Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1910-04-01
condemned me 10 tortures What am

condemned me to tortures. What I am
you made me-"
Inc two walked slowly down the
corridor. Motioning to Larry and Bet
" 70 await his return Johnny followed
IN their wake Through the main
oullolng and across to the south room
wing they went. stopping in what was
evidently the old mans sitting room.
mere the discussion broke out afresh.
nate yOu I say A thousand
tlfnes more" repeated the old man.
OnIlllaI son! But 1 have outwitted
you! My cohorts, my good black ne
groes, any one of them worth a thou
SAND such sons as you. have found out
your secret castle, the gate to those
bonanza fields where the diamonds lie
SO closely bedded together that a nee
dlepolnt could not separate them I am
Tree of You now, forever, free; do you
understand? That wealth that your
mother and young aunt so long de-
MED me is mine, mine and CerisSe's
An, there is devotion for you. devotion
Tor you! She is a girl after my own
heart! What vim! What nerve! What
daring! My Cerisse! No chicken
nerved fool like you. and you. my son!
Bah! Now that I have the path to tho
mines. now that l need him no longer,
1ackIeye may go. and his children
with him If he wishes. They are but
poor offspring for my beautiful daugh-
ter to own. Small wonder she never
loved them. Nor him either. Her hearE
has long been with one man, and now
with all this new wealth she shall have
hlm Money buys anythingy Diamonds
are money. Cerisse shall be rid Of this
| Hackleye. 1 hate him, tool"
Another figure stepped out Of the
darkness. Johnny recognized the early
morning visitor he had trailed from
the Desterle home into the Flanders
mansion, months before
Don't believe that for a moment"
this man rasped. You blithering old
fool you! Cerisse is dead! Do you
hear! She's dead! Dead"
The old man dropped his staff and
fell back into the arms Of lie MaIheu-
reux, who led him to a seat near by.
'Hackleye. Hackleye!" walled the
old man, you didnt-you didn't. You
| didn't kill herr"
! Hackleye pulled a roll of newspaper
clippings from his pocket and dangIed
them before the old mans eyes, and
| spread them out on the table before
| him. With quivering lips the stricken
man read, punctuating each sentence
with a moan. He saw the headlines
only, then flung the papers from him
| and tried to reach Hackteye with his
staff.
And you, you" he malevolently
| called to lie MaIheureux. why did you
not prevent it?"
| How could II" answered LIE Nal
| heureux, and why should l? You
| know what Cerisse was, father. A muir
| deress at heart, and my own sister. My
mothers daughter."
| Yes, and mine" snarled the old man.
where are those brats of Hackleye'5?
| I'll kill them-kill them, I tell you,"
| lie Malheureux rang sharply on a
bell Benoni entered from the hall, ana
| together they bore the old man from
the room. Hackleye gathered up the
clippings and with darkening brow
paused before the portrait of the two
children that hung on the wall before
him. Opposite was a life size painting
of the mother, and his wife-radiant
| SI1lllnS DIS SIZE Iidu DSCI III LiSi cal ~
| girlhood and when she had listened
to the ardent love making Of her flu
| ture husband.
AS the man looked the frown van
| ished. A breeze stealing in from the
| window swayed the portrait forward
on the wall With OutStretChed hands
and lips apart the girl in the picture
seemed to move towards the wedIy
| man, to offer him the roses she held n
her hands. The dim lights completed
| the illusion. Hackleye sprang forward
to embrace the girl in the picture. soft
words upon his lips
Sweetheart, sweetheart" he cried
you've come back to me. 1 know 1t,
| and you'll never go again, will YOU,
dear? Just my girl again, just mine,
| just mine"
He had touched the canvas now and
| it's clammy surface woke him from his
| dream. Hurting it back against the
wall, Hackleye snatched a jeweled
knife from the table, and slashed the
| canvas into finest fringe,
And all for love of a woman" Quoth
Johnny to himself, as Hackleye un-
seeing rushed down the corridor in a
blind rage and almost knocked him
| over.
| (To be continuedl