Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1909-06-16
CHAPTER XVI.

Harry Herne went home TO MS
hut, the happiest and the most
wretched of menl At one moment
the conviction that Lucille loved him
filed him with an exultation that was
ecstatic, the next, the thought of
what he had done filed him with an
agony of remorse!
He, Harry Herne, upon whose life
rested a shadow which even time
could not lessen: he. her servant, had
dared to love her, and to tell her of
his lovei
What right had he to commit such
an act of madness? He could not
help loving her any more than the
flowers can help worshipping the sun
or the brook running down to the
ocean; but to tell herl and to force
her to admit that she returned his
Iovef 1t was worse than mad, it was
criminal!
There is only one course open to
me-" he murmured, as he paced up
and down the small room; "if there
is one spark of honor left alight in
me, must go. Oh, my goddess! my
beautiful angel! Could l drag you
down to my level! Could l let you be
the wife of Harry Herne-become the
target at which the world would point
the finger of scorn, whispering, That
is the lady who married her groom
her servant-a young man who is not
even respeetable?' For that is what
they would say. Mo- l must go. 1t
will break my heart; it will crush all
the youth and hope out of me; it
will make me an outcast, without an
aim or object in life; but | must go!
If she were the daughter of one of her
laborers, instead of being the Lady
of Darracourt | should not be worthy
of her. | to think of love, ], who am
set apart from the rest of my fell
lows Oh, shame, shame upon mel
And, yet, could not help it; it was
too much for man to endure-the
sight of her loneliness, her beauty
which carried me beyond the power of
restraint. I forgot everything, and
now / must pay the penalty. And
she? All, she will soon forget me!
What am l. that Lucille should re-
member me? There are other men
more worthy of her than l am, and
one will come who will teach her to
forget. Yes, must goi''
In the ardor of his resolve he actu-
ally began to pack up few of his
most precious books; then he paused
and sighed. How could he leave
her so suddenly, without a word of
farewell? Besides, during the last
few weeks he had interested himself
about the farms and stables, had be-
come almost steward in some re-
spects; he could not leave it all in
confusion at moments notice. One
or two days would be required to
set matters straight, to see to the
horses he had bought, and other sim
liar duties. He would leave every
thing in order, just as if nothing had
happened and his departure were the
result of a mere within.
Having so resolved, he did pack up
some books and few articles of
clothing; then he took his gun and
wandered out into the woods to re-
call every word she had said to him,
TO go over every slight gesture she
had made, to dwell upon the vision of
her face, and indulge in the sunshine
of happiness and misery which his
love had brought him.
As he was striding along. commun-
ing with the bitterness of his sor-
row, he saw dog run across the
pa h in chase of hare. He knew
every dog in the place, and recog-
nized this one instantly; it was a
lurcher belonging to the most motor
ious poacher in Darracourt, and
clever even for lurcher Harry
had often warned its master that the
animal would be shot if it were found
hunting in the preserves, and he
raised his gun to cover it, but the
dog was too quick for him, and got
out of sight in the underground. To
hunt something, if it were only
dog, would afford him some relief,
and mechanically he set off after it.
BY knack which only your born
woodsman can acquire he managed
to deaden his own footsteps while he
listened to the dogs. The animal
had evidently dropped his hare. and
was making for the ring fence, no
doubt to rejoin his expectant master.
If Harry could catch both the human
and the canine poacher. it would af-