Year: 1870

u


believe that you do. You must sho-
her when YOU return from business tl5,
you have thought of her; YOU must bu
a bouquet, a toy, trif1e, to carry hon
TO her. If you do these things, you wi


be rewarded; if not, you viii be punish


ed"


But had there been such a friend
Duvernois would not have comprehend
ed him. He would have replied. or a
least he would have thought, INV wifi
| is a fool. She is not worth the none
/ that now spend upon her, much les


the reflection and time that you call up


on me to spend.


Two such as Alice and Duvernoi
| could not live together IN peace. Not


withstanding her old dread Of him. AM


notwithstanding the new alarm witt


which she was filed by the discover


that she was a felon. she could not dis


semble her feelings when she looked hin


in the face. Sometimes she was silently


contemptuous- sometimes when he


nerves were shaken) openly hostile


Rational, impassive, vigorous as he was


she made him unhappy.


The letters of Leighton were at once
Joy and a sorrow. She awaited then
impatiently she went every day to tht
delivery Post Office, whittier she hac
directed them to be sent; she took them
from the hands of the different clerks
with a suffocating beating of the heart
Alone, she devoured them, kissed them
passionately hundred times. sat down
in loving haste to answer them. But
then came the necessity of excusing her
long absence, of inventing some lie for
the man she worshiped, of detening
him from coming to see her.


During that woeful winter of terror, oi
aversion, of vain longing, her health
failed rapidly. A relentless cough pur-
sued her, the beautiful flame in her cheek
burned freely, and burst of blood from
the lungs warned her that her future was
not to be counted by years.


She cared little; her sole desire was to
last until summer. She merely asked
to end her hopeless life in loving arms
to end it before those arms should recoil
from her in horror.


No discovery. Her husband was too
Indifferent toward her to watch her
closely, or even to suspect her. As early
in June as might be, she obtained per-
to go to the seaside, and. with
an eagerness which would have found
the hurricane slow, she flew to North
port.


Leighton received her with JOY which
at first blinded him. TO her enfeebled
health.


"Oh, how could yous stay so long away
from me ?" were his first words. "Oh,
my love, my darling wife thank you
for coming back to me-


But after a few moments, when the
first flush and sparkle Of excitement had
died out of her cheeks and eyes, he ask
ed eagerly, What IS the matter with
you? Have you been sick p


81 am well again. now that | see you.
she answered, putting out her arms to
him with a little start of love and joy
which had so often charmed him.


It absolutely seemed that in the pres
ence Of the object of her affection this
erring woman became innocent. Her
smile was as simple and pure as that of
her violet eyes reminded one
Of heaven without cloud. 1t must
have been that, away from punishment
and from terror, she did not feel herself
to be guilty.


But the day of reckoning was ap-
preaching. She had scarcely begun to
regain an appearance Of health under
he stimulus of country air and renewed
happiness, when disquieting letter ar
rived from Duvernols In a tone which
was more than usually authoritative, he
directed her to meet him at Portland, to
20 to Nahant and Newport. Did he
suspect something


She would have given years OF life to
be able to show the letter to Leighton
and ask his counsel. But here her pun
shment began to double upon her; the
being whom she most loved was precise
ythe one to whom she must not expose
her troubles-the one from whom she
was most anxious to conceal 1t.


In secret, and with unconfded tears,
she wrote a reply, alleging (what was
rue) that her feeble health demanded
1uIet. and praying that she might be
spared the proposed journey. For three
laws she feverishly expected an answer,
the while that she ought to go
o Portland to meet Duvernois, should
he chance to come, yet unable to tear
herself away from Leighton, even for
wentY-fouT hours.


In the afternoon of the third day she
made one of her frequent visits of chari-
". At the house of a poor and bedrld-
len widow she met, as she had hoped
o meet her husband. When they left the
place he took her into his gig and car
led her home.


It was a delicious day of mid June
he sun was setting in clouds of crimson
and gold the earth was in its freshest
summer glory. In the beauty of the
scene. and in the companionship of the
heart which was all hers, she forgot or
seemed to forget her troubles. One hand
-ested on Ieighton's arm; her face was
fitted steadily to his, like flower to the
light: her violet eyes were dewy and
sparkling with happiness. There were
little clutches of her fingers on his wrist
whenever he turned to look at her.
There were spasms OF Joy IN her slender
and somewhat wasted frame as she
leaned from time to time against his
shoulder.


Arrived at the house she was 10th to
have him leave her for even the time
to take his horse to the stable.


Come soon" she said-"come as
1uick as you can. l shall be at the
window. Look up when you reach the
gate. Look at the window all the way
from the gate to the door.


In an instant, not even taking off her
bonnet, she was sitting by the window
waiting for him to appear.


A man approached. walking. behind
he hedge of lilacs which bordered the
yard, and halted at the gate with an air
IF hesitation. She turned ghastly white;
-etribution was upon her. 1t was Duver-
nois.


With that swift instinct of escape
which sensitive and tirnorous creatures
possess, she glided out of the room,
through the upper hall, down a back
stairway, into the garden behind the
house, and so on to an orchard already
obscured in the twilight. Here she paus-
ed in her breathless flight, and burst in
to one of her frequent coughs, which she
vainly attempted to smother.


81 was already dying" she groaned.
L ~rs-