The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1911-2016, 1914-06-18
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she was innocent Of the only crime
could lay. at her feet. Now come
to the crime of which I stand self
accused. !. must have been mad al
these months. I have no other defense
! to offer. You may take 1t as you see
it for yourselves. do not ask fol
pardon. After I deliberately had SCI
about to shield this unhappy girl-te
cheat the law, If you please-tc chea
you, perhaps conceived the horrible
thought to avenge myself for all the
indignities had sustained at the
hands Of you Wrandalls, and ct the
same time to even my account w9fsst
the one woman whom I could put my
finger upon as having robbed me o.
my husbands love. You see I put il
mildly. l have hated all of you, Mrs
Wrandall, even as you have hated me
Today-now-I do not feel as l did il
other days toward you. do not love
you, still I do not hate you. l do moi
forgive you, and yet think l have
come to see things from your point
Of view. I can only repeat that
do not hate you as once did,
| She paused. The Wrandalls were
too deeply submerged in horror tc
speak. They merely stared at her as
if stupefed; as breathless, as motion
less as stones.
There came day when observed
that Leslie was attracted by the guest
in my house. On that day the plar
took root in my brain. l."
+ Good God!" fell from Leslie's lips
."You-you had that in mind?"
"It became a fixed, inhexible pur
pose, Leslie. Not that 1 hated you
as 1 hated the rest, for you tried tc
be considerate. The one grudge l held
against you was that in seeking to sus
tain me you DETAINED your own brother
You came to me with stories Of his
misdeeds; you said that he was q
scoundrel and that you would not
blame me for showing him up Dc
you not remember? And so my plot
involved you; you were the only one
through whom I could strike. There
were times when I faltered. 1 could
not bear the thought Of sacrificing
Hetty Castleton, nor was it easy tc
| thoroughly appease my conscience IN
respect to you. Still, If could have
had my way a few months ago, Il
coercion had been Of any avail, you
would now be the husband Of your
brothers slayer. Then I came tc
know that she was not what l had
thought she was. She was honest
MY bubble burst. 1 came out Of the
maze in which 1 had been living and
saw clearly that what had contem
plated was the most atrocious-"
"Atrocious?" cried Mrs. Redmond
Wrandall between her set teeth. "Dia
bolical! Diabolical! Ny God, Sara
what devil you" She did not com
plete the sentence, but sank back in
her chair and stared with wide, horror
struck eyes at her rigid daughter-in
law.
Her husband, his hand shaking as
If with palsy, pointed finger at Het
ty. 'And so you are the one we have
been hunting for all these months
Miss Castleton! You are the one we
want! You who have sat at our table
you who have smiled in our faces
stop, Mr.. Wrandall!" commanded
Sara, noting the ashen face Of the girl
Don't let the fact escape you that
am the guilty person. Don't forget
that she owed her freedom, If not hel
life to me. l alone kept her from
giving herself up to the law. All that
has transpired since that night IL
March must be placed to my account
Hetty Castleton has been my prisoner
| She has rebelled thousand times and
I have conquered-not by threats but
by love! Do you understand? Be
cause Of her love for me, and because
she believed that l. loved her, she sub
mitted. You are not to accuse her
Mr.. Wrandall. Accuse me! am or
trial here. Hetty Castleton is aewit
ness against me, If you choose to cal
upon her as SUCH II not, shall ask
her to speak in my defense, IL she cal
do so."
"This is lunacy!" cried Mr.. Wran
dali, coming to his feet. Il don't care
what your motives may have been
They do not make her any less muir
deress. She"
1--WE must give her over to the po
lice" began his wife, struggling tt
her feet. She staggered. 1t was
Booth who stepped quickly to her side
to support her. Leslie was staring a
Hetty.
Vivian touched her fathers arm
She was very pale but vastly more
composed than the others.
Father, listen to me-" she said. HeI
voice trembled in spite Of ner effor
to control it. 1--WE are condemnins
Miss Castleton unheard. Let US heal
everything before We"
Good God. Vivian! Do you meal
to-"
"How can we place any reliance OF
! what she may say?" cried Mrs. Wran
dali.
Nevertheless" said Vivian firmly
81 for one shall not condemn her un
heard. I mean to be as fair to her a:
Sara has been. It shall not be sale
that all the Wrandalls are smaller
than Sara Gooch!"
"My child. began her father in
credulously. His jaw dropped sud
denly. His daughters shot had landed
squarely in the heart Of the Wrandal
pride.
'If she has anything to say"-sait
Mrs. Wrandall, waving Booth aside
and sinking stif1y into her chair. He
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