Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1915-01-14

as he met her eyes through this dis
guising gauze.
This is very good Of yon, Judge
ostrander." she remarked. in a voice
both cultured and pleasant. Il could
hardly have hoped for this honor. Such
consideration shown to a stranger ar
CUES a spirit Of unusual kindness.
Or perhaps ] am mistaken in my sup
position. Perhaps / am no stranger to
you? Perhaps you know my name?'
"Averin? No"
She paused, showing her disappoint.
ment quite openly. Then drawing up
a chair she leaned heavily on its back.
saying in low. monotonous tones from
which the former eager thrill had de-
parted: s'S
Il e that the intended marriage of
your son has made very little impress
sion upon you"
Aghast for the moment, this was
such a different topic from the one
he expected the judge regarded her in
silence before remarking:
Il have known nothing OF it. My
sons concerns are nc longer mine. If
you have broken into my course of
life for no other purpose than to dis.
s the affairs Of Oliver Ostrander,
l must beg of you to excuse me. I
have nothing to say in his connection
to you or to anyone"
rs the breach between you SO deep
as that? l entreat-but no, you are a
lust man; l will rely upon your sense
of right. II your sons happiness fails
to appeal to you, let that of q young
and innocent girl, lovely as few are
lovely, either in body or mind"
Yourself, madam"
No, my daughter! Oliver Ostrander
has done us that honor, sir. He had
every wish and had made every prepa-
ration to marry my child, when
Shall ! go on?"
you may"
1t was shortly said. but a burden
seemed to fall from her shoulders at
its u~tterance. Her whole graceful
form relaxed swiftly into it's natural
curves, and an atmosphere of charm
from this moment enveloped her,
which justified the description of Mrs.
Yardley, even without a sight of the
features she still kept hidden.
Il am a widow, sir" Thus she be-
gan with studied simplicity. with
my n child l have been living in De-
troit these many years-ever since my
husbands death, in fact. We are not
unliked there, o have we lacked re-
spect. When some six months ago
your son, who stands high IL every
ones regard, as BELTS his ~parentage
and his varied talents, met my daugh-
ter and fell seriously in love with her,
no one, so far as l know, criticized
his taste or found fault with his choice.
| thought my child safe. And she
was safe. to all appearance, up to the
very morning Of her marriage-the
marriage of which you say you had
received no intimation though Oliver
seems a very dutiful son."
"Madam!"-The %hoarseness of his
tone possibly increased it's peremptory
character-"I really must ask you to
lay aside your veil"
1t was a rebuke and she felt it to
be SO; but though she blushed from
behind her veil. she did not remove it.
Pardon me-" she begged, and very
humbly, but / cannot yet. Let me
reveal my secret first. Judge Ostran-
der, the name under which / had lived
in Detroit was not my real one. |
had let him court and all but marry
my daughter. without warning him in
any way of what this deception on my
part covered. But others-one other,
] have reason o to believe-had de-
tected my identity under the altered
circumstances of my new life, and
surprised him with the news at that
late hour. We are-Judge Ostrander,
you know who we are. This is not
the first time you and l have seen
each other face to face" And, lifting
up a hand, trembling with emotion,
she put aside her veil.
You recognize me?"
"Too WELL" The tone was deep with
meaning, but there was no accusation
in it; nor was there any note of relief.
1t was more as If some hope deeply,
and perhaps unconsciously cherished,
had suffered a sudden and complete
"Put back your veil"
Trembling, she complied, murmur.
ing as she fumbled with its folds:
Disgrace to an Ostrander! / know
that I was mad to risk it for a mo-
ment. Forgive me for the attempt,
and listen to my errand. Oliver was
willing to marry my child, even after
he knew the shame it would entail.
But Reuther would not accept the
sacrifice. Judge Ostrander, l am not
worthy of such a child, but such she
is. If John"
w Will not speak his name" broke |
in Judge ostrander, assuming a per-
emptory bearing quite unlike his for
mer one of digniied reserve. Il should
like to hear. instead, your explanation
of how my son became inveigled into
an engagement of which you, If no
one else. knew the p~reposterous ma
Judge ostrander, you do right to
blame me. should never have given
my consent, never. But ] thought our
past SC completely hidden-our iden.
tity so entirely lost under the accepted
of Averill."
"You thought" He lowered over
her in his anger. He looked and acted