Year: 1878

Nih1th ipiNiBh "NNNhh'


Those dark eyes and blue ones met,
few neighborly words exchanged, call
followed soon. Mrs. Halifont felt new
emotion creeping into her heart. She
felt pleased and battered by the stran-
gers admiration. Then she knew she
was. loved and rejOiced-and so discov-
cred that she herself loved again.


At first she was angry with herself,
then she wept over her inconstancy, but
at last she yielded utterly. After all,
it was the love that made her untrue;
since she had loved she could never pride
herself on being faithful again, and so
she listened to the sweet words, that
despite herself, made her happy, and
promised to marry Colonel Humphries.


When a widow does marry second
time she generally contrives to make
fool of herself.


Mrs. Halifont had certainly not done
as foOllshly as some widows do. She
had neither chosen little boy or titled
Italian without money enough to keep
himself i'm macaroni. Her future hus-
band was older than herself, and too rich
to be suspected ofany intention of being
a fortune hunter; but, after all, 10 one
knew him. He came into the neighbor-
hood without letters of introduction to
any one, and whether he won wealth by
trade or came to it by inheritance re-
mained mystery.


There were those who shrugged their
shoulders, and declared that Mrs. Hall
font would regret not having some one
of whom moIe was known-sOme retired
merchant, some gentleman of fortune
whose father had been known to her
friends. Nothing, to be sure, could be
said against the Spaniard or Cuban with
the English name, but who knew any
thing in his favor?


However, no one said this to Mrs.
IIalitOnt, and if any one had, words
never changed woman's fancy yet.


Mrs. Halifont believed in Colonel
Humphries, and intended to marry him.


Indeed the trousseau was prepared,
the wedding day fixed, and all was
ready, and Ida Halifont believed herself
to be very happy woman. She once
more built castles in the air. Her old
sorrow seemed to fade away in The dis
tance. She was girl again.


AT last only twenty-four hours lay
between her and her wedding day.


She was busy in her sewing-room on
this last day, finishing some rutiles in
lace and ribbon, and singing to herself,
when suddenly the house was filled
with sharp cries.


An old man-servant while cutting the
grass upon the lawn, wounded himself
seriously. The doctor was sent for at
while poor Zebedee was bleeding to
death.


Suddenly Ida Halifont remembered
that Mr.. Humphries had said that he
understood wounds as well as though
he had been bred surgeon. without
this it would have been natural for her
to call upon one who was so soon to be
her protector, in moment of anxiety.
She would call him herself that there
might be no delay; and seizing her gar
den hat, she ran along little path that
led from her grounds to that of Mr..
Humphriee, climbed a low fence to save
time which would have been lost in
reaching gate, and so gained the rear
of the dwelling, of which tomorrow
she would be mistress.


She thought herself terrified and dis
tressed. She felt rather injured in that
such an unpleasant thing as the wound
ing of poor Zebedee should have happen
ed on the eve of her wedding day. Ten
minutes after she thought of herself at
that moment as utterly at ease-wOn-
drOusly happy-for as she reached those
windows and peeped half timidly
through the curtain, thing happened
that made all she had ever suffered as
nothing.


The room, the window of which she
had approached, was one that opened
out of conservatory. She saw Col.
Humphries busy with some rare plants
he had just set out in the warm sunshine
that fell through the glass He had
taken off his coat and rolled up his
sleeves. Now he left the conservatory,
and coming forward proceeded to wash
his hands in basin of water that had
been set ready for him. He was ciosc
to Ida Halifont. He did not see her, but
she could have reached out her hand
and touched him. Why did she not speak
and call him by name9 Why did she
sink down upon her knees and clasp her
hands and tremble like an aspen leaf?
Alas the awful reason was this; Upon
| that arm to which she was about to give
the right to clasp her in the tenderest
embrace, she saw terrible mark-a
mark she had seen once before. She
knew its shape and size and color. Her
eyes had been riveted upon it as the
sirewy hand, at the wrist of which 1t
ended grasped her dying husbands
throat. She had learned it all by heart
she could not be deceived, Though
years had rolled away, that horrible
marked arm was not to be forgotten or
mistaken for any other.


Suddenly Col. lumphries felt himself
grasped by a hand that, small as 1t was
had the fierce clutch of the tigers claw.
The fingers closed over that red mark
u white face came close to his.


"You are my husbands murderer"
! Missed voice in his ear.