said she wished she were dead Mary
| Sisterson never spoke of Sir John as
suffering from 'delusion," knowing
we'll enough what in reality it was.
And DR.. Flint? That extraordinary
/ harangue of his about the wonder and
! the mystery of a brain that could con-
coct a purely fictitious story around
| some grains of truth had been meant
| she understood now, to throw dust in
| her eyes. There were indeed mystery
| and wonder in the case, but not as
! Flint represented them.
How they had come to know the
| truth Christabel could not guess, but
she was certain that they did know it.
| Then Christabe1 asked herself what
was her own position now? What was
she to do? Where did her duty lie?
In any case she felt that she was
placed in the most painful dilemma.
Here she was sitting by the side of
mantle man she loved; and she
knew, though he did not, that his faith
er had been murdered and robbed of
as valuable a secret as any in the
world by that CHASTITY old man, her
patient, who lay slowly dying in the
great house in Hans Square. All I'M
Willingly she had come upon this dark
and terrible story of crime-the
threads of it were in her hand What
was she to do with them? Should not
the murder be avenged? Did it not
cry for justice to be done, even after
all these years had passed since it
had been committed? But justice on
the criminal could hardly be done, for
was he not already in the shadow of
death and passing on to higher than
human judgment?
But John Sisterson had robbed as
well as committed murder. Was not
Norman the rightful owner of all that
great wealth which Sisterson had &C.
cumulated because of his possession
of the secret he had stolen from Nor
mans father? Was there not justice
to be done here? But how? Christa-
bel knew perfectly that What Sir John
said while in a state of so-called de-
fusion would not be admitted as evil
dence in any court of law; but was it
not possible that if Norman were in
possession of the truth he might be
able to bring forward facts that would
substantiate any claim he might
make?
Shall I tell him what 1 know?" she
asked herself, and her answer was
NO thousand times no."
Yet it was a tremendous tempta-
ton.
But she told herself that it was one
to which she must in no circum-
stances give way She was bound by
her position to silence-bound as
much as a clergyman, a doctor or a
lawyer. There was the point of hon
or, and it must be unhesitatingly OBJ
served, no matter what the cost to
herself might be- The secrets that
she had learned while discharging her
duty must be held sacred and inviolate
by her. Never through her must Nor
man learn the truth.
So she told herself, but the tempta-
ton was strong. She reminded her
self of the saying of old time, Let
justice be done, though the heavens
fall" 1t was probably within her
power to make her lover a very rich
man, and through him to make her
self, as his wife, a rich woman. And
if Norman were rich, would he then
not be able to realize those dreams of
beauty in stone and marble of which
he had sometimes spoken to her? No.
she must not think of it; she must
steel her heart against such ideas.
Her honor-her honor as a nurse
was concerned, and she must do what
honor bade her. But for Norman she
would never have known the truth,
end had she not loved him, she said to
herself, she would never have thought
for one moment of revealing that she
had learned the frightful meaning of
the words that came from the lips of
Sir John And yet she felt tempted to
tell him all, for a great wrong had
been done him-a wrong that should
be righted. 1t seemed terribly hard
that her lips must remain sealed, and
yet honor, in itself a holy thing, i'm
peratively commanded silence.
All these things were passing
through her mind with the speed of
lightning-at high pressure the mind
either fails utterly or works with in
credible swiftness-while she and
Norman were talking
| cit was very sad" said she, in that
mechanical manner. Yes, it was sad
| far sadder than Norman dreamed, far
worse than he imagined, but he must
never know the truth from her. Muir
! der and wrong cried to heaven for
! Justice and retribution, for the right
| and restitution, but so far as she was
concerned they must cry in vain.
But there was great struggle with
in her. and it was small wonder that
she became pale and faint as the con-