The Washington times., 1918-05-29
CHATTER LxxxII.

CHATTER LxxXIL
''Shs had gone" whispered
Esther. "to him"
A Grin Recital.
''Yes. OF course. / guessed at
once what had happened But my
poor sister had left a letter for me.
which explains sverything-as II
should have had no doubt! She had
been meeting Cyril secretly down
in the town-our villa was some
way out OF It. you understand
Cyril and Grimstead had gone far
away-they had been staying at q
village on the way to Salerno. OF
course, Grimstead had arranged it
all. They had gone to New York.
Gertrude wrote. and would be mar
ried at once. She had not dared to
tell me. But there would be money
plenty OF it-and / was To wait
for her next letter. which would
tell me Of her marriage. and at the
same time she would send me the
necessary funds to enable me to
dispose OF the villa and follow her.
what could I do but wait?
had not the means to 90 back home,
and II l had done 30 ! could not
have prevented the marriage. Prob
ably in any case Il would have been
too late. Ny heart was very sore,
and I was terribly afraid for my
sisters future. but ! was forced to
submit She had scrfbbled her note
in haste before she left the house.
and she had given me no address
or information as to the manner in
which she was going to travel, 50.
you see, I was helpless.
Il waited in the lonely villa, and
the time was very long. Weeks
slipped by. and there came no let
ter from my sister. had almost
despaired OF ever hearing from her
again. and was calculating the pos
sibility OF going myself to America
when I received a cablegram- II
simply said: For Gods sake come
And it gave me an address near Ad-
derley.
Lest No Time.
Il raked the money together
somehow. I can't tell you how.
And I delayed no longer than was
absolutely necessary. Travelled
day and night and I was worn out
when I reached AdderIsy station
Here Gertrude met me.
"She was thin and pale-a shad-
ow OF herself She fell weeping into
my arms. Tt Is horrible-horrible.'
she cried. oh. Lillian. I am among
horrors-and there Is no escape
none We took a cab, and on the
way she told me what had hap
pened. She had been married-very
much as you were married. Esther
in the ruined church at Adderley.
and she had been taken to live in
small house which lies on the Bor-
radale property, but just outside
the park. II is quite isolated. and
you have never seen II. Indeed. 10
communicates with the manor by q
secret passage. Gertrude was half
fainting when she was brought
here-she was led to the house
through that passage-can you
imagine what il was for her-a
timid girl. and in the middle OF the
night?
Hu1DnmG HeTert1 TO hFuNes
"She was locked up in her own
Euite OF rooms in this house, and
the next day she realized the terri
bic truth. Her husband was mad.
though his madness did not appear
upon the surface. He was more like
a beast than a human being. and
as a beast he was treated by those
who had charge Of him. II seemed
as il he were degenerating from
the human-if you can understand
what ] mean-and daily assuming
more OF the beast. Yet, strange as
il may seem. my wretched sister
loved this creature; il was the man
in him which had first attracted her,
you see-and she fought wildly to
overcome the growing unhuman
sptitudes."
How horrible-how ineXpressibly
terrible." Esther could not refrain
from an interruption at this point
This creature was brother to Har-
old-the man she loved.
1T is" Lillian did not change
her tone. She had been speaking
all this time in a low. impressive
voice. as il overcoming with diffi-
Guilty the pain which the recital
cost her. Now and again she
pressed her hand over her heart,
but she made no other gesture.
What did you do?''
II begged my sister to return to
New York with me-to fiy at onc0
from the horror. There was Moth
ing to prevent our doing so--eXcept
her own will. But she would not
The man was her husband. she said,
and her duty was TO him. She did
not despair OF overcoming this
strange incipient madness. When
he was with her Cyril was very
different in his behavior to what
he was when his keepers were
about-his Keepers with their
whips and heavy sticks. And then
she stopped over and whispered to
me OF the two brothers, the one
you have seen and called the Curse
and the other, Basil, a strange
who had the delusion
that he was suffering penal servt-
tude for some wholly imaginary
crime"
He to whom ] was married.
groaned Esther. IT remember his
dress-and how 1t terrified me-"
"He always wore it. In other re-
spects he was much like Cyril Il
was among those horrors that my
sister was thrown-it was to these
horrors that she was bringing NE.
Sister LOnEed for COmPaniOnAhip.
tn Re Continued TornorrouN