Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1908-12-04

Just give me the money Tor the need
full, and I'll manage all that. Hilda
Will enjoy it as coming from you, but
not as gifts. Do you understand"
Il thought 1 was her brother" said
|. "Aren't you proceeding on the theo-
ry that Pm her husbandY'
ut wouldn't make any difference If
you w>re her father" she declared.
1--WE don't want clothes from III ia
theirs. We want the money for them.
But Wen AXE diamonds. oh, you must
buy Hilda lots of pretty thfngsi Isn't
it lovely that you can do it? And isn't
she a dear?"
81 surely never dreamed of having a
sister like her. said I, and was sur
prised to find that l had told the truth.
So Mrs. Gilbert and 1 went shopping
next day at the earliest possible hour.
1 had not supposed that it was posi-
BILE for a man to tell so many lies in
one day. l spent the forenoon with
Mrs. Gilbert, and we talked of moth
ing but my sister'-every word of
mine q lie, of course. l spent the aft
ernoon or most of it with Hilda, whom
1 called by that new name, though /
knew it was not hers, and, to make
matters worse, she had fallen into a
dubious state of mind, and l must re-
hearse to her all Connor's proofs with
an air of serene and blissful convic-
ton, for if a mere shadow of doubt
could so affect her spirits what would
the plain truth do?
On Christmas day Hilda woke to find
the plain room from which we dared
not yet move her bright with many
flowers which the nurse had softly set
in their places. This was the best day
that Hilda had had since the beginning
of her illness. The tide of returning
health had begun to run strong, and so
we were able to make it something like
a real Christmas without risk of harm.
But the climax was reserved for the
evening, after Hilda had had her sup
per. Then the lights were extin-
guished, the door was opened and in
there walked a Christmas tree, appar-
emily upon its own legs, but really pro-
PEELED by the serviceable Conner. 1t
blazed with candles and glittered with
tinsel, and its boughs were well laden
better, indeed, than l was aware-for
the wise Mrs. Gilbert had bought some
gifts for me from Hilda that the lear
girl might not lack the pleasure of Civ
ing.
l have never seen upon the face of
any grown person such an expression
of enhancement in pure joy as glowed
on Hilda's In the light of the shining
tree. At the sight of it l lost my sense
of shame and deception, and a child
like faith took hold upon me that this
would all come right and that 1 should
find a way to make her happy all her
life.
BY the next day, however, l had re-
covered some part of my common
sense, n the difficulties of the sit
uation were clear to me again, but the
path of escape from them was not
clear at all. l spent that day chiefly
in meditation and the next as well.
Then a voice seemed to tell me that
/ needed the counsel of a oma and
whom cnnld1anneal +a-hnt Mrs. GIL
bert? By this time Hilda had been
transferred to the Gilbert residence. a
favor not too great to be accepted by
a young lady whose brother owns half
of a very productive gold mine. l Sc
cured a private interview with Mrs.
Gilbert and disclosed to her the truth.
"Oh, impossible, impossible." she
cried. why, you semed to know each
other at the very first g%lancei''
A l was five years old when ] last
saw my sister and she was barely
one" said I, "a recognition would not
amount to very much, ever il 1t had
occurred"
"Ah. but there's instinct
Mrs. Gilbert" said l gently, there
is no more chance that | am this young
lady's brother than if | were the beard
ed aoudad in the Central park zoo"
"But what shall we dor she ex-
claimed. Indeed, this is a very deli
cate matter. We cannot tell her now.
She would not remain in this house. l
know her. She has the strictest ideas
about mourning obligations. She would
rather die in the street"
AT this went into a panic and VOW
ed that I would keep up the deception
W - i''b hChi pi "a II i4OhSh II
should sink my soul beneath the reach
of mercy.
A few days later Conner came to
my rooms with a very long face.
There really is a snag in our story
said he. "Why in blaZes did those
Newfoundland Grays keep this thing
so quiet? Why didn't your uncle find
his little niece? 1t is inconceiyable
that the Grays did not get a list of the
Delphic's passengers. That would have
told them plainly who their founding
was. She couldn't be anybody else,
and surely they must have known that
your uncle (whose name, with yours.
was in every account of the wreck
would pay them. handsomely for bring
ing the little girl to him. Didn't your