The Washington times., 1918-08-07

~oaA0 uON Dc8E II
Her tears flowed unrestrained.
Harold BorradaIe gazed At her with
lusterless eyes.
Presently she continued: T know
that there Is some horrible inliu-
enee that II responsible for all this.
that you have been controlled by
q power stronger than your own I
do not blame you. Harold. for your
own fall or for my months Of
agony; but blame you for having
put me outside your life when I
belonged In II. and should have suf-
fered at your side You made me .
Borradale. and then you denied mo
the Borradale inheritance"
An Inheritance Of misery ana
death" cried Lillian Esther, you
don't know what you are sayings"
"Oh, but do" cried the girl, pas-
sionately. i married Harold,
knowing full well Of the curse
upon his family. ready to take u
upon myself for. love Of him I
married In spite OF all the warn
ings I received from you. Lillian.
and from others who cared for me-.
The warnings were right and
proper. Had sacrificed my love
might have been happy today-lf !
could have forced myself to forget
Instead'-she raised herself from
the cushions upon which she had
been leaning--instead. Il was you.
Harold. who made the sacrifice Of
love- You tore yourself from me,
and now-now II IL too later
II was impossible to Judge from
his face what effect Esther's words
produced upon her husband The
mask remained unchanged; the
skin OF the cheeks. drawn tightly
over the bones. betrayed no mus
cular contraction, the lips moved.
but as IL not Of their own volition,
the eyes turned from side to side a.
though they were suspended me-
ehanically in their sockets. There
was no heightening of color. no
diminution; a duh white was the
tone of the whole face. II was a.
II paralysis had already set in and
worked havoc with ssnsibility and
expression The mysterious drug
which Harold had so long absorbed
had drawn its tribute In fullest
measure.
But though his face betrayed no
emotion his actions and words were
expressive He advanced from the
fireplace, shambling and swaying,
and stood beside his wife, reaching
q trembling hand to her.
rs II too later The words
sounded hollow and as II they came
from a distance
oh, God, yesI" The Indignant
exclamation burst from Lillian's
lips. Her cheeks famed and her
anger. The thought of any re-
newal of relations between Esther
and the living corps revolted her.
Perhaps you win permit my wife
to answer my question herself
said Harold.
She Is not In a ut state to answer
1t" Basil turned sharply and
glared defiance. 'She has been ter
rified by your servants, who have
dared to dictate to her. terrified By
the malign creature that you have
introduced into this house, and her
mind and body have been hurt By
some vile poison that you have ad-
mtnistered to her. What answer
do you expect7 Is 1t not enough to
Kill yourself? You have no right
to ask her to sacrifice herself WITH
you, to poison her with your mur-
derous drugs, to subject her to God
knows what terrors. You
Harold lifted a quivering finger.
1T was to save her from such ter
rors that I severed myself from
her." he said, -but now"-there was
a hoarse sound in his throat as he
forced the words out-.things are
different. and ask her to come to
to d dying man"
'HaroldH Esther would have
risen. but Lillian restrained her.
'No-no-it is q degradation"
cried Basil.
you" For the FIRST time there
was a change in the infection Of
Harold's voice. "Py what right do
you dare to dictate to my wifeZ'
Because I love her." cried Basil,
impulsively. %You heard me say
listened to our conversation. You
listened. but you heard no dis
honorable word spoken between
US. Esther is wholly loyal to you
who is her husband in the sight
of man-and I am wholly loyal to
her though she was made my wife
at Gods altar before you knew Of
her existence"
"Your wife--what d. you nneanrs
The voice was raised somewhat. and
the muscles OF the mouth twitched.
Harold stretched out his hands &c
fore him to the support " a small
table which stood near the sofa
It was horrible to realize that, how
ever great his emotion, his face
was incapable of giving expression
20 it
Basil had not intended to reveal
his secret The words had been
uttered upon the spur of his in
tense agitation. Now that they had
been spoken, however, there could
be no drawing back
Esther was married to me in the
ruined church OF Adderley. Il
at was you. then-your" Harold
repeated the word ''you" several
times, his voice gradually becoming
more faint.
Harold, I did not know" cried
Esther. "I did not know till long
after you and had been married.
You remember how I refused to
marry you at hrst because OF that
mad ceremony at Adderley. But I
thought that the man who had
been my husband was dead-the
Basil of Adderley-you know whom
/ mean. I saw his dead body with
my own eyes. How could I have
told that this substitution had
taken place?
. Harold, staggering where he
stood. waved his hands In the di-
rection OF Basil His words were
hardly articulate. II was impos-
s3hIa 70 saw Uhefher he was an