Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1909-04-29
CHAPTER XXI.
What Anthony Strangways Knew.

"Olive Vanstone living!"
More than once Anthony Strang-
ways repeated the words to himself
as he walked on to Bonholt Hume's
house. as though the strange scene
in dumb show that he had witnessed
by Philip Hume's grave, and above
all the glimpse of the woman's white,
passionate face revealed to him in the
moonlight, had startled this man
beyond measure Olive Vanstone liv-
ing-and in Wi1dfell of all places in
the world, And what had that
strange scene meant?
1t had startled the rector, too, to
come upon Olive crouching there, in
an attitude that was the abandon
ment of despairiug grief by the new
! grave.
She seemed to have recovered from
her Illness woman utterly changed;
I she had forgotten Philip Hume's cal
/ lous treatment of her, had forgotten
her own wild, passionate impulse OF
revenge for the wrongs she had
brooded over to the verge of madness.
Passion hatred and scOrn-all seemed
to have been burnt out during her
weeks of illness. She had come back
from the dreams and shadows Of de-
lirium with all memory utterly eff
faced from her mind of the night
Philip Hume had died, with the old
intense love for the man, whom she
did not know to be dead as she spake
of him, as ardent again as her eX-
pressed hatred of him had been
Olive Vanstone was still an inmate
of the rectory. She was hardly
strong enough yet to make plans for
the future, to think of a way of earn
| ing her own living, as soon she would
! have to do. Yet she showed a curl
Gus lack of sense of gratitude; she
! seemed to shrink from Stephen Ru-
then, and she scarcely troubled to
conceal her unconquerable prejudice
| against Hilda.
1t was on Hilda Ruthen that her
! Jealous anger had fastened-an I'M
/ reasoning anger that passed the dead
man by. 1t was Hilda who had rob-
| bed her of Philip Hume's love, Hilda
who had lured him from her; nothing
mind where the thong ht had grown
! could shake that conviction in her
of cd
like a poisonous weed.
And yet through all the troubled
! nightmare that her coming had
| brought, the memory of the old Olive
! he had loved, his own broken love
story that he looked back on, lived in
| Stephen Ruthen's mind. Perhaps in
! his own feelings towards her he might
have found the key to the enigma
! that sometimes amazed him: that she
) should still cling SO passionately TO
| that love for the dead man. The key
! to the enigma. She had treated him
! badly, as Philip Hume had treated
! her badly; but love was thing apart
! from such considerations-yes, he
! loved her still. He had known, with
her return after the unbroken silence
] of the three years, that his love was
! unaltered--but a love no happiness
could ever crown. They could never
! come together again; he would not
even have wished it, Only the old
; love had been deep enough for him to
! feel he must shield this woman at
| any cost, to sin for her, even to let
another suffer that she might be
| saved.
"Olivel"
She had started at the cry, spring
| ing to her feet. She shook herself
| free of his touch as he put a plying
| hand on her shoulder.
Come home, Olive you shouldn't
| come here at such an hour, far from
strong as you yet are Sc said, gen
| tly.
why not?" she demanded. There
! is all that | love-" And she pointed
! down at the grave, where the new
! turf had scarcely taken root, with
swift, passionate gesture that made
| the scene seem so strange to Anthony
Strangways as he watched from the
road 'This is the grave of my love
and happiness-the man who never
would have left me, only that your
sister lured him away from me-"
THAT is neither just nor true" he
said, quietly.
"Of course, you defend your sis
| ter" she famed out vehemently, "and
| because he is your sisters lover you
helped Philips murderer to escape.
Oh, | know. Lathom was in the rec
tory that night. l heard his voice. I
heard you talking in the hall. You
thought I didn't hear-and / dragged
myself out of bed whilst the nurse
was doing, and I heard the voices
of the police as you got him out by
some trick Or other. And | would