The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1909-12-16
CHAPTER XIV.

CHAPTER XIV.
BY nightfall Agatha was lying in
her Garkened bedroom, in the house
from which she had sailed in the
morning in all the bravery of her we'd
ding garments. with a hospital nurse
by her misunderstanding to and fro up
on her tumbled pillows in the delirium
of high fever. The story of what had
happened in the vestry soon spread
like wild-fre. and the deepest compass
sion was felt, both for her and for the
unfortunate man who was the cause
of the catastrophe.
1t appeared that on first entering the
vestry, nothing unusual had taken
place. Miss Carroll was the first to
kiss her brother and his new wife, then
others followed quickly with their good
wishes and congratulations. Then
Agatha sat down quite gaily to write
her maiden name for the last time.
Then ii was Miss Carrolls turn, but
just as she was STOPPING down over
the table to afIix her signature below
theirs, some one standing behind her
caught her by the arm and whispered
to her, with agitation:
Look at your brother. Miss Carroll
for heavens sake look at himi"
She dropped the pen and turned
quickly. Rupert was deadly pale: he
stood motionless. clutching his head
between his hands, and staring down
blankly and wildly at the written
names in the register on the table.
1T is wrongi all wrongi" he cried.
he ;ol,t
some dreadful mistake here Release
mel" he cried. turning fercely round
upon the startled Vicar. set me free:
undo this horrible mockery of mar
riage. to which 1 will never consent 1t
cannot be too late; 1 remember every
thing; / am engaged to be married:
the woman to whom 1 am engaged is
waiting for me to come to her-let me
go-set me free; this marriage is moth
ing but a sham and a mockery-Aga-
tina Dale cannot be my wife,"
Then Agatha had turned away
speschless and pale. appalled, by the
hideous horror of these dreadful words.
and breaking through the many kindly
and compassionate arms that would
have held her back, she fled like a mad
seriousness of the crowd on either side
of her. and no thought save a wild
craving to escape and to hide herself
neutrality-suspicious.. out of the
world, till at last she had mercifully
fallen insensible amongst those who
surrounded her. ere she reached the
church door.
ror Rupert ~ Barrett, who was
perfectly convinced that he had gone
out of his mind, got him away quietly
by the door of the vestry. and hur-
ried him back to the Vicarage. But
he was not in the least mad. only fran
tic with despair. After a while he be-
came calmer. and expressed the deep
est penitence and regret for the pain
and shock he must have given to Aga
tina; but when Mr.. Barrett assured
him solemnly that his marriage was an
accomplished fact, that Agatha was his
legal wife and that nothing on earth
could now annul or cancel his union
20 her. he became stricken with a per-
feet paroxysm of grief. both on her
.ount and on his own, and burst in
passion of tears most painful and
7s.rtrending to witness.
Then. when he grew calmer. he de-
scribed to the Vicar exactly what had
happened to him. The pains in his
head. he said, had continued to in
crease in intensity for some days past
but on the morning of the wedding
there had come a little respite. only to
be followed when the service actually
began, by a fiercer renewal of the ag-
ony. He confessed that he had been
scarcely conscious of what was going
on in the church, nor of the presence
Of his bride by his side. He had drop
ped the ring literally because he did
not know whether he held it or no.
When he got into the vestry. lie felt
convinced that some terrible thing
was about to happen to him almost i'm
mediately-he said that he believed
that he should drop dead. Suddenly he
seemed to hear a clap Of thunder; IL
might have been just before he signed
his name. or Immediately afterwards.
he could not tell. But the moment he
heard it. the blackness and the pain
all rolled away, he looked at the
white robed figure by his side. expect
ing to see, not the face of Agatha Dale
but that of another woman to whom
he was engaged and whom he loved
he looked down at the book and saw
not her name, but Agatha's. Then
remembrance came fully back to him.
and that page of his past that had
been blotted out of his memory. was
made clear and distinct to him once
more.
Last summer I met her, the woman
love, and shall always love-" he said
to the distressed but sympathetic VII
cad. Then, you know, had that blow
on my head, and my long illness af-
forwards. and every trace of her van
ished out CT my mind. / forgot her
utterly, l knew / had forgotten some
thing, 1 was always trying to remem-
Der what, but / could not grope my
way through the thick darkness. Once
had a CLEAN, recollected the place
she used to live in, and Louise and /
started off there together, but when /
got to 1t, the house was no longer as 1
remembered 1t; she must have left 1t,
for there was an auction going on. and
1 became bewildered and everything
faded away again in my mind. could
not remember her in the least Lat
terly, since I have been engaged to
Aggie, I have suffered from the most