The Washington herald., 1912-08-11
you mean that there i. another No.

/ man.!
Bernadine shook his head.
Worse than that" he answered.
Your husband stole even your love un-
der false pretenses You think that his
| life is strange one, that his nerves
have broken down, that he flies from
place to place for distraction, for change
of scene. II is not 50. He left Rome,
he left Nice, he left Paris, for one and
the same reason. He left because he
went in peril of his life. l know little
of your history, but know as much As
this. If ever man deserved the fate
from which he fees, your husband de-
serves it"
You are mad" she faltered.
"No, / am sane" he went on. 1T is
you who are mad, not to have UNDER
stood. Your husband goes ever in fear
of his life. His real name is one brand
ed with ignominy throughout the world.
The man whom you have married, to
whom you are so scrupulously faithful.
IS the man who sent your father to
death and your brothers to Siberia"
Father Paul~ she Screamed.
You have lived with him, you are his
wife" Bernadine declared.
The color had left her cheeks; her
eyes, with their penciled brows, were
fxed in an almost CHASTITY stare; her
breath was coming in uneven gasps.
She looked at him in silent terror.
1T is not true" she cried at last; ct
cannot be true"
Sophia" he said, you can prove It
for yourself. l know a little of your
husband and his doings. Does he not
carry always with him a black box
which he will not allow out of his
sight?"
Always" she assented. How did
you know. By night his hand rests
upon it. BY day, if he goes out, it is
in my charge"
Fetch it now," Bernadine directed,
"and / will prove my words"
She did not hesitate for a moment.
She disappeared into her inner room;
and came back, only a few moments alb
sent, carrying in her hand black leath-
er dispatch box.
"You have the key?" he asked.
Yes" she answered, looking at him
and trembling. but l dare not-oh. l
dare not open it 7"
Sophia" he said, eff my words are
not true, will pass out of your life for
always. / challenge you. II you open
that box you will know that your hus-
band is, indeed, the greatest seoundrel
in Europe"
She drew key from a gold chain
around her neck
There are two locks" she told him.
THE other is a combination, but I now
the word Who's that?"
She started suddenly There was a
TAR -
threw an antimacassar half over the
box, but he was too late. De Gro.t and
Hagon had crossed the threshold. The
Hagon, transhxed, stood with his eyes
riveted upon Bernadine. His face was
distorted with passion, he seemed like
a man beside himself with fury. De
Crost came slowly forward into the
Count Won Hern," he said. y think
that you had better leave"
The woman found words.
Not yet" she cried, mot yeti Paul,
listen to me. This man has told me a
terrible thing"
The breath seemed to come through
Haeon's teeth like a hiss.
'He has told you"
1<lStCu 10 IIlc, SDe CONIluuSQ- II Is
the truth which you must tell now. He
says that you-you are Father Paul
Hagon did not hesitate for a second.
ct is true" he admitted.
Then there was a silence-short. but
tragical. Hagon seemed suddenly to
have collapsed. He was like man who
has just had a stroke. He stood NUT
tering to himself.
1T is the -this-the endr he
said. in a low tone. Sophia"
She shrank away from him He drew
himself up Once more the great light
flashed in his face
1T was for your sake" he said SIM
ply, "for your sake, Sophia. / came to
you poor and you would have nothing
to say to me. My love for you burned
in my veins like fever 1t was for YOU
! did it-for your sake / sold my hon
or, the love of my country, the freedom
of my brothers. For your sake I risk
ed an awful death. For your sake I
have lived like a hunted man, with the
cry of the wolves always in my ears,
and the fear of death and OF eternal
torture with me day by day. No other
man since the world was made has
done more. Have pity on mel"
She was unmoved: her face had lost
all expression. No one noticed in that
rapt moment that Bernadine had crept
from the room.
at was you." she cried. who killed
my father. and sent my brothers into
exile"
God help mel" he nloaned.
She turned to De Grost.
Take him away with you. please" she
said. 81 have finished with him"
Sophia - he pleaded.
She leaned across the table and struck
him heavily upon the cheek
"If you stay here she r,uttered, Il
shall kill you myself. ="
That night, the body of an unknown
foreigner was found in the attic of a
cheap lodging house in Soho. The dis
covery itself and the verdict at the in
quest occupied only a few lines in the
morning newspapers Those few lines
were the epitaph of one who was very
nearly Reinzi The greater part Of
MS papers De Grost mercifully Destroy
ID. but one in particular he preserved.
Within a week the much delayed treaty
vas signed at Paris, London, and ST.
Petersburg.
Copyright. lsi2 by the Associated Lte..ry Pr,AJ
Reme~bered Her ntrthd.w