Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1915-06-19

vict you, James.
Now can see why you have taken
up this fight against me. You-you
know she was innocent" he said in a
low, unsteady voice.
And why / have hated you. ale?
But what you do not understand is
how l could have brought myself to
the point of loving you"
Loving mel Good heaven. woman.
what do you"
Loving you in spite of myself" she
cried, beating upon the table with her
hands. Il have tried to convince my
self that it was not 1 but the spirit of
Matilde that had come to lodge in my
treacherous body. l hated you for
myself and l 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. 1 believe as firmly as / be-
lieve that l 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- / was not myself. You
have looked into my eyes a 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"
81 have thought of her-always of
her-when you were in my arms"
81 know how well 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
"I-I-good God, am 1 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. l have her dying
word for it She declared it in the
presence of her God. Waltz Where
are you going?"
81 am going down to himi"
Not yet, James. 1 have still more
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 l 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. And
this is letter to her son and yours
You may some day read it to him. And
! here-this is a document requiring me
to share my fortune with her son. 1t
is a pledge that l 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 inconsfderable amount, James.
He is independent of you. He need
| ask nothing of you 1 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 a 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 Yes, 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 word,
that were written there. Her heat
dropped, and a sob came into he
J throat. She did not look up until h,
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? VIVA
would you have gained in the end? Hi
loathing. his scorn-my God, Therese
did you not think of all this?"
Il have told you that / thought O
everything. l 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 / did not know that there was
] Lydia Desmond. When came to know
my heart softened and my purpose los