The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1932-03-11

| friends were AT the church; and after
| ward. there was small gathering at
| Sir Johns house.
Lucy wasn't surprised TO get note
| from Ames saving that he could not
| possibly he back in time to be pres
| ent ar her wedding. She had felt sure
that he would not come. and was glad.
too, that he decided against it.
Jocelyn Upton was another who
| begged 70 be excused
The honeymoon was to be spent at
Lees house ir Hertfordshire, and dur
| ing the afternoon they drove there. in
| his big car. AS they left the town
| behind them, she put out q shy little
| hand, the one that bore the bright
new ring, and he caught it quickly
and held it tight.
Mrs. James Lee. That's your
name now. Can you realize it?" he
asked abruptly.
She shook her head, looking up at
him, sweet-eyed and shy.
Not yet, Jim. But I'm trying to-
| And it sounds so wonderful, doesn't
it,"
Wonderful" he agreed, and then !:
Lucy Gresham. Mrs. James
Lee" he added. saying the two names
very slowly. as if the juxtaposition of
them were very sweet in his ears. With
no remOtest inkling of the truth. it
was all too easy for her to ascribe
| the triumph in his voice, and the quick,
close strength of his hand around
hers, TO love.
Lees thoughts going on into the fu-
ture. pictured the moment when he
should make his revelation TO the IA
Their who so adored this girl-wife of
his: 70 AmeS who was one of the men
who would have given all he possessed
to be in his place. But that moment
was not TO be yet There were other
things to do first. He looked
down at Lucy. She was his. His TO
hurt; his to use as a means of hurt
ing others. Skies abovei Life was be-
ginning TO give him something of his
| own back They thought TO break
him, and it was in his power to break
them. He had taken this lovely. hap
by child from them, and made her
love him.
This exultant mood mounted higher
and higher in his heart, until he was
intoxicated with it. 1t gave him q
curious, sOmber brilliance; like happi-
ness, held in check; like the highest
spirits, kept on the curb. A far less
blindly loving bride than Lucy. might
have been deceived by the way he
lifted her out of the car when IT
drew up at the pillared porch of his
country house, and ran up the shallow
stone steps and in through the wide
open door. holding her high and tri-
umphantly in his strong arms.
I've carried my bride across the
Threshold" he whispered. an odd ex-
element lending a tremor to his voice.
He set her down, as the housekeeper,
Mrs. Jebb, a stout, motherly woman,
came bustling into the wide hall.
Lucy found herself a moment or
two later, following a quiet. efficient
maid up to her room. Turned back,
at the top of the first fight of stairs,
she saw Lee standing in the hall look
ing up at her, his eyes dark and
burning.
When she Joined him again, he took
her out into the lovely grounds, and
showed her the best points of his little
estate. The mood of eXulting triumph
had made Lee more radiantly high
spirited than Lucy had ever seen him.
She was amazed at his manner; the
moroseness was gone; he talked and
laughed; introduced her, with lot of
exuberant nonsense to the horses and
the dogs; put an arm around her and
held her so close beside him. as they
walked through the little sun-dappled
wood that she had to protest. laugh
ingly; at which he stopped, swung her
round so that she faced him and said:
Aren't you mine?"
She looked up, nodding her shining
gold head;
But even if ! am, l must be al
| lowed to breathe!" she said, laughing
STILL He laughed with her then,
| though his dark eyes burned strangely
| intense. down into hers, and there
| after, had held her more gently.
All through dinner this mood held.
| They had coffee on the veranda out
side the drawing room window, and
| afterward went down into the shadOwy
| garden. Lucy was silent, now. but
| Lees high-spirited mood still swept
him along before it, until he saw the
| oh hn H-or
ing room windows go out suddenly.
Then:
"It's getting late. Mrs. Jebb is put
ting out the lights. l suppose she
thinks we have gone up {.
| already. . :"
YES" she answered, her voice very
| low and still. III go in, now,
Jim. ;" She moved away from
him, suddenly shy, and started for the
door, but his big hand caught her
back, and with his arm around her,
closely, he made her go into the house
with him.
In the lighted hall he released her,
turned swiftly, a sudden odd laugh
breaking from him. shut the door, shot
the big bolts top and bottom, then
faced her again.
And with the closing of that door
the laugh died, abruptly. on his lips;
the CLEAN faded from his eyes and he
looked at her with a strange express
sion almost of bewilderment.
| Whether there was some symbol In
the closing of that big door that struck
through to him, or whether IL was the
sight of her so small and slight, stand