The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-03-23
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Il 7ACABOvD HEROINE
M By ANNIE EDWARDS. ~
VIII.
10
Continued

come some night, and, standing be-
side her bed, lay an icy, r~etributire
hand upon her face? To NEEDLE
with these holy persons beads, fol-
aught she knows, may be the mortaJ
of crimes; and-"crime, or no crime
1 will do it," decides the girl, with
the spasmodic towards courage OF
her sex. Now, may fortune be her
best friend; may no inmate of the
. house pass from floor to floor while
the sacrilegious act is being carried
into effect.
The cranky fastening Of the glass
door gives a groan as she opens it
causing Belinda's guilty conscience
to- quake again; but no ear save hel
own hears the sound. She unclasps
the necklace, shivering as her fingers
: come ii contact with the clammy wax
throat; then bears away her booty,
sher legs trembling under her at ev'
cry step upstairs. She takes it to the
light Of her solitary candle; admires
its mock effulgence; clasps it, trem'
bling, around her little, warm, soft
4 neck; surveys herself on tiptoe in the
furnished mirror above the chimney
piece; and where is conscience now,
where remorse? Admirable safety.
. why is it that conscience and re-
morse hold their peace as long as the
taste of the apple continues sweet be-
tween our teeth?
She surveys herself, weA-nigh awe
stricken by her own fairness. She
feels that to be the possessor of real
diamonds she would cheerfully be-
come Mrs. Augustus Jones and start
for Chaplain tomorrow. Now moth
ing is wanting but fan and lovers.
The fan can be had; a huge gilt-and-
black structure Of the date of thirty
years ago, which lies for ornament on
the mantel-shelf; and of this Belinda
possesses herself. But the lovers?
bah! some unimportant details are
bound to be wanting at every rehear-
.ssal! When the prologue is over, the
play played out in earnest, the low
ers, it may be supposed, will come of
themselves. .
She struts up and down the room,
her train o~utstretched, her fan in mo-
ton, her ayes glancing complacently
at the mignon little figure the glass
gives her duskily back. IF Captain
Temple could see me if Captain
Temple could see me now?" thinks
vanity. "If he knew 1 could be any
thing but ragged, and hideous, and a
Sgamin. And If he did know this,
what would Captain Temple care?"
says another sterner voice than that
,saof vanity. "Of what account as the
s$whole world to him by the side Of
I Rose and Roses beauty"
I q A sudden leaden weight sinks dead
ON, Belinda's heart. She is nothing
tot Roger Temple; holds no more
place in his present than in his flu
Stture. She seems to stifie. The saints
paste diamonds must surely be very
heavy, so painful is the choking feel
ing in her throat. Turning abruptly
away from the sight of her inery and
OF herself, she extinguishes the can
Z die; then goes out bare-armed, bare
necked, in her diamond necklace and
train, upon the balcony.
It is now past midnight, and some
thing like cooler air begins to stir
across the sleeping country. Balmy
sweet is the air; every floor Of the
vast old house has its balcony, every
y balcony it's flowers; the sky is all a
culver with stars; mountains, river,
plains, are lying in one great hush
of purple sleep. Belinda's rests her
arm against the iron balustrade, and,
gazing away westward toward the
rugged line of Spanish coast, muses.:
Spain or Chaplain?
. She has learned much since she
asked herself the same question this
afternoon; unknowingly has passed
the traditional brook, perhaps, where
womanhood and childhood meet; for
very certain has accepted Mr.. Jones.
elected in cold blood for Chaplain
Chaplain, responsibility, riches. And
yet-and yet, if Maria Jose Cor some
one else) were to appear before he1
+, just now, and
Click! click! goes the sharp sound
OF a vesuvian close, as it seems, be-
5 side Belinda's ear. She turns with
: start, and there, on the adjoining
: balcony, stands Roger Temple. Roger
may breakfast with Rose, but il
would be the acme of indiscretion fol
him to lodge under the same root
with her. Thus the widow, very
well versed in the minutiae of sur
face morals, decides. And so-fron
Scylla to Charbydis-fate, and the
landlord of the Hotel Isabella to-
gether, have contrived to lodge him
under the same roof with Belinda
The Maison Lohobiague has two
flights of stairs, in these modern
times has indeed been converted into
two distinct houses, one Of which i:
rented by the people Of the Isabella
/ as a succursale, Or wing for overflow
ing guests, duringthe bathing season
Belinda sees him, grasps the whole
dramatic capabilities of the situation
in a moment, but gives no sign.
have said that nature has endowed
the child with abundant initiative tai
ent; everyday association with this
Basques, the most excitement seeking
play loving people in Europe, ha:
stimulated the talent into a kind o.
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