The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1915-07-16

and draw back from them. They con
vict you, James,"
Now ] can see why you have taker
up this fight against me. You-yol
know she was innocent" he said in {
low, unsteady voice.
And why | have hated you, ale
But what you do not understand Is
how | could have brought myself te
the point of loving you"
Loving me! Good heaven. woman
what do YOU"
Loving you in spite Of myself" she
cried, beating upon the table with hei
hands. 81 have tried to convince my
self that it was not but the spirit Of
Matllde that had come to lodge in my
! treacherOus body. | hated you fol
myself and | loved you for Matilde
She loved you to the end. She never
| hated you. That was it. The pure
| deathless love Of Matilde was constant
ly fighting against the hatred | bore
for you. believe as firmly as be
lleve that am alive that she has been
near me all the time, battling against
my insane desire for vengeance You
have only to recall to yourself the mo
ments when you were so wildly re-
minded of Matilde Valeska. AT those
| times am sure that something Of Ma
tide was in me. I was not myself. You
have looked into my eyes thousand
times with question in your own
Your soul was striving to reach the
soul Of Matilde. All, all these months
have known that you loved Matilde-
not me. You loved the Matilde that
was in me. YOU"
Il have thought of her-always of
her-when you were In my arms"
Il know how we'll you loved her,"
she declared slowly. 81 know that you
went to her tomb long after her death
was revealed to you know that years
ago you made an effort to find Fever
ELI. You found his grave, too, and you
could not ask him, man to man, if you
had wronged her. But in spite Of all
that you brought up her boy to be sac.
rificed as"
'1-l-good God, am l to believe
you? If he should be my son!" he
cried, starting up, cold with dread.
He is your son. He could be no
other mans son. | have her dying
word for 1t. She declared it In the
presence of her God. Wait! Where
are you going?"
81 am going down to him!"
Not yet. James. have still mora
to say to you-more to confess. Here!
Take this package of letters. Read
them as you sit beside his bed-not
his deathbed, for l shall restore him
to health, never fear. If he were to
die, should curse myself to the end
Of time, for ! and I alone would have
been the cause. Here are her letters
and the one Feverelli wrote to her.
This is her deathbed letter to you. Aud
this is letter to her son and yours!
You may some day read it to him. And
here-this is document requiring me
to share my fortune with her son, 1t
is a pledge that ! took before my ia.
Their died few years ago. If the boy
ever appeared, he was to have his
mothers share of the estate-and it is
not an inconsiderable amount, James.
He is independent of you. He need
ask nothing Of you. was taking him
home to his own
| She shrank slightly as he stood over
her. There was more of wonder and
| pity in his face than condemnation
She looked for the anger she had ex
pected to arouse in him, and was
dumfounded to see that it was not re.
vealed in his steady, appraising eyes.
"Your plan deserved better fate
than this Therese. 1t was prodigious
II can almost pity you"
"Have-have you no pain-no regret
no grief?" she cried weakly.
"Yes," he said, controlling himself
with difficulty. Eyes, I know all these
and more" He picked up the pack
age of letters and glanced at the sub
scription on the outer envelope. Sud
denly he raised them to his lips and
with his eyes closed, kissed the words
that were written there. Her heat
dropped, and sob came into he,
throat. She did not look up until he
began speaking to her again, quietly
even patiently. But why should you
even in your longing for revenge-wh,
should you have planned to humiliat,
and degrade him even more than
could have done? Was it just to YOU
sisters son that you should blight hi
life, that you should turn him into
skulking, sneaking betrayer? Wha
would you have gained in the end? Hi
loathing, his scorn-my God, Therese
did you not think of all this?"
II have told you that | thought @
everything. was mistaken. | did no
stop to think that / would be takin
him away from happiness in the shap
of love that he might bear for someon
else. l did not know that there was
Lydia Desmond. When came to know
my heart softened and my purpose los
most of its force. He would have bee
safe with me, but would he have bee
happy? could not give him the kin
+ of love that Lydia promised. | coul
| Ii. f,n u