The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1915-04-30
as he met her eyes through this dis,

as he met her eyes through this dis
guising gauze.
This is very good of you, Judge
OStrander" she remarked, in a voice
both cultured and pleasant. a could
hardly have hoped for this honor. Such
consideration shown to stranger ar
cues a spirit Of unusual kindness.
Or perhaps l am mistaken in my sup
position. Perhaps am no stranger to
you? Perhaps you know my namerG"
"Averill? No"
She paused, showing her disappoint-
ment quite openly Then drawing up
chair she leaned heavily on its back,
saying in low, monotonous tones from
which the former eager thrill had de-
parted
i see 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:
i have known nothing of it. My
sons concerns are no longer mine. If
you have broken into my course Of
life for no other purpose than to dis
cuss the affairs Of Oliver Ostrander,
l must beg Of you to excuse me. l
have nothing to say in his connection
to you or to anyone"
SIS the breach between you so deep
as that? entreat-but no, you are
just man; | will rely upon your sense
of right. If your sons happiness fails
to appeal to you, let that Of young
and innocent girl, lovely as few are
lovely, either in body or mind"
Yourself, MADAME"
NoSmy 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 utteranCe. 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 widow, sir" Thus she be-
gan with studied simplicity. with
my one child | have been living in De-
troit these many years-ever since my
husbands death, in fact. We are not
unliked there, nor have we lacked re-
spect. When some six months ago
your son, who stands high in 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 | 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-T really must ask you to
lay aside your veil"
1t was a rebuke and she felt 1t 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 now to believe-had de
tected my identity under the altered
circumstances of my new life, ant
surprised him with the news at thai
late hour. We are-Judge Ostrander
you know who we are. This is moi
the first time you and l have seer
each other face to face" And, lifting
up hand, trembling with emotion
she put aside her veil.
Won ronn0ni1n mn9D
"Too we'll" The tone was deep will
meaning, but there was no accusation
In it; nor was there any note of relief
It was more as if some hope deeply
and perhaps uneonsciously cherished
had suffered sudden and complete
extinction. "Put back your veil"
Trembling, she complied, murmur
ing as she fumbled with its folds:
Disgrace to an ostrander! know
that was mad to risk 1t for mo
;. ment. Forgive me for the attempt
0 and listen to my errand. Oliver wat
i willing to marry my child, even afte
r he knew the shame it would entail
d But Reuther would not accept thu
sacrifice. Judge 0strander, am no
i worthy of such a. child, but such sh,
i is. If John"
"We will not speak his name" brokt