The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1917-12-06
AL0YAL LOVE.
BY EDNA LEE WATSON.

cislon. There was q sneer In his tones
D menace In his evil eyes. She mel
his fierce glance with unwsverint
mien, with dlfiidence and contempt
that stung him to the quick-and sh(
the bride of month!
u congratulate you on your lower,
OF deceit" he almost hissed.
Adrlenne Mercer raised herself Il
her full height, UnnInchingy she con
rronted him, chilling scorn In her beau
tiful face.
IF you have discovered what yot
might have known, what the worlt
could have told you long ago, that !
loved the man who gave me these tri
fes before met you, II is no revela,
ton Of deceit. know not what bald
full power you held over my poor fd
ther, dead but week. that he drove
me to wed you, because you forced hin
10 do so. / never feigned to even ra
Bpect you. do so less than ever, now
that you have dared to profane thes(
sacred relics by striving to humiliatt
me with their abstraction"
I" A model wife, truly" grated Judge
Rolfe Mercer harshly.
81 am not that to you: I never viii
be-" she returned clearly. "You tool
me from my happiness to cater to youi
pride or vanity, know not what.
have never hidden from you that wat
an unwilling sacrifice"
He could have struck that fair fac(
In his mad rage. He could have killed
Vance 0rton, had he stood before him
All impotent, in her case. was the re
sistless force thnt had crushed polit
ical foes, that humbled his friends and
destroyed those who blocked his path
"Have n carew he uttered through
his set teeth. ~ shall remember thi(
fond lover OF yours 7"
"lIe never was that. No word save
Of friendship ever passed between US
yet | glory In saying that he had mi
whole heart, and never knew. WI
two shall never meet again, but al
you may say or do will not Danish I
memory that Is the one solace of m1
wretchedness."
She replaced the pretty fan, llttl(
cluster of shrlveled roses, photo|
graph, some invitation notes, the dead
record Of the one bright passage In het
girlhood life, In her writing desk
whence the probing hand Of her hus
band had unearthed them.
He came home n day later, flushed
with drink and triumph.
"When you read the evening paper,1
he pronounced In even. but malicd
freighted tones, "and recognize thu
sudden downfall of your idol and sold
pattern Of perfect manhood, Vance On
ton, you will perhaps comprehend thai
| have not boasted vainly Of my pow
er."
Adrlenne read the account of the de-
scent on gambling house while III
Inmates were engaged In riotous frai
ras. There was the name of the mad
she loved. The Judge before whom
he and others had been brought had
sentenced three OF them, including Or
ton, to six months In the city bride
well.
Adrienne then comprehended the
full, despicable meanness Of the mad
she had welded. Before the weet
was out she had summarily left him
She had means Of her own and sought
distant seclusion. Then began th(
downward descent of Rolfe Mercel
mercenary judge and crooked polItR
clnn. He was ousted from his Judi
clal position for accepting briba
Lower and lower he sank, fortune and
Influence gone, until he became com
mon drunkard and vagabond.
Vance Orton, after his unjust sem
tence, left the city and began new
life in border town In Utah. He wal
b natural leader among men, and be
care such in the community. He wa;
mayor, judge, and friend of everybody
md idolized by the rough miners oi
the district for his fairness"
One day a ragged, bloated, terrified
wretch was brought before him, pro
tected from the vengeance of half 4
lozen halfbreeds who sought to get a
him rs he was brought Into the court
room. At once 0rton recognized him
One Of the Indians was shouting out
the cause Of the arrest. Rolfe Mercet
had become common thief and tramp
had visited the hut where his mothei
lived, had nearly choked her to death
forcing from her the few coins she
possessed. The prisoner covered like
the craven he was, as he recognized
the man who had the power to retalK
nte in full for past injustice.
Suddenly. however, the son of the
Indian woman leaped forward, a naked
blade in his hand. Before the ofiicert
could prevent him he had plunged tho
knife Into the side of Mercer, had
leaped through an open window and
was gone.
Care for the man In every way you
can," ordered Orton. "Hls wife was
friend of my friends In the long ago.
But Mercer was beyond the power Of
human aid.
1t was when he was dead that an Of,
fcer brought to Orton some papers
found In his clothing. One Of thes(
was of peculiar interest to Orton. Fol
the first time he knew that husband
pnd wife had been parted for years,
The document found was letter adi
dressed to lawyer in distant city(
Il told him that the writer, Mercer,
was destitute and Ill. The unseen mis-,
Bive pleaded with the lawyer to influ,
ence his client, his wife, to assist him
In his extremity.
~ am going East for a few weeks"