The Washington times., 1918-06-26
The Wolves of New York
A STORY OF LOVE AND MYSTERY
Basil Tells Esther He Never PrObed
the Mystery of His Strange Mar
riage in Dark Church


Keep your facs we'll covered AftsP
the ceremony you will leave st oncaS
and let me en5oin you'-he addsd
earnestly-'to observe absolute -
crecy as to this event, for your 0W1
sake. as well as for that OF otherAS
doubt II he would have said this
had he not realized that was nOe
the true Basil.
I'VE went into the church TO -
accompaniment OF that strange
wailing which the wind made in the
rafters and % the squeaking Of baea'
collected in, the side aisles. and adj
vanced to the altar. Here we wait
ed for q few momens In absolueo
silence.
Presently two women entero4
the church and approached us.
watched them as they advanced
and had little difficulty In deciding
which was the bride, although the
faces OF both were entirely hiddea
by thick wells, and they wore heavy
cloaks. One seemed nervous. and
clung feArfully to her companionB
arm; her figure was slight and that
OF q girl; her hands. too. were
white and delicate. I suppose that
/ decided that she was the bride
because she seemed strange to her
surroundings. timid and frightened
! felt sorry for her, and wondered
what the purport Of this strange
wedding could be-
+And so the ceremony was carried
out. slipped a ring. which bad
been handed to me by the priest.
upon the EirlS slim white finger,
and swore before the altar to take
her as my wife. She made her re-
sponses in a low voice-a voice that
] always told myself / should re-
member. Sometimes I have thought
Mrs. Borradale. that your voice ~
sembIed hers, but that, OF course, II
absurd and an idea bred pEooably Of
my regard for YOU"
But her name" interrupted -
ther here, did you not hear her
Her voice was hardly audible -
she spoke f. I have only q vague
impression OF the Christian name"
''What was it," Esther felt her
self trembling from head to foot
Her Name Was EstheFi
81 thought II was Esther"
That is my nsme she mur~---
ed, avoiding his glance and clasp
ing her hands together so that h
might not see how they shook.
81 know II. OF course, 1t u
mere coincidence. But perhans Il
has something to do with the ~
son why felt so strangely drawn
to you Your Voice-and then your
name. have so often wondered
40 &c. ,.-.,,fa .-,- h-4,- 81. E.kk.-
to whom I was so strangely mar
ried across my path again OF
course the chances were a million
to one against It But the desire
was always there"
Finish the story" Esther said
hurriedly. Why was he looking at
her so hxedly? Was she betraying
herself by her eyes?.
There is little more to tell. We
passed into the vestry, where I
signed my name as Basil only.
What they may have added to this
afterward 1 do not know. was
not permitted to see what she
wrote. A sudden fight OF bats ter
rihed her and she rushed out OF
the church I did not see her again
nor did the priest take any further
notice OF me. The old man con-
Quoted me round the house and
along q neglected carriage drive
beneath an avenue OF stately trees
to the lodge gates, thence through q
wood to the road. Here = carriage
was waiting for me. At parting
the old man said Youll be brought
back in = day or two, suppose,
Mr.. Basil
The End OF the AdveAture.
TN the carriage I think must
have slept fancy I was driving
for hours. I was finally deposited
At one OF the outlying stations,
where I was able to catch the earl
lest morning train back. And that
wRA the end Of my adventure
have kept It 10 myself till today:
have never probed the mystsFy
OF It Will you help me to do %.
Mrs.. BorradAleP You have been 90
kind to me; you have forgiven me
for whatever may have been wrong
in my action that day. Can you
throw light upon what Is dark to
NOR He lowered his voice and
bent toward her. "Can you tell
me AEythinE-of EStherEH
Did he suspect? II seemed i'm
possible, IN spite OF the indiscreee
words which Esther had uttered.
that Basil Fleetwood should have
any idea OF the truth. As she had
been attracted to him by something
In hla voice, something tndeter-
inmate but yet Irresistible, so he,
too, had felt that Esther was In
reality no stranger to him But no
more than she had he any Definite
conclusions In his mind as to when
or where they might have met He
had told her hlH story exactly for
the reason which he had stated,
and had been truly horrihed when
he found that he had all uncon-
scioualy been involved In the myS
terry Of her family,
He had not noticed her e1ceGI1V9
trouble when she had realized Whn9
IL was he was going 20 tell herr -
had himself been too RgttA1Ad -
the time; too anxious not to torfals
her good epinion. but later. OvO9
while he was speaking, thOuBhel
came FurEing into his brain.
Her nAme-her Voioo-heF Bas11S
dale Telatienship-Ras Il noe -
sIbIe, probable even, GhRe ht1 pa-
tfent, the man whose place ho ha4
assumed, had never recovered fR04
his wounds, and that the giF4 -
whom he had been mGrSis6 bAlIORo4
herself q WidoW7
IHanff1uad paVnA~-