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font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Loved you better than you knew, by Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Loved you better than you knew</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: September 30, 2022 [eBook #69071]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Demian Katz, Craig Kirkwood, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Images courtesy of the Digital Library@Villanova University.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOVED YOU BETTER THAN YOU KNEW ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp54" style="max-width: 116.25em;"> - <img id="coverpage" class="w100" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover." /> -</div> - - - -<div style="padding-top:2em"> -<h1>Loved You Better<br /> -Than You Knew</h1> - - -<p class="center largefont p2"><em>By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</em></p> - -<p class="center largefont p2">HART SERIES NO. 59</p> - -<p class="center">COPYRIGHT 1897<br /> -BY GEO. MUNRO’S SONS</p> - -<p class="center p2" style="line-height:1.5"><span class="smcap">Published By</span><br /> -<span class="largefont">THE ARTHUR WESTBROOK COMPANY</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">Cleveland, O., U. S. A.</span> -</p> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> - - -<div class="center"> -<table class="toc" style="border:0em; padding:0em; border-spacing:0em"> -<tr><td class="tocchapter"><span class="smallfont">CHAPTER</span></td><td></td><td class="tocpage"><span class="smallfont">PAGE</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">I.</td><td class="toctitle">Cupid in the Rain</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">5</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">II.</td><td class="toctitle">One Golden Hour</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">13</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">III.</td><td class="toctitle">The Sweet Old Story</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">21</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">IV.</td><td class="toctitle">Breakers Ahead</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">25</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">V.</td><td class="toctitle">Retrospection</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">29</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">VI.</td><td class="toctitle">Rebellion</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">34</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">VII.</td><td class="toctitle">“The Fates Forbid It”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">40</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">VIII.</td><td class="toctitle">A Dark Secret</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">45</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">IX.</td><td class="toctitle">A Bunch of Roses</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">51</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">X.</td><td class="toctitle">A Feminine Weakness</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">55</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XI.</td><td class="toctitle">Cinthia’s Elopement</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">63</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XII.</td><td class="toctitle">Outwitted</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">69</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XIII.</td><td class="toctitle">Oh, What a Night!</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">74</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XIV.</td><td class="toctitle">Parted at the Altar</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">79</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XV.</td><td class="toctitle">“An Eternal Farewell!”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">85</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XVI.</td><td class="toctitle">“Oh, What a Time!”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">90</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XVII.</td><td class="toctitle">A Deadly Feud</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">95</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XVIII.</td><td class="toctitle">“Remember That I Loved You Well”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">103</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XIX.</td><td class="toctitle">A Tragic Past</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">109</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XX.</td><td class="toctitle">Love and Loss</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">113</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXI.</td><td class="toctitle">A Quarrel with Fate</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">119</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXII.</td><td class="toctitle">When Years Had Fled</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">127</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXIII.</td><td class="toctitle">“I Can Not Love Again!”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">137</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXIV.</td><td class="toctitle">“The Pangs That Rend My Heart in Twain!”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">144</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXV.</td><td class="toctitle">“Like an Angel”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">147</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXVI.</td><td class="toctitle">’Neath Southern Skies</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">152</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXVII.</td><td class="toctitle">“Where the Clematis Boughs Intwine”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">156</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXVIII.</td><td class="toctitle">Only Friends</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">161</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXIX.</td><td class="toctitle">A Secret Sorrow</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">169</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXX.</td><td class="toctitle">Mysteries</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">172</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXXI.</td><td class="toctitle">Most Bitterly Bereaved</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXI">176</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXXII.</td><td class="toctitle">“A Cold Gray Life”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXII">181</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXXIII.</td><td class="toctitle">Puppets of Fate</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIII">187</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXXIV.</td><td class="toctitle">“The Weight of Cruel Years Piled Into One Long Agony”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIV">192</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXXV.</td><td class="toctitle">Cinthia’s Betrothal</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXV">197</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXXVI.</td><td class="toctitle">An Obstinate Woman</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVI">201</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXXVII.</td><td class="toctitle">Beyond Forgiveness</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVII">208</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXXVIII.</td><td class="toctitle">Her Side of the Story</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVIII">214</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXXIX.</td><td class="toctitle">A Mortal Wound</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIX">219</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XL.</td><td class="toctitle">A Late Repentance</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XL">224</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XLI.</td><td class="toctitle">“The Greed of Gold”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XLI">230</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XLII.</td><td class="toctitle">In the Sunshine</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XLII">235</a></td></tr> -</table></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center xxlargefont nobreak" style="margin-bottom:1em" id="CHAPTER_I">Loved You Better Than You Knew</p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER I. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">CUPID IN THE RAIN.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<div class="poetry-container1"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Love! It began with a glance,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Grew with the growing flowers,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Smiled in a dreamful trance,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Recked not the passage of hours.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Grief! It began with a word,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Grew with the winds that raved,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">A prayer for pardon unheard,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Pardon in turn uncraved.</div> - <div class="verse indent1">The bridge so easy to sever,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">The stream so swift to be free,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Till the brook became a river,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">And the river became a sea.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Life! It began with a sigh,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Grew with the leaves that are dead,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Its pleasures with wings to fly,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Its sorrows with wings of lead.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Could one lift the impenetrable veil of mystery that -hides the future from our curious eyes, what secrets would -often be revealed, what shadows would fall upon hearts -now light and thoughtless—shadows of grief, of horror, -and despair!</p> - -<p>“It is better not to know,” agree both the poets and -sages.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[6]</span></p> - -<p>Beautiful Cinthia Dawn did not think of that as she -drummed upon the window-pane that rainy autumn day, -exclaiming rebelliously:</p> - -<p>“I wish something would happen to break up the -dreadful monotony of my life.”</p> - -<p>Widow Flint, who was her aunt and guardian, and as -crabbed and crusty as her name, looked at her with -dismay, and retorted:</p> - -<p>“Some people don’t know when they’re well off. You -have enough to eat, to drink, and to wear, and a good -home. What more do you want?”</p> - -<p>The girl looked at the dingy sitting-room, her own -shabby gray gown, then out at the dismal landscape, -blurred by the rain and low-hanging clouds, with something -like frank contempt, and answered, recklessly:</p> - -<p>“I want pretty clothes and jewels, beautiful surroundings, -gay times, and lovers, such as other girls have instead -of this humdrum, poky existence—so there!”</p> - -<p>“Humph!”</p> - -<p>It was all Mrs. Flint said aloud, but to herself she -added:</p> - -<p>“Good land! I do wish my brother would come home -from his eternal wanderings and take charge of his rattled-brained -daughter. She’s too pretty and restless, and -I don’t see how I’m going to hold her down much -longer.”</p> - -<p>Cinthia Dawn was seventeen now, and ever since she -had been given into her aunt’s sole keeping at five years<span class="pagenum">[7]</span> -old, the strait-laced soul, who was as prim and particular -as an old maid, had been engaged in the difficult task of -“holding down” her spirited young niece. She had even -erred on the side of prudence, so great was her anxiety to -bring her up in the way she should go.</p> - -<p>When the lovely child first came her aunt said frankly -to all:</p> - -<p>“I don’t want anybody ever to tell Cinthy that she is -pretty.”</p> - -<p>“She can find it out for herself by just looking in the -glass,” objected one of her cronies.</p> - -<p>“I’ll tend to that,” said Mrs. Flint, crustily, and she -furnished her rooms with cracked and distorted mirrors, -whose blurred surfaces gave back indeed no fair reflection -of the child’s beauty.</p> - -<p>She carried out her programme further by dressing the -child in the plainest, commonest clothing, and plaiting all -her wealth of golden curls in a single tail down her back, -though she could not prevent it even then from breaking -out on her brow and neck in enchanting little ringlets that -a ballroom belle might have envied.</p> - -<p>To her dearest crony Mrs. Flint excused her course -by saying, confidentially:</p> - -<p>“Cinthy’s mother, who is dead now, was the vainest -and prettiest creature on earth, and she did wicked work -with her beauty. I don’t want to say aught against her -now that she is dead; but Cinthy must have a different -raising, that’s all. My brother said so when he put her<span class="pagenum">[8]</span> -in my charge. ‘Bring her up good and simple in your -old-fashion way, Rebecca,’ was what he said.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right. ‘Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain, -but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.’ -That’s Cinthy’s Bible verse, and I hope she’ll live up to -it,” returned the good crony, Deacon Rood’s wife.</p> - -<p>So Cinthia Dawn was reared simply and plainly almost -to severity. She received her education at the public -school, and at home helped her aunt with the house-work. -Surreptitiously she read poetry and novels.</p> - -<p>Such a simple, quiet life—just like thousands and thousands -of others—but Cinthia was outgrowing it now. -She was seventeen—the most romantic age in the world—and -she chafed at the dreariness of her life.</p> - -<p>School-days were ended now, and her merry mates -had their new gowns, their dances, and their lovers. There -were none of these for Cinthia Dawn.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint said her niece was nothing but a child yet, -so she was not permitted to attend parties, and she vowed -she had no money to spend on finery. As for lovers, if -she had any, the bravest would not have dared present -himself at Mrs. Flint’s door. She would have said to him -as to the veriest tramp:</p> - -<p>“Be off!”</p> - -<p>It was just the life to drive a pretty, spirited girl frantic -with impatience of the present, and longings for something -better than she had known—the longing that found -impatient expression that afternoon when she watched the<span class="pagenum">[9]</span> -dead leaves flying in sodden drifts beneath the chill November -rain.</p> - -<p>After Mrs. Flint’s curt rejoinder to her complaints she -remained silent several minutes drumming impatiently on -the pane, then burst out:</p> - -<p>“Oh, Aunt Beck, don’t you want me to run down to -the post-office for your <cite>Christian Advocate</cite>?”</p> - -<p>“In all this storm?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I won’t mind it a bit! I’m in a mood for fighting -the elements!”</p> - -<p>“Then take your umbrella and overshoes, and hurry -back.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, aunt.”</p> - -<p>Glad to escape from the monotony of the little brown -house, she hurried out into the teeth of the storm, and -made her way through the village streets to the little post-office. -The rain blew in her face, and the wind crimsoned -her cheeks and made her dark eyes flash like stars. Cinthia -did not care. In her splendor of youth and health she -found it exhilarating.</p> - -<p>But going back, the storm, that had been gathering its -forces for a fiercer onslaught, increased in angry violence.</p> - -<p>She had left the paved main street, too, now, and was -emerging into the thinly populated suburbs where her home -was situated.</p> - -<p>A great gust of wind met her at the corner of a street, -taking her breath with its fierce onslaught, wrapping her -damp skirts about her ankles, and whisking her umbrella<span class="pagenum">[10]</span> -from her grasp. She chased it wildly almost a block, only -to see it whirled into the middle of the street and crushed -under the wheels of a heavily loaded farm wagon lumbering -into the little town. Meanwhile, the vagrant wind -pelted her with drifts of dead leaves, and the flood-gates -of heaven opened and poured down torrents of water.</p> - -<p>“Take my umbrella, Miss Dawn!” cried the gay musical -voice of a young man who had been chasing her as -fast as she flew after the umbrella.</p> - -<p>Turning with a quick start, she looked into the face of -Arthur Varian, a new comer in the town, with whom she -had recently formed an acquaintance. His laughing blue -eyes were irresistible, and she cried merrily as she took -shelter under the umbrella:</p> - -<p>“Didn’t I look comical chasing the parachute? I was -hoping no one saw me. Thank you, but I can not deprive -you of it.”</p> - -<p>“Then you will let me hold it over you? It is large -enough for both,” stepping along by her side, and giving -her the best half of it as they struggled along against the -high wind. “I saw you coming out of the post-office and -have been trying to overtake you ever since. I thought -perhaps you would allow me the pleasure of walking home -with you,” continued Arthur Varian, bending his admiring -blue eyes on the beautiful face by his side—the bright, -arch face with its large, soft dark eyes set off by that -aureole of curly golden hair, now blown into the most -enchanting spiral rings by the wind and rain.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[11]</span></p> - -<p>He had met her several times before, and he knew -enough of her lonely life to make him sympathize with her -forlornness, even if her beauty had not already charmed -him with its girlish perfection.</p> - -<p>Cinthia met that glance and looked down with a kindling -blush and a wildly beating heart, for—it was of him -she had been thinking when she uttered her complaints -to Mrs. Flint, longing for the privileges of other young -girls of her class that she might have opportunities of -meeting him and winning his heart.</p> - -<p>Who could blame her? for Arthur Varian was very -winning and handsome—tall, with wavy brown hair, regular -features, a slight brown mustache, a beautiful -mouth—“just made for kissing,” vowed all the girls—well -dressed, and having that indefinable air of ease and -elegance that betokens good breeding joined to prosperity.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the fates had heard Cinthia’s longing for something -to happen, for the storm now gathered fresh force, -and the darkening earth was irradiated by a vivid and -brilliant flash of lightning, followed by a terrific thunder -peal.</p> - -<p>The rain poured out of heaven like a waterfall, and -the fierce driving gale caught the frightened girl up like -a feather and tossed her against the young man’s breast -and into his arms, that clasped and held her protectingly, -while all about them the air was darkened with flying -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">débris</i> and broken branches of trees that swayed, and<span class="pagenum">[12]</span> -creaked, and bent, and crashed in agony beneath the -cyclonic force of the elements.</p> - -<p>Cinthia was not a coward, but the situation was enough -to strike terror to the bravest heart. The edge of a -cyclone had indeed struck the village, and in almost an instant -of time dozens of trees had been uprooted, several -houses unroofed, and the air filled with flying projectiles, -one of which suddenly struck Arthur Varian with such -force that both he and his companion were hurled to the -ground. It was a portion of a tin roof, and cut a gash -on the young man’s hand from which the blood began -to stream in a ruddy tide.</p> - -<p>In another minute the wind began to abate, and they -struggled up to their feet.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you are cut, you are bleeding! and you did it to -save me! I saw you ward off that horrible missile from -me with your hand. It must have killed me had I received -the blow, for, as it was, it grazed my head. Oh, -what can I do? Let me bind your hand to stop the -blood,” sobbed Cinthia, unwinding the silk scarf from her -neck and wrapping it tightly, with untaught skill, about -his wrist above the wound to stop the spurting blood.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[13]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">ONE GOLDEN HOUR.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>She trembled and paled as the warm blood spurted over -her own white and dainty hands as she essayed the task, -and her heart throbbed wildly with new and sweet emotion. -She could have clasped her arms about his neck -and wept over the cruel wound he had received in her defense -and for her sake.</p> - -<p>“Thank you. That will do very well,” Arthur Varian -cried, gratefully; and taking her hand gently, he added: -“I see we are almost at the gates of my home. You must -come in with me till the storm is over, then I will take -you home in the carriage.”</p> - -<p>Thoroughly frightened, and glad of a shelter from the -still angry elements, Cinthia accompanied him inside the -gates of the finest residence in the county—Idlewild, as -it was called—being a large rambling old stone mansion, -exceedingly picturesque in style, and surrounded by a -fine estate in lawns, gardens, and virgin woodlands. For -many years the place had been tenantless, save for the old -housekeeper in charge, but last summer it had been carefully -renovated, and Arthur Varian and his widowed -mother, who owned the place, had come there to live.</p> - -<p>As the young man led Cinthia in, he added, thoughtfully:</p> - -<p>“You are quite drenched, but my mother will give<span class="pagenum">[14]</span> -you some hot tea and dry clothing, and perhaps that will -prevent your getting sick.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I don’t think the wetting will hurt me. I’m very -strong,” Cinthia answered; adding, bashfully: “I -shouldn’t like your mother to see me looking like I had -been fished out of the river. You had better take me to -the housekeeper. I know her well. She has been lending -me novels and poetry from your library ever since I was -a little girl.”</p> - -<p>And, in fact, before they rang the bell the front door -flew open, and the old woman appeared, pouncing upon -Cinthia, and exclaiming:</p> - -<p>“Come right in out of the wet, you poor, dear child! -I saw it all from the window, and I thought you both -were killed when the piece of tin knocked you both down. -I believe it is a piece off of our own roof. My heart -jumped in my mouth, and I was about to faint when I -saw you both rising to your feet, and I got better at -once. But, law sakes! wasn’t it terrible? Your hand’s -cut, too, ain’t it, Mr. Varian? Well, I’ll see to’t in a -minute, as soon as I take Cinthy to my room.”</p> - -<p>Leading the dripping girl along the corridors to a plain, -neat bedroom, she produced a dainty white night-gown, -saying:</p> - -<p>“There, honey; jest strip off your wet clothes and -put on that, and jump into my bed and kiver up warm, -whiles I go and sew up that cut on Mr. Arthur’s hand, -for I can do it jest as neat as any doctor. Then I’ll dry<span class="pagenum">[15]</span> -your clothes and brew you both some bone-set tea to keep -you from ketching cold.”</p> - -<p>She bustled away, and Cinthia gladly did as she was -bid, looking ruefully at the puddles of water that streamed -from her clothing on to the neat Brussels carpet.</p> - -<p>When Mrs. Bowles returned she was indeed covered -up in the warm bed, with only her bright eyes and the -top of her golden head visible.</p> - -<p>“Do you feel chilly, dearie? Drink this, to warm your -blood,” she said, forcing a bitter concoction of bone-set -tea on the protesting girl; adding: “Law, now, ’tisn’t so -bad, after all, is it? Why, Mr. Varian drank <em>his</em> dose -without so much as a wry face. Law, honey, but that -was a deep cut! It almost severed an artery. It took -all my nerve to sew it up, I tell you, and he’ll have to -carry his hand in a sling some time, sure.”</p> - -<p>“He saved my life!” cried Cinthia, eagerly. “I would -have received that blow on my head but that he so quickly -warded it off with his hand. See, it just grazed my -temple,” showing a little bleeding scratch under her ringlets.</p> - -<p>“Dearie me, let me put a strip of court-plaster on it! -There, it’ll be well in a day or two. Now, Cinthia, you -take a little nap whiles I hang your clothes to dry in the -laundry,” gathering them up into a bucket.</p> - -<p>“I’ve ruined your carpet,” sighed the girl.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no; it’ll be all right when it’s dry. Them colors<span class="pagenum">[16]</span> -won’t run. Don’t worrit over that, but shet your eyes and -go to sleep,” bustling out again.</p> - -<p>“Dear old soul!” sighed Cinthia, grateful for the kiss -pressed on top of her curly head. She shut her eyes, but -she was too nervous to sleep.</p> - -<p>She lay listening to the storm that still raged outside, -and wondering what her aunt would think of her protracted -stay, if she would be angry, or just frightened. -Then her thoughts flew to Arthur Varian, his tender -smiles, his bonny blue eyes.</p> - -<p>“I will never marry any man but a blue-eyed one,” -she thought, thrillingly, and at last fell into a gentle doze -induced by weariness, the warmth of the bed, and the -dose she had swallowed.</p> - -<p>The nap lasted an hour, and when she opened her -eyes Mrs. Bowles was rocking placidly by the cozy fire -in the twilight.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I have been asleep! How long?” she cried, uneasily.</p> - -<p>“Most an hour. Do you feel rested?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, indeed, and I’d like to get up and go home. -Are my clothes dry?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no—not yet; and as for that gray woolen frock -of yours, it has shrunk that much you can never hook it -up again, I can tell you that! But no matter. You’ve -had it two years a’ready. I know, and it was too skimp -for a growing girl, anyway. But Mrs. Varian has sent<span class="pagenum">[17]</span> -you in a suit of her clothes to put on, and when you’re -dressed you are to take tea with her and her son.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, but, Mrs. Bowles, I ought to go home at once. -Aunt Beck will be so uneasy over me.”</p> - -<p>“Listen to the wind and the rain, child. The storm -is still raging, and the horses can’t be taken out till the -weather clears up. So make your mind easy, and get -up and dress, for Mrs. Varian will be in to see you -presently.”</p> - -<p>Cinthia got up rather nervously, with a little dread of -Mrs. Varian, whom she had seen at church and out riding—a -beautiful, haughty-looking woman, with olive skin -and flashing dark eyes, very young looking to have a -grown son of twenty-three or four.</p> - -<p>“I would rather have my own clothes,” she said pleadingly.</p> - -<p>“They are all over mud and water, child, and I don’t -think the maid can have them fit for you till to-morrow. -Mrs. Varian very kindly offered the loan of hers, and -unless you wear them, you’ll have to go to bed again, -that’s all. Here, let me help you,” said Mrs. Bowles, beginning -to slip the garments over Cinthia’s shining head.</p> - -<p>“But this crimson silk with white lace trimmings—it is -too fine for me, dear Mrs. Bowles.”</p> - -<p>“It can’t be helped, for this is more likely to fit—too -tight in the waist for her, she said, and she never wore it -but twice; and see, it laps over two inches on you. But I -can hide that with the lace at the neck and the bow at<span class="pagenum">[18]</span> -the waist. Now let me comb your hair loose over your -shoulders, it’s so damp yet. My! how it crimples up and -curls, and shines in the light! You look well, Cinthy -Dawn!” She would have said <em>beautiful</em>, but she was -mindful of Mrs. Flint’s objection, though she said to -herself:</p> - -<p>“She can’t keep Mr. Arthur from finding it out, that’s -sure. He knows it a’ready, by the look in his eyes when -he brought her in. And it’s hot, impulsive blood that -flows in the Varians’ veins. What is going to come of this -accident, I wonder? for I saw love in her eyes when she -told me how he saved her life. I hope he didn’t save it -just to blight it.”</p> - -<p>Cinthia went to the old woman’s mirror and looked at -herself in the unaccustomed gown.</p> - -<p>The glass was not blurred and cracked like those at -home, and it gave back her charming reflection truthfully.</p> - -<p>“Why, how pretty I look!” she cried, gazing in frank -delight at the beautiful vision, the lissom form, just above -medium height, the regular features, the fair arch face, -the starry dark eyes, the rose-red mouth, the enchanting -dimples, and the aureole of golden hair that set it off -like a halo of light. “Why, Mrs. Bowles, I did not -know I was so pretty! But perhaps it’s only the dress.”</p> - -<p>“Fine feathers make fine birds,” returned the housekeeper, -discreetly.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” sighed Cinthia; but she continued to gaze at<span class="pagenum">[19]</span> -herself in delight, wondering, shyly, what Arthur Varian -would think of her in his mother’s fine gown.</p> - -<p>Then she turned with a start, for a light tap at the -door announced the entrance of Mrs. Varian, and the -housekeeper hastened to present the young girl to her mistress.</p> - -<p>Both thrilled with admiration, for both were rarely -beautiful in their opposite types, the elder a brunette of -the finest style, the younger a dark-eyed blonde, so rarely -seen, so much admired.</p> - -<p>“I hope you have quite recovered from your fright, -Miss Dawn,” her hostess said, in a voice so exquisitely -modulated that it was as pleasant as music.</p> - -<p>Cinthia murmured in reply that she had enjoyed a delicious -rest, and was so grateful for the loan of the -clothes that made it possible for her to escape from bed.</p> - -<p>“I dare say our good Mrs. Bowles would have liked -to keep you there all night. She suggested that plan to -Arthur after dosing him with bitter herb tea; but he disregarded -her advice, and is now waiting impatiently for -you,” rejoined the lady, casting an arch glance at the old -woman while she took Cinthia’s hand and drew her toward -the door.</p> - -<p>When the door closed on them the old housekeeper -wagged her head doubtfully.</p> - -<p>“How sweet my mistress can be when she pleases; but -I wonder if she would be as kind if she guessed what I -have read in those young peoples’ eyes—that story of<span class="pagenum">[20]</span> -love—love between a rich young man and a poor young -girl, that folks like Mrs. Varian call misalliances?” she -muttered, uneasily.</p> - -<p>No matter what the outcome was to be, Cinthia Dawn -had come to the happiest night of her life.</p> - -<p>Though outside the windows the wild wind and rain -swirled and beat with ghostly fingers, inside Mrs. Varian’s -luxurious drawing-room all was warmth and light and -pleasure.</p> - -<p>The lady and her son exerted themselves to make their -young guest happy, and she was so glad and grateful in -her pleasant surroundings that all were mutually sorry -when toward ten o’clock the storm abated, and the moon -struggled fitfully through the lowering clouds.</p> - -<p>“I must go home!” cried Cinthia, with wholesome -dread of Mrs. Flint’s wrath; and their warmest urgings -could not prevail on her to stay—though in her secret -heart she longed to do so forever. “I shall bring back -your clothes to-morrow,” she laughed, as Mrs. Varian -bid her a cordial good-night.</p> - -<p>Then Arthur handed her into the waiting carriage, -stepped in by her side, and the driver closed the door; and -of that ride home we shall hear more in our next chapter.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[21]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE SWEET OLD STORY.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Mrs. Flint grew very uneasy over her absent niece as -the short afternoon waned and the fury of the storm -increased to positive danger for any luckless pedestrian. -After fidgeting and worrying until the early twilight fell, -she began to say to herself that Cinthia was probably -all right, anyway. She had doubtless gone into some -friend’s for shelter, and would not likely return until -morning.</p> - -<p>She took her frugal tea alone and in something like -sadness, for Cinthia had seldom been absent from a meal -before, and she began to feel what a loss it was to miss -the fair young face about the house. She suddenly realized -the tenderness lying dormant in her heart for the -wilful girl.</p> - -<p>She sat down by the cozy fire with her knitting, and -listened to the tempest of wind and rain soughing in the -trees outside, and Cinthia’s rebellion that afternoon kept -repeating itself over and over in her brain until she muttered -aloud:</p> - -<p>“She wants fine things and parties and lovers, does -she? Well, well, I s’pose it’s natural enough for her -mother’s child, and for any young girl for that matter, but -where’s she going to get them? The lovers would be -easy enough—she’s as pretty as a pink—but I don’t want<span class="pagenum">[22]</span> -to encourage her vanity, and it’s better to save the money -her father sends till she needs it worse. What if he -should die way off yonder somewhere, and maybe not -leave her a penny? I wish he’d come home, I do, or I -wish she was homely as sin, with red hair and freckles, -and a snub nose like Jane Ann Johnson!”</p> - -<p>So she fretted and fumed until past ten o’clock, and -that was an hour beyond her usual bed-time; but somehow -she could not get Cinthia out of her mind, could not -bear to retire while she was away, so she kept glancing at -the window, though scarcely expecting her to arrive before -morning. How could she, in such a storm, though -the wind had lulled somewhat, and the patter of the rain -was dulled on the drifts of dead leaves that muffled the -sound of carriage-wheels, pausing too, so that Mrs. Flint -almost jumped out of her skin when there suddenly came -a loud rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat, upon the front door.</p> - -<p>But she was not naturally nervous, so after a moment’s -startled indecision, she flew to the door and demanded, -through the key-hole, to know who was there.</p> - -<p>“It is Cinthia, aunt,” returned a sweet, mirthful voice.</p> - -<p>With a sigh of relief the old lady unlocked the door, -and there stepped into the narrow hall a vision that took -her breath away.</p> - -<p>Was it Cinthia Dawn or a fairy princess, this beautiful -creature in the crimson silk and misty lace, the furred -white opera-cloak falling from her shoulders, the rippling -lengths of sunny hair enveloping her like a halo, the dark<span class="pagenum">[23]</span> -eyes beaming with “that light that never was on sea or -land,” but only in the glance of the happy and the loving?</p> - -<p>“Cinthia Dawn!” she began, in a dazed voice; but -just then she became aware that a tall and handsome -young man, hat in hand, was standing on the threshold. -She knew who he was. Her pastor had introduced her -last Sunday, at church, to the master of Idlewild.</p> - -<p>“Good-evening, Mrs. Flint,” he began, beamingly. “I -have brought Cinthia home safe to you. My mother took -care of her during the storm.” He paused, faintly hoping -that she would ask him to enter, it was so early yet.</p> - -<p>But he did not yet know Mrs. Flint, much as he had -heard of her eccentricities. She simply bridled, and returned, -in her stiffest manner:</p> - -<p>“I’m sure we are <em>very</em> much obliged to your mother, -and you, too. Good-evening.”</p> - -<p>Thus curtly dismissed, the young man shot a tender -glance at his sweetheart, and bowed himself out into the -night again, the lady slamming the door behind him before -he was fairly down the steps.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Aunt Beck! how could you be so rude after all -their kindness to me? And he saved my life, too. Didn’t -you see his arm in a sling?” indignantly.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know as I noticed it. I was so flustrated seeing -you bringing a beau home, and you nothing but a child -yet!” snapped the old lady.</p> - -<p>“<em>Child!</em>” echoed Cinthia, scornfully, as she held her<span class="pagenum">[24]</span> -chilly fingers to the blaze and the ruddy light played over -her beautiful garments.</p> - -<p>“But what are you doing with the silk gown, and that -grand white cloak, all brocade and ermine? I don’t -understand!” cried the old lady, suspiciously.</p> - -<p>Cinthia laughed out gayly, happily, her eyes shining, -her voice as sweet as silver bells.</p> - -<p>“Why, I was caught in the rain and almost drowned, -Aunt Beck, and my wretched old duds were nothing but -mud and water, so Mrs. Varian lent me these things to -come home in. Aren’t they becoming? Don’t I look -pretty?” setting her graceful head one side, like a bird.</p> - -<p>“Humph! ‘Pretty is as pretty does,’” grunted her -aunt, though she could not keep her eyes off the charming -creature as she flung herself back in an easy-chair and -continued, gayly:</p> - -<p>“If you are not sleepy, Aunt Beck, I’ll tell you all -about it.”</p> - -<p>“I guess I can keep my eyes open!” ungraciously, -though she was dying of curiosity.</p> - -<p>Thereupon Cinthia related all the events of the evening, -from the time she had left home until she bid Mrs. -Varian good-night to return in the grand carriage with -the handsome master of Idlewild. Clasping her tiny -hands, she cried, in an ecstacy:</p> - -<p>“Oh, aunt, I can’t tell you how I enjoyed it all! Mrs. -Varian is as proud and beautiful as a queen; but she was -so kind and sweet to me that I felt quite at home in<span class="pagenum">[25]</span> -her grand house. As for her son—oh!” and Cinthia -paused and blushed divinely.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint snapped, irately:</p> - -<p>“Now, Cinthia Dawn, don’t you go getting your head -turned by idle flatteries from rich young men. Anybody -but a silly child would know they don’t mean anything.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Aunt Beck, please don’t call me a <em>child</em> any more. -I am as grown up as anybody, and you know it—seventeen -last April. And—and”—wistfully and defiantly all -at once—“he <em>does</em> mean it. He loves me dearly—and—we—are—engaged!”</p> - -<p>Aunt Beck gave a jump of uncontrollable surprise.</p> - -<p>“Cinthy Dawn, you don’t mean it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I do, Aunt Beck. I have promised to marry -Arthur Varian.”</p> - -<p>“But, land sakes, <em>child</em>—oh, I forgot; well girl, then—you -don’t hardly know each other!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, we do. We have been acquainted some time. -We fell in love weeks ago, and—and—he told me in the -carriage he loved me and wanted to marry me.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">BREAKERS AHEAD.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Mrs. Flint was so surprised she could not speak; she -could only stare in wonder at the beautiful, excited -creature with her happy face.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[26]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh, aunt, you are not angry, are you? He’s very, -very nice, I’m sure—and rich, too! He said my every -fancy should be gratified—that he would worship me. -You will give your consent, won’t you, because he’s coming -here to-morrow morning to ask you.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint found her voice, and muttered, sarcastically:</p> - -<p>“A wonder he didn’t ask me to-night! Why didn’t -you tell him you would have to get your father’s consent?”</p> - -<p>“Because papa has deserted me ever since I was small, -and cares nothing for me. It is you I’ve had to look for -the care of father and mother both. Why, look you, papa -has never written me a line all these years! He does not -care what becomes of me. And we shall not ask him -anything. You are my guardian, and will give us leave -to marry, won’t you, dear?”</p> - -<p>“When, Cinthy?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, very soon, he said—not later than Christmas, -anyway. We don’t want to wait long. You’ll be willing, -won’t you?” impetuously.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, dear. I’ll have to sleep on it before -I make up my mind; you’ve given me such a surprise. -Though I don’t say but that it’s a grand match for a girl -like you, Cinthy.”</p> - -<p>“He said I was made for a prince.”</p> - -<p>“Of course. People in love are silly enough to say -anything. But take your candle and go to bed now, -Cinthy, and we will talk about this again to-morrow.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[27]</span></p> - -<p>“Good-night, aunt,” and she lingered, perhaps hoping -for a kindlier word.</p> - -<p>The old lady, moved in spite of herself, and secretly -proud of Cinthia’s conquest, actually kissed the rosy -cheek, saying, merrily:</p> - -<p>“Good-night—Mrs. Varian that is to be.”</p> - -<p>Cinthia’s heart leaped with joy and pride, for she took -this concession to mean approbation of her choice.</p> - -<p>With the chorus of a love song Arthur had sung that -evening on her happy lips, she went upstairs to her pretty -bed-room, and was soon fast asleep and dreaming sweetly -of her splendid lover.</p> - -<p>But as for Mrs. Flint, she sat down again by the fire, -in a sort of dazed condition, to think it all over.</p> - -<p>Little Cinthia engaged to be married! Why, it was -like some strange dream!</p> - -<p>But the more she thought it over, the better pleased she -was, for Cinthia’s future had been a burden to her mind, -and this would be such a relief, marrying her off to such -a good catch as Arthur Varian. Why, the little girl had -done as well for herself as the most anxious father could -desire, and she decided to give her consent to the match -to-morrow without the formality of asking his advice.</p> - -<p>Just as she came to this conclusion, she was startled -again by another rat-a-tat upon the door.</p> - -<p>“Good gracious! Who can it be knocking there at -midnight almost? Some lunatic, surely! Or maybe Cinthia’s -beau come back to ask for her to-night, too impatient<span class="pagenum">[28]</span> -to wait for morning!” she soliloquized, as she sallied -out into the hall, with the demand:</p> - -<p>“Who’s there?”</p> - -<p>To her utter consternation and amazement, a manly -voice replied, impatiently:</p> - -<p>“Your long-lost brother, Rebecca. Open the door. -This wind is very cutting!”</p> - -<p>Unlocking the door, a traveler stepped into the hall—a -tall, brown-bearded man of perhaps forty-five, blue-eyed, -and rarely handsome.</p> - -<p>“Welcome, Everard!” she cried, and put her arm -around his neck and kissed him with unwonted affection.</p> - -<p>He had been her baby half-brother when she was married, -the pet and pride of the family.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I have such news for you! This return is very -timely!” she exclaimed, when they were seated again by -the fireside.</p> - -<p>Thereupon she poured out the exciting story of his -daughter’s engagement, dilating with unusual volubility -on the eligibility of the suitor.</p> - -<p>“I suppose I shall have to consent,” he said, carelessly; -then: “Oh, by the way, what is the young man’s name?”</p> - -<p>“Arthur Varian.”</p> - -<p>The man sprung to his feet as if she had thrust a knife -into his heart.</p> - -<p>“Arthur Varian!” he repeated, trembling like a leaf -in a storm, his face growing deathly white under the -bronze of travel.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[29]</span></p> - -<p>“Why, Everard, what is the matter? Do you know -him? Is there anything wrong about him?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, no—that is, I must see him first! Oh, Rebecca, -this is a terrible thing! How fortunate that I came in -time to nip this in the bud, for Arthur Varian can never -marry my daughter.”</p> - -<p>“You will break her heart.”</p> - -<p>He dropped back into his seat, groaning:</p> - -<p>“I can not help it, miserable man that I am; for Cinthia -Dawn had better be dead than the bride of Arthur -Varian!”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">RETROSPECTION.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<div class="poetry-container1"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">I remember I was young once,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Ah! how long ago it seems</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Since the happy days and months</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Passed away like pleasant dreams!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">For I loved then. I can smile now</div> - <div class="verse indent2">At myself. ’Twas long ago,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Ere time’s hand had sprinkled snow</div> - <div class="verse indent0">To cool love’s fever on my brow.</div> - <div class="verse indent14">—<span class="smcap">Rosalie Osborne.</span></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Everard Dawn’s words fell on his sister’s ears with a -great shock, so deep was the anguish of his tone and the -emotion of his face, his lips trembling under the rich -brown beard, and his eyes gleaming under their heavy<span class="pagenum">[30]</span> -brows like shadowed surfaces of deep blue pools, while -the pallor of his face was ghastly to behold.</p> - -<p>She studied the agitated man in wonder and terror, -for he was almost like a stranger to his sister, having -never met her since he was a youth of sixteen, just entering -college.</p> - -<p>Since she had married in Virginia while on a visit from -her home in the far South, her communications with her -relatives had been almost broken off; the death of her -father soon followed her marriage, and her only visit -home had been to the death-bed of her step-mother when -Everard was just entering college.</p> - -<p>She was his only near relative, and she had urged the -lonely boy to visit her often, but he had never accepted -the invitation but once, having to work too hard at his -chosen profession—the law—to find time, he said.</p> - -<p>Their correspondence had been infrequent, and she -knew little of him, save that he had been married twice, -and that on the death of his second wife he had brought -her his child to raise, and gone away abruptly, a broken-hearted, -lonely man.</p> - -<p>Yet, as she looked at him sitting there, so handsome -still in his young, splendid prime, with threads of premature -silver creeping into the thick locks on his temples, -and remembered how heavily the shadows of grief had -stretched across his life, the woman’s heart was moved -to pity and tenderness, such as she had felt in his babyhood<span class="pagenum">[31]</span> -days, when he was the pet and darling of all. Her -cold gray eyes softened with sympathy, as she cried:</p> - -<p>“Surely, Everard, you have had more than your share -of sorrow in life! What new trouble is this? For, of -course, you would not oppose such a splendid match for -your daughter without grave reasons.”</p> - -<p>He lifted his heavy eyes to her troubled face, and answered, -bitterly:</p> - -<p>“Yes, I have reasons, grave and bitter reasons, for forbidding -this marriage, and I thank Heaven I came in -time to prevent it. But ask me nothing, Rebecca, for I -shall never willingly divulge my reasons, not even to the -man whom I must send away sorrowing to-morrow over -a broken love-dream.”</p> - -<p>His voice fell to exquisite pathos, as if he almost pitied -the man he intended to wound so cruelly.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint was disappointed, crest-fallen, she had been -so elated over <a id="Ref_31" href="#BRef_31">her</a> niece’s prospects.</p> - -<p>She rejoined, uneasily:</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what Cinthy will say to this. Her heart -is set on Arthur Varian. He stands for everything she -longs for most, and her hatred of her life with me is -intense and rebellious. You can never reconcile her to -it again.”</p> - -<p>“I must make a change in it, then, though my means -are not large,” he sighed.</p> - -<p>“So much the worse, for she loves luxury and pleasure, -and her heart is almost starved for love. You know I<span class="pagenum">[32]</span> -have a reserved nature, Everard, and never pet anything. -I have brought her up kindly, but rigidly, and she resents -my discipline and your neglect almost equally.”</p> - -<p>“Poor girl! Perhaps she has cause. I have certainly -almost forgotten her existence in these years of exile. But -what alleviation was there to my misery except to forget?” -he cried, passionately.</p> - -<p>“Poor boy!” she sighed, forgetting that he was forty-five. -She was twenty years older, and to her he appeared -young.</p> - -<p>He made a movement of keen self-scorn.</p> - -<p>“I don’t deserve your pity!” he cried. “I have been -a coward, shifting my burden on your shoulders, hating -to come home, weary of my life. But at last the voice -of duty clamored at my heart. I remembered you were -growing old, and that the child was almost a woman. I -came at last, but even then reluctantly. Can you ever -forgive my fault?”</p> - -<p>Many times she had said to herself, in her impatience -of Cinthia’s discontent, that she could never forgive her -brother for saddling her with the care of a child in her -old age; but at the sight of him, so sad, so broken, so self-accusing, -she could not utter the words of blame that at -first had trembled on her tongue. She answered instead:</p> - -<p>“What could you have done with a girl-child? And -I was the only one you could turn to in your trouble. But -I must warn you that you will not find an affectionate -daughter. You have been away so long that she scarcely<span class="pagenum">[33]</span> -remembers your face, and she has chafed bitterly at -your neglect.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose that is natural, and—I do not think we -shall ever be very fond of each other,” he replied, with -strange bitterness.</p> - -<p>“When do you wish to see her, Everard? She is in -bed now.”</p> - -<p>“Do not disturb her sweet dreams. Our interview can -easily wait till to-morrow,” he said, with strange coldness -for a man whose nearest tie was this beautiful, neglected -daughter.</p> - -<p>He got up and stood with his back to the fire, his pale -troubled face in shadow.</p> - -<p>“Don’t let me keep you up longer. You look pale and -tired, poor soul!” he said, kindly; adding: “Can you -give me a bed, or shall I go to the hotel?”</p> - -<p>“I can give you a room,” she answered, lighting a bedroom-candle -for him and leading the way to a cozy down-stairs -chamber.</p> - -<p>“Good-night. I hope you will sleep well,” she said, -leaving him to ascend to her own quarters opposite Cinthia’s -own little white-hung room that she took much pains -in beautifying after her girlish fancies.</p> - -<p>She peeped in at the girl and saw that she was wrapped -in pleasant dreams, for the murmured name of Arthur -passed her lips, and she smiled in joy beneath the gazer’s -troubled eyes.</p> - -<p>“Poor little girl—poor little girl!” she murmured, as<span class="pagenum">[34]</span> -she withdrew, her heart heavy with sympathy for the -sweet love-dream so soon to be blighted by the father’s -stern edict of separation.</p> - -<p>“It is very, very, strange, the way Everard takes on -about it. Why, he went wild just at the very name of -Varian,” she said aloud to the large portrait of her long -dead husband, Deacon Flint, good soul, that hung over -her mantel. She had acquired a habit of talking absently -to this portrait as if it were alive.</p> - -<p>She read her short chapter in the Bible, mumbled over -her prayer, and crept shivering into bed. But slumber -was far from her eyes. The events of the evening had -unstrung her nerves, and she lay awake, dreading the -dawn of the morrow that was to usher in such disappointment -and sorrow to the sleeping girl now dreaming so -happily of the lover who was never to be her husband.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">REBELLION.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Cinthia would have slept later than usual that morning -but for her aunt’s hand gently shaking her as she said:</p> - -<p>“Get up, Cinthy. Breakfast is almost ready. Put on -your Sunday gown, and try to look your best when you -come down-stairs.”</p> - -<p>“Is—is—Arthur here—already?” cried the girl, a beautiful -flash of joy illuminating her face.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[35]</span></p> - -<p>“Never mind about that; only come down as soon -as you can, or the biscuit will be soggy,” returned the old -lady, hurrying out in trepidation. The sight of the beautiful, -happy face made her nervous.</p> - -<p>Cinthia hurried her toilet, not taking time to plait her -hair, but letting the bright mass fall in careless waves -over the brown cloth gown—her “Sunday best.”</p> - -<p>“How ugly it is!” she cried, with an envious glance at -Mrs. Varian’s finery spread over a chair; then she sped -down-stairs, wondering happily if Arthur had indeed arrived -so soon to ask her aunt’s consent.</p> - -<p>But a strange man, tall, grave, brown-bearded, stood -with his back to the fire, scanning her with moody blue -eyes as she fluttered in, and Aunt Beck said in nervous -tones:</p> - -<p>“Your <em>father</em>, Cinthy.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” she faltered, in more surprise than joy, and -paused, irresolute.</p> - -<p>“What a pretty girl you have grown, my dear!” said -Everard Dawn, coming forward and giving her a careless -kiss. Then he took her hand and seated her at the table, -saying laughingly that her aunt had been fretting about -the biscuits.</p> - -<p>No emotion had been shown on either side. The man -seemed indifferent, with an under-current of repressed -agitation; the girl was secretly wounded and indignant. -Her own father! yet he had never shown her a sign of<span class="pagenum">[36]</span> -real love. Between this pair her poor heart had been -starved for tenderness.</p> - -<p>A little triumphant thought thrilled her through and -through:</p> - -<p>“What do I care for his coming or going now? I shall -soon be happy with my darling!”</p> - -<p>She was wondrously beautiful this morning, even in the -plain dark gown that simply served as a foil to her fairness. -Everard Dawn could not help from seeing it, and -saying to himself:</p> - -<p>“What peerless beauty! No wonder Arthur Varian -lost his head!”</p> - -<p>He felt like groaning aloud, his sudden home-coming -had precipitated him into such a tragic plight, for the -task that lay before him was most bitter.</p> - -<p>He could not help from seeing the pride and resentment -in her eyes, and something moved him to say, apologetically:</p> - -<p>“I dare say you have been vexed with me for staying -away so long, Cinthia; but I have been working for you, -trying to lay aside a little pile, so that you could enjoy -your young ladyhood. You shall have pretty gowns and -pleasures henceforth. Are you not glad?”</p> - -<p>It cost him effort to say so much, but there was no -gratitude in his daughter’s proud face, only a mutinous -flash of the great dark eyes as she answered:</p> - -<p>“I shall not need your belated kindness now.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?” impatiently.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[37]</span></p> - -<p>“Haven’t you told him, Aunt Beck, about—about—Arthur?” -blushing vividly.</p> - -<p>“Yes—yes, dear.”</p> - -<p>Cinthia nodded her head at him with a mixture of -childish triumph and womanliness.</p> - -<p>“You see,” she said, proudly, “I am going to be married -soon. I shall have a husband who will give me all -I want—even,” bitterly, “the love I have missed all my -life!” tears sparkling into her eyes under the curling -lashes.</p> - -<p>He felt the keen reproach deeply, and exclaimed, gently -and sadly:</p> - -<p>“Poor little Cinthia.”</p> - -<p>“Not poor now,” she answered, quickly. “It is <em>rich</em> -Cinthia now—rich in Arthur’s love and the certainty of -a happy future.”</p> - -<p>She meant to be scathing, poor, neglected, wounded -Cinthia, but she could never guess how the words cut -into his heart and tortured him with secret agony—he -who meant to lay her love and hopes in ruins, to blight all -the joys of her life by the exercise of a father’s privilege -of breaking her will.</p> - -<p>But no shadow crossed his face, no trouble was apparent -in his manner as he laughed easily, and answered:</p> - -<p>“Nonsense! you are scarcely more than a child yet—too -young to be dreaming of marriage. I shall send you to -school to complete your education before you can begin -to think of lovers.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[38]</span></p> - -<p>“I will not go!” she said rebelliously, with startled -eyes upon his inscrutable face.</p> - -<p>“Cinthy!” reproved her aunt.</p> - -<p>“I will <em>not</em> go!” the girl repeated, defiantly. “I shall -marry Arthur, as I promised, before Christmas!”</p> - -<p>She sprung from her seat and rushed to the window, -drumming tempestuously upon the pane, her habit -when greatly excited.</p> - -<p>Outside the prospect was dreary. The <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">débris</i> of yesterday’s -storm littered the ground, the limbs of some of the -trees hung broken, the sun was hidden under clouds that -hinted at snow.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint whispered to her brother, apprehensively:</p> - -<p>“I told you so. She has a rebellious will, and she -thinks you have no authority over her now, because you -stayed away so long.”</p> - -<p>“She will find out better about that before long,” he -answered, decisively, though the curious paleness of last -night settled again upon his handsome face.</p> - -<p>He went over and stood by Cinthia’s side.</p> - -<p>“It will snow before to-morrow,” he said, quietly.</p> - -<p>“Yes;” and she looked around at him with a flushed -face, crying: “Oh, papa, you were jesting?”</p> - -<p>“No. I can not give you to Arthur Varian, Cinthia. -You must forget him, my dear child.”</p> - -<p>“I can not, will not! I should die without him!” passionately.</p> - -<p>“No, no, you will soon get over this fancy, for you<span class="pagenum">[39]</span> -have known Mr. Varian but a little time, and to-morrow -I shall take you away from this place, and amid new surroundings -you will forget the face that dazzled you here.”</p> - -<p>“I will never forget Arthur, nor will I go away!” she -protested.</p> - -<p>“You can not set at naught a father’s authority, Cinthia.”</p> - -<p>“I disclaim it, I defy it! You have given me neither -love nor care, so you forfeit every right! Oh, I am sorry -you ever came back here!” stormed the angry girl.</p> - -<p>“Cinthy, Cinthy, come and help me with the work!” -her aunt called, sharply; and she left him with the mien -of an offended princess.</p> - -<p>He took refuge in a cigar, and smoked moodily, till the -click of the gate-latch made him look up, with a face -working with emotion, at a handsome, elegantly clad -young man walking up to the door.</p> - -<p>Cinthia had gone upstairs to make the beds, and her -aunt went to admit the caller.</p> - -<p>In a minute she ushered him into the little sitting-room, -saying nervously:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Varian—my brother, Mr. Dawn.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[40]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“THE FATES FORBID IT.”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Arthur Varian gave a slight start of surprise as he was -presented to Mr. Dawn, but the latter, more prepared for -the encounter, bowed with gracious courtesy, frankly -shook hands with the visitor, and pushed forward a chair.</p> - -<p>Then they looked at each other silently a moment, and -that glance prepossessed each in favor of the other—a -natural sequence for Arthur, since he guessed that his -new acquaintance must be Cinthia’s father.</p> - -<p>They conversed several moments on indifferent subjects, -both rather grave and constrained, with a feeling of -something serious in the air, then Arthur came to the -point with manly frankness:</p> - -<p>“I have found you here most opportunely this morning, -Mr. Dawn. I came to see Mrs. Flint on a particular subject, -but of course you are the proper person to consult,” -ingratiatingly.</p> - -<p>“Cinthia has already told me of your suit for her hand, -Mr. Varian,” gently helping him out, as if anxious for it -to be over.</p> - -<p>“You know, then, that I love your daughter—that she -has promised me her hand. I can give you every assurance, -sir, of my possession of those requisites every good -man wishes to find in a suitor for his daughter. I am -rich, of the best blood of the South, my character irreproachable. -May I hope to have your approval?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[41]</span></p> - -<p>He spoke diffidently, yet eagerly and with superb manliness, -his dark-blue eyes shining with hope, his cheek -glowing with honest pride that he had so much to offer -to the lady of his choice. Without vanity, he knew that -he was, in worldly parlance, an eligible <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">parti</i>. No thought -of refusal crossed his mind.</p> - -<p>Yet Everard Dawn was slow in replying to what many -might have considered a compliment.</p> - -<p>His eyes rested steadily and gravely on Cinthia’s lover, -while his cheek paled to an ashen hue, and the hand that -rested on his knee trembled as with an ague chill.</p> - -<p>Arthur Varian noticed these signs of deep agitation, -and attributed them to parental love. He added, gently:</p> - -<p>“It seems cruel to harass you, almost in the first moment -of your return, with this matter; but it is not as if I -proposed taking Cinthia away from you immediately. -We had planned for a Christmas wedding.”</p> - -<p>“This is the first of November, Mr. Varian,” he reminded -him, coldly.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir; so it would be almost two months before I -took Cinthia away,” smilingly.</p> - -<p>“My daughter is too young to marry yet. I came home -to place her at a convent school in Canada for two years, -not dreaming that she had notions of lovers in her childish -head,” Everard Dawn continued, gravely.</p> - -<p>“You see, sir, we have made other plans,” said Arthur, -lightly, not taking him <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">au serieux</i>.</p> - -<p>To his surprise, Mr. Dawn answered, frigidly:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[42]</span></p> - -<p>“Of course, those plans made without my consent do -not carry.”</p> - -<p>Arthur began to grow excited by the portentous gravity -of the other. He exclaimed, almost pleadingly:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Dawn, you do not surely mean that you will make -me wait two years for Cinthia?”</p> - -<p>And to his utter horror and despair, the gentleman replied -slowly, sadly, and gravely, as if every word cost -him a pang:</p> - -<p>“No, I do not wish you to wait for Cinthia, Arthur -Varian, for the truth may as well be known to you first -as last, cruel as it must seem at first. Believe me, I am -sorry for your disappointment, and I hope your fancy -for Cinthia has not taken very deep root, for—she can -never be your wife.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Dawn!”</p> - -<p>Arthur Varian sprung to his feet, and faced the speaker, -with such a grief and amazement on his handsome face as -might have melted the sternest heart.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Dawn, you can not surely mean this refusal! -What reasons could exist for deliberately wrecking two -fond, loving hearts?”</p> - -<p>“Unfortunately, the reasons exist; but such as they -are, I can not explain them, Mr. Varian.”</p> - -<p>Arthur cried out, eagerly:</p> - -<p>“If you are offended at my impatience to claim Cinthia -for my own, I will agree to wait the two years you -mentioned, or even more. Nay, so deep and constant is<span class="pagenum">[43]</span> -my love, that I would rather serve seven years for her, -as Jacob did for Rachel, than lose the dear hope of winning -her at last for my own.”</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn rose from his chair, and grasping the -back, to still the great trembling of his frame, answered, -with passionate energy:</p> - -<p>“Arthur Varian, there can never be a marriage between -you and my daughter. The fates forbid it, the unknown -forces that control your life and hers cry out upon it. -You must forget each other, for your love is the most ill-fated -and hopeless the world ever knew. Arguments -and entreaties are alike useless. You will believe that I -am in terrible earnest when I tell you that I would sooner -see my daughter dead than give her to you as a bride.”</p> - -<p>“This is strange—passing strange, Mr. Dawn,” the -young man uttered, indignantly, yet still not as angrily as -might have been expected.</p> - -<p>A subtle something about the man, with his grave, sad, -handsome visage, claimed his respectful admiration, in -spite of the mystery that surrounded his rejection of his -daughter’s suitor.</p> - -<p>“It is strange, but true,” answered Everard Dawn, -wearily; and he added: “Do not let us prolong this most -painful conversation. Nothing can change the decrees of -relentless fate.”</p> - -<p>Arthur felt himself politely dismissed, and turned toward -the door.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[44]</span></p> - -<p>“You will at least permit me a parting interview with -Cinthia?” he murmured.</p> - -<p>“You must forego it. It is better so. To-morrow she -leaves this place with me forever. Your two lives must -never cross again!”</p> - -<p>With a heart full of pain, and anger, and silent rebellion, -the young man bowed, and walked out of the house; -but ere he reached the gate, he heard flying footsteps behind -him, and turned to greet Cinthia, bareheaded and -breathless, her cheeks pale, the tears hanging on the curly -fringe of her dark lashes.</p> - -<p>She clasped her tiny hands around his arm, reckless -of her father’s eyes watching disapprovingly from the -window, and murmured:</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>“He refuses his consent, Cinthia, and says he will take -you away to-morrow where we shall never meet again.”</p> - -<p>“Arthur, you will never let him do it; you will not forsake -me if you love me!” wildly, passionately.</p> - -<p>“My darling, you know I can not live without you! -Would you elope with me?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes!” she began, eagerly; but just then her -father appeared at the door.</p> - -<p>“Cinthia, you must come in out of the cold!” he called, -sternly; and Arthur said:</p> - -<p>“Go, my darling!”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[45]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">A DARK SECRET.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Cinthia did not obey. She only clung closer to her -sorrowing lover.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Arthur, don’t leave me! Take me home with -you to your sweet, kind mother! I hate that man!” she -sobbed in wild <em>abandon</em>.</p> - -<p>Her father came down the walk toward them, and -Arthur bent and whispered rapidly in her ear:</p> - -<p>“Go in with him now, my own sweet love, for we can -not defy him openly, we can only defeat him by strategy. -Be brave, darling, for—I will come for you and take you -away to-night.”</p> - -<p>He kissed her, in spite of Mr. Dawn’s great eyes, and -pushed her from him with gentle violence just as her -father came out and took her hand.</p> - -<p>“Come, Cinthia,” he said, with gentle firmness, and -she followed, though she shook off his touch as though it -had been a viper.</p> - -<p>“Don’t touch me! I hate you—hate you!” she cried, -like a little fury, her eyes flashing fire. “Do you think -I will go with you to-morrow? Never—never! You -have made my life empty of joy, and now you envy the -sunshine that love has brought me! But you shall not -part me from Arthur—no, no, no!” and desperately sobbing, -she flung herself face downward on the floor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[46]</span></p> - -<p>He sought Mrs. Flint in terrible perturbation.</p> - -<p>“Come, she is in hysterics!” he exclaimed, anxiously.</p> - -<p>“I told you it would go hard with Cinthy,” she answered, -curtly.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I feared she would grieve; but, good Heaven! -she is a little fury—all rage and rebellion, swearing she -will not go with me to-morrow. She must be closely -watched to-day, for there is no telling what such a desperate -girl may do,” he said in alarm mixed with anger.</p> - -<p>“Pshaw! she will simmer down when her fit of crying -is over. I’ll get her upstairs and give her a soothing -dose. Her temper-fits never last long, for Cinthy is a -good child, after all, and I am sorry over her disappointment, -she sets such store by love,” returned the old -woman, in real sympathy for the girl and secret disapproval -of his cold attitude to his neglected daughter.</p> - -<p>He felt the implied reproach and answered, in weary -self-excuse:</p> - -<p>“Rebecca, I know you think me hard and cold, but -my heart seems dead within me.”</p> - -<p>“That is no excuse for neglect of duty,” she answered -with telling effect as she went to the difficult task of -soothing Cinthia and getting her upstairs to her room.</p> - -<p>“A bitter home-coming!” he muttered, as he went -out into the bleak morning air, with its scurrying flakes -of threatening snow, to try to walk off some of his perturbation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[47]</span></p> - -<p>Somehow the dreary day dragged through to the -drearier late afternoon.</p> - -<p>Upstairs, Cinthia lay still and exhausted upon the bed -after such a day of tears, and sobs, and passionate rebellion -as Mrs. Flint hoped never to go through again.</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn took his hat and great-coat, and set -out for another long walk—this time in the direction of -Arthur Varian’s home.</p> - -<p>Had he repented his harshness? Was he going to -recall Cinthia’s banished lover?</p> - -<p>The air was keen with a biting east wind, the sky -was gray with threatening clouds, and occasional light -scurries of snow flew in his face and flecked his thick -brown beard as he stepped briskly along, gazing over the -low evergreen hedge at the beautiful grounds of the -fine old estate he had refused for his daughter.</p> - -<p>As he almost paused in his walk to gaze with deep interest -at the picturesque old stone house, he saw a lady -come out of a side-door and turn into an avenue of tall -dark cedars that made a pleasant promenade, shutting -off the rigorous wind very effectively.</p> - -<p>He followed her progress with wistful eyes and tense -lips.</p> - -<p>It was indeed the stately mistress of the mansion. -Wearying of its warmth and luxury, she had come out, -wrapped in sealskin, for her favorite constitutional along -the cedar avenue.</p> - -<p>She walked slowly, with her hands behind her, and<span class="pagenum">[48]</span> -her large, flashing dark eyes bent on the ground, as if -in profound thought.</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn gazed eagerly after Mrs. Varian till -she was lost to view among the cedars, then, searching -for a gate in the hedge, he entered and turned his steps -toward the avenue, so as to meet her on her lonely walk.</p> - -<p>Slowly they came on toward each other, the echo of -their footsteps dulled by the carpet of dead leaves, dank -and sodden with last night’s rain, and the face of the -man, with its gleaming eyes and deep pallor, bore signs -of unusual agitation.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the lowering clouds parted, and a dull sunset -glow sent gleams of light down through the cedar -boughs upon the sodden path. The woman lifted her -large, passionate orbs to the sky.</p> - -<p>Then she stopped short and uttered a startled cry.</p> - -<p>She had caught sight of the advancing man, the intruder -upon her grounds.</p> - -<p>He removed his hat and stood bowing before her in -the dying sunset glow, the light shining on his pallid -face and the streaks of gray in his thick locks.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Varian!” he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Everard Dawn!” she answered, in a hollow voice, -and her eyes glowed like live coals among dead embers, -so ashy-pale was her beautiful face.</p> - -<p>Pressing her gloved hand upon her side, as if her -heart’s wild throbbings threatened to suffocate her, she -<a id="Ref_48" href="#BRef_48">called</a>, hoarsely:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[49]</span></p> - -<p>“Why are you here? How dare you face me, -traitor?”</p> - -<p>“I have not come to forgive you, Mrs. Varian, be -sure of <em>that</em>!” he answered, sternly.</p> - -<p>“You do well to talk of forgiveness—<em>you</em>!” she -sneered, stamping the ground with her dainty foot.</p> - -<p>“And—you—madame—would—do—well to crave it—not -that it would ever be granted you, remember. Only -angels could forgive injuries like mine!” the man answered, -stormily, with upraised hand, as if longing to -strike her down in her defiant beauty.</p> - -<p>She did not shrink nor blanch, but her face was a picture -of emotional rage, dead white against the setting of -satin-black tresses and rich seal fur, her eyes flashing -as only great oriental black eyes can flash, and her rare -beauty of form showing to advantage as she drew herself -haughtily erect, hissing out:</p> - -<p>“Go, Everard Dawn! Take your hated form from -my sight ere I summon my servants to drive you from -the grounds!”</p> - -<p>Turning, as if to put her threat into execution, she was -arrested by a stern voice that said significantly:</p> - -<p>“It is more to your interest to listen to me one moment, -Mrs. Varian.”</p> - -<p>She whirled back toward him again, saying, imperiously:</p> - -<p>“Be brief, then, Everard Dawn, for you should know<span class="pagenum">[50]</span> -that it suffocates me to breathe the same air with such -as you!”</p> - -<p>Evidently there was some strange secret between this -haughty pair, for he flashed her a glance of kindling -scorn, as he returned:</p> - -<p>“What I have to say needs but one sentence to assure -you of its importance. Your son, Mrs. Varian, wishes -to wed—<em>my daughter</em>!”</p> - -<p>A hoarse, strangled cry, and she fell back against the -trunk of a tree, clasping its great bole, as if to prevent -herself from falling. Her face wore such a look of -agony as if he had plunged a knife into her heart.</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn impetuously started forward, as if to -catch her in his arms—the natural impulse of manhood -at seeing a woman suffer.</p> - -<p>Then he suddenly remembered himself, and drew -haughtily back, waiting for her to speak again; but she -was silent several moments, gazing at him with the reproachful -eyes of a wounded animal at bay.</p> - -<p>Then she gasped, faintly:</p> - -<p>“Is she—is she—that Cinthia Dawn?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Cinthia Dawn is my daughter,” finishing the -unended sentence. “She lives here with my sister, and -I came home last night, after being self-exiled for weary -years, and found Arthur Varian and Cinthia plighted -lovers. I have forbidden their love, and sent him away; -but they are defiant and rebellious. I shall take her away<span class="pagenum">[51]</span> -to-morrow—but in the meantime I came to you, for you -must help me to keep them apart.”</p> - -<p>“I—oh, Heaven! what is there I can do?” she moaned, -in piteous distress.</p> - -<p>He looked at her in dead silence a moment, then answered, -firmly:</p> - -<p>“Cinthia is only a tender girl, and I will not have her -young life blasted with the hideous truth. Arthur is a -man, and if the dark secret that comes between their love -must ever be divulged, it is to him alone it need be revealed. -Will you charge yourself with this duty should -he persist in his resolve to marry Cinthia?”</p> - -<p>“If you asked me for all my fortune, I would rather -give it you—but you are right. The duty is mine. I -will not shirk it, though it slay me. Poor, poor Arthur!”</p> - -<p>“That is well. I shall depend on you to curb his -passion. Farewell, Mrs. Varian;” and with a lingering -glance, he turned away just as the last sun-ray glimmered -and faded in the west.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">A BUNCH OF ROSES.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Cinthia had never spent such an unhappy day in the -whole of her young life. She could not realize that only -yesterday she had been railing at the monotony of existence.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[52]</span></p> - -<p>It was only twenty-four hours later, and a tragedy of -woe had overwhelmed her in its grim embrace.</p> - -<p>Only yesterday she had been planning, and hoping, -and wishing for some way to know Arthur Varian better, -and now he was won, now he was her promised husband; -and through all the bitterness of her father’s -cruelty, that thought made glad her warm heart.</p> - -<p>She had shed little rivers of tears, she had sulked at -her father and aunt, she had refused to eat her dinner, -and pouted among the pillows all day long; but through -it all ran one thrilling thought, Arthur was coming to -take her away to-night. He had promised, and she knew -he would keep his word.</p> - -<p>When her aunt went down about her household duties, -she laughed to herself at the thought of outwitting those -two—her cold-hearted aunt and her cruel father. The -thought of their surprise, when they should find her gone -in the morning was pure delight.</p> - -<p>“There he goes now. I wish he would go and stay -forever!” she cried, petulantly, as she heard the gate-latch -click, and springing to the window, saw her father -walking away into the gloomy distance.</p> - -<p>She sat down and watched him out of sight, adding:</p> - -<p>“He is very handsome and noble looking, and if he -had treated me better, I should have learned to love him -well. But now I hate and fear him, and I would die -before I would go with him to-morrow. Dear,<span class="pagenum">[53]</span> -dear <a id="Ref_53" href="#BRef_53">Arthur</a>, I hope nothing will prevent him from taking me -away to-night.”</p> - -<p>And while she was moping, her aunt came up with a -magnificent bunch of roses, saying kindly:</p> - -<p>“Cheer up now, Cinthy! Here’s a splendid big nosegay -for you, and a box of French candy. I ’spose your -pa sent it, because he went down into the town a while -ago, and said he’d get you a present.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t want any of his presents! Take them away!” -Cinthia answered, angrily.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be a little fool, Cinthy. I’m getting out of patience -with your airs,” Mrs. Flint returned, severely, -putting down the gifts and slamming the door as she -stalked out.</p> - -<p>Cinthia loved flowers dearly, and the scent of the roses -wooed her to caress them presently, burying her face in -the fragrant red and white beauties.</p> - -<p>A note hidden among them scratched the tip of her -nose, and she drew it out with a cry of wonder.</p> - -<p>It was from Arthur Varian, and ran thus:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“I have thought it all over, darling, and I think the -only way for us is to elope to Washington to-night and -be married. I do not like to steal a man’s daughter away -from him this way, but his obstinacy leaves us no other -hope, and as there is really no reason to prevent our marrying, -I hope he will soon be reconciled. No doubt, -mother will help us to bring him around afterward, she -is so very clever. And I shall not let her into the secret -of to-night, so that he can not accuse her of connivance<span class="pagenum">[54]</span> -in our plans. I will be waiting near your house with a -carriage at twelve o’clock to-night, and you must slip -out and join me. Then it is only two miles to the station, -and away we go on the midnight train to Washington. -Keep up your courage, my sweet love, for we are -going to be the happiest pair in the world.</p> - -<p class="ir1">“<span class="smcap">Arthur.</span>”</p> -</div> - -<p>Cinthia refused to go down to supper, and made a -meal of sweetmeats. The hours between dark and midnight -seemed endless. She heard her aunt retire to her -room at an early hour, and her father later on. The -house was wrapped for an hour in profound silence, then -she heard the hall-clock chiming twelve.</p> - -<p>Cinthia was all ready, even to her hat and jacket, her -face pale with eagerness, her heart throbbing wildly. -She stepped to the door and turned the knob. Horrors! -it did not yield to her touch. They had suspected her and -locked her into the room.</p> - -<p>An impulse came to her to shriek aloud in her wrath -and defiance, and to try and batter down the door and -escape; but a timely thought restrained her, and she drew -back from the temptation, her eyes flaming luridly, her -temper raging.</p> - -<p>“They shall not baffle us, the cunning wretches! Arthur, -my love, I am coming to you, though the whole -world oppose!” she cried, wildly, rushing to the window -and throwing up the sash.</p> - -<p>It had been snowing steadily for hours, though she<span class="pagenum">[55]</span> -did not know it. As she leaned out into the darkness a -great gust of wind and big swirling flakes of snow -stormed into the room, blowing out the light and clasping -her in a cold embrace.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">A FEMININE WEAKNESS.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<div class="poetry-container1"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">In the small compass of thy clasping arms,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">In reach and sight of thy dear lips and eyes,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">There, there, for me the joy of Heaven lies.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Outside, lo! chaos, terrors, wild alarms,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And all the desolation fierce and fell</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Of void and aching nothingness makes hell.</div> - <div class="verse indent14">—<span class="smcap">Ella Wheeler Wilcox.</span></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The night was black as Erebus, the wind cut like a -knife, and the air was full of blinding snow that must -have been falling for hours, it was banked so heavily -against the window-ledge, almost freezing Cinthia’s hands -as they plunged into it on leaning forward, for though -she gasped and caught her breath as the wild elements -blew in her face and tried to beat her back, she did not -recoil from her fixed purpose, which was to drop out -upon the top of the porch and climb down to the ground -by the aid of a honeysuckle vine that wreathed over the -trellis frame at one end. The icy blast that shrieked in -her ears was not enough to chill the fiery ardor of her -resentment at her father, and the yearning of her heart<span class="pagenum">[56]</span> -for the dear lover from whom she feared to be separated -forever.</p> - -<p>Her tender young heart went out to him with an intensity -of feeling as she peered out into the stormy darkness -of the night, wondering if he was there waiting, and if he -was growing impatient at her delay.</p> - -<p>“Ah, my love,” she murmured, impetuously, “I am -coming to you—coming! Neither bolts nor bars, nor -storm nor darkness, nor anything under Heaven, shall -keep us apart!”</p> - -<p>The wind whistled past the eaves and seemed to take -on an almost human voice of sorrowing, as though it -echoed those dismal words: “Shall keep us apart, shall -keep us apart!”</p> - -<p>Cinthia caught her breath and listened, it was so -strange, that almost human wail of the wind sighing -through the great pine tree on the corner. It seemed to -be sobbing: “Apart, apart!”</p> - -<p>“How mournful it sounds!” she uttered, in an awe-stricken -tone; then she climbed through the window and -dropped with a dull thud out on the porch. Mrs. Flint -heard the sound in her adjoining room, and muttered, -drowsily:</p> - -<p>“It is the snow sliding down from off the roof.”</p> - -<p>Cinthia crawled to edge of the porch, and felt out -carefully for the thick mat of the honeysuckle.</p> - -<p>She knew she was making a desperate venture, but she<span class="pagenum">[57]</span> -said to herself, bitterly, that desperate emergencies require -desperate remedies.</p> - -<p>With infinite care and patience she managed to get -hold of the strong matted vines, and swung herself carefully -over the trellis, beginning to make the perilous descent -with bated breath, for a fall might mean a broken -limb, or, at the least, a sprained ankle.</p> - -<p>The wet snow clung to her face and garments and -chilled her to the bone; but she persevered, though the -high wind threatened to loosen her hold and blow her -down every instant. What did she care for it all, poor -Cinthia fleeing from her dull life and her hated persecutors -to the tender arms of love? She would endure -anything rather than be cheated of her happiness.</p> - -<p>The cold snow flecked her benumbed face and hands, -the high wind swung her light form to and fro like a -flower upon the vine, her breath seemed to freeze on her -lips, but her courage never flagged. Out there in the -night and the storm her lover was waiting. The thought -kept her young heart warm.</p> - -<p>She was more than half-way down now, and the wind -began to lull. Courage, Cinthia; the danger will soon -be over, sweetheart, and love rewarded for its brave -struggles.</p> - -<p>But, alas! how often bathos overcomes pathos.</p> - -<p>Cinthia was only a girl, after all, with the usual feminine -attributes.</p> - -<p>As she swung herself carefully from branch to branch<span class="pagenum">[58]</span> -of the vine, hoping and longing for her feet to touch -<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">terra firma</i>, yet sustained by unfaltering courage, there -came to her a sudden wild and terrifying thought that -made the blood run colder in her veins than all the -raging storm had force to do.</p> - -<p>She had remembered that of late the immense vine to -which she clung had afforded a delightful gymnasium for -a score or so of large rodents, causing her aunt to -threaten to cut it down.</p> - -<p>The feminine mind has one idiosyncrasy known of all -men, and accordingly ridiculed, but never overcome. Cinthia -did not pretend to be stronger than her sex. With -that sudden terrifying thought an uncontrollable shriek -burst from her lips, her numb hands relaxed their grasp, -and she went crashing down through space plump into a -great, great bank of drifted snow blown into a heap below -the vine.</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn heard that shriek as he tossed on his -pillow in restless dreams, and suddenly raised his head.</p> - -<p>“What a night!” he cried, for he had been watching -the storm ere he retired. “How the wind howls to-night, -shrieking like a human voice through that splendid -pine on the corner! How I used to love the wind in the -pines in my far Southern home until—<em>afterward</em>! But -since then it is an embodied grief to me, as in the plaint of -one of our Southern poets:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[59]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“‘I hear the wind in the pines</div> - <div class="verse indent4">With its soughing of wordless woe,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And the whisper of leafless vines,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Like a sad heart’s overflow.</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Sigh on! they seem to say,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Sigh on, sad heart, to the night,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">For the world is cold and gray,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And life has no delight.’”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>He listened with his head on his arm but the wind -had lulled for the moment, and the strangely human -shriek he had heard began to affect him very unpleasantly.</p> - -<p>“Was it really the wind?” he began to ask himself, -wondering if it might not be an hysterical shriek of his -rebellious daughter.</p> - -<p>“Poor little Cinthia, God help her!” he uttered, sadly, -and rising from his bed, began to dress hurriedly. “I -will go and see if there is anything wrong,” he muttered.</p> - -<p>He had been very angry when he returned at dusk from -his strange interview with the scornful Mrs. Varian, and -heard from his worried sister about the flowers and -candy she had taken up to Cinthia.</p> - -<p>“How is my little girl now?” he asked, anxiously, and -started when she replied:</p> - -<p>“She is in a dreadful temper, and when I took up the -flowers and candy you sent her, she ordered me to throw -them away.”</p> - -<p>“Did you do it?”</p> - -<p>“No; I told her not to be a little fool, put them down -on the table, and came away.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[60]</span></p> - -<p>“Rebecca, I fear you have made a grave mistake. I -did not send Cinthia anything. I intended to purchase a -gift for her, but—I was—so troubled—I quite forgot it.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint studied a moment, then frankly admitted -that the boy who brought the flowers had not said Mr. -Dawn sent them, in fact, had merely said, “For Miss -Cinthia,” and she had jumped at the conclusion that they -came from her brother.</p> - -<p>“They must have come from Arthur Varian. I take -this very ill of him after what I said to him this morning,” -angrily. “Are you sure,” he continued, “that no -letter accompanied the flowers?”</p> - -<p>“I did not see any,” the old lady replied, uneasily.</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn was more versed in the ways of romantic -lovers than his prosaic sister, so he said, with a -troubled air:</p> - -<p>“You may be sure that a sentimental note accompanied -the gift, and they may possibly have planned an elopement -this very night. I desire that you will lock her door on -the outside without her knowledge when you retire to-night.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” she replied, and obeyed him to the letter.</p> - -<p>Recalling all this, the thought came to him that perhaps -Cinthia, finding her door locked, was indulging herself -in a fit of hysterics.</p> - -<p>“God help us all,” he sighed, as he finished dressing; -and, taking his night-lamp, stole upstairs to listen outside -her door.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[61]</span></p> - -<p>But all was still as death at first, then the wind rose -again, and he heard strange noises within the room. It -was, in fact, the wind rushing through the window and -banging things about in confusion.</p> - -<p>He went and tapped on Mrs. Flint’s door, and she soon -confronted him in her cap and gown, exclaiming:</p> - -<p>“I thought I heard creaking steps in the hall. What -is the matter? Are you ill, Everard?”</p> - -<p>“No; but I fancied I heard strange noises from Cinthia’s -room. Did you notice anything?”</p> - -<p>“I heard the snow sliding off the roof, and the wind -shrieking in the branches of that great pine out there. -It always sounds so human in a storm, that I would cut -it down only that Deacon Flint set store by it. He said he -planted it when he was a little boy. But I will go in and -peep at Cinthia just to ease your mind, Everard. ’Sh-h! -we must not wake her if she is asleep,” turning the knob -with a cautious hand and opening wide the door.</p> - -<p>Whew! how the cold air rushed in her face and thrust -her back. By the light that Everard carried she saw the -window wide open and the snow-flakes flying in on the -carpet.</p> - -<p>“Why, how strange that the window should be open. -Cinthia must be crazy. Wait till I shut it, Everard, and -bring in the light,” she ejaculated.</p> - -<p>He obeyed, and when he entered, they saw what had -happened. The room was empty and Cinthia was gone.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint could not believe it at first. She ran all<span class="pagenum">[62]</span> -about the room, and then all over the house, crying in -wild dismay:</p> - -<p>“Cinthia! Cinthia! Cinthia! where are you hiding, -honey?”</p> - -<p>But no reply came back, and very soon the unhappy -father found out the truth. She had actually escaped by -way of the window. Securing a lantern from the kitchen, -he went out for a short while, and returned with a very -accurate report.</p> - -<p>She had slid down the honeysuckle vine to the ground, -and there were tracks in the snow leading to a sleigh -that had been in waiting not far away. The marks of the -runners were quite distinct, in spite of the drifting snow.</p> - -<p>“She has eloped with Arthur Varian. I must follow -and bring them back,” he said, with terrible calmness.</p> - -<p>“Yes, for I found the letter that must have come with -the flowers blowing about the floor of her room,” she answered, -giving it to him.</p> - -<p>He read it, groaned bitterly, and thrust it into his -pocket.</p> - -<p>“I must pursue them,” he said again. “Tell me where -to find <a id="Ref_62" href="#BRef_62">the</a> nearest livery stable, Rebecca.”</p> - -<p>“It is half a mile,” she said, giving him clear directions, -but adding: “Oh, Everard, you will not venture out in -such a storm. You may catch your death of cold!”</p> - -<p>“You know not what you talk of, my sister. I would -rather catch my death, as you say, than permit Arthur -Varian to marry Cinthia Dawn!” he hurled back at her,<span class="pagenum">[63]</span> -hoarsely, as he rushed from the house out into the night -and storm.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">CINTHIA’S ELOPEMENT.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Meanwhile Cinthia’s fall and shriek had been heard by -other alert ears—no less than Arthur Varian’s, who had -been waiting impatiently in the shadow of the trees for -ten minutes, wondering whether Cinthia would come or -not, fearing lest the fury of the storm should daunt her -courage and hold her back.</p> - -<p>With his eager eyes on her window, he presently saw -the sash fly up and Cinthia’s beautiful face and form outlined -against the background of the lighted room. The -next moment the gale blew in and extinguished the lamp -and darkened the beautiful picture.</p> - -<p>But in that moment he saw enough to relieve his fears. -Cinthia wore her hat and jacket ready for traveling. She -was coming to him, his brave little darling, and out yonder -waited a swift horse and sleigh, and plenty of cozy buffalo -robes to shelter her from the cold in their swift drive -to the station.</p> - -<p>He advanced to the gate and stood with his eyes fixed -on the door, eager to give her a joyous welcome when -she appeared, lest the thick darkness frighten her back.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[64]</span></p> - -<p>Then his ears caught the soft thud on the top of the -porch, and, like Mrs. Flint, he thought at first it might -be snow sliding off the roof.</p> - -<p>The wind arose with a great bang and clatter among -the loose shutters, deadening the sound of the branches -as Cinthia swung herself off the vine and began her descent -to the ground, while her eager lover strained his eyes -through the thick darkness, watching the door to see her -come.</p> - -<p>Then suddenly the wind lulled so that he could catch -his breath, and he heard a soft rustling in the vines, as -if they strained under a dead weight.</p> - -<p>“Heavens! what is that?” he muttered, with a half -suspicion of the truth; and, tearing open the gate, he -rushed across the yard through the wet, impeding snow, -already half a foot deep, to the corner of the house just -as Cinthia shrieked and fell into the little bank of drifted -snow so soft and cold.</p> - -<p>With a bound, Arthur was by her side, stretching out -eager hands, crying, in a passion of love and grief:</p> - -<p>“Cinthia, dearest, are you hurt?”</p> - -<p>He reached down and gathered her up like a child in -his strong arms.</p> - -<p>“Oh, my love—my treasure! What a terrible risk you -ran for me! Tell me if you are hurt!”</p> - -<p>She whispered nervously against his breast:</p> - -<p>“I don’t think I am, only frightened almost to death. I -thought—thought—every bone—would be broken—but<span class="pagenum">[65]</span> -the snow was as soft as a feather bed! Oh, let us get -away, Arthur, before they hear us! You may carry me -if you will—I am trembling <em>so</em>,” her teeth chattering so -that she could scarcely speak.</p> - -<p>“That’s what I meant to do,” Arthur replied, managing -to find her face somehow in the darkness and imprint -a kiss upon it ere he strode away with her to the -sleigh, and tucked her in among the robes so that not a -breath of cold could reach her, while he kept up her -courage with the tenderest words, assuring her that she -should never repent trusting herself to him.</p> - -<p>“Oh, how dark it is! How shall you find your way -along the dark country road?” she cried in alarm.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you see my sleigh-lamps? Besides, I know the -road well. I shall have to drive slowly, but that will not -matter, as there is no one in pursuit, and the train is not -due till one o’clock,” returned Arthur, confidently, as he -seated himself, took the reins, and chirruped to his fleet -pony.</p> - -<p>Cinthia snuggled up to his side, and sobbed and -laughed hysterically till he almost exhausted the whole -vocabulary of love-words before she said:</p> - -<p>“Oh, Arthur, I must tell you why I fell, and you will -not call me your brave little heroine any more, but only -the greatest coward in the world!”</p> - -<p>And the wicked young elopers, flying through the storm -and darkness of night toward the happy haven of marriage, -laughed together till they almost forgot their surroundings<span class="pagenum">[66]</span> -at Cinthia’s sudden fear, while vowing but a -moment before to fly to Arthur though the whole world -oppose.</p> - -<p>“To be frightened at the thought of a rat—not <em>at</em> a -rat, but just the bare thought of touching one lurking in -the vines—was it not utterly ridiculous?” she queried, -though not at all sure but that she would do the same -thing again.</p> - -<p>Arthur could only laugh at her confession, and rejoice -that she had sustained no hurt from her fall, so they sped -along through the night and storm, each very, very happy -in their youthful love, and confident of forgiveness from -the obdurate father when he should learn that they were -married.</p> - -<p>“We shall be in Washington by breakfast-time to-morrow, -and we’ll go at once to a minister and have the ceremony -over. Then we will telegraph your father and my -mother that we are one, and that we shall spend our -honey-moon North,” said the young man, planning everything -happily without a thought of failure.</p> - -<p>“Papa will be simply furious!” laughed Cinthia; “but -he can not take me away from you and send me off to -school, thank Heaven, as he proposed to do. And as -for his forgiveness, I feel quite indifferent to it. I don’t -care if I never see his face again. But your mother—what -will she say, Arthur? Perhaps she preferred for -you to marry some beautiful rich girl?” anxiously.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[67]</span></p> - -<p>Arthur squeezed her to his side with one free arm, as -he replied, gayly:</p> - -<p>“Don’t worry over that, love, for my mother was so -charmed with your beauty and sweetness last night, that -I felt sure she would be glad to have you for a daughter, -so I made bold to propose to you on the way to your -house, and told her all about it at breakfast this morning. -Dear heart, she has never crossed a wish of mine -since I was born, and she said I had taken her by surprise, -but she would give me her blessing, and did not -care how soon we set the wedding-day, it would be so -pleasant to have a young girl in the house. Was she not -a darling? So when I came to ask for your hand this -morning, and your father snubbed me so cruelly, I did -not have the heart to go back to her then, for I feared she -might not countenance an elopement, the Varians are so -proud. I stayed away, making arrangements for our -flitting, and sent her a note that I had gone off on a sudden -trip, and would wire particulars. But, bless you, she -will be all right when she hears we are married, though -she will never forgive your father for crossing the will -of her spoiled boy.”</p> - -<p>Laughing and chatting happily in the joy of being together -they drove along very slowly, for fear of an accident, -and because Arthur thought they had plenty of time -to reach the station.</p> - -<p>But suddenly and most inexplicably, the gentle little<span class="pagenum">[68]</span> -pony began to balk, starting backward so quickly as to -almost throw the occupants out of the sleigh.</p> - -<p>At the same time it began to neigh in a frightened -way, requiring all of Arthur’s skill to reassure it.</p> - -<p>Trembling violently and neighing distressfully, it stood -still in the road, refusing to budge forward an inch.</p> - -<p>“He is frightened, poor fellow, at some little obstruction -in the road. I had better get out and remove it,” -said Arthur, giving Cinthia the reins, and springing out -into the snow.</p> - -<p>Giving the trembling pony a reassuring pat and word, -he passed him and went on to examine the road.</p> - -<p>Cinthia heard him cry out in alarm and wonder as he -stooped down.</p> - -<p>“Oh, what is it?” she exclaimed, curiously.</p> - -<p>“Cinthia, there is a human being lying here unconscious -in the snow—a woman!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, heavens!”</p> - -<p>“What shall we do?” continued Arthur, distressfully.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Arthur, we must take her into the sleigh with -us and carry her to the station! Oh, how terrible to fall -down unconscious in the snow on such a wild night!” -cried Cinthia, beginning to sob with sympathy, the cold -air turning the tears into pearls upon her cheeks.</p> - -<p>Without more ado, Arthur dragged the inert form up -out of the snow, and staggering under the heavy weight -of a large, unconscious woman, managed to deposit his<span class="pagenum">[69]</span> -burden in the bottom of the sleigh, after which he got in -himself, saying, as he took up the reins:</p> - -<p>“I am sorry this happened, because it will draw upon us -undesirable notoriety at the station; but it can not be -helped now, and I must hasten on, for I have driven so -slowly that we have not much time to spare.”</p> - -<p>But just as they started off, he caught the sudden -sound of sleigh bells and the neigh of a horse quickly -gaining on them, as a loud, angry voice thundered:</p> - -<p>“Halt, or I fire! Choose death or instant surrender!”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">OUTWITTED.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>As nearly hopeless as Everard Dawn’s pursuit of the -fugitives had appeared even to himself when he began it, -he had succeeded better than he could have expected.</p> - -<p>His only hope had been to catch them at the station -before the arrival of the train; but, owing to Arthur’s -careful driving in the storm, and the stoppage to take in -the woman found unconscious in the road, he had overtaken -them while yet half a mile from the station.</p> - -<p>He had run all the way to the livery stable, and as soon -as a sleigh was furnished, leaped in and drove off at the -highest speed possible in the condition of the weather, his -mind wrought to the highest tension of trouble, rendering<span class="pagenum">[70]</span> -him unconscious of personal danger. As the horse trotted -briskly along, under the urging of voice and whip, the -light sleigh rocked from side to side, almost overturning -twice, but eventually gaining on Arthur’s horse, until he -perceived the stoppage in the road by the light that -streamed from Arthur’s lamps upon the snow.</p> - -<p>He heard their voices blending with the wind, he saw -something lifted into the sleigh, and wondered if his -daughter had fallen out. Then, as Arthur leaped in and -chirruped to his pony, he rose in his seat and shouted -furiously:</p> - -<p>“Halt, or I fire! Choose between death or instant surrender!”</p> - -<p>And to emphasize his words, he instantly fired into -the air, making both their horses snort and rear with -terror.</p> - -<p>Arthur’s only reply was to touch his horse with the -whip, making it bound furiously forward.</p> - -<p>A most unequal race ensued, Arthur’s sleigh being encumbered -with the weight of three, while Mr. Dawn -was quite alone.</p> - -<p>One, two, three minutes, and Mr. Dawn’s horse flashed -past Arthur’s. Then he drove across the front of the -road, shouting, hoarsely:</p> - -<p>“Stop! There will be a collision!”</p> - -<p>Cinthia had slipped down senseless in her seat, and -nothing but surrender was possible now. With a silent -curse at his evil fate, Arthur pulled the lines, forcing<span class="pagenum">[71]</span> -his plunging pony to a stand-still, as Everard Dawn continued, -menacingly:</p> - -<p>“I do not wish to harm you, Mr. Varian, but you must -give me back my daughter!”</p> - -<p>Arthur felt like a coward, but he realized that no other -course was possible now. With a groan, he answered:</p> - -<p>“I would rather part with my life than this dear girl, -Mr. Dawn. Oh, think a moment, before you sunder our -loving hearts, of the despair you are bringing into both -our lives!”</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn drove back to the side of the sleigh -where Arthur waited, and said, sternly:</p> - -<p>“Cinthia!”</p> - -<p>“She is unconscious, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, then, it was Cinthia you lifted into the sleigh. -Is she hurt?”</p> - -<p>“It was not Cinthia, but an unconscious woman I -found in the road.”</p> - -<p>“If Cinthia is unconscious, so much the better. We -will have no scene with her in transferring her to my -charge, and she will not hear what I must say to you.”</p> - -<p>“Speak on, sir,” Arthur answered most bitterly in his -keen resentment. And Mr. Dawn began:</p> - -<p>“I think very hardly of you, Arthur Varian, for disregarding -my words to you this morning. I said frankly -to you that reasons of the gravest import forbid the marriage -of yourself and Cinthia.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[72]</span></p> - -<p>“I had a right to be informed of those reasons, sir,” -Arthur said, hotly.</p> - -<p>“Say you so? Then go to your mother, Arthur Varian, -and ask of her the reason why my daughter can never be -your wife!”</p> - -<p>Arthur started in surprise that this man should know -aught of his mother, but answered, quickly:</p> - -<p>“She can not know anything against it, since only this -morning she gave her pleased consent.”</p> - -<p>“She knows better now; and I say again, go to her -and ask her for the truth,” replied Everard Dawn, as he -stepped out of the sleigh to take possession of Cinthia.</p> - -<p>Arthur was before him. He lifted the inanimate form -in his arms, and kissed the cold, white face in despairing -love before he resigned her to the impatient father’s arms.</p> - -<p>“Ah, you can not surely guess of what a priceless treasure -you are robbing me, Mr. Dawn! May Heaven judge -between us whether you have been merciful to me!” he -cried, reproachfully.</p> - -<p>“I rest my cause with Heaven,” Mr. Dawn answered, -reverently, as he placed Cinthia in the sleigh, covered her -with warm robes, and drove away with a cold good-night -to the young man, who continued his course to the station -as fast as he could urge his horse to go.</p> - -<p>In his agony of grief at losing his beautiful, promised -bride, and in hot resentment of what he deemed hardness -of heart in her father, Arthur Varian had yielded without<span class="pagenum">[73]</span> -reflection upon the baseness of it, to a sudden, overmastering -temptation.</p> - -<p>His caresses and emotion on handing the unconscious -woman to Mr. Dawn had been simply a superb bit of -acting. It was the poor waif of the road he had placed -in the arms of Everard Dawn, thus completely outwitting -the unhappy father while he drove rapidly on to the station, -hoping to board the train before his deception was -discovered.</p> - -<p>In a moment the few scattering midnight lights of the -railway town began to appear, and Cinthia gasped and -opened her eyes, beginning to sob with alarm:</p> - -<p>“Oh, oh, oh!”</p> - -<p>“It is all right, darling. We have distanced our pursuers,” -said Arthur, cheerfully. “And here we are at -the station, and the train is coming. We have not time -to go into the waiting-room.”</p> - -<p>He helped her out, and called a negro boy, to whom he -intrusted his sleigh, telling him to return it to Idlewild -next day, and pressing a liberal reward into his willing -hand.</p> - -<p>Then he helped the bewildered Cinthia aboard the train -and led her at once to a stove, saying, tenderly:</p> - -<p>“Warm yourself, my darling, while I try to secure seats -in the parlor car.”</p> - -<p>“It is very unfortunate, indeed,” said the conductor, -“but the Pullman sleeper is crowded. Only one berth<span class="pagenum">[74]</span> -was vacant when they came into the station, and it has -just been engaged by a lady <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en route</i> for New York.”</p> - -<p>The lady had indeed just taken possession of her berth, -brushing haughtily past without taking notice of either. -Neither did Arthur notice her, or he would have seen with -surprise that it was his own mother. Deeply chagrined -that he could not get quarters for Cinthia in the parlor -car, he returned to her side, and they spent the hours -very happily till morning.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">OH, WHAT A NIGHT!</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>All unconscious of the deception that had been practiced -on him, Everard Dawn drove briskly back to his -home, making no effort to restore Cinthia, and, in fact, -rather hoping that her unconsciousness would last until -he could place her in Mrs. Flint’s care. In common with -most men, he had a holy horror of sensational scenes, and -shrunk from hearing his daughter’s reproaches when she -should revive and find herself so cruelly sundered from -her lover.</p> - -<p>So he made haste to reach home, and his thoughts on -the way were most sad and bitter, for in this man’s past -was a tragedy of sorrow that might have driven a weaker -man to cut loose the bonds of unbearable life with his own<span class="pagenum">[75]</span> -hands and hurl himself recklessly into the great unknown -future beyond.</p> - -<p>With his return to his sister’s house, everything had -rushed back upon him like the swell of some great river, -and seared wounds had been opened afresh, bleeding in -secret beneath his outward calmness. However handsome -and prosperous he appeared to the outward eye, no man -could have envied Everard Dawn, having looked once -into his tortured heart and seen its secrets laid bare.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint was watching and listening for him, and as -soon as the sleigh stopped, she seized a lantern, and -bundling herself in a shawl, rushed out to the gate.</p> - -<p>Springing out and fastening the lines to a post, he said, -triumphantly:</p> - -<p>“I overtook them, Rebecca, and Cinthia fainted with -fear. I brought her back in that condition, thus escaping -a scene in the sleigh. I will carry her in, and you can -revive her at your leisure, while I return the sleigh to -the stable.”</p> - -<p>He lifted out the form, carefully shrouded in a large, -warm robe, and, almost staggering under the burden, followed -the lead of his sister into the sitting-room, depositing -it on the long sofa, panting:</p> - -<p>“Cinthia looked so slender, I did not suppose she was -so heavy. My arms fairly ache. Now do you revive her, -Rebecca, and soothe the poor girl as tenderly as you can -until I return presently.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I declare, I never saw such an unfeeling<span class="pagenum">[76]</span> -father in my life! There he rushes off again, without -so much as glancing at her face to see if she is dead or -alive. He doesn’t seem to bear one bit of love for the -poor, neglected girl, and I wish in my heart she had got -away with Arthur Varian and married him, that I do!” -ejaculated the old lady, as she heard her brother drive -away, her usually cold heart melting with sympathy for the -hapless girl over whom she bent, drawing aside the folds -of the heavy robe from her face, adding, sharply: “And -a pretty how-d’ye-do there’ll be when she revives and -finds herself parted from her lover. Not that I believe -he can <em>keep</em> them apart, for there’s an old saying that true -love always finds a way, and——Oh, my goodness gracious, -<em>what in the world</em>——!”</p> - -<p>With that dismayed exclamation, the Widow Flint -dropped the corner of the robe, and recoiled as if she had -encountered a nest of serpents.</p> - -<p>It was not quite so bad as that, but she certainly had -good reason for her surprise and dismay.</p> - -<p>For instead of her beautiful niece, slender, golden-haired -Cinthia, there lay a large woman of middle age, -shabbily attired, with a pinched face, whose cadaverous -hue was outlined by long, straggling locks of jet-black -hair.</p> - -<p>“Dead!” cried Mrs. Flint, in horror; and the shock -to her nerves was so great that she rushed from the -room and banged open the front door, calling wildly down -the road: “Everard! Everard! Come back!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[77]</span></p> - -<p>But the homeless wind and vagrant snow blew mockingly -in her face, and no other sound came back, so she -knew it was all in vain to stand there shouting for one -who could not hear.</p> - -<p>She went in and shut the door, groaning loudly:</p> - -<p>“What a night—what a night—and what a mistake -Everard has made, or is he only playing a foolish joke -on me? Who is the woman, anyway? I never saw her -face in these parts before.”</p> - -<p>And presently conquering her terror, she stole back into -the room for a second look.</p> - -<p>The strange intruder lay there speechless, motionless, -as if life had indeed fled from her body. Mrs. Flint ventured -to touch her hand, and it felt like ice.</p> - -<p>“She is frozen to death!” she muttered, pityingly. -“Oh, how I wish Everard would return and explain this -mysterious thing. I had better feel her heart. Why, it -seems to beat faintly, poor creature! I wish I knew just -what to do to bring her to life, for this is just awful! -<em>Oh, what a night!</em>”</p> - -<p>But, leaving poor Mrs. Flint to her dazed condition and -perplexity, we must follow the eloping couple as their -train rushed on through the night and darkness to Washington.</p> - -<p>They had spent several happy hours together on the -train, heedless of the other passengers, who mostly slept -or talked together, apparently taking slight notice of the -young pair who sat apart conversing with shy dignity<span class="pagenum">[78]</span> -and permitting themselves no slightest caresses, such as -might have drawn ready ridicule upon their love.</p> - -<p>Almost before they realized it, the day dawned, and -the train rushed into the city on time at eight o’clock.</p> - -<p>Arthur took a carriage, and he and his bride to be were -driven to a hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, where he always -stopped when visiting the city.</p> - -<p>Calling the proprietor aside, he said, in his most genial -fashion:</p> - -<p>“As I have known you a long time, sir, I wish to say -that I desire to be married to the young lady who accompanies -me before I register our names. Can you send out -for the nearest minister?”</p> - -<p>The host congratulated him, and answered laughingly:</p> - -<p>“Cupid never was in such luck before, for the Reverend -Doctor Sprague is in the office at this moment, -having called in to inquire about a subscription for his -new church. You will both please step into the parlor, -and I will bring him there in a jiffy!”</p> - -<p>Cinthia was all in a tremor now.</p> - -<p>“Must I not even bathe my face and brush my hair -first?” she queried, clinging to him.</p> - -<p>“No, love, not till the little ceremony is over. I can -not rest till I know you are mine and out of your father’s -power,” Arthur cried, ardently. “And, see, there is the -minister! Be brave, love; it will all be over in a moment.”</p> - -<p>“Doctor Sprague—Mr. Varian and his intended bride. -I am to be the best man, and give the bride away,” said<span class="pagenum">[79]</span> -the host, genially; and the minister bowed, and opened his -book, saying:</p> - -<p>“I should like two witnesses, please. Perhaps that -lady looking out of the window will oblige us.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">PARTED AT THE ALTAR.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Doctor Sprague, the minister, had noticed on entering -that a tall, stately lady in a long traveling-wrap stood -at one of the windows, looking down absently on the busy -avenue.</p> - -<p>It was, in fact, Mrs. Varian, who had arrived but a -few minutes ago, and was waiting in the parlor until her -room should be made ready.</p> - -<p>Tortured by a cruel unrest after her interview of the -evening before with Everard Dawn, she had decided to -leave Idlewild for a few days, until after he went away -with his daughter.</p> - -<p>Her mind was quite easy over the breaking up of the -untoward love affair, as Arthur had written her a note -earlier in the day, saying he was off on a short trip with -a friend, and would wire particulars to-morrow.</p> - -<p>On learning from Mr. Dawn that he had rejected Arthur’s -suit for his daughter’s hand, she guessed readily -enough that her boy had gone away to drown his sorrow.<span class="pagenum">[80]</span> -She was glad of this, believing that change of scene -is a great panacea for hopeless grief.</p> - -<p>Acting on this idea herself, she determined to make -a short journey to Washington, and perhaps New -York, in the hope of obliterating from her mind certain -painful impressions produced, or, rather, renewed on -it by the encounter with Everard Dawn at Idlewild.</p> - -<p>The man’s face and voice haunted her and brought -back memories fraught with pain. To escape them, -she had fled from her home that stormy night to seek -“respite and nepenthe.”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I would not dig my past</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Up from its grave of weakness and regret,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Up from its hopes that glimmered but to set,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Its dreams that did not last.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Absorbed in painful thought, she had not observed -the entrance of any one until the raised voice of the -minister made her look over her shoulder in cold inquiry:</p> - -<p>“I shall need two witnesses, please. Perhaps that -lady looking out of the window would oblige us.”</p> - -<p>Then the host advanced toward her, saying, courteously:</p> - -<p>“Madame, will you honor us by becoming the witness -to a ceremony of marriage?”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Varian inclined her proud, dark head in assent, -and moved gracefully forward toward the young -couple who stood before the minister, the girl bashful -and trembling, the man pale, but with an eager smile -on his handsome face.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[81]</span></p> - -<p>The next moment a startled cry rang on the air.</p> - -<p>“Arthur!”</p> - -<p>The young man dropped Cinthia’s hand and looked -around.</p> - -<p>“Mother!” in surprise.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Arthur! what is the meaning of this strange -scene?” she cried, coming up between him and Cinthia.</p> - -<p>The young man laughed easily, soon getting over his -surprise, and answered:</p> - -<p>“It means, mother, that Mr. Dawn refused to give -me Cinthia, so we took the bit between our teeth and ran -away. But how came you here? You did not pursue -us, did you, dear?”</p> - -<p>“No, no; for I did not dream of this. I made up my -mind last night to come to Washington on a little—business -trip while you were away. When—when—did you -arrive?”</p> - -<p>“Just a few minutes ago. And I thought we had better -get married before we registered, or even had breakfast, -for fear Mr. Dawn might be on our track.”</p> - -<p>“We must have traveled on the same train. How -strange we did not meet—how fortunate that we meet -now!” she cried, with almost tragic emphasis.</p> - -<p>“Yes, mother, for now you can witness our marriage -and give us your blessing. Cinthia, dear, shake hands -with my mother.”</p> - -<p>Cinthia put out a little trembling hand, and looked<span class="pagenum">[82]</span> -timidly out of the corner of her drooping eyes at the -beautiful lady.</p> - -<p>She met a cold glance, and the hand that just touched -hers without the slightest pressure was icy.</p> - -<p>“Are you ready now?” asked the minister, again opening -his book.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered Arthur, taking Cinthia’s hand, and -turning to him eagerly.</p> - -<p>But there came a low, heart-wrung cry from the mother’s -lips:</p> - -<p>“<em>Wait!</em>”</p> - -<p>All turned toward her in surprise.</p> - -<p>Her eyes were like coals of fire, her face wore a bluish -pallor, her very lips were white as she uttered, hoarsely:</p> - -<p>“I beg pardon, but the ceremony must not go on—until—until—I -speak—to—Arthur!”</p> - -<p>Every word came jerkily between the pallid lips, and -her outstretched hand clutched Arthur’s arm.</p> - -<p>“Come with me—let me speak to you alone!” she -implored.</p> - -<p>Every one realized that she was laboring under the -most terrible agitation. It seemed plain to all that she -meant to forbid the marriage.</p> - -<p>Arthur frowned at her—the son whose wishes she -had never thwarted—and exclaimed, impatiently:</p> - -<p>“Can you not wait till the ceremony is over? Remember, -Mr. Dawn may come at any moment.”</p> - -<p>“No—I can not wait! Come,” eagerly, “I will not<span class="pagenum">[83]</span> -detain you long. Miss Dawn, will you not wait here just -a few moments while—I—I—tell Arthur—the truth?”</p> - -<p>“Go, Arthur,” answered the girl, faintly; and she -sunk upon a chair, trembling in every limb, sure in her -heart that something was going to happen.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Varian was angry with her—she was sure. How -coldly she had looked at her, how reluctantly she had -touched her hand with icy fingers!</p> - -<p>Mrs. Varian dragged Arthur away with her to her -own room, and then the genial host said kindly, in sympathy -for the suffering girl:</p> - -<p>“I will send a maid to show you to a room to rest, -Miss Dawn, while you are waiting for your friends.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I thank you,” she answered, gratefully, desperately -glad to be alone.</p> - -<p>When she was gone, the minister said, uneasily:</p> - -<p>“I do not believe there is any use in my waiting. There -will be no marriage if that proud Mrs. Varian can have -her own way.”</p> - -<p>“You are right,” returned the host. “I could see -plainly that she intended to break off the marriage. I -believe that she pursued them here, instead of just meeting -them by accident, as she pretended. I never heard of -such a coincidence. I suppose the girl is poor, as her -clothing was plain and cheap, and the mother and son -are rich. In fact, I know they are, because the young -fellow has stayed here several times before and he -throws money about like a young prince.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[84]</span></p> - -<p>“He said that her father had refused him her hand, -so he must be a very black sheep, as poor men are usually -glad to welcome a rich son-in-law,” said the minister; -adding: “I believe I had better go, if you think I shall -not be needed. I am sorry for that sweet young girl, -for I am sure that proud lady will show her no mercy.”</p> - -<p>“If you are needed, I will send to the parsonage for -you, but it would be a surprise to me if the marriage -comes off now,” the host said, candidly.</p> - -<p>So presently the minister went away, rather disappointed -at losing the expected liberal wedding fee.</p> - -<p>Cinthia locked herself into the luxurious room, and -laid aside her hat and jacket, so that she might bathe her -face and neck, and brush out the golden waves of her -beautiful hair.</p> - -<p>When she had finished, she gazed at herself in the -long mirror, and saw an exquisitely beautiful young -creature, although her face was pale, and there were dark -circles under her heavy eyes, caused by the excitement -and emotion of the last thirty-six hours.</p> - -<p>She sunk into a large easy-chair, and waited, with a -wildly throbbing heart, for the end of the interview between -Arthur and his mother.</p> - -<p>She had a lurking presentiment of evil. It had fallen -on her at the touch of Mrs. Varian’s cold hand, and the -strange glance of her eyes—so different from her sweet -friendliness the night she had been her guest at Idlewild.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[85]</span></p> - -<p>Yet Arthur had said his mother was pleased at their -engagement. What could it all mean?</p> - -<p>The lids drooped over her tired young eyes, and in -spite of her anxiety, weariness overcame her, and she -fell into a heavy sleep—so she did not have to undergo -the suspense of waiting, for more than half an hour -passed away before there came a low, half-deprecating -rap upon the door.</p> - -<p>It startled Cinthia, and she sprung awake, looking -about her in confusion, before she comprehended her -position.</p> - -<p>The rap came again, and a little impatiently, so she -hastily opened the door to Mrs. Varian, saying:</p> - -<p>“Pardon me if I have kept you waiting. I was fatigued -with travel, and fell asleep.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“AN ETERNAL FAREWELL!”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>“I am glad you could sleep,” Mrs. Varian answered, -as she stepped across the threshold and confronted the -lovely girl whose heart she was about to wound so -cruelly.</p> - -<p>But, somehow, she did not shrink from the task for -a change had come over her feelings toward Cinthia, and -she experienced a sort of fierce pleasure in the task now<span class="pagenum">[86]</span> -before her. In a way, it would be taking revenge on a -woman who had wronged Mrs. Varian, and who was dead -now—dead, but unforgiven in her lonely grave.</p> - -<p>For this girl, her daughter, how could Mrs. Varian -cherish any love?</p> - -<p>Perhaps something like pity touched her heart as the -large, soft dark eyes turned upon her so wistfully, but -she fought down the sympathy, saying to herself:</p> - -<p>“Her mother had no mercy on me—none! And the -same blood runs in Cinthia’s veins. She could not be -trusted to bring her husband anything but ill.”</p> - -<p>She threw back her magnificent head with a haughty -motion, and said, curtly:</p> - -<p>“Sit down, Cinthia, for what I am about to tell you -may possibly ruffle your nerves.”</p> - -<p>Cinthia obeyed with surprising meekness for one so -proud; but the imperious woman before her had the -habit of command, and every one seemed to obey.</p> - -<p>She, too, took a chair, as if perhaps her own nerves -were not quite steady. Then she said:</p> - -<p>“Cinthia, you have done wrong in disobeying your -father’s commands, when he told you there were reasons -why you should not marry my son.”</p> - -<p>Cinthia bowed without answering. She had no defense -to make, only the mute protest of her wistful eyes.</p> - -<p>“I am here to tell you,” continued Mrs. Varian, “that -on my side there exist as grave reasons as your father’s -for protesting against your marrying Arthur.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[87]</span></p> - -<p>The blood rose in the girl’s face, mounted to her fair -brow, and receded, leaving her pale as death, her eyes -beginning to flash with pride. She essayed to speak, and -faltered:</p> - -<p>“Arthur told me—that you—were pleased—with our -engagement. I—I—did not think it mattered much—disobeying -a cold, unloving father who has neglected me all -my life. If he had been fond of me, kind to me, I would -have acted differently.”</p> - -<p>A strange gleam shot into the brilliant eyes of Mrs. -Varian, almost as if it pleased her to know that Everard -Dawn had been cold and cruel to his only daughter. Then -she looked down and played with the diamonds that -flashed on her white hands, as she continued, gravely:</p> - -<p>“Arthur and I have talked matters over together—there -are things we would rather not confide to you, best -for you not to hear—and we have decided that your -father is right. You can never be Arthur’s wife.”</p> - -<p>Perhaps Cinthia had expected something like this, but -it struck her with the force of a great shock. She began -to tremble like a leaf in a gale, crying out:</p> - -<p>“You do not mean that he—Arthur—rejects me—after -bringing me away from my father’s home to marry me—<a id="Ref_87" href="#BRef_87">jilts</a> -me at the very altar!”</p> - -<p>It was piteous, that heartcry wrung from the profoundest -depths of feeling, and for a moment Mrs. Varian -was silent, sympathetic. Then she looked down again at -her rings, and answered:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[88]</span></p> - -<p>“I beg that you will not blame Arthur; he is the soul -of honor; but in this matter he has no choice save to -give back your promise.”</p> - -<p>“He sent you to tell me this? Why was he not brave -enough to come himself?”</p> - -<p>“He believed it was better not to see you again,” the -lady answered; and Cinthia gasped in a sort of terror.</p> - -<p>Not to see him again—her Arthur, her love, her king, -who was just now to have been her happy bridegroom! -Why, this was too terrible to believe! Parted in an hour, -torn asunder at the altar by the cruelty of those cold -hearts that age and time had taught forgetfulness of love. -Why, this was too hard to bear!</p> - -<p>It seemed to her that she was swooning, dying; the -same sick feeling came to her that she had felt last night, -when her father’s voice shouted to them in the blackness -of the night; but a sudden hope, a lightning suspicion, restored -her fainting senses, and she sat erect again.</p> - -<p>“I—I—” she began incoherently. “Oh, Mrs. Varian, -it would break my heart to believe the cruel thing you -have just said! My Arthur—<em>mine</em>—who was to be my -husband—to turn against me all in one moment, to wish -never to see me again! You are deceiving me. I will -not believe such an impossible story save from his own -lips.”</p> - -<p>With that passionate defiance she lay back pale and -panting, gazing with half-shut eyes at her tormentor.</p> - -<p>“Is it so?” said Mrs. Varian. “Then you shall be<span class="pagenum">[89]</span> -satisfied. It was only to spare you and Arthur pain. -But perhaps it will please you to hear that he suffers as -much as you do over this pang of parting.”</p> - -<p>There came to her the first intimation of an unsuspected -nobility in the girl’s nature when Cinthia uttered, drearily:</p> - -<p>“It would be cruel—nay, wicked—in me to wish any -one to feel the agony of soul that is my portion.”</p> - -<p>“Yet Arthur shares it with you, child, to the deepest, -bitterest dregs. Come with me, and see.”</p> - -<p>She took Cinthia’s cold, unresisting hand, and led her -along the corridor; continuing in an explanatory manner:</p> - -<p>“He should have come to you, but the shock of his -broken love dream almost stretched him dead at my feet. -I had to call in a physician, but he is better now.”</p> - -<p>She pushed open a door, and led Cinthia in. She saw -Arthur lying on a lounge, with a ghastly face and closed -eyes.</p> - -<p>“Are you asleep, my son? because, after all, it will be -better for you to tell Cinthia yourself. She can not believe -me.”</p> - -<p>He started and opened his dark-blue eyes. When they -fell on the placid sorrowful face of his lost little love, -the burning tears sparkled into them and rolled down -upon his cheeks. Years of anguish could not have -changed him more than this keen stroke of an hour ago.</p> - -<p>“Cinthia”—he breathed hollowly, and she came and -bent over him, impulsively slipping her little hand into his<span class="pagenum">[90]</span> -as he went on—“Cinthia, do not think me false or fickle, -or turned against you by the arbitrary wishes of our -parents. I never loved you better than in this hour when -I must part from you forever. Cinthia, it is the most -fortunate thing in the world that my mother chanced on -us in time to prevent our mad marriage. A great gulf -is fixed between us that neither our love nor our hopes -can ever cross. My mother has telegraphed for your -father to come and take you home, and we must bid each -other an eternal farewell.”</p> - -<p>Cinthia felt herself sinking, falling; but an arm slipped -round her waist, and Mrs. Varian, with a sigh, pillowed -the unconscious head against her breast.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“OH, WHAT A TIME!”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Mrs. Flint was at her wits’ end to know what to do -for the strange woman whom her brother had mistakenly -brought home as his daughter.</p> - -<p>The upshot was that she simply did nothing at all but -to sit still and stare, and wonder where the woman came -from, how Everard came to bring her home, and what -had become of Cinthia.</p> - -<p>Presently she heard steps and voices, and rushed to -the door, glad that her vigil with the seemingly dead -woman was ended.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[91]</span></p> - -<p>Everard Dawn, alarmed at the duration of Cinthia’s -swoon, had brought a physician with him, and exclaimed -as soon as he saw his sister:</p> - -<p>“Has Cinthia recovered yet?”</p> - -<p>“You can see for yourself,” she answered, in a dazed -way, as she ushered them into the room.</p> - -<p>The two men, almost blinded by the brightness of the -room, after the outer storm and darkness, advanced to -the sofa and bent over the patient in keen anxiety, while -Mrs. Flint blurted out, nervously:</p> - -<p>“Everard; what is the matter? Why did you bring -that strange woman here instead of Cinthia?”</p> - -<p>At the same moment the old doctor added:</p> - -<p>“It is not little Cinthia but a stranger.”</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn bent down with an air of incredulity -that quickly changed as he saw what a terrible mistake -he had made.</p> - -<p>The cry that rose from his tortured heart, the baffled -purpose, the agony, the pain, rang forever in the ears of -the two who heard it. Then exhausted nature gave way. -He fell writhing to the floor in convulsions.</p> - -<p>Then <a id="Ref_91" href="#BRef_91">Mrs. Flint</a> and the doctor had their hands full -with the two patients.</p> - -<p>They ignored the strange woman until Mr. Dawn had -been quieted and removed to his bed, where the doctor -kept him quiescent by the use of opiates while he turned -his attention to his other charge.</p> - -<p>“Who is she? Where did she come from? I’ve never<span class="pagenum">[92]</span> -seen her face around here,” he said curiously to Mrs. -Flint, who replied by confiding in him all that she knew, -which, of course, threw no light upon the mystery; so -without more ado they set to work to restore the poor -creature to life.</p> - -<p>It was a serious undertaking, and lasted until the gray -dawn of another dreary day glimmered in through the -windows of the sitting-room.</p> - -<p>Then the woman lay asleep, having recovered sufficiently -to open her eyes, stare at them uncomprehendingly, -and to swallow some broth with the avidity produced -by starvation.</p> - -<p>“Poor soul! it is the want of food that has brought her -to this pass. See how flabby her flesh is, and how loosely -it hangs on her large frame! Look at her shabby, worn -clothing, not much better than a tramp’s; and her broken -shoes, how pitiful. It is doubtful if she survives even -after the long spell of sickness that threatens her,” said -the doctor.</p> - -<p>“Good land, doctor, a long spell, you say? Why, what -are you going to do about it? Can’t she be sent to the -almshouse?”</p> - -<p>“‘I was a stranger, and ye took me in!’” quoted the -old physician, reverently.</p> - -<p>The old lady thus referred to her bible, muttered repentantly:</p> - -<p>“Lord, forgive my hardness of heart! I’ll do the best -I can, Doctor Savoy; but I’m an old woman, and the<span class="pagenum">[93]</span> -nursing will go hard with me, you see, along with my -other troubles.”</p> - -<p>“You shall have help—there are plenty good women -willing to help you,” he replied, and rose to go, adding: -“I will go and bring one right away.”</p> - -<p>“Get me a trained nurse, doctor—I’ll pay the cost—for -what with Everard and <em>her</em> sick on my hands, I’ll need -skilled help.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Mr. Dawn will be up and about in twenty-four -hours, I believe, and out and gone after his eloping -daughter. You need not give him any more of that opiate, -and he will be awake for his breakfast. Tell him to remain -quiet in his room till I call again this afternoon.”</p> - -<p>So saying, the good old physician bustled out and away, -and he did not leave Mrs. Flint long alone with her -burden of perplexities and worry, but directly sent to her -the best nurse the neighborhood afforded, a stout -middle-aged woman, with a keen eye and cheery smile, -who at once took on her younger shoulders the burden of -Mrs. Flint’s care.</p> - -<p>Together they arranged a tiny hall bedroom—all there -was to spare—and removed the sleeping woman to the -comfortable bed.</p> - -<p>“Now, Mrs. Flint, you go and lie down; you look dead -beat, that’s a fact,” the nurse said, compassionately.</p> - -<p>“I must start my kitchen fire and have a bite of breakfast -first. Afterward I’ll rest.”</p> - -<p>When the breakfast was over, she stole into her<span class="pagenum">[94]</span> -brother’s room, but he was still sleeping heavily from the -drug Doctor Savoy had administered.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint went to her room and snatched two hours -of rest, from which she was aroused by an impatient -rapping on the door.</p> - -<p>“Mercy sake, who can that be?” she ejaculated, making -haste to answer the summons.</p> - -<p>She opened the door, and found a telegraph-messenger -with a message for her brother. He ran away shivering -in the cold air as soon as she had signed the receipt.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint turned it over in her shaking fingers, soliloquizing:</p> - -<p>“From Washington—to tell us of course that they’re -married! Oh, dear, what a time!” and she hurried to -her brother’s room.</p> - -<p>To her surprise, she found him up and dressed, putting -the finishing touches to his toilet. The tears rushed to -her eyes at the sight of his haggard, miserable face.</p> - -<p>“Rebecca, I was fooled last night. Arthur Varian gave -me that tramp he had picked up in the road for my own -child, and I let him deceive me. But I shall go on their -tracks at once,” he said weakly.</p> - -<p>For answer she held out the telegram.</p> - -<p>He snatched it with a cry of anguish, and quickly mastered -the contents.</p> - -<p>His face changed marvelously, and he exclaimed -hoarsely:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[95]</span></p> - -<p>“Thank God!” and tossed her the telegram. She -read:</p> - - -<p class="center">“Cinthia is here safe with me, and not married. Please -come at once and take her home.</p> - -<p class="center pminus1" style="padding-left:15em">“<span class="smcap">Mrs. Varian.</span>”</p> - -<p>The address was carefully given, and the man’s face, -from anger and distress, changed to keenest joy.</p> - -<p>“This is better than I could have hoped,” he cried. -“Can you give me some breakfast at once, Rebecca, for -I must leave for Washington on the earliest train.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">A DEADLY FEUD.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>When Cinthia recovered her senses she found herself -lying on her bed and the air was heavy with the scent of -eau-de-Cologne, with which Mrs. Varian was gently bathing -her face and hands.</p> - -<p>“Do you feel better now?” the lady gently inquired, -and Cinthia mechanically answered:</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes.”</p> - -<p>In fact her head was aching wretchedly, and her heart -was heavy as lead, but she would seek no sympathy from -Arthur Varian’s mother, who had turned against her so -cruelly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[96]</span></p> - -<p>“I am glad to hear it. Perhaps you will feel like taking -breakfast now,” touching the bell.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no, no, no!” cried Cinthia; feeling as if she could -never swallow a morsel of food again.</p> - -<p>“But yes,” returned Mrs. Varian, smiling, as she rose -as if to go.</p> - -<p>Cinthia raised her heavy head and held out a deprecatory -hand.</p> - -<p>“You are going,” she said, “and it is not likely that -we shall ever meet again. Wait till I ask you one question. -Why is it that you hate me?”</p> - -<p>“I do not hate you, child.”</p> - -<p>“Why deny it, when I have read it in your eyes?” -cried the girl, accusingly.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Varian’s face worked with emotion, and she -started forward as if she would have embraced the girl, -then suddenly drew back, saying huskily:</p> - -<p>“Cinthia, you are mistaken. I—I—do not hate—<em>you! -It was—your mother!</em>”</p> - -<p>“My mother!” the girl gasped, in bewilderment, gazing -in wonder at the beautiful and agitated face of the lady.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Varian continued, hoarsely:</p> - -<p>“My feelings toward you are complex, Cinthia. For -your own sake, I could love you—you are beautiful and -winning, but between your parents and me there has been -a deadly feud—they both wronged me! I have hated -them both for years and years, and that hatred comes between -you and me, child, like an impassable gulf. That<span class="pagenum">[97]</span> -first night I saw you I did not guess at your parentage, -hence my attraction to you. When I learned the truth -upon the return of your father, my feelings changed. I -do not deny it. I could not contemplate with any calmness -the thought of a marriage between you and Arthur.</p> - -<p>“Now ask me no more. I have said more than I intended -to do, and can reveal nothing further of that past -which lies like a dead weight on my happiness. I must -leave you to return to my son, but I will come back when -you have had your breakfast served to you, and—”</p> - -<p>Cinthia was sitting up on the side of the bed, her hair -a disheveled tangle of gold about her pallid face, with -its great star-like eyes. They flashed with sudden pride -now as she interrupted:</p> - -<p>“Let me beg you to remain away, nor seek to cross -again the gulf that you say yawns between us. I am -better alone with my humiliation,” bitterly.</p> - -<p>“Do not call it that, Cinthia—you do not understand! -And I must take charge of you until your father comes,” -insisted Mrs. Varian.</p> - -<p>“I prefer to remain alone.”</p> - -<p>“It would appear cruel in me to leave you like this, -seemingly forlorn and friendless.”</p> - -<p>Cinthia laughed mirthlessly, and reiterated:</p> - -<p>“I prefer to wait alone for my father.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, I must bow to your will. God bless you, -my poor girl,” and the haughty woman moved with a -stately step from the room.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[98]</span></p> - -<p>Cinthia threw herself back upon the bed with closed -eyes and pallid lips. The agony of that moment no pen -could describe.</p> - -<p>Was it only two days ago she had been wishing for -something to occur and break up the monotony of her life, -and resenting Mrs. Flint’s homilies upon her discontent?</p> - -<p>Something had happened with a vengeance.</p> - -<p>The love that had nestled in her heart that day, a shy, -sweet new-comer, had been fanned into strong, passionate -life by hurrying events that now closed round her like a -grasp of steel threatening to crush out all the sweetness -of life forever.</p> - -<p>She had tasted the sweetness of loving and being loved, -she who had been lonely and heart-hungry so long; but -now the sweet cup of joy was dashed from her lips and -bitter dregs offered in its stead.</p> - -<p>They had parted her from her heart’s love, Arthur. -With his own lips, that so lately had sworn eternal fealty -to her, he had uttered the edict of their eternal separation, -for no cause save that their parents cherished an -old feud.</p> - -<p>It was cruel, bitter, and Cinthia’s heart hardened with -rebellion against her fate.</p> - -<p>She longed desperately for death to end the agony of -love and humiliation under which she suffered.</p> - -<p>“Oh, if I could just slip away out of life now—this -moment!” she cried, in fierce intolerance of her pain; and -a lightning temptation came to her to end it all.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[99]</span></p> - -<p>She began to pace restlessly up and down the room, -wondering what would be the easiest way to take her own -life—her life that was so unbearable now!</p> - -<p>It would be so easy to close all the apertures for air, -turn on the gas, and lie down on her bed until asphyxiation -came to her relief and wrenched life out of its suffering -frame.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if it would be painful. I don’t want to -suffer,” she said to herself, with keen physical shrinking, -while her active mind pictured the scene when they should -come to seek her and find her cold and dead—her cruel -father, fickle Arthur, and his revengeful mother, who, -for the sake of an old-time wrong, was willing to break -two fond young hearts.</p> - -<p>What keen remorse would pierce their hearts when -they saw that they had driven her to desperation and -death! Perhaps they would repent when it was all too -late. At the moving thought, Cinthia dissolved into floods -of tears.</p> - -<p>She knelt down by a chair, with her head on her arm, -and heavy sobs shook her slight frame like a reed in the -wind.</p> - -<p>She cried out that she wished she had never seen Arthur -Varian, who had taught her the sweet meaning of love -only to make her more lonely and wretched than she had -been before.</p> - -<p>But a rap on the door made her start up in alarm and -hastily dash away her tears before she opened it to a<span class="pagenum">[100]</span> -white-clad waiter bearing a tray containing a dainty -breakfast, which he arranged on a little table, then withdrew.</p> - -<p>Then Cinthia, in spite of her grief, discovered that she -was unromantically hungry.</p> - -<p>On yesterday, while sulking in her chamber at home -she had refused food all day, and on the train last night -had only taken some fruit.</p> - -<p>The appetizing aroma of hot rolls, broiled birds, and -steaming chocolate began to appeal to her irresistibly, and -she ended by drawing up a chair and making a tolerable -meal for a girl who thought her heart was broken and -was actually contemplating suicide.</p> - -<p>She did not feel half so morbid when she finished her -chocolate. Life was bitter still, but death did not seem so -desirable.</p> - -<p>Her first temptation to suicide changed to a thought of -flight.</p> - -<p>“What if I should slip away and hide myself in the -great world, where they could never find me again? I -might make a career for myself, become a great actress, -maybe, and when they saw me successful on the stage, -they would think I had forgotten cruel Arthur, as I -wish them to do, for I would not have him think I love -him still,” she thought, bitterly, her mind running on -novels she had read in which romantic girls, thrown alone -on the world, had encountered wonderful adventures, and -finally carved their names on the rock of <a id="Ref_100" href="#BRef_100">love.</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[101]</span></p> - -<p>Cinthia was utterly wretched and despairing, and in -the mood for anything reckless.</p> - -<p>She flung on her hat and jacket, and turned toward -the door.</p> - -<p>She was actually going to venture out into the world -alone, a desperate victim whom fate had used most cruelly, -and who longed to escape from everything she had known -into some new, untried sphere.</p> - -<p>She had no idea where she was going. She would escape -into the street, and wander aimlessly up and down -with the busy throngs; that was just now her only -thought.</p> - -<p>She stretched out her hand to the door-knob, and at -the instant a light rap on the outside startled her.</p> - -<p>“It is Mrs. Varian; but she cannot forbid my going,” -she thought, defiantly, and flung wide the door.</p> - -<p>A stranger stood on the threshold—a lovely woman -richly dressed, faint, delicate perfume exhaling from -her silks and furs.</p> - -<p>“Ah, you are going out? I beg pardon; but will you -permit me to enter your room for a moment? I have -lately occupied it—in fact, only went away this morning—and -I have discovered that I forgot two of my rings,” she -exclaimed in a sweet, silvery voice like liquid music.</p> - -<p>Cinthia stood aside to let her enter; and, floating to the -dressing-case, she lifted the scarf and displayed two sparkling -rings.</p> - -<p>“See! It is fortunate that the chamber-maid is honest,<span class="pagenum">[102]</span> -or that she did not discover these. I thank you for your -courtesy. But, excuse me, you were going out. My dear -young lady are you feeling well? I assure you that you -look extremely ill; and there is a sharp east wind blowing -outside. You are trembling; your face is as pale as chalk; -your beautiful hair is all in disorder. You ought to be in -bed with your mother watching over you.”</p> - -<p>“My mother, alas!” cried Cinthia; and again her slight -form shook with a tempest of sobs and tears that startled -the handsome stranger, who forced her gently into a chair.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Everard Dawn was speeding to Washington -on the fastest train. He arrived there at dusk, and -took a cab to the hotel where Mrs. Varian was staying, immediately -sending up his card to that lady, and receiving -a summons to her private parlor.</p> - -<p>She was waiting there alone, and their greeting was -cold and formal, though she could not help noting the -signs of last night’s agitation on his pale face.</p> - -<p>Waving him to a seat, she recounted briefly all that -had transpired since their meeting yesterday.</p> - -<p>“I came away last night—frankly, I could not breathe -the same air with you—and I found them here. It was -one of the greatest shocks of my life,” she said, and he -bowed coldly.</p> - -<p>She continued, stiffly:</p> - -<p>“She is here waiting for you, but in a most rebellious -mood: in fact, forbade me to re-enter her room to-day, so -she must have spent a lonely time, poor girl! But before<span class="pagenum">[103]</span> -you go to her, Arthur wishes an interview with you on -a very particular subject relating to Cinthia. You will -find him alone in there,” indicating a door.</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn looked fixedly at her a moment then -bowed and left her standing there, while he went in to -Arthur Varian.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“REMEMBER THAT I LOVED YOU WELL.”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The beautiful stranger pushed Cinthia gently into a -chair, and sat down by her side.</p> - -<p>“I hope you will not think me intruding, my dear girl; -but you inspire me with a strange interest. Are you here -alone?” she cried, earnestly.</p> - -<p>“Alone!” answered Cinthia in a tragic tone, as she -lifted her anguished dark eyes and scanned the other’s -face.</p> - -<p>She beheld one of the sweetest, fairest faces she had -ever beheld.</p> - -<p>The lady might have been thirty-five or more, but she -possessed that charm of beauty that always suggests -youth—perfect features, a complexion fresh as the morning; -large, tender eyes of the brightest blue, and abundant -tresses of shining golden brown hair, while a mouth like -Cupid’s bow in form, and crimson as a rose, revealed in a<span class="pagenum">[104]</span> -dazzling smile small pearly white teeth, that added the -last charm to her winsome loveliness.</p> - -<p>Cinthia gazed fixedly at that winning face, drew a long -breath of emotion, and instantly became captive to -beauty’s bow and spear.</p> - -<p>She was irresistibly drawn to the graceful woman -whose sweet, silvery voice sounded like music in her ears -as she exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“You are in trouble, dear; I feel it, see it in your pale -face and sad eyes. I hear it in the anguish of your voice. -And you are alone, you say! Then I dare not go away -and leave you like this, lest harm befall you. Let me help -you!”</p> - -<p>“No one can help me,” Cinthia answered in stubborn -despair; but all the while that voice and smile were thrilling -her heart with subtle tenderness.</p> - -<p>“Then the case must indeed be serious,” cried the -lady, gently slipping her arm around Cinthia’s waist, -moved by an impulse she scarcely understood herself; -while she continued, gently:</p> - -<p>“My heart aches for your sorrow, dear, and although -we are strangers to each other, I long to comfort you. -Confide in me, and perhaps I can help you. Is it a question -of lack of means? Or, sadder still, of—love?”</p> - -<p>“Of love!” burst out Cinthia; and she dropped her -head on that silken shoulder in a passionate outburst of -tears, won in spite of herself by the divine art of -sympathy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[105]</span></p> - -<p>And then, since both were strangely, magnetically attracted -to each other, it was not hard for her to draw -from Cinthia the brief, sad story of her life and love -down to the very moment when she had opened the door -to fly out into the street with the half-formed plan of -suicide yet in her mind.</p> - -<p>Oh, what a pathetic, moving story it was! And how -it touched the listener’s tender heart, moving her to -tears!</p> - -<p>She could sympathize with all that Cinthia told her, and -could share in her resentment against her unloving father, -her strict aunt, and the lover whose affection had not been -proof against the schemes of his proud mother. To her -eyes, as to Cinthia’s, it all looked as if Mrs. Varian and -Everard Dawn had made of the hapless lovers a sacrifice -to a family feud vaguely hinted at in the lady’s confession -to Cinthia, that her mother had been her bitterest enemy -and was unforgiven in her grave.</p> - -<p>With all her heart she espoused Cinthia’s side, and -freely expressed contempt for Arthur’s part in the girl’s -sorrow.</p> - -<p>“He has acted the part of a coward, forsaking you -thus at the command of his haughty mother, and I would -think no more of him, dear, for he is not worth it,” she -exclaimed, warmly.</p> - -<p>Cinthia only sighed. She did not believe now that she -could ever put Arthur out of her thoughts.</p> - -<p>In spite of his seeming injustice to her, and the humiliation<span class="pagenum">[106]</span> -he had put upon her, something in her heart vaguely -pleaded in his defense—perhaps his illness and pallor, and -the keen anguish of his voice when he had said to her -so sadly that they must bid each other an eternal farewell.</p> - -<p>There had been something solemn, even tragic, in that -parting, almost like the farewell of death. Resentment -did not have any part in its supreme despair. It was -rather</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent7">“As those who love</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Are parted by the hand of death,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And one stands hushed, with reverent breath,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Gazing on funeral bier and pall.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But ere we close the coffin lid,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Let bitter memories all be hid;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">If memory needs must break the spell,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Remember that I loved you well,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And o’er the rest let silence fall.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The lovely stranger continued earnestly;</p> - -<p>“You are young yet, and in time a new love may replace -this lost one, and bring you great happiness.”</p> - -<p>“Happiness is not for me. I am ill-fated!” moaned -Cinthia.</p> - -<p>“Do not feel so despondent. The young are naturally -morbid. I know that by experience. I have had a great -sorrow in my own life, and overlived it.”</p> - -<p>Cinthia looked at her almost incredulously, she seemed -so fair and bright, and her inexperienced eyes could not -read the signs of a past grief in the delicate lines about -the lips and eyes.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[107]</span></p> - -<p>“I have overlived it, and so will you,” repeated the -lady.</p> - -<p>“Tell me how to do it. Help me!” cried Cinthia, appealingly; -and as the lady remained gravely silent a -moment, she added:</p> - -<p>“Oh, if I could be filled with some great excitement -that would occupy my thoughts, I believe I could put him -out of my mind, except in very quiet moments. I was -thinking just before you came in that I would like to go -on the stage to become a great actress.”</p> - -<p>An expression of dismay lowered over the fair face -regarding her so intently, as Cinthia continued, eagerly:</p> - -<p>“As we came to the hotel this morning, I saw through -the carriage windows large posters announcing the appearance -of a great actress to-night and this afternoon in a -popular play. I have been thinking of her, and that I -would like to have such a life. Do you think if I tried -that I—might succeed?”</p> - -<p>“Ah, child, you do not know what labor and trouble -would be involved in such an undertaking.”</p> - -<p>“I should not care for that—it would be what I need -to turn my thoughts away from Arthur. And, indeed, -the desire has taken hold on me, fascinates me. I intend -to try.”</p> - -<p>“No, dear, you must not do it. It is not wise, nor -desirable. I am glad that I happened in on you this morning, -for there is no one more capable of advising you in -this crisis of your life. I tell you stage-work is heartache<span class="pagenum">[108]</span> -and sorrow even when crowned with a little success -such as Madame Ray’s, whose name you read on the -posters this morning. I tell you this, and I ought to know, -for I am that woman!”</p> - -<p>“You?” Cinthia cried, wide-eyed and wondering, and -with a sad smile. The other answered:</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>Taking Cinthia’s hand, and caressing it softly in both -her own, she added:</p> - -<p>“When I was young, like you, I had a great sorrow -that sent my thoughts wandering, like yours, in search -of a sensation in which to drown memory and grief. I -turned to the stage, and after a period of drudgery and -patience most painful to remember, earned a measure of -success; so I am in a position to know what I am talking -about, and to advise you against the course that I myself -adopted. Not for worlds, my dear, would I have you -go on the stage. No, no; it is a feverish life in the glare -of the foot-lights. When I am rich enough to live without -my work, I shall immediately retire to a private life.”</p> - -<p>But she saw that her words had not convinced Cinthia. -The feverish fascination was still in her mind, the longing -to escape from the painful present into something new -and strange.</p> - -<p>But she persevered:</p> - -<p>“If you will listen to me, dear child, you will yield to -your father’s wish to place you in school for two years. -Believe me, the course of study will be far less hard<span class="pagenum">[109]</span> -than the training for the stage. Suppose you come with -me now to our rehearsal, and remain for our <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">matinée</i> performance? -It will give you a glimpse of theatrical life -behind the scenes that may perhaps turn your mind from -this fascination.”</p> - -<p>“I will be glad to go with you,” answered Cinthia, -eager for escape from the wretched present, and with -strange reluctance to part from the charming actress.</p> - -<p>“We will go at once, then,” said Madame Ray, rising, -and adding: “Perhaps you should ask Mrs. Varian’s -leave?”</p> - -<p>“I shall do nothing of the kind,” Cinthia answered, rebelliously. -“I have told her I wished to be alone, and -she will not even know I am gone.”</p> - -<p>“But your father might arrive.”</p> - -<p>“He can not do so until very late, and I will probably -be back when he comes,” Cinthia answered, but wishing -in her heart that she were going this moment so far out -of her old life that she need never encounter her father -again—the stern, unloving father for whom she did not -pretend an affection.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">A TRAGIC PAST.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The actress did not urge her any further. Taking her -hand as fondly as if she had been her own daughter, she -led her from the room, down to her waiting carriage. At<span class="pagenum">[110]</span> -dusk that evening she had not returned, and when Everard -Dawn went to seek her, in company with Mrs. Varian, -they found the room untenanted.</p> - -<p>Mr. Dawn had come out of Arthur’s room with a -pale, agitated face, and a look about the eyes that in a -woman would have betokened recent tears. It had, in -fact, been a most emotional interview, and one from -which he was glad to escape.</p> - -<p>But the softness of his expression gave place to pride -and coldness when he saw Mrs. Varian waiting for him, -and he said, with a haughtiness that equaled her own:</p> - -<p>“Will you have the kindness to conduct me to -Cinthia?”</p> - -<p>She wondered why he did not say “my daughter,” -instead of Cinthia; but it pleased her, nevertheless, the -indifference he showed toward his child. She was selfish -enough to feel glad that he had no love for the daughter -of the woman who had been her enemy in life, and whose -sin against her had been too heinous for any possibility -of forgiveness.</p> - -<p>With a slight bow of assent she moved on by his side -to Cinthia’s room, where she knocked several times without -receiving any answer.</p> - -<p>With a sudden misgiving at the memory of the girl’s -desperate mood that morning, she opened the door and -looked inside.</p> - -<p>“Good heavens, she is gone!” turning to him with -startled eyes.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[111]</span></p> - -<p>He answered sternly, rebukingly:</p> - -<p>“She should not have been left alone. But, of course, -I could not expect you to watch over her mother’s -daughter.”</p> - -<p>Her great eyes flashed in her pale face as she retorted:</p> - -<p>“I certainly had no cause to love her, but I would not -wish her any ill. We had better inquire about her down -at the office.”</p> - -<p>They did so, and were startled and mystified by the -news that Madame Ray, the actress, had called on Miss -Dawn that morning, and soon afterward took her away -with her in the carriage.</p> - -<p>“The lady is playing at the Metropolitan Theater. Perhaps -the young lady has gone to the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">matinée</i>,” said the -polite clerk, wondering at their blank faces.</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes, of course,” Mr. Dawn returned, unwilling -to make his perturbation known. He turned away with -Mrs. Varian, saying to her in an undertone: “I will go -in search of her, and—you had better keep this news -from Arthur.”</p> - -<p>“I will,” she answered; and he left her with a slight, -cold bow.</p> - -<p>She stood still in the corridor and watched him out of -sight with a stony gaze ere she retreated to her own room -and sunk half fainting upon a chair, murmuring:</p> - -<p>“Ah! cruel fate that made him cross my path again! -Was I not wretched enough already?”</p> - -<p>Whatever there had been in the past between those two<span class="pagenum">[112]</span> -it had surely been most tragic, judging by their present -scorn of each other, and their impatience of the fate that -had brought them together again.</p> - -<p>For more than an hour she crouched in her chair with -drooping head and a gray, ashen face, from which her -great burning eyes shone like live coals; then she rose and -stared at herself in the long mirror, muttering, bleakly:</p> - -<p>“What a wreck I look after one of those spells, wan -and gray, like a woman aged in an hour. It would frighten -Arthur to see me like this, and he would surely guess at -the hidden fires that slumber, volcano-like, in my breast, -eating away love and hope and joy. He must not see -me thus;” and with the aid of cosmetics, skillfully applied, -she soon hid the traces of the passion-storm that -had swept with devastating force over her soul. Then -swallowing a light draught of wine, she sought her son.</p> - -<p>He lay quiescent upon the couch, as he had lain all day, -after his illness of the morning, with his white hand before -his eyes. There had been a most exciting interview -between him and Mr. Dawn, and he was now temporarily -utterly worn out and exhausted.</p> - -<p>The unhappy mother sat down by her son and ran -her slender fingers caressingly through the soft clustering -locks of his abundant hair.</p> - -<p>She saw his pale face writhe with a spasm of inward -feeling, as he muttered through trembling lips:</p> - -<p>“Are they gone?”</p> - -<p>She answered, evasively:</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[113]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">LOVE AND LOSS.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Meanwhile, Everard Dawn flung himself into a cab and -hurried to the theater, his mind divided between thoughts -of his daughter and the magnificent woman he had left -behind him.</p> - -<p>Arrived at the theater, he purchased a ticket, and entered -just as the last act was being performed; but without -glancing at the stage, he threw a hurried, anxious -glance around the glittering horseshoe in search of -Cinthia’s face.</p> - -<p>To his surprise and unutterable relief, he presently -beheld her fair face and shining hair half hidden behind -the sweeping curtain in a private box, from which she -watched the stage with kindling eyes of delight.</p> - -<p>Quickly he made his way to her side, and she glanced -around at him with suddenly gloomy eyes of fear and -dislike.</p> - -<p>Bending over her, he whispered, agitatedly:</p> - -<p>“Cinthia, do not look at me so coldly and angrily. I -am your father.”</p> - -<p>“You do well to remind me of your claim,” she answered, -bitterly, turning her glance back to the stage.</p> - -<p>The keen reproach cut deep, and for a moment he -found no words for reply, only followed her eyes to the -scene where Madame Ray, magnificently beautiful in<span class="pagenum">[114]</span> -white brocade and diamonds, was the center of an emotional -scene.</p> - -<p>“What a fascinating woman! It is the star, of -course?” he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Yes; it is Madame Ray. She is more than fascinating. -She is an angel,” his daughter returned, warmly.</p> - -<p>“May I ask how long you have known the lady?”</p> - -<p>Cinthia looked around at him, and answered, perversely:</p> - -<p>“Long enough to love her better than any one else -that I know.”</p> - -<p>“Is she so charming?”</p> - -<p>“Adorable!”</p> - -<p>“And Mrs. Varian?” anxiously.</p> - -<p>“I hate her!” Cinthia answered, frankly, with a flash -of the eyes.</p> - -<p>“Because she parted you from Arthur?” he asked, -anxiously.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” mutinously.</p> - -<p>“Ah, Cinthia, in that act she only showed you truest -kindness.”</p> - -<p>“She hated my mother!”</p> - -<p>“And with good reason!” he replied, with a transient -flash in his dark blue eyes.</p> - -<p>Cinthia looked suddenly curious.</p> - -<p>“I should like to hear all about it!” she exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Ah, my child, it is too sad a story for your ears, that -old feud. I pray Heaven you need never hear it all. We<span class="pagenum">[115]</span> -will go away to-morrow, and bury the dead past forever,” -he answered, earnestly, while he wondered over and over -how she had formed Madame Ray’s acquaintance, though -he saw that in her present perverse mood she would disclose -nothing.</p> - -<p>They both watched the stage in silence for some moments, -then she startled him by saying:</p> - -<p>“I believe my kind friend Madame Ray would help -me to become an actress if I insist upon it. Would you -consent?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not. I have other plans for you,” he answered, -with instant decision.</p> - -<p>“But, I can not bear the idea of that boarding-school! -I give you fair notice that I am likely to run away from -it and drown myself.”</p> - -<p>“Poor Cinthia, poor unhappy child!” and his voice -grew suddenly deep and tender, while he gazed with dim -eyes at her flushed, defiant face.</p> - -<p>A great pity and sympathy rose in his heart for the -hapless girl whose life was blighted in its dawning by -a hopeless love.</p> - -<p>He said to himself that he must rise superior to the -self-absorption of years and give time and thought to -brightening his daughter’s life.</p> - -<p>Perhaps she might turn out more lovable than he had -ever dared hope; but even if not, there was his neglected -duty staring him in the face. He could not shirk it any -longer, now that Cinthia had cut adrift from the old life,<span class="pagenum">[116]</span> -and had no one to depend on but him. He must win her -from the despair and desperation of her present mood to -contentment with life.</p> - -<p>Speaking very gently and kindly, he said:</p> - -<p>“If you think you can not endure the school, I must -make other plans for you. How would you like to travel -awhile?”</p> - -<p>Her dark eyes gleamed with sudden interest, and she -cried, quickly:</p> - -<p>“It would please me more than anything else you can -offer. I tell you frankly that I am wretched, and that -change of scene and constant excitement offer the only -panacea for my troubles.”</p> - -<p>“You shall have it; and I pray Heaven it may effect -a cure. Listen, Cinthia, I have very agreeable news for -you.”</p> - -<p>She looked at him with a slightly incredulous air, and -he continued:</p> - -<p>“A relative of ours has recently left you a small fortune, -that will enable you to lead a very pleasant future -life according to your own wishes. I am appointed your -guardian, and you will have an income of ten thousand -a year.”</p> - -<p>“Ten thousand a year!” gasped Cinthia, in surprise -and delight at her good luck, for it seemed a great fortune -to one who had been reared so plainly and frugally.</p> - -<p>She was young and beautiful and always longed for -the pleasures that money could buy, and the sudden news<span class="pagenum">[117]</span> -that she was to realize her dream did indeed dazzle her so -that a smile came to her sad lips and a flash of pleasure -to her eyes.</p> - -<p>Her father thought, cynically:</p> - -<p>“Her sorrow did not lie so deep after all, and it will -easily be soothed by the gewgaws foolish women prize. -Well, I am glad that it is so.”</p> - -<p>He resumed, cordially:</p> - -<p>“I am glad of this good luck for you, Cinthia, for I -have never been rich myself, and my income has never -been more than half what yours is now, and that was -earned by diligent practice at the law. I had intended to -do my best toward brightening your sad young life, but -this legacy comes most opportunely to enable you to gratify -your desires.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I am very grateful for it. Now I can seek constant -diversion to drown memory,” she answered, with a -long-drawn sigh that showed him she would not forget so -easily as he had hoped.</p> - -<p>It did not occur to her to ask the name of the relative -who had left her so handsome a legacy, or to notice that -her father had not spoken of any one’s death. In her -eagerness she accepted her good fortune without curiosity, -and clasping her little hands in growing excitement, cried:</p> - -<p>“Papa, I have always wished to cross the sea. Will you -take me?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Cinthia; but should you not see something of -your own land first?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[118]</span></p> - -<p>“That can wait, papa. My first wish is to put the -whole breadth of the world between me and Arthur -Varian.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps that will be best,” he assented; for her words -touched an aching chord in his own heart.</p> - -<p>Who could know better the aching pangs of love and -loss than Everard Dawn, who had tasted both to the bitter -dregs?</p> - -<p>And how could he blame any one for the mad instinct -of flight from memory when he had been a restless exile -weary years for no better reason?</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“And I have wandered far away to quell my spirit’s wild unrest,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">From place to place a lonely one,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">And rocked on ocean’s heaving breast.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“But in the sound of winds and waves</div> - <div class="verse indent3">For evermore I heard thy tone,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Gazed down the mountain’s verdant slope,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">And thought of thee, and thee alone.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“The eyes whose sparkling light I loved</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Shone on me from the midnight stars,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">The crimson of the lips once kissed</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Glowed in the sunset’s rosy bars.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The curtain fell to the crash of orchestra music and -the crowded building began to be emptied and the lights -turned low.</p> - -<p>Both rose, and Cinthia’s father said, abruptly:</p> - -<p>“Shall we return to the hotel? Or would you like to -go on to New York to-night to get ready for sailing on the -first steamer?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[119]</span></p> - -<p>“We will go to New York to-night, but first let me go -and say farewell to my dear friend Madame Ray,” she -said, hurrying to the greenroom.</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn went out and sent a note to Mrs. Varian, -while he waited for his daughter.</p> - -<p>It ran simply:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“I found Cinthia at the theater, and we go on at once -to New York, to sail this week for Europe, by her earnestly -expressed wish. In change of scene and the rush of -excitement she will seek oblivion of this painful episode -in her life.</p> - -<p class="ir2 pminus1">“E. D.”</p> -</div> - -<p>Presently Cinthia came to him from Madame Ray’s -dressing-room, where she had spent a long half hour, and -her father saw that the dew of tears hung heavily on the -thick fringe of her dark lashes. Wondering greatly at -this mysterious friendship, he drew her hand through his -arm and led her away to the new life that lay before her -in the untried future.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">A QUARREL WITH FATE.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Mrs. Flint would have been very lonely after her -brother’s departure, but for the fact that she had her -hands and her mind both full with helping the nurse to -care for the poor wayfarer so strangely thrown on her -hands.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[120]</span></p> - -<p>As it was, her anxiety over Cinthia was soon dissipated -by the receipt of a telegram from Mr. Dawn, announcing -that he had found his daughter safe in Washington, and -that they would go on a trip to New York.</p> - -<p>Several days later a short letter followed the telegram, -saying they had concluded to take a run over to Europe -for an indefinite stay. He believed that change of scene -was the best way to wean Cinthia from her infatuation for -Arthur Varian.</p> - -<p>No mention was made of the legacy that had so opportunely -fallen to Cinthia, but Mr. Dawn inclosed a liberal -check to his sister, and asked that she would use some of -it in behalf of the woman he had brought home that night, -stating that he had recognized in her a former servant of -Cinthia’s mother.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint began to take considerable more interest in -the invalid when she learned this interesting fact.</p> - -<p>She had always cherished a lively curiosity over Cinthia’s -mother, and it had never been properly gratified, but -the little knowledge she had made her thirsty for more. -That she was beautiful, vain, and unprincipled, Everard -Dawn had acknowledged; but he did not even possess a -picture of her, although Mrs. Flint fancied he must have -loved her well from the way he had exiled himself at her -death.</p> - -<p>She was anxious for the sick woman’s recovery, for -she fancied the woman could tell her more of Everard’s<span class="pagenum">[121]</span> -dead wife than her brother had ever chosen to divulge -himself.</p> - -<p>So she was unremitting in her care, as were also Doctor -Savoy and the trained nurse; but for several weeks the -woman’s life hung on a thread, and it was evident that -exposure of that wintery night had been preceded by keen -privation and almost starvation, making her hold on life -so frail that she had almost let it go.</p> - -<p>It was far into December before she became convalescent -enough to impart her name and some curt information -about herself.</p> - -<p>“My name is Rachel Dane, and I came from Florida -in search of work,” she said, rather sullenly; adding: -“I’m a capital sick-nurse, but I could get no more work -of that kind, and I thought I’d hire out for a ladies’-maid, -or even a cook, for I can do anything I have a mind to -turn my hand to.”</p> - -<p>Old Doctor Savoy to whom she was talking, smiled -benevolently, and beaming on Mrs. Flint, remarked:</p> - -<p>“I don’t think you’ll have to fare any further for a -job as maid of all work when you get strong enough, for -my old friend here certainly needs a good domestic, now -that she isn’t as young as she once was.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint had never thought of the subject in that -way before, but when her old friend, Doctor Savoy, presented -it so artfully to her mind, she consented to the -plan, knowing that she would be very lonely in the quiet<span class="pagenum">[122]</span> -house, now that willful Cinthia’s bright presence was removed.</p> - -<p>So when the snows of Christmas lay deep on the -ground, the new servant was up and about the little house, -serving her new mistress skillfully and well, but preserving -a rather sullen and taciturn demeanor, as if somehow -she had a quarrel with fate and could not be reconciled to -some scurvy trick it had played upon her now or in past -days.</p> - -<p>While Mrs. Flint was wondering how to put to her -some plain questions as to her service with her brother’s -wife, Rachel Dane forestalled her by saying, in a sort of -casual way:</p> - -<p>“When I got off the train at the station, I saw a man -I used to know—Mr. Everard Dawn. Does he live hereabout?”</p> - -<p>“No,” replied Mrs. Flint.</p> - -<p>“Visiting, maybe?” with veiled anxiety.</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! At whose house?”</p> - -<p>“At mine; but he has gone to Europe, now,” returned -Mrs. Flint, succinctly.</p> - -<p>The woman started, and muttered some inaudible -words, as though she had received an unpleasant surprise.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you don’t know that it was Everard Dawn—my -brother—who brought you in here out of the snow -that night?” added Mrs. Flint.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[123]</span></p> - -<p>“So he saved my life,” Rachel Dane muttered, grimly; -“and you say he is your brother, Mrs. Flint?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and he told me he recognized you as a former -servant. Is it true?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I lived with Mrs. Dawn two years. It was when -her eldest child was born—before they left the South -and moved North. I suppose she has several children -now, ma’am?” with eager inquiry.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint stared at her in surprise.</p> - -<p>“Then you haven’t heard—you don’t know—that -Mrs. Dawn died when little Cinthia was five years old -and there never was any other child?”</p> - -<p>“Dead! Mrs. Dawn dead!” the woman cried with -sharp regret, while a spasm of pain passed over her face, -and she sprung excitedly to her feet.</p> - -<p>“You must have been very fond of her,” remarked -Mrs. Flint, curiously.</p> - -<p>“Fond of her! Oh, yes, naturally. I lived with her -some time, you see, as maid of all work. Mr. Dawn -wasn’t rich then, but perhaps he’s better off now,” with -keen interest.</p> - -<p>“No, and never will be; for it sort of took the heart -out of him when Cinthia’s mother died. He brought me -the child to raise, and went off wandering over the world -to drown his sorrow.”</p> - -<p>Rachel Dane’s glum face related in surprise, as she -exclaimed:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[124]</span></p> - -<p>“Humph! I never thought he was so fond of her as -that! All the love seemed to be on her side!”</p> - -<p>“So she was fond of him?”</p> - -<p>“Fond ain’t no word for it. She just worshiped the -ground he walked on. Her sun rose and set in him. She -was grateful for a smile or a kind word, and mighty -few she got for all that; for of all the glum, moody men -I ever saw, Mr. Dawn was the worst. I believe he hated -his own life!”</p> - -<p>“It was a guilty conscience maybe,” suggested Mrs. -Flint, watching her out of the corner of her eye, to see -how much she knew.</p> - -<p>“You mean that he had treated his first wife bad for -her sake—yes, maybe it was remorse. I don’t rightly -know the facts, but I heard whispers,” answered Rachel -Dane, coolly; adding: “There was something strange -about it—his indifference to his wife, even after the -child was born, that she thought would bring them -closer together. But, la,” bringing herself up with a -jerk, “this is all guesswork on my part. Maybe he loved -her in a reserved kind of way. Anyway, I’m mighty -sorry she’s dead. But where’s the child?”</p> - -<p>“Cinthia? Her father came and took her away while -you were sick. They have gone to Europe.”</p> - -<p>“There! the kettle’s boiling over!” exclaimed Rachel -Dane, rushing to the stove; and after that she avoided the -subject of the deceased Mrs. Dawn.</p> - -<p>But there could be no doubt that she was sincerely<span class="pagenum">[125]</span> -sorry over her death, for she became glummer and more -taciturn from that hour, and her quarrel with fate grew -more bitter.</p> - -<p>But she stayed on and on with the lonely widow, giving -good service, and perhaps grateful for the comfortable -home she enjoyed, while she certainly relieved the loneliness -of the quiet home that echoed no more to the girlish -footsteps of Cinthia.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint missed the girl more than she could have -deemed possible. She had secret spasms of remorse over -the rigid life she had led the poor girl, all on account -of having had a poor opinion of her mother.</p> - -<p>“I was trying to bring her up right, so she might not -follow in her mother’s footsteps; but maybe I was too -hard on her,” she mused, “and if I had her back here, -I’d try to act a little different to the poor girl. Still, I -can’t think that anything I did to her was half as bad as -Everard’s refusing to let her marry Arthur Varian. To -the day of my death that’ll be a mystery to me why he -refused such a good chance for Cinthy. A poor girl like -her ain’t never going to get such another offer. And -they do say that since the Varians came back to Idlewild, -that Arthur looks like a ghost. Mrs. Bowles says they -have a house-party for Christmas, with lots of awful -pretty girls, but that he don’t care for any of them, -though his proud mother’s trying her hardest to marry -him off to one of them. Well, well, maybe his luck and<span class="pagenum">[126]</span> -Cinthy’s may turn, and they’ll marry yet. I do hope so, -for I love to see a girl marry her first love.”</p> - -<p>There was one thing about her hand-maid that did not -altogether please the pious Mrs. Flint.</p> - -<p>She discovered that Rachel Dane was wholly irreligious.</p> - -<p>She neither attended church, read the Bible, nor said -her prayers at night—three facts that quite shocked her -employer.</p> - -<p>In kindly remonstrating with the woman, the widow -found out that she cherished a grievance.</p> - -<p>Her quarrel with fate was poverty.</p> - -<p>“I will not worship a Being who makes such a difference -between His creatures, blessing some with riches -and happiness, and cursing others with poverty and woe,” -she said, rebelliously.</p> - -<p>And all Mrs. Flint’s pious arguments made no change -in her mood. She only answered, flatly:</p> - -<p>“I beg that you will not waste arguments on me, -ma’am. I’ve heard all that before, and it don’t alter my -opinion at all.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint found out that the desire of the woman’s -heart was to have a snug little fortune of her own, and -she would never have a good opinion of the Lord until -her desire was gratified.</p> - -<p>One day, while she was looking out of the front window, -she saw Arthur Varian going past in a sleigh with -his mother, the silver bells ringing out gayly as they sped<span class="pagenum">[127]</span> -over the snow, while their rich fur robes and seal-skin -garments gave evidence of their wealth and position.</p> - -<p>“Who are those grand, rich people?” she asked, enviously.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint told her, and added with pardonable pride, -that the young man had been a suitor for Cinthia’s hand, -but her father had separated the lovers.</p> - -<p>“He was very foolish, unless he had some good reason,” -exclaimed Rachel Dane.</p> - -<p>“He did not have any good reason that I could find -out,” returned Mrs. Flint; adding, regretfully: “It would -have been a splendid match for Cinthia. I have heard -that Arthur’s grandfather, a Southern planter, left him a -million dollars in his own right.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I knew how to get some of it from him!” -murmured Rachel Dane, gazing with covetous eyes after -the vanishing sleigh with its fortunate occupants.</p> - -<p>And no thought crossed her mind that she was the -possessor of a secret that the rich Arthur Varian would -have sacrificed his whole great fortune to know.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">WHEN YEARS HAD FLED.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<div class="poetry-container1"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I thought of thee—I thought of thee,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">On ocean many a weary night,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">When heaved the long and sullen sea,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">With only waves and stars in sight.</div> - <div class="verse indent1">We stole along the isles of balm,</div><span class="pagenum">[128]</span> - <div class="verse indent3">We furled before the coming gale,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">We slept amid the breathless calm,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">We flew before the straining sail;</div> - <div class="verse indent1">But thou wert lost for years to me,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">And day and night I thought of thee.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>One golden July day almost three years later than the -events of our last chapter, a little group of three persons -stood on the deck of a steamer homeward-bound, plowing -her way through the blue waves toward the harbor of -New York.</p> - -<p>They were Everard Dawn, his daughter, and her -friend, Madame Ray, the latter having joined them -abroad three months ago, after a long correspondence, -dating from the time of their meeting in Washington on -the occasion of the frustrated elopement.</p> - -<p>The actress had retired from the stage at last with a -fair competency, declaring that she was weary of the -exciting life, and desired to spend the rest of her days -in quiet, away from the glare of the foot-lights. At Cinthia’s -wish, she had gone abroad in the spring, traveling -with her young friend for several months, while every -day of their companionship added to the strength of the -bond of affection between their responsive hearts.</p> - -<p>“I love you more than any one else in the world,” Cinthia -had said to her ardently more than once.</p> - -<p>And the actress had answered as ardently:</p> - -<p>“And I you, my dear. I wish you were my daughter.”</p> - -<p>The words put a new thought in Cinthia’s head.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[129]</span></p> - -<p>Why couldn’t clear, beautiful Madame Ray become her -mamma?</p> - -<p>What was to hinder her father falling in love with the -charming woman, and making her Mrs. Dawn, and thereby -her step-mamma?</p> - -<p>Cinthia felt sure that she could love her as dearly as -her own mamma—much more dearly, in fact, than she -did her father.</p> - -<p>For, though she saw a hundred admirable things about -him, and felt rather proud of him than otherwise, Cinthia -had never tried to overcome her resentment of the -past for those years of neglect, and the cruel parting -from her lover. She believed that Mr. Dawn and Mrs. -Varian had acted a wicked part in preventing her marriage, -because of some old family feud that would have -been healed by her union with Arthur.</p> - -<p>So she still preserved toward her father a certain -amount of reserve, like a thin crust of ice, and he, on -his part, although admiring her grace and beauty, and -sedulously careful and attentive to all her whims, still -brooded over secret sorrows that made him half oblivious -to the present with the best of his heart buried in the dead -past.</p> - -<p>To Cinthia there came the sudden thought that to make -a match between this strange father of hers and lovely -Madame Ray might be conducive to the happiness of all -three. Of herself she was sure that life would be far -brighter with this fair woman for a companion than spent<span class="pagenum">[130]</span> -alone with Everard Dawn, who would always represent -to her the blighting of the fairest love-dream maiden ever -cherished.</p> - -<p>She became the most designing little match-maker in -the world, but she was so transparent that she could not -hide her plans from the objects of her care.</p> - -<p>They detected her schemes with secret amusement, -and pretended unconsciousness, while inwardly rather -amused at the little by-play. That each admired the -other was natural, but it was not the admiration that -deepens into love. Both had been deeply bereaved in a -way that left no room for the budding of a second -passion.</p> - -<p>As for Cinthia, those years abroad had been like the -bursting of a promising bud into a perfect flower.</p> - -<p>In a few months she would be twenty years old, and -the promise of seventeen was more than fulfilled.</p> - -<p>Her slight figure was somewhat taller and more -rounded in its gracious contour, and her lovely face and -large, soft, dark eyes had gained a depth of expression—spirit -blended with pathos—almost irresistible.</p> - -<p>The gold of her luxurious, curling hair had a deeper, -richer sheen as it rippled in a loose knot beneath the brim -of her becoming little hat, a Parisian affair that matched -her stylish traveling gown, for Cinthia had developed -a perfect taste in dress that was very gratifying to her -father’s pride.</p> - -<p>Wherever she moved, she was the cynosure of admiring<span class="pagenum">[131]</span> -eyes, and a score of hearts had been laid at her feet—some -of them most true and manly; but she turned from -them with indifference, saying to herself that her life was -spoiled by Arthur’s falsity, and she could never love -again.</p> - -<p>She called it Arthur’s falsity, always refusing to believe -that there existed any better reason than a former -feud between their parents for the breaking of their -troth.</p> - -<p>She believed that Arthur was a coward, that he had -too easily given her up; but for all that she had not ceased -to love him, though she did not acknowledge this to her -own heart.</p> - -<p>If you had asked her the question, she would have -sworn to you that she hated and despised Arthur Varian -and would not have forgiven him the slight he had put -on her if he had implored her on bended knees, so strong -is woman’s pride.</p> - -<p>Yet, so weak is woman’s heart that she shrined his -image still in its deepest depths, and could not bid -memory down—memory of the brief, blissful time of -love when the world seemed to hold nothing for either -save the other, when they had tried to thrust aside, with -the passionate obstinacy of youth, every obstacle to their -happiness.</p> - -<p>“If Arthur had been as brave as I was, less under the -control of his mother, we might have been so happy!”<span class="pagenum">[132]</span> -she had said, regretfully, more than once to Madame -Ray, who agreed with her views, and always answered:</p> - -<p>“You are right, dear. He was weak and cowardly, -unworthy of such a golden heart as yours. I would forget -him!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I will forget him. I despise him now!” Cinthia -answered out of her wounded pride.</p> - -<p>Yet, as the prow of their noble steamer cleaved the -blue waves, and she stood on deck under the blue sky -and burning sun of July, her thoughts went before to her -native land and to her lost lover, so dearly loved, so -strangely lost.</p> - -<p>She wondered where he was now, and if he was married -yet, for Aunt Flint, in one of her letters, had not -failed to mention that there was such a report in the -town. She added that it would not be Mrs. Varian’s -fault if her son did not find a wife, for she kept Idlewild -full of visitors the year round, when she was at home, -with pretty girls of all complexions, from brunette to -blonde.</p> - -<p>Cinthia’s thoughts often wandered to Idlewild, wondering -what was transpiring there, and trying to picture -to herself the beauty of the gay young girls with whom -Mrs. Varian surrounded her son, trying to win his love -from Cinthia. It filled the girl’s heart with secret, jealous -agony that brought shadows of pain into her large, -soft eyes as she leaned against the rail and watched the -dancing waves.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[133]</span></p> - -<p>“How grave you look, Miss Dawn, while every one -else is rejoicing at the home-coming. One would think -you had left your heart behind you on foreign shores!” -gayly exclaimed a young man, approaching her and gazing -at her with admiring eyes.</p> - -<p>He was a young New Yorker—one of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">jeunesse -dorée</i>—returning home after three months’ absence. On -the first day out he had fallen a victim to Cinthia’s -charms, and gladly renewed a former acquaintance with -Madame Ray, in order to secure an introduction to the -beauty.</p> - -<p>As the actress knew him to be in every respect a most -desirable <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">parti</i>, she was very glad to present him to Cinthia, -secretly hoping that he might manage to supplant -Arthur Varian in her tender heart.</p> - -<p>Cinthia certainly found him interesting, he was so -good-looking, with his six feet of athletic manhood, -flashing dark eyes, and jetty hair and mustache, while -with his ready flow of small-talk he was very amusing. -She accepted his patent admiration and his respectful attentions -with the coolness of a belle accustomed to adulation, -letting him entertain her when she chose, and carelessly -dismissing him when not in the mood.</p> - -<p>Her mood was not very propitious now, and it was a -very cold smile she gave in answer to his remark that -she must have left her heart behind on foreign shores.</p> - -<p>“All the heart I have I brought back with me, although -I must confess to a fondness for the Old World,”<span class="pagenum">[134]</span> -she answered; adding: “I am not enthusiastic over my -return, because I have really no near relatives in America, -and papa and I intend to resume our wanderings in -our own country after a short rest.”</p> - -<p>Frederick Foster exclaimed, eagerly:</p> - -<p>“May I be permitted to know where the foot of the -dove will first rest?”</p> - -<p>“I think we shall probably spend a few days at Newport -while maturing our plans,” Cinthia answered, carelessly.</p> - -<p>Foster’s handsome countenance beamed with frank delight.</p> - -<p>He cried, joyously:</p> - -<p>“To Newport? How glad I am! Why, that is where -I am going.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed?” smiled Cinthia.</p> - -<p>“Yes, if you do not forbid my following you there, -which I should certainly do, even if I had not already -made my plans. Oh, please don’t frown upon me so, for, -indeed I have promised my aunt and cousin—who are -there from the South—that I will stay there with them -a while. In fact, I shouldn’t be surprised if Arthur came -to New York just to meet me.”</p> - -<p>Arthur—Arthur! The name struck her sharply, like -a blow. She shut her lips tightly, and turned her head -aside, lest he should see the mortal paleness that she felt -overspreading it, while she chided herself for her weakness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[135]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Archie Dean, Archie Dean!—’tis the sweetest name I know,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">’Tis writ on my heart; but o’er it now is drifting the cold, cold snow.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Suddenly a great shout arose from the crowd on deck.</p> - -<p>They were steaming majestically into port, and on the -shore they saw eager throngs of friends waiting to welcome -their loved ones home.</p> - -<p>Answering shouts came back from the pier, and handkerchiefs -were waved while glad tears started into many -eyes, it was such a glorious thing to be safe in port, having -weathered all the dangers of the sea.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Home again! Home again!</div> - <div class="verse indent3">From a foreign shore.</div> - <div class="verse indent1">And, oh! it makes my heart rejoice</div> - <div class="verse indent3">To meet old friends once more!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Do you see any familiar faces on the pier, Miss -Dawn?” queried Frederick Foster, wondering why Cinthia -had turned her lovely face away so abruptly.</p> - -<p>She looked back at him, pale, but composed.</p> - -<p>“No, there is no one that I know,” she answered; and -in spite of her pride, her lip quivered.</p> - -<p>It was such a dreary home-coming, after all, with no -one to welcome her and smile a glad welcome. She felt -a keen pang of envy of the happier ones by whom she -was surrounded.</p> - -<p>Madame Ray and Mr. Dawn came up to them, and the -actress said with a little smothered sigh:</p> - -<p>“What a scene of joyous excitement and confusion!<span class="pagenum">[136]</span> -Parents waiting to greet sons and daughters, lovers to -greet sweethearts! I am almost sad that there is no one -to welcome us, Cinthia!”</p> - -<p>“Madame, you are mistaken on your part,” laughed -Foster. “I see a group of reporters with their eyes -fixed on you already, and only waiting till the gang-plank -is thrown out to rush upon you, demanding to know if it -is not likely you will return to the stage again. To-morrow -morning they will report in their papers that you -have returned from Europe more beautiful than ever -from your long rest, and with a new play that will charm -the theater-going public this winter.”</p> - -<p>Madame Ray darted behind him, exclaiming:</p> - -<p>“Do help me to escape them. I do not wish to be interviewed. -I belong to private life now.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Dawn, will you kindly help the madame to escape -the newspaper men, and I will lead Miss Dawn -ashore,” exclaimed Frederick Foster, coolly drawing Cinthia’s -arm through his, and rushing forward with the -tumultuous throng as the gang-plank was thrown out.</p> - -<p>Oh, what a Babel of noise and confusion! but through -it all Cinthia could hear the young man whispering ardent -words to her, vowing that the past week had been the -happiest of his life, that he adored her, and would ask -no greater joy than to walk with her through life arm in -arm as now, heedless of the rushing, jostling throng.</p> - -<p>Would she give him one little word of hope to live <a id="Ref_136" href="#BRef_136">on</a><span class="pagenum">[137]</span> -till they met again at Newport? He knew he was presumptuous, -but love was his excuse.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you must not talk to me any more like this. I—I——” -began Cinthia in confusion; but just at that moment -they stepped on <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">terra-firma</i>, and came face to face -with a young man waiting there with a lady on his arm, -at sight of whom Foster whispered to his companion:</p> - -<p>“My aunt and cousin, the Varians!”</p> - -<p>Sky and earth, and sea seemed to jumble and blend together -in Cinthia’s confused consciousness as her startled -eyes met the equally surprised ones of Arthur Varian.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“I CAN NOT LOVE AGAIN!”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>It was the most surprising and unwelcome <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rencontre</i> -in the world, that meeting between those four, Everard -Dawn and his daughter and Mrs. Varian and her son.</p> - -<p>Frederick Foster was the son of Mrs. Varian’s eldest -sister, long since dead, and therefore peculiarly dear to -her, so that wherever he went, he always kept up a correspondence -with Arthur, of whom he was very fond. So -it chanced that they had written him while he was abroad -of their sojourn at Newport, and begged him to join them -there on his return.</p> - -<p>Later on the mother and son decided to meet him at<span class="pagenum">[138]</span> -the steamer, as he might feel it a lonely home-coming, -his father also being dead, and his two married sisters -being absent from the city.</p> - -<p>From the pier they had recognized Frederick on the -steamer’s deck, but as he stood in front of his three companions, -they had not been identified, otherwise Arthur -would have gone away to avoid a meeting.</p> - -<p>It seemed to Mrs. Varian as if a most malignant fate -had sent them there when she lifted her eyes and saw before -her Frederick, her handsome nephew, arm in arm -with Cinthia, while behind them walked Everard Dawn -with the beautiful Madame Ray.</p> - -<p>It was a painful, almost a tragic <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rencontre</i>, and entirely -unavoidable, for Frederick Foster, unconscious of -anything wrong, cried out almost boisterously:</p> - -<p>“How do you do, my dear aunt? Happy to see you, -Arthur!” embracing them with effusion, and adding, to -the pale, silent girl who clung to his arm: “Miss Dawn, -let me present my aunt, Mrs. Varian, and my cousin, Arthur -Varian.”</p> - -<p>A moment of shocked embarrassment was followed by -formal greetings—greetings as of strangers who had -never met before.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Varian and Cinthia simply bowed to each other, -both pale and cold, but Arthur held out his hand, saying, -almost inaudibly:</p> - -<p>“I am glad to meet you.”</p> - -<p>Cinthia bowed without speaking, and gave him her icy<span class="pagenum">[139]</span> -fingers in response. Their hands just touched and fell -apart, and their faces were as pale as they would ever -be in their coffins.</p> - -<p>Frederick Foster, without observing anything unusual -in the air, proceeded to present the others.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Dawn and Madame Ray, let me present my aunt -and cousin, Mrs. Varian and her son.”</p> - -<p>Again there were cold, surprised bows on either side, -and the next moment Frederick found that Cinthia’s -fingers had dropped from his arm, and the heedless, jostling, -happy throng had closed in between the two little -groups, cutting them off from each other.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I say!” he cried, in dismay, “we have quite lost -my friends. Will you excuse me one moment while I -follow and bid them good-bye?”</p> - -<p>But Arthur answered in a troubled voice:</p> - -<p>“My mother is almost fainting, Fred. Will you help -me take her to the carriage?”</p> - -<p>It was quite true what Arthur said. Mrs. Varian’s -proud, dark head had drooped heavily against his shoulder, -and her face was marble-pale, with half-closed eyes, -while her breath came in slow, labored gasps.</p> - -<p>Somehow, the sight of Everard Dawn with the beautiful -actress by his side had given her an almost insupportable -shock.</p> - -<p>Frederick Foster instantly became all anxiety and attention, -and with Arthur’s assistance he supported her to -the waiting carriage.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[140]</span></p> - -<p>She leaned back among the cushions with shut eyes, -while Arthur stroked her brow and hands with tender -touches, and her nephew exhausted himself in wondering -what had made her ill.</p> - -<p>Arthur answered evasively:</p> - -<p>“It must have been the great heat of the sun. She -complained of the warmth of the weather while we were -watching the steamer come into port.”</p> - -<p>The carriage rolled along toward their hotel, and Mrs. -Varian grew gradually better, opening her eyes presently -and faintly apologizing for the fright she had given them.</p> - -<p>“I am almost well again, and I think we can return to -Newport to-night,” she said.</p> - -<p>Foster’s thoughts recurred again to his friends, and he -exclaimed, regretfully:</p> - -<p>“I am very sorry that I lost sight of my friends, the -Dawns and Madame Ray. They, too, are going to Newport, -and if I only knew at what hotel they intended to -stop, I would go and persuade them to make a party with -us going there.”</p> - -<p>“Please do not, Fred. They might think us officious, -being strangers,” Mrs. Varian cried, hastily.</p> - -<p>Frederick laughed roguishly, and answered:</p> - -<p>“I serve notice on you that you will not be strangers -long, for I intend to make Miss Dawn your niece, if she -will give her consent!”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” cried Arthur, in a strange tone of suppressed<span class="pagenum">[141]</span> -emotion; but Frederick did not notice, he was so absorbed -in the thought of Cinthia.</p> - -<p>“Did you notice how radiantly beautiful she was?” -he cried. “She is as graceful and stately as a young -princess, and her feet and hands are exquisitely small and -dainty. Her hair is a shower of gold, and such beautiful, -large, soft dark eyes, so haunting and mesmeric, I never -saw in another woman’s face. The first moment I met -their full glance, I realized that all was over with Frederick -Foster.”</p> - -<p>“How long have you known the young lady, Fred?” -his aunt asked.</p> - -<p>“Only from the first day we sailed for New York; but -the moment I saw her I was done for, and I believe if I -had not secured an introduction to her soon, I should have -jumped overboard and drowned myself. Oh, I tell you, -it was a case of love at first sight—on my side, at least. I -don’t know how it is with her; but I was actually proposing -to her as we came down the gang-plank and met -you, so I did not get her answer. But I shall at Newport, -of course. But, as I was saying, I got an introduction -through the lovely actress, Madame Ray, who had been -with them several months in Europe. She has retired -from the stage now, and I’m rather sorry. I’ve known -her several years, and she was an ornament to the profession—as -good a woman as ever stepped.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps she is going to marry Miss Dawn’s father?” -ventured his aunt, inquiringly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[142]</span></p> - -<p>“I don’t know. They would make a splendid couple, -wouldn’t they? And I know that the lovely Cinthia -would give anything to bring it about. She is devoted -to the charming actress.”</p> - -<p>“How I hate that girl!” Mrs. Varian thought, with -secret, irrepressible bitterness.</p> - -<p>“They are all coming to Newport, and I hope you and -Arthur will find them as charming as I do—only Arthur -must not fall in love with my princess,” continued Foster, -blithely.</p> - -<p>Arthur only laughed, and just then the carriage drew -up at the entrance to their hotel.</p> - -<p>As Arthur was helping his mother out, she whispered:</p> - -<p>“If they come to Newport, we will go away the same -day.”</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, the other party, quite as much disconcerted, -had sought another hotel.</p> - -<p>Cinthia lay sobbing on a low couch, and Madame Ray -knelt by her side, caressing her and murmuring low words -of comfort.</p> - -<p>“Do not think of him, my darling. He is not worthy -of one regret. Only a coward would have deserted you -as Arthur Varian did. I am sorry that Fred Foster is -his cousin, but that need not matter. He loves you very -much, and I would be charmed to see you marry this -manly young man.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I can never love again! My heart was broken -by Arthur’s falsity!” moaned Cinthia, sobbing in unrestrained<span class="pagenum">[143]</span> -grief that she would not have shown to any -one on earth but this sympathetic friend she loved so -well.</p> - -<p>“Forget him, dear,” the other answered, as she had -often done before, laying the golden head caressingly -against her breast, and kissing the tears from the sad, -dark eyes.</p> - -<p>When Cinthia had sobbed herself into calmness, she -said:</p> - -<p>“Of course, we will not go to Newport now. I must -not meet them again.”</p> - -<p>“No, we must not go to Newport now,” Madame Ray -agreed; adding: “I shall go on from New York to my -home in Florida—a pretty estate left to me last year by -an old maiden aunt—and, Cinthia, I want you and your -father to come with me as my guests.”</p> - -<p>“But perhaps we ought to go and visit Aunt Flint -first,” suggested Cinthia.</p> - -<p>“No; for you are in danger of meeting the Varians -there.”</p> - -<p>“That is true,” sighed Cinthia.</p> - -<p>“So you will promise to come with me, dear?”</p> - -<p>“If papa is willing.”</p> - -<p>When Mr. Dawn was consulted, he accepted the invitation -for Cinthia, saying that he had business that would -take him to California for a short while, but would join -them later in the South.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[144]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“THE PANGS THAT REND MY HEART IN TWAIN!”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Madame Ray despised Arthur Varian so much that she -was bitterly chagrined on learning that he was related -to her favorite, Frederick Foster, whom she hoped to see -Cinthia marry.</p> - -<p>Foster had frankly confided his hopes to the actress, -and elicited her sympathy in his love. She had promised -to do all she could to help him win Cinthia, and it annoyed -her very much that, for a time at least, the ardent -lover would be debarred from seeing the object of his -love.</p> - -<p>Perhaps, too, if he should find out that love episode -with his cousin Arthur, he would not wish to marry a -girl who had been so cruelly deserted on the eve of marriage. -She guessed wrongly that the Varians would very -likely use all their influence against Cinthia.</p> - -<p>But, however much she worried, she could see no way -out of the dilemma. Foster had been abruptly parted -from Cinthia before he had taught her to love him, and -she saw no safe way of bringing them together again in -the present. Time alone could solve the problem.</p> - -<p>It was a great disappointment not to be able to take -Cinthia to Newport, where she knew that the girl’s grace -and beauty would create a sensation; but, of course, it -was not to be thought of now. Cinthia and Arthur -Varian must be kept apart for the sake of the young -girl’s peace of mind.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[145]</span></p> - -<p>But how handsome and manly he had looked—not at -all like the weak coward Madame Ray deemed him. She -found herself dwelling with pleasure on his handsome -face and form, his dark-blue eyes, and brown, clustering -hair.</p> - -<p>“Much after the style of Cinthia’s handsome father. -I fancy he might have looked like that when he was a -young man, before the gray came into his brown locks, -and the anxious lines into his face,” she mused, thoughtfully; -and her eyes grew grave, and her cheek pale with -a sudden, startling thought that made her exclaim: “Good -heavens! <em>could</em> it be?”</p> - -<p>The line of thought thus started was most distressing, -as evinced by the agitation of her face, and presently she -muttered:</p> - -<p>“There may be a mystery, after all. I will try to get -at the bottom of it.”</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Cinthia, struggling with the heartache renewed -by her encounter with her lost love, or her false -love, as she preferred to call him, made a great effort to -throw off the weight on her spirits and become herself -again.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“One struggle more, and I am free</div> - <div class="verse indent3">From pangs that rend my heart in twain.</div> - <div class="verse indent1">One last farewell to love and thee,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Then back to busy, life again.</div> - <div class="verse indent1">It suits me well to mingle now</div> - <div class="verse indent3">With things that never pleased before;</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Now every joy is fled below,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">What future grief can touch me more?</div><span class="pagenum">[146]</span> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“By many a shore, and many a sea,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Divided, loving all in vain,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">The past, the future, fled to thee,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">To bid us meet—no—ne’er again!</div> - <div class="verse indent1">’Tis silent all; but on my ear</div> - <div class="verse indent3">The well-remembered echoes thrill;</div> - <div class="verse indent1">I hear a voice I would not hear,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">A voice that now might well be still.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Cinthia could not thrust Arthur’s image from her heart -however much she tried and longed to do so. She could -wear the mask of pride over her sorrow, that was all.</p> - -<p>Her father hoped and believed that she was overcoming -her trouble, and would have rejoiced as much as -Madame Ray if she could have transferred her heart to -Frederick Foster. He who had known the pangs of -wounded love so well was eager to find a cure for his -daughter’s heart.</p> - -<p>But all chance of this had been temporarily frustrated -by her unexpected <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rencontre</i> with Arthur Varian.</p> - -<p>He felt that all the old ground would have to be gone -over now again, and cursed the evil fates that had worked -against him.</p> - -<p>He regretted that a sudden weariness of foreign shores -had decided him to return to America, and made up his -mind to take Cinthia away again out of reach of the -Varians. This was why he had said that he was going to -California.</p> - -<p>He had decided to make a home for himself and daughter -under those blue and sunny skies, among orange groves -and bowers of bloom, where life would glide so softly<span class="pagenum">[147]</span> -amid wooing zephyrs, that it would seem like an Arcadia -even to disappointed hearts like his own and Cinthia’s. -There they would win forgetfulness of the past and hope -for the future.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“LIKE AN ANGEL.”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Madame Ray guessed not of the intentions of Everard -Dawn, or she would have been most unhappy at the -thought of parting from Cinthia.</p> - -<p>With each day the girl grew dearer to her heart, and -it had become her secret fixed intention to make her -home near to Cinthia’s, wherever it should be, and never -lose sight of her again.</p> - -<p>Her love for the fair young girl was a passion of devotion. -She would have sacrificed all she possessed to secure -her happiness.</p> - -<p>Yet Cinthia seemed further away than ever from it -now.</p> - -<p>“Ah, my darling, you should not brood so morbidly -over the past!” she cried, winding her arms around the -fair girl’s waist. “You have lost a lover, it is true; but -think how much more I have suffered, when scarcely as -old as you, losing a beloved husband and darling infant.”</p> - -<p>“You have lost a child? Dear heart, how I pity you!” -Cinthia cried, tenderly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[148]</span></p> - -<p>“Yes, Cinthia, I have lost a little daughter, who would -be as old as you are. It is for her sake I love you so -dearly, because you are motherless, and I, alas! childless. -It is a sad story, and some day I will tell it to you. Then -you will see that my sorrow is greater than yours,” sighed -the lovely actress.</p> - -<p>Cinthia pressed her hand, and murmured:</p> - -<p>“You had their love till they died, and in heaven they -are waiting to welcome you home, still your own, still -fond and true. But he I loved proved false, and another -may win him from me. Were it not better if he had really -died and belonged to me truly in heaven?”</p> - -<p>Oh, how sad the pathetic voice, how mournful the -far-off gaze, piercing the listener’s heart like an arrow!</p> - -<p>She cried out, bitterly:</p> - -<p>“Ah, Cinthia, you know not the depth of my bereavement. -My husband is dead, it is true. I had his love -but a little while, but it was bliss while it was mine, and -I know it is waiting for me in heaven, but oh, Cinthia, -my little one, my baby—oh! oh! oh!” and she dissolved -in a passion of tears that startled Cinthia from her own -morbid grief and turned her to the task of the consoler.</p> - -<p>Most gently, most fondly, most lovingly she caressed -the agitated mourner, murmuring to her of the beautiful -home, not made with hands, where her dead child was a -precious angel.</p> - -<p>“Think what sorrows she may have escaped by her -early translation to heaven. Is it not better thus than<span class="pagenum">[149]</span> -to have reached girlhood, as I did, to have her faith and -love trampled in the dust, and her life saddened forever?” -she cried, earnestly.</p> - -<p>“Ah, my dear, you do not understand. I had not -finished telling you. She—my little darling, my unnamed -daughter, did not die.”</p> - -<p>“Not die!” Cinthia echoed, in bewilderment.</p> - -<p>“No, she did not die, and I know not to this day -whether she is alive or dead. She—was stolen—from -me,” sobbed the bereaved mother, letting her head fall -on the sill of the open window where they were sitting.</p> - -<p>Cinthia was so shocked for a moment that she could -not speak. She could only throw her arms about the -mourner and clasp her close with a love as true and -warm as if she had been the dear lost daughter.</p> - -<p>The balmy summer breeze swept in caressingly over -the two fair heads nestled close together, while Madame -Ray sobbed:</p> - -<p>“Now you understand why I love you so, my dear. -Not but that your own beauty and sweetness is enough -to charm any heart. But when I found you in Washington -that first day, a motherless girl scarcely past childhood, -forsaken by your lover, wretched, desperate, almost -driven to suicide, my heart went out to you in a passion -of pitying love as I thought, my own child, if alive, is no -older than this one. Who can tell but that she may be in -an even more grievous strait than this poor girl, whom<span class="pagenum">[150]</span> -I will try to advise and befriend, praying Heaven to deal -as kindly with my dear lost little one.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you were an angel to me in that hour!” <a id="Ref_150" href="#BRef_150">cried</a> -Cinthia, eagerly, gratefully. “Oh, I was wretched and -desperate, as you say, weary of life and longing for death, -almost driven by my humiliation to the awful sin of suicide. -When I opened that door, intending to rush recklessly -into the streets, careless of my fate, what terrible -calamity might have happened me if I had not found you -standing like an angel on the threshold, sent by God Himself -to save me from myself. You drew me back, you -pitied and advised me, you made me a better girl than -I ever was before. And since that hour your love has -been to me more than words can express, my anchor of -hope in a stormy life, my refuge from despair, my haven -of love. Oh, I have been ungrateful, nursing my woe -in spite of all your goodness and patience. I will try to -be braver and stronger, indeed I will. I will always remember -the keen sorrows you have borne while you wore -a smile of comfort and cheer for me. And, oh, I pray -that God has given to your lost child as dear a comforter -as I have found in you.”</p> - -<p>The words, poured forth in a passion of grateful emotion, -ended in a burst of sobs, and they mingled their -tears together and found subtle relief in each other’s -sympathy.</p> - -<p>When they grew calmer, Madame Ray said softly in -her low, flute-like voice:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[151]</span></p> - -<p>“I am glad indeed if I have been to you all that you -say, Cinthia, dear, for you were indeed in need of love -and care when we first met. I have lavished on you a -mother’s love, while you have repaid me with a daughter’s, -I know.”</p> - -<p>“Yes—yes; but I could not fill up the void caused by -your own child’s loss.”</p> - -<p>“You have been a great comfort to me, dear, and I -hope never to be parted from you in life unless you -marry, and even then, dear, I shall manage to see you -often, as a mother clings to a married daughter.”</p> - -<p>“How I wish that you and papa would marry!” cried -the eager girl.</p> - -<p>“My dear, do not nourish such a thought. It can -never be. I am sure that both our hearts are buried in -our dear ones’ graves.”</p> - -<p>“It does not seem as if papa really loved my mother -much, or he would care more for me,” Cinthia exclaimed, -with the old resentment of her father’s strange indifference.</p> - -<p>“My dear, do not judge him harshly. Mr. Dawn -looks to me like a man capable of strong affections, but -he also bears on his face the signs of tragic happenings -that have blighted the promise of his life. If you will -take my judgment for it, dearest, your father is a most -unhappy and weary man!” continued Madame Ray.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[152]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">’NEATH SOUTHERN SKIES.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<div class="poetry-container1"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“A fairy land of flowers and fruits and sunshine</div> - <div class="verse indent1">And crystal lakes and overarching forests.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Oh, madame, what a perfect morning! There is -not the slightest cloud in the clear blue sky, and the sheen -of sunlight on the lake is dazzling. The air is odorous -with the scent of flowers, and the little birds are almost -splitting their throats with divine melody. What a contrast -to the bleakness of November in the North, or even -in my own loved Virginia, that three years ago I left in -the midst of a whirling snow-storm!” cried Cinthia -Dawn, as she walked out on the long broad gallery that -surrounded her friend’s Floridian home.</p> - -<p>A fairer scene or a sweeter home would be hard to -find than the pretty estate that the actress had opportunely -inherited a year before from a deceased great -aunt.</p> - -<p>It was situated in Marion County, on the suburbs of -the pretty village Weir Park, near the crystal Weir Lake -famed as being the prettiest lake in Florida, several miles -in extent, with a magnificent expanse of white sandy -beach glittering in the golden sunlight.</p> - -<p>Lodge Delight was the suggestive name of the white -villa, surrounded by beautiful flowers and trees, where -Madame Ray had brought her beloved young guest, and<span class="pagenum">[153]</span> -for several months they had sojourned here almost happily -but for the haunting memories that made real happiness -impossible to either, even in so Eden-like a scene.</p> - -<p>But at least they were devoted to each other, and led -an almost idyllic life in the beautiful health-giving country -so much sought in winter by visitors from the frozen -North, while Cinthia’s father still lingered in California, -though he wrote his daughter that she might expect him -now at any time.</p> - -<p>When Cinthia and Madame Ray came out on the broad -rose-wreathed gallery of Lodge Delight, in their peerless -beauty, like the perfect rose and the unfolding bud, -they added the only wanting touch to the lovely scene—the -touch of human life.</p> - -<p>The young girl’s beautiful dark eyes beamed with -fresh delight at the fair prospect spread before them, -while she cried out in rapture at the lovely day.</p> - -<p>Madame Ray smiled with pleasure at the girl’s enthusiasm, -and answered:</p> - -<p>“It is indeed beautiful, and I am rejoiced that you -love my home so well. It makes me grateful to my dead -aunt who left me this idyllic estate. It is quite too -lovely a day to spend indoors. What shall we do? Go -walking, driving, or rowing?”</p> - -<p>Cinthia, with her golden head one side like a bird, -cogitated a moment, then decided on a long drive into -the country.</p> - -<p>The carriage was ordered, and in a short while they<span class="pagenum">[154]</span> -were resting luxuriously among the cushions, while a -typical Florida darky handled the reins, and sent the -handsome black ponies spinning at a lively rate along -the road, past glistening orange-groves laden with golden -globes of fruit, and lovely homes where art and nature -combined to make an earthly paradise.</p> - -<p>“Take us a new route,” Madame Ray had said to -him and he had chosen a most attractive one, keeping -them keenly interested all the while, until about three -miles out, Cinthia called to him, saying:</p> - -<p>“Let the ponies rest a minute, Uncle Rube, while you -tell us about those picturesque ruins over there.”</p> - -<p>They had just come opposite the remains of a once -palatial mansion that had been destroyed by fire, one of -the long stone wings still standing, a melancholy, dismantled -ruin through which voices of the past might fitly -echo with the raving of the night-winds. Around it were -neglected lawns and gardens, the shrubbery growing in -rank luxuriance about the broken fountains, whose tinkling -waters had once laughed in the sun. An air of -neglect, desertion and dreariness hung about the place, in -spite of all the brightness of the day and scene, that sent -a chill through the hearts of the gazers.</p> - -<p>“What a magnificent place this must once have been, -and what a pity it has not been rebuilt! Who owns it, -Uncle Rube?” inquired Madame Ray, with deep interest, -and the old man said, with conscious pride:</p> - -<p>“It b’longs to we—all—all dat’s leff ob ole marster’s<span class="pagenum">[155]</span> -fam’bly dat I use to b’long to. Dis place used to be de -country-seat ob de fam’bly, tell three years agone, when -it burned down, and de mistis moved ’way off to Virginia -to anurr gran’ place she had called Idlewhiles.”</p> - -<p>Madame Ray and Cinthia both started violently, and -looked significantly at each other.</p> - -<p>Then the actress recovered herself, and whispered:</p> - -<p>“A mere coincidence. Dozens of places are called -Idlewild.”</p> - -<p>The old negro let the reins rest on the horses’ glossy -backs, flicked a fly from one of their heads with his whip, -and continued, retrospectively:</p> - -<p>“Dis place now dey name Love’s Retreat, an’ no -wonder, fer sech a place fer courtin’ an’ sparkin’ sho’ly -nebber was seen. Ole marster and mistis had four -chillun—two sons and two daughters—all four beautiful -as cud be, an’ all de young folks in de kentry used to be -comin’ an’ goin’ here; an’ de sparkin’ dat went on in dem -flower-gyardens an’ rose-arbors was a caution—you hear -me! Umme, but dem was gay times ’fore de war! But, -umme, when ’twas all ober, an’ Marse Captain Varian -comes home wid his arm gone, an’ his two sons dead on -de feil o’ battle, an’ de niggers all free, an’ eb’ryt’ing -gone to wrack an’ ruin, why, ole mistis nebber hole up -her head no more—she jest died, dey say, ob a broken -heart for her poor boys lost an’ gone. An’ bime-by de -oldest geerl she fell in lub wid a Yank she met up North, -an’ married him spite o’ all de ’jections ob old marse,<span class="pagenum">[156]</span> -who, naterally, hated de Yanks, dough dey say dat Marse -Fred Foster was a mighty fine gen’l’man, all de same, <em>an’</em> -rich as we all’s folks. But Miss P’liny—de youngest -geerl, she made a missallyance, too, so her pa said—up -an’ married a poor lawyer, an’ bime-by she got divossed -from him, an’ no wonder; it was a shame de way he -kerried on wid dat ward ob his, de brazen creeter! So -now, when marse captain died, five years ago, dey warn’t -no one left at Love’s Retreat but Mrs. Varian an’ her -little son. Dey travel ’bout a great deal now, so I’se -’feard dey’ll never build up dis ole place ag’in.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“WHERE THE CLEMATIS BOUGHS INTWINE.”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Uncle Rube had rambled on heedlessly as though he -loved his subject while his hearers listened in painful -wonder; but now Madame Ray brought him up suddenly -by saying, nervously:</p> - -<p>“That is enough, Uncle Rube. Drive on a few miles -further and we will return.”</p> - -<p>A strange terror was stirring in her breast—terror -of some startling revelation that might shock Cinthia in -the old man’s rambling talk. She dared not let him -utter another word; but strange suspicions were -awakened in her breast, and she resolved to have a private -conversation with Uncle Rube to solve her doubts.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[157]</span></p> - -<p>One of his statements had struck her with peculiar -force.</p> - -<p>He had spoken of Captain Varian’s youngest daughter’s -marriage and divorce from her husband.</p> - -<p>In the next breath he had called her Mrs. Varian, -Varian being her maiden name.</p> - -<p>Why did the divorced woman and her son both bear -the family name? And who was the divorced husband? -Of his name Madame Ray began to have a secret prescient -dread.</p> - -<p>Was she about to stumble on the mystery that had sundered -Arthur’s and Cinthia’s lives?</p> - -<p>She glanced nervously at Cinthia, but beyond a deep -pallor saw no sign of shock such as she had secretly experienced. -Feeling thankful that it was so, she exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“Uncle Rube’s story has given me the horrors! How -sad to think of such a happy family so broken up by the -cruel, desolating war! But there were many such. One -could almost fancy the ghost of the past haunting that -desolate ruin!”</p> - -<p>They looked back with troubled eyes at the wrecked -home that had sheltered Arthur Varian’s forefathers and -his own saddened youth. How strange that he should -thus be recalled to memory again when Cinthia was -just getting over their last ill-fated meeting.</p> - -<p>She read Madame Ray’s perturbed thoughts and -feigned indifference, saying:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[158]</span></p> - -<p>“It certainly gives one a sort of ghostly chill to gaze -on the ruins of such a home. Do you remember Byron’s -lines on his old home?” repeating softly:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“‘Through thy battlements, Newstead, the hollow winds whistle,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Thou, the halls of my fathers have gone to decay,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">In thy once smiling garden the hemlock and thistle</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Have choked up the rose which late bloomed in the way.’”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>They rode on along the broad, level road, finding always -something new to admire, but they did not talk so -much or so brightly as before. Their faces were pale -and thoughtful, and a shadow had fallen on their spirits—the -shadow that always fell when they were reminded -of the Varians.</p> - -<p>Memory was poison to their hearts.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“My heart hath but one passion</div> - <div class="verse indent14">To forget.</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Ah, is there nothing in the world then</div> - <div class="verse indent1">To take away the soul’s divine regret?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>But when they were returning along the same road, -both craned their necks eagerly toward the ruined home -which had aroused in them so much painful interest.</p> - -<p>They looked half questioningly toward each other, and -Cinthia murmured:</p> - -<p>“I—I—should like to walk among the ruins—should -you?”</p> - -<p>“I am always walking among ruins—the ruins of a -life’s happiness,” the actress answered, sadly enough; -then added: “But yes, we can easily spare time to go<span class="pagenum">[159]</span> -through the place. Uncle Rube, are strangers permitted -to enter Love’s Retreat?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, sartainly, mistis. De big gates ain’t never locked. -Anybody is free to go in and gather all de flowers dey -want. It seem to me like I seen some folkses dodgin’ -’bout de trees when we went pas’, but guess dey’s all gone -now. Shall I drive you in at the kerridge road?”</p> - -<p>“No; you may wait for us here in the shade of these -trees while we walk. We will return in fifteen minutes.”</p> - -<p>They pushed open the wrought iron front gates that -clanged heavily to behind them, and turning from the -broad graveled walk, plunged into the miniature thickets -of blossoming shrubbery, shaking out odors of rose and -jasmine with the slightest touches as they walked along -toward a graceful little summer-house, heavily matted -with rich purple clematis bells starring the dark green -of the leaves.</p> - -<p>“Let us go in,” said Madame Ray, stepping over the -threshold closely followed by Cinthia.</p> - -<p>Then both recoiled with a startled cry.</p> - -<p>Two young men in cycling suits were in the summer-house.</p> - -<p>They had slipped in there to hide when they saw a -carriage stop at the gate and two ladies entering the -grounds.</p> - -<p>“Sight-seers whom we do not know, I suppose, so -let us hide in here and finish our talk and our cigars till -they leave. I care no more for womankind, be she never<span class="pagenum">[160]</span> -so fair, since I have lost the lovely queen of my heart,” -one said to the other; so they fled the scene till it should -be safe to venture out.</p> - -<p>He was dark and striking in appearance, the other -was fairer and younger than his companion by several -years. His clustering locks were light golden brown, -and the beauty of his face was enhanced by the expressive -dark-blue eyes, where shadows of secret sorrow seemed -to lurk in half-discovered ambush.</p> - -<p>“Fred they are coming this way by their voices. Let -us turn our backs to the door, so that they will see we -are not anxious to be disturbed,” he said, presently.</p> - -<p>“A good idea, Arthur,” and suiting the action to the -word, they presented two broad backs toward the new-comers, -who had barely stepped across the threshold ere -they recoiled, each with a stifled cry of surprise.</p> - -<p>The Mother Eve that is in all men just as much as -in all women made the two smokers spring up and look -around at the intruders.</p> - -<p>Then there were more startled exclamations all around.</p> - -<p>For the fate that seemed to pursue Cinthia Dawn with -its cruelest irony had followed her even here.</p> - -<p>She had fled from the far North to the far South to -escape Arthur Varian, and she had hoped never to gaze -again in life on his too fatally fascinating beauty—the -manly beauty that had lured the girlish heart from her -breast only to toss it back to her at the command of -cruel parents, who seemed to have forgotten the fervor<span class="pagenum">[161]</span> -of youthful love, or they never could have been so harsh -to their tortured children.</p> - -<p>Yet, here stood Arthur Varian before her again—Arthur -Varian pale to the very lips, Arthur Varian with -unmasked despair in his beautiful, dark-blue eyes.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">ONLY FRIENDS.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<div class="poetry-container1"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I ask no pledge to make me blest</div> - <div class="verse indent3">In gazing when alone,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Nor one memorial for a breast</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Whose thoughts are all thine own.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“By day or night, in weal or woe,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">That heart no longer free</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Must bear the love it can not show</div> - <div class="verse indent3">And silent ache for thee.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>But whatever cruel pain this unexpected meeting produced -on Arthur and Cinthia, its effect on Frederick -Foster was wholly joyful.</p> - -<p>He could scarcely believe his own joyful sight when -he saw Cinthia again.</p> - -<p>For weary months, ever since their abrupt parting on -the New York pier, she had been lost to him as wholly -as if she were already in her grave.</p> - -<p>The most eager and anxious inquiry on his part had -failed to disclose her whereabouts.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[162]</span></p> - -<p>With genuine grief—for he was most passionately in -love with Cinthia—he had given up the hopeless quest, -realizing that nothing but blind chance would ever bring -them together again.</p> - -<p>His pride was cruelly wounded, too, for he felt that if -Cinthia had cared for him, she must surely have sent -him an answer to the interrupted proposal he had made -while they were leaving the steamer arm in arm.</p> - -<p>“I spoke too soon and just frightened the shy darling, -big, blundering fool that I was!” he thought, with keen -humiliation, though he knew perfectly well that many a -girl would have simply jumped at such a chance.</p> - -<p>But he had realized that Cinthia was not one of them, -and made up his mind, if he ever met her again, to -besiege her heart with the most chivalrous wooing that -ever won a maiden.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Learn to win a lady’s faith</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Nobly, as the thing is high,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Bravely, as for life or death</div> - <div class="verse indent3">With a loyal gravity.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Lead her from the festive boards,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Point her to the starry skies,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Guard her, by your truthful words,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Free from courtship’s flatteries.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“By your truth she shall be true.</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Ever true, as wives of yore;</div> - <div class="verse indent1">And her ‘Yes’ once said to you</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Shall be ‘Yes’ for evermore.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>When the hope of his heart was suddenly realized by -the appearance of Cinthia at the door of the summer-house,<span class="pagenum">[163]</span> -he fairly gasped with joy and surprise as he -sprung to meet her, exclaiming:</p> - -<p>“Do my anxious eyes deceive me, or is it Miss -Dawn?”</p> - -<p>“You are not mistaken,” she answered, coldly, turning -her eyes from Arthur, whose presence she had acknowledged -by a slight and formal bow, and giving Frederick -Foster her hand.</p> - -<p>He clasped it eagerly, almost forgetting Madame Ray, -who in her turn was greeting Arthur more cordially than -Cinthia had done.</p> - -<p>For something in the woman’s deep nature was touched -to sympathy by the secret suffering evinced by his deathly -pale face and troubled eyes.</p> - -<p>She said, gently:</p> - -<p>“This is a surprise, Mr. Varian, meeting you here -among the picturesque ruins of your old home.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” he answered, huskily; and she saw that he also -had received a great shock and was struggling for calmness.</p> - -<p>She continued, trying to place him at his ease by saying:</p> - -<p>“When our driver told us this morning to whom these -picturesque ruins belonged, we were quite surprised, and -took a fancy to explore them. I hope we are not intruding. -Of course we were not aware that any member -of the family was in the neighborhood.”</p> - -<p>“There is no intrusion. I will take pleasure in showing<span class="pagenum">[164]</span> -you around, Madame Ray,” he answered, in that deep -musical voice that so charmed every hearer; adding: -“My cousin and I only arrived last evening, and our -stay will be short, only long enough to make arrangements -for rebuilding Love’s Retreat.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” she said, and the thought came to her that -perhaps he was about to marry.</p> - -<p>Perhaps he read the thought, for he flushed slightly -as he added:</p> - -<p>“My mother wishes it, as she is very fond of Lake -Weir, and anxious to return to her old home. Fred and -I are stopping at Weir Park Hotel. Have you been long -in this neighborhood?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, for several months. You see, it is my home -now. I inherited a little estate—Lodge Delight—from a -deceased great-aunt.”</p> - -<p>“I knew your aunt well in my boyhood. She was a -friend of my mother’s, and Lodge Delight is little short -of fairy-land. You have Miss Dawn as a guest?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, for a long time, I hope. Her father is in California.”</p> - -<p>Fred Foster came up, beaming with joy and pride.</p> - -<p>“Madame Ray, the gods have surely favored me. -Have you been hiding at Weir Park all this time while -I have roamed up and down the world in weary search -for you?”</p> - -<p>She answered with careless badinage, and Arthur<span class="pagenum">[165]</span> -moved away from them to Cinthia, who stood apart outside -the door with a cloud on her bonny face.</p> - -<p>In hoarse, indistinct accents, he murmured:</p> - -<p>“Miss Dawn, will you permit me the favor of a few -words with you? We can walk along this rose-alley, and -the others will follow presently.”</p> - -<p>She bowed silently, and moved on by his side between -the rows of blossoming rose-trees that, neglected and -untrimmed, threw out long briery arms across the weed-grown -path, obliging Arthur now and then to stoop and -hold them aside from contact with her rustling silken -gown.</p> - -<p>For a few moments they were quite silent—dangerously -silent for two who had not quite unlearned “the -sweet, sweet lesson of loving;” for in this charmed spot, -that held the echo of lovers’ vows, beneath that blue and -sunny sky, with the zephyrs wooing the flowers, were -a hundred temptations to go back to the old days and -the old love, whose summer had been so brief, whose -winter so dark and endless.</p> - -<p>They both felt it subtly, painfully. Their beautiful -faces were pale with secret anguish, their lips trembled -with emotion, tears hid beneath the drooping lids of the -eyes they dared not raise to each other.</p> - -<p>But Arthur knew that he must not linger in idle dalliance, -that he must break away from the spell of her -beauty, that because he was a man, and the stronger one<span class="pagenum">[166]</span> -of the two, that for her own sake his hand must break -the bonds of loving.</p> - -<p>He said tremulously, though he tried to make his voice -firm:</p> - -<p>“You must not be angry with me, Cinthia, if I may -call you so, for what I am going to say.”</p> - -<p>She answered not a word, she only trembled like a -reed in the wind.</p> - -<p>Not all her pride, nor all her scorn of his weakness, -could make her indifferent to Arthur Varian.</p> - -<p>He continued, in that low, sad voice:</p> - -<p>“We have put the past away forever, have we not -Cinthia?”</p> - -<p>What a strange question that was. It made her heart -leap with a strangled hope. Did he wish to go back to -that past, regretting his folly, craving her pardon and -her love again?</p> - -<p>She flashed him such a swift, startled glance that, misinterpreting -it, he cried out, quickly:</p> - -<p>“Ah, I knew that you could never forgive me. I -could never dare to ask it. It is not for myself I wish to -plead, but for another.”</p> - -<p>“Another?” she echoed, faintly.</p> - -<p>“My cousin Fred loves you madly,” Arthur went on -hoarsely. “He is a noble fellow, with but few faults, -and has a most lovable nature. Oh, Cinthia, it would -make me almost happy if he could win your heart and -make you—my cousin.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[167]</span></p> - -<p>He paused, and Cinthia uttered one strangling gasp -of surprise and pain, and was silent.</p> - -<p>But in that moment the whole bright, sunny world -seemed to go under a pall of inky blackness. The birds -seemed to cease their singing, the flowers faded and -turned to ashes, the last hope, for now she knew that -she had always cherished a faint, piteous hope, seemed -to die in her heart.</p> - -<p>She would have liked to shriek aloud in her pain and -shame, like one who felt herself falling down, down, -down into a bottomless gulf.</p> - -<p>Now she knew indeed that Arthur’s love had been of -little worth. It was dead, dead—or he could never plead -with her the cause of another.</p> - -<p>She felt as if she must faint in the extremity of her -agony, but she made a terrible effort to rally her strength -and courage, and the next moment she heard her own -voice laughing hollowly, like a thing apart from herself.</p> - -<p>“I have amused you,” Arthur cried.</p> - -<p>“Yes, very much,” she replied, laughing more and -more, as if at some great joke.</p> - -<p>In fact, she could not stop herself. She was on the -border of an hysterical outbreak.</p> - -<p>But Arthur was deceived by her seeming levity, and -suffered a pang of outraged dignity.</p> - -<p>“I see that you do not take me seriously, though I -am very much in earnest,” he exclaimed, stiffly.</p> - -<p>“So am I,” she answered, trying to subdue herself, and<span class="pagenum">[168]</span> -wiping her eyes on a tiny square of lace. With another -ripple of laughter, she added, lightly: “I have often -heard of match-making mammas, but a match-making -cousin is something new, ha! ha! and I am surprised at -Fred Foster getting another man to do his courting for -him.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Cinthia, you have quite misunderstood me!” he -cried, in alarm. “Fred has no thought of what I have -said to you. He is indeed capable of wooing for himself, -and I think he has already told you of his love. Do -not, I pray you, be angry at him for my blundering. -When I spoke to you I had but one thought in my mind—my -great desire to see you happy.”</p> - -<p>His voice was humble, imploring, but she checked her -wild laughter with a strong effort of will, and turned on -him the fire of dark, resentful eyes.</p> - -<p>“How dare you imply that I am unhappy? Can you -dream I cling to the dead past still, that I remember it -with aught but relief that I escaped you?” imperiously.</p> - -<p>“Is it so indeed, Cinthia? Then I am rejoiced to hear -it, unselfishly glad that I have not spoiled your life. The -day may come when you and I, each married to another, -may yet become dear friends,” he cried, earnestly, pleadingly.</p> - -<p>Cinthia felt that indeed she hated him now, but pride -rose in arms to mask every emotion.</p> - -<p>She laughed again and actually held out her hand to -him, saying carelessly:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[169]</span></p> - -<p>“A pleasant prophecy! Let us begin our friendship -now.”</p> - -<p>He took the hand and bent his head over it. She felt -a hot, burning tear fall on it as he murmured:</p> - -<p>“Thank you and bless you Cinthia. We will soon get -used to the new role of friendship, and no woman ever -found truer friend than I will prove to you.”</p> - -<p>Then they heard the other two coming, and stopped to -wait for them, relieved at the interruption.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIX">CHAPTER XXIX. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">A SECRET SORROW.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<div class="poetry-container1"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I dreamed that time, I dreamed that pride,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Had quenched at length my early flame,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Nor knew till seated by thy side,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">My heart in all save hope the same.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Cinthia had made a rash promise, and she realized it; -but her pride would not permit her to retract.</p> - -<p>She knew well that Arthur Varian was still too fatally -dear to her heart for her to meet him daily on mere -friendly grounds; that would only augment her love -and her despair, since neither pride nor reason had sufficed -to quench the smoldering flame.</p> - -<p>Since Arthur was not conceited, and was unversed in -the complex windings of a woman’s nature, he was -mystified, if not entirely deceived, by the words in which<span class="pagenum">[170]</span> -she gave him to understand that she loved him no longer, -but was willing to let friendship take the place of passion.</p> - -<p>Although he did not quite understand her manner, he -was more than glad to find that her love had been more -shallow than at first appeared and more easily conquered. -He had been in deep earnest when he told her he hoped -that the day might come when each of them, married to -another, might yet become dear friends.</p> - -<p>His dearest hope now was to see her married to his -cousin, or to any man who could secure to her the happiness -that had been so fatally jeopardized by her broken -betrothal with himself.</p> - -<p>As for his own marriage, at which he had hinted, his -mother was trying to bring that about with all the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">finesse</i> -of which she was capable. She surrounded herself constantly -with fair young girls, and went much into society -solely on Arthur’s account, but she could not see that she -was making any progress in her desires.</p> - -<p>Arthur was equally courteous to all, but he never betrayed -any preference for any. There lingered about him -a secret sadness that in truth found no mitigation with -time. There was a subtle change in him only to be interpreted -by the poet’s lines.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I have a secret sorrow here,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">A grief I’ll never impart;</div> - <div class="verse indent1">It heaves no sigh, it sheds no tear,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">But it consumes my heart.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In secret he deplored this meeting with Cinthia, that<span class="pagenum">[171]</span> -had so suddenly reopened the seared wounds of the past, -but her assumed indifference gave him a new thought.</p> - -<p>Perhaps if they were to meet daily on the new terms of -friendship the old bitterness might gradually be dispelled -and better feelings result.</p> - -<p>He might also in this way help his cousin to prosecute -his suit with Cinthia.</p> - -<p>So Arthur fell into the net that Cinthia’s pride spread -for his feet, and it was written in the book of fate that -he and Cinthia were to meet daily for weeks, for with -the arrival of winter guests at Weir Park Hotel and -vicinity, a little season of mild gayety set in, in which -every one in the neighborhood bore part. And as for -Frederick Foster, it seemed as if he could hardly exist -away from Lodge Delight.</p> - -<p>Not that Cinthia gave him any particular encouragement -to come, beyond simple courtesy; but he was vexed -at himself for former rashness, and determined to try -the effect of patient devotion in besieging her heart. Besides, -there were other men now trying to rival him, and -he must spare no effort to distance these rivals.</p> - -<p>Arthur did not always accompany his cousin on his -visits; but he could not avoid meeting Cinthia often in the -social life at Weir Park, and it seemed to him that she -grew more bright and beautiful daily as the unattainable -always grows more lovely to our eyes.</p> - -<p>Whether she appeared in silk and lace and nodding -plumes at some garden-party, or in yacht costume for a<span class="pagenum">[172]</span> -lake excursion, or in cycling suit on her wheel, or in -evening-dress at some gay reception, Cinthia was always -lovelier than before to his admiring eyes, and he thought, -generously:</p> - -<p>“I thank Heaven that the dear girl has the means -to gratify her expensive tastes, for who knows how much -it has helped in the cure of her heart. Besides, she has -now several lovers every way as desirable as I ever was, -and even if she refuses Fred she is sure to choose one -of the others.”</p> - -<p>Why was she sure to do so? Had not his mother presented -to him scores of pretty girls without touching his -heart? Why should Cinthia’s fancy be turned aside more -lightly than his own?</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“The wind bloweth where it listeth,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">And so with Love.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXX">CHAPTER XXX. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">MYSTERIES.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Madame Ray looked on at the little by-play with rather -puzzled eyes.</p> - -<p>For once Cinthia’s pride had enabled her to keep her -own confidence. She told her friend nothing of what had -passed between her and Arthur Varian, choosing to let -her believe that indifference had triumphed over love -at last.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[173]</span></p> - -<p>Madame Ray simply did not believe it, but she was -mystified by the new attitude of the quondam lovers, and -she resented in secret Arthur’s reappearance on the scene. -She wished eagerly that Cinthia would lose her heart to -Fred Foster or some of her other lovers, but she did not -believe that there was the least chance of it.</p> - -<p>But the more she saw of Arthur Varian the more she -was attracted by his true manliness, until her first opinion -of him, her preconceived detestation, dissolved into thin -air, and she became more and more convinced that not -simply a slavish submission to his mother’s will, but some -mysterious, impassable barrier, separated him from -Cinthia.</p> - -<p>She had carried out her intention of questioning old -Uncle Rube as to the name of Mrs. Varian’s divorced -husband, but he had suddenly pretended an amazing stupidity -and loss of memory that was inconceivable, measured -by his former sprightliness. On being perniciously -pressed by the lady, he admitted that the name, “as well -as he could <em>recomember</em>, was Brown.”</p> - -<p>She did not guess that an interview with Arthur Varian -had caused the loss of memory in the old servitor of the -Varian family.</p> - -<p>“It was money in his pocket to forget the past when -questioned by any one,” Arthur cautioned him.</p> - -<p>“Brown, Brown—that sounds rather like Dawn,” cogitated -Madame Ray; but she could make nothing further -of the old negro, and desisted, thinking that after all<span class="pagenum">[174]</span> -she was sure to blunder on the truth at last, being in the -neighborhood of the Varians.</p> - -<p>Perhaps Arthur felt this also. They were bitter days -for him when he felt as if he were walking over a powder -mine that might at any moment explode and bring -ruin and disaster.</p> - -<p>In his earnest way he fathomed Madame Ray’s feelings -closely enough to feel her vague suspicions, and -he was sorely tempted to confide his trouble to her -sympathetic keeping, and beg her to assist him in getting -Cinthia happily married. That fact accomplished, nothing -else mattered. The whole world was welcome to his -sad story.</p> - -<p>It was pitiful, his eagerness over Cinthia’s happiness. -Madame Ray observed it and marveled, saying to herself:</p> - -<p>“He put upon her the greatest insult almost that man -can offer woman, deserting her at the very altar; but he -is as eager for her happiness as if she belonged to him -by the dearest ties. I believe he would give his life freely -to save her one pang. What <em>is</em> the mystery? Is there -insanity in one family or the other? Or were some of -<em>her</em> relations hung or in prison, thus making her ineligible -for alliance with the noble Varians? I would give the -world to know the truth, for Cinthia’s sake.”</p> - -<p>She and Arthur became almost unconsciously great -friends, for when the cousins came to call together at -Lodge Delight, Fred Foster always tacitly appropriated<span class="pagenum">[175]</span> -Cinthia, while the hostess was left to Arthur, who never -failed to make himself entertaining.</p> - -<p>He, too, had his little curiosity over certain things—namely, -the connection between the actress and Cinthia.</p> - -<p>“Are you related, you two, who are so fond of each -other?” he asked her, frankly, one day, when they had -been acquainted going on three weeks.</p> - -<p>“No, we are not related at all. I suppose it looks like -it to you because we are so exceedingly fond of each -other,” she replied, with a gentle sigh.</p> - -<p>“You surprise me,” he replied, in wonder. “There -is so marked a resemblance between you that I do not see -how you escaped relationship.”</p> - -<p>“It must be your fancy, that is all. My eyes are blue -and Cinthia’s dark, my hair is light-brown and hers pure -gold. Still, I might have had a dark-eyed daughter, but -I lost her in her infancy, and that is one reason why I -love Cinthia so—first, because she is so near the age of -my lost daughter, and again, because she is so sweet and -good—and unhappy,” she replied, pointedly.</p> - -<p>Arthur Varian winced, and replied:</p> - -<p>“I insist that Cinthia resembles you closely enough to -be your own child.”</p> - -<p>“Alas, I would that she were!” she cried, with sudden -emotion.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[176]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXI">CHAPTER XXXI. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">MOST BITTERLY BEREAVED.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<div class="poetry-container1"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Where’er I go I hear her low and plaintive murmuring,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">I feel her little fairy clasp around my finger cling;</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I hope—I pray—that she is blest; but, oh, I pine to see</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Once more the pretty pleading smile she used to give me!</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I pine to hear the low, sweet trill with which, whene’er I came,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Her little soft voice called to me, half welcome and half blame.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I am so weary of the world, its falsehood and its strife,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">So weary of the wrong and ruth that mar our human life.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Oh, God! give back—give back my child, if but one hour, that I</div> - <div class="verse indent1">May tell her all my passionate love for once before I die!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Arthur Varian was somewhat startled by Madame -Ray’s emotion. He looked at her in gentle sympathy as -she dashed the fugitive tears from her eyes.</p> - -<p>She read his thoughts, and after a short silence said -gravely:</p> - -<p>“You are surprised at my emotion, and you think me -a very mysterious woman. Perhaps you are even curious -over my history.”</p> - -<p>“You have read my thoughts,” he answered. “But, -believe me, it is not vulgar curiosity, but the keen interest -awakened by one so charming, we would fain know -more.”</p> - -<p>She acknowledged the pretty compliment by a grateful -smile, and the words:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[177]</span></p> - -<p>“I am tempted to gratify your wish by giving you a -brief synopsis of my life.”</p> - -<p>“I should be proud to be thus honored with your confidence,” -he answered, gratefully and truthfully, for he -found her most interesting, and guessed that some sad -story lay masked behind the occasional pathos of her -smile.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“‘If I dared leave this smile,’ she said,</div> - <div class="verse indent5">‘And take a moan upon my mouth,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And tie a cypress round my head,</div> - <div class="verse indent6">And let my tears run smooth,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">It were the happier way,’ she said.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>It was not often that Madame Ray bestowed confidence -on any one. She was naturally a reserved woman, but -she had grown fond of Arthur, and read his friendly -curiosity over her past. She determined to gratify it, -perhaps hoping for a like confidence from him.</p> - -<p>Glancing toward the open door of the drawing-room, -where they sat to see that no one was near, she began:</p> - -<p>“I was born in Macon, Georgia, about thirty-nine -years ago, and was married at eighteen to Richard Ray, -a young man I had known from childhood, and who had -been my school-boy lover. We were devoted to each -other, and never had any girl better reason for devotion; -for, besides being magnificently handsome in a dark and -manly style, he was one of the noblest of men.</p> - -<p>“To refer briefly to our family history, Richard was -the only son of a Georgia planter ruined by the late war, -and at the time of our marriage both his parents were<span class="pagenum">[178]</span> -dead, while my father and sisters had died of fever -in my childhood, leaving mother and I alone in the world -almost save for her rich aunt who lived at Lodge Delight, -and took scant notice of our existence.</p> - -<p>“My mother had but a small property, and Richard -was not rich; but at his business—a real estate agency—he -earned a fair competency, and when we were married, -we three, mamma, Richard and I, lived together very -happily until—alas!” she bowed her head and wept bitterly.</p> - -<p>“Do not continue if it pains you so,” Arthur cried, -with keen sympathy; but she checked a rising sob, and -continued:</p> - -<p>“I have been most bitterly bereaved, for when only -eight months a bride, my dear mother was taken from -me by an attack of heart failure. Her death was very -sudden, and without premonition. She was gathering -some flowers to take to the cemetery to place on the -graves of her husband and children, when she suddenly -fell forward, and expired painlessly among the roses.</p> - -<p>“It was a cruel blow, but I bore it bravely, because -I knew that she was reunited to her dear ones gone before, -and I had my dear Richard left to comfort me, besides -the hope of a future blessing.”</p> - -<p>Again that heavy sigh from the depths of a burdened -heart, whose agony had been almost unendurable. Then -she took up the thread of her story again, murmuring:</p> - -<p>“I was so young; and I loved my husband so dearly, -and he made me so blissfully happy, that I was getting -over my mother’s loss just a little, when two months later—oh, -Heaven, only two months later—God took away my -Richard!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[179]</span></p> - -<p>Again her voice broke, and she remained sad and silent -until she could regain it, then went on:</p> - -<p>“On a trip away from home, in the interest of some -intending land buyers, he was killed instantly in a railroad -wreck. Oh, my God! how did I live through that sorrow? -Only, by Thine infinite grace and love, and the -hope of that which was coming to me soon to fill the -void of my two sudden and awful bereavements. I almost -went mad at first, and I prayed for death to remove me -from the life that was now only misery.</p> - -<p>“But kind friends and neighbors took charge of me. -I was placed in the care of a noble physician and skillful -nurse. The days dragged on in illness, wretchedness, -and rebellion until I had been widowed six weeks, then -God sent me a child to love—a little dark-eyed daughter.</p> - -<p>“At first I was disappointed with my fate, I had so -longed for a boy to bear Richard’s name and to grow up -in his image. But kind friends soothed me, and I grew -to dote on my lovely babe. But nothing was to be left -me to love, it seemed, for when baby, as I called her, not -having chosen a name yet, was only a month old, I woke -up one night, missing the little darling from my arms, -and crying out in alarm.</p> - -<p>“Alas! she too was gone, and so was the nurse who -slept on a cot in my room. She had stolen baby, for -what purpose I can not guess, and gone away, and so -carefully had she covered her flight, that after spending -every dollar of my little competency in the vain effort -to trace her, not a single clew was gained.”</p> - -<p>With a shaking voice she added:</p> - -<p>“I can not tell you why God made me live after all -my tribulations. I longed for death, but it did not come, -and I dared not hurl myself out of existence, having been<span class="pagenum">[180]</span> -raised by a Christian mother. So I lived, though weary -of life, and in the struggle for existence I became an -actress, having always possessed talents for the stage, and -finding in its arduous work relief from the pangs of -memory.</p> - -<p>“This is, in brief, my story, and it will show you in -part why Cinthia Dawn is so dear to me. Although her -beauty and sweetness are most attractive, still it is not -those alone that draw her to my heart. It is because of -her orphanage and sorrow, for Everard Dawn, from -some cause, does not give her a real fatherly love, and -she is lonely at heart beyond expression.”</p> - -<p>“Poor, poor Cinthia!” he breathed, with deep emotion.</p> - -<p>She dried her tearful eyes, and continued, with a -searching glance at his perturbed face:</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you would like to hear under what circumstances -I first met Cinthia?”</p> - -<p>He replied very readily:</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“It seemed like chance at first, but ever since I have -thought that Providence itself sent me to the poor girl’s -aid in that hour. It was in Washington, on the morning -of your interrupted marriage, when she was waiting for -<a id="Ref_180" href="#BRef_180">her</a> father to come and take her home. I had been a -guest of the hotel the night before, and on removing to -one nearer the theater, I found I had left two handsome -rings. I returned for them, and met Cinthia just leaving -her room to go upon the street, a reckless, desperate girl, -maddened by misery and humiliation, her head filled with -insane ideas of suicide, of going on the stage, of anything -to escape from herself and her despair. I drew her -back, my heart full of love and pity, and in an hour we -changed from strangers to loving friends. I put new<span class="pagenum">[181]</span> -hope in her heart, or at least courage to bear the ills she -could not cure, so that when her father came for her she -went with him readily to the new future he had planned -by the aid of a little fortune that had suddenly fallen -to her from some distant relative.”</p> - -<p>“You saved her from herself and from the keenest -pangs of the sorrow I had unwittingly brought upon her -by my enforced renunciation of our betrothal. God forever -bless you, noble woman!” cried Arthur, crushing -her hand in his in the exuberance of his gratitude, and -adding, warmly: “You wondered why you could not -die when bereaved of all that made life worth living; but -do you not see that Heaven spared you to be an angel of -mercy to this young girl?”</p> - -<p>He was tempted to confide his own story to her ears, -that she might not blame him so bitterly for Cinthia’s -grief, but prudence intervened, whispering that it were -wiser to keep the cruel secret.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXII">CHAPTER XXXII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“A COLD, GRAY LIFE.”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Arthur Varian and his mother were the closest and -dearest friends, and since his elopement, that had ended -so unhappily, he had never kept a secret from her, believing -that she was his best adviser.</p> - -<p>So he had written to her frankly of all that had happened -since he came to Florida.</p> - -<p>He knew how sorry she would be that he had chanced -upon Cinthia Dawn again, but he knew also that the sorrow<span class="pagenum">[182]</span> -would be offset by the knowledge that the young girl -had overcome her unhappy love, and would in all probability -be won by Frederick Foster.</p> - -<p>He wrote of their pledge of friendship, their frequent -meetings, her apparent indifference to himself, and her -preference for Fred’s society.</p> - -<p>Although the proud mother was pleased to know all -these things, yet she railed in secret at Cinthia’s indifference.</p> - -<p>“Fickle and unstable, like her father! Who could expect -anything else of such a parentage?” she thought, -bitterly, the somber dark eyes flashing with passion.</p> - -<p>On this dreary December day, at Idlewild, she was -shut into her luxurious <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">boudoir</i>, away from the rain and -sleet of a most inclement day, cradled in warmth and -luxury, the air sweet with flowers, and melodious with the -songs of a large cage of canaries. A morning-robe of -purple brocade, bordered with rich fur, wrapped the -queenly form from the slightest breath of cold.</p> - -<p>But with all her luxury and grandeur she was not -happy, this proud woman, who turned her eyes from the -beautiful room to gaze through the richly curtained windows -at the dreary day, as perhaps more in consonance -with her gray mood.</p> - -<p>Certainly there was much in the past to darken her -life with an ineffaceable shadow, and nothing in the -future to throw any light on the present.</p> - -<p>Once her life had been radiantly happy in the sunlight -of wedded love, but a terrible trial had come upon her -which ended in divorce and a desolated home.</p> - -<p>The passionate pride of a strong nature had helped her -to bear it before the eyes of the world. What she suffered -in secret only Heaven knew.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[183]</span></p> - -<p>In her pride she would have perished rather than unmask -her secret suffering.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Through many a clime ’twas mine to go,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">With many a retrospection curst,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">And all my solace is to know,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">Whate’er betides I’ve known the worst.</div> - <div class="verse indent1">What is that worst? Ah, do not ask,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">In pity from the search forbear;</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Smile on, nor venture to unmask</div> - <div class="verse indent3">My heart and view the hell that’s there.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>She tapped with restless fingers on the windowpane, -muttering:</p> - -<p>“What a dismal, dreary day! I wish I had gone to -Florida with Arthur and Fred. There all is sunshine and -beauty, while here in Virginia the rain drips down the -pane like tears, the winds howl like a banshee, and the -leafless vines tap against the walls like ghostly fingers. I -hate it all, I hate my life that is gray and cold like the -day.”</p> - -<p>A sudden thought came to her like an inspiration:</p> - -<p>“I will join Arthur at Weir Lake. True, that girl is -there; but what of that? Her father is in California, -they say, so he will not be there to trouble my peace. -Why should he trouble it anyway? He is nothing to me, -less than nothing. I hate him. I suppose that woman -who was with them abroad, that beautiful, blue-eyed -actress, means to marry him in the end. That is why -she clings so close to the daughter. Time was when -he cared nothing for these vivacious blondes, and adored -dark eyes as if he saw heaven reflected in them. That is -all past now. He knows the devil that lurks in a woman -wronged. Yes—yes, I will join Arthur. I ought to see -about the rebuilding of the old home myself.”</p> - -<p>She strained her eyes through the murky rain toward<span class="pagenum">[184]</span> -the gate at a man who was striding along under an umbrella -with a free, swinging gait too fatally familiar to -her memory.</p> - -<p>She pressed her hand to her throbbing heart.</p> - -<p>“It is <em>he</em>! He has come back to see that old woman, -his sister! How the old feelings stir in me at sight -of him again. I wonder if—if—there was the least -truth in his words that I had wronged him. His anger -was most bitter and unforgiving. Yes—yes, I will leave -here to-morrow. I can not breathe the same air with -him!”</p> - -<p>It was indeed Everard Dawn passing the gates of Idlewild -without a glance at the windows where those anguished -dark eyes watched him so eagerly between the -blur of rain and mist.</p> - -<p>He was coming, as before, in storm and gloom, to his -sister’s home. An impulse of tenderness had moved him -to turn aside on his way to his daughter, to visit the -lonely old woman.</p> - -<p>“It is well you came, for she is ill, and a week ago I -hardly thought she would live till your return,” grumbled -Rachel Dane, as she admitted him into the narrow hall.</p> - -<p>“You should have telegraphed me,” he answered.</p> - -<p>“She would not allow it. She said no one cared -whether an old woman like her lived or died.”</p> - -<p>“She is mistaken. I have neglected her in my selfishness, -but I love her dearly,” he said, huskily, adding: -“And as for you, Rachel Dane, the sight of you stirs up -unpleasant memories, but I hope I see you well?”</p> - -<p>“Well and hearty, sir, thanks to you for saving my -life that night, and to your sister for giving me a home -afterward. But I have tried to repay it by faithful service,”<span class="pagenum">[185]</span> -she added, as she ushered him into the lonely sitting-room, -and stirred the fire into a brighter blaze.</p> - -<p>“I thank you for that. She must have had a lonely -life since I took my daughter away,” he replied throwing -himself in a chair, and stretching his feet to the grateful -warmth.</p> - -<p>“My daughter! My daughter!” thought Rachel Dane, -grimly. “How he would hate me if he knew the truth! -And I should never dare to tell him! No, no; I don’t -care to be bundled out-of-doors in my old age, when I -have wound myself so closely around old Mrs. Flint that -she is likely to leave me her property when she dies.”</p> - -<p>She bustled about, watching him narrowly, thinking -what a handsome man he was still, in spite of his probable -fifty years.</p> - -<p>Then she inquired if he would not have luncheon before -he went up to the sick-room.</p> - -<p>“No, I had a substantial breakfast on the train, and -would like to see my sister as soon as possible,” he replied.</p> - -<p>“Oh, then you may come upstairs at once. The sight -of you will be good for her old eyes.”</p> - -<p>He followed her up to the sick-room, that Rachel Dane -had made as cheerful and bright as possible, and there -lay poor Mrs. Flint among her pillows, wan and aged in -the three years that had elapsed since last they met, but -with a light of joy in her dim eyes as they <a id="Ref_185" href="#BRef_185">rested</a> again -on his face.</p> - -<p>“My dear sister!”</p> - -<p>And he stooped and kissed her most affectionately.</p> - -<p>“How long you have been away—you and Cinthy!—and -I have missed her so, dear girl, though maybe I -wasn’t none too good to her when she was here, but I<span class="pagenum">[186]</span> -thought she ought to be brought up strict,” she murmured, -plaintively.</p> - -<p>“It was my fault. I told you to do it,” he answered, -with a sigh; and his eyes wandered around the room, -noting vases of hot-house flowers and plates of fruit, -purple grapes, contrasted with the delicate green of malagas, -golden oranges, and crimson-cheeked apples.</p> - -<p>“You have kind neighbors,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes; all the church people come to see me, and -the preacher—though Rachel there doesn’t care about -him,” reproachfully. “Mrs. Bowles, the housekeeper at -Idlewild, comes often, too. She brought me the fruit -and flowers from up there. Her mistress sent them—that -grand Mrs. Varian, you know. I think it was kind in her -after the way you treated her son.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” and he paled to the lips under his rich brown -beard. “Well, and so they are there still?”</p> - -<p>“She is. Arthur’s gone off somewhere, Mrs. Bowles -said. I don’t know where.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Dawn had no idea either. His daughter had not -written him of her meeting with Arthur.</p> - -<p>Presently he said, with a smile:</p> - -<p>“Rebecca, I have a bright idea. Hurry up and get -strong enough to travel, and I’ll take you and Rachel -South with me on a visit to Cinthia, if you would like it.”</p> - -<p>“Like it! Oh,” she cried, with sudden, pleasurable excitement, -“indeed I should, Everard. It will take the -rheumatism out of my old bones, the blessed sunshine of -the warm South.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; all you need is a change. You are not so much -sick as just pining,” commented Rachel Dane.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[187]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXIII">CHAPTER XXXIII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">PUPPETS OF FATE.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>No ordinary circumstance would have availed to keep -Mrs. Varian at Idlewild after she had discovered Everard -Dawn’s return to the neighborhood, but on the same day -of her sudden determination to leave, fate intervened to -prevent her immediate flight.</p> - -<p>Her clever, skillful maid, the faithful attendant of -many years, without whom Mrs. Varian was as helpless -as a child, was taken ill with a serious cold and confined -to her bed for several days.</p> - -<p>Her mistress was in despair, but even her imperious -will was powerless now against the inroads of illness. -She had to abide the woman’s recovery with patience, -however much she chafed in secret against the unwelcome -delay.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bowles cheerfully took on herself the duties of -lady’s-maid in addition to her housekeeping tasks, and -called in a sick-nurse from the neighborhood to attend -to the invalid. In about three days she began to convalesce, -though it was five before she was able to assist -Mrs. Bowles with the necessary packing for the southward -fight.</p> - -<p>In the meantime, Mrs. Flint was also improving fast, -the pleasing prospect of the journey southward having -exerted on her mind a more beneficial effect than all -Doctor Savoy’s pills and potions.</p> - -<p>She dwelt with keen delight on the thought of seeing -her niece again, and disconcerted her brother by wondering<span class="pagenum">[188]</span> -if Cinthia had recovered from her disappointment -at losing Arthur Varian.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, yes; she was over all that long ago,” he replied, -hastily, anxious to dismiss the subject.</p> - -<p>But Mrs. Flint continued, feelingly:</p> - -<p>“Poor Cinthy! it was hard on her to have to give -him up, he was such a dear young man. And such a -grand match, too, for a poor girl like her! Oh, I never -can forget the night she came home from Idlewild in the -grand carriage with Arthur, in his mother’s grand dress -and cloak, and told me she was engaged to him. It was -all so sudden, it nearly took my breath away. And what -a beauty she looked! and how happy she was! Oh, my! -<em>Poor</em> Cinthy!”</p> - -<p>She sighed deeply, but Everard Dawn made no comment, -only looked out of the window at the cold winter -sunshine on the leaf-strewn garden-walks, where a light -snow of last night’s falling was fast melting away.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint continued, retrospectively:</p> - -<p>“She told me how sweet and kind Mrs. Varian was -to her that night—not proud and haughty as she had -imagined she would be. She could see plainly that she -did not mind it a bit for Arthur to fall in love with her, -though she was a poor girl. And how bad that kind lady -must have felt when Arthur told her you would not let -him have your daughter.”</p> - -<p>“It is all past and done now, Rebecca, and no use -discussing it,” her brother said, restlessly.</p> - -<p>“I know—but I have just been wondering whether -you had changed your mind yet, seeing as they are both -single, and maybe anxious to make it up with each other.”</p> - -<p>“I have not changed my mind,” he answered, watching<span class="pagenum">[189]</span> -the loosened icicles drop crackling from the eaves, and -wishing she would change the subject.</p> - -<p>She went on sadly:</p> - -<p>“I would give anything to see poor Cinthy real happy -again like she was that night. I used to be too strict -with the child, I know, and I’ve repented it now. How -happy she might have been if she’d had such a mother as -Mrs. Varian, who would have spoiled and petted her as -mothers do, and made her life so bright. I tell you, Everard, -she is a good woman in spite of her pride. Our -minister says she is so good to the poor, and, besides, she -has given a thousand dollars to repair the church. He -told me he did not believe she was so proud and exclusive -as some people thought. He had called on her once, -and she was very kind and sweet in a way, but there was -something rather sad in her manner, or cynical, maybe, -as if she had some trouble and was not resigned to it.”</p> - -<p>Would she never get done talking on this (to her) most -interesting subject?</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn yawned impatiently, and answered -thoughtlessly:</p> - -<p>“Yes, she was always like that, generous to a fault, -noble at heart, charming, but jealous, passionate, unreasonable.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Everard, did you know her some time?” she -exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“I know a nun who did,” he answered curtly, getting -up from his seat, and adding: “Rebecca, it is about sunset, -and I will take a walk and a smoke before our early -tea.”</p> - -<p>Donning great-coat and hat, he hurried out-of-doors, -thinking:</p> - -<p>“If I had not got away from her chatter of Pauline<span class="pagenum">[190]</span> -Varian, I should have screamed out aloud like a nervous -woman, I verily believe.”</p> - -<p>He walked away in the dying glow of the rosy sunset -toward the little town, passing Idlewild, as he did daily, -and watched by eyes of which he little recked, for he was -too proud to glance toward her windows.</p> - -<p>Every day, with an angry pain, she had seen him pass -and she thanked fate there would be but one day more -of it, for the maid was well again now, though why she -should have watched him when she need not, no man -could have told, since the sex is rather obtuse on feminine -caprices.</p> - -<p>Why need she follow him with such straining gaze, she, -the proud, wealthy Mrs. Varian, admired of men, envied -of women, no less for her charms than her gifts of fortune? -She had everything life could give but happiness. -He—and she knew it—was but a poor lawyer, too careless -of fortune to woo her successfully, too weary of life to -find pleasure in it; not quite so blue-blooded as the -Varians, either, yet not a man to look down on, for nature -at least had been lavish of brains and beauty and stubborn -pride, not to mention an unenviable capacity for -suffering stolidly borne.</p> - -<p>In her heart she believed him weak and unstable and -scorned him accordingly; but as for him, he understood -her better than she did herself, yet never relaxed his resentment -over a cruel wrong, never contemplated forgiveness, -even if she should pray for it.</p> - -<p>Watching her carriage yesterday, as it dashed past -the steps where he had stood, he had recalled with grim -pain some fitting words:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[191]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“You walk the sunny side of fate,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">The wise world smiles and calls you great,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">The golden fruitage of success</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Drops at your feet in plenteousness;</div> - <div class="verse indent1">And you have blessings manifold,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Renown and power, and friends and gold,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">They build a wall between us twain</div> - <div class="verse indent1">That may not be thrown down again,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Alas! for I, the long time through,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">Have loved you better than you knew.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>It was no more pleasant for him than for her that they -should meet again, and he also was glad that to-morrow -would be the last day of it. His sister would be able -to travel then, and they would start for Florida.</p> - -<p>Since the maid’s sickness Mrs. Bowles had not come to -see Mrs. Flint any more. The occupants of the grand -mansion and the lofty cottage did not know they had each -planned for a flitting the same day, by the same train, -and to the same destination.</p> - -<p>They could not have believed that the grim fates would -have so mocked them, but yet, when Mrs. Varian and her -maid swept to their seats in the train that Thursday, -Everard Dawn and his party had already arrived, and -he had arranged the still weak invalid very comfortably -with the load of shawls and cushions carried by Rachel -Dane.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Varian, ignoring the passengers with her usual -queenly air, sunk to her seat in blissful unconsciousness, -and buried herself in her novel. Not for two hours did -she discover the identity of her traveling companions, because -at first she did not vouchsafe them even one curious -glance.</p> - -<p>Not so Everard Dawn, who had started in surprise and -perturbation at her first entrance.</p> - -<p>“The fates have made us traveling companions—not<span class="pagenum">[192]</span> -for the first time, but I pray Heaven for the last!” was -his grim thought.</p> - -<p>He was sitting some seats ahead, and he resolutely -turned his back to her, hoping not to disturb her peace by -the disclosure of her identity, and thinking it hardly possible -they should be fellow-travelers long. She was probably -going to Richmond or Washington.</p> - -<p>There were but few passengers, and they were very -quiet as the train rushed on through the dull gray afternoon. -Mrs. Flint, weary from the getting ready for the -journey, dozed fitfully among her cushions, and Rachel -Dane glued her face to the window-pane, and watched -the flying landscape. As for Everard Dawn, he looked -neither to the right nor left, but stared straight before -him in a brown study. Mrs. Varian’s maid amused herself -by studying the passengers, and discovered that some -of them belonged to the town they had just left, though -she did not suppose her haughty mistress would take any -interest in that fact.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXIV">CHAPTER XXXIV. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“THE WEIGHT OF CRUEL YEARS PILED INTO ONE LONG AGONY.”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Mrs. Varian read on and on until her eyes grew weary, -then closing them, she leaned back with a tired sigh, and -fell to musing.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the musings were not pleasant, for presently -she sighed deeply again, and raising her head began to -look around her in a listless way at the passengers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[193]</span></p> - -<p>She gave a violent start, and stared fixedly at the handsome -head and broad shoulders a few seats ahead.</p> - -<p>Could it be? Or was she dreaming? Surely those outlines -were too familiar for her to be mistaken.</p> - -<p>It was <em>he</em>! She saw him lean forward to answer the -women in the next seat. The outline of his handsome -profile was clear for a moment.</p> - -<p>She fell back almost stunned, secretly railing at her ill -fortune.</p> - -<p>Janetta, the maid, leaned forward from the back seat.</p> - -<p>“Do you wish anything, madame? You seem ill.”</p> - -<p>She whispered back:</p> - -<p>“Who are those people in front of us there?”</p> - -<p>“Some people from your own town, madame; a Mrs. -Flint, her brother, and her servant. The lady has been -sick, and I heard the conductor telling some one back -there that they were going South for her health.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” and Mrs. Varian shut her eyes and relapsed -into pallor and silence again.</p> - -<p>Janetta, good, faithful soul, watched her uneasily, feeling -she was not well.</p> - -<p>She was inwardly ill indeed—raging at the trick fate -had played on her this day.</p> - -<p>“To endure this thirty-six hours—the sight of him -whenever I open my eyes—it is impossible!” she said to -herself, in a sort of blank terror.</p> - -<p>Janetta touched her gently, whispering:</p> - -<p>“You are very pale—I hope not ill.”</p> - -<p>She could fancy that she was ghastly to evoke this -anxiety, so she answered:</p> - -<p>“I do not feel quite my usual self. I am thinking of not -going on to-night any further than Charlottesville, and resuming -our journey to-morrow, if I am better.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[194]</span></p> - -<p>“Perhaps that is the better plan,” the maid returned, -respectfully, though secretly rather disappointed at delaying -the journey.</p> - -<p>But she was used to her mistress and her capricious -notions. She had simply to obey.</p> - -<p>So when they reached the university town a little further -on, the mistress and maid left the train, to the great -relief of Everard Dawn, who thought:</p> - -<p>“I was right. She is <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en route</i> for Washington. She -will board the Northern train at this point. But how -lonely it seemed, just the two women traveling together. -I remember she used to be one of those dependent women, -always preferring a man’s escort. Arthur ought to be -with her now, poor Paulina!”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“Was not that Mrs. Varian leaving the train?”</p> - -<p>“I believe so,” he replied, carelessly; and then the brief -wait at the station being over, the train rushed on into -the deep gloom of twilight.</p> - -<p>It was scarcely a mile further on that, lying back with -shut eyes and confused thoughts that mostly centered -around the lonely figure of the woman just gone, he was -roused by a terrible roar, a jumble of horrible sound, -movement, and stifled shrieks of fear and pain, then consciousness -gave way, and he lay still and death-like under -the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">débris</i> of a dreadful railway wreck—a collision caused -by the misplacing of a switch.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Mrs. Varian revived out in the cold evening air, and -she congratulated herself on her lucky escape, as she and -Janetta sought the nearest hotel.</p> - -<p>They had supper, and went to their rooms, a luxurious -connecting suite.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[195]</span></p> - -<p>Mrs. Varian was nervous and hysterically gay, laughing -to herself at the clever <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">coup</i> by which she had outwitted -fate.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if he saw me—if he guessed why I left -the train—but perhaps he was glad of it,” she thought.</p> - -<p>She walked restlessly up and down the room, chafing -under a weight that seemed to rest like a pall on her spirits—a -weight of prescient gloom.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Varian, you are nervous. You ought to take -some drops and retire, or you will not be fit to resume -your journey in the morning,” the maid remonstrated, -when she had watched her restless movements some time -in silence.</p> - -<p>“You are right Janetta, and I will take your advice. I -should like to sleep, for my thoughts are not pleasant to-night,” -the lady returned, docilely.</p> - -<p>But sleep would not come to the heavy lids, for all she -tried to deceive Janetta by lying as still as a mouse, with -her cheek in the hollow of her little hand.</p> - -<p>Strange tears crept under the black-fringed lashes and -dampened the pillow. The maid caught a stifled sob.</p> - -<p>“Ah, madame, it is bad dreams you’re having!” she -murmured, stroking the dark head gently.</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes, bad dreams, Janetta.”</p> - -<p>“And no wonder, with the noise and confusion going -on down-stairs, tramping like horses the last ten minutes. -I can’t imagine what all the racket means, and if you don’t -object, madame, I’ll go down and ask the clerk to have the -noise stopped, so you may sleep better.”</p> - -<p>“You may go.”</p> - -<p>When Janetta was gone, she sat up in bed, throwing -her jeweled hands wildly about crying:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[196]</span></p> - -<p>“How I deceived that kind, faithful creature! I have -not slept a moment. I have been too wretched. There -is too great a weight on my heart—the whole weight of -cruel years piled into one wild agony to-night! Oh, death -were better than this pain!”</p> - -<p>Janetta was gone fully fifteen minutes before she returned, -pale, and tearfully excited, wringing her hands.</p> - -<p>“Oh, madame, you are still awake! Then thank God -for the lucky inspiration that came to you at Charlottesville -to leave the train! It was surely Heaven that -prompted you, for else we might now both be dead!”</p> - -<p>“Janetta!” wildly.</p> - -<p>“Oh, madame, the train was wrecked scarcely a mile -further on, and people were killed—some of them—others -were wounded, and may die! They are bringing them -back here—that was the noise we heard—the tramping of -feet that woke you. Oh, I have shocked you, breaking this -so abruptly; but I did not think, I was so excited. Pardon -me, dear lady. Of course there were none of your -friends, as all were strangers to us.”</p> - -<p>“All strangers!” gasped Mrs. Varian in a hollow voice, -with terror in her eyes, as she clung to Janetta’s soothing -hands.</p> - -<p>The excited maid ran on breathlessly:</p> - -<p>“Those people you noticed in front of us, madame—oh, -it was dreadful! The sick woman escaped unhurt, -but the servant was badly injured, and the man—Mr. -Dawn they say his name is—was killed outright.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[197]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXV">CHAPTER XXXV. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">CINTHIA’S BETROTHAL.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Arthur Varian was roused at midnight by the reception -of a startling telegram from his mother:</p> - -<p>“Everard Dawn fatally injured in a railway accident -here. Come at once, and bring Cinthia.”</p> - -<p>He staggered to a chair, groaning aloud!</p> - -<p>“So this is the sorrowful end!”</p> - -<p>Conquering an onrushing flood of painful emotion, -he sought Frederick Foster, and imparted the sad news.</p> - -<p>“Heavens, how shocking! And I had only a few hours -ago written to ask him for his daughter’s hand!” exclaimed -the young man.</p> - -<p>“Then Cinthia has accepted you!” Arthur cried, with -emotion.</p> - -<p>“Yes, only yesterday, and I intended to tell you to-morrow. -Can you wish me joy, old fellow?” inquired -Fred Foster, anxiously, for his cousin had made him -acquainted with all his sad past story, and he felt the -keenest sympathy with his unhappiness.</p> - -<p>Arthur held out a cordial hand.</p> - -<p>“It is good news to me—under the circumstances. -May you both be very happy!” he exclaimed, generously.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Arthur. I will do my part toward it,” -returned the young man, in a hopeful tone, adding: “We -had better go at once to Lodge Delight for Cinthia. I -will go with you to Virginia, and no doubt Madame Ray -will give us the comfort of her company.”</p> - -<p>“I shall beg her to do so,” said Arthur. “I am sure -she will not refuse, for my mother would be perhaps but<span class="pagenum">[198]</span> -a poor consoler in the hour of grief. Indeed, I am puzzled -to know how she and Mr. Dawn ever happened to -be together at Charlottesville, for they have always -avoided each other. But the mystery can not be solved -until we reach her side.”</p> - -<p>Making the most hasty preparations possible for leaving, -they set out for Lodge Delight, having first sent a -telegram to Mrs. Varian at Charlottesville, assuring her -that they would start at once.</p> - -<p>So expeditious were their movements, that before -daylight the four were on the train speeding to Virginia, -Madame Ray having gladly acceded to their request for -her company.</p> - -<p>“Of course I would not permit Cinthia to go alone to so -sad a scene as her father’s death-bed, poor dear!” she -said, with warm sympathy.</p> - -<p>Cinthia was shocked and grieved at the news of Everard -Dawn’s accident and impending death, but her grief -lacked the depth of a filial bereavement. Owing to her -strong resentment at his own coldness, the girl had never -felt the sentiment of love for him. If Madame Ray had -died she would have been inconsolable, but in the case of -her father she felt quite differently.</p> - -<p>She was shocked and pained, but she would have felt -almost as deeply over any well-known friend who had -met with such an accident. His death would not mean -any serious affliction to her. Indeed, when the first -shock was over, she remembered that perhaps now she -would never have to leave dear Madame Ray for another -home. True, in a moment of madness and resentment -at Arthur’s coldness, she had rashly consented to marry -his cousin, but she was not at all certain that she would -keep her promise.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[199]</span></p> - -<p>She had told him frankly that she admired and esteemed -him, but had no love to give. If he was willing to -wait, to give her time to cultivate a warmer feeling, she -would try her best to learn, and on these terms he based -their betrothal. To Cinthia herself it seemed as if she -must surely grow fond of him in time, he was so handsome, -so splendid, so devoted. She argued to herself -that in time her love for Arthur must surely be overcome -by her contempt for his weakness and cowardice that -had brought sorrow into both their lives.</p> - -<p>Yet, as she watched his pale and sorrowful face while -the train sped on its way, she felt a rush of painful tenderness -flooding her heart, while she wondered why he -was taking so much to heart the trouble that had fallen -on herself. Everard Dawn was nothing to him—nothing -except a man he had cause to dislike, because he had prevented -his marriage to his daughter—yet his pallor, his -sadness, his preoccupation were effects that might have -been produced by the death of a near relative.</p> - -<p>Cinthia, drooping in her seat, with a thick veil drawn -over her pallid face, could not keep her eyes from her -old lover, could not repress the rush of tenderness that -made her heart ache.</p> - -<p>She would have liked—she, the promised bride of Frederick -Foster—to have thrown her arms about Arthur -Varian’s neck, pressed her pale cheek to his, and whispered -in the passion of her womanly love:</p> - -<p>“Why are you so pale, so sad, my best beloved? Is -it for me? Has Frederick told you that I have promised -to marry him, and are you grieved? Perhaps the -old love is not dead yet in your heart, perhaps it cries -for me in the dead of night as my heart for you. Oh,<span class="pagenum">[200]</span> -is it too late to go back, to thrust aside everything but the -imperious demands of our love, and be happy yet?”</p> - -<p>A sudden wild thought yet came to her and made her -heart leap:</p> - -<p>“Only let me find my father yet alive, and he shall -explain the mystery of his opposition to my marriage with -Arthur. She, too, is there, Arthur’s mother, who for the -sake of her hatred of my father and mother was willing -to wreck our happiness forever. Who knows but that -when both are dead, both my mother and father, her cruel -revenge may be satiated so that she may be willing to let -love have its way.”</p> - -<p>It would have startled Frederick Foster, who hovered -near her with eager attentions, to find how little part -he had in her thoughts and dreams, for a faint trembling -hope had come to her heart that perhaps the death of her -father might have some effect on her relations with -Arthur, might possibly restore them to happiness.</p> - -<p>Arthur, meanwhile, knowing the futility of all hope in -Cinthia’s direction, gave himself up to unrestrained -melancholy, in which blended considerable curiosity as -to how it happened that his mother and Mr. Dawn had -been together at Charlottesville.</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn, who had an aversion to letter-writing, -corresponded but infrequently with his daughter, hence -had left her in ignorance of the date of his return from -California.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Varian, on the other hand, had not apprised her -son of her suddenly decided upon journey to Florida.</p> - -<p>So he could only nurse his wonder and melancholy -together while looking back in a painful retrospection -over the tangled web of what had been and what might -have been, those “saddest of all sad words.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[201]</span></p> - -<p>There was a silent prayer in his heart, too, that Everard -Dawn might survive till he reached his bedside, so -that some last words might be said between them, some -news be told, and perhaps some death-bed revelations -be made to Cinthia.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXVI">CHAPTER XXXVI. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">AN OBSTINATE WOMAN.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Janetta, the indiscreet maid, would never forget the -night when she blurted out the news of the railway wreck -to her ailing mistress and sent her into that long, deathly -swoon.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Varian was not in the habit of fainting, and it -gave Janetta a terrible scare, especially when the usual -simple remedies failed to revive the unconscious lady.</p> - -<p>Pale as a marble figure, her pallor heightened by the -loosened tresses of raven hair and the inky lashes lying -heavily against her cheek, she lay among the pillows, and -though Janetta tried frantically first one thing and then -another, no breath stirred the pulseless bosom of her -mistress.</p> - -<p>She ran down-stairs for a doctor, but every medico in -the neighborhood had been summoned to the relief of -the victims of the wreck. She could get no assistance for -an hour, except that of terrified women.</p> - -<p>Among them they succeeded in rousing her momentarily -to a consciousness of the situation; but almost as -soon as her dark eyes opened, she closed them again, -murmuring mournfully:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[202]</span></p> - -<p>“Let me die.”</p> - -<p>And the remembrance of her trouble sent her immediately -off into another spell almost as long as the -first one.</p> - -<p>The frightened and sympathetic women helped -Janetta with all their skill and knowledge, until in about -half an hour they saw Mrs. Varian’s breast heave faintly -and her eyelids flutter.</p> - -<p>“She’s coming to again, thank the Lord!” sobbed -Janetta. “Now one of you women step in the next -room and ask that doctor in there trying to bring a dead -man to life to come in here and help us, and if he won’t -come, to send me word how to stop her from going off -again as soon as she opens her eyes and remembers.”</p> - -<p>The house-maid went, and the housekeeper said:</p> - -<p>“The man looked dead to me, but that doctor thought -it might be temporary unconsciousness, and won’t leave -off trying to save him till he’s sure. But, la! his leg was -broke, and there’s a cut on the head—concussion of the -brain, maybe, so the doctor said. It’s a pity for the -poor man. He was a beauty of a fellow.”</p> - -<p>“Wonder who he was?” observed another, while Mrs. -Varian’s breathing grew more pronounced, and her dark -eyes opened eagerly, as the housekeeper replied:</p> - -<p>“His sister was with him—an old lady that didn’t get -hurt at all, though her servant did. She said his name -was Dawn.”</p> - -<p>There was a faint, strangled gasp from the bed, and -at that moment the physician entered the room.</p> - -<p>“Oh, doctor, that poor man! did he ever come to?” -eagerly inquired one of the women.</p> - -<p>He answered in his quiet, professional tone:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[203]</span></p> - -<p>“Yes; he recovered consciousness ten minutes ago; -but I almost fear I had as well have let him go without -disturbing his peace. He is more than likely fatally injured.”</p> - -<p>Then he turned his attention to the patient, almost -starting in alarm at the preternaturally solemn look of the -great, wide open dark eyes.</p> - -<p>But if he had but known it, his first words had been -more potent than medicine in aiding her recovery.</p> - -<p>“You have received a great shock, and I must immediately -quiet your nerves,” he said, as his cool, steady -fingers touched her pulse.</p> - -<p>“Bend lower. I must speak to you,” she murmured, -faintly.</p> - -<p>He stooped down, and she whispered:</p> - -<p>“Send away all but my maid.”</p> - -<p>He looked around, and repeated:</p> - -<p>“It is better for all these kind friends to withdraw -now, as my patient will need absolute quiet. Her maid, -of course, will remain.”</p> - -<p>They all stole away very quietly, and he began to prepare -a soothing potion for his strangely beautiful patient.</p> - -<p>He was startled when she murmured:</p> - -<p>“Doctor, you may give me something to strengthen -me, but I will not take an opiate.”</p> - -<p>“But, my dear lady—” he began, only to be interrupted -by a feeble but resolute voice:</p> - -<p>“No buts, my dear doctor, for my maid here can tell -you that no one ever disputes my will. I must be -strengthened, I tell you, for in a few minutes I shall go -into the next room to visit your fatally injured patient.<span class="pagenum">[204]</span> -He is an old—friend—of mine, and I shall get you to -send a telegram for me summoning his relations to his -death-bed.”</p> - -<p>“His sister is here,” he replied, pressing to her lips the -strengthening draught she demanded.</p> - -<p>She swallowed it, sighed and replied:</p> - -<p>“There are others, sir—a daughter for one, and—but, -Janetta, bring pencil and paper, and copy what I -dictate.”</p> - -<p>With wonderful strength and self-command for one -recovering from such a seizure, she dictated the message -that Arthur received the same night.</p> - -<p>“Doctor, can you have this sent at once?” she inquired.</p> - -<p>He replied dubiously:</p> - -<p>“I will do so as soon as possible, but the telegraph line -is very busy. There are seven victims.”</p> - -<p>“Poor souls!—this must go at once at any cost. Do -you hear, doctor? Send it at once if it costs a little fortune! -They are so far away, his friends—and what if -they come—too late!” her proud voice breaking.</p> - -<p>“I will do my best—and as for you, madame, I advise -you to rest quietly in your bed all night, or I will not -answer for the consequences to your outraged nerves.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you, sir, I will get up and go to that dying man -at whatever cost to myself.”</p> - -<p>“What an imperious woman!” he thought, and answered -aloud:</p> - -<p>“At least lie here until I send off the telegram and -bring you news of my patient.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me first, is there any immediate prospect of his -death?” shudderingly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[205]</span></p> - -<p>“None that I could see. There is a fracture of the -left leg and a cut on his head. Unless there are internal -injuries, he might stand a chance, a bare chance, for recovery, -but that long syncope was so alarming that I -have scarcely any hope of saving him.”</p> - -<p>“I will rest here till you return, doctor, then I must -go to him. I tell you no one shall prevent me. I knew -him long ago. My duty is by his side now.”</p> - -<p>He saw by her frantic obstinacy that there was more -beneath the surface than her words revealed. To oppose -her would be quite useless.</p> - -<p>So he said, assentingly:</p> - -<p>“It shall be as you wish, and perhaps his sister will be -glad of your help. She is a feeble old woman, sadly -shaken by the shock. But at least lie quiet till my return, -perfectly quiet, please.”</p> - -<p>“I will,” she replied, reluctantly enough; and when he -was gone, she turned toward Janetta, saying:</p> - -<p>“This wounded man, Mr. Dawn, was a dear friend of -my youth, and for the sake of past days, we must help -his sister to nurse him till his daughter comes—or till -he dies,” shudderingly again.</p> - -<p>Janetta replied with secret amazement:</p> - -<p>“I will do my best, madame, and I have been counted -a skillful nurse, but I think you are quite too ill to leave -your room—at least till to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“I am stronger than you think. My will-power will -help me through,” replied the obstinate lady; and then she -asked Janetta to dim the light and throw a gauze handkerchief -over her face.</p> - -<p>Janetta obeyed, then lay down on a sofa to watch and<span class="pagenum">[206]</span> -wait for the doctor’s return. She pretended to be asleep, -thinking that this would suit her mistress best.</p> - -<p>Soon she heard low, stifled sobs from beneath the tiny -handkerchief, and guessed that an hysterical mood had -followed on Mrs. Varian’s startling illness and agitation.</p> - -<p>It was remarkable for Mrs. Varian—the proud, the -cold, the imperious woman—but Janetta knew it was best -to take no notice and attempt no soothing. The icy crust -of years was broken up at last, and tears must have their -way. They were the greatest panacea for hidden grief. -But the alert maid said to herself:</p> - -<p>“Such grief is not for an old friend simply. Doubtless -he was once her lover. Then estrangement followed -and broke their vows. I remember now that she became -ill on the train at the sight of him, and abruptly changed -her mind, getting off here to spend the night. Well, the -Lord’s hand was in it, for we might have been killed -had we stayed on the train,” she concluded, without stopping -to ask herself why she and Mrs. Varian should have -been of so much more value to the world than others that -He should have taken special care to save their lives.</p> - -<p>It touched her deeply to hear that stifled sobbing, and -she longed to speak some comforting words; but she knew -it was not best, but lay still till the passion exhausted -itself and Mrs. Varian was passive once more awaiting -the doctor’s return.</p> - -<p>It was an hour before he returned, and said:</p> - -<p>“I have succeeded in sending off the telegram, and -I find Mr. Dawn in a comatose state from which nothing -perhaps can rouse him till to-morrow. It would be quite -useless your going to him.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[207]</span></p> - -<p>“Yet, doctor, I must look upon his face to-night!” -And she raised herself in bed, throwing out beseeching -hands.</p> - -<p>“I will wait then in the corridor for you and your -maid,” he replied, withdrawing.</p> - -<p>Janetta quickly attired her mistress in a comfortable -robe, and gathered her dark, streaming tresses into a -loose knot. Giving her the support of her arm, she led -her out to the old doctor, who quickly came forward to -meet them.</p> - -<p>“I have just sent the sister—old Mrs. Flint—to bed, -as she will not be needed now,” he said, leading Mrs. -Varian into his patient’s room.</p> - -<p>She needed his arm, for she trembled like a leaf in a -gale. All her pride was trampled in the dust by the love -of old days that rushed over her like a storm, laying -waste all the barriers that anger and scorn had raised -between her heart and the man lying there so deathly -white and still, as if hovering Death had already claimed -him for his victim.</p> - -<p>Doctor Deane drew forward a large arm-chair to the -side of the bed, placed Mrs. Varian in it, and abruptly -withdrew, beckoning Janetta to follow.</p> - -<p>“You may wait outside the door while I go in to see -another patient. I think the lady would prefer to be alone -for a time,” he said; for he also had his suspicions of -something uncommon in the past of his two strange -patients.</p> - -<p>He was right. Mrs. Varian was glad at last to be -alone with Everard Dawn.</p> - -<p>She gazed with despairing eyes at his bandaged head, -silent, pallid lips and closed blue eyes.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[208]</span></p> - -<p>She bent her haughty head and pressed her fevered -lips on the cold white hand that lay outside the cover, -murmuring passionate words:</p> - -<p>“Oh, Everard, it is Pauline! Do you not know it is -Pauline? Oh, do not die without one word to me, one -word of love and pity—you who used to love me so! Is -all the old love dead? Oh, you wronged me bitterly, -Everard, but I can not hate you any longer. The old love -rises in me like an ice-bound stream released by the sunlight, -and drowns me in its overflow. Oh, Everard, my -loved and lost!”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXVII">CHAPTER XXXVII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">BEYOND FORGIVENESS.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Janetta, close against the door outside, caught low, passionate -murmurs from within in her mistress’s voice, and -guessed that she was pouring out her heart’s wild grief -in the insensate ears of the unconscious man. It was -pitiful, and tears overflowed Janetta’s eyes.</p> - -<p>For some time the low murmuring continued, then all -grew still as death.</p> - -<p>She waited awhile, then fearful that the lady had -fainted again, opened the door and went softly in.</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn lay still and silent, just faintly breathing, -as before, and Mrs. Varian’s dark head was bent -down, resting upon the patient’s hand.</p> - -<p>She motioned Janetta to her side, saying, gently:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[209]</span></p> - -<p>“You may share my vigil, Janetta, and because I know -this seems strange to you, I will confide in you. We loved -each other very dearly once, this man and I, but a wicked -woman came between us and wrecked my happiness. I -tried to hate him, but now that he is dying, the old love -rises in me again, and my heart is breaking.”</p> - -<p>That was all; but she knew she was sure of the other -woman’s sympathy.</p> - -<p>Janetta might marvel at the utter breaking down of the -proudest woman she had ever known, but she would love -her better for her constancy and her womanly tenderness.</p> - -<p>So they kept their lonely vigils by the sufferer, who for -twenty-four hours gave no sign of knowing aught, until -they began to fear that he would pass into the other world -without a sign or token to those left on earth.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint had been told that an old friend of her -brother would help to nurse him; but when she saw that -it was Mrs. Varian, she was filled with secret wonder -that found expression in the words:</p> - -<p>“He never told me that he knew you, madame; but -I do not see how he could have forgotten one like you.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Varian smiled with transient bitterness, but made -no reply to the frank compliment, only showing her appreciation -of it by simple, unaffected kindness to the -grieving sister.</p> - -<p>The night and the day wore away, and in the early dusk -of the December eve Everard Dawn suddenly opened his -eyes with full consciousness in them, and met the eager -glance of large, dark, sorrowful orbs.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Everard, it is I—<em>Paulina</em>! Do you know me?” -she murmured, prayerfully.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[210]</span></p> - -<p>In a broken whisper, he answered:</p> - -<p>“I know you.”</p> - -<p>Then his eyes closed again, and with a stifled sob, Mrs. -Varian sent Janetta to tell the doctor.</p> - -<p>He hastened to his side, delighted to find that his -patient had rallied; but he whispered to the anxious -watcher:</p> - -<p>“I do not dare bid you hope anything from this. The -case is most uncertain.”</p> - -<p>She bowed her head in silence; but from that moment -not a movement of the invalid passed unwatched.</p> - -<p>He had recovered his consciousness, but the doctor saw -in him as yet no certain chance of recovery. He was -very still and quiet, speaking only when addressed, and -lying always with half-closed eyes that seemed to notice -nothing. At times they opened wider and followed Mrs. -Varian’s movements about the room, but he did not permit -her to surprise that scrutiny.</p> - -<p>She was tender, but very timid, scarcely daring to offer -the least attention, lest it be repulsed. There rang in her -memory always some words he had uttered long ago:</p> - -<p>“Paulina, you have put upon me an unmerited disgrace -and a cruel wrong. I will never forgive you as long as -I live!”</p> - -<p>Again, in the garden at Idlewild, three years ago, he -had said to her most bitterly:</p> - -<p>“Do not think I have come to forgive you!”</p> - -<p>She had never forgotten the bitterness of those words. -They dazed her, too, for in her own opinion she had been -the only wronged one, he the transgressor.</p> - -<p>He was going out of life now, and she read in his -silence that he would keep his word, that for the grievance -he cherished he would not grant forgiveness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[211]</span></p> - -<p>Neither would he plead with her for pardon for the -wrong that he had done.</p> - -<p>It was a cruel position for both, and she felt that he -only endured her presence for cold pity’s sake, while -secretly wishing her away.</p> - -<p>“God help me. I can not bear to leave him!” she -thought, despairingly.</p> - -<p>The next morning the travelers from Florida arrived.</p> - -<p>Cinthia and her aunt had a most affecting meeting, -though it was the elder woman who broke down and -forced the other to tears.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Cinthy, you never loved him as I did! You never -knew him at his best—before sorrow came to him and -spoiled his nature,” she sobbed.</p> - -<p>Cinthia could only weep.</p> - -<p>“It is not my fault that I was lacking in sympathy. -I was never told of his troubles.”</p> - -<p>“He did not wish for you to know, dear, lest your -young life should be saddened more than it was already.”</p> - -<p>“Dear aunt, I am very sorry for him, and grieved to -see you looking so pale and thin. Tell me how all this -came about,” pleaded Cinthia. And while they are exchanging -confidences, we will return to Arthur and his -mother.</p> - -<p>She had gone to her room to receive him alone, and he -clasped her tenderly in his arms.</p> - -<p>“Poor mother!” he sighed, with deep compassion, and -then they sat down and talked awhile together.</p> - -<p>“I have one pleasant piece of news for you. Cinthia -and Fred are engaged,” he said.</p> - -<p>“I am glad of it—under the circumstances,” she replied,<span class="pagenum">[212]</span> -exactly as he had replied to Frederick’s announcement -of the betrothal.</p> - -<p>She mused silently a moment, then added:</p> - -<p>“It will be good news for her father. He can die -easier.”</p> - -<p>“You are sure that he must die, dear mother?”</p> - -<p>“You will not doubt it when you see him, Arthur; and -the physician does not hold out any hope, though he -thinks that the end may be lingering.”</p> - -<p>She spoke with the steady calmness of despair, and -her son looked at her with uneasy eyes, wondering how -she felt, how she was bearing it.</p> - -<p>Perhaps she read his thoughts, for she said quickly:</p> - -<p>“Go to him as soon as you can, dear. Perhaps it may -give him some pleasure to see you by him now. Be kind -and tender—for the sake of old days.”</p> - -<p>“And you, mother?”</p> - -<p>“I have done what I could—for duty’s sake.”</p> - -<p>“Only for that?” he wondered, but dared not ask, and -soon left her to seek Mr. Dawn.</p> - -<p>Between the two there was a touching greeting—a -strange one for two men who could only be supposed to -harbor resentment against each other.</p> - -<p>Arthur was not ashamed to shed tears when he saw -that helpless form and pallid face with the bandaged head. -His voice trembled while he talked, and Mr. Dawn’s replies -were low and gentle.</p> - -<p>“I have kept very quiet. I have saved my strength -till you and Cinthia came. I felt I would have much to -bear then,” he said feebly.</p> - -<p>Arthur answered, hopefully:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[213]</span></p> - -<p>“I have good news for you. Cinthia has promised to -marry my cousin Frederick Foster. Perhaps she might -bear to know our secret now.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps so,” he replied, with a heavy sigh; and just -then the door opened softly again, admitting Mrs. Flint -with his daughter and Madame Ray.</p> - -<p>Arthur drew aside and returned to his mother, who -was still alone, having sent Janetta to help with the -wounded woman just across the hall—Rachel Dane.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Varian clung to her son, whispering wildly:</p> - -<p>“Tell me what brought her here, that beautiful Madame -Ray? Is she aught to him?”</p> - -<p>“His daughter’s friend—nothing more, dear mother.”</p> - -<p>“Are you sure—quite sure? For Frederick hinted -once that Cinthia wished them to marry. And she is so -charming—perhaps he loves her, Arthur?” jealously.</p> - -<p>“No, mother, they are nothing but friends. Her heart -is in the grave. Come, let me tell you her sad, touching -story.”</p> - -<p>He drew her to a seat, and went over the sad details -Madame Ray had given him in Florida, drawing bright -tears from his mother’s eyes.</p> - -<p>Then some one knocked on the door. It was Doctor -Deane.</p> - -<p>“I have been with my patient, Mr. Dawn,” he said, -“and the coming of his daughter has greatly excited -him, causing an improvement for the time, though how -long it may last I can not say. It seems as if there is -something on his mind that he wishes to communicate before -he dies, and he begs you and your son to join him -at once with the others.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[214]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXVIII">CHAPTER XXXVIII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">HER SIDE OF THE STORY.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Everard Dawn’s haggard eyes marked the entrance of -the doctor and the Varians, and he said feebly:</p> - -<p>“Are you all here, Cinthia, Arthur, his mother, my -sister, and my kind friend, Madame Ray?”</p> - -<p>“They are all here,” Doctor Deane replied; and Everard -Dawn continued:</p> - -<p>“I should like Mr. Foster to be present, too—and Mrs. -Varian’s maid. She may need her ministrations in a -trying scene. You, too, doctor, I would like to have stay -if you can bear the disclosure of family secrets.”</p> - -<p>The old doctor answered, genially:</p> - -<p>“I have no wish to pry into family secrets, but it is -best that I should stay, that I may render assistance -should you overtax your feeble powers.”</p> - -<p>They brought Frederick Foster and Janetta, and there -were eight of them forming a curious, anxious group -about the bed.</p> - -<p>Across the hall, gasping for breath, and tossing restlessly -from side to side in the pain of internal injuries, -was a woman who would have taken as great an interest -as any in the novel scene transpiring so close to her; but -no one gave her a single thought, no one supposed that -the humble servant, Rachel Dane, could have taken any -interest in the event, much less have thrown a light on<span class="pagenum">[215]</span> -the dark mystery that had saddened several hopeful lives. -Everything had been so closely guarded that little of it -had come to her knowledge. Janetta had told her that -Mr. Dawn’s daughter and her friends had come, that was -all.</p> - -<p>The suffering woman had a lively interest to see Cinthia, -whom she had nursed as a little child, and of whom -her aunt had talked so much, but she knew that her -curiosity must bide the proper time.</p> - -<p>A house-maid had come in just now, and said:</p> - -<p>“Janetta, you are wanted in Mr. Dawn’s room. I will -stay here until you come back.”</p> - -<p>Janetta went as bidden, and stationed herself at the -back of the arm-chair where her mistress was sitting, -close to the bed.</p> - -<p>Then Everard Dawn exclaimed, clearly:</p> - -<p>“Paulina!”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Varian gave a convulsive start and looked fearfully -at the speaker.</p> - -<p>His blue eyes met hers full with a commanding expression, -as he continued:</p> - -<p>“Paulina, in meeting my daughter here on my dying -bed she has demanded to know the details of the feud -as she believes it, that shadowed so darkly the last three -years of her young life. Once I would have died to shield -her from such sorrow, but now she declares that certainty -of sorrow is better than the pangs of suspense. She demands<span class="pagenum">[216]</span> -the truth. It is our bitter duty to yield to her -desires.”</p> - -<p>A hushed murmur of surprise went around the group, -and Cinthia buried her face on Madame Ray’s bosom.</p> - -<p>She had indeed pleaded with her father for the truth, -and he had promised to gratify her wish, though she -wondered why he added:</p> - -<p>“There was indeed a terrible reason why you could -not marry Arthur, my dear child, and it would have -killed you at first to know it, but now that you love another -man, and are engaged to marry him, you will not -mind so much.”</p> - -<p>They had startled her strangely, those words, and she -hung tremblingly on every sentence that fell now from her -father’s lips, and before she hid her pallid face she had -seen Arthur draw his chair close to his mother’s side—the -mother he loved so dearly still, though she had parted -him so cruelly from his beautiful betrothed.</p> - -<p>Again Everard Dawn breathed through pallid, pain-drawn -lips:</p> - -<p>“All I ask of you, Paulina, is that you shall tell your -side of our marriage and divorce. I will follow with my -version of the story.”</p> - -<p>The listeners could scarcely express outcries of surprise.</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn had revealed to them all in one brief -sentence a totally unsuspected fact.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[217]</span></p> - -<p>Mrs. Varian, the wealthy, beautiful, haughty woman, -was his divorced wife.</p> - -<p>Cinthia trembled with surprise, and clung closer to -her loving friend, who thought quickly.</p> - -<p>“My suspicions and forebodings are about to be verified. -Alas, poor Cinthia!”</p> - -<p>Arthur Varian drew his arm about his mother, whispering -to her of courage in this trying hour, begging her -to gratify the sick man’s request.</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn waited a moment, then added:</p> - -<p>“You may make the story as short as you please, only -let it come from your own lips.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Varian lifted her head with something of her old -haughty pride, and looked at Cinthia where she drooped -against her friend’s breast, but her voice was slightly -tremulous as she began:</p> - -<p>“When I first met your father, Cinthia, he was a rising -young lawyer employed by my father to attend to some -complicated business matters. Our acquaintance ripened -into love, and he became a suitor for my hand against my -father’s wishes. But as my lover’s only fault was poverty -and we were rich, I soon persuaded papa to withdraw -his objections. So we were married.”</p> - -<p>She paused and sighed, and every one heard Everard -Dawn re-echo that sigh heavily.</p> - -<p>“Go on, dear,” whispered Arthur, encouragingly, with -an anxious look at Cinthia.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[218]</span></p> - -<p>“We were very happy, for my husband seemed a model of -manly perfection,” continued Mrs. Varian. “We lived -in Florida with my dear father, who made Everard the -manager of all his investments, thus insuring him independence -of my fortune, for he was very proud and impatient -of being thought a fortune-hunter. Arthur was -born when I had been married one year, and until he was -four years old I was the happiest woman on earth.”</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn gave her a sudden bright look that she -did not perceive, as if grateful for those words.</p> - -<p>Again sighing, she continued:</p> - -<p>“Then a dark shadow fell over Love’s Retreat—the -shadow of a beautiful young girl, the daughter of a -former client of my husband. She arrived suddenly at -our home one day, bearing a letter from her father who -had recently died. In it he commended the girl—Gladys -Lowe—to the guardianship of my husband, begging that -he would keep her at his home till she married. To be -brief, her father’s property dwindled to nothing when it -came to be settled up, leaving her penniless on our hands—a -charge I would most generously have undertaken -but for the predilection Miss Lowe immediately manifested -for my husband, driving me wild with her kittenish -coquetries, for she was very charming, with abundant -tawny locks and effective hazel eyes, that were always -fixed on Everard with a passion she could not disguise. -The Varians are charged with being jealous people, and I -do not deny it; I feared she would win my husband with<span class="pagenum">[219]</span> -her blandishments, and I imperiously demanded of him -that he send Miss Lowe away.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXIX">CHAPTER XXXIX. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">A MORTAL WOUND.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Every one in the room was listening with suppressed -excitement to Mrs. Varian’s story, every eye was fixed -on her mortally pale face, so deathlike in its pallor save -for the great Oriental dark eyes burning like coals of fire.</p> - -<p>Cinthia had grown ghastly, too, as she rested in the -clasp of Madame Ray’s arm, taking no heed of her handsome -betrothed on the other side, hovering near to console -her in the terrible revelation soon coming.</p> - -<p>The lady paused, drew her breath in sharply, like one -in pain, and resumed:</p> - -<p>“I could not bring my husband to believe in the sincerity -of my objections to his ward. He first laughed at -my jealousy, then upbraided me with my injustice to a -homeless orphan girl. He could not send her away penniless -into the world, for he had been under obligations to -her father, in whose office he had gained his first law -practice. He begged me to have patience and charity -toward Miss Lowe until her superior attractions should -win her a husband. Heaven knows I was never lacking -in Christian charity toward any unfortunate person, but<span class="pagenum">[220]</span> -Gladys Lowe was not a good girl. A flirt to her fingertips, -and totally without principle or conscience, she discovered -my jealousy and played on it cleverly, augmenting -it by cunning schemes that my husband never suspected, -and that I, in my bitter pride and jealousy, never betrayed -to him. So matters went on for a year, and in -that interval of time I several times surprised my husband -in compromising situations with his ward. By my -father’s advice, I ordered her to leave my house, and -there was a stormy scene.</p> - -<p>“Miss Lowe threw shame to the winds. She refused -to go, and taunted me with having won my husband from -me. I threatened to sue him for divorce, naming her as -co-respondent. She retorted that it was what they both -wished, in order that he might obtain his freedom to -marry her. Without a word to my husband—for we -had long been estranged through our differences over -her—I left my home, taking my little son, and accompanied -by my father, who fully sympathized with my -grievances and despised the authors of my unhappiness. -I then carried out my threat of suing my husband for -divorce, implicating Miss Lowe. To cut the story short, -my husband fought against the divorce; but his shameless -ward helped it on by every art in her power, never -denying the charges against her; and it was soon granted, -giving me the custody of our son and the liberty to resume -my maiden name. Mr. Dawn removed from Florida -to Georgia, where Miss Lowe followed him, and<span class="pagenum">[221]</span> -within a few months he married her, thus proving his -falsity to me.”</p> - -<p>Her story was ended, and she leaned her head back -against Arthur’s shoulder, closing her eyes to shut out -the sight of the surprised and pitying faces to whom -she had just confessed the story of her life’s humiliation.</p> - -<p>“Bravely done, dear mother!” whispered Arthur, with -a gentle kiss on her cold cheek.</p> - -<p>“It is my turn now,” said Everard Dawn, with a -heavy sigh, and Doctor Deane rejoined:</p> - -<p>“I can not permit you to talk very long, my dear -patient.”</p> - -<p>“It will not be necessary, sir, for Mrs. Varian has -saved me the trouble of a long explanation. What she -has related is perfectly true on the face of it, but behind -the tragedy of our divorce lie the actual facts of the -terrible mistakes of a jealous woman and a heedless man -too secure of his great happiness to guard it close -enough.”</p> - -<p>A great thrill ran through the listeners, as he continued:</p> - -<p>“I hold myself to blame that I was impatient of my -wife’s jealousy, and laughed at her fears that Miss Lowe -was trying to win my heart. I pitied my ward for her -orphanage and poverty, and I was too generous to believe -that she was aught but a joyous-hearted girl whose -little kittenish coquetries amounted to nothing. I was -simply blind, besides being inordinately proud and passionately -resentful of my wife’s unjust suspicions. I loved<span class="pagenum">[222]</span> -her to idolatry, and her lack of faith angered me. I carried -everything with too high a hand, perhaps, but I did -not dream to what lengths the affair was going.”</p> - -<p>Doctor Deane interposed gently:</p> - -<p>“You are exhausting your strength by too long a discourse.”</p> - -<p>“Doctor, what difference can it make to a dying man -whether his little stock of strength is exhausted sooner -or later?” wearily.</p> - -<p>“Go on then; but be brief.”</p> - -<p>“I found out too late,” continued Everard Dawn, “that -Miss Lowe was different from what I thought. She had -indeed conceived a mad love for me that had driven her -to desperate lengths to win me. It is true that she followed -me to Georgia, true that I married her, but only -because of her passionate pleadings and assertions that -through my wife’s jealousy her character had been ruined. -I gave her the shelter of my name, but, God forgive me, -I hated her as long as she lived, and could not help rejoicing -when she was dead. I obtained a position as a -commercial traveler, so that I could spend most of my -time away from her side, so her victory was a poor one -after all, for she had wrecked two lives without gaining -any happiness for herself. As for the rest, I affirm now -on my death-bed and on my hopes of heaven, that Gladys -Lowe and I were as innocent of wrong-doing before my -divorce as the purest angel. She was wicked enough to<span class="pagenum">[223]</span> -make my wife believe it, through her jealousy so easily -imposed on, but she was not guilty, so help me Heaven!”</p> - -<p>He paused, and there rose a stifled cry of bitter anguish. -It came from Cinthia’s ghastly lips as the cruel -truth began to dawn on her bewildered brain.</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn looked at her pityingly, and said:</p> - -<p>“Ah, Cinthia, you understand it all now. She was -your mother. Perhaps you will not blame me now that -I failed in love to you, that I forgot my duty to you in -resentment at what you represented—the wicked love of -a woman who wrecked my life in parting me from all -that made it dear.”</p> - -<p>A low moan came from her blanched lips and Arthur -Varian left his mother’s side and approached her with -leaden-weighted feet and a look as of death’s agony in -his fixed blue eyes. He took her hand, and said, hollowly:</p> - -<p>“Cinthia, you understand it all now, but you will not -mind it, I know, because Fred is going to make you very -happy, my dear little <em>sister</em>.”</p> - -<p>No one in that room ever forgot the white agony of -Cinthia Dawn’s face as she sprung to her feet, with outstretched -arms, quivering all over as if a bullet had pierced -her heart, pushing Arthur away as if his hand had given -the mortal wound.</p> - -<p>“Oh, God, let me die!” she shrieked, in her despair, -and sunk senseless in Madame Ray’s arms.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[224]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XL">CHAPTER XL. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">A LATE REPENTANCE.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Doctor Deane feared that all that excitement must hurt -his patient very much, so he cleared the room as soon -as possible, letting no one stay but Mrs. Flint and himself.</p> - -<p>She, poor old lady, was terribly shocked at hearing the -full story of her brother’s life, having only known a few -hazy details before.</p> - -<p>But she pulled herself together the best she could, and -hung tenderly over the bedside, chafing her brother’s cold -hands, and murmuring:</p> - -<p>“Poor Everard! how cruelly you have been wronged, -and how sad your life has been! If I had known all the -truth, I could never have blamed you for neglecting -Cinthy, though it is a pity, for a sweeter girl never lived, -I am sure. She can not have inherited her disposition -from her wicked mother.”</p> - -<p>He looked at her kindly, but he was too exhausted by -all he had endured to answer, but lay, pale and gasping, -among the pillows, while the doctor busied himself with -restoratives.</p> - -<p>“All this excitement has been very bad for him, and -he must have quiet and sleep the rest of the day,” he said -uneasily, before he went out to see after his other patients.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[225]</span></p> - -<p>They had carried Cinthia to her own room, where -Madame Ray hung over her with tearful devotion excluding -every one else, even her anxious betrothed, who -hung about in most disconsolate fashion.</p> - -<p>Janetta returned to her watch by Rachel Dane, and -Arthur accompanied his mother to her own apartments, -mastering his own agitation in his tenderness for her -trouble.</p> - -<p>“You will lie down and rest, dear mother, or you will -be ill after this fatiguing ordeal,” he pleaded.</p> - -<p>She was pacing restlessly up and down the floor, a -picture of nervous suffering painful to gaze upon. Pausing -in the center of the room, her white, jeweled fingers -locked together as if in pain, she looked at him with -burning eyes, crying wildly:</p> - -<p>“Oh, Arthur, how can I rest, how can I sleep? <em>He</em> is -dying, and I—I am full of doubt and terror! Awakened -conscience daunts me. Have I wronged him or not? Is -he innocent, or is he guilty?”</p> - -<p>“Mother you heard him swear to his innocence by all -his hopes of heaven!”</p> - -<p>“He swore to it before, Arthur, on the day when I -sued him for divorce. He came to me swearing his innocence, -pleading for mercy. I turned from him in anger, -refusing to believe him, scorning all his prayers.”</p> - -<p>“How could you be so hard, mother?”</p> - -<p>“I was mad with wounded love and jealousy. I had -let that fiendish girl destroy, with cunning arts, all my<span class="pagenum">[226]</span> -faith in him. Besides, my father was against him. He -feared he had married me for my wealth alone.”</p> - -<p>“Poor mother, how you were tortured! No wonder -you made such a fatal mistake.”</p> - -<p>“Arthur, Arthur,” her voice rang out wildly, “you -believe that it was a mistake?”</p> - -<p>He came up to her, put his hands on her shoulders, -and looked at her earnestly, tenderly.</p> - -<p>“Mother, must I tell you frankly what I believe, what -I have believed in my soul ever since my first interview -with my father, that day in Washington?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; speak the whole truth, though it crushes me!” -sighed the unhappy woman; and he answered:</p> - -<p>“I do not mean to be cruel to you, dear mother, I pity -you, and I understand your terrible provocation for all -you did, but I believe in my father’s innocence and his -perfect nobility. He told me his full story in Washington, -and I have believed in him, loved him, revered him ever -since, and his death will be a blow to me only second to -your own.”</p> - -<p>“Then, Arthur, I am a miserable sinner. I have -wrecked his life!” contritely.</p> - -<p>“Then you must acknowledge your fault, and beg -his forgiveness.”</p> - -<p>“He has sworn that he will never forgive me as long -as I live. Oh, my heart, what a cruel wretch I have -been to him! And I loved him so! I do not merit his -forgiveness.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[227]</span></p> - -<p>“But he shall grant it, mother. I will add my prayers -to yours.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Arthur, shall we go to him now, my poor, -wronged love?” weeping.</p> - -<p>“Not now, dear mother, because he is exhausted, and -needs rest. We must wait.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, if he could know my shame and repentance! -And how I have loved him always in spite of myself! -Might it not comfort him, Arthur?”</p> - -<p>“I will find out when he can see you, and tell you -himself, mother, if you will be very patient, and let him -rest awhile first, mother.”</p> - -<p>“I will wait as long as you wish me, Arthur, my poor -boy, for I need your forgiveness, too. I have wronged -you also, depriving you these long and weary years of a -father’s love. Besides, there was all your bitter trouble -over Cinthia. But thank Heaven, it is all over now, that -sorrow.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, it is all over now,” he said, calmly, but with -white lips.</p> - -<p>And then he went away to his father’s room, where -Mrs. Flint was sitting alone, wishing he were not so -restless, fearing it was a bad sign.</p> - -<p>Arthur bent over him caressingly, and whispered:</p> - -<p>“My poor mother, after years of sorrow, divided between -doubt and anger, is at last convinced of your innocence, -and her poor heart is breaking with remorse for -her sin and love that she could never conquer.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[228]</span></p> - -<p>He saw a strange gleam in the deep blue eyes, and -the pale lips twitched with emotion.</p> - -<p>He continued, almost pleadingly:</p> - -<p>“Her pride is humbled in the dust, and her dearest -wish is to express her penitence and pray for forgiveness. -Her sin was great, but, dear father, you have a noble -heart. Is it shut against her forever?”</p> - -<p>What a light came over the pallid face, what strange -new fire to the dim eyes, what deep emotion quivered in -the voice that answered:</p> - -<p>“When your mother first entered into my heart Arthur, -she locked the door and threw away the key forever. -How could I bar her out after lifelong possession?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, father, what a constant heart! Yet she fears -that you can never forgive her.”</p> - -<p>“In the passion of wounded love and anger, I swore -that I would not, Arthur; but that was long ago, and in -the face of death, how puerile these worldy resentments -seem! Then, too, I believed she had wearied of me, believed -me a fortune-hunter. Her wealth and her pride -raised a wall between us. I could not dream that lips -like hers could ever stoop to that word ‘forgive.’”</p> - -<p>“Would you like to hear her say it now, my father?”</p> - -<p>“No, Arthur, for it is needless. If she could come -to me with another word—the dear word love—it would -pay for all. How sweet to die with her hand in mine, her -lips on my brow!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[229]</span></p> - -<p>Ah, what a love was here!—so patient under cruel -wrong, so faithful, so forgiving! Arthur’s nature bowed -in reverence to its holiness.</p> - -<p>“She will come when you wish,” he said gently.</p> - -<p>“Let it be now, Arthur.”</p> - -<p>“But Doctor Deane said——” began his sister, uneasily.</p> - -<p>“I can not permit any one to dictate in this. Every -moment of suspense counts against my life,” the patient -answered, firmly, and Arthur went.</p> - -<p>It was but a little while before he returned with a -drooping figure on his arm.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint safely withdrew to a window, with her -back to the bed.</p> - -<p>Arthur led his mother to the bedside, and placed her -in a chair. Then he took her cold and trembling hand, -and placed it in that of his father.</p> - -<p>She thrilled with a passion of joy at the feeble pressure, -and bent forward, pressing her quivering lips to his pale -brow, whispering in a tempest of restrained emotion:</p> - -<p>“Oh, Everard, I wronged you—but I never ceased to -love you!”</p> - -<p>And there was deep silence and rare happiness—even -though the shadow of death hovered over the room. And -presently she whispered, entreatingly:</p> - -<p>“Oh, Everard, do not die and leave me now! I can -not let you go again! I will nurse you and tend you so -faithfully that surely Heaven will give you back to me! -And some day, when I have somewhat atoned by penitence<span class="pagenum">[230]</span> -and devotion, perhaps you will let me be your wife -again.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, Paulina, if it might be <em>now</em>, for the doctor does -not hold out any hope of life. But at least I should die -happy, knowing you were mine again.”</p> - -<p>“You shall have your wish!” cried Arthur, hastening -from the room.</p> - -<p>Then Everard Dawn called his sister to make friends -with Paulina.</p> - -<p>“I should like for you to love each other when I am -gone,” he said gently.</p> - -<p>“Oh, brother, we can not let you go now, when happiness -has come to you again! I am praying for you every -moment!” cried the kind old lady, clasping hands with -the beautiful woman whom she would be proud to call -sister.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XLI">CHAPTER XLI. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“THE GREED OF GOLD.”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Meanwhile, Janetta, watching by the bedside of Rachel -Dane, did not like the looks of her patient.</p> - -<p>The woman had been very bad from the first, her body -covered with bruises, and complaining of severe inward -pains that indicated internal injuries.</p> - -<p>All that medical skill could do, combined with careful<span class="pagenum">[231]</span> -nursing, had been lavished on the sufferer; but it was -quite evident that her days were numbered.</p> - -<p>To-day she was restless and querulous, sliding down -in bed, and picking at the covers in an ominous way.</p> - -<p>“Where is my mistress?” she inquired, presently: -adding in a fretful tone; “she has entirely neglected me -to-day.”</p> - -<p>Janetta soothingly made excuses for Mrs. Flint, saying -that her niece had arrived that morning, and they had -been together in the room of Mr. Dawn, who was not -expected to live long.</p> - -<p>“I should like to see Miss Dawn,” Rachel Dane muttered, -curiously.</p> - -<p>“That would be impossible, for the young lady was -quite prostrated by the excitement in her father’s room, -and was carried to bed just now, with the doctor in attendance,” -replied Janetta.</p> - -<p>Rachel Dane kept silence quite a little while, then she -sharply ordered Janetta to go away and send Mrs. Flint.</p> - -<p>The maid obeyed, only too glad to get away from the -grewsome company of the dying woman.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint came at once, wan and weary from excitement, -but full of kindly sympathy.</p> - -<p>“Rachel, I am sorry to see that you are not so well -to-day,” she said.</p> - -<p>“So you can see it? Well, I felt it myself; that’s why -I wanted you. I knew you would tell me the truth. Am -I going to die?” querulously.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[232]</span></p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint had been by many a death-bed, and she saw -the signs here, so she answered, frankly:</p> - -<p>“Rachel, I don’t want to frighten you, but it’s time you -should make your peace with God.”</p> - -<p>The poor wretch shuddered and moaned:</p> - -<p>“Are you sure? Did the doctor say so, ma’am?”</p> - -<p>“He has never had any hope of your recovery, Rachel, -and you are failing fast to-day. You will soon be done -with this world; but, alas! you are not ready for the next -one.”</p> - -<p>She did not want to frighten the parting soul but she -was sorrowful over the life going out into eternal darkness.</p> - -<p>Rachel Dane shuddered, and cried:</p> - -<p>“I always meant to get ready when the time came -but it caught me unprepared. I’m only fifty odd years -old, and I hoped to live to ninety. Oh, tell me what to do! -help me, pray for me!”</p> - -<p>“I’ve prayed for you, Rachel Dane, ever since you -made your home under my roof, and I’m glad your heart -is softened at last. Try to love God and believe in His -goodness. Say after me: ‘Lord, forgive a dying sinner, -and save me, for Christ’s sake! Amen.’”</p> - -<p>The dying creature clutched at the bed-clothes, and -mumbled the words in pitiful earnest, after which Mrs. -Flint knelt by the bed, and herself offered up a fervent -prayer.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’ve been bad and wicked all my life, hating God<span class="pagenum">[233]</span> -because I was poor! I don’t know how to get His favor -now,” sighed the dying sinner; and Mrs. Flint answered, -soothingly:</p> - -<p>“If you have done anything wicked that you can undo, -now is the time to repent and get God’s forgiveness.”</p> - -<p>She saw a look of alarm come into the fading eyes, and -Rachel plucked wildly at the counterpane, muttering:</p> - -<p>“I did a cruel wrong twenty years ago. I stole the baby -daughter of a heart-broken young widow.”</p> - -<p>“Good heavens! how dreadful! Tell me all about it -quickly, and perhaps something may yet be done to right -the wrong,” cried Mrs. Flint, in dismay.</p> - -<p>But at that moment they were interrupted by the opening -of the door, and Madame Ray glided in, murmuring -in her sweet, soft voice:</p> - -<p>“They told me you were watching by a very sick -woman, and as Cinthia is asleep, I thought I might be of -some assistance to you.”</p> - -<p>She had never heard the name of Rachel Dane, and -she came and stood by the bed, looking down, with pity -and sympathy, at the poor soul.</p> - -<p>Rachel Dane turned her heavy eyes upward to the -lovely face, and then uttered a cry of deadly fear:</p> - -<p>“My God! it is Mrs. Ray, come to haunt me in my -dying hour!”</p> - -<p>“Rachel Dane, where is my child, my baby daughter?” -cried the other, wildly; and, shaking with excitement, she<span class="pagenum">[234]</span> -added: “Do not die, miserable wretch, till you reveal -the truth.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint stared in wonder, and exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“The poor woman was just confessing to me that -she had stolen a young widow’s child twenty years ago. -Go on with your story, Rachel.”</p> - -<p>She pushed the agitated lady into a chair as she spoke, -and waited with eager curiosity and sympathy for the -next words.</p> - -<p>Rachel looked fearfully at the woman she had wronged, -and muttered:</p> - -<p>“Do not look so wretched, lady, for all is well with -your daughter, and she shall be restored to your arms.”</p> - -<p>“Thank God—thank God!” cried the mother, with a -rush of glad tears.</p> - -<p>“So it was Madame Ray’s child that you stole, Rachel? -But why did you do such a wicked thing?” cried her -mistress.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Mrs. Flint, it was for the greed of gold, that has -always cursed my life—the longing for gold and pleasure! -A beautiful woman came to me, and said: ‘I have been -married two years, and I have no child. My husband will -never love me till I give him an heir. I would like a little -girl because his first wife had a boy, and I hate it. Find -me a pretty baby, and help me to impose it on him as my -own when he returns from his long journey, and you shall -live with me, and I will make you rich.’ Wretch that I -was, I stole Mrs. Ray’s sweet baby, and helped the other<span class="pagenum">[235]</span> -woman to fool her husband. She paid me well; but growing -weary of my extortions after two years, she and her -husband stole away North, where I could never trace -them, till one night I saw him on the train and followed -him, only to find that his wife had died years before.”</p> - -<p>“But my child, my darling, where is she?” sobbed the -eager mother.</p> - -<p>“Where is the child?” echoed Mrs. Flint, suspiciously, -and Rachel Dane answered, gladly:</p> - -<p>“Oh, how glad I am to restore her safe to her mother’s -arms! She is here with you, Mrs. Flint—the girl called -Cinthia Dawn, but no kin of yours, for she is the baby I -stole for Mrs. Dawn, the unloved wife—the child of Mrs. -Richard Ray, and may Heaven forgive my sin!”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XLII">CHAPTER XLII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">IN THE SUNSHINE.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<div class="poetry-container1"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“He laughed a laugh of merry scorn;</div> - <div class="verse indent3">He turned and kissed her where she stood;</div> - <div class="verse indent1">‘If you are not the heiress born,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">And I,’ said he, ‘the next in blood—</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“‘If you are not the heiress born,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">And I,’ said he, ‘the lawful heir,</div> - <div class="verse indent1">We two will wed to-morrow morn,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">And you shall still be Lady Clare!’”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum">[236]</span></p> -<p>When Arthur Varian Dawn left his father’s room so -hastily that day, it was with the firm determination to -see his parents married again before the set of sun, if it -could possibly be accomplished without injury to his -father’s poor hold on life.</p> - -<p>He had a brief talk with Doctor Deane, who agreed -with him that the consummation of so joyful an event -ought to do good to the patient, giving him new hold on -life, if such a thing were possible in his precarious state.</p> - -<p>“I do not wish to deceive you,” he said, with professional -frankness. “The case is serious. I am not frightened -at the scalp-wound, because it is doing nicely, and -the compound fracture of the leg, below the knee, might -get well in six weeks if the patient will lie in bed all that -time; but there are symptoms of internal injuries that -make me uneasy. If I am mistaken about that, he may -pull through.”</p> - -<p>“God grant it!” cried Arthur, fervently.</p> - -<p>“And as you say,” continued the doctor, “whether he -lives or dies, it will be a comfort to him to marry his -divorced wife over again, so I will go with you to get the -license and the preacher.”</p> - -<p>So, together with Frederick Foster, they went to arrange -the necessary details, and in their absence there occurred -that scene by the death-bed of Rachel Dane that -was to make such a change in the destinies of Arthur and -Cinthia, the sorely tried lovers.</p> - -<p>When they returned, several hours later, with the minister,<span class="pagenum">[237]</span> -Mrs. Flint was informed of what was about to -occur, and begged her new-found nephew to let her have -the services of the man of God first for a dying sinner.</p> - -<p>“Poor Rachel Dane is going fast, and she is afraid -to die, poor soul! We must try to hold a light for her -feet, as she goes groping down into the dark valley,” she -said, pitifully.</p> - -<p>“Has her life been so wicked?” he asked, wonderingly; -and the old lady answered:</p> - -<p>“She has lived without God, and her sins are many. -She made a most interesting confession awhile ago, and -I would like for you to go and hear it, dear nephew, from -Madame Ray, while the minister is engaged with Rachel.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Flint spoke with such a glad and cheerful smile, -that he was quite puzzled.</p> - -<p>He was sorry for the dying woman, but not much interested -in her sins and confessions. His thoughts were -hovering around Cinthia.</p> - -<p>She had been carried unconscious from Mr. Dawn’s -room, and only revived to go into such hysterical spasms -that they almost feared for her life. It was thought best -to quiet her by strong opiates, and she had been sleeping -heavily now for hours.</p> - -<p>Poor Cinthia! They had thought the truth would not -shock her now, because she was betrothed to another; -but they had been terribly mistaken. The hopeless love -that had tortured her heart with secret pain threatened to<span class="pagenum">[238]</span> -end in death or madness, now that they had told her that -Arthur was her brother.</p> - -<p>With an aching heart, the young man turned his steps -to her door to ask Madame Ray how the hapless girl -fared.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, the lady had hurried from Rachel’s death-bed -back to Cinthia’s room.</p> - -<p>Kneeling down, she pressed joyful kisses on the sleeping -face, so pale and woeful even in slumber, so that it -was easy to guess at last the guarded secret of that young -heart—the love that had never strayed from its object -through long and hopeless years.</p> - -<p>Softly, tenderly the happy mother drew aside the soft -folds of lace and lines, and laid bare the beautiful white -bosom of her daughter, searching until she found, just -above the heart a remembered birthmark—a tiny crimson -cross.</p> - -<p>“The birthmark of the Rays! Oh, how well I remember -this! Oh, my darling, my own, you are indeed -my lost treasure! No wonder that I have always loved -you so! It was the mother-heart that claimed you!” -she cried, gladly, longing for Cinthia to awake and -learn the happy truth that she was her own daughter, and -not at all related to Arthur, whom she might marry when -she would, only for the rash promise given to Fred Foster -in a moment of reckless pride.</p> - -<p>“Poor fellow! This will be sad news for him; but -I believe that he will be generous to dear Cinthia,” she<span class="pagenum">[239]</span> -concluded; and sat down to watch the sleeper with the -glad eyes of love.</p> - -<p>It was awhile later that she heard a timid rap at the -door, and found Arthur waiting outside, with a grave, sad -face, though he said cheerfully:</p> - -<p>“I have come to invite you and Cinthia to a wedding.”</p> - -<p>“A wedding?”</p> - -<p>In a few words he told her of the reconciliation between -his father and mother, and the impending marriage.</p> - -<p>She congratulated him warmly, and said, meaningly:</p> - -<p>“I will be glad to be present at the ceremony, but my -daughter is asleep.”</p> - -<p>Arthur started wildly, and echoed:</p> - -<p>“Your daughter!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Arthur;” and she drew him gently into the -room. “Come and look at her, how pale and ill she lies, -almost stricken to death by the thought that she was -your sister. Oh, I have such happy news for you both, -Arthur!”</p> - -<p>“She is stirring, she is waking!” he exclaimed, eagerly; -and indeed at that moment the girl opened wide her large -dark eyes, with a dazed look.</p> - -<p>Madame Ray, all joyful excitement, covered her daughter’s -face with kisses, exclaiming:</p> - -<p>“Oh, Cinthia, oh, Arthur, such joyful news! I have -found out that you are my lost daughter, my darling! You -know, Arthur, you always declared we resembled each -other. Well, the nurse stole her from me to sell her to<span class="pagenum">[240]</span> -your father’s second wife; for she deceived her husband, -the wicked woman; she never had a child of her own. -That dying woman in yonder, Rachel Dane, has confessed -everything. You and Cinthia are not brother and sister -at all, but lovers as in past days. Kiss her, Arthur, if -you wish, and be happy again.”</p> - -<p>He bent down to obey, but drew back again, with a -cry of grief:</p> - -<p>“I can not! She is promised to my cousin.”</p> - -<p>“He will give her back her freedom when he learns -the truth, for he has a noble nature,” cried Madame Ray; -and the event proved that she was right.</p> - -<p>Fred Foster’s heart was very sad already, for Cinthia’s -grief had shown him, but awhile ago, that he could never -hope to win her heart; so, when he heard the wonderful -news, and saw the new joy on Cinthia’s lovely face, he -said, generously:</p> - -<p>“Cinthia, I have long known of your past love affair -with Arthur, and since things have fallen out so happily -for you, I will restore you the troth-plight so lately given, -and trust to time to heal my heart-wound. To-morrow is -Christmas you know, and I shall present you as a precious -gift to Arthur.”</p> - -<p>Oh, how thankful they were for his generosity, and -how glad that another love cured his heart in a year, -though they were touched when they saw that she resembled -Cinthia in her type—dark eyes and golden hair. -It showed them plainly how deep had been his love.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[241]</span></p> - -<p>Cinthia was well again almost in a minute, in her new -joy, and anxious to witness the second marriage ceremony -between Arthur’s parents; so presently the same group -of the morning gathered in the room, and the grave minister -who had just closed the eyes of Rachel Dane, after -teaching her soul to find rest in God, joined the hands -of Everard Dawn and his Paulina for the journey of -life, while he solemnly invoked God’s blessing on them -all.</p> - -<p>Everard Dawn could not die now. Life had grown too -sweet again. Events proved that the physician’s fear of -internal injuries was unfounded. He began to convalesce -slowly but surely under his wife’s love and care, -looking forward to happy years together in the golden -future.</p> - -<p>Rachel Dane was buried at Charlottesville, and as she -had no known relatives anywhere, Mrs. Flint was the -chief mourner at the funeral, and she took care to have -a neat stone raised above the grave.</p> - -<p>In a few days the party at the hotel separated, Everard -Dawn’s wife and son remaining with him to aid in -the tedious convalescence, and Madame Ray returning -to Florida with her daughter, taking the ailing Mrs. Flint -as their guest.</p> - -<p>“I am real down sorry to lose you as a niece, Cinthy,” -sighed the old lady, who was greatly softened now by the -hurrying events.</p> - -<p>“Do not grieve over that, dear aunt, for I will restore<span class="pagenum">[242]</span> -the kinship in the spring, and in the meantime you have -gained me as a nephew!” laughed Arthur, who was -handsome as a picture in his new happiness.</p> - -<p>“That is true; and I am real down proud of my new -nephew, and his mother, too!” cried the old lady.</p> - -<p>Arthur’s mother had taken the first opportunity to -make her peace with Cinthia.</p> - -<p>“Dearest, I was cruel to you once, but I am a changed -woman now, and I love you dearly since I know that you -never belonged to that woman I hated so. Can you forgive -me—if not for my own sake, because you will be -Arthur’s wife!”</p> - -<p>Cinthia, understanding everything now, gladly accorded -forgiveness and sympathy that soon ripened into love.</p> - -<p>In the spring, when Mr. Dawn was well and strong -again, his son was married to Cinthia at her mother’s -home—Lodge Delight. It was a grand wedding, and -Cinthia the fairest bride ever seen. They remained with -Madame Ray until Love’s Retreat was rebuilt, then made -their home with his parents, while Mrs. Flint remained -ever afterward with Cinthia’s mother, who would not -permit her return to Virginia.</p> - -<p>“We are two lonely old widows. Let us be company -for each other,” she said, with pensive cheerfulness.</p> - -<p>One thing that transpired touched Cinthia very much, -and showed her the tenderness of Arthur’s love.</p> - -<p>Madame Ray said to Mr. Dawn, while he still lay on -his bed of suffering:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[243]</span></p> - -<p>“That fortune Cinthia has been enjoying as your -daughter, Mr. Dawn, must be restored to you now, as -she never had any legal right to it.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Dawn looked embarrassed for a moment, then -frankly explained:</p> - -<p>“On the day that Arthur found out that Cinthia was -supposedly his sister, he insisted on making over to her -use enough of his private fortune to insure her the luxuries -of life in lieu of happiness.”</p> - -<p>“And it will now form part of her marriage settlement,” -added Arthur.</p> - -<p>Tears sprung to Cinthia’s eyes as she murmured:</p> - -<p>“Oh, how noble and generous you have been all these -years while I thought you so weak and cowardly, and -tried in vain to hate you! But all the while——”</p> - -<p>Arthur drew her to his heart, and finished the sentence -for her, very low and tenderly:</p> - -<p>—“All the while—I loved you better than you knew.”</p> - -<p class="center p1">THE END.</p> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="boxend"> -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">$20,000 REWARD DEAD or ALIVE!</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp30" style="max-width: 12.1875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i244.jpg" alt="Jesse James" /> -</div> - -<p>Read about it in the great book, -“JESSE JAMES, MY FATHER,” written -by his son, Jesse James, Jr., the -ONLY true account of the life of the -famous outlaw.</p> - -<p>Read how this bandit kept an army -of detectives, sheriffs and United States -marshals scouring the country and was -shot in the back by a traitorous pal.</p> - -<p>Read about the fatality attached to -the name of Jesse James, how the officers -of the law tried to visit the sins -of the father on the head of the son.</p> - -<p>Read about the persecution and the harrowing anguish -of Jesse James’ family in the graphic words of his son and -heir.</p> - -<p>Read these FACTS. Everybody should know them. There -is nothing to pervert the young, there is nothing to repel -the old.</p> - -<p>Look at the reproductions of the ONLY pictures of Jesse -James, his Mother and his Son in existence, except those -owned by his family.</p> - -<p class="center">Price 25 cents, post paid</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">TRUTH STRANGER THAN FICTION</p> - -<p class="center">THE MOST MARVELOUS AND EXTRAORDINARY BOOK -EVER WRITTEN</p> - -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">The Man They Could Not Hang</p> - -<p class="largefont center">ABSOLUTELY TRUE</p> - -<p>The astounding history of John Lee. Three times placed upon -the scaffold and the trap sprung! Yet today he walks the streets -a free man!!! Illustrated from photographs. Do not fail to -read this, the most remarkable book of the century. For sale -everywhere or sent postpaid upon receipt of 15 cents.</p> - -<p class="center p1">THE ARTHUR WESTBROOK CO.<br /> -Cleveland, Ohio. U. S. A.</p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="boxend"> -<p class="center largefont">TO THE READER.</p> - -<p>Only in the <span class="smcap">Adventure Series</span> can you -get the absolutely true and authentic history -of the lives and exploits of the</p> - -<div class="boxlist"> -<ul> -<li>JAMES BOYS,</li> -<li><span style="padding-left:2em">YOUNGER BROTHERS,</span></li> -<li><span style="padding-left:4em">HARRY TRACY,</span></li> -<li>THE DALTON GANG,</li> -<li><span style="padding-left:4em">RUBE BURROW,</span></li> -</ul></div> - -<p>and the other Notorious Outlaws of the -Far West.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>We are the authorized and exclusive publishers -for Jesse James’ only son,</p> - -<p class="center largefont">JESSE JAMES, JR.,</p> - -<p>and are the publishers of his great book,</p> - -<p class="center xlargefont">Jesse James, My Father</p> - -<p>which is for sale everywhere. Buy it where -you bought this book, and read the inside -history of the life of Jesse James.</p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="boxend"> -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">Kellar’s Wizard’s Manual</p> - -<p class="center u"><em>Secrets of Magic, Black Art, Ventriloquism and -Hypnotism Fully Explained and Illustrated.</em></p> - -<p>In this advertisement we mention but a few of the -many wonders that every person can perform after -reading the Wizard’s Manual. It actually contains -more information than all other such books combined.</p> - -<p class="center"><em>Every Secret is unfolded so clearly<br /> -<span style="padding-left:6em">that even children can learn.</span></em></p> - -<p class="center largefont">SECRETS REVEALED.</p> - -<div class="boxlist1"> -<ul> -<li>How to Hypnotize.</li> -<li>Ventriloquism.</li> -<li>How to Eat Fire.</li> -<li>How to Bring a Dead Bird to Life.</li> -<li>How to Change Cards and Money.</li> -<li>How to Change a Card in a Box.</li> -<li>The Card in the Egg.</li> -<li>The Obedient Watch.</li> -<li>The Multiplying Mirror.</li> -<li>How to Make the Pass.</li> -<li>How to Make a Piece of Money Sink Through a Table.</li> -<li>How to Cut a Man’s Head Off.</li> -<li>How to Eat Knives and Forks.</li> -<li>How to Cook an Omelet in a Hat.</li> -<li>How to Tear a Handkerchief in Pieces and Make it Whole again.</li> -<li>The Phantom at Command.</li> -<li>How to Put a Ring Through One’s Cheek.</li> -<li>How to Cut Your Arm Off Without Hurt or Danger.</li> -<li>How to Draw a Card Through Your Nose.</li> -<li>How to Turn Water Into Wine.</li> -<li>How to Break a Gentleman’s Watch.</li> -<li>The Magic Twelve.</li> -<li>The Mystical Dial.</li> -<li>How to Make a Lady Fall Backwards.</li> -<li>How to Make a Lady Sleep.</li> -<li>How to do all kinds of Card Tricks.</li> -<li>How to Do All The Latest Coin Tricks.</li> -<li>How to Do Hundreds of other Marvelous Feats of Legerdemain.</li> -</ul></div> - -<p class="center">For Sale by all Newsdealers, or will be sent to any -address postpaid upon receipt of 25 cents. -Stamps accepted.</p> - -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">The Arthur Westbrook Company<br /> -<span class="largefont">Cleveland, Ohio. U. S. A.</span></p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="boxend"> -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">THE MASTER CRIMINAL</p> - -<p class="center largefont boldfont">THE LIFE STORY OF CHARLES PEACE</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp30" style="max-width: 12.1875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i247.jpg" alt="Charles Peace" /> -</div> - -<p class="center largefont boldfont">Profusely<br /> -Illustrated</p> - -<p>This is the most remarkable book -which has appeared during the present -generation. It gives the absolutely -true history of that arch -criminal, the burglar and murderer, -Charles Peace, who for many years -masqueraded in England under many -different personalities, but always as that of a respectable -gentleman. He was without doubt the most depraved monster -who ever preyed upon society. He was bad-mad or mad-bad, -and from other points of view when Justice finally caught -and executed him upon the scaffold the world was well rid -of him.</p> - -<p>He started his career when he was eleven years old and -during the different periods when he was outside of prison, -masquerading always as a respectable business man, he -changed his personality when the darkness of night fell and -carried out the boldest robberies and the most daring criminal -schemes ever perpetrated by any one man in the history of -the world.</p> - -<p>No other criminal who ever lived could compare in cunning -and daring with Charles Peace, the Master Criminal. Read -about it in this great book which is for sale everywhere. If -you are unable to secure it from your newsdealer it will be -sent to you postpaid by the publishers upon receipt of 20c.</p> - -<p class="center boldfont">THE ARTHUR WESTBROOK CO.,<br /> -Cleveland, Ohio. U. S. A.</p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="boxend"> -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">New Line of Twenty-five Cent<br /> -Hand Books.</p> - -<div class="boxlist1"> -<ul> -<li>SIXTH AND SEVENTH BOOK OF MOSES.</li> -<li>EIGHT HUNDRED RECEIPTS.</li> -<li>EGYPTIAN SECRETS.</li> -<li>CLAIRVOYANCY.</li> -<li>HOW TO WIN AT DRAW POKER.</li> -<li>ASTROLOGY.</li> -<li>STANDARD LETTER WRITER.</li> -<li>TRICKS WITH CARDS.</li> -<li>KELLAR’S WIZARD’S MANUAL.</li> -<li>NAPOLEON’S ORACULUM AND BOOK OF FATE.</li> -<li>HOW TO PLAY CHECKERS AND CHESS.</li> -<li>POW WOWS OR LONG LOST FRIEND.</li> -<li>GYPSY DREAM BOOK AND FORTUNE TELLER.</li> -<li>PALMISTRY.</li> -<li>HYPNOTISM AND HOW TO USE IT.</li> -</ul></div> - -<p class="center">For sale everywhere or sent postpaid upon receipt -of 25 cents. Stamps accepted.</p> - -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">The Arthur Westbrook Company<br /> -<span class="largefont">Cleveland, O., U. S. A.</span></p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="boxend"> -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont sansseriffont">Truth Stranger Than Fiction</p> - -<p class="center largefont boldfont">THE MOST MARVELOUS AND EXTRAORDINARY<br /> -BOOK EVER WRITTEN</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp30" style="max-width: 12.1875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i250.jpg" alt="The man they could not hang." /> -</div> - -<p class="xlargefont boldfont"><span style="padding-left:2em">The Man</span><br /> -<span style="padding-left:4em">They Could</span><br /> -<span style="padding-left:6em">Not Hang</span></p> - -<p class="center largefont boldfont">ABSOLUTELY TRUE</p> - -<p>The astounding history of John -Lee. Three times placed upon -the scaffold and the trap sprung! -Yet today he walks the streets a -free man!!! Illustrated from -photographs. Do not fail to read -this, the most remarkable book -of the century. For sale everywhere, -or sent postpaid upon -receipt of 15 cents.</p> - -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">The Arthur Westbrook Company<br /> -<span class="mediumfont">CLEVELAND, U.S.A.</span></p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="boxend"> -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">THE OLD THREE WITCHES</p> - -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont sansseriffont">Dream Book</p> - -<p>Is the original, world renowned book of fate, that for -a hundred years has held intelligent people spellbound. -Its correct interpretation of dreams has amazed -those who have been fortunate enough to possess a -copy which they might consult.</p> - -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">NAPOLEON’S ORACULUM</p> - -<p>which it contains, is an absolutely true copy of that -strange and weird document found within a secret cabinet -of Napoleon Bonaparte.</p> - -<p>The fact that dozens of worthless and unreliable imitations -have been placed upon the market demonstrates -it to be a fact that The Old Three Witches Dream -Book stands today, as always, the original, only reliable -dream book published.</p> - -<p class="center largefont">IT IS FOR SALE BY ALL NEWSDEALERS</p> - -<p>or will be sent to any address, Postpaid, upon receipt -of 10 cents in stamps, by</p> - -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">The Arthur Westbrook Company<br /> -<span class="largefont">Cleveland, Ohio, U. S. A.</span></p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="boxend"> -<p class="center xxlargefont boldfont">$20,000 REWARD<br /> -DEAD or ALIVE!!</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp30" style="max-width: 12.1875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i255.jpg" alt="Jesse James." /> -</div> - -<p>Read about it in the great book -“JESSE JAMES, MY FATHER,” written -by his son, Jesse James, Jr., the -ONLY true account of the life of the -famous outlaw.</p> - -<p>Read how this bandit kept an army -of detectives, sheriffs and United States -marshals scouring the country and was -shot in the back by a traitorous pal.</p> - -<p>Read about the fatality attached to the name of Jesse -James, how the officers of the law tried to visit the sins of -the father on the head of the son.</p> - -<p>Read about the persecution and the harrowing anguish of -Jesse James’ family in the graphic words of his son and heir.</p> - -<p>Read these FACTS. Everybody should know them. There -is nothing to pervert the young, there is nothing to repel -the old.</p> - -<p>Look at the reproductions of the ONLY pictures of Jesse -James, his Mother and his Son in existence except these owned -by his family.</p> - -<p class="center">Price 25 cents, post paid</p> - -<p class="center boldfont p1">THE ARTHUR WESTBROOK CO.,<br /> -Cleveland, Ohio. U.S.A.</p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="boxend"> -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont center">THE HART SERIES</p> - -<p class="center">Laura Jean Libbey, Miss Caroline Hart, Mrs. E. Burke Collins, Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller, -Charlotte M. Braeme, Barbara Howard, Lucy Randall Comfort, Mary E. Bryan, Marie Corelli</p> - -<p>Was there ever a galaxy of names representing such authors offered to the public before? -Masters all of writing stories that arouse the emotions, in sentiment, passion and love, their books excel any that -have ever been written.</p> - -<p class="center boldfont">NOW READY</p> - -<div class="boxlist1"> -<p class="numberitem1">1—Kidnapped at the Altar, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem1">2—Gladiola’s Two Lovers, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem1">3—Lil, the Dancing Girl, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem1">5—The Woman Who Came Between, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem1">6—Aleta’s Terrible Secret, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem1">7—For Love or Honor, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem1">8—The Romance of Enola, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem1">9—A Handsome Engineer’s Flirtation, Laura J. Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">10—A Little Princess, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">11—Was She Sweetheart or Wife, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">12—Nameless Bess, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">13—Della’s Handsome Lover, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">14—That Awful Scar, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">15—Flora Garland’s Courtship, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">16—Love’s Rugged Path, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">17—My Sweetheart Idabell, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">18—Married at Sight, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">19—Pretty Madcap Dorothy, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">20—Her Right to Love, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">21—The Loan of a Lover, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">22—The Game of Love, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">23—A Fatal Elopement, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">24—Vendetta, Marie Corelli.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">25—The Girl He Forsook, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">26—Redeemed by Love, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">28—A Wasted Love, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">29—A Dangerous Flirtation, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">30—A Haunted Life, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">31—Garnetta, the Silver King’s Daughter, L. J. Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">32—A Romance of Two Worlds, Marie Corelli.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">34—Her Ransom, Charles Garvice.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">36—A Hidden Terror, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">37—Flora Temple, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">38—Claribel’s Love Story, Charlotte M. Braeme.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">39—Pretty Rose Hall, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">40—The Mystery of Suicide Place, Mrs. Alex. Miller.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">41—Cora, the Pet of the Regiment, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">42—The Vengeance of Love, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">43—Jolly Sally Pendleton, Laura Jean Libbey.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">44—A Bitter Reckoning, Mrs. E. Burke Collins.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">45—Kathleen’s Diamonds, Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">46—Angela’s Lover, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">47—Lancaster’s Choice, Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">48—The Madness of Love, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">49—Little Sweetheart, Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">50—A Working Girl’s Honor, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">51—The Mystery of Colde Fell, Charlotte M. Braeme.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">52—The Rival Heiresses, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">53—Little Nobody, Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">54—Her Husband’s Ghost, Mary E. Bryan.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">55—Sold for Gold, Mrs. E. Burke Collins.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">56—Her Husband’s Secret, Lucy Randall Comfort.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">57—A Passionate Love, Barbara Howard.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">58—From Want to Wealth, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">59—Loved You Better Than You Knew, Mrs. A. Miller.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">60—Irene’s Vow, Charlotte M. Braeme.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">61—She Loved Not Wisely, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">62—Molly’s Treachery, Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">63—Was It Wrong? Barbara Howard.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">64—The Midnight Marriage, Mrs. Sumner Hayden.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">65—Ailsa, Wenona Gilman.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">66—Her Dark Inheritance, Mrs. E. Burke Collins.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">67—Viola’s Vanity, Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">68—The Ghost of the Hurricane Hills, Mary E. Bryan.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">69—A Woman Wronged, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">70—Was She His Lawful Wife? Barbara Howard.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">71—Val, the Tomboy, Wenona Gilman.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">72—The Richmond Secret, Mrs. E. Burke Collins.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">73—Edna’s Vow, Charlotte M. Stanley.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">74—Hearts of Fire, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">75—St. Elmo, Augusta J. Evans.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">76—Nobody’s Wife, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">77—Ishmael, Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">78—Self-Raised, Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">79—Pretty Little Rosebud, Barbara Howard.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">80—Inez, Augusta J. Evans.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">81—The Girl Wife, Mrs. Sumner Hayden.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">82—Dora Thorne, Charlotte M. Braeme.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">83—Followed by Fate, Lucy Randall Comfort.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">84—India, or the Pearl of Pearl River, Southworth.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">85—Mad Kingsley’s Heir, Mrs. E. Burke Collins.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">86—The Missing Bride, Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">87—Wicked Sir Dare, Charles Garvice.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">88—Daintie’s Cruel Rivals, Mrs. Alex. McV. Miller.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">89—Lillian’s Vow, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">90—Miss Estcourt, Charles Garvice.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">91—Beulah, Augusta J. Evans.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">92—Daphane’s Fate, Mrs. E. Burke Collins.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">93—Wormwood, Marie Corelli.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">94—Nellie, Charles Garvice.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">95—His Legal Wife, Mary E. Bryan.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">96—Macaria, Augusta J. Evans.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">97—Lost and Found, Charlotte M. Stanley.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">98—The Curse of Clifton, Mrs. Southworth.</p> -<p class="numberitem2">99—That Strange Girl, Charles Garvice.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">100—The Lovers at Storm Castle, Mrs. M. A. Collins.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">101—Margerie’s Mistake, Lucy Randall Comfort.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">102—The Curse of Pocahontas, Wenona Gilman.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">103—My Love Kitty, Charles Garvice.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">104—His Fairy Queen, Elizabeth Stiles.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">105—From Worse than Death, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">106—Audrey Fane’s Love, Mrs. E. Burke Collins.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">107—Thorns and Orange Blossoms, Charlotte Braeme.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">108—Ethel Dreeme, Frank Corey.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">109—Three Girls, Mary E. Bryan.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">110—A Strange Marriage, Caroline Hart.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">111—Violet, Charles Garvice.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">112—The Ghost of the Power, Mrs. Sumner Hayden.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">113—Baptized with a Curse, Edith Stewart Drewry.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">114—A Tragic Blunder, Mrs. H. Lovett Cameron.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">115—The Secret of Her Life, Edward Jenkins.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">116—My Guardian, Ada Cambridge.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">117—A Last Love, Georges Ohnet.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">118—His Angel, Henry Herman.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">119—Pretty Miss Bellew, Theo. Gift.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">120—Blind Love, Wilkie Collins.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">121—A Life’s Mistake, Mrs. H. Lovett Cameron.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">122—Won By Waiting, Edna Lyall.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">123—Passion’s Slave, King.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">124—Under Currents, Duchess.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">125—False Vow, Braeme.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">126—The Belle of Lynne, Braeme.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">127—Lord Lynne’s Choice, Braeme.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">128—Blossom and Fruit, Braeme.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">129—Weaker Than a Woman, Braeme.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">130—Tempest and Sunshine, Mary J. Holmes.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">131—Lady Muriel’s Secret, Braeme.</p> -<p class="numberitem3">132—A Mad Love, Braeme.</p> -</div> - -<p class="pminus1">The Hart Series books are for sale everywhere, or they will be sent by mail, postage paid, for 30 cents a copy, -by the publisher; 4 copies for $1.00. Postage stamps taken the same as money.</p> - -<p class="center largefont boldfont">THE ARTHUR WESTBROOK COMPANY,<br /> -Cleveland, Ohio, U. S. A.</p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="transnote"> -<h2 style="margin-top: 0em">Transcriber’s Notes:</h2> - -<p>Punctuation has been made consistent.</p> - -<p>Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in -the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors -have been corrected.</p> - -<p>The following changes were made:</p> - -<p id="BRef_31"><a href="#Ref_31">p. 31</a>: his changed to her (over her niece’s)</p> - -<p id="BRef_48"><a href="#Ref_48">p. 48</a>: illegible word assumed to be called (she called, hoarsely:)</p> - -<p id="BRef_53"><a href="#Ref_53">p. 53</a>: illegible word assumed to be Arthur (dear Arthur, I)</p> - -<p id="BRef_62"><a href="#Ref_62">p. 62</a>: illegible word assumed to be the (find the nearest)</p> - -<p id="BRef_87"><a href="#Ref_87">p. 87</a>: illegible word assumed to be jilts (me—jilts me)</p> - -<p id="BRef_91"><a href="#Ref_91">p. 91</a>: Miss Cinthia changed to Mrs. Flint (Then Mrs. Flint and)</p> - -<p id="BRef_100"><a href="#Ref_100">p. 100</a>: illegible word assumed to be love (rock of love.)</p> - -<p id="BRef_136"><a href="#Ref_136">p. 136</a>: illegible word assumed to be on (live on till)</p> - -<p id="BRef_150"><a href="#Ref_150">p. 150</a>: illegible word assumed to be cried (hour!” cried Cinthia,)</p> - -<p id="BRef_180"><a href="#Ref_180">p. 180</a>: your changed to her (for her father)</p> - -<p id="BRef_185"><a href="#Ref_185">p. 185</a>: illegible word assumed to be rested (they rested again)</p> -</div></div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOVED YOU BETTER THAN YOU KNEW ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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