The Forrest City times., 1914-06-26
CHAPTER xVil.-contInued.


 the time she was speaking he was studying the profile of her face as if fascinated by Its strange immobility. For the matter of full half-hour he sat on the rail hie back against post, his arms folded across the breast of the thick ulster he wore. staring at her. drinking in every word of the story she told. A look of surprise crept into his face when she came to the point where the thought of marry ing Hetty to the brother of her victim first began to manifest itself in her designs. For a time the look of in- credulity remained, to be succeeded by utter scorn as she went on with the recital. Her reasons, her excuses, her explanations for this master stroke fin the way of compensation for all that she had endured at the hands of the scornful Wrandalls, all of whom were hateful to her without exception, stirred him deeply He began to un- derstand the forces that compelled her to resort to this Machiavellian plan for revenge on them. She admitted everything; her readiness to blight Hetty's life forever: her utter callous- ness in laying down these ugly plans; her surpassing vindictiveness her re- aections on the triumph she was to enjoy when her aims were fully at fained. She confessed to a genuine pity for Hetty Castleton from the be- ginning, but 1t was outweighed by that thing she could only describe as an obsession! !. How she hated the Wrandalls! .N. Then came the real awakening: when the truth came to her as a revelation from God Hetty had not been to blame. The girl was Innocent of the one sin that called for vengeance so far as she was con cerned. The staying of Challis Wran- dall was justified! All these months she had been harboring a woman she believed to have been his mistress as well as his murderess. It was not so have foisted upon the Wrandalls as a daughter. but the mistress! :. She loved the girl. she had loved her from that first night. Back of 1t all. therefore, lay the stern. suspected truth: from the very beginning she in stinctively had known this girl to be innocent of guile. Her house Of cards fell down. There was noth- ing left of the plans on which it had been constructed. It had all been swept away, even as she strove to protect it against destruction, and the ground was strewn with the ashes of fires burnt out. She was shocked to find that she had even built upon the evil spot, Al most word for word she repeated Het- tvs own story of her meeting with Challie Wrandall, and how she went, step by step and bMndly. to the last scene in the tragedy, when his vile ness. his true nature was revealed to her. The girl had told her everything. She had thought herself to be in love with Wrandall She was carried away by his protestations. She was infatu ated. Sara smiled to herself as she dalfs charmD The girl believed in htm Implicitly When he took her to Burton's inn 1t was to make her his wife, as she supposed. He had ar ranged everything. Then came the truth. She defended herself
 Il came upon her In the road or that wild night. Brandon. at the place pointed out. Can you picture her as l have described her? Can you pic ture her despair. her hopelessness, heI misery! have told you everything from beginning to end. You know how She came to me. how l prepared her for the sacrifice. how she left me. nave not written to her. I cannot. She must hate me with all her soul. just as have hated the Wrandalls. but with greater reason, l confess. She would have given herself up to the law long ago. If It had not been for exposing me to the world as her defender, her protector. She knew she was not nor ally guilty of the crime of murder In the beginning she was afraid She did not know our land. our laws In time sae came to understand that she was in no real peril, but then 1t was too late. A confession would have placed me fin an impossible position You see. she thought of me all this time She loved me as no woman ever loved another Was not the wife of the man she had killed and was not the noblest of all women in her eyes? God, And to think of what I had planned for her!"
 This was the end of the story.
 The words died away in 6 sort of whimpering wall falling in with the wind to be lost to his straining ears. Her head dropped, her arms hung Amply at her side
 For a long time he sat there in si- aence, looking out over the darkening water. unwilling, unable indeed, to speak Ills heart was full of compass sion for her, mingling strangely with what was left of scorn and horror. What could he say to her?
 At last she turned to him. Now yon know all that can tell you of Hetty Castleton-of Hetty Glynn. You could not have forced this from me, Brandon She would not tell you. Ii