Western Kansas world., 1915-06-12

OPPOk lau4ty ~ sec yOQ SuA &c JC0A SCA%-
Her sistert" uttered the man unbe-
lievingly. II have married the child
Therese. have held her sister in my
arms all these months and never knew.
1t is dream. +"
-Ah. but you have felt even though
He struck the table violently with
his fist. His eyes were blazing What
manner of woman are you2 What
were you planning to do to that un-
happy boy-her son? Are you a fend
to"
In good time, James, you will know
what manner of woman / am" she in
terrupted quietly. Sinking back in the
chair she resumed the broken strains
all the time watching him through
half-closed eyes "She died ten years
ago. Her boy was twelve years old.
She never saw him after the night you
turned her away from this house. On
her death bed. as she was releasing her
pure. undefled soul to Gods keeping.
she repeated to the priest who went
through the unnecessary form of abb
solving her-she repeated her solemn
declaration that she had never wronged
you by thought or deed. 1 had always
believed her, the holy priest believed
her, God believed her. You would
have believed her, too. James Brood.
She was good woman. Do you hear?
And you put a curse upon her and
drove her out into the night. That
was not all. You prosecuted her to the
end of her unhappy life. You did that
to my sister,"
And yet you married me-" he NUT
tered thickly.
Not because I loved you-oh. no!
She loved you to the day of her death,
| after all the misery and suffering you .
had heaped upon her. No woman ever
endured the anguish that she suffered
throughout those hungry years You
kept her child from her. You denied
him to her, even though you denied
him to yourself. Why did you keep
him from her? She was his mother.
She had borne him, he was all hers.
But no! 1t was your revenge to de-
prive her of the child she had brought
into the world. You worked deliberate
| ly in this plan to crush what little
| there was left in life for her. You kept
| him with you, though you branded him
with name l cannot utter; you guard
| ed him as if he were your most
precious possession and not curse to
! your pride; you did this because you
! knew that you could drive the barb
more deeply into her tortured heart.
/ You allowed her to die, after years of
! pleading, after years OF vain endeavor.
| without one glimpse of her boy, with
out ever having heard the word mother
on his lips. That is what you did to
my sister. For twelve long years you
gloated over her misery. Oh. God.
man, how l hated you when 1 married
you!" She paused breathless.
devilish conduct" he exclaimed harsh
ly. You are like Matilde. false to the
core. You married me for the luxury
could provide, Notwithstanding the
curse l had put upon your sister. I
| don't believe a word of what you are
saying to"
Don't you believe that 1 am her SIS
ter?"
"You-yes, by heaven, 1 must believe
that. Why have been so blind? You
are the little Therese, and you hated
me in those other days. 1 remember
well the"
"A chi1d's despairing hatred because
you were taking away the being she
loved best of all. VIII you believe me
when say that my hatred did not en-
dure for long? When her happy, joy
GUS letters came back to US filed with
|
| ton, II allowed my hatred to die. I
| forgot that you had robbed me. 1 came
to look upon you as the fairy prince.
after all 1t was not until she came all
| the way across the ocean and began to
| die before our eyes-she was years in
dying-it was not until then that l be-
gan to hate you with a real undying
| hatred"
"And yet you gave yourself to me-"
he cried. you put yourself in her
place In heavens name, what was to
be gained by such an act as that?"
81 wanted to take Matilde's boy away
from you," she hurried on, and for the
first time her eyes began to waver-
THE idea suggested itself to me the
night 1 met you at the comtesse's din
ner. 1t was a wonderful. tremendous
! thought that entered my brain At
first my real self revolted, but as time
| went on the idea became an obsession-
1 married you, James Brood, for the
sole purpose of hurting you in the
worst possible way; by having Ma
| Tides son strike you where the pain
would be the greatest All. you are
| thinking that 1 would have permitted
myself to have become his mistress,
| but you are mistaken / am not that
bad. 1 would not have damned his