Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-15
Continued from page 8

bly, have sufficient good feeling left to keep
it to yourselves" He pushed box of cigars
across the table, and they gladly accepted
the smoke of peace.
"The explanation of what you have just
SEEM" said Markham, will not take long.
Some ten years ago lived in large town
in the West, where [ practised law. | was
a widower with one child, daughter. l
had little to trouble me, until there came to
the town with travelling theatrical COM
pany young fellow who somehow made our
acquaintance. The upshot of it was that
he asked me for Jenny. had never favored
his acquaintance myself, and refused, and
when my daughter declared that she would
marry the man despite my opposition II
drove her from my doors and hardened my
heart against her, as thought, forever. |
name, and cut myself off from all former
friends and acquaintance. Today they
think me dead Markham paused, his head
bowed on his hand.
"But the picture?" said Lascelles gently.
al am coming to that. l heard nothing of
my daughter or her husband, except that
they had gone abroad. Then l heard in a
roundabout way that they were in very low
circumstances indeed, and were both acting
for one of the moving picture companies.
But | was still bitter-God forgive mel
and made no attempt to communicate with
her. Whether she ever wrote to me cannot
tell, as had left no means by which l could
be traced, and as l told you just now all
who had known me supposed me dead. A
year later the news came to me that two
bodies supposed to be those of my daughter
and her husband had been found in Lake
Erie on the breaking up of the ice in spring,
"a case of double suicide, it was supposed.
The detective l employed contrived to Sc
cure as a memento for me a film of some
little play in which they had both acted at
some time. l cut out the part where my
daughter appeared and burnt the rest. Later
| destroyed all save the part you have seen.
1t seemed to me that Fate had placed it in
my hands, She is pleading to someone-to
me-for forgiveness. | procured machine
and-well, you know the rest. A crazy fad,
you will say,-and indeed think l am going
mad sometimes,-bu it is my only cOnsola-
ton to forgive her from my broken heart;
though she will never, never hear me do so
now!" The speakers voice broke, and he
buried his face in trembling hands.
HUNSTABLE'S eyes were wet with tears
IL but Lascelles' sparkled less with sympa-
thy than with excitement. He laid his hand
on Markham's shoulder.
"You poor old duffer!" he said softly.
"Don't YOU ever see ewspapers-illustrated
papers?'
Markham looked up in some surprise;
then his head dropped again. "Why should
II" he replied YEARLY. IL have no interest
in what goes on nowadays. My heart is in
the past"
@Your Jenny had a voice, Markham"
The other nodded. "She might have sung
her road to fortune" he replied sadly.
@Well, she has done So" said Lascelles,
striving to speak in calm tones.
Markham looked up quickly. HWhat do
you mean? Speak," he exclaimed.
"Mean?" cried Lascelles "Marky, you
have given us sensation. l will give you
a bigger one Brace up. Your Jenny is
alive! l recognized her at once, and would
swear to her among thousand. Besides,
your story or part of it, appeared in all last
Sundays papers,-Marian Delavalle,. the
great contralto. Her husband is her bust
ness manager"
@Delavalle! Her mothers maiden name!H
cried Markham hoarsely. "But you are fool
ing mel
"Fooling your" shouted Lascelles "Why,
Man, she is advertised all over London, and
if you had not been such a pig-headed old
hermit, burying yourself alive up here in
th;c r,,,,ctv hole Won would have found if