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Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., pauvent Atre filmte A dea taux de rMuction diff«rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atra ...^^iproduit an un seul clichA. il est film« A.partir dd 1'angle sup4rieur gauche, de gauche A droita, et de halit an baa. an prenant la nombre d'images n4cessaira. Les diagrammes suivants iliustrent la m^thoda. •^t 1 2 3 N 1 ^ ^ :-*' n 32 X , %\ ■«.■, .» "6 , e y,.. , W ... . ^,' .• r V^ -_> .# 1%. - r(-«— ^nX'-^'^FA^:'-: 'V C: W:^' 'fc^ FOR MAIMIE'S SAKE, X. / / -- r-. :n GRANT ALJ.E|^, AVraOS OF ** babvum/' no. 'F7 % • I .j'j& ^^i •4; ^ NBW toek: ^ ' : ^ ,- THE P. M. LUPTON PUBLISHING COMPANY, N08. 7»-7d Walkrr Strbvt. . \ ^1 y^^-* S<«v .f^ - f ■ -^ '* \ -'ft^ J-,^ ij 1 1 >h ■il. *'■., .*^ ,^. i '■'M •^ ■is? Ik''." :■*.'. f * ■-■ "^' >•.! fe:' 4 '^ ". . V t > * ' Or^y^i^ ilkr^ 3^r / iJ09_815 1 'rp.'f^r fffhL-tK^ 'l,'-^^-^ " ' 'J^MfM:^ CONTENTS. *;'' I.— Entbk Mahob i II.— FntsT LovB . III.— Explosives . lV.—cpUNCTL8 OF Stats v.— Tm System . • " • ^ VI.— The Result op the System , vn.— Poutics IN AcnoN . . *. |VIII.— High Seas ; . . ; IX.— Adrian Confesses ' . .1 X.— The Scene Shifts . . ] XI.— The whole Duty of a Model . XII.— DjYNAMitE OR Love? . , CHI.— Innocence . . i . ; |XIV.— Off with the Old Love; ; XV.-On WITH thb'INsw i . ■ ,!* ,' TVI.— A British Matron » «^^ . . ; fVIl.-iM^ Adrun PHit Dro»xcari> ^III.— A Sfot of Blood HX.— Lady Wraxall AT Home ^ " i S'~^"^ J*^"'''' ^""»" ™ KNowiooi* pxi.-OLD Friends. Mew . ,^ , , . ,, s til.— SOENCB TrIUMFHI ^ - • ' "■•*^ ^11.— A ppli ed Sciencm • t^"'1 * » * - ♦ r ; > ■ .—Sydney 'Goes , -f^ • 4, .—Another Blood^pot * ' ,4 >>; v ■ m /-ir^^ I.--OR sincioBi . : . . . ; ; fiK'- • 45 • 49 • 5a ^r^^ 66 . # -'♦"^- 69 :>.. .^. 76 »-\ i- 83 .._<*;• . XOO . '• ■ ♦ loa . 10$ . XXX -« — lij" . X33 f 187 V -r- A V 41 4i ^' . e' . m ""■'^""■^i ,' ■x ^^f-'- cojiTTEirri ■\ aunn XXVtlL— FntB t ... I . . , XXIX.— The Ordbal . . . . y XXX.— The Other SroE . ' . XXXI.— SUSEBNSE .... . . XXXII.— ALn& Benyowski . . XXXIIIy-rBvENLY Matched . . • . . XXXIV.— A New Man . . . . . XXXV.r-THE World km in JuD(a$BNT . XXXVLi— Danger LooWsf . . ^' . XXXVIE— The Storm Gathers ... XXXVIII.— The STpRM Breaks . . . . XXXIX.— Hetty Thinks for Herself N— Hetty Acts . . . . » XiL— The Time Arrives . . . XLIL— Resurrection . . . . . XLIIL- Whither? .•;. . . "• XUV.— Maimis Saved ... * -4 .189 .036 1- I T ■'-W-"' : ,/ 1 1 1' " r I ) K^.- .•.•^■*'»^-,! ■ / ■ ■ A. i, : : ■■ 'W' ' . 1 , ) „ >.., / ■; A TT ■x''-ir;r 2ii-ii -.^ / . OR MAIMIE'S SAKE. " ' ^ . I's'fl ' \ t& INT^ UAIMIB.^ rocxLTM Cipriani lay sunning himself idly on his b^k on th« . Iving shingle beach at King's Sflbuiy. It was a beautiful doud- less August day, and Jocelyn Cipriani did not belie his Italian an- cestry in his basldng love of bright sunshine or of the pladd idleness / so dear to the souls of Southern Eurqiieans. f "What a glorious morning, Hetty I" he said, with an upwird lance at his pretty Kttle wife, sitting close beside him wiU» her brary novel. "And what creatures you women resdty ate, tool ■ Fanw your holding up a parasol to shade you on a day like to-day. now I Why, it seems to me, the whole point of the seaside in sum-' mer is just this— that it's the only place in England wheit the sun ever manages to shhie for three whole hours uninteirimtedly to- gether." ■ .1, -- '■■ ■■''"\ ■' ': -■ ■■|^' •• And ht went on flinging pebbles into the Unruffled sea just be- yond the steep bank of shingle where the tide halted, without even so much as hfting his head to see where they fell witfi wen-wMen- mg cxmts on the calm surface of the glistening water. Hetty kjoked up from her book for a minute at the glassy bay and the long^eep of drding hOls beyond it, and then murmurdU with a half-sigfa, of regret, as she scanned the pretty picture hastilr with her eyes: "^ ' «^ '^ 1 J' L**'?^ ^^^ ^,y^ know, Jocdyn, that you painted landscape Instead of figure ! How nfce it would be for you, no^, to be ahirami woikme at a place like this, instead of in your own £reat heavv studio in nastjr, dir^, smoky old London." ^ ^ Jocdyn twisted himself a fresh ctgatvtte in Ms white fiiigen whk quick iqhented Southern dexteri^. V v "^ j«. " ^®' "?• Hj^'" *»« ^swered, strpWng his pointed brown Van- dyke beard; "landscape is not the line for the man who wouM make his name famous on the first roll of art, I tdl you, little woman: -— Tf!£!^ «tt wdi enough in its way, to be sure, lor the smalt -mm&^m^m&tm onaelf^or Wmans, and Smart, and MacTavish, and OGradjif; but the human figure, the human face divine^ the buman ^motions and passions and aspirations, those are the stock- tn-trKle and the raw material ol the great geniiiM* who mof tbt '.■£'■', MAIMIB^S SAX'S, fy ^v £•/: centuries; In eveiy art— in eveiy ait. Hettf. If rmui were tt> wtteh the birds, and the flowers, and the trees. .mMI the rivern. «n his life long, do you think he'd make as great a writer in the end aa Shakespeare, or G<»ethe, or ^schylus. or Cervantes? Not a bit of It; he never cpmd do it -Mah is the head and crown of aU thtogs; and the artist, in whatevil material, who wishes to reach thenmi. mit of his art, must take man for the foundation |uid the basis of bis ^)ecial handicraft." And he. blew out two or three short white pufits from his tiny ctearette with the easy air of a person very well satisfied with hini« self, his wife, the rest of the human race, the constitution of tl^Mn, and the universe generilly. There was a short silence for a few minutes, duringf which jocelyn continued to smoke. meditatixely and throw pebbtes at In- torals with a splash intoithe sea. while Hetty went on unintemipt- edhr with the perusal of her old and much-thunabed^ novel By- and-by Jocelyn roused himself with Sudden enMnrj and cried out •egerfy: "There she is! There she is again. Hetty I Now this time I'm quite detemiined you shall really see her." ' ^ • " Who ? " Hetty asked, looking up from her book for ft second with languid interest. _ l_"Who? Why. ^" Jocelyn answered, regardless of prim" grammatical mceUes. " The pretty |^1, you know. Hetty— that is tb sajr. th6 rather pretty giri, who vrould be rwdly pretty if she weren t quite so fresh and plump and rosy. She lam the fashion- JP« pre-Raffaelite morbidity. Bume Jones Would consider her di^tingiy healthy. The wfee min. you see. little woman, never caltekny other giri pretty to his own wife without at least addh^ some saving clause in the shape of a but or a qualification. He a^ stfens from uUmfaced and unqualified approval of alien loveliness." ~ "Theh you can't be a wise man, I'm sure. Jocelyn, for you're always raying to me abo^t the extraordinary beauty of this wondefu ful gujof yours. Let me see her. Wl^ch is she? Oh, that one over there m the print dress with the roses on it I Well, yes. If you mw^ u^n it, she's ceftainly prettji^Wy pretty. I must admit. . "Wpuld be.'' Jowly^ conerted gravely, "were it not for thost ftieyitable redundancies or deficiendes which are always to be db» served jn all other wom^, save and except you only. Hetty." And he pinched thflobeof her ear teasbigly between hisdeli- cate th^and finger, i X - ^' u»u«f "I wish\l could ge^ to know that giri. somehow." the painter went on reflectively^ after a moment's pause. - ; '« Why?"i the pretitf Kttle wife MkcdcJrfthLJL^MliM rfance WhV. I shoiild it tore 9Mw« ^'s boni^ilii^v^' ^'t!«iF fe«ffln mTtad t^"d!^Juil MNTEX MAmiK the exact modd, of all giiis in the wdrld, ti^realiie its perfection. It's Guldo fallins^ in love with Beatrice CencTas she lies in pitsop. That gild's got tne very Uxx for a Beatrice. I'd give fifty pounds to ' get her ^ s« for it to me, I tell you." ** Prqlbabl^ the fifty {wunds would be quite superfluous," Hetty answered, snuling* " As k rule, young giris in a country place a^ .t to0, used to riiisinfi^ thechanges on Juliet, Olivia, and the jRoman mprfesses. And, besides, it's such a bore, I know, sitting stuck'up there stifi^ as the wife of Caractacus. in the dull -old studio. Biit this i$ going to be such a splendid picture, I tell you, little woman •—a perfect master-apiece, an afflatus, an inspiration, a thing to inake Con^ Carr's mouth water. See ,here;Jt's to be' jiist like thill^ ' k)ok you. Guido there, grave and solemn^ith a beautiful counte- nance: Svdwr^ Chevenbc shdl at f <»r GuMor There's a face f--|>encil and pa^>er out at once, artist fashion, and a few^iay Bnc^ made to do duty sketchily for a rough idea (^ the im^naiy picture -r-*' brush in huid like this, and such a splendid expressran df dawfEN vaa love suggested in the very pose of his neck and shouddo^ Then Beatrice— here she is, you see, innocent,^miling, unconsdous,^ guUeless, never even aware m her spotiess soul of hia- coming exe* . cutioQ ; too childlike to realize it; an infantile Beatrice, aBii\,goId and vellow— you catch the coniposition I Isnt that;glahd now?" And as he spoke, he sketch«d in lk;htiy the i^MpiA figure of hjlf Ideal Beatniqe from the giri who stoo^ parasol qiPM> unccnadoiis of his notice, waiting carelessly by a woodai b^ch on the fittie rustic paMe bdbindlhem. V , , A b^ailtiful creature she was, imdeniablv'^mal} or of medium hek;ht, but full and malNire in bust ajid figure, though still very chw^ of face arid expresdon ; a ripe giii of twenty, with such ex- PfBiio. fb fap«tifid tbi^i^ betietf-^«ii»^ .('"^ / •fox MAimS*S SAXX. I" •*• -•^ vt yhouldjte ytoi, to oaidt her./ You're quite rlght-slS'd^Si i lovely picture; and. Widcs. f/want to make ™a«^tW «J ♦h2?i?J!^^ We haven t/got ^noug* young girl friends now^ ^.turesi I wish they'd only have tM eood sense al^tf«fnW^^ choo^ their husbaiids for Slem." ^^ ^^ *** H^ ^ly^*?^ *>y yH«»r own distingmshed success in that deMrt. ' mene Jocelvn replied, with a su5»t twinkle inSa^virl7T.^i SiJ^S^'^i^^^^y P"* ?<^^P3^* I^^f *° «»r °^ entire sSrfS ;«^|JeU g^eed to discove^ practically who she is and whci^^ ^, «v.wi.*^JS?*?*" spoJW'fa^oW fisherman, witii his hands in his^^^ pockets, paired in front of the jriri. and with -a rt^tJ^TJ^ t . want^a boat this morning, miss? LoVelv dav fnr a #«« '"^ ' Wndas to let hje. Beautiful weaUier I beautiful weatWT" ^ ~HgE ad, monJof, flSL. The fa«'"i ir^^ for^ aJlaiA^-'Afi^??^ "^ ¥»'?'* .'«'P««M IdndliMs^ and wHfc2SS SSS.^^^J™ ^'~»*- S^mpOy. and «..„p«l .i j^%>''=»W'*»«'%MiMMataie,tlityonneladyis Everr. fc^^Jt ^b«nr ,& know &a Jfaimie; God ^Sh«'^^ f ?/ f > -lo^than you ever were, I fancy, Hetty." ' ^^ ^^ «» «« « At t^ eM<* moment, a handsome man of thirty^ qr th«i». ^v f: ENTER MAIMJE. tUboais, in a lig^ tweed suit, ahd a straw hatifi^ a cdO^ ribbon on it,'strolled up.carelessTy from tfie hotel ^on the Paraoe toward the. pretty giri, and {bcggn to tadk to her in a listless fashion for a few- minutes. Als he approached, the pretty girl's faqe colored up at once, till it looked ^ore ex<]|uisitely q^utinil than ever, with a certain unmistldcable'glow of femiainq^^ satisf section ; amd her psuasol 1^ pfo^ed immediately from describing its vague climes on the dusty groundNln a way that told Jocelyn (^ipriani's- practiced eve, yivithout possibility of error, the person she was Waiting for had really ^- nved. -:- ''T-\-y ■ '■ v\ '^-^■'^ ^ >^ ■ : "'^"'^ " Why, Mr. Fyn^'kno^ hasJ"' Hetty cried In ^q)rise^ asuie man in the tweed suit lifted- his/hat gracefully^^he pretty stranger. •' Mr. Pym knOws her," Jooelyn Cipriani repeated carelessly ; " and what's more, Hetty, the pretty gurl's in love with Pym, too. •* How do you knttW/ " Hetty asked quickly. " Oh, you don't take a painter in about these small matters, I can t^ you, little^ woman. It's my tra^de, you loiow ; my ^op, my business. If I wasn't always watching and noting these minute ;^uulesof passing expression m lincp anid women, I could never paint the sort of things I do now^ Iletty. The pretty girl's in love with ' ^m. 111 bet you a sovereign." ~ ^ '-' " M^, that's a good thing, an^iow, I'nv^ure, Jocelyn ; for now we shall probaUy get to know her." ,** That's a good thing as far as it goes, no doubt, for «^ Hetty; but—" ^ ' •• Bui what ?""^ "^ t V * " WeU, I don't knovir whether Ws quite such a good^tbiog far tiiepretty giri, you see, somehow."^ J " Why, Tocdyn, surely Mr. Pym** a Very nice man, airf a fellow and tutor of an Oxford college. I/ihouId think he was an excellent match for almost anybody-— below the rank of a baronet's daug^ ter." ^ " An excellent match,- indeed— within the limits you mentionr-if only she can catch him. .But they do say, Hetty— well, I foiget the long and the short of it in all the details; but I remember, when ^rl —I tnay be mistaken— I speak, like 'the French pewspapen^^ under ^ reserves— that Pym didn't come altogether well out of it with flyingi colors. Indeed, I won't swear that he c.vei' even got out of it at all in any way worth speaking of. Thejpretty giri had better , take care, Flirting is a eame where the mui stakes nothing, and thp woman everything. If ihe pretty girl's wise, sheTlr be veiy<:a\i- • tij^Js^hpw she.flirts with^8ucb^».man m Adrian Pym without Jntt. fcquiry." / .-^ ♦♦Fretty gifls. never are wijce," Hetty answered, pulfingf lazily at the flower of a homed sea^poppy; "and if they were, you knonn^ |oa men wouldn't like them half as well as you do at pres«a|. - i lO /O* MAIM IE *S SAKS, 'i'J^ l^ Slyn. Intellect 'fa a woman is fSasoUfSLy fatal. But hm'a Mr ^ tt^^'^t^'^ ' declare; now wVahaU leam JiZj vHfh ^-S'^^^^^'^^P'^'' A^ ^^'"^ *e raised his srtiaw hat ^^ with carel<^ gracefulness to Hetty. "Lovely day, isn'titlvSL Sprii£f •^^''"^^ *^^ to lald^pe at your time of life, ^^ wi^?''A*'f**"*f,?^'^*'^' "'^ ^ can help it; thoueh Hetty bercf has jui^ Seen teUmg me I ought to go in forit : Sdfam^ k^own to be t^e most oledi^t and submis^vfof huT^d^ b2 ,'.n cmy i)icture tor next year, in fact-and~I thbught'she'd make • channmg Beatiice. tW's the sketch, if you^ t^ iSok at ft^ a mere ouSme--^ 5?rOkes of a pencU ; yet I dSTsay y^u'd ^^j! S^tSSSc^uTst'uSp:^'^^^^^ the pMiicular turn the conversation had taken. °*°" '**1 ^' ^.?^ ^r Hetty <:ried enthusiasti- cally. I ve quite faUen m love with her the moment I've seen W ■ As to Joa^, he's watched her up and down seveSl ti^^db^l- hCTe; and he alwap caHa her catt^rically 'the prSy St i^*^ ^ ^^.''t&hTrr 4*^.P««y girls^iywhefc else falS^cSioP " * « jyte*" ? ^ ^V?""^ ^^" J'^^Y^ interrupted gtmrdy with "«»^^w toward his pretty hWwife^s neat snSu filST J^ WeD, she « pretty, certainly," Adrian Pym i^nS iitkthat grodjpng wqufcscence under Which a man^in 1^ SSkva V^ ^''J^^^n^'^^.'^t ^ P«>fo«ndest adiSioJ^T^slTZ picture ENTMR MAIMIS, /Tt,. ,^ of my pupfb. I've brought a reading-party down hot^you loiow, for several years running now* and Maimie and I are old ^ms bv this tune ; cpte a long'-standing friendsMp* in fact, Mra. Cipriani.' t - " But hasn'l she got any other name b^es Maimie ? " Hetty * inquired, withlf Smile of quiet amusement. "People don't gener- ally go about the worid nowadays like Abraham and Isaac and Jacobr «nd sd on, with only oi^ name tacked on to their personality, a|td that one a pet name into tne bargain." ;The Oxford tutor blushed almost imperceptibly. -"It isn't a pet name, indeed," he said, with apologetic pmn^-* ness. "She's got no other, except her surname. She was «1^ tened Maimie, I believe— Maimie only. Nobody ever calb her anything but Maitnie ; she's Miss Maimie alone, even tothe fisher- pfeople. Or, rather, she wasn't ever christened at all, ^i| comes to tiiat : for her father's eccentric—very eccoitric ; sffmM naval officer with ideas of his own, compounded,! believe, ftom Tom J»aine and the Admiralty Sailing Directions^; and he would never aflow her to undergo any form of religious ceremmiy, except repeal ing some prayer he pomposed himself to the Spirit of Reason or some similar abstraction. He has a rabid objection to the cleigy>— the black brigade and the devil-dodgers, he calls them ; and the r sight of a whie tie looming in the distance drives him podtn^e^ frantic for ten minutes. He's quite a character, the old captain is.*' "No doubt," Jocelyn answered mercilessly ; " but, for a teacher of logic, Pym, you betray a most reprehensible inability to stick cloae to the point at issue. You will perhaps remember that we asked you for i)articulars— not about Maimie's papa or Maunie's mamma, or Maimie's uncles and aunts and cousins, out about the actual and Individual Maimie herself in proirid persond. You admit incident- ally that the young lady is seued of a sumamfrr-I hope I speak with legal accuracy : what is it ? " "Oh, her surname?" Adrian Pym replied, with some show of awkward confusion. "Her surname? Maimie's surname? Well, I her surname, I believe, Jocelyn— her surname's Llewellyn." I V . " ^*»' yo" believe so, Mr. Pym ? " Hetty echoed malidoudy. f Adrian Pvm looked positively embarrass^. "Yes, I believe so,^,he answered, seating himself cnihs-legg«d pn the shingle beside them. " In fact, I know it. I've known Mal- 5»ie now for several years— ever since she was o*i*y as hkh to that ? Mrs. Cipriani I" ' ^ ^ " How very nice I " Hetty put in, banteringly. ** It's w«a to bexin an acquaintance with apretty giri early in life. Sfi« liams thenbi- times not to be afraid of you." ---The tt^-teWthfr^ to turn aside i»ith a fahit blush to her husband, and said nth« •Qdrthr: ^jOoui introduce you to \m if you'd feally Ukt to knoirlMii - H II Jhx MAIMIE*S S4JCB. W: M I ^t IV?e^ nZy^'^^r*"'"** * ?^*=^"'*' Adrian I Thtv^^ T L ve ever painted. I mean to make a perfect masteroiece oV it. In after-years, Hetty, when the pretty ^1^ a Sa^nM uoethes BettJna, and say, 'That's the person who sat to To^vii O^U the celebrated paintei, for J^^Sc^^^^ «& T^'ti*^.???^ " «««y <^<^. lauding. "wLlL^Lf^h^^'^.S^un^^^' ^th^ warmth, JSiW K?^ f***' ^ ^^^^ ^^ ^ngs that Jocelyn has done. J^ 3SS?i5f ^^T*" ^S^^tation, and wors<^ on his part to ^md he tiV ^T ^'l'"'*^ ?°^ "»»*** **»« world thinks ?f5iemSS^ua "My dear fellow! AnH i/>o« «.„ i.^i:j...i ». ^ . r would^e^Hni'irii "^"^^i"^ '"y ^'^"day^ No. no. Pym; that Ko«^ k1 l^^yj"; ^T P"***)^ Ar<4dian must come upto o^Sf ^^ ^ ?r?^ ^ * di;ear-nighted December by LomS^ "A native," Adriin Pym answered lightly. " N^er been afi«u ^rt^rf^pJil^fv-^*?"'' *^y ^~™ SUbuV In factfhe^vS^ ^^ ,?7" *' Vniginie existence, don't you Imow— with thi SJI of,I^«J left ou^. of coarse." (Hetty cougffi d?Sv ^ ^* H«?LC? gd^pt^ UiiweUyn, is ouite'a midmalhThi;^?^^ way-^ wS Druid, I bcheve^ or something of the kind~a disbeliever in 7v^ He • brought Maifnie up in primaeval innocence— an amiawThiitW --not even allowihg her to read the Bib^^He?? dS? iSld .^S SS?3'Jff21°%^?"' and he has his own 1dei^b^?id^; ! • w-^^^V'!?** ®S* * drea4|Ml tomboy, with such a queer education ? •* Aj gwifle* UtUethinar as ever was bom, I assure vmT MnT??^ V. /ii inything tnit a red woman, as diOdlsh anfl dimfle as ever you cotflQ find one. She reminds me always of something betwlen Galatea and Miranda— a child m innocence, and yet a perfect woman in ma- turitjr of feeling." Jocelyn Cipriani yawned. u r"TxJ"y enthusiastic weVe gettinsr, l>yn,," he answa«I, ktily. "We must certamly be mtroduced to this child of nature! An prodigy of ^genuousness. What a perfect Beatrice she ou^ht warped and distorted by the emotional medium, which seeiMrlUce Iceland spar, to excrase a double refractive rainbow-makinjr influ- ence. I understand they call the state ' falUng in love,' AdriL.'^ i^S!*"/ 5^ **r^ H7*^.^P "P^" **»« shmgle a litUe stiffly. VI T" «u ^ ^^ * coUege," he answered, with some chUliness in to tone, "has no opportunities for indulging himself in such expen- shre luxuries. It s aU very weU for artists Uke you, Cipriani, who am coin money with the wave of a paint-brush ; but as for me, you toow, my dear feUow, my income depends absolutely and entirelf upon my stnct observance of the most monastic celibacy." ^ ,<<« ' CHAFItR n. iniST LOVB. T»AT same afternoon shortlv after lunch, Adrian Pym left SLn^PJ^^L**' ^**i undereraduates, and turned by himself to ^mb the heather-dad hf that overhangs the west side of King's SilDury. "...','>, '■*' ^' " ^^ Nw the top of the cliff path, in a Uttie combe, whert a seat wSSnteUewJu °' *^ ^ron^ the edge, he came suddenly upon It was dear that Maimie was not there by accident. She jumped SL!*Jfi."??,^'.*?5 ®"." ^**° "P«<^ another, and took his hand in hers with childish frankness. «,«1^ ^"* you are, Adrian," she said in a soft clev voice, ex- gMiaitelyj>ure and musi(»l and ddicate. -^I've been waiting for you Ff^-MW for half an hour. 1 really thmi^ you^v"'^ "«"— «^»..-.<' «„JS^lP!?u"^^^ ^'l."^** """« °^ half-q^Samt^STnoT " Si^ ii^t!^*^^'** P'*^** *»f conscious appreciation. «Sf iK? ^* aeemea loth io fcaveliis. •• I'm punctual to tke roS: S& mii!?!l£""*'f"f /** *?* "*""** • ^*»«»<» %C*P«te arithmetic «iaii might obvwutly infer that you had come hdfpi half an hour 14 K.V V- n, JOJt UAIMIE *S S4JtA too eai^jf The eagerness of youth otltruito Its discietlun. __ devotion s beyond all "praise: -I fed I ba^v^ done nothinfif to de» .•eryeit" 7 / , - "Nowi dont begin talking that waW /Adrian," Maimie cri^' with half a pout,' "or else I shall really go doWn bs^ into the village and take a walk with one of the undergraduates. Yoti ought to* be v6ty much flattered indeed by my coming so early sir. aAd not to makeiun pf me over i^y bead, as you're so fond olx do^^" ^ " ' '^lam very much flattered," Adrian answered more seriously, lookiMT with unspoken admiration at the pretty little figure in m neat-fitting, flowered, print ^ress ; *' and as to maldng fun of you, Maimie, nothing oh eajrfh gould possibly be further from my intM-^ tions. You know there's nobody whose society gives me h«df so much pleasure as yours, little baby-^lace ; and I wouldn't even ^eem to be rude to you lor all the universe." (Maiinie's cheeks flushed up at once with ingenuous pleasure.) " Aiid do you know you've made a new conquest to-day, too ? You saw those two arti^ically dressed people I was talking to on the beach just after I arranged to meet you here this afternoon, didn't you^ " *f.What ! that sweet little woman with the blue-greiin frock and the lace parasol ? Oh, yes, I've noticed her on the b^ch for ever ^o long. She looks a dear: and her husband's so handsome 1 '■ " He is," Adrian Pym answered slowly, " undeniably handsome ; and he and she want to know you, Maimie. Shall I teU you wbo it it? It's J'eomingtmt^to meetyouidliF" fether, If you always go on tnrine to set me examination papers in histXMy and geography. I hate beinsf examined ; and you've got so acetistomed to It up at Oxford, you know, that you carry it away Wkh you even into the country." Adrian wineai The unsophisticated Silbuiyglri had Utth* Ox- Mutsrio9^ - „-« tnpinsctoushr on the most vulnerable tMbit in hk entln momyrJThcre's notfiing your university don &k eo^uchM J imputation of ped^tiV or priggishness. 5- v»«. "You're too cruel. Maimie/' he said, showing his two eten rows white teeth m a forced smile ; "and you fei»je lUce a ttraeticed ind. too, meeti^ thrust with counter^thrust^i^not likTa mere »man. We», this is afl the return I get. it:i^s, for ti^g to S « .how ypu ve enslaved (as usual) two more susceptible humm hearts. . They came, saw, and were promptly conqueredT TocelVn Cipnani, you know, or rather you don't know. Is the mo? mivdcm Ijungter E^ish paunter now living. He's the leader/of the new iealistic school, and he paints somethmglike a Tapane^ sometMn* te a_madman, and somethmg like an angeL NoWlTever pain^ Ice hM^before except the «»rly ItaUan mastas. w|fi/imitat3him bcfordiand without half his idealism. At this^meS Jocdw ;?-Ar-^* T ? ^°i««d and best abused andmost hily de- Sg^^W \^ London. The world divides iSdf, in factT i^ I^Ja^es and anti^Sprianistes. And Jocelyn C&r hte fiSS ; first sight m love with you." ■ ' ///*^ rr "***^ "HowTCiy nice of him I" Maimie answered unaffectetfly. "I ufdn't^^^ ^* * '"^"^ ^^^"^^ cif J5s own aheatfy. jm lA^^A^' ^^^ Pym assented vifith>4 nod. "And when I idhedfaHeninI%w{thyou.Imerelyi^^ tosu^ttothe ^^2"^^ fashion tha^ he'd done so p^essionally, aiS^ot now inally. He Mjants to get to know ya/, I mean, so as to oaint vou ^ great Italian pfcture of which^S^snow w^M-king ^^com! isinon. . / .; \^,'[-. " J vard the boslcy heather patches away from the pathT^t nS S^i"'^**^ com^. as It he'd fallen in love wlttme the otS ■^y'-gjereai way. you know, Adrian." «« ««kx Jri^'Jo"rj!Jf *iJ*^^*^ «rtraordinary, unblushing littie woman I ** :lTi?{? *^"^' »«i«^ her l»n»<^ ^"»*h. as if it wks esacUytiK '^ntep^iiV^,'***^^" happened to love yon." ^ tlikft^LA*^™^*'/"'^'''*™?^? "tdoii't mean that, you hwir. Bte •wne^thm ol course, much better than the .tliw \. •I m l6 ^OUr HAIJIiIM*S SAOU 'teioff loved by the (Mord men most; and best flf aBIIoin^ ioved birvou, Adrian." ,And SM took his hand tenderly in hers, with a dmpH^. of . mteandr that robbed the act at once of all aj^tarent. imputation fonwBcdness. Adrian let himself be fondled passively for a moment in a ba„^ shame-faced, undecided fashion, and then -threw himsdf down on] little oasis of short grass among the purple heather, where the TOise and overarchinjg^ btambles that spread about completdy '. 'them from allpassing observers. Maimie seated herself quietly b side him, and began to pull to pieces with idle fingers the peals i a wild Scotch rose that flowered unseen among the ring of brus' wood. " So this Mr. Cipriani wants to pauit my picture some day, dc delightful You must int lid \oy\ to be painted, have everybody coming to admire one's portrait duce me to him, Adrian." "I will," illdrian answered, lying flat upon the grass, and 1( in? on his elbows, with his face pushed close up beside Maimie'^ •• He 1 ure.' : says he'll immortalize your great big <^es in his greatest pic " What a horrid conceited man he must be if he sidd that riously I But oh, isn't he awfully handsome, Adrian I Such love brovm eyes of his own, and such a l>eautif ul artistic-looking I was watching both of them all the tim£ whUe I was waiting ^the Parade for s^ word with you this mom3ng." _^n' / '*You8eemtobequitesmitten with him,<" Adrian retorted, pettishly; *' Of course I am," Mabnfe replied, with perfect i^coity. * always am smitten by those lovely artistic pointed beards,you knov l^hy don't you wear a pointed beard like his yourself, Adrian, in stead of a skimpy bit of a moustache like that only } " Adrian twirled the {Mint of that justly criticised article betwe his finger and thumb with tender solicitude. "Non omnia poss mus omnes, Maimie," he answered, smiling benignly. "Tliati Latin, you know, and I say it on purpose because I m sure , vfon!t understand it. It always tantalizes girls to talk Latin to the and 1 11^ tantalizing you, you wicked little thing, for you look i bewitching always when you're trying your hardest to find out an]» thing. On the whole, my child, I think you, taking you all roun' one way with another, about the very nicest gin I've evor co across miall my experience." "--- "So ■ you Ve often tcdd me^-b^'Wei" - Mi^mie -s^d, snrf _ swiny childlike smile at him ; "but, like the farmer with the cL wb never seem to get any forrader,- Adrian." The Oxford tutor g^ve an embarrassed smile, and plaved n oosl^ with the Roman coin that dangled from his watch-cnaia. -M''' '•■"i. ^ MXSr LOTS. «7 tony young and defightfuUy unsophisticat^I. And yet your vSy innocence sometimesleads you much whereiie most advanced foi^ wardness would lead any other and more experienced woman. I'm almost old enough to be your father. I'm fifteen ye;^ older than you are. Maimie, You ought td have taken lip instead with one of the undeigraduates. ^ f^d . "I jjate^undeigraduates," Maimie cried out vehem«»tly. « At I^t-that IS to say. I don't hate thefn; I lik6 them veiy weU in their proper place and m their own way-vyhen Ithfere's nobody else to talk to and to fhrt with, you know, deair ; biit they're not fh to r lif*"*"\***r"* ^*^l^- 9^^** gip^Mng, blushing, hesitating, [oveigrown schoolboyfr-thafs what I ^them ; ^htoied at evc^ «-. w^« ««««o, «»"" «Mcu I pcrpciuauy airaiu ot their live omg to say«)raethi^ that wifi shock or offend Vou, , . ^And I ke^'tfw best of all, Adilan." > T •*♦****"* lu.Jl^S? ^'""^ ^"'S^-^.r? yo"» Hairafe, that I reclArbcate tiie fed* fae wth compound inte on the m % \^ )rou. I think it's the veiy loveUest thmg I dver did hiaS lone onl Happy girl | Adnan said, somewhat bitterly. «• What endl(^ MS and vistas of pleasure you have yet before tob I You've Ko ' Ki ^^^ ""* time^crossed the outermost threshold, and you have dtill many, many stages to pass befort you first begin to find out how very hoUow it all is at littom. Ktep your ilffins°MS- mi^k^p your illusions f Why. you even succ% ij briS back SV hSr *^. ""•• ^^ .# ^^ .^^°»«*' thirtySiv?! ^^e s^U S?*^ J K * happiness is pdssible-irt the future-in the future. Un- nSJt^i*^ ^^^il y^*" **' "P* experience and continuous disap- pointment, we still expect we may love a woman and be happy with her for ever. This conclpsively ppves, yon see, what SoS 'If you re going to begin talking that sort of nonsense I ««.•*! * -»*«^fr^ «hail prtro this »«y ^ mvawxu wnnoiK J2fS5,^ '*7t*^"**5T ^ y°"/ *"^ «° ^ck to SilSuiy to tSe undow l!?**"!^-,F"''f'^**"**«s have at least one go6d point ^521 ncv«- talk either Latin grammar or stupid cynicisiSToS^." ^^ llnr hir^J?r"*3 ^'i!. */** *1"***^ suddenly, as if recaUed to himself' [»y her word^ and said, m a new and teij different tone: ™ ~ ? -1 1"?*, IS JtOM MAJMtS*S SAKE, ■- JGK «*Opriani'^<'^ li^ y<^^ C^ ^ Lqh^ some day.i^ M Uta paSt you." ■■• ' "^ ; '*• ' * ■■■^- ■■r-'-^'r- ^ -' •■v:.:.'><^ t' . " -^^ ' "To London I " min&t cried, dasptag her haiid» m ecstw. •That would be too ddwhtfull That would be just heavenly How very nice of him! I should love to go there. Butpajjar-papa would never let me 1 Arid that dear, pretty Kttle Mrs. CipriMU, tool . She's, just a darimg. Oh, I should iminensely love to go and stop a 'jaonuiwith Mrs. Cipriani!' I " I've no doubt,' Adris * vc u« ««u«M Adrian said quietly, "Captain Llewellyn'* ^b- ^1 jeetions could be easily set aside. We could teU him, for oi^ple, that Cipriani had a special and peculiar aversion to all devil-dodgers, and wais general secretary of a charitable society for the total abou- tion of parish churches." ..■ - v.. ^ .„;., • • " How does he come to have such a name as Cipriam ! Maimie " B^use, Kke all the rest of us," Adrian answered, with an fan- perc^tible curi o^ his lip» "he uiherited his surname from his father s .| uunfly." * "But who was his falJIer, you horrid creature? and how ever did his father come to be called so?" ? 1. i "v „ . , "By a dmilar process of inheritance from his |;randfi^er and his remoter pn«enitors, I should be inclined to conjecture.*' ^ "Adrian, Adrian, you nasty, rude^ sneering man I I dont hke :yosi a bit I I hate you ! I detest you ! You know very well what nl meant to ask I How do they come to be Italians in England 1 ; I«eople with names hke Opriani aren't Iqic found every day of the^ Vweek knockhxgup and down all over thelapQ-ol.the countiy^^wy- "I beg Tpur p^don." Adrian faitemipted gravely; «*you foiifet ^ *'?So^ye,1£. Pym." Maimte said. rising as if in anger. "I hopei to meet you again next year at Chdord." , . _^- , " Maimie, Maimie 1 " the tutor cried, puUmg her hastfly down again, and scL^ the opportunity to kiss her soundly two or three times over in the process ; "you mustn't go away yet ! I'ln enjoy- ing myself so immensely ; and so are you too, you bad UtUe tiling, though you won't admit it. Don't waste your time ; most people waste tliirs as profusely as if they had hal^ardosen lives to Ihre to- , jrether. I love teasing you, and you love being teased ; and ao why \ SiouMn't we both get our f uU fun out of it ? Ljf e is surely not so rich in enjoyments that we can afford to throw away any single, souree of one. Sit down again, there's a dear Htfle womari, tm you shall hear whatever you Want to hear aboirt the Qp"*o^ g^ ff n body etie on (^^ chdbiB tb isk about. You.»we«^tiraeMai*1 mie; You dear little Maimie! You shall not be bothered and worried and made wicked fun of 1 You ought to be treated like * Defect little empress!" ^ . - . . «. jmI Maimie tet Wm kiss her sedatdy, her ch«ek flushing a$ h# did wn riaxAV'Made and how ever FlJlsr ZOFM, 5E:V 19 taon where he placed hef %htly down beside him anici^'^ "Well; BOW," she said, holding up the little fan that hnn^at her jde to hide hex blushes; "tell me all about these Qpriani peoi^ ' .you?"- 1 ^r-' - ■:■■'. - ■ ^-A . ' " Vft&t" Adrian answtited, making^ a detemihied dfoit not to be too teasim "Jocdyn Cipriani is a collateral descendant' Of Sir loshua's aUy, and a son of old I^aele Cipriani's. You know : old laffaele Cipriani of the National Gallery." ^ " Never heard of him in all my life before,'^ Mainiie answered lievoqsly. She loved to display the profundi^ of her ignorance |to the Oxford tut(»r. Possibly not," Adrian went on, with a satiriod smile. " There lare many pc^le m London society whose fame has never yetpene- |trated as far as Silbury. However, old Cipriani was one of that ma- ticular form of irreclaimable bri^;and they used to call an Itsuian (patriot. Nowadays the species is out of iasi|)ion, and peo]^ call [them communists, and dyn»niters, and odier'hanl names; but in [those days they were the height of the vo^e, and people used to icaUthem Italian patriots. Old Cipriani raised some sort of rebd- tllon or other against his lawful soyereign^King Bomba, I suppose, [or some eaually atrocious old t^-^ueezing figure-head — and got [caught in tne very act. of course without having effect anything. [In those days dvnamite wasn't yet invented,. and eVen infernal ma- Icfaines were stiU in their infancy; and the intdligent patriot niver [did eifect anything. So Cipriani i)^^ languish^il long in a damp^ [unhealthy, and doubtless riieumati^ Italian dungecm; until ^ last [his friends supplied him with a golden key wherewithal to corrupt [the rudimentary morals of his stem gaoler. The gaoler prompter [succumbed to Mammon; and the end of it was, Cipriani ^g rm [away, stole a horse (of course, in the cause of freedom), rooe acrcxss ■'•ountry over severaJ ^credible passes, swam a mysterious nunii- ■r of roaring torrents, all swollen (as usual) by the recoit tain?* land finally got shot in the side by a minion of despotism just |Bs he was crossing the frontier river on the back of his faithful itolen ponjr. In spite of this small accident, however, he con- inued his journey, bullet and all, without intenuptipn; was pro- ""*" welcomed by an English adnUnistration, then congenudly ed in suppressing freedom of speech in Irdstnd-~and there- fore« of course, wildly enthusiastic over Itai3n unity; and, hasritig »*-D«^t a letter of introduction from Msizzini, or some other"^ »tonable firebrand, was promptly, pitchforked hito a good at the National Gallery— -on the ground, sqmarently. thkt le^'by^^li^h^jitt^ 4taliani~and then»^ ly cist to know something or .other ilxnit the old masters, thejsame principle, as you maf have acutefy observed^ Itah ~ the land of song, a smaU Italian boy is inmMthr idected - Ugh and cQagenlal ttutic^ taste of jpkk^ a ban«l« M u 9a tSUr >»> MAIMIB^S MJCE, u bastmns and, toonhasrWrLSf in ore RtnhK^'' ^'^ ^t * mother's milk, and began to draw Sf r,.?!^*? ^o^^ *'^'^ "^^ hts are n^^ yourself acquainted with St John the B^DtSt n3' * -^S" you must take it entirelv on tru^t /^«» >ll *i. * t "* ^«ver mind ; ko despised the supJrflSiuS j 5lo„ i^^^^ 'tomewha?exclt,sivedi?t?nScSstIaS^^^ ^V was^ something .more than a mere wUnter he S* t?^ f i'^'^y^ hard, took a firet. went in serioSy^fTci^tik 3n w^^^^ "^ the inestimable privfleee of mak!n/m„ «z!^: antiquities, and had , both undeigmdSS %er^"Oy*'geh^^^^ great artist, he has risoTLrly to U an R A ^„„rf ft ^I .^^^^ ? promising: painter of the younger ^neitionln S^ EtS'^^'tf^t^ you will let hifti paint vou for h{« n.Iri«- »> / fnfir'and. If only • l^itest painter KliSro^'"*' ^*'^''*' ^^*'' ^« ^ be thJ litUe'Sr^f^e^stKr^^^^^^^ -iSs aS^m^-AS'ln 'i^^' '""'""^J "^ho was she?" Ui h^d." iwSrS^^ei^lSmot?^ answered, with a careless wave of you^'ltore hJerTSfcon^^^^^^^^ ffi ST' and therefore..^ hi fact, that we never taf7aSS of oLaSfhl^^^^^ '^"°*«' Jocdyn. however, another wusS^ofhi^ S^a^^ *|Su*^* "'^^'^ very well-known l^raon SdSd- a m«f?f^^?"*'^ Chevenfat. is a guishcd F?' 3^**" could get Intro- handsome young man^ Sydney fcni^^^^^^^ *.^.«y ^«=ent. ity on nitroilycSrine Md iu oSer SJSi* * ^'^tinguished author- Sjdney C&Lx S s^Ti\1i°&^P»°«^5«Sy^^^^^ possessor of a very tidy snuir K f«r*„I!? ^y?"*/ fbevenuc is the th^^ousand a^a? onSnS in^^ ^^^ two or teal t4de^Sco?^^7oS%n*?^^^^^^ you know, a young rniried Suple JuJt bSinSSt wf "^^^ * y^^' tomakeUi«i«elv&e^^^ Ml, Adrian? Mairaie said coldlv. "WeU, Adrian? "WcU,M^e,' Maimie said coldly, thetutor replied" fid "^ ha^s^^fi^ gTaice, "you ni self, I can tell you, than * ' "Adrianl"^ 8gv nP«^tion. ^ offi^ : a Nilulist (never^eS^^^^lSiS W^^^ ** ^^ end of the f«^' l"^? detdiator id WmV^.J^^ ^J^^^^X o^ the «! on which he was seated -^f .^S j ^/^*^"®^' underneath the stnii Je InvestigaCfi^l '^^edS„b^»5^^^^ andTo^lS^ Sw«on, just overhead. F<^ my^ t^PfJ"**^***"* o' «»« Third ai^^t thi' moment of his subSSL!? ^^'t l""*^ rt prudent not to hurriedly but unobtruSvel^" S?* '*? '^' ^ >»^&drewStf mouth tw&fced ^ ^S^Sh J^^ aga«n- Stanislas Benytovffi • "And yoj, say it act«Jveit?ili|i<^ oh tfte^ wild and absui^ revolutionary schemes - [of Mis>aj^ ttt»tni^ would only be content to settle down and work a good laboratory at th|s sorH>f thlhg, |ie'd soofTlbeat ^^ ^ iw as £^l orijginal investigator at the science of the sub- Benyowsld's lip curled, half in disdain, as he answc;red dr^y: ''You foiget tnat while you men of science r^^ all this as an jd in itself, to us men of politics it is not an end, but a means onfy. 'ke true end is the final regeneration of human socie^." ^h6 Englishman laughed. *^y dear fellow/' he . said good-htTihonedly, laying his hand ith a fnendly emphasis upon Benyowski's shoulder,'" between you 4nd m«^, aU that is the merest moonshine. A good easy explosivt for blasting rod? wilh— a new power to cheapen^fr construction of ttilway tunnels, of canals; of docks, of harbors— a material that wiU . enable tis to dp. away at once witb the Alps and tbe Pyrenees with Panama and Caocasus, with the Hhnaliayas and the Hindu Ku$h— that would be a thousand times m(M« -practically valuable to the worid in the end than all your beautiful- Utopian plans for the vM&r mate r^teneration of human society by blowing up the Czar or the * Chief ofthe TWrd Section. Of course, it does?t matter in the least ' to me M^at you choose to do with your own explosives, as soon as you've made them. I'm a man of science, as you say— not a man of politics— and I don't know or care twopence about the rights and wrdngd of Poland or of Russia. I know you're an excellent person to-work with, and a good, trustworthy, valuable assistant. But '^ JSSiif^^^^^P ***y "*o" Russians, my dear fellow, 1 beg ol Xf*"A'liF*^?^ ^^y'.*** thejong run, audit isn't reaUy worth it. . . ., And ftdT-you think the stuff, if properly purified, n^ at last be . ttuule absolutely noiseless?" T^ "I do," Benyowski answered, with a nod. •»The vertical dis placement might be so restricted by mutual interf^nce of sound- ^Lv^j:^ no JtfLat aMsho ul d be communicated Jn any ^ ti?IS^Psr3K'^ ut you ; the meVting awaits you." i ney are all here Benyowski entered and glanced around him bv the dim iwk* ^ %*^ J6' -^ A»* MAIMIS'S SAJtM, ll!2 ?V^J^ ^^ the young and handsome £aces of student enthus w^: and among them, at the head of th^long table/si rS of M^mei,, both of them beautiful, with aTranfe open fwLs sS pfb^taty, such as one associates, in ohe s mental pictuiS-^tii tP T^^A^ Char one Cofday or of the Maid of OrSf^^iS^o^ !£ r^i?^ ^£!''^r^}^ ^'' ^"'^ ^^^^-^<^^ Ws seat near thelhSd the council board, m the second place of honor at the lomr tabll »We by side with the elder of the two women. ^ "*** '^?^^^1 •k^.ni ?*' ^^^ business before the meeting, to-iifght?'' one thtffll-shaven men at the bottom of the board s^ked mSfflv. " WhI ' ^ f" extraordinary conclave heen called this eveSng fcfoVe thi regular day of assembly on Wednesday next ? " " «^3 {t X?""? ^ ^<*' handsomest of the two girls, who evident! arted in the place of secretaiy. drew forth a litSe book of dphere jwnutes, ancf bM:an to read in a subdued voice, but with a iertS studied ajr of official impressiveness : ^<^ »v '* RepubUc of all the Russias. Anarchical an? IndVsoIuble U Jhe Name of the WiU of the People. Amen. MeeUnSS^Pr ^lonal Counca of the English*^ Section. i8th of /iSS^Nev SS!«« ?W?** ."^^*L consideration-impeachment of Miclia btefanovitchKonussarofiF, late treasurer." They did not speak or act like conspirators ; they did not whis ^VIh^aS:T'fi'^^S'-^'''^^°''¥k garble their 1^8^^ Why should they? In their own eyei they were not consp^ator ?L^r"?*?J**.™"'**^"^"' ^'"^ ^^i"^^ embodiment of tl£S anarchical Russian commonwealth. ^ ♦iw. ni^l!?ii* ^^ accusation against Brother Michad Stifeno^tch ? the dl-shaven man at the bottom once more inquired. S^n h^lr^hSrWe'aV*"^ '^ ^^ '^ ^^ >°1 ^Who delates. Vera Trotsky r'StwOslasBepyowsld^^a^^^ hanll^^^'^^ ^ - nrJ5J*S ^u *i 1? ^? animated discussion as to the hiferentia proofs of Michael KomisteroflF's suspected treacheiy— very slieh the question of guUt rfr innocence was hotly debated bv all thel party, save only Stanislas Benyowski ; he looted on SrdLty wX a;£i7^"4\^tiSnr^^^^^ Then at last the secretary, arra jeH neat and tidy for so important a function, put the question 1 ^ul^J^l^ is 'Slr"^ after hearing all aigSments : " li it the wffl of the Coundl that juiSce be Sxccuted Of! the HKft,-. COtfitCrLS OF STJITM, wn with an offl n y MftAad.Stefanpvi^h Komissarofif. traitor tdthe Republic*' ircWcal and Indissoluble, and to the united WiU of the RusdaU lie ? Those who are in favor of the motion, hold up thdr risfat J in token of approval." - ^ f^F-^^'^^A* Syeiy right hand around the whole table was held tip iinani- f sly as a vote of condemnation. ^ »«««r f'Fer contr^" the secretary said again, looking round the room K an amused §mile of official scrupulosity. *Jobody resp6nded. .. -^rr • 7.7;^ ^' The sentence is^caried," V6ra Trotsky said dalmly, maidng a : note of the deadly decision in her wee minute-book •« StaSs- enyowski, prepare the decree, to cany out the WiU of the Sov- ) Feople. :,, ; \:\-,'\;' • .„ . .i ,;« . StanifOas Btmyowski leaned over the table. pencO in hand, for a- ^nutes, and then read aloud in a clear voice the draught form Kficial decree he had prepared for the occasion. P^ Sf&^IWlf^*p Russians, etc., etc. Meeting of the Pro- ^S?l "» English Section, i8th of August, New Stjde. Seciigjhat Michael Stefanovitch Komissarof^ formerhr trwd^ has^^Wen found guilty On suspicion, by delation of No. 1244. r S^iSfiif" »".*^ypj5 from Nijni Novgorod, dated JulylJ ►., Of treachW agamst the Republic |um the WiU of the PwplS jjecrees ■ \ ' ' • LIlS^K?* said, Michael Stefanovitch Komissaroff, formeriy I »«^»^'^P« removed by such means as may prove most convenient effect to the commWs of the CouncU. j »^*» \ "By order: • •• The Acting Intendant. * " Stanislas Benyowski : 3^47," Lhi?!!****''^ accepted?" the secretanr asked, looking aroand U^t^^r '"''i:*' *":^* mWst of stUl anideath-Uke sacSceT^ •AU hands went up immediately. .d i>hf 'JH*^^ ^^^ ^^"i decree" V^ Trotsky said, tunlnc ^dwithabowtoBenyowskl . l#^>Ci * . uiumhi Pg^w^bpwed sjditly Ij return. Inllvearied fashion. r JJraw lots, the indefatigable secretary went on. putting a num- ^ 7t fisr °^ ^*^'' ""^^ o;JbScribed! iira^^^^ PlgtM^ drew in M g mii aflcnce. 3- < ^r S^te^mij unfolded his scrap of paper with trembUng fmkts% W J^Jt afAfJflM s SJJt& . meeting stands adjou^&S/'tUl t^et.St:^^^^'^'^^ hand Th^tu«ru!i* ^^^ ®"ll'y^?eLtd"S^^^^^^ anLod^lv^^dSS^ . pn>ceeded to light wUoJj the f^n^^^^ ^^«' ^^^^ch thd,, ,lng lesolved &^^ght^J^^^ and the^meet^ easy-going Nihilists S^nrTLi * social conversation cub oL ^'^^nn^crlXg^mSl^^^^ appearance of bloodi of the week i^^^lS^^^^J^^ CHAPTER v. ' ,. THE SYSTEBI. j jyj^ / ucM.nDea as just a dear, and such a regular joHy good ' «t^iy-"'Sy"S^d;^4'£'.5^'f " ««'rapria„i saw Ifaiaite bliuhed jurt kToylitU. (a»w» fa L MMnl i. THE SYSTEM. " Oh ! weU. you toow, if it comes to that, Mi?. Cipriani, he Isnt Jng to be a /eUow alwap. He's called to the BaVTSink ^u U it--at any rate, he's a bamsjer-and h6 means some day to rS J to London and to build up a practice for himself in the Temute. hxx taow he teach^ law Already, and knows as much about fc- I, quite as much ^bout it as a regular lawyer " '/'That's weU," Hetty answered, smiling. '" But, Malmie vou formal, as If I were a perfect ogre, and you were dreadfuUv id of me, Besides,;! like to feel myself still as young mvoJ . Call me Hetty. It's so much nicer to be friendfy toSther^?^ "I should like to be like a sister with you, Hetty?' Ete'«i- fred simply. "But^ Mr Cipriani? I coufd never Sll S^ JoSl 'ti,^ I m sure, though I always call Mr. Pym Adrian." '' Jocelyn laughed and answered for his wife : "The cases are not exactly parallel, Maimie," he said, cood- Imoredly. " IJmi stands to you in a somewhat more Siwtere- Iwn. I fancy, though I wish you would call me Jocel^n,Sy \ \ t eyeiy day m these latter tfmes that I get aiw prttty^iS^glside 1^ w, e to honor me by dispensing with tSe iSFmy^sS?' ■ But Maimie shook her head to that; and s* it Was Hrtty and dmie alone between the two women from thatX f(S for Sll'''"'1^£' ^?» «^ayi«to the habit Wdl^rpretty Jdhke simphaty of her innocent, unsophisticated, countiy-brS LlnX,?JS^n!;L^^t ^*S '"l^"^' J~^«^»P « hnrrS^' ?"L' ^"^^-."'o^ng. Mrs. Somebodi? I ?L?lSw iXL ?.^^^^ tongue around your outlandi/h cxS-L^^ er lingo, I m sony to teM you ; but I'm gJad to meet you auS^ id t7hS.^^ '"^ *"'"' y°"' ^^ Maimie tils me^^e^y^ |uaintance,_ Jocelvn answered, wfth n»<{»«^; s;, .\ -l^t. "^"J^ * ^f-^^i i^^^ ^ ^^i' ' ^^^^^^^^ pou t S/ FTSijf P^^" T^^, y* ^^ »" amazement. , Miss Llewellyn?" he repeated blanklv "Mfq* TU».ii.».ft jio the dickens said anything^bom mS L^'eweuZ? Whf Sd Wr K^LSTh TAi^ * P^"°"^ -".stakT^ewhS?' MV SSif^GL^rJ**? *^ A*" l^' Oh. ah I I «ee ; you m«u i«WM*l God W«M my foul I Why, yc^ ye^ you ¥«in MiSSJ ;*f / '■■fl^,- it $0 F0» MAiaOM'i SJtkB, E' V . »*ody evfr cMli her Miss UeweUyn, bless you I Oh/ah ! llH^S -J'^ hope." Hetty said.,«you11 let M^ie come up sinii^ daJ ftw«i a pictur^ and he'd hke i^jipcnsely to have some sittinw febr , ner.,' :j r ..-^ -^ '■■■^' . ^ / . - ^. ,; chJ5? nil^^I?" ^'^''^ askance at Hetty, as if he sniffed auet at oAce m.the uncanny proposal •' "You^Wtgo putting ideas into her head?" he said suspil . devil^odging nonsense,! mean, wfll you? Maimie'sagirltKat Fi ^ 'brought up myself under my own eye very particularly ; never allov any sentimental trash to come anywhere near her. And what's im g^w^Uence? She's a sensible giri, Maimie is ; aren't you, Mainife^ M. w^s" \^^ **"■ ^y^ * ^**^* as weU as any saflof ; don^^u ^Saimif?''T>*^^' o« the gold at forty yards ;4l " I can, papa," Maimie answered, 'with a bewitching smile, whicli sjcmed toguarautee at once that all h^' .*"^ flattering her, anTtefling Ues to I an^r^,!;?*^ ^ih^^ * "r*'* ?^^ ; but she mustil't be allowcd D SLlSS^^liS **^J''^«>v It doesn't do to put these notions fait children s he^s; it unsettles them— it unsettles them. No. Mi . Somebody; it s veiy patural you should want to i^^ fm SYSTEM, l« hkjAmm him ; and I can always do just «• I like mvsdf aB '?^^"«*? whatwer I say. it disn't matter." ^^^ ^ Hctty-ttoted with some amusement that they both alwavs snoln ^°?f ««f .another, eompletelv ignoring each 'other's pnSn^ lAng due. no doubt, to the obvious fact that they iSS p^ fs ^(^S!^"^"*^ "* ** ^ confliptingwith one anSS '•But you^ surely aUow Mauriie^ to come ub to town and ston li me. Captain Uewellyn?" Hetty said coa«Lty. -JshJ^^nlJS "tyoiTM^K''^' ought to gothe«.'lJ's dying to g■ *uwyf n was a wrong word to use. or I fUSc^/-*"*^^ ButlLilcyou^toi^ir ^k:dfL"'{elS.i^^^ Uewellyn?" Jocelyn LT°' I r"'^"^^** oiasailor replied, with gruflF stoHdity. " I'yg prgo up to Lonqon. Here she never tees any men or anvbodv CrS %?' ^'S? O^o^^v^nd those nice. wdUbehav^^S *^«^»^^to h» h^ She'AACountiy^^rf^ ^JOTWhcr up to London you'U turn her head, an* make* ^ ;l"*if ,f ^f L^Maimle, my dear, you shaU n;,t go to iSi Hj, and you shall not be made into a fine lady." wi-u»- BirW ZJTk;; W'l-^^"'^? answered, unclaapfag her hands, bul Jm^SX^ wirSpP***"**** ^'>^' ^^ ^^ cSnrideredT^-^ u^nmy* Millet^ go ioeiMi'«rlatarrjahaU>i^ ^ 'i{ ^ 'A. fox MAIMIM*S SArX. \ irfaatev^r 1 w^i^t him. I shall tvfi^t him round my litde «hb H<^'s^a dear old fellow in some ways, although he's so ^mm^ always get my own way in the end with him and with everyb I shall go to London by-and-by, and Mr. Cipriani shall paint and itll be just heavenly— I mean delightful. We shall have no ol fun in London together 1 " j'~* ... • CHAPTER VI. f-^ '3>-3 THE RESULT OF THE SYSTEM. , ''- A FEW evenings later, as the sun was setting, Adrian Pym ». o«ce more among the purple heather upon the West ClifiF, and Mj «ie sat threading .daisies together, like the child that she was, . the grass beside him. "And so you're going away from Silbury next week, Adria^ l!j«? said plaintively, turning her big brown eyes full upon hir- •• and then the great, nasty, long, dull winter will be coming oil and the season will be over, and all the fun; and you'll be goJ and all the Oxford men; and there'll be nothing left on earth il me to do but to sit and mope and talk to the fishermen— and coi the days till summer comes again I " , " You're too /rank and too flattering, really, Maimie," the Oxfoi tutor answered, holding her hand in his lazily. "You want to d wooer and wooed at once. Don't you know that you ought to \tsA the love-making to me, little one, and not to do it all of yourself < your own account? Man proposes; woman accepts. Beside perhaps, for aujght you know to the contrary, I may take giy rea ing-part^ to John o^ Groat's or Land's End next July, instead of "Ohr^drian I Adrian I You wicked man ! You don't love mi J^otonebit; I'm sure you don't love me. Everybody else I evl meet loves me dearly, except only you ; and yet you're just the vel one of all others I want the most of all to be desperately loved b) "The natural perversity of things," Adrian Pym responc with provoking calmness, yet taking her plump little dimpled han between both his own, and stroking it long and slow with affectioj ate persistence. " Eros Duseros— criss-cross love— the Greeks us( to call the tendency, Maimie. Whom we love, loves not us ; ar who loves us, we somehow love not. . . . Maimie, Maimie, ^ -sweet Sttle-MuiwiejI-only^^shTo God 1 didn't toveycra I "^"^^^ 'The last words came suddenly and unexpectedly with a stranj burst from the depths of his bosbhi, and as he said them he fl«r Aer hand away from him vebemcnuy, as if ashamed and afraid his own tendemesa. ' -ITou i^meto Sflburjr apin, iext suninieii Adiiati." Maimie «spered softly. ^' You won't Feave me for two irhole r^arawX Bt ever so much as once seeing you, v^you ? " ^^^ ^^ Adnan Pyta faltered and hesitateik-^ "Why do you press me, Maimie?" he cried at last in » i«« S^wkT""'^^ vehemence. , " Whjdo youliy to force mv " I don't want you to many me." Maimie answered low in a shit. ' aiet, musical whisper " I want vou to comp tn sJiK«r^ «A *^^ It Mdth me here on^he West Clikfand holTmy'^^^^^^^^ b^f .rj°? ^°^' ™" ^^"i^' ^^" anybody,^andrmke'myffi eat as it s beating now—and— and— and— tKat'cTii a ?i • » Adrian PVm iSbbed^the holtow%£ of 'his c^^tn'^^"h^ *^. n'n;v 1 munnured in a voice Is of terrible pSff ' ^ P°K t; »*?i t-please don't. Maimie I " *^ I shaU, Mainiie answered. " I shaU say it if I choose • T t-n k Adnan. I love you better than all the rS^; and if I hk?^ V L'^ m you to your face I love you— I love vou Oh AHr,l« ^i v |makes my heart thriU so." ^ "*"' '^**'^' ^^^'^^^ " Wh^ rf^l^f^^' i^^"^^' y°" ^" ^" n»e I You will kill me i •• , ^^^fc^'il^^I^l''^ ^*>- -? I>o ten me, p^ •■ I know you d d, Adrian. I alwajrs knew it ^ whv^Sf^, ," Because Maimie-you Wi7/ wring it from me— I love vi>« ♦«« h forever.'- "^^"^ ****: ^"~^ "'"'^ 8« away and leavi • ^Maimie clutched his hands tight in hers, as if to hold h&n and tK'o''^?"^":'^''^^" sbe whispered sofUy. e J?nf oTe '^^^S ^^' ^^"^'"* '^^ «^^ ^^^^ <»«« * Maltni^ Maimie, I'm manied alraady I * f u •►3 .^1 -%^ -•.(•■ P0& JtUIMIj^SSAXM, r-^^ Maimie turhW to hini ydA a longrdeep breath. Her face fiuihc a beautiful cnmson, and her hps parted as if to speak, but said dot ing. The tears rose slowly into her big dark eyes and fell one b one «pon her soft flushed cheek. Then, breaking away to him inl sudden access of passion, she nestled at once upon Adrian's she der with a childlike air of trustful confidence. "My darling I " she cried at last, as the teari'rose gp hotter ar f^rer ; " my darling ! my darling I— is that all ? Then you will con to Silbuiy, won t you, next summer ? " . She threw kerself back with her breast on his, and her babv-f looking up all entreaty into his cold blue eyts; and Adrian Pv tJlought he had never in all his life seen the beautiful giri look loi her or more innocent than in that supreme^oment of complete am ""i • tVl"^^ expected she would have drawn back, as any othe girl would have done, in horror and disfhiay at his crushing an nouncement ; instead of that, she clung to him harder and moil lov ingly than ever, as if I^ef arms could never release their tight hold his neck and shoulders. * "My darling! mv darling!" she went on whispering. «i nothmg-its nothing) You wiU love me stilll You will nwer fo sake me!. '•;''■.■:'•,', "Mamie." the tutor cried half sternly, shamed into momenta respect for the conventions of morality by her childlike self- donment, "you mustn't cling to me' so; itisn't right of you. •;» oueht to be angry— angry and shocked at me. You oughtn't t^i on Joyinjr me so ; you oughtn't to speak another word to me." i "I dare say I oughtn't," Maimie answered low, clutdjinir hid stiU harder and pressing against him till he could feel her heart lej m her bosom. "I dare say I ouehtn't. I don't know : lidon't \3 derstand about all these things like other people, you knoW, darlii I haven t been brought up to understand them. I never had mother to tell me all about them. I can oirty do what my instinj S T^' ^H* '^ y^» ^ got a wife already, Adrian, you don't ta het 4bout with you now anywhere ; so I hope youll come to Silbi again, and love me always the pame as youVe always done." Adrian seized her eageriy in his arms and covered h*r face warm, long kisses. . , "Maim|e, Maimie," he cried fai an* outburst of hot irrepressiJ passion, "you re too innocent or too wicked, I'm surd IJ don't kn which ; but you mustn't talk sp— you mustn't talk so. I don't kn] what you 11 make me do if yoii go on talking so any longer." * ^ni"iM *" ' T:!? ^*'" Maimie answered, soft and low, dlnghig to . still like a chUd to its mother. "I'm so happy, so happyt-so : prenjely happy I q Adrian, I'm so glad to know it's only that I Y\ -caa^Gve me still, can'1r y o u,imy darting?*^ f ..,——--■ j ^"But Maimie, Maimie! I mustn't, I mustn't. Apart from evJ other consideration, it's wrong to you, it's spoiling your life, il blighting your future, all fbrmyo^vn selfish personal gratificatic T*5W mustn t love me any Ibnger, darling. I ought never to have J liSA- TBrnhssviT «^^^^^^ h™g a..att_«. it had aU gone'.S^fe^'S'd^^V'SS;^ fN '3 Are^K)«» ^diS?^-^'" ""'•«»"»:=• Yon were -hy j«u;didn't manyl^ i SdSnd^i J™ """W ■"" ««" »« iryouitalljrloveme." "*»?«?»«M t all now. rm so happy, kenl'S mr's.sus«itis •'r' ^ "»• »<■ >»/ |iinutes. , *MKKung witn himself internally for a £ew "Maimie, Miimie/' he criid at last ' " I mnc* -w. ►u, I must put an end to ^iSus. I rndt^lf* ^^^^^ *"^ ^<=^^ [ain to vex vou." \ T- * ^^^ «^er, never some back anS'stlS^hS'S^^ ' olutely complet^ She had dii^ h^? ^ "^ ^f"" ^»PP™ess waf ab- advened only teara offov fe 1h?fi«f c'^S altogether now. She ndW Ad^'s tenifiVs^ret wL S er 5^^ ^*=^^ «/ delight at afd to trust himself S IdiiruJ^n^Sr''"^^^^ »" ^« ^^«^' «« i^ half [wnWe fpr you t^irt vWthrti^i^.^'^^'r^^^ ^*^ boys I bri^ Y it is M4tal to the hLaS^^^nX'; ' ^^ ? ^°°*' »« «« t>oy| tporaiy idiocy about tL^^?^ ^^^^\^^^ the undfcmraduates I bring down S*n«, ^ ^^^ ^^^^e""* ^^^ -the whole Blushing stammf rinHLck S ^ "^ ^variably idiots Ipassmg acquiescence. -S^Jri^f??!''^^ Maimie nodded Irmaid at an inn at Hastings S 1^x1 *»™ajd-^yes. a mere fe~I hadn't mpt you vSaimj! "Al!!?^ ^e''^ ^ ^an«>d Mr. Before that, wTS with lUt^n^ ^^'^f *"^ »»«'» ^^ pnce, and relent, and refiSin- ^fhinS ^**^"u'" ^^^ Portal,S *. '..;■•;>■ ,VV''-> ■^"'i ^ '4\'' '" I 7 /itw? mJlimib*s sake. S6 r as ass that I was, and nevef told the Oriel people one word abovt it For awhfle I went to life with her in the vacations, and we^ ; •40n well enough together, bf ore«th!e inevitable aw:akening. But the i awakening came, and we agreed to part. Nobody byt inyseU aijd ,her knows anything about it. I took my fellowship— which I hold, by a straw— and! make her an allowance eyefy month. That's all i the foolish, hateful story, Maimie. As law^0es, she fian taboo me, like the dog in the manger, from all other women whom I coujd love better. So now yoo know why 1 can't marry you,- and why I can never, never marry you." " And do you love her, Adrian ? " ^ ,:',', .«i - " Love her, Maimie I Love that woman ! I hate her I I hate her I With all the profoundest hate in my whole nature, I utterly hate and detest her ! She has wrecked my life for irie— wrecked it and. j mined it; and now— now,, worse than all, Mjiimie, she will prevent me for ever from marrym^ you, my own darling ! " ' •' But she can't prevent you from loving me, Adrian ! ' ^ ,. , '* She spoke it with such perfect innocence and Simplicity.looking lipl once more at him with infinite love in her .big, beautiful,, open eyes,] 'that Adrian j^m, for all his philosophy, was fairly staggered and as-| tonished at her calmness. Even from Maimie, child Of mature that] she ' was, he didn't expect such absolute unconventionality, as hej •himself would have preferred to call it; , ,* ' I "My darling," he cried, kissmg her forehead tenderly, like al father— he dared not kiss her ripe r^ lips at such a moment— "yoid mustn't talk so; for my sake, you* really mustn't. If you do, I] don't know what act of irretrievable folly you .may not drive me to.| Hate me, Maimie; hate me, and be angry with me. ^ I have! wronged you deeply ; reproach me, reproach me. But don t iook ati me like that— don't say you love me ; be angry with me— be anm of else you'll kill me ! ' ^ ' "Adrian,"* Maimie said once more/ m a pleading voice •• whether you'r? married or whether you're not, you'll come next year to Silbury, virOn't you, darling? " Adrian faltered. - ' . ,.-, •• I don't know," he answered evasively. " II I really loved ^if I did what was best for you, Maimie— fd go away and neve never agjiin come near you.* But I'm too weak ; I haven't stren^^ of mmd for }t. If only you had sprung away from me when first told you, and been shocked and horrified, and cried out that was a cruer wretch, and all that sort of thing, I could have gor away easily enough for ever. But when you throw yourself like m upon my shoulder, and ask me still fo come next year— though yoj ^^ ifaww no good tan con c ei vablyarise from itHfc ad that I can. never any possibUity marry you — why, flesh and blood can't poaubly - sist you. I'm a poor, weak, miserable creature, Maimie and hiv^'t strength of mind to do what I know I ought to do."i Maimie grasped his hand tight. 1^ « I'm sa glad you're a poor weak creatuic>" she said gaify» ** i araer, seize* i'ouTics m ACTioyi :. 'j#— ^># 37 ■» guua ooy I xnats a dear I That's a darlinel Nowv v«.T |»ust give me just one more kiss^ne more oiuji^uid then Tffl Igo back down to the village, for. papa'U be ^Sring wha??n ^s.beconae of me. That'll dojarling. I lovfyo ?! f W JCf iGood-ni^ht Adrian, fllsaygoodrnight to you nowXthSeof iL^'^^f'*^*'''*' ""^^ ^^^ oneanoWdJwnon thepSldf^u lkhow;1,ut you must walk home with me^of coSree to^urS Idoor. for papa know's it's all right as long ak rvrdnlv Wn „«* SS^ |you. darHng. He doesn't Uke me to be fufso^Le vXth the «nX^ ■paduates. He says the undergracluates ar?v?it^dl^onduc^^^ young feUows only that i mustn't walk out with^Tm iSfi S« Sa^Sle^^?in^pt^V.^^^ow.of "*5 CHAPTER VII. POLITICS INACTIOnI . , -i^ ll«n'''St''-^*i>^*^™°*l".' ®* Sy**"«y Chevenix's laboratory in Lon- fon. Stanislas Benyowski. silent and glowering by 5Sf in iK kraer. seized the opportunity, when lydney clevjnhc ^ iut of he room, to take hfe cipr.case out of ^his pocket S^d ^ect foSr «ge ci^ with much deUbemtion out of the five 3?at ^S inT LSlwh.^' "°l^ <^^f"My ^th his eyes.Xi^ng Si'anriSl a inaU white mark on one of its sides, made by a flaw in the^tNihilist, Wfrfoyed as a sort of special policeman for the foreign quarter att)und Soho and Regent Street. , Walking downWaterfoo Place, he saw a shabbily dressed ^ a httle in front of him, making his way in the direction of Chaiinff Crossfoot-bridge. Benyowski started. ^ ^ ^"I'^l^'^^.^^Z^f^^'f^" he thought to himself sUentk. ••The Unconscious has delivered him at once intq my hand. Ha#. mann is right It sometimes strangely approaches design in tib marvelous patness of its opportune comcldences. The old-fashioii^ mind would have seen in this the finger of Providence. We see in it rather the working of the Unconscious. Both are inscrutable, dtvme, mysterious," "Ho, Komissaroff !" he cried in Russian to the mante front If wm ; "It 8 ages smce I ve seen you. Where are you off to-now, mV dear fellow? ^ ' ^ Komijsaroff turned and answered jn a friendly Voice, as he brought down his palm on Benyowski's, outstretched to receive it : •• I gp down to Guildford to row on the river. I am in ne«) of ocercise. M and my friends, we keep oui* boat there." ♦•CoodI" Benyowski cried, with evident pleasure. "The fa^ are propitious. I vrill go down with you. Oddly cnouffh, I too have an engagement to-day at Guildford. No, not boating, friend Komissaroff; another litde appointment of a more delicate nature. g«nj»t too curious ; it is a feminine failing. We will go together to They went together, th^ Russian talking volubly all the way; VrA then Benyowski insisted oh seeing his friend down to the riv«^- ye and into his boat before leaving to fulfil his mysterious cngaae- S*"^* , As^Komissaroff was on the point of pushing off from^c Jliwe, the Pble drew his c|gar-case casuaUy fitom his pocket, selected a c^ ^ a studious care that seemed almost unnecessary, tod *— --r.J^^y»**.* "*»^iX ^^^^^a™ "P among the wOlowy teaches «i4y i gward Godalmmg. TJie Pole stood watching him with grim m% I ft'SUTi^* *?** f ?«^^* ^*^*^ ^ bending wiUows, ^d, <:£. |lj|^ akn^d a luitlve locdu retunied qtOckfy to tha itatioii, «od Jii^ MGH SEA&, 19 lito the next train fbr l^ndon. He wm« *fiw%..«4. •l l 4 .. . epfeode--forit washothinor™^\^*^ o^ . .'^^ the whole little figuring hto?r ?StKatSd SiHS- ^'*™'. 1? »y way 4* for himlgMSty.'^ ^'"'«- ' «"^" » ■»« •»« such a trap «id«. duty not only wKu?=SSfc^ "^ "»»«'" P"^ "^ Stanislas Benvowsld No-T-m?^?^*' '^^^'^S^ Jntendant Brother business-liKS Wnef kT.^ report drjiy. m the most ' ^ chad ^l^^o&Kl^SSil^^^lTrZ^'''^ Pttjviously. Mi. ^ in the River Wey, at Sffi Kl^S"'^*"'*^*^ in which he was Kig wfwomS^ wti^SJ^'^^A^S'^^i^ «? * •'^t of the Council-S^kSl TniJmaSt??' ^^"^ "^^^ *« ^^ad*** quired casuaST^HLi v^u lJ?wTi * .P^ft^ni^ed Gennan-^im with a quiet smile : '^ ^^"^ ^^ \ *'' BenyowsW answered. tiJa^^TL^^'mellls ^^ST^r'^""*- ^2 "^ *» ^^ P^ cigar I teU vSu friSS'-r ^ ^an j>ut as much explosive into * policemen ever todetllr? i* r^ k !1"^. **r ^ **»<»se clumsy Emriish • S» Wm of^hlj^pl^ **• ^V^ "^ ^«* to trifle nowaJayB^SS CHAPTER Vllt BIOB 8EA& «6tlw. TiS Zu^Sih J'lfi'J-'™'^'* • ««M deal o?«.' '^y ''\ fs ¥> FOR WAIMIE^S SAJTS, tee her running in eveiy morning, with a nod and a snSle for the landlady and her daughter, and a bunch of fresh roses in a httle basket from the Captain's cottage-garden for herself and Jocelyn. To be sure, Maimie was at times a trifle sadder than usual tliat kst week (for was not Adrian Pym going so soon to leave Silbury ?^, b^t not much, for Maimie's was not a nature to take readily to sadness, whatever came; and she consoled herself with the thought that Adrian loved her— that was enough, and no need to cry over ft. She felt now she understood him better. He loved her really, in spite of that strange occasional moodiness of his. And, besides, they shared a secret now between them; and, young as Maimie was, she knew already by intuition there is nothing on earth to bmd two people dose together like common possession of an incriminat- ing secret. , ._ But the time wore away, and the day came which was to be Adrian's last but one in ^aibury. . ^. ^ ^ , , ,. That afternoon the 'dfta was runnmg high and breezy, and the breakers were tumbling in— not boisterously, but finely—on^ the beach in front of Jocelyn Cipriani's summer lodjrings. JocelVn hun- sdf, seated in the bow-window that faced the Parade, ^as loolmig out with immense interest upon the huge white cataracts aa they followed one another in rapid succession upon the jutting ledges of the beach opposite. It was a grand sight, and a very beautiful one. Jocelyn Cipriani gloated over it with a painter's appreciktion. Pres- ently a small, daric cloud rose with pmmbus rapidity upon the pale horizon, and sudden little whiffs of gusty wind c^me swirling past, driving the autumn dust in eddying circles upon the narrow, gmv- eUed roadway straight in front of him. ^ /., .. . ^i. "Wind's freshening," Jocelyn called out chefenly throurii tiie open window to the taut coastguardsman, as he passed with his ffkss under his arm before the little lodging-house. " Ay, ay, sir," the man replied, with a friendly salute, peering anxioWly out to sea to south-westward ; " a nasty squ^l driving up the CItonnel. We shall have a capful o'wind, I take iti afore n%ht fall '■* / Jocelyn sat there, lazy stfll, patching the breakers tiimbling upon the shore, and presently took down his field-glas*es from the mantelpiece, and proceeded to scan the hard line of the grey hon- '**"*«• Is tiat a sail out there, Hetty ? " he asked, pointing with his fonifinger to a mere speck away out upon the ChaAneL " If s- •he's got no right to be out in such weather as this, I warrant, i •he's a mere sWff, a Uttle cock-boat, a nothing of acraft for «W* ■tormy ev enin It Ytna carei fo be knocklnf as I can _. £r a sail, , •• a small boat with a very big sail on, i t^p. dreadfuUy on the top of the M%yts, too, as iprfth the glaM, jocelyn." . , £v«ii u they spoke, a fresh gust came sudde^y loond the cUfff i BIGH SEAS, 41 '/ from westward, and drove the dust and leaves before it in a tiny whirlwind with unexpected vehemence. It was one of those uriy lapid bursts of wind that often sweep in hilly countiy down a funndP shaped valley on to the open sea in treacherous weaker. " Nasty squall, sir," a fisherman cried from the beach to Tocdyb. " Seems to be a sail, that there, out yonder to windward." ' " Yes," Jocelyn answered, uncBncemedly. " I dare say we shall bsxc of an accident, too, before morning. Duke mart magno, said old Lucretius. The cmel old brute; for aU his phitoMphy. he would have positively enjoyed it ! " « A few minutes later, a second fisherman came up from the beach , and addressed the first one with eager anxiety ; and before long. 9.^ hasty htUe group had gathered buzzing about them.'discussing with evident warmth some unknown question in which they all appeared to be profoundly interested. rv ^-^ •; What's the matter ? " Jocelyn cried, putting his head carelessly outside the lodging-house window. " Sometlung up ? Goine to get out the life-boat? Ship off the. coast there in distress some- where?. /? One of the fishermen lookeTup to him with bronzed face tiini«d pale as a woman s, and answered quickly : : " We ain't got no life-boat, more's the pity. I wish to God we'd only got one I Miss Maimie's out there."" " Miss Maijnie ! " Tocelyn cried with sudden soberness. " You don t mean to Hty she 9 off in that boat yonder ? " ' " Ay," the man answered. " Miss Maimie I It's Miss Maimie, God help her I She an the Cap'nwent out there sailing in the Capns boat afore this 'ere squall that's coming drove ovfer; and the coastguard can see they're in distress, and we're going to put off a boat to help em. God save the young lady, and ^Ther safe to land, says all of us." . -o ^ JiKelyn Opriani jumped up at once hurriedly from his chair. "Hetty, tfettyi; he cried in eacer ha^e, "I must go too; I must go and help these men to saveher."^^ k w , * "But Jocelyn, my darling I the sei's so high. You don't under- stand boats-not in the sea, at least You'S better leaye it to the nsnermen, hadn t you ? .h^'J'?®*'' P°°**' ^?^r *he painter said laughingly, pinching her cheek to reassure her from her terror; "the sea^ nothing, Sbso- lutely nothing ; and as to rowing, remember I rowed fivoHfamy col- lege eight when I was at Oxford, I can puD in the sea as WeU as on a nver. What are mjrarms for? We can't m and leave the rescue of poor Maimie all to these rough ignorant fishermen fellows. I shlSlj'lJ^-^^- v'^ *"* for her, surely. He tty. Pym and As he spoke, Adrian Pym came running down, haUess and Ck ?.u "** ^•"'* ^?5*^'• ^^ i***"«^ ^« ''>"»d of talkera on the fcadi. They w«e pu ing down a boat to the shelving shore now. viwttt go, Hetty." Jocelyn cried hurriedly. « If 1 <|on't> *r % 42 f ' FOR UAtMIB'S SAKE, !.* OHM* they'll be off. without nic Good-bye, darling ; I mustlft |»it a moment. For poor little Maimie's^ake, Hetty; for yam tttue Maimie. We must try to save her." " Poor little soul 1 'Hetty thought to herself with clasped hands as he went. ^5,If" she were to be drowned, though I've only known her for ten da^S, I should cry my eyes out. But I do wish Jocelyn hadn't gone, for all that. If he were to be drowned; |);iat would be twenty tfanes more terrible than anythmg." ^^ Meanwhile, Jocelyn had rushed down auickly to the beach,:,aip with his easy air of authority and command had taken a seat and' k stout oar in the little strong-built fi^ing^boat. "You'll come too, Pym?" he cried, turning to Adrian; and Adrian, throwing off his flannel coat, and baringliis great muscular arms to ths elbow, jumped into the boat without a siogie word, and took a seat and an oar m front of him. . -» ' '♦ Now then, you others, be quick, all of you ! " Jocelyn shoutied widi the voice of a bom* commai)der. "Fall into your places! 'That's right !- Push her off, vou there I and roW for your lives, men, as hard as you can row her.-' ^ ..Thw headed, her with difficulty through the fierce breakers ne worked on sitently and eagerty M^th blanetitf Md quiireri^ 11^, ktoldng ahead evtiy now and then hi the direo- ■ i-4*&-~»»*? StlGB SRAS, 43 Jon of thf tiiiy white safl on the horkon driftbg alvay for ever in firont of them. 4 ( Thfey toiled on, saying Tittle to one Jhother. but leanirtir hai^ upon theu- o^, against the overiioweiing waves, for twenS min- utes more; and graduaUy the lowered saJI upon the sky-line crew nearer and nearer, though still at a* painfuUy dangerous dist&ce. IJey could see now that the waves^were almost, too much for th<^ M little t)leasure-boat. ill adapted for^ fierce a sea, and that tS Cap^n had hard workto manage the scrap of saU which alone he dgred keep up in tte face of so sudden and so terrible a temnest ■ " Put your ba^ into it all of you I " Jocelyn Cipriani ciS out above the roar of, the wmd, as he looked over his shoulder at the tossingliltlecraft upon the crest of the biUows; "row,row-^row u ^^T^'J^^ ' Another gust like that, and she'U founder as.^ she stands. The sea H swamp her. She can never live throuirfi it " They were a hundred yards off now from the boat, and co3d^ the Captain staridmg up with the sheet in his hand^ beckoning them eagerly to hurry fprward, and Mllmie, Dale but not tremulSs. St- Jting unmoved in the stem-seat and guiding the tifler-strings with careful hands, hke one well accustomed to-such pressing dangers ahI/ ^« qI; ?^*iL*. *"?r* ^^^ L" H*^y" Cipriani ?riedJKr*to Adrian. " She s keepmg herliead to the wind like a bornSflor. Row, row—row for your Uves, men I and with God's heto we sfaaU still be m time to save them." - ^^^ Strange how even with the most frrelifeious of us, in times ' g*m : and Jocelyn looked around wiUi an eager glsm^ on the seething black mass for any -^- ' " - ^*^ •"?*"' daridy up among Ote spray on the " See th ere--^ themr ' crieTTr^K ^TBieriliBL Maimiel That's her-thafr'heV cL^,™ ^ ...^ »^ Lord be praised I We shall be in time V8*ve her." .fj of a human liead striding. lere ahe goiesi Von't Miss ' to the boat there I Th* -<|- ''^'' .V ^J^ljMA/JUfJS'S SAJCJL * Hie^Captain ? " shouted back ilie Jpshermattvabove the «>ar i tfte waves, with the caknnessof his kind. "The Captjdii fean, iMMlther God nor devil, and he's gone now wher^ he'll have to fsm one or fother ; and the Lord be merciful to l>im now he's gone, f<^ a kinder-hearted sailor nor a braver. man nev«r sailed the stj^-^ water!" ' ' ^ , ■ " . "'^' They dreiy alongside vnth caie and difficultv, for the waves raaf so high and broke so stronjf that it wa« hard indeed to pull near th^ Wra» without dashiilg up against her side, and so crushing Maim^t: between the two boats. The beautiful giri clung there still, clutch- ing with her- hands the shattered, timbers, and watching cool and fearless'OverUie dashing waves thie little band of approaching ras- ters. ' '** Catch the oar, Maimie I " Adrian Pym calld Out in tremblii accents broken with suspense and terror for her safety. "Cat<: the oar, and cling to it fdr yiur life, child I '.' ,,, litaimie turned skilfully, like a girl used to t||ie water, from thi, floating hull, and balancing herself among the high billows With oi^ [jjiand still dasping^it hard, reached out with the other for the danc« "lag oar-blade Adrian held out to her. V' "Mind; mind your head 1 " JoCdyn cried In terror ;*b9«'yn,answ«jred soothingly. "V niv* first get back to the shore in safety. Then we mav ie whav - ^y,lL feSlTh^l^'ir Meanwhile, St^. and kS^TbS^ t^V ; We shay have hard enough work to puU her back acain in Aft ^ , of such tenible driving weather." ^ ^^ * ^^ wIl^S^ I^!3!?*^ *!f ? ^^^''^^Jr. without mother word. Maimie wee. higwith cold and teiTor, and crouching close between tiwfisht man s knees ; the Captain's body lying wet and ^Se^th. hStnn ^ atthe stem, and the men pulling ffi for^ wfaSd^ faS 2 their woric to find time fprUing. AtlSt S?yl^^ Aeshel? ^SJ^^^^^^^i^ the aid of arope flung to Semfrom l2,d maJ^ ^ to drive her safe through -thrteiriifc bieak?«. oTaS^ more.^d k crowd of women surrounded Maimie withte^^d ^rrtjpathy : and the men lifted up the Captain's bodv3 S^Jdit J^u^tCK^e nearest house, w%hap^^^^ urhiSSk' kT?:5'''J?^^' ^« doctoi^ came down from the room ' whCT^thqr had kid the corpse, and spoke low to JocelyS oSriaS? tremor of the heart, not a drop of blood moviniTwe've tried branAr and blankets,and artifickS resnf mHn« h..f;K^T'll% "^ • m noi ine laintest chance of reviving him. I've had Maimi#i rmtf* bed upstairs, and given her a good stiff doseJfSi^ WitT^ Md attention she will be noR? the wotse, f&p^J^htr^Z^ ».mx careful of her. AUof usat SUbii^W^iSad inTp^^^ T '■'/^^ ' ' CHAPTER IX' ▲DRJAlf CONFESSES. ^^Next morning, Adrian Pym came in eariyto see Jocaf» «iul mBr. tnd she .«M>m« ♦« ism i.r* -~.j— i.. _i- ' ^*rir ««wuan»-nv*» Where to ^Jl^f *°1«J«^' entirely alone jnw.wlS ioM^ST j Jjnere to receive her or take care of her. And what's wom^Y hlT. SSe^^^ ^' P-perty burSrri«rntt«,^rS.^ '•Wen?" Hetty QprianiinquiiKd quietly. ' * :\f t«" M 6> %•&' fOX MAIMIE^S SAKS. orthc >^?^i. " Wdl, wh«l on'eartb fe to become ofttie poor chfld ? " Adrian "^;^t^;St"S; most business-like pc^ ««i«fir " thi?U not a tknTto stand on ceremony, is it, Mr. Pyra ? Ste^ffcttii^opheJewith Jocelyn.and "^5 t^.f^^5;,;^i^^?^g^*£ then come up to town and stay with us m CJeyedon^ace tortM ^ SScS A^ as soon after as you dec^n^^^jjol c^«e J Su^'t be for another month or two-youd better m^^av *• Better what ? " Adrian Pym «<^f7«!^: 3"Xf fetSe c& « Better marry her/' Hetty repeated w»* perf^t feim^^ TiMM. "Yes Mr. Pvm ; I said marry her. It s perfecUy Clear to jre ' iTyouuSKSdsW likes you/andsoy^^^ you Sth be married at the earliest opiyrtunity? Oh nVIm^. San afraid to say it : tnbrried. mamed. married, mam^d. Last night's accident has made it impemtive "I^n you.^ _ \ .^ Adrian Pvm. instead of answenng, paced up^^d down tne rooji mo^aJwiSTik arms folded, and sStT>WI think " she said at last very senously, " I think iji tnat h&aOitl &i sudrconditftnw«ie'womatt*^a»«e-oMg»-»M»3fcJ •- tl!SS^.^Sf?ir|. did not at^pvtj <'^-<',|^-^ WB8 too good a lawyer in principle not to know that a hopeless c»«| k best^tiuaW to the mercy o( the jury. _ . ^. v \ ^I towSne wrong/' he sai^flinring >»»™~" ,*»;,^^^,!SiS^ i^ •atitude (i detffair, ." tSiibly wirong. 1 know it. I acknowte^ «• ■ ,-"•■• '^ ?| ■ /■ ■ •^" ' *7 lut 1^0 could bdp it, Mrs. CilAiit? Who oi earth could hdn It ? What man that saw her coSl I ever h«In famnflT^™? i*^ love with little Maimie ? "< ? ^V^ "^^ ^^^^ desperate^ itt I #.u^f^^?JiyT"^*^'*''.*^«^'«'«^ sternly « Why have vou left her? Whydoypy not, kkttow ledge her ?^ ^«y W^ve you ■%i t^^^ saw with iMtictivi diplomacy that his best chance her: I was a mertTboy^Lan Oriel i mdeignSS^wSS I SS ^. and for fifteen yeare f have paid for it deariy and^ned for I* ' heavily. ;She had pink ribbons ani pmk cSfe, wh«.n^?fcSi iJJ ^pt and I fancied Ifed her: Te\^ fdSXW^ 2^^^^ ^^^hi'"*"'"^^^™"^"*'' face nlw. M,^. Ciffi aSTkSw^ I hate her. For fifteen years that woman has huiTuk™ a m^t^# 3^1™? ^f^' ^"^^ "^*^ ^«r PerpetuaUy^tf Uie uuSS ~ t'T^^ Zr "T . ^"™ "P somewhere, and maliciouahr I have bought her off jrom visitii^ nS in imrrSS „^ eternal Wack-maU for ef er increasmi? SheVa^nS 1 devU, a wpman-dmnkard-and I din't know^&iin^ woi« to i J of anybody than what these wonif truly sa^S^"^ TiS^toi^ tred, I came to Sdfciiry vwth a reading party five veai4 sum^^^kA inet Maim e. She was a child of IftiraSn ^jT^S^hW '^I her freedom. It is natural to an [educated man Mrs nnrS3i*« take pleasure in the society t)f refilled women^hJ/IL?^^' ^ ciety of a drunken, HdatS^Syex^b^^^ P?»y»« not congenial to me~eve3 whenTeVi)lw ffi mie and I talked to her often. I tame a^ and^n to^^ but It was nevw my fault if she bSan tooSl in ^ Jfh^^/ always toldher she mustn't lovel^I SwL toW 12??^ SSiTk £?3??"H^^«™«ifIcameS^v^i,d^4?^^ attracted by kndwing I could alwi lys see her hei«? riS»? T .Sj J2w "f? ^' »^nement and edui iioTwh^ hS^once^ideSa temble false step in Kfe, should wsh at least tToMSM^rk^jl t^lMsal^^ them^.'H^hl^£H"?^"J?^ Iwwt in, int^posteg between S'h^ .ii 1^ w *"* punishfoent. Like Cahi\Ti»fflwS : |.«i I !>3rnipauuze with him, I dare say, but a man can • anH k«»'M hTrf his punishment, his full ptinishmeht IJon^T^tSTharfuri^hlS? ^^11^^ t^^^ *** ^'^ paiticularlyTow isto thiSk of th?f ut^4 aS nea aiitwly, tvTO though It W to i » iU)j?ct A^^ y 48 MAIMIM'S SArSy »MM. k's Quite clear in the present state of British law that MalmJCi " ^t m^AdiS. For what weVe go^ practicaUyto consider V now is, what to do for poor Maimie. ^ . " Does Maimif Ipiow this, Mr. P^m ? , Hetty 2f**!i® SJ; ♦!« " Maitnie doJichow it," Adrian Py/n answered, peiusinj Ae carprt. 'itpld her the whole story, aS I have just told Ittoywi. about a weclc ago." / .; / " And she said ? ' ■ ^.:;iX^.:. .i^L ^ _. ,,„_„.: ..:^„^.,- ^:'. 1 _ _ t'J.- ^ Adrian hesitated. / ^ . ««. .^,m ^" "She said ^he would still like me to come to Sttbury. " Mr Pvm " Hetty said, « I won't reproach you. I dwe say y«ihaves3fc^.aJdldareWyou have been tempted, ^w wcept yomseH how wrongly you may or may not have act^ bS ybu Turt never come to Mbury again, '^L^^'^.J^^Ia^ S^speak to Maimie. >>^ wlU t^l^e.her up mJ h us to I^n^^^ SSr-vVd^Mded There I shaU find some suitoblc husband among S^ov^t^to hen But this one thing I mustinsist upon. You We ^ed ve^ cruel^r^jni the only f«P»«ti«« JJ" Xr^ Sw istogo av^r^i^IoS^ncver again see oi»Pf^i*>,^^«^ .;.. "Im4^tt$tai after the funeral, and say good-bye to her |^ -^'''^l^:!^^^^ firmness, putting fe KtUe foSl dov^ 'd^vely uoon the^et. J You mjg «o '.vwjr JSthout so much as seeing her. I am in place of a mother to her. S*»« in mv charce now. and you must not come near her. ^""l^^^cq^^^ in saence. He knew itw^ t»e^ to a«nw^tKe Mint ^th a woman when she assumes the imperative SSd " JKS^X' he Aought to himself bftterly, " it i« bett^ so. S?^ cSSd effeV come of I to either of us. It woddb? dfficul to l^ow how to speak to her in her sorrow. And as soaj as wer I rffi to oSor5!why. then, of couwe, I can ^fly write to her. When Hetty told the fatherless girt a uiue later on that Adrian pJhS WSUbury suddenly, asfing Hetty to /y,|«jtl5^J ffi^to Maimie. Main5e only let a few more tears fall from her poor '^^I^S^l^Sh^c'ISJn him before he left. I should have liked Hcttv to say good-bycto him. and to send mylove tathe SSSlKidJt^IclS^. -' -.B-t tt w Ther^J^SSof them down thenj dreadfoHy gone onme-Ido Tnerewerevwuw ^" Chester Bradihaw* They were -Mr T>»m doesn't write to you now. *>«"«,' * «ni, *Klel?wavstold the truth with perfect traiwpaienqr. "Qh ^^Lr^e iSwered candidly. "He -wrote to nie«ve^ ^y'^'S^o^.l'r. g^'SwI^jStulhLd let you know *^^Hcttviattebed outright even m spil«.irf herself, ...^ ^^,,^| ?OhfSE" she cried, strug^ng to tjasev^yo«|^^| «.,*H»'t ♦alk that wav. vou know, darimg ! You must look m aw>g^| poor, '"*"":7,_^' ^^j,^^ Htm't trv to iWMild our waywar* iittM ^^^ dS. Sf taTl^he.^^ md don't fooBsUy f t1S«A^»ISW/^Ylcan'ttopi2*«P"N^^^^»^ jrH«inI«k both MBng to tow with SBtotar ««e« « THE SCENE SHIFTSi %t "Isn puts ev< such jildJrMjd Scr countiy diarm : and what do we beshi straiditwaiv to do?--to tooculatc her forthwith with thc^ banefulSnis^foSS "SS^^^^ ^""^^ respectability. Aieri't there eSSfghnMSbct- ' ables and to spare in the world already, I should like toTmnw tkS piece of nistjcutoenuousness? Thank your st^ for ha^^S her even as she is. Hetty, ^d don't go LlishiymJne to^cfhS mtosjnetWng different-soraething^t Z3dS*ihe S ^ sipidt banal taste of donvmtional soaety." ^^* JJaimte stepped over hghtly to the easy-chair where Tocdvn satr^ ^^}^ ^ , Hetty ; she always expected that with women as a matter of course t ,.' but she hoped she hadn't shocked Jocelyn Cipriani. " I-.,-! didn't know it was wicked," she murmured aloud, almost timidly. " I thought everybody went to Madame Tussaud's." , " Go, then ; go and be demoralized, Maimie. Sate yourself to the full with murderers and Czars and second-hand frippery. And, Hetty, mind you take a cab both ways, there's a dear girl, and havt a proper lunch dowQ in Regent Street." No buns and cups of tef at a confectioner's, mind. Maimie : the natural woman is prone to buns and bad confectioneryhl see that *she goes to the Criterion comfortably, and has a nice cutlet and a glass of hpck and a light Bke pastry to finish up with. Maimie'll like to see the Criterion tcio» Hetty : itil be a new experience for he^»«-and I shall stop at home and work hard at my immortal picture here, for both of you." *• He is a dariing ! " Mairnie cried again. " How awfully .kind'^ he ift ! lietty.'I dd think you're the very luckiest and happtest girl in aU England." t " I am in4ped," Hetty answered, smiling. " You'd say 50 really^ .and toiow it too, if only you knew him as well as I do^Mapnie." * ■-■ "Thei« are few things nicer in life," Jocelyn raf||rked philo* sophicidiy, balancing a piece of devilled . sardine JOp the end of his fork, " than to sit at ease in one's own breakfasj^room, and be lib- 09% .Ciacked up for an unlimited period by twojiet the prettiest an^ most agreeable wohn^n in jail England. You jSay go on as long •§ youlike, both of you ; I'm not modest : I dojft mind it, thank y(N| )n fact, to tell you the plain truth, Hetty, jinther enjoy it." *f^ i'i i ''■-^f^''^'^ •mmmm <5h AFTER X!. THE WHOLE DUTY OF A MODBI.. Maimie certainly made up t o pe rfect ion as a Beatrice Cendi; Reclining lazily in Jocelyn Cipnam's antique Tlorentihe easy^-cKST with her dri?p black locks lightlv encircled by Guido's tradition^ ^ white turban, and her face naturally assuming that placid smile a* childish innocence which is inseparable from our mefttal concept oi ft Beatrke, she looked the character to the very life. Jocelyn wai 4dkht«d with her. He poiMd her head gracefully on one tide. h§M • '■'4 I ?^^ WHOLE mrv OF A MODEL, , ' ' . • ■• ■ ' 53 ^fxwiT,^* """^^^ gMstenlng shoulder, tot a Uttle this wav . eien 4 little thaf way, and steoDed back a na*'! \^\Z^ l^c^ .*' must submit to a little DenallTfor im«^ JS. know, Maimie, you second on- either plump so™ ch^S.c^nJiJ™ '»"*''«■• tractions: it wasn't in SL^Se W^2 iS^iS ♦ ° ^^ '*"1!'"**' *'- ^ last Jocelyn had settled her po«s entirely to his own sati*. . p«^7MutTiferc5rsS^ior".S' ""T tinjr mouth deewne A C. X^kI^. ^.^^"U**^ <^<>™e" ?f h« ««v jrwu i.Rc nim oest, Joe stolen glance at her pretty features. - ..«| No, Maimie answered with charminir candor •«! nu..»«„ ■ Jwelyn laughed an unaffected lau^h. " ■'"^^ -^ oeautitul cunwj. By Jov^ what a lovd^ mep 54 rOtt UAiMlB'S SAKS. of shodder t Excuse m. Si^rina Ceocf : professional a^pnntiif.. only. My trade, my ttade. The artistic instinct oyiercomes tl^ human. I am but a jpainter." - ** ** You needn't apologise," Maimie answered, smiling once mom It most delicious smile. ^'I don't object to it I rather like i^^ thank you." Jf ** Of course you do," Jocelyn continued* deftly sweenifig lus pel|; cU acHMSS the field fto mm strictly as if^u were a lay-f^re, and he will o^ deavor to treat you in the same unceremonious fashion^" ^ "But I don t like to be treated like a Uy-figuie," Maimle an* swelled wjth spirit "I prefer to be xecpgnized as a real Hve woman. ,. " ', Jocelyn smiled. " There is no fear of my bei of recogniti(m." he answered, ftursed-up mouth. "I am or the lite of me assume the ;k in that particular latm ive a fresh stroke or two to the ^. If a^ie, very human. I can't !r professional attitude to a pretty sitter. I am conipelled by an inner instinct to flfrt with her---tha[ is to say. when, like you, she is a reasonable creature and amenable to flirtation. "Upon my word, Mr. Cipriani, I never heard anybody before say such very audacious things as you do. . . . But I like them, thankyou ; you needn't apologise." /^ •'That's Jwcause you've never before come among the emand* P*'!^' ^^'^^ said, teWng stock carefuUy of the comers of her d «l " in our set are all emwdpated^thoim^^faiy "Emancipated from what?" Maimie asked curloiisly. "From prejudices; from prejudices of all sorts. Social preiu- diMS, rdigjous prejudices, ethkal prejudices, personal prejudices, and the^whole tribe of prejudices genenUly. We have got om* tnem—the same as if they were measles and wfaoopiiig-**? S**»<*"* ^«»- There you have the better of us, like Paul with the Roman captain." \^i ' ^TX J"c7 u* '^**^C *r!?!* *~wc!*d with a bewUderad took. "la ft In Shakespeare? Tell it to me." '""'* - "^ n sLinwsiMl rinsaajMau^. . ^U^ 5^?**' " )** ****** "Jy**^ •«« poiltivdy too gtdldess. too Sf??*'^^?^..^ this wkke/worid aTouw."^ NotlZ?5»3 RNo ; I Jought not Tgw chief captain said to Paul, ' Tell me. are «liai4«T«be ttirelint' The cUaf capcata iwuuM with » 56 P01tMAIMIE*S SAKE, y\ rigfa, 'With a great sum bbtaine4 I this freedom.' And Paul «wered promptly, * But I was boM.freer That's all, Maimie*" •* "I don't see. much point in|pe stozy," -Maimie said, with • ' puzzled expression. ' ' '^ „" Of course you don't, as'you've never read the Bible. You'ou^ht td read it, though: it's the great storehouse of literaiy qUotatioir and allusion. You don't* know how much of modern literature' and conversation is a sealed book to you if you've neveM«ufei tilie Bible, but the point of this particUl^ stoiy lies, you see, ^ Oiptain Cuttle remarks, in the application thereof. With a great \ price-r-bitter experience — have we, the. emancipatied» obtained thit^ ' freedom; but you, Maimie-— you were born free." And he sighed^ pensively. » ' i\ > t " I think that's jjicer," Maimie'said, turning her head alittle. ,; ** Hold your head still, you naughty girl, and think about the^] lecture, not about the conversation. . . . No, think about 'Adriai^ t^m ... or about me, my child, if you prefer me. There ; that*! right--a capital took; not a movement of a.mus<^e for worlds. Perfection ! perfection I Of course, Maimie, it's much nicer. Bui^- how many or us have ever the chance of /such congenital freedom p It's like fcKnng brought into the world heir to a duk^om. We conv* ^, mmi soub are bom with the curse of slaveiy stamped deep upon us || and eve^ if we cast off the chains themselves with hard struggles, we always feel in our heart of hearts as^ough our f reborn were somehow in itself a crime and a wickedness. Whereas you, sigj* ' norina, were bom f re te'— free and innocent. Like Eve in the ga^eil» yiHi are . . . natural . . . and not ashamed. You don't thi^ vow native fenJhine instincts are something to be repressed ; something to be ptiutent for." " Who was Eve ? " Maimie asked again with unruffled sereniW.> " l^v^ I Eve ! " Jocelyn cried, laughing outright, and w»vinti^ nis palette frantically. " On, sijg^norina, signorina, you will be the dea^ of me! All my pretty Biblical parallels absolutely thrown «Mf9( upon the chUd of nature ! Such ignorance ! 3uch depravity ! Tt it too painful. So vou've,never heard of ^dam and Eve 1 111 t< you the story then. ' , ; ^ He drew out from a portfolio fai the comer of the room an vot^' graving after Hans Makart's " Paradise," and laid it on an easel, i- fittle on one side of her in the direction Uiaf he wished her eyes to . f6. Then, with his brash hard at work ul the time on the vague patch of canvas, where a mouth and a smile and a pair of deep Drown eyes were beginning to grow slowly into the form and cow of Maimie the Cenci, he rapidly ran over, in such q^uick poetic * Miltonesque version of the leeend of the creation. It was dreamy pretty, tender^ romaiitic-~a dainty bit of colloquial v^ord-paintjng, flesh^ out and rendered tiilnkable for Maimie s mental wisiop' % the audacious imaginfaigs of the great untrammelled Viennese arti^ Audi the story lost nothing in the telling either; Jocdytn Qpriani'f t» r^ TBB WBOui pUTY Ofi 4 M0DE£ sr t^HJl^J^i'lT'^^^P^''^^ Vandyke beard, aU seemed SStS^yj^i^l"* ^F^^?^ as he told in hasty artistic oS that old-worid tale of pristine simplicity and Vii^n innocence. "It was very pretty, Maimie."lie sid with Isigh. S he finished ^V^"""^: I^"* ^", ^e en'i' r" ^^' the seipent g?t the bestTk- Wn^ J^"" K°'*^^' ^^ <^^^tion. anfconventionS, ^d ^^ t.^ ashamed of our natural forms and our natural im- puls^.^ Ahme.ahme! what a wicked serpenti WhataSaMe for art if we were stiU in Paradise?" .*^ vvnaiacnancc " A veiy pretty story," Mkimie said, with her eyes stiU fixed oen- StaSv^e?" *^« «»«~^' "but do you t& Mr^ljffi Jowtyn assumed a critical expression. "^ •iJ' uiL^^°"*''^^*^ **'<* ^n ^ mystifying manner, "mav be ^^und^n^S ^^ '^"^ "^iS- t'^^^^*^ ai t;So h^aKl words yoTL^ yet understand, and, indeed, I can pretty Confidently predict vou wi« never understand tHem. Your clear fitUe head hL^^ moj^- Eve faTrS PJ:iTP'"f* subtleties and rubbish. Now. Z SS^ S Eve IS riot true, I venture to say, if we regard it obiectivelv ThS w to say, there was never really in actuS^iJy lidjTSat wS^ ticular name, bounded on the north by Gihonf on the soSth^ ftson, on the east by Hiddekel. and on tlie wfes by EupSfi' o? w«w*4-| forget the particulare. The episode of natuSiliS gcturesque innocence is title, not of Eve indiViduaUy. but of prS Sete!vSSSif*K**'*i^ *=^^'f''• "*^ *'"s«<^n<=e ^ b^nlS^. .. we^^ SJ^ by Darwin, Cplenso. Spencer, and othere. But if we regard the question subjectiydy, fix)m the point of view of mvtK ' and parable. Eve is a genuine and aetnonstrabfe reah^y. a,e sS^ for lie puixs and untaihpered instincts of nature womanSSK «mpleself-forgetting maiden and wife. mispoUed ^Td u^sXSbJ "I thiiik I understand ydu, Mr. Cipriani." «,i,^v #^,^" ^' Maimie, for fm hanged if I rightly know Sf"?: rr^ undftcretand myself. litUe woman. Yofr eycTSJ fatally inimical to consecutive tMnking. I trust. Mra Eve wu 1^ SriT'/'i^vSrA^"' of feeling. But^don't cXS l£. v^ipnani, I calf pu Maimie: why caiTt you now. After so murk acquaintanc^ailme Toc^, tJtamrtt^' ' ^"^ Oh, MrXipriani I I shouldn't like to, iwOly. I like vou yourt^Kiste^^SrTO^^^^^^^^^ an 'JS^iS?* * n** "^/ disauaKfication in my teeth, Maimie ? £ E»^;ii yS^^ pn\touch of nature, and. hi we Sfteen yean between ysdisap^as if by magic. N ss JF0M Mdmm*s sJtJtk 3f ii. 6"'" ■tf^f aides prindpjany in the lips. Hold them upi; so/Maimie, and see «ie it touch them." ^^' #' Maimie hdd up her lips as he directed her. Cbinldng lor the mo- ^ ment it was part of her self-imposed duty as a model; hut when ,^ Tocefyn bent nis own face down tentatively to touqh them, sfie drew f - hasi away with a I^sfy jgesture of complete suiptise. Yet she drevr away, not coquett^hlyr ^ with affe<^ coyness, hut but of pure momentaiyj.k)deci9[on. ■ ' « -. ^' •• I didn't know you meant that," she s^d, half struggling. •* I^i; thouglit you were posing me for the picture, Mr. CiprianL ' ^* * Jocelyn threw back his f^e, and looked at her with quizzict&U sternness. ,': * ' ' -Y' " I'm not going to kiss you if you hesitate and struggle and^^-X about like that, you know," he said sev«ely. "A snatched uss ' i^'t worth the snatching, in my opinion. Only beginners care (car ^. such crudities. You get no uti^Eaction out of it ; faa miss the. ' flavor. A man of experience takes his kisses peaceably or not at all. Hold, your head still and hold your lips up just as I placeC^: then, or I wcm't kiss you ; and then, of course, youll be sorry for i^^ afterward." «-■ '^J*! , " Indeed, indeed," Maimie^protested earnestly, like one who.de-^ / Mis her^ against a wicked accusation, " I didn't mean to strug^^^ ^ j^ and jit abmit, I assure you. I can't think why girls fig^t and; ..» ho^ theu-l^ands up, and make such a fuss about beiiur kiiMued, Mr. ' ^; 'umianL I can't thhik why they don't stand still and take it sedatdy. / f* It's much nicer, I'm quite certain : I know, because I've tried with ^Adrian. Only, I didnt understand you were going to kiss me. If I had, I would have held my lips up cpte properly. Look here, is that right now? " And she pursed ucuher two rosy>red lips before him m the m<»t innocently sweet and kissable fashion. Tocdyn teaht over ner and pressed his own lips against theia hara a^ fervently. It was an epicure's kiss. long-drawn andiidl* , blooded. ^^'/ ':^ -/■■,: ;.■.," , :,:■■.■ '^,V:,- , . The gitl threw back her head and looked at him with umguiab-'^ kag eyes as he withdrew his face and took up his brush again. . "You kiss very niody," she said amply, with a deep breath. « Of Gowj^ I do,'' ToodTO answered, carelessly. " why shoukln't (.,tvl? Heairen ^ows fvenad lots of practtee. These, stand so, iiWia^. That'll do exactly. That's just what I wanted. I've^^ ;; c«qd>t the vjoy tttpresetfon now: the far-away indtmg Cend look " y in mtt eyes and eyelids. For goodness' sake (fon't alter a tittle of i|^ %i^ Fve ptH it as it stands fairiy on the canvas.*' V /^ li MaimiertArted with fflMiM^ of. recognition. _ :_ " You do^'t mesui ttSSa^FpU've been mal^g love to mc^^^iffie eiied, "jusi to catch the expression you want for your picture rjv Why. yott wicked, cold-blooded man. how can you ever be so de« . - Piec&dy what I have been doing." Joedyn answered, oontmp, with 9krpt» to sketch her. ^I ivoa't pretend to oonoeal tfat ;,ll9with«iif|iaM -\ «r WSdLB DUTY OF A MODEL. Vk factfit>myiou. VXt^wpapcnt truthfulness is one of my most oleu. JHSSS^'^Sff^T^"- y««9i«st remember tffi I iS£SS «m2hinganM^t.and art demands of one these little tempSSv "5*! I ©^*'.^° **« "^« love to on my own account even \m T '^ ^^^^ pouted, hatf amused, and haUi3^.rJ thou^TOuwwekissii^mebeciuseyou ^^^^ ' . J>o 1 do. I like you immensely. But sometimes I nostDone myfeehn« to my art. Now. this fime I shan^SU tou SmJHJ my capaaty as a^nwn and a brodier. So-theiS^St wS w^ better, wasn't it. Maimie?" , ^^^^Xw^ ™ ®^ ,%S*4^<^*<»ed her em dr«9Myfo* a momenta « -m* ^'*^ ^ better, she answered slowly, as if bota a distance. iS^TthJ^^SSn, i^^i^^^ ^- ^ ^^^^ w^d. disappear as if by mag£? And hav£?S^<«^l^ 1S^5»^„^. i^«»»;' 5fy^n t£e easi^. J,^S tSTScJ ^}^^ ^ the^stttdio 0pena. and Hetty e ntaed. ™ ?^^JS^t f^ «*«^*n? the exact rXpt^S^wStol^ S^7J*f Jri"*?!?* P^*** I^'V :Wy«« hadnVcome^in^rt te?S.?5f^i£^^S***^^^*«%h*%^ happened. Youw't AWt wiMj dreadful things yoiir hSbanft bS Mying i"^ **»* « me. If I had ai^ oipaci^ in me % Vf^ shockja; I'm - ^'^ 6o M0R MAtMlB'S SAKM, would hiave shocked^^qw&|tIf a dolcen times over. But. unfortH^' nately, I'm afraid I was oml without any." " Oh, he's a dreadfyl man ! " Hetty CKwd with a laugh, pinching the young girl's plump round cheek a good hard pinch with sisteriy fingers, "lie's always making open love before my very fjice to somebocty or other, Maimie. But I don't mind him, and nobody else minds him eithef.jbecause he never means it. It's only his way of makii^ himself agreeable." ,, ," Then be understands the art yctf thoroughly," Maimie repliec^-" holding up her ripe lips for Hetty to kiss exactly as she had just hbid tnem up a few minutes before to Jocelyn: "for he has be«| making himself most agreeable to me for the last hour or s% ancn" don't deny that he dofes it beautifully." ' :i. l;^ Oh, he's a darling!" Hetty 'answered enthusiastically, but wltll\ perfect simplicity, casting an admiring glance upon her handsome husband. "He does everything beautifully, Maimie: he paints beautifully, and he talks. beautifully, and he sings beautifully, and he dances beautifully, and he thinks beautifully, every thought that'*, in him." , ^ ** And he makes love beautifully," Maimie added unsuspidousiyl " Oh, and writes such lovely love-letters, Maimie," Hetty went cm with wifely ardor. " I only wish he could once write you a love- letter, so th^t you might see how sweetly he does it ! I keep them all wrapped up in tissue^ps^r in a box Tve got upstairs in my Cfbinet.''^ ^ ' "Perhaps," Jocelyn said, throwing his arm caressingly around his wife's neck with real tenderness, and printing a single soft little kiss on her white forehead, "perhaps some day I shall write her one, Hetty : and by the way, dariing, in that case it might save time and trouble if you looked out the best and nicest of those you've . got uiNsfairs in your box, and allowcsd me to copy it out for Maimien with the necessary chknges of nahie and circumstances. VeiyJIttle realjiy need be altered. Hearts and darts and smarts, and alT the rest of it, remain perennially the same under all variations of sender or recipient." " Oh, you naughty, bad old cynic ! " Hetty'^said with a sunny jjiiugh. " He's really not a quarter as wicked as he makes himseiu out to be, Mabnie. You mustn't believe him when he pretend to wickedn^iss. He's only a pretender: in reality, though he likes to pose for the r<^^r of the first villain, he's the dearest man. and the kindest pet, and* the be« husband in all England." v _..-- £ «y r . "U»5' iWOSt women wnnM k^ r ^i . you're 11 aybody 'Not even me rv nieet him. Jocelyn laughed. , vciv'nte pStJto'^^^^^^ "No,Maimie,youVea ]5>^on%a4Sm^me^^^^^^^^ Jocel^';l^d^3^e^^- ^^^^^^^^^ devotedly, part as weU as ydh care fS?^e dea7» *"""*" Pne-thousandi tmJlTve'^fleSi^i^^M "Quite me [dss MaiSe; now l^f shol^nS^^'"^^^ *"** "^^"^"^ «' you.^sS Maimie; hold up^^rl^^^lj^f rvofdThS^U^^^ The^ Hetty came in an/so ruSirSeiJ^tS ,,, ^^^°";*H«?P«-sport you like it, darling? " ^ mierrupted us. Yes, that'U do. £w mean, of course, not for mine oi^n.,«» h v '?f ^""^ °wn sake, 1 must be bad for her? mw C h;.H"iS?- ^^^ y*>« ^^ that oughtn't to be in it yet wu know lli ^a '^'^ °^ «o«OM and you a married man, tSo7"/'^°^^y"- An unmarried^gir*, the very momem wCT wanS't^^K ^* S"^ *"»"«8r» "just iU no^lpmS^ut'^^^^^ The flower has J*arm 3reXf«S'?*^5'^8r Mp» long ^ore me; Sfi'' it FOR MAmm\S SAKE, 6$ ^^ . and admire its Iiom^^ peadMwlored petali. Yqu needn't n a&iid, Het^t I ama prudent Mentor. . X will give her the vc^l advice that lies in my power." " And beitides, Mrs. Cipriani," Maimie put in aoftly, "you nc J)e in the least alarmed on my account It won't do me the harm. I like it, thank you." ] Tocelya threw hibseU biick with a face of profound amusemewlN on the studio s^ and said slowiy, as if thinkuiff aloud : W "Was; ev(9' illuminate in this world more ndiculmisly situated between two ing/nugs—AyMl ifKhmesyAih a difference— than I am ,tli^ pnNient mhnite I Both of wem are the victims ol the sweetest 'lto{»ici(y, and yet, the two ^mplicities are not one simpUdtyf but twi a^plicities. The first is the simnUcitjr of inodem invention ; the second is the simplidty of unstdliea, nature. The cue iouigines no e^ ; the o&er imagines it and sees no evil in it 'Tis a charm* inr tdyC wd fm loth to breadk in upon it* Butif S^orina Beatrice -^ii^ Pristine Innocwice-jdon't for a n^jpient suppose you've finisbcMi your day's work as a painter's model. I mean to do a Vcft. more to this precidu^ study before hincn-time. Het^ d^u^h^T*** Mi^. Perfect Cnarity-^fbr you think no evil--8it down there Qn the s(^ and watch me paint her. YdaH see in the end the vf^ ptet^ Land sweetest fa*^ lever painted. But no n^ore foollah intemip*' 08^ if you please. Miss Maimie. Thev J^ti6rfere with art^-^hat Is ^k say. Math business. So understand^cleariy^ Signorina Cempi, h you'jie not to have another kiss on" aw^ pretence— not even lor an ei|»»a6nr--*illaft«- lunch-time.'' y:^ - "You can't think how queer ijt^, Hetty," Mafanie murmnred, aa Toc^n threw back her head kito the proper attitude, with many Wbomg xeadjustments. "He Idises me every now and then, on purpose to make me lool^ like Beatrice : and when he's made me fed4ttdelicious.h^f goes off like a- wretch of a common woriemad, ttd says he did'it justlM' nothing but to catch the expressioh.'^ " pioes he ? " Hetty asked uneasily. ** He's i consummate artisC But do you know* Jocelyn, I dnn't feel quite right in my ndnd about it Vmtic^t fuie that you really oug^t to mute kiss her. Sipkt of irourse, ds^lmg, I'm so very stupid, and n^rally you know best about H."^ ' " Of course he does, Hetty," Maimie assented readily. ** And I assure you I don't in the least object to it I never eauli see what there was to object to jn kissing; Can you, Mr. Cipriud ? ** f* H<> more Mr. Opriani-'ingr if you please," Jooelyn inteirupted frbin his easd opposttCi. ** Weve agreed that ]Fou and I are to be Maimie and Joc dyn; just as,H< "" ' " Henceforth, ue supreme authority decrees, it Maimie. jocetyn. Hetty." *^ Won't t«at be nk^e^ Hetty dear? " Iwf aUtjCtfamately. «'Viiy mci^darling;,'^ itetfy rapiei rtHag a Hetty ^y to be nothing but asked, tooUiif at ^ i mle "■ ftTl You J * ^A^ ifyo I { ^ r - W^-^^^'"'^^^!'^ "»« adopt WMW. "K SSS^ J««^ • ^" "*»«-i™«-. it, Jocd^ " -" v3 R XII. »AMITE OR LOVB? M design; she had meLlv mSS ^''f^^*^ Maimie about tiS cafanSy that ISn^S/^'^*^ *^ *«* «ttle ^S tea «5^- She didn't know that lSS?SJr £^w of the RoyalSoS* from Adrian ^iT^^x^^^^^r^^^^^^^^^ this'^'gS'^iVtJli"^^^ case that «ake. Just 2»« m-*!/- SiphSriSvr^n'^^^ P/rticuIarwSSnfS fined, and disputed aI>Sut it -^JT®*^*^ *»<* analysed, ^^ ^t central pnictici^tiSuA^^i^y^,''^ soKd towaitl soWn^ And surely i/nS wSi?l^***^.i^^*ficant ^ttlt^j^^ -s:?£^£^^ SSiu^i^^^r *^5»~^^^ JSl-S^man and woman h^ST^^^^t ^u'Sl^S his owft two arte y ftted onlhe n2ifc SS?^ **.*^»^ *^at he keot Wievenux usuaBv ftasa^jT irfiS ^^^^^ 0«fi»^of Uluiiiph : for ^iminiZ FOJt MMlM/E^S S^KM* f IMMMiately, with all the restraked and accumulated force of liife -earnest nature. And Het^ noted with feminine ddigfat that SvOaty seemed to be drinking in -tfvrery tliouefatless word uttered by Mavnfe I as if it were the sentenbe of a veritable Portia, or the final ddivonnce \ of a Mrs. Somerville. As for Maimi^ she Was brighter and livelier that morning than ' ever; and she played as obviously for Sydney's admiration as for every other man's we ever came across. After luncheon^|they strolled into the studio, that Sydney might seeAfaimie's face as Jocelyn had represented it in^his pretty study for the erea^ 'picture. Sydney admired it very |ani|di : it was adroi* r^^-X^Xt, admirable--as far as it had gone. ' '' "put still, you know," he ventured to sug|;est, with unwonted timidity, glancing from the portrait to the ongihal nervously, "it doesn't quite do Miss Uewdlyn full justice. "There's somethine ^ about her expression, I fancy, Jocelyn — something a little ethereal ' poetical, infantile almost— like some of your favorite es^y Italian Madonnas, I mean— that you don't seem to me to have quite caught so far in the study, Still, it's a lovely picture — ^a beautiful]pictarer~ one of your very best, I thiiAc, my dear fellow." I Jocelyn drew his easel and palette over, with a faint smile play- ing around his handsome mouth, and putafre^i piece of canvas uj>on the stocks before him. [ *' Stand over yonder, you three," he said in an authoritative tone to Sydney Chevenix and th|e two Women: "I'm going to make a little hasty sketch of you now, just as you are, Sydney. Dpn'jMaave off talking or assume an attitude, or take any notice of me, 'please, in any way. You'll serve my purpose better, the more unconcerned passes do : so : so : go on talking, please : exactly : exactly." l^faimie smiled as she recognized the meaning of it. A faint flush came over eV^n Sydney Chevenix's clear-cut »ce. He fancied he knew in his own heart what the exptession was that Jocelyn had noticed. He fancied he knew, and hi? heart throbbed the faster for it The painter went on pamting for half an hour, while Sydney and Maimie, with Hetty beside them, stood talking about the ordinary nothing of society in the comer of the stumo : and then Joodyn iMuid, with cheerful satisfaction ; . " That'll do, thank you. I've got the exact idea I wanted, the dcetch will be invaluable to me. It's the very point 1 was most in db^bt about. Hetty, you and Maimie can go and put your h^ on. t*1^0I^wed^thcxia^^agefbr"1ial^|M^ the Park, presently." 'As soon as the two women were gone from die room, Sidney Chevenbt came over at ohce toward Jooelyn Cipriani, with one hand twiddling his watcb^dudn nervously. h'A ' V t 1 )i^ [ ^ XJ^weDyn W.^ ^^ ^ ^^^^ ^ J ^ded. smiling "**** *^* *^ discovcor/' JocelynIS; "^^^^ ^^^.Jtfeir'^ looked ha„i in o«ea». timidty. '" engaged, do you knowfrht asked ™aiiy tne sUgBtet <»n<»P«pn." Bii(tlil.w»,, Jo waa fiOin, .v li™^ JS? "'""'* *« amply thiv ^^m •«» to photograph it fir^^.S£2«-<.^i^ "^ iaSrSS ':S«.^ ^1?-r?,"SS."Sl^«W. TW, J„t a. th. *> you reaUy iuppise mv SSi ?^ account Most men di ftS bad I,* Tt ,. J«»'yn Mid mquirinehr to h!.»„ . ^^ translucent'; •0 b. i«uy p^ ^ ^ft^^^ajnvhj, j«*^^^ Gui^ *"J :.'?' Hi f, jrOX MAIJUrS'S SAJCM, «<^tliimpiolltor he «ws most ourked In hift attentions. HeneMI iBffpe took bis evies off her idl lunch-time." . i Every dayrfrom that day forth, a little bouquet of rare hot-houae \fiM«nsrs uiy upon Mairoie's pl^te at dinner, "from Mr. Chevenix;*^ ■nd almost every day Sydney himself was round at the Cipriani's on ^vat real or fanctful efrand, just to have a few minutes' conver^»* ualnted|iWay en alternate da|s it Mbdmie and at Sydney, and mo flirted disperately in his own yfvy in paaiiDg with hit pretty sittelf And the IoDn| he painted thto ' /J^Jvoasj^cj^ ^ Heftyl In loire with Maimie™ ^^ " '^" *"•• Maimie; Jaalyn hesitated and J^kedwh^r-**?^''" l^ .- I'm love with .Mi,JoeeIyiiI _ ^ »?«-^«'^»a.p,S^™o,r fedJnWiitM f^Js^a^aSiSH'-?-'^!^ her to hfa, with a caLsS^^^t^^ "*' ^"^ t«^demes». and Srew ^fe. Hrt^--Sf/h^.s^^i!« ^^^^^ Ws 3ide, "my own darting whatevCThapixis. I^uW -vJJYaP^" °f women I you don't thinlf or half as w?rair?df „^*^J^%^J^^^^^ Sf?*? ?*" ^ ^« iS«^ -nybody put my Hetty's im^ oii of t?« *^^"^ ? P"*** ^^e' ^5 a^?"V?iZtkhSF-F5^' ^"-^ ,M **«««HMydiift3i?li3r3 ' ^°^ »»«• certainl^ Be«(t ^ in MAIMIS*S SAJTA ■) <'\ -Oh^Jocdynl" ^ ^^ •• You don't like it, Hetty ? You don't want me to lo?€ hatf** \ ** I— I don't mind your loving her, Jocdyn, of course . . . if you want to ; but I'm so afraid some day or other you may get to love ber better than you do me, darling." « ' Jocelyn unwound his arm genUy from her slender waist and shoulder, and moved back half a pace to regard her with silent ad- x^tion, as if she^were a model for a weeping Niobe. " I haven't educated you quite as thoroughly as I thought I had, Hctty.'Mie siud musingly. "The old Adam comes out in you still. In i^itc of my training. It's too strong for my philosophy. That being so, I must beat a retreat. Hetty, you're crying, darling. Come here and lay your head upon my shoulder—on Uie sOfa here ; that's right, sweetest. Hetty, doritt cry, my darling, my darling I I shall never make you cry again. I didn't know I was going to make you cry this time. For your sake, sooner thaii cause you a moment's discomfort, a moment's doubt, a moment's hesitation,Tll give^up Maimie for ever and ever.i 111 never say another word o( love to hit at any time in any way." Hetty nestled close upon her husbtod's shoulder as she was bid, and lay there for a minute or two sobbing timidly. Then she said : •• You really me^ it, Jocelyn ?, YoiTre Cnot pretending just to appease me? " -—~ Jocelyn rose and glanced at her with unwonted auiet dignityi *' Hetty," he saidT " my darling, listen to me. You taust trust me. Whatever I have done I have never decdved you. Whatever I do, 1- do openly. I am very, very fond of Maimie. \ thought you knew I loved her and didn't mind it. I thought I had so fully edu- cated you up to my own level, so entirely eradicated from your whole nature that demon of jealousy— the worst legacy of our bar- banc; and savage ancestors — that you would wish me of your own iccotd to love wherever my instincts led me, and to do whatever my heart prompted me. But I see I was mistaken. I see I was too sanguine. A woman will be a woman still. Inherited nature has been too powerful for me. You are afraid and grieved because I love another gfiri. That is natural, quite natural ; quite womanly and human ; exactly what we have all always been accustomed to ... but not perhaps quite what I expected from you. Sweetheart, don't for a moment thmk I'm the least bit vexed at it You are my < tngd, my love, my heart's dariing. I wouldn't say a word to grieve you in anv way. I love you as I neverloved anyone before, and as I mnx shaU love anyone after you. Sooner than caUse you anin an- ouMr iocotid 6kmiAi (UiMsomfort ap I've caua^ you toniay , f II 20 at WfH y> m go wmmi -mGsmyiaimt wm leniser ifflsli&n^t^weiirasibreikltairoirtON- d«^' «ra forever. I love her, Hetty— I mean, I lov^ her— very deariy. It will hurt her for me to say we must part ; for she's very fond of vie in hor htooceht, fickle, shallow, little way ; shelbvM me as much as ever she's able. But I love you so infinitely more than I love ber, that teoatr than let you for a minute doubt me, 111 laeke the sicri* tmmtir tBM oa, toy& ^ Tm!Jk r '^ ^*^ P*" ^^ laughter J « MaimU ^«^ f ?<*"c*> ^Ps and part with tfm." jj^ „ «»' pay uie Mcessaiy penalty\)f our sflly love-nuj: Kttirfe^l^'dt^;*^- Wait *»<» *^ it^r^Poor afiaidthatToLdai^^outaL v^^^^^ I wal^cSty even than you do me.UariS^^' ^ ^^^^ ^""^ ^ ^<*^ ^^ »««« f,^ il "^^ half-unconsoous little iiwd. tet us U,^ i?o^' "^ ^^'^'y "«»y ^^ «»«• Wait ,i^2d hi.£s&;^iS^^s°"~ "^^^*^«^^ mindfetSeu'J'^ClSli^ "My or pain or jealoLr Kkl^J^^."° ^'^*'" caMfcfor doubt # few Ifcttv laSrf Sm It? w.*' ^»*^e woman. It s all over '' ^ " 7*1 chaj pul k XIV. Off WITH THI OLD LOfl. H •v^' ^''^^'^'^'^si-j^^^^^^^^::. mumi JO $^M MAIMIE*S SAJT^ tered for her accustomed kite of salutation. Bu^ Jocdyn waved iMf aaicje with his hand ihiui imperious mood, and motioned her faito the chair, unkissed, witn a grave face of stem virnte. "What's the matter, Jocelyn ? " Maimie asked, starinffM him blanldy with open eyes of childish astonishment. ** You look hist for all the worid as if you were angry with mp. You've\|)een taUdng to Hett]r about m^ I ^ believe. Why won't you kiss i^e, please, this mominff?" \ Jocdyi^ answered voy graVely : \ " Bedaiise I've just made up jny mind never to IdssXyou agidii» Maimie. I've just made up my mind, my poor cliil tmit it must be all over-between us two henceforth and for ever."' \ Maimie started, and looked up at him in haste \fith stid^en sui>^> I»ise, as if she didn't fully take In at first the entire^ meaning oi his novel resolution. \ "]^ever loss me again, Jocelynl" she repeated ■ with eVident bewilderment. " All over between us two henceforth an4 for e^ I " " Yes," Jocelyn answered stubbornly. "I've been taUdnr thfr natter over with Hetty, as yousuppose, and, from what she says I think it'll be better that we shJAMd part at once as isoon as I've i^n- ished this morning's sitthig. The picturc'll be done, then, you r as far as your part in it's concerned : and then I think yoU'd _ leave us, Maimie* and go. b|dlc ta^e Johnsons at SilbiUy for jjresent" . V •• Leave yil>u I " Maimie cried. " Leave you, loceJyn ! Ckn » the Johnsons I And never /ome back again I " 'The full m df those d^ieadful #)rds Iseemed tolM breaking in upon i^y- • ' ^ " ' -.: . *^Yt6" Jocdyn said with dogged persistence ; " never come bade'' l^;ain. "That is to say, vou m^y come again if Hetty asks you, just as an ordinary formal visitor^ but never again to be loved and pe%^ 'ted ai you've been totted this time." |. , Maimie pun^ her lips up temptingly, and turned her innoceit|; face stnught toward him. - j,' " Kiss me, Jocelyn," she said simply. "''• The greatest tactfician on earth couldn't have suggested tt^or|r aerfect strategy, but Jocelyn refused with much spirit to be dra^J from his position by the enemy's allurements. He shook IdM hem' in grave deprecatiMi. " No, no, Maimie," he said with some sternness. " I'm resUy in earnest. I mean what I say now. That's all over between us for ever. I shall never again kiss those lips, for ail their tempting. Jl have promise d Hetty, and I always keep a promise sacredr Majmie's esc^'ilaslwdliro tor a i^^ST^ " "5 rW. Then Hetty »ki<^ you promise!" sh« saU with a raalicioDg , linnting air. ^ Jt^' Jocdim corrected her calmly. ^ .^.^....u...^:^^:. " Htm didn't make me promise," he said with slow dljjinfty. **! pffMnued spontaneously, of my own sooottL I saw she urai ■ ^-^1 g^.bocaii^ rk«r^^^^^ tdd her I wcmlcb't Iw yw^^^ omit » stogfc incident He told it ^preS « i? hlnll^S'" " tlie J^'" /miSS ;fS2**^^*<^T?^ *^ to I«* her straight in ^^Hetty aont want me tocome here a|ain i^ " s?e ISk;^! irfter » «l*r»?^2' r°f exactly that, I think. Shell be very irlad to «^ «« • iCl 1^ nSJ; JinS^? ^jy ^**^ uncomfortable : and thSS '.'"WeU?"^'/ ftry nice, wouldn't it ? " nie\any lOhger. That Would b« JOcelyn stoUed curiously. , # J^l^apr such hiai»Jaith«5»^ ^^^'tw^^^i^^^'Z r^^hyou got for that sUlyYttS ■'4 , t/ihs's sAirs: ft 72 i ^ - ';} ter Srwu" The last wtivds ^M lingering: (!;ad(»ce, dow and ■ •jprfssive.; . . H " "* . '- T/* - Jocelra's mouth cufled up at the ends with ttbilosophica] amuse* ment at htr transparent simdidty. Did ever wd^an so let one look through and through the deltcious frank iftshneii of her unafffcted woman's heart ? • - '■''.■'"-''%' ''^1' *, '■ " No doubt," he said, "Ypu and fcouM' fee f^ry happ * together,. Maimie. il'there wile no such persbn ll^earth ^ u^^^ L_ J .^_^ . « ^ y^ j^^^ ^^ Het^ Oo^iSses. l$an incontrovertible fact yHfEAife and [J with her. ?|fow, natuiiU^^' H(^^ another girl and lewe her. I rtij|ht th^ woWdn't be the same thing ' wit^i^er. GMder, fdr^eXf- ^Hy 'i-^PKaA#** * SF^ o^ ind^Aiv t<:r faii iimmf§^'^ripfbetiier I always 5f wen<^ ofy^ijllPlI^^ else, ^d sen^ tod never had existence. > She is and you've got t like me to run a ever and ever to her so, if she Vnple, your own etots. ence, if I w^s married stayed at hohie with y| • .you a cheque eveiy ni0i ^^ " Certainly n^'*^ mf Mi SP}^yp yo^il^aya »w« 15^ Si^our housekeeping.' -oved Mttll'SSd oSSiL"'^ ^^•" ^"^ ^^^ ^' petulant dash of her ^ J^^ tried hard 11^ himsdf to ai»ume & bciomlngiy bn^^ th.;^^s^5}^ "J^ »«?'* JO)ire«tf. You could .never do so.'jriiafs ihU ^r I love fatf i»A«4;^ xiljri / J . *"" wuiu .never ao so.' norrtd Hetty W don't mean that. Dear old thini^i' i love h«# ■ !!P*"y°"'<^X®,^^*'*""*=^*>«tter than you love me?" 1 don t want you to love me best," she munburwl viAth nUaA fsh petulance. "I Wt mind which c^^ul^HovJ&l^al^^^ ^^lilS??"' Wy»»'' »>«* I '•,:; H JOJR WAtmB^S SAJCR. iW* Ml **%\ hu t^een a y«yt^d^^l litOe episode this, ifter tSC^Uk said more iiatiu:any, i!sfB#ig again upon hm from h^ squtdy lied* dttnedeyes.. \ ■<•'■ "■ ^ ' "Very, indeed" Jocdyniuiswii^, half relenting. " I shall always look back upon it, Maimie, yith intense pleasure. It has given me $ome of the purest thriljUi of genuine delight I have ever ejEperienced in the v^ole course of a not entirely unimpassloned .ttf^me.'';"' ,;, , H ** It has ?'i Maimie asked^ .^ ** It hasv I It will not any tohc^r. No, W Maimie ; don't purse up your lips like that, I beg oPyou. Accept the inevitable fike a good piiii It's all over. No Tmtt. of Eve m Eden iai the future. This is the eminently respectable nineteenth century, and we must behave ourselves like civilized peopl^ clothed and law-locked. Never ^ again : never, never. After this morning's sitting, we must meet i^c^orth oiity on neutral grodnd in Beta's drawmg«room. And, ' A|aimie, you must many Sydney Chevenix." • i • 'I •- *"' •' it O'V, " Tocdyn, jocelyivill b^eak it all off at once, if you wfah me to; but Ml, before we do, you'll give me just one more kiss, ome nice kiss, as you always used to dol A farewell loss;^ to break it all «ff with I Tou won't leave me here to die of hunger for it ? " ,^ Jo<»Iyn was soiiprised at the momentary tone of passion wfaic|(r' Mumie threw intd her last append, foir heliad hardly suspected ha: of posfsessing-even so much inteiisity of feeling or power of acting. . he knew not which : but he answered cdldly : ^ ^\ " No, no. If once V break my word, therell be no drawing a liiie anywhere.. The die is cast, Maikbie, and we must both a^Id^,. by it, Not even a farewell kiss to say gQod-|r^e with/dear Uttld^ woman."'" .; - „ .; . .■ „. ■ Maimie flung herself' backin the studio armchah- in a daptajriwri' attitut^-and sobbed away unchecked for some minutes, v^ A? she 4ay there sobbing still, M shaking visibly, the portidi^t adOved aside with a qutek mdvement, ahd Hetty entered. Z'OhijJocelyn!" she cried, turning to her husband hadf reproach^ ftllly. "What on earth have you Jeen doing heo, you dreadful' creature? Have you set piy dear little Maimie crying with your iMelKd scoldings?"^ Maimie took doi^ her hand from her face* with a.8ttdden burst , of fk«8h emotion, and, rushing up to Hetty hi a fervor of gratitude^ floi^ hxx arms wildly around her with unfeigned affection. *^ «' You dear old thing ! " she ^ed ej^eriy. ■" I do love you ! I do love you ! Do you know whit Jocdyn's been just saying? :>''■ f^ijr-r- '■ oh, isn't, it dnkind of him? Hetty, you dear ok| datlUg Hcttv^t won't |on aaik him to give me just a farewell kiss to say good-h^ . Wffitir UMj^i momentary pai^ of Jeiloiitjr tndted aw^ it (loot Moi* „„1 It n^ No#pi favour only. : mhcr. Wmrff !r£ts old zovjb. 1^.: \ I -^. -^' -iu'd^'teh "J!?- 5r«^"J«^'«<««i.'>>ixii«M. colore. ^♦w ^ *** comgrtably: and then Jocdyn said you" wim^ «w that, because you'd like to haw him alwi^reTiMrvn.r««?l: r^ £ Li^S' l^!f* «*^*^ "•'^ * ^^^ kiss to^y go<^-^ ^• S 2 nff^S" * ^^^^^^'^^that. the horrid man; aiTO w£S set me off crying and soldiing/' ^ was wnai 8hnS?if wu ^ ^** *^ '^erael^ (thought she was a little bit JMi^'I'ftf r" "^ ^'^ ^^ ^«» ^ .oftlSW^Snt ,«rforafffendsfflpyt^^^^ i ( '7§ Jf^X MAIUIE*S SAJCM. i.i ■ayi, Eng^d or Constantinople, fwnd by your colors. I don't f women «,h™-, , , - 5ydntey rose, lookihi^ery embarrassdEr Maimie «Jib^' iL drawii^g-room. He%aFa propo^g^S^t Wm ^LSS^ at once, and he hel^^ife hat toV^poiigfelhffi h^^^^t commg straight ta^the joint, Ss ^fn^m ^t^^t Adrian, or anybody, he went beattag about aSTSiMJhX^^^^^ est possible Imous circumlocution, m if be wm poSBv&d of approaching the subjectjmd^iying outrigftt, <^' m23iTtJ|Voi. '' R- i' .lingering acc^i^r-arrsh; ^rel^Ml^ J^^^ "^ ^A^I^i^^^^^'^^^^y^^^ bS^witTa dStiSt to^ of ?we and adminuioa^ Maimie rathtf liked it by wayof iSsMiTS 'Vj The I #eb, ncysj "is tl course "I ■^1 actiondj •oroethii / ON WlXff THE NEW, \> ' ^^ gradwte, Sown arsata? "^ ^«*J' »<• «1» -SSSleJ. taken, and thatle propSi^1^fc^J^i^^^« "»"«* have S mis! - wwmd your wiUrtl or catdhrS.«. i!I?^"?™^ **®«« i» to put ^ Km >41? ney said wi^a touS^K ^"^"^^' ^iss K£" SvH «is that piece of S&ey'^'SnetJSS'. ^" ^ voice^T^^l* courae you know it." ^ ** ^^^^^ ^^ k too often profaned? Ql " No, I don*t." lira;«.:^ li ... v* •. * confidiris ^■#i« of the theolijaj, he said : r#* '^!fi**^*^?^^^- infinity within ^ He used to mzk^t^t^""^'^^^ <^^^ «| called it. AndTen^e^S^i*^V?*W Sunday-as a cixPhii so as to throw mySfb^ttS^i ^^'""^ ^^^^3^ ^^ I ourffTiiS m«ch care for t^cSd:Spltf^°^- ?^^^ Bu I c^ hard to unde«tand it S, you knot Z ' I' "^ ^*^ *^^' ^^ 79 'tPpd- MAIltm'S SAJTB. |P-to*r. I I \'\ Ids own heart tcstatically: " To the pure all things am part ! Sh« doesa't even know she oughtn't to tell me she's read the * Cencj * t I admire her above everything for that sweet childish outspdoA guilelessness— -that charity that thinketh no evil. She iio^he mine, 9ht shall be— she shall be J I must win her! I can't live without her. No^ other woman was ever made like her I The angel«ithe darling', Uie sweet Uttle mnocent unsullied angel ? " To l!hie pqiie all things indeed are pure ; {Und^ydney Chevenis with his ingrained purity read Maimie Uewettyn's diaracter sen differently from Adrian Pym or Jocelyn Gpriani. "It's.veiy short," Sycmey said, half apologetically* as a mature man always speaks of love verses ; " only two stanzas. I'll tdl you them, if you like." > And he leant over toward her with a timid yet es^;er earnestness^ as he recited in a low impressive half'^hamefaced faishion those wdl- iBDOwn lines: > ^ \ " One word is too of ten pn^aned Y Tor me to profane it : . \ One feeling ^ falsely disdained For thee to disdahi it : „ - '' One hope is too like despair For prudence to smother: ' ' ' And Pity from thee more dear Than That from another. • " I can give, not what men call Ioint| But wUt thou accept not llie worship the heart lifts abOTC^ And the heavens reject no^ ? The desire of the moth f' .>'j«"j( ' <:"%^ m Jf 8b V 90k MAIM1E*S SAKS. ibis afternoon? YotiH never guess. Reciting poetry, Hettjr! Now, you wouldn't have suspected an F. R. S, and authority on S plosives of such a levity as being poetical, and "romantic, and ectionate, would you ? " - j » "And what did he ask you, Maimie?" ] Maimie laughed. " He asked me whether I'd lA him try to make me happy." " And you answered ? " \ . , ** Nothing, of course. I thought ah answer would be veiy un- . impressive. I just squeezed his luind for him a tiny bit, as much as to- say I had no objection to his trying it if it pleased him ; and then he set to work at once, kissin? me so properly— not a bit like Joce-^ lyn and Adrian : schoolboy Idssesp you know, the same as the undergraduates'. And just as the thing was beginning to get really interesting and amusing the door openea — ^andin you walked, Hettyi to put an end to it all abru|>tly." ' . . ' ,"^ ^So then you've accepted him^dear ? 'f 1 \^'t '•• WeU/ yes, I suppose I've accepted him. Of course iVc ac- cepted him. At an)r rate, I fully expect to get an awfully pretty en* .gagement ring by this evening's post with a real diamond in it. But, oh, Hetty ! you never saw anybody make love in all your life so CKiriously as Symong the marriageable men, of all ages, tanks, and fortunes in this colorless latter-^ay realm of En^^i^idk Why^ not even dear Jo^elyn was able to resist ner 1 ■■il N .*• 1* H/iS:, ' CHAPTER XVI. , iilh r> 1 • ', jMSm f A MUt l S tt Uk r wu i * K*''"* So fe six weeks* time Maimie was mahied to Sydn^ C%evamb ■« / •t0[^W with the Ciprianis after all till the day of her weddiiig, and Lo, hduig gmn away in proper form by Jocelyn hunself, at whose bousa rm sevoit ■). h tp'i' ^: ■-.■i A BRITJSH MATMOir, \^ Sydney, when once the ice had been broken becam^fcrtSS^i, ♦u ' her own vL. indeed she fLdS. hi f«J«"V«»ely liked him ; L ^ show her offi tA SI?7'^ *° ^ ^^^^ P"*"^ of her.^nd to love mie ha doctor's wife, her special friend there. . ^ For even the women got on admirably with that dear httle Mrs. Sydney Chevenix. As a rule, giris of Maimie's tyiie are anything but favorites with married ladles: they are men s women, not wo- men's women. But Maimie formed the inevitable exception to the. - broad rule, and for an ^cellent reason too. Instead of puttin^f her- self mto open rivalry with the young girls, instead of seeming to Inidle up at and resent the matronly^criticisms of the mammas and - grandmammas, she met them always on their own ground with pei^ f J feet fiankness, perfect cordiality, perfect «afw//, and perfect sub^f. ' mission, like one who is dfclighted to be taught better* " Wrong,f, dear Lady So-and-so I You don't mean to say it ? Is that vm»ng'v too ? Oh, I'm so awfully glad to learn it. You know I'm only such-^^ a wmple little ignorant country giri, and I never had a dear mother of my own to teU me anything.'^ What on earth fcould Lady So- and-so do in reply but stoop down and kiss the pretty little pemtent ' Bke a second mother ? , . ^ , As for Sydney Chevenix. he waa quite as happy m heapliig up pleasures for dear Maimie as Mainrfe herself was in placidly accept-, &r theih. HHtherto he had bear a man of one idea— the chemistry ofWlosives: n6w4wrbad-«dfled to it another and still more over- powering pursuit— the pursidt of making Maimie happy, For Mair mie'ssake he would do anything. . Dear little soul I how utteriv he loved her I Yes^ yes ; he could make her happy t Whatever she wished, he would do it at once for her. Even the explosives (though this with a sigh of regret>--«*en the explosives thcm^lves should go to the wall if they mterfttea. with Maimie's happiness. Body and soul, he had sunk himsdf in Maimie, and he loved her with a depth and intensity of paarion which Maimie herself could never have comprehended or even tatb- ^>.,oined.' , One thing' only tiuubled Maimie From the very < marriMe to sydney Chevenix. Adrian Pym had ceased her ahogether. She mentfdned this With some surprise ■h nt Hetty Ittg*^^ *♦ ^^^^jl."?^ '^^ t "Q^ courac> dear. ' i' that made even Malime fed 'sB^SiSipmehowBiS expecttMlolHt. thing very wicked and veiy. ridiculojis. "You don't understand theiie thing* ytt." Ifctty said laughingly; "but «ow that ytjurt married.lSu1l begin to underitand thtm, I'm si^ Makni^ 9m yOBll •«• thit ha iMtunUy left off writi»|jU> y««. ' own odor I MM& AS^if PYii psops A CAJUK ■It «at CHAPTER XVII. ADRIAN Fm DROI%,A CARlli SOMt two or three months after Malmlf>'« marrf.». a j-t •». «teWiig« afto famous piS. by Bu™ r™«?^*!!ffi ""^ in the shape of mSelSiwSd mJP^ s|>lMfe» of mellow color .uletob^sothTduhKE ,hSn*T?l't'' '2"? P«*«a«-of 84 ^JFd^ MAIMIEyS SAKE, mos of Corcyra—a paragraph altered and twisted over and over again in every sentence to suit alike his fastidious ear and his exact- injgf sense of literary fitness-^ khock sounded loucjly at tijie door of biis rooms, and the under-porter entered in haste, looking a trifle C(»ifused and flii^ered. f If you please, sir," he said apologeticaUv, holding the edee of the door in ms left hand with a deprecating air, of profuse hunwlity, " the hrad-porter he sent me up to tell you, sir, that there's a young person ,. . .leastways a female . . . that is to say; I mean,'if you pUjiase, a lady, as would like to see you very particular, sir, as soon «s is agreeable, if not inconvenient to you." "Where is she? " Adrian asked, rising from his desk, and piin* ing t<^|ether his necktie and collar at the tiny mirror in the centre of the overmantel. (One never knows, when a lady is announced, whether she may iiot tun^iout, on furdier acquaint^ce, to b« yovmg and attractive.) "She's at the lodge, $ir.^' the underi.porter answered sybmii., sh^ely. " Th^ head-porter, he wouldn't:.fdlow the young person ... leastw^ the lady ... to come into coltege until he heard disfct from you/ stir. The head-porter, he says, if you" please, sir, that the; lady's drunk^-thaHsto say, intoxicated." v ., ; Adrisp turned roundsfterdely to greet hira.° He knew in a mo- ment who it was that*had*s:ome thus unexpectedly to intrude hei" hateful presence upon him. " So she 4ias followed me up to Ox- ' ford at last," }ie thought to himself bitterly ; " ruir irieio earth in nly own kenjnel." Th^t final disgrace was too horribly ctt^uig. "Did the yoMng persoh give any name, MBft1in?^he asked aloud, in as unconcerned a voice as he could easiW mUster. keeping dovim hi§ fedings with a supreme efifort. 1' Did she say on what business she wanted to see me ? " ' -C . " If you please, sir," the under-por^TOJlled with trelinulojii^ servility, handing Adrian a dirty little squarem crumpled cardboiki:d/ ' ^ she said that that was her righ^jpame, an* ^he asked me to gii^ It to you in your own hands for her card de viseet, sir. An4 the head-porter, he said I must take it up to you a| once, but must t# you the lady wasn't in a fit condition to be brou^t into college^ owing to being drunk, sir." Adrian glanced mechanically with a supercilious eye at the dirty square of limp cwdboard. Written upofi it in a loose, scVawling, uneducated haip were the four terrible, damning wbrds, "M^ Adrian Pym.'Httititigs." The tutor crumpled up the card hi the hollow of his JMilm, wad flUiw it, savagely twRh an oath into the empty firepkee. ^ShoW her ^' he said curtlv. " She*g a drunken m adwomfi, tiy. mnta. i know^viaio she is, ahd whaTbusliMMf she's come u]^a» Show^ her up, both of you-'u«t once,^! tell you~you and the poittr." ! , /^ Mwtin hesitated. " If im pieite, air," he blurted ottl at ImI. •Itor « ntfooMiif • ptxiM. ** the heid-portir, be told liie to tdl yoiile 4 • / If' MRS^ ADRTAN J" YM DROPS A CARD, 8J I' \ couldn't admit a drunken female inside tl^te collqre without a wrfttift^ order from you, sir." ' ; : T7 With unruffled gravity, Adrian sai soberly down at his old oak desk, and took out a sheet of college note-paper. Upon it he wrote two bnes only : " Admit the drunken female to my rooms. Adrian ,. Pym, tutor. ■ . ■ . " Better here," he muttered to himsdf in his utter despair, " than down there brawling at the college-:gate, before the ey«» of aU those chattering jackanapes of undergraduates. She's come h?re in this state on purpose to sting and humiliate m^ that fiend ot4i%oman. Confoundherl— confound her I 'V - "There." he said, turning r6und his revdlvmg chain and hand- ^ ing the laconic order With a cynical smUe to &e frightened and deferential under-porter ; "show that to Boffin, and teU him iflent I; ."^. "'?^ "P the drunken female between you, will Vdu. Martin? ''. :. , > .u The under-porter gpinned visibly, in spite of' his awe, as he read the wordmg of that angular mandate, and went down the staira nastily to carry his oMers into execution. As for Adrian, he sat Sdown once more «^t jiiS desk, and pretended to be continuing his lit- erary reflections on the Demos of Corcyra hi tl4most uJftncemed andimlaifected attitude. ^ ^ ' .^^^ In a mipiite more, the door opened with a sudden push, and a woman of twenty-seven dashed ittto the study, closely foUowcd by the two porters. ; v - ' ; ' * She was tSlF ancl bold-looking, a fine vi^omah, or what had once passed as such, but with her face now bloated and unwhfcome *??*.^"*^*^ ^""'^' ^^ ^**" ^"^ carelessly fastened in loose plaits, which left mkny^Btraggling pieces playing untidUy about thcjcomera Of her sha^elesi forehead. Her dress and bonnet were tawdry and by no meanslnew, and there breathed about her whol* appear^ ance that genfetal indescribable air Of dirty finery which marns at ondfe the drunken wpman who has Sjcen better dayg. Her face was flushed, mA her manner excited^; and the heJid-porter had rightly concluded, from a certain pervading perfume of juniper, that she had neryed herself up fofrthe coming interview by the aid of that, spirit which is ppularly su|)j>osed to inspire Dutch courage. Yet she \ibs far ^rom hopelessly or helplesSy drunk, and sl^« walked into th#roora ^h some visible- attempt at dignity of demeanor, as if anxious to Jitep up 1^ credit ol her dame before the observant eyes of the two ^pwfters, ... K. ■ , ■ Pdi. she enticed, s*e tried to ru$h up to A^ri^, and kiss him openly, in full sight of the cpHege servants. But Adrian, ris taorbya \gtsr m- . "luiuiuons aittne nraitofwarot impuisi^ eHRteiriRar it* flank laovement, and substitutiiy a c|iair at the critical Jt^B4 wMb a courteoiis wave of the hand compelled hfcr to escap? • tip»^coll^»e by seating herwll in it, half against her will, with ^"'v^^^V^ aad grace stitt*coifld manage to call.up. " YtninMy f(V^ Adiiui saidHv^ an atmbK>rit«^Uve Vqiot to tht tigT ''^% ^fO» MAmm*S SAKE, i gjgj, below tl» ttrange TO«n had time to c^^ J^ two pwteri bowed and retired «ter bowvd add sndbd. *= *^ fought to have seven of 'em, sir, and thi^togo Aowedliis teeth with an im^ sndle * |«M ^th m> one," he answered in a crisp todi,i inr wages. Go, and sav nothmg about it." f , ^' iSfc^' 5™«^g ancf cringing. For pure tho^'^rft.^ttfil^Ueh'h???^^ Tie *j„ye worn™ s.. forJ't^qit^^vruS'rr^^i^i^^ .^ -^^ days. whe« X 'del^^e/'^d ^A^fc own heart's angel.' and aU that «)rto?thfn»^T„^ ' ^^ "^ itted to speak trnie verjr dilfeiSitT ^^' '" '**°* ^^J^ J^ The tutor twirled his thumbs reflectively. fl^H^^^^S^!^'^^^ w*i*»ent; Mn. Adrian ^wme now to dbtuit Hi ipoii wHh 4 : — Y -—K^^wMwu lu uisiuro your n J^P *> I owe it that yoThai piwoldQg cooHwii whidi 11^*^1^^;^ ' ' ■41 ^>^ old ^i— . 1 my .^.," on m- 'i aU < ' ■.,i to / •0 cm "T* ch ^ . ck 'ft "• a- • !d___ i $iRS. ADRIAN PYU PROJ^S A CARD, •> ■ . > ^"- . ■ . "/ em»ged the half-tipsy, ^hmx^ by its insolent air ofc superiority. There is nothing that violent people of the lower order SetMl so much as the presence of a calin and coUected opponent P^km they lyiderstand. vituperation thW understand, and neither frisfataS them ; but the perfectly unruffl^ superior /uigcr of an educated ■ *"***. ^^' *^?/**? comprehend, and it drives them frantic. . Adrian, she cned, rising from her chair, and standing before him jNith an air that, would have been absolutely tragic but for her tinnustakabhr half-tipsy appearance, " I am your wife I yoXy wife I your wedded vwfe, you^iserable wretch, you I Howdare^ou beat nw so ? You hound I Yoii cur I Hoi|^ dare youT-hiw dare ..Ji?' *!r^' ***?: -^f"?? Pym/'.the college tutor answered more . wdmly and superciliously than ever, '" I am aware that you are my irife, Mrs Adrian Pym; I am not at aU likely ever to forget tS S?*J*!i^^iP5y°^^^^l?P'^"*'''«*y <^ mya^enfion. You have blighted and destroyed thfe whole Value of life for me, but I am tied to you still—tied. irrevocably. It must be a greit consolation to you. Mrs. Adnan' Pym, to reflect that you have got rot iodissoluUr chained to you, willy, nUIy, for good and ever!" ««»so*uBiy «,«.5. J!° w?" ^5,**°^ a«ap angrily, as he bid her; in impotent wntfh, trembhng all over ; and, burying her face-in Wr two £anS « M**' ^^°"" i^*° ^?. "?c<»tfoUable flood of half-drunken teara^ ^Al^'k$^ ^; sJ** <="¥ petulantly. " Mrs. Adrian ]^ aideed I That s what he calls hii own wife nowadays I In the old days It used to bfc Bessie, darling Bessie." ^ '• I wish to God it were Bessie stiU ! " her husband broke forth, wj a gesture of impaUence. - 1 wish to God it were only Bessie ■ndthat you were standing even yet behind the bar of th J Royal I^tS'^yT firat'^nd-pah! what a notion-fell in love With you ! JFeU in love with you, Mrs. Adrian Pym I-feU in love with As he spoke, he rose m disgust'and Ughted a little roU ofVwfeil ^Z*^ ^^ 2?*^ 1*P°? ^^ mantelpiece, as if physicaUy to fumi- gate the room from his haunting memory of that now anpoasiWe h^ T2:S.T2S^";k J"«2entaHy the smouldering fSSSe ^^£l£.T2P** '* ?°™ ^« pervading ihspicion of junipCTabo. __ ^Mia fm^ thwe still, and rocked herself to and feo for S?L~5SL!f«* S**!'.''*^^**"^' «n<»«i«»«i ^«^on ; then Sto^JSS ^^ ^S*i"? ^'^ * '**'"«' ^"^^^ *««fi sudden)^ tt^^^^t^A*^ !^ language, such as only a barmaid SvSv hf ISi? £!Jf^""." "^ manage to pour forth consecu- ^:ll?A^^^J^fi^^^ rfKftoric. She caUed her husband J^j ywgpy and ffl tky »«"»« fjihrtf up frmn the profc ^^^f theXBiHsh Wuage ; the accused hhn of every u ttUe and unnaturd crime known to th# law or to the inflamed la oidnmken costcnnongw ; she repRMi|lMd him with aU that \mMa\, toe ttd ifi th«Jie had i^t done7l53; aM that he iwS SoW tbitfa^iritaot; witheverythiBf oned*aMit«fcrtfl«iiiMi|initfla8, ^8 ^dik MAIMIE*S S)UCE, ^ JSlf^a^'^d "^^^ "^^^ depravity, co^ sugg^t or cob- .«^ r I^^'j^^'j. ^'^ ^^'^^ *"™^<1 qarelessly to the fire/ stood stJB a ciprette arourid his dehcate fingers meanwhile, and Watchinp-lIS »«!nS! • p^^l^er she grew, the cooler he appeared to become • and the cooler he became, tKfe fiercer and hotter KSmedthe m»m^^s whTch oKcS^dl'f ' '^- ^^"'^ betweenThl tirS^' ^ rhTmgS Xh "* *^'^^^ own character in out-brazening and ^At last t^e woman's wrath wore Uself out. of pure inariitidn and tX^) Sf ^ more helplessly in the cfiair. for wf nt of Sh Sd ♦^ ^hwr***^*" ';^^"^' '°*=^"& ^^^ to and fro! as bSore in the abject mipotence of feiiinine anger. ' ' part^lsKte'rSS^^""*^^^ dexterously to i,lay his own Mr^' ffi^ J^m"^' h J%"^? f ^^ ^^T ""^^ choice expressions. Bessie Pym rocked herself to and fro VehemenUv. and answered never a single word for good or for evU. '^^'^^^y' ^** answ^red^ Adnan coughed dryly, and began again, «Hfh „r fflSi^'"*"°" ^*^"«^ ^^ed '" 'ts purpose." he continued ™hi??5^/TP°'"'^' "^^""^^^ must next h;ve recoS I St" "^'"^ **"''^**1" "*^^ y°" come. pray, for rnoii' hnii?^ ^u™^ ^^^'^ *°^ ^^^ ^^^ fron™ her face, and loolinir hitt boldly m he eyes, once more answered in an acrid voice:' -- Partly for that, and partly for other things." ? refni:S\!!-^*i, -^fl" ^I^^ >^th partly for that," the immovable husband retorted with inflexible placidity. " If what you wanted to eetwaS ' partly more monev. Mrs. Adi^n Pym, yOu might have wn^ten S me, and suggestecf a further allow^nce^^th durneSi^ns i^- f^°/r*^i:«^ "^•^ *^ th w " '' tV,, 1 ^ ^ 4 5 i t r , V -.'*- t 4 '- . ^i fe - .^ yo" WW justice to admit, Mrs. A*rteirl*«ln'' Be an^ £:S*i;^,^«jfM"that your letters have ofKSed abS- dant remarks of the nature you are alluding to. But thev have S S^'^JsSS.Thlfftf '" ?'"£l""** «* ^-"^ of mon^^.'vi'^iSte Uie abstract, which I know to U untni<»,or tt Itwt m^ltSmry. X' "^MJtS^Al miAN P ^ROPS iA CARD, The womM jumped up, with blazinffUes, like an an«v ti ^POskiAmiB^S SAKS. tfes to, Bessie.". : He called her for the first time by jier CSiilstiwi name, with some faint show of moUiiicatiM fn hit softened tone. "Is it here, or here, it catches yoii? Show me— sIm)W me: put your hand upontthe exact spot." .-^v The woman jilaced her hand ubon the right side, a little below the shorter ribs, with an unmistakable look of I'eal pain upon her bloated features. » ^ " Gin-drinker's liver, not a doubt about it I " Adrian Pym ejacu- lated t6 himself sOftly, with a look of triumph. Then he glanced in the glass for a moment with a curious air of indecision, as if he hesi- tated in his own mind what shotlld be his next movement. The devil and whatever spark of conscience he had left in him were fighting hard within him for the mastery of his soul, that solitary minute of hesitation. Next instant, the devir had fairly coniquerad, and the evil suff> gestion was immediately acted on. , " When you get the pain you speak of," Adrian Pym went on. with a fiirther softening of his hard voice, and a further faint show of personal interest, " you find, do you, Bessie, that a little stimulant time being ? " lortly, and her eyes seemed to wed eagerly. «It warms my my old self acain— in the old we went to the Isle of Wight to- ll gives you some relief, at least The wretched woman l^eam with a strange lonj "Yes, Adrian, yes," heart, dear; it makes me daysr— ^ou know, Adrian— wh gether. ' Adrian gave a slight involuntary shudder, and then rapiessed it with an effort of will almost before his wife could so mudi as per- ceive it. He ankWered never a word, iii speech at least, but, going over to the little carved oak si^eboad, he took out two pretty deco- rated Salviati decanter*, and placed them^th a couple Of dainty old Dutch wine-glass^ on, the yelvet-vered table tw the low window. ; v. „ " You are suffering now, I sep, Bessie," he said slowly. " I dont want to be too hard upon you, You %m wine relieves the pain for the moment. May I offet- you a glass of sherry " '«»'«. »d then JTh.^ib-.-'^^-^^i^S'^'^^J^ -""Si^lJyr.ay-s::^-^"''™ p^.«o^^ ' l«*P«ng»pZ"iS SS^hf~ W power, consistentiy with my -••ftemoon. fW and before ^S«i!?„i?^'° '" ?"?" * (%•« "^ > e» 1 ^ •' ** # ' ♦ . u' t <* • ' ■*-. 3 ■■:^:,-i\. aisiki^'j^ :iai-.^'^i.4Xi^A:;"; t>.-d''..- ;■ -.-J k :.'• 4 ■ i » \ » V 9 . ^ . : 'r w' ,'^.. ,U%k. ■t , * ' , ' '*"«'. ■ ■ -i i .. .. J-. . 31^. > ,; ■■i. • 4 ■ • / a'- , ^ "■■#^ I ' 1 * • • "B *' " I , / / . ^ ■• ' f • 1 • _ ,,1 — . ■ / ^ f ■ '. K. 1 9 • ' ■ t ^ ■• • • / A- i m ■MH| ■■J MH| ■fl '~v. **■!> I, >- -/' ,^ ;>-- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT.3) •^'.- U §15 ^ V .» J •St- s^irairaT«ji^Tiii ro'"t" _,Scifflices Craporatio fs& a) WBT MAIN STRIIT WnSTn,N.Y. 14SM (7l*)t72.4S03 ■^ /^ ^\%>. X'S't yf^iS . ,¥ tl ■/ ,r^ %. / ~N vX A A ,-L -■i^* "£»' .l»tA8M«i>; •.■:J».v.(r • K""" K>T^,^ \jlfOM M4TMtB 'S SAItS, pronxise me, equally sdemi^, that you won!t spend a single penny of Jt in drink oeyond the amount you are already accustomed to spend on that article-rgin or its equivalent ? " His eyes were fixed sternly upon hers. She quailed for a moment before that steady^ cold, unwavering gaze, and then faltered a little •'111 p]tp|(nise," she said, stammering, and turning away her eyes uneasy from his glance, "not to spend a«<»penny more on ^ cnnk, Adrian, than I do at present." A gleam of triumph burned brightly for a second in Adr^^ Pym's cold grey eyes. ^ He knew from her manner that the woman was lying to him. «* She 11 spend it every penny bii gm," he said to himsdf, with a fierce pleasU^ in the horrid expectation. " Never mind ! she'll oi|^ die the quicker and the surer for it. And besides, I've relieved my consicience~-if'>-I have any— by making her promisb' me. What more cui any man do after all than exact a promise, leaving it to others to keep it or break it ? " ^ "Then henceforth," he said aloud» fa a very slow and delil^te manner, " I'll allow you another pound a week, Bessie, for your perv tonal expenses." ^ - • ^^ v« Thank you, Adrian," the misterable creature cried, in an access now of drunken ^titude. " That's my own dear boy again, that used to love me m the old time— 4n the old time, you remember, Adrian. Let me give you a kiss for that ! Let me give you a kiss for that, dearie ! ' 'And she took a couple of stei^ nearer him, with bloated lips outstretched as if to entice him. Adrian drew back,from her offered embrace with a gesture of horror. v .♦f Never, Mrs, Adrian Pym!"he cried, recoiling. "AH that is ^over long ago between us I Go^ack to your own place whence you came— with your pittance of money I You have got what you oune fbi-, hunting me dow^Jbere and wringing it from me by coarse intimidation, to my dismce and humiliation I Let that suiSice jrou ! Be grateful lor what you have got. Ask for no more. Go bsck with your money f " At the words, the woman sank once more into her chair, sobbing Bke a child, with a fresh outburst of hysteric^ crying. Adrian watched her a few minutes from above in stealthy silence^ and then poured her out another brimming glassful of neat ii#indy> "'There, there, Bessie," he said soothingly, as one who pets a naughty child, though without touching her or approacmng her dosely; "don't break down: itll only complicate mattera. Kwp «P» Ke^ «P» whatever you do. Here, drink this off at once, I advise WMk and shattered, and you wantsm^OT^^ Thfc bloated lip opened m^ha0ms^, and the red hands raised «»• «»K» insUncthrely op tO'ttbil^oth. m il. by somt ttnconiBiout •ntanitic^ action. , « If^ sloping her ™« '""' ">/ "«"»• Wi ca^^'te.'^s^^.^^-s.M v- s""«- --^ across the FeUows' Lailm ianrf^f-K T **"* ^^ .**** ^^e" wicket, at Iheback gat?beswXVtusbtd'' ^'^"'^^ **.^'- ^ ^« »»««««^ ' atthiJ'^^^^^r^^^bm^ Pyn;' ^:?e,S ^'^ft'^^SbSc.^l?.^^ ?yT^-'" >l^riaa choose to go there fellow n2,»k ^"^ *® ^« ^'^> « you 3J»u like. as^on7^'you o^lv V^^^^^^' ^^^ JH*' *"*» ^^^^^^^ this. wretched creature's stunidSJ^^ T"?' *"** ^*' *« a^Jf^t at God it's.niininr That/so^l- W th^lii*' "Pa^"' '^'^^ ■...\/ ■^'q jrOJt MAJMIE^S SArJL : .III '' I'-" t I r'' "W^-" ,< *i*i *" '• :mw^\ x-^ • A \ r CHAPTER XVIII. A SPOT OF BLOOD. »• Wiu, Maiime,** Sydnw said to his pretty Htdc wife ^ o»« o^ ^ Httle puts, doa't you know «Ml rMui «U about )iii(% and found out h« wm a mail who gol L;g-\j«-iii #W#!l'-''"9S' thfnk iMadftillj ai, and never complaine^i^at bort ft beftutfAiIIv T btr jMt ftt firet aU the names of the^ifferent characters alwaw^^ *»Z^^T\^ *' *"^ '^"^ it/' Sydney said en'..'''•■ " -■ / "If it wais only ten, jma*am," she eJtclaiihed Wehemehtly, "I^- rather come tb live with a lady like you than take thirty— or a hun- dred for the rbatter of that, either— with any other family." Maimie bowed slightly at the.compliment— shfe Was aceustomed eQ»Blim«rtSi but Mil^shc loved the H h — - \ / ' /• I like you, Hannah," she said simply. " Ybu'i. shall make a comfortable home here for you, and ti — Mn^Chevenis it a ^U>ctor, though he doesn't pi not strong : we te care of you, now— and ' > : ^ HP - R- 'M w ^ * k- ^ « i:4: ..f< ik.w.ti^*! ^.'/ &V'- irant tbei first jfrom- go a pin, ^ou. Sqi T09. But couldn't you wait till half-past^liiree^ Benyofwski will be back by that time, for certain." Maimie shoo]^ her imperious little head, and pretended to be Os- tentatiously angry. She loved to exercise her power over dear old Sydney— that tamftJ^ar, that obedient, dry old scientific ^ve<^ her easy enchtntl^iiPSjj , " ^ '•No/' she ansv^red peremptorily, " I couldn't wait, ^hc fine of the {day will all be gone by that time. And, besides, I ^ ^ * see Jocelyn's two newf pictures while there's daylight to sl by. It's the last day before he «ends them in. This is what Of a stupid girl maitying a great cleveri wise, scientific husi He's fonder of his pots and pans and pibkins — ^after the fi n^onths, 61 course — ^then he is of the poor little silly voife he ised to love ajnd^-llonor and, cherish. Neyei-'mind, Sydnf by myself. It do6sn't matter to me, Tm siire. I do|i't c really. I'd just as sok^i go without you, eveiy bit, as with tiiere, stupid ! " And she pouted her pretty lips at him. , Sydney stood undecided for a second, >yith his fingers pla' dubitative on the t^-tubes\ Shoiil^ he empty them then land tl bitathe rubbishy-bucket, and spoil the experiment? It was afoi night's work wasted ; but then— &jyaimie wished "it. Pshaw ! wl wH'i a fortnight to a man of leisure with a whole lifetime jret (>[ before him for investigating the chemistry of the/Cnitrogen-coi pounds? t«Iothing, nothing— less than nothing, compared with Mail., mie's faintest whim or fancy. Suppose she was a/ trifle unreasonj^/f ble ; don't we men love women just because th^ are women, su^| i' therefore unreasonable^ and not even as we are, rational animals f:| Here goes, then ; and in a second's space, the contents of the test*^- tubes wefe flung irpevocably intolhe big rubbish-bucket in the cor*t; ner of the Is^l^ratory. ^^f: ' Maimie rushed up to him as he pfiEered this petty domestic saO'' tifice on the connubial altar, and flu% her arms around him with i «u4den outburst of repressed aBFectiop. "Oh, 'Sydney, Sydney," she cried, "it was very wrong of me— awfully wrong of me! I'm fearfully ashamed of myself. You shouldn't hav& given way to my foo^sK fancy, f didn't thiidc you'd do it ! I never meant you'todo it ! I've wasted your time, darling, and spoilt your experiment. It was too hli4 of me. You shouldirt have given way to me I Will you foigive'me, can you forgive ijae, my darting?"', v'. ■'./- "■'■T'-'- -■ ■■' ''... ' ' ■ '■%}■■' Sydney kissed her puck««d white forehead with a faint sigh. In' his own heart, he was conscious that he had been guilty of a culpa- r ,ble weakness. A man should, hold his place\better. But for Mai- : "ini;^'s sake! He had done it for Maimie I " It doesn't matter a bit. pet," he whispered caressingly^ "Wc ■ "€*uv easily lieneat the- experiment again ~f*'Oin~tbe^ veiy beginning* Only I haven t the face to tell Benyowski that I shied the stuff, away, i^thout waiting- for the upshot, He'd despise mt so for it— lie isnt marrfed, Maimie. I shall just write him a line, and leave it in the / 1M ^l»^' ,*" **-^ I 9!^ A'rS'h?s?Xn"c^^ He «st way hf can as to the cause mental laboratory. The taSi «?i'^ ^^^l^^ ""'scW«f In an droS ^ Meanwhile. Maimie wafro^W S!'''^?^ ""^^ fejamj^y^- ceedmra. Howev?^ mS^ou^^^^ **'**P'«'» *' ^ late pS. to thin^ you've made a S^nni «f ^ ^^^"^ ,^ ^«»™^' »t's unpleaSS «ei" he said tJ&S- ..^J^ "* ' ?™ Pa*W the edje .«. m-^ M addino- fh*.m ♦« Tu* _?°"?' »" these overcrowdwi.*.i^n»t^^ ^_i.- » F"«i«^s». 4 lie knowledge of it b l»Wcipated only.' Ah I rocelyn criea, 1 *.^,™ P»?cious sia 52?'^' ^T^ol^^sl^'^uS M tfef P«»pect of so eaifly «*•! ^'J ■■« fOR.MAlMlB^ SAKE. ' ■ ' ■ ' . ' ■ /,'■■' a^sdentific authority I 111 keep the bottle, too, even tf l' don't dift play it too openly to everybody. It might come in useful some daj unexpectedly, you see— it one happenejd ever to commit a murder.* * "Oh, Jocelyn !" Maimie cried, with a little shudder of involun- tary horror. " Did you say a murder ? How can you talk so vcr> dreadfully ! It; miikes me quite frightened to listen to you." Jocelyn laugbed. * ; j 'lOne neverknows what may turn up next," he said carelessly " Aqcidents will happen, you know, Maimie, even in the*best-reeu. lated families." ■ ^ * , "Jocelyn, I'm ashamed of you. Joking about murder!" — " Well," Jocelyn answered ; " why not? I believe people attach a veiy exaggerated importance to murder, just because the legal punishment of the crime's so heavy. Many miirderers. I should thmk, are quite as good in themselves as most other people ; only they yield to impulse in a moment of pission, or a moment of re- venge, or a mokient of dfespair, or a moment of emoU'bnal intoxica- tion. If a friend of mine were to commit a murder, now, I wouldn't think very much tjie worse of him : not half as badly as if he ill- treated his wife, or behaved himself brutally to other people." 4r- If: . \-v CHAPTER XIX. ^■^i LADY^WRAXALL AT^OME. '. A YEAH had passed by smce Maimie's wedding, and thfc Cht*' vttiixes were out at a big " At Home" at the house of a well-known London hostess, the wife of a great fashionable doctor. Sydney Was standing in the comer by the fireplace, watching Maimie talk- ing to some handsome young man just opposite him— dear little Maimie I how she did enjoy this kind of thing, and how beautiful she looked in her new blue sfitin .'—when Sir Anthony himself— the great physician— happened lightly to touch his arm, and say casually: / ''Do you see that lady there, in the black grenadine— the one by the mantelpiece, talking to Lady Wraxall ? That's MdUe. Vera vTrotsky." " Indeed ! " Sydney said languidly. " What, the RuMtlan f«vo- lutipm^ I ve heard her name, but I didn't know she lived in Lon- don. 'What does sihe do here ? " "Oh, she jgives lessons in musk: and drawing, I believe, and t^hes R iMri^w^ »ie 8 a most remarkable woman4n her way— an iron wilt they wt\ tte very heart apd soul of theAondoii Nihilists. My wife's tafcea qiit«« violent Itocyjto her. ;She'sgotateinpero£Kerown,thQi^gfcb s\ ^^^^tS^! ™"i9T*i5^)^j!»'W;^¥^ ^LViK.% \- \ ^I>r mX4XALL AT ffCStR. ,«vf ■ *'i^ yo" say she waTrSy a NH,iir.?i^ ^f""* *°<' ""shy- BM ya«Mdn't life to know hw" "ihilist? Tlow very d^ull I- S:? -seU, Pert^aps «.| V"'e ^,.^^^1^1* mat«l dfacussion Of OhdS'sKy^^^^ of M. Benyowski's? Haw T kJ«JI •^^^^'^y WraxeU, "a friend fatn)duceie,miladi. TS^kyoT'^^i*; "^^^^«<^nS^^ knoiv my compatriot. StSi^BenvowcW^^^ So you "I do," Sydney renlS? . nl«l ^^^^/ ^° you. monsieur? " toiyassislant^' ^^P^**^'*'"°^°'^^^»o"sofeva. "He'smy^^^ . -t-Kro'P'^^^^^^^^ at that momei^t a Strang, sharp notice nor TtSonS^TK^ ^P*^ neithei^MSS two men of scienc^. lSX^;^^t^'^^°^^^^^ thou^^J tir«^y overlooked it. ^''^^^ant, perhaps, of huina^. nature, ei^ ^e^ M. Benyowski was l^^^:^yl''S.^'-^^^ ^ nj^emoi^eUe. where we ^o;??^^^^^^^^ sieu'r;tu?sT|S^^^^^^^ Mon. spedalk. Ana how comes it that MP^^^ f^*^"™^«' but not a the worid. should poss^aSiv knowWl^^T^'H' °^ ^» I»«on« in explosives?" *^ ^^ ^"°^^<^«e. then, of the chemistiV of _%dhey laughed. . \ *^- - an authority, they say. on the iSnt* }t^^^^ y**" ^^ somelhinir of Russia ^w^l^^SS^.^'''^^'^^ sonJwhS; ^S"h^ by ftt,f^so{Tek:?k?.^' *^" *^ f me excdlenOf ^ / ^» j^.-jf. ^^ as;ji.iijis:-v'i^il.il.-jj^t -^^ uS ■.^' r^' •* For wlurt iMiipose?^^^ ^ ^ ^ • ^^^^^ ,** Not for blowing up Ciare or Emperors, you may be sure, dear lady. Ours is a peaceful experimental laboratory." * ■ , " Good I •• MtUle. Vera said curtly. " I am glad to have met an acquamtance of my compatriot, Stanislas Benyowski.. Knowledge is pow^r. you' do weU to pursue these useful invfestigations, mon- sieur. There are many valuable secrets in the manufoctiire of ex- ploshtes known as yet only to our men of Jralitics. But it is not well they should betome. too general." " . ,.^. hostess (id "^^ too, such \- * "A most interesting person, Mdlle. Trotsky^' the ho! ^I^j* few minutes later; "and thougli a Russian, ** I dare tey," Sydnev answered vaguely. •• But for my part T , alwaro rather: distrust these foreign communist peopFe. They'rel 4^. .too' devoted to dynamite even for mc^ i^ you can credit it" ' ^^^^^ CHAPTER ;jfcX. .„ TERA TROTSKY UTILIZES HER KNOWLEDGE. "'^! jO^ m Pa^ino ddwn the Strand toward the City a night or two later, Stamslas Benyowski overtook his friend Trapmann/ . " Ho/' he said, " you look asi if ypu were going to the Provisional \ v.quncii. I didn t know there was a meeting^ on this evefiinir. I ' ^\ haven t recdivedi.any intimation," ^ . ■-■■■^•, i.^ ^^ .„ \ Trapmann looked at him, <:old and immovable. '^"^ ■ **^ '" ' ^ *'^oCu*^^-^»8^*^y^<**^®»&'^'*>o"t a second's hesit*. tton. "There's no meeting. I'm not going there. I'm simply^ ping to caU at Vera Trolskjr's. She expects me this evening." I, have an appointment with hCT." ; ^ / • ■ ^3 > And even as he spi^e, he weht tfn, as il quitrunconscioudy,^^^ post the turning that led by the shortest cut to the street in Soho where the NihUSts held their weekly meetings. w^ " ^ , "Oh. that's aU, is it ? " Benyowski went d^ in Gennan— for aU . toiguap;es were much the same to him. "So you Md pretty little mulem Vera are particular friends just«at present are you? A ^ maiden, Ft&ilanycral Remember me to her most R»pect- And he turned away \wth a wave" of the hand toward the street Jaat led t o his own jodg inj J I. ___„ .-' J^ -~ TKpHa&rf affiTed a SmSe^ sniile ia the Pol^^^ tamHTOunded the comer; and\then, instead of continuing inthc erection ol Mdlle. Vem's, he made his way back by the next allef ' 10 tb^ street h« bad already pastsed* katUng to the meeting-pbce VMJIA """^^mm^^ mg up against YA^t^J^^ N?SS' th?T "^^ ^ ^ St. Petersburg that he? riSSIU««3i ^'..^.7 have. found out at Id the board ifiuch as mual-»!.w-ikr"L ™ I \ \ exception of Acting iXd^U^^^^ v«y unpleasant^T^labfe ch^c?!!?^ ^^°^ **'' " "^^ complain of treacheVywkKe folded thl*^^ ' where we least expected it aV^^a'J^ .^L^"^^ "> t^« Quartet . Acting Intendant,?S Sm^„^t°5SiSS ^^'^ BeJowsW, > cil, as regards the manufS?r5o«/ r the secrets of the Coun-. Wdes. ai&TliU r^^you iS^^ "^ «^ ^'^P^P^i^'^s. , Listen, com-' EngHshman the te^S sSaStRL l^c^"^^^^^^ «« an unknown Nihilist eti(fuette for Veni^Sj^^Urt'A* ^i ^^.pntraiy to tounicatioM relatincvlo reaT^ S^^Jj^^f * herseU: aU corn- were made anonSyX^IKdl K^'^^n'^ ^^^ ^ ;s reporter's stom iwneffl ahd.SiCTaSr "^Th^Ji^ «>n™iced of its certain genX tmi. But in the atmosDhoS'of S«^5?^'^?"'*"'.'«"<''™«>- k^ •Wto ««»g too, Kcret ««d4f ;Sfs^«?P'^4«^h''jM * «' i^,.. ■4'f -'**. 104 ^OX. MAIMIE^S SAKE. i.( among so many compared to the welfare of universal humanitv? Let us put It to the vote : is it the will of the GouncU to remove Actmg Intendant Stanislas BenyOwski ? " There was a prompt show of uplifted hands, ^ but two dis- sentients. Vera Trotsky, gazed at them significantly. •.u? « not well," she said in hard slow accents* "to temporize with treachenr. The men listened, and seemed to cower before her stem.coW glance. They hesitated- for a moment, and then, as It agajnst' their wills, overpowered by the woman's masterful indi- viduanty, raised their hands reluctantly like the rest in obedience to ,.? ^S m"''\ ^^^ '^■'^Il'^y ^™"^^ * smUe of feminine triumph; *'Good! she said, v The Coun«l is unanimous. It is decreed ttiat justice be executed on the person of Acting Intendant Stanislas Benyowski, traitor to the Republic. Anarchical and Indissoluble, and to the united Will'«f the Russian People." The group of Kstenecs nodded approval with grave solemnity. Nicolas Gzowski, (he fair-haired giri secretary said once more, prepare the decree to carry out the WiU of the People." ^colas Gzowski took a sheet of paper, and rapidly wrote out the ttsaal formula. "Republic of All the Russias, Anarchical and Indissoluble, Meeting of the Provisional Council of the 20th November. New Style. The Council, .. ^ "Seeing that Stanislas Benyowski, Acting Intendant, has been fmind gmlty on suspicion of treachery against the Jlepublic and the Will of the People, , "Decrees > / "That the said Stanislas Benyowski, Acting Intendant, be rwnoved by such m«ins as may prove most convenient; the execu- t^n of this decree being left to the person chosen by lot to rive efifcct to the commands of the CoujjcU; ^ V '/ ^ " The Provisional Councillor ^ X V "Nicolas gIowski: 2137." *« la the dwnjc accepted ? "asked Vera. Trotsky, in. a solemn tone of formal inquirjr. ' All hands were raised unanimously in prompt reply to this offi* cial (mestion. . v '^ A !J^??r ***?®'" **l«^*^ ^^ ^ *»«»■ imperious fashion, folding up L '■ SSSl : .P!^** °!.P^P^^ ^^ eager fingers, and throwing them iCigether into Gzowski's hat. .^ -,,-,, The lot feU to <^arl Trapmann; "" * ^^ ^ ^ ^ *• It is well." the German said, placing the paper solemnly in his r^^i .J ^yjo-morrow night there shdl be no such person in the tod of the l iving as Stanislas Benyo wskL" '/ K« -^eraTroSky arranged thft stSying curis of herfriay ftinie^iSA carelessfingers. and answered, smiling: "^ V^ ''You speak ^iravely, Brojher KarfTrapmann. Mxvt you such ifiaag a$ a cigarette about you ? So, so ; thank Jtou, thaok you." ■(J: plS FitfEtfDS MEET. f \ 105 ik CHAPTER XXI. • OI-D FRIENDS MEET. Primrose Hin. Sydney wS busv S^Lfo,^- '^^'^ ^^ ^'^X' t«waitl - ing away with Benyowsld ?t hn;Sv^K^ *" ^}^ labpratory-niess- to many -a scientific min I anS S^- ^ 5»^emicaJs : wha|.« thing it is the tSlm S^StineSoSL^hlJSV"'*'^^*^^^ to git away^Vrom no visitor stbpS^^ (^r sL h^ ^ duU pages of thf stu^d emmy lirDai^^ through Truth and the VWaLThTX/^^u ^^* ''^ -«ad tfierewas sun and fi^hnLs /£ °im^1^^^^^ There, at least. . parties, and dinners, and74es Sdlh^'rc^ Thet"^"'** *" ' blank episodes every now and t£.n «f t^ 1 There .were strav^ fiooh. *Why wasXZ)^f„v^i/y ^J^. autumn and after: less, indeed, it were on dui!uI!I t« ? ^' ^?"™'^ wondered : un- piactice of pS^^te^"'KSV^,?^°"'?«^ *^e foolish and stupid, the sort of ySX London rfav^^P?''"'"*^ muddy for «^Se^ rJf„*d "^^ '" "W fd dirty and and briffht and vivadn^.. g, ^ ?^ ? "?• ?™ "" <" 'oo youni B»in?Tb«T.^J?SSa, X^l^ *f '"'"^ ?^ «' ^P^ •fcal influences. When mi ^^^^ 5^ ""•Passing baromit- atituUon, and are wSSdT S'''?^' ^"^ '"™ » K-wi ™n- breakfast beTt^ttSto^o&'rilfn j'hl:'^- *^ "'>gnitlonri,rfiSiie iwto W^^ into a look of hasty ns •tood before hen ^^ to her great suiprise that Adrian>S Adrian drew a long breath. \ ^:^. "This IS most Rmm.io.."iL ,j .. l¥M :«y , . . Mis. Chev^f f f\£f !Sf°^r-^^ Or o»firht I mther t^ our meeting?". ^^ "**' "^^^ o*^ has had his hand S 4hin?l^^edSS^S^^^^^^ ^T^e's horizon, and «.n. hand with the old chUdSh S fo S^, fe ^^ ^ »<>*^eld out hS^ " G«>d-moming^Adrian^he^^^^ ^* new comer's, ajcver. " I'm su^I dSknJw ^d' d^onW^^ ^u ^ °^t«««y ftt)videnceorthe other person w!io«L?"*i5*^ whether it was jeiy g^ we've happened to Sock Sn^fiff*^^*^ ^^^ ' but iS But why ' Mre. Chevenk '? t^«J? ^*^*' °'*** another, anyhow by friencU like you SJdie ni h? * *^P*^' '° be caUed that w be 6nlv ' MaimiV^' * ""^^ ^^^y*' y°« ^w, Adrian, it u^sdU nuinbS^^^^ ^^^ tlghtly-fitting tremulousness. ^^ «»ovc with a sudd«i thriU of Wly-hSj P«^ Cl^'a'Sl.r ^^^ <=ri«l eagerly; \ stiU, if bnly you'U Xw iS?^^«.f T"^.* ." ^^ ^»»^ be iSffi haven't foigottenm^'^ ^- ^**" haven't foigotten me?YoS at SUbS^r F^S^:^,f^^ ec: such a greetmg as this from-^ JS ^mie shook her Kttic head with a waywani diake, and pouted dear, good oiaif4)w, aXof cou^ T i«;J\r*" ^ Sydney's a very but I don't want afl Se men ?^ llT^ ^'^""y* *"<* «" that ; I'm turned into quite iSoSS J^„ LS*11?" \<^ft^ymx\i to thinl^ >tu,rfdly married SydneyCheTen^^ ' ^"'* ^''^^^ ^ ^« «^"« ^ A*ian laughed a shoft Uttle laugh. opoviotional aarmm^Js^^hMT^^^- *«y^« •« «^ w^ I08 J^JS MATMIS'S SAXJS, I declare, Maimie, I haven't felt so happy before since the last day I parted from you at Silbury." Maimie paused and hesitati^ a second. Then she answered vu a low and very soft vdce, the three words : "Nor I, Adrian." As she spoke, she lifted her eyes to his, and Adrian Pym read in them instantly the absolute truth (for the moment, at least) of what she said to him. His heart beat wildly and flutteringly. She still loved him, then I She still loved him 1 He could hardly before have believed himself, that any woman's words could move him so p^ foundW. ' ■ J w " Then you love me stffl, Mahnie 1 " he cried in a low voice, seis- ins her not unwilling hand a second time. . " Then you love me still I You haven't quite left ofif loving me ! " Maimie drew^waiv her hand reluctantly, with a piercing glance into the dense fog aU round (lest anyone; should be comini^, and answered with all the tenderness of her strange little nature t " When I once loV^ Adrian, I love always. I love y^u deatly. I shall love you, and think of you, for ever and ever." Adrian stepped back, a pace or two. and stood fronting her in deep emotion. Then he spoke again from the depths of his heart; "Oh, Maimie, Maimie. it is too late! If %re had only Mowi^ twdve months ago what I know now ! It is terrible I terrible ! " What do mean, Adrian ? " Maimie cried, astonished, is terrible? What are you talking about ? " "Why, Maimie, guess on what errand I came up to London from Oxford this very morning ? " "I can't guess, darling. Oh, tell me, tell me! Adrian->you haven't come up here— -to marry some other woman ? " Adrian shook his head gloomily. «** ]No, no," he saki ; " not that, you may be certain. I was more than married enough already, dariing. I came up to-day— lor whu^ Maimie ? Not to marry one, but to bury one 1— to attend a funeral ! " Maimie clutched his arm eageriv. •• Not hers ! " she cried, with a face pale with devouring interest, ** Not hers, Adrian I Not hers, surely ! You are not set free I Not your wife, my dariing ? " Adrian nodded a Memn nod of acquiescence. ••Yes, Maimie," he answered slowly. ••This mornJng I have had the melancholy pleasure of following to Kensal Green Cemetery tlM mortal remains of Mrs. Adrian Pym, who died on Saturday- twelvemonths too late for our ha^iiness, curse her I " Maimie sank as if exhausted upon the bare wooden seat on the hfll-toff , atad beffln to rock h eradi-HLandlnLJn-Aslow. (fespoi^TaiHlon. ,•• Dead." she murmured vacantly, making the word answer to each forward and backward movement of her body. •• Dea4 dead* dead, too late, Adrian. Too late, too late, too late, Adrian. Oh, It d> tenifalcC terrible, terrible I" *" ^.^\ \ , «) ' - i f 10, tFRrktrbs jfjsjsf. Jdifw looked at % in bbnk ^esimdency; ''The miserable cfeature f" he cried anirSv "Th*.™^-!.^ drunken, miserable ciiature! She iSc hSSiV ♦« V^ *i^?** Kediiir^ts;:!^!^!^^ »bou^^^h. Maimi^, it's^t^ ^ "^ ^^ "WeU?" I o -\ BaiZ^tSiiJjjr^g^Li^Sf^?^ Lots of braril;! give her the b^"J Site??— »ne, I 6eg of you. wITy didn't yon •' Maimie. you are too terrible-t^ pwiess ! •• Admn shook his head one? more. ^^^^X earner? "Iloved him, Adrian." ' *' / ^^ ^' And you love him still ?" '^ / Maimie hesitated. " "* £S si- !"• "" *■'* "P™ '"P »' Priwrose Hill, havTcSSl hS j|}tt.himwered,e m»styXiSrf''n^SSpSl,X^?SS ^t^ • 11 110^ Pm( MATMIE*S SAMTM, ,'o^ r\, ■ctfchinif Introspective ciitfeism, with his strangely truthful esthnate ti his own iHffsonality and hers, he confessed td himself that ^e was not really Mrorth loving, and yet he could have flung away his very life for her that miniite, were it only for a single Idtag sweet kiss, such as tl^egr%ad oftbi dnu^ik in together on the twilight beach at dear old Silbiirv^. / - Hp s^tbbd and IdokM at her with hungnr eyes, and his hands miivered as he held Uiem restlessly before him, like a greyhound' that longs to leap upon his prey. Msumie saw the terrible passtcM^''! that was goading hun almost beyond his powers of restraint, and ~ sihiled benignly at him. It was so delightful to be able to move a mature man of his kind Jike that! Adrian Fym was thorou^ly in love with her I And so was Sydney Chevenixl Both were pio- foundlv in love with her, yet so difiFerently. lS[o wonder. She kne\^J herselt she was 50 pretty and so charming; ■ ^ 4 ^- >' Maimie," the manbried at last, unable t6 keep in hb devomw^ ing passion, "\i% too late. Too late! Why do you torture me? W|»y do you tell me now? Oh,' why do you teH me? And yet . . / I wouldn t have missed meeting you here to-day for ten tnousand pounds. Ten thousand pounds I pooh! a drop in the bucket! I wouldn't have missed hearing you say what you've just said for the ■whole worid^nd life itself, darUng I !' Mahiiie ^miled still demurely. ^^ > ' v :^ "Adrian," she said, " dearest Adrian. I have loved a great many ^ men in my «me — ^s^most every man I've ever met with : but I've' never" loved anybody yet as I love you, my darling. I love dear old Syd- ' n^ ^ I love all the others : he's such a good, kind, excellent fellow, , and he's never cross orangivwith me for any thing;, but you, Adrianl - I love you somehow quite differently, my darling. I love you deariy* ' absolutely, dev6ltedly> Ishould loveyou still, even though you trawf^i pled upon me. I think, Adrian. I snould almost love you better iiJ^' ydu jwtre to trample upon me." ^^J 4iriain tttrnjed andbegan to move down the hill rapidly. i^M Come, Main^e," he said, " you must come down wfth me. %^ raiist v^k : I must keep moving : I must work the steam off : if I % . sjUuHd hereany kmger, I shall have to take you in my arms, dariing^M and kiss you a hundred times over and over here in the open pubBe^ /pathway. Let us get down into the streets where titere are plenty ' / ol people 1 Let us get away at once where everyone will see us." ^. Maimie started and walked beside him for a minute or two ittff AepOf. Then she said at last, with perfect openness, in a sunplttvl^/ Vljjce of evet}rday conversation : v "1 "If anything should ever happen to'dear dd Sydney, ybii fciibuvl; Adtitti-— ^", , ■ »!' nAdri aj^rl l ^hffofcrfr eg^her^w^ „ — ^„--^ t;^^ — "Oh, Maimie," he cried, "you are too much lor me->too ttUi^i, Ar tne I You will drive me frantic. I can't stop with you nowan^ '^ ' wngtse, I will write to you soon. I will come again to you. Bu^ ^ % lallp aigr looger now, therell be murder-^murdart Good4>Kj u. I '^i ^m "." 1 * -fc. •J^-'^ P*'-^^^' t diss 1 «>u i;^ -■■> c«" V 1 . with ■i . «Mlti Itt i. < ' 1- > M CHAPTER XXII. ii*n .'H'k , ^W invenS^ofTnJi^Ss "SJfi^ experimentl^for the^ toUcd awav at their Ia^^^l^ explosive. For months they had put to the^ ff^d S^verv? th?i & S^ touch was reafly bcmg slowly and cautiSriftro^K^"i' ^ 5**® ^»<* material passed Sydney's side as the^S^L.!Sl.®*"W*^ '*°*»*^ anxiously by '"Vo^^^SiI^riSbiS^ there wSSSi^S^o^Lte"^^^' disappointment, result^ heart sank witWn him a^the AJLhffK-f ♦S**?*^' ^he jnventor's oqjeriments h^d proved ii^Theen^^^/^^^ *°^^««n« ig with a ciy of C wiiited i^nm^K *f^ '^J*?^- ^* Benyoww where the l2mp o^^^^ ^PiS'Sy ^^ . h£?.5*£ I,^lli1' pS^*^' ISll"**. >?5»i«?7 CNitiously '•■11 ?U' r 9' tti ^fqit MAIMIE*S SdXM. employer hid the first right to make trial of the new and marvek lous compound : and Sydney, lifting his arm fearlessly and *flH ntf good aim. fired Itraiight at the centre of his experimental target No smoke— no noise — ^no sound of any kind. - No symptom that the thing wais' fired at aU. But the pistol kicked a little in Sydney's hand, and a buUet had buried itself, ^ if by magic, an inch deep in the solid wood of the thick deal target. ^ They looked at one another, siting deep, with mUte congratu- lation. Neither spoke : but Sydney held hJB hand out tremblmg to Benyowski, and the Pole grasped it eagerfy with friendly fervor. In their way, they liked each other, those two diverse enthusiasts: their common interest in their deadly explosives made them fed toward one another a certain strange weird sense of fraternal* \^iffection. ' • Again and again they liaded and fired, one^ after the other, with- out exchanging a word, and always with the same extraordinary silence and perfect effectiveness. It was a grand invention : there was n6 denying it It would revolutionize the art of war-nand the practi^ of Nihilism. Each thbught his own thoughts to himself in^ilence, as they went on me<^hanically loading and reloading, with a fresh thrill of dcl^ht at ev^ hole they put afresh in th^ell-ridlted from the bare idea of making wealth out of an instrument of laughter.' But it would be an instrument of civiliza- tion too— an instrument of well-doing— for its chi^ use would be fai savage waTfsuie, no doubt where it would allow us at once to walk over thelfeeble resistance of half-naked warriors, who would fain retard the^ onward march of European culture. Yes, yes; it was an instrundent of civilization: h^d not Wordsworth^ even niiL Id an address to Heaven : 7 ;:'v^ " But thy m(^ dreaded instrument/ - ^ \" In wondng out thy deep intent Is man arrayed for mutual slaughter; ,, . ■ Yea, carnage is thy daughter I '^ And then, how proud Maimiie would be when she saw the honort heaped by a nateful country on the head of the man whose inven- tion had made it invincible, irresistible, the;^ embodiment of well- erected force, the greatest power of^ the £uh)pean world, the guid- ing natten in the great upward couiae o(/ human civilization mj human' progress." , . Benvowski's first thought was, how eaisily with this, whetf Alei- •nder Aleumdrovitch (whom men call the Czar) was driving gaily dow^ the, Nevski Prospect an enlightdned patriot could hwe be* ■iMi a f ourtb-itoiy window anywherei and without noiae^ witbMl Ti' . ^^'* "^ N'l .iv. SCIENCE TftlUMPHt '^^^^^^. Ml. without smoke, without slgn^of any sort, send an «^^l» £s?f &^^^^^^^^^^ aicUng and abetting the intfoduction of ^shlfi^^^Ss*^^^^^^ wl«J^T'^*iri'"T^^'^' *° ^ ^°rfd ah-ead^Se^^ih^S " , u ?y-**?<^-^y' even the inventors-tlwmsehres erewiired of th* ^Ii;t-4- fah Iteration of buUet-shot after bullet-shot riS dl^d i^^ x sohd underlying wood-work. Then at last SySe? sSke^^ ^^ ^^-BenyowsW." he said, "our work is don^ Te have made a^reaUy great discoveiy. Say hothing about it. I b6g of y^u t"lnJ "?.??*• Ju''"®^ you are silent, silent and tritw^v R^. riSIX stiU The secret must not be divulged '^n^ aSoL I mu2 ^^^e my airangements about \t^n.^€^M^Uf^X, Q,v^| BenyowsW nodded. - *;, ^ ^ '^^ shall h^of'h"nItJ^^?T'^ •Saeht'as the ^rave. No man S.i i?^. r ' P*'™"- „ I' too, have purposes for Which it wiU he ^vdnJii St « ?k' ^"" *<=<^TPu«^hment sUence isSessL?" ^ Sydney sat on the comer of the table. ^^^ u i.^!"J^:.?«P?°^.ki'" he_said. with unwonted carelessness. « we both^no,. need a W W^vc^ s^'-^ty" i^Td^ S^orKi''''i?f " wo..„.3 a. ui ana now were done, we'd bett« wl^Yi "^^ ^^^^'^ ^5'"«^ °" ^y '"^e*-- You may hSe^our^S? we shall begin makmg arrangenfcnts for manufacturinirtim «hS Benyowski bowed. f ' ^ [ h^.!!^*'' yo" please, patron." he said grimlf ; for he thought in his heart it would be a good opportunity ft^r him to take a KtS^triS «« bu^n^ and pleasure comUned. asVas sf. Pet^bS^ ^ *"" "You mav go now, Benyowsid," he said diortMr TH r4fh«.^ Benyowski folded the cheque up careftillv and «fiirV t* L w- iudyt( able Silt S'2S!n' *^*^',^5^'?'^ ^* ** st*» «n the ifee, scait» iSLKi S-^P " *".**? impHcations the real greatnSSiS woaderful discoveiy: and then an imwdcomt wfcfbS^J^ VpS Si- * XI4 MOJt UAIMIS'S SAJTM. ■*% him unexpectedly from the top of the staircase-^he Ubontoiy upcm the oasement floor; *'. Madiie, when Adrian left her, didn't fed as if she cared td M %ome ai once to dear old Sydnejr, so soon after th^t smajl whul* wind of pasuon with hfr hal{>foigotten Oxford lover; so by way of interpiosing a tittle variety, she strolled '^Hown to Portland Place by hersdf, and had a good look at aA the bonnets in .idl the windows in the whole length of Regent Street One in paiticular took her fancy miidt. She had no mon^ with her, but quarter-day for hor allowance would come round soon, and <^ course; then she couM- pay for it easily. (For generous as Sydney's aUowance was, Ms^mle somehow always anticipated it.) She went in and tried the botmet nxu It was voy becoming, ^aidj[uaint and quakerish, and not so^ tery dear either--at least as die counts dear i(bwada]rat» Maimie thought to hersdf ; at Silbury, of course, in the old d^rs, the ^»ke i^uld.have been ^'ply proubitive. ITl tjdy thatjne^ shc-said JcaTTJftwIy. to the yming i Iraited Oil ]jR9V "You're sure it suits me, arv you &ink they're worn now just a wee bit more off the forehead? " "No, madaym," the young woman agtowefed; "this is the veiy Irtest thing imN^ had from Paris. There is»'t another boniMl lO* •51 '" '»-^S •i .. ZSSf *** Sydney win tW^t iite so pretty. In It,** Maimh thouilH ?n?^' complacently " He dways Tikea^ne so much in old go3 yf -^^L*^***'- ^* ^^^ ^^^^ to sec "He looking diessy. . . f Or WK*!!;™ \'^9^ ««ain, and I have to go out a walk anywhere I^f„ i?i ^il^.^ f° ^'^^""y" ?°"^ °f ^^^J? "»« ^ nnait»,^u, ^«iu *u^:- _*x_Ji- _ . ' .. 1^ u!r^J ^f??^^^-^^^^l' ^f ^°""«5 *"«* yet somehov^ or other, I feel as if Iliked him all the better for it" ^ * T Ji?f ^?^"* Street, Maimie took a cab up home id Beaumont Tenace, and reached the door at five o'clock, just as Sydney was beginnmg to. think of clpsing the laboratory. « pyun^y was She walked into the bare back room, in spite of her interview ^tev4 i bought myself: sure you'U like it. And who do you tl Why, dear old Adrian Pym fyou rem* 've gone and qew bonnet. I'm wik I've seen and met? rh?^i«i,"^*f^*:?^'^'* *°.^^^ *^ ^inl Heiidlwere great chums m the old days, you know, and fused to go out fishing wS fevTL'ni^''^'- /)^^^^g»adto^*im fcould ha??^S ^ly kissed hun, only it was on top of -^mrose HiU; if it ihad lTL«S[^u y°" ^«^; or upstairs in the draW-room, I lially think LmS^nH r **T '*' ^ ""^u so delighted, "'.rfowever he sap he-U. fshSl^^m "^""^""^ ^^ ^'^ ^"^* antif he does,! know Syd^smaed. It was a reKef to him to have his pretty Uttl( ^ ^^^l^liV^^'^^'fP suddenly, and break the cui?pnt ^ " " - 2^??5Jf3^T** "^^^ "^"^ and round in his bra^,' one subject of tlje new explttaye.* mf ^' I wouldn't advise you t^;" he said.!&sing her and ; Jjjpspft round chtek between his thumb and finger. " Jl„ ^^*'' ^a"" ^ ^^^ ^^ i"»^y * ^^'ade too innoceht / know SSn?\? ^JS**"** you, and I would quite fed in what way you mS «i n JSi5S,P'**^?y^ ^*^ »t »n^e sameUght: AU men are n«ll|^feimnded as you are, Maimie. He'd probably fftf yg^ " nJ l H i^^?; ¥°^^ ^^ Ws dub andhiSSSS iifn^S^" f^ !!! i«T!Sf^ " ^lJ^,'TO" who*re too s impler Sh ^"n^?*l ^°°'V '^^^ ^ K'^* *o bc^original. aMi beUeve Jou a2^^:^^ ^^' another fel- low. YouTe reaUy too open-h>arted altogether, littTe woman, and rm not sure that I m doing right in not stopping you. For your own sake, darling, you must moderate your transports. It ish't usual, you know; it isn't cohvenUonal; it isn't what people are at aU accustomed to. Alone here with me, of course, it doesn't matter - top least bit m the world; but you'd say exacUy the very same : Gangs, I feel sure, if half 4he dowagers in London society were'^ listemog to you, and that would seem awfully queer to them." Mairoie threw herself down in the one easy-chair, held her two arm^up behind her head in the mostbecoming and listless attitude, and said with her sunniest and brightest smile : "Now go on. Continue the lecture. I'm going to give me a lecture, Sydney." ^i'ta lecture. darUng? . To you, Maimie? Why, you dear litUe bit of floatmg thistledown, what on earth wou|d be the use of scold- ' ■ mg you; I wonder? I only meant •' •- " There now, 3ydney, I knew it was coming.** x - ,.. „,,. Sydney bent down with a broad smile, and kissed hcrtendeijy. 1 It isn t coming, he answered, with a good hard pinch, " and you know it isn t, Maimie, as well as I do. I won't say another word am)ut it. I love you just as you are; innocence and trans- ports and kisses and all; darhng ; and I don't care twopence myself wither you kiss Adrian Pym or not, out jof thfe fulness of your Beat, you dear old thing, you. .So there's another for youwelf, and two of them, too, and that closes the subject entirely for the present. ;<:, -'" '\ \-^ ' .'■:.•■ . •^:,.>-; Maimie leaned back In the chair with "her eyes shut, and threw back her/head (half unconsciously) 59 as t<3i show off the full white beautiful neck in ail its voluptuousness to tifiei greatest advantage Sydney Chevenix thought, as he gazed at her lovindy that momenUic had never before seen her in his life look so absofutely and statu^ esqdely beautiful. No, not statuesquely ; for the colc|r in her cheeks was higher than usual, and the excitement of the interview with Adnan Pym had left her face even more than ordinalrily flush ed ■->. i'm quite suxt you're THRt . ^^^^OTTT^^S^rMOor^riSSk^at herl^^OT^^S' though her eyes were closed tightly, felt by ihstinS that he was lookiiu^ hard at her. ^ " . '^ Amt a while, she opened her big eyes with a mSi^m fl^t h and •dad ndth much show of yvifelyintStsts -«««•"««» ««• '-Is lis ypox MA4;xr/£'s SAxm 'no*-''* ■>».' - V ?*. the grfeatcst, ftuhfaiy mvention of the present ctfnturv she Swmiil 'Why, Maimi*^" he add. " you don't know whatffreSdfeSvwi iS-K I? ^e«n maktog to-day. I've found out someE SS^ pDl^hr revolutionize hencioi^ a^^^ £?^ «f ^f^ i^ ^^""** out^somcthing that may proveta ^•^And ynk they mjke you a ko^t for it. do ym thinks ^ w^i^ii^Pfe '^ ''^T"/ Why. what a funiiy notion! How your dear httte woman's brain does jump to conclusions! A man rmm never have dreamt of thinking o? thi no^ Wefl n^I dmi't suDpose they'U knight me aU at on<»for i^^biat wild li gdng ahead very fast indeed. Maim,> ^S\Z »Sr^rT.P* ■^' *r ■i' . Krt^ &3. •3^5 * « lui^nmooa, u inat s toy s«ap>f consolation to you. daiw ^A' • • Ok ves. They Ve knightedTots of feUows for'oSvi^ S5^ "ESi!*^ "^^ «' JS«» <>'• rifle, and I shoidd tSik Te^ SS^^^ W^ t,°^T^ "^^^ ^0»r nift-who invented a toS? ' fiwj^d fevaluable explosive for iStaiy purposes." ^^^ . Perhaps thw might even give him a peeraee " Maimt^Mniow Sydney laughed. "^ j fcW J^*Y ^" '*^. ^""*P' Matofe," he answired gafly. smiothimr her woman an mch, and she takes an cU: all(^w her a knitrhthoM Jt^t^ jc^t for her husband, and she straighi^y^ fe f^^^* tag the future and making it a peerag^ No; f don't suoixwe dar^ II1& in any case, it'd run to a pS^. The House Sf^Z^Sd;^^ fflS' &S5S^f ^ altoSd here^ « wnai it aoet. — Hr^ mi l' liiT- ft tl.i.il. 1.1— J*— .i, - - ^■ ,\ ^__\z~~ " rr, . . «jma piece Of Doarq nere. . \^,„ £35 2S*f ^*r*^**&r«"«^** *"^ through-^d loaded the oistol tSl SS^.nr!*!!£lL"^.*ir*»"*^<^<»^^^ ThenhTputfa* Si^SS'^Jf"!^'^ 5"*^"y ** the eitemporiied target "^tSJ %!■ ndther imok^ nor ^«h, nor Mohilof i^npowdiifM b^«r :'^ ^^w*' VS„\- 4PTUED SCIENCE, 119 , . lalc; tookfn^ intently at the board, saw a hole drilled sud* ' deqty, as if by magic, in the very centre, through which^the gasUi^ from the burier behind shone luridly. The b^et had passed 4:Ie;aa through the board, and buried itself in the thick wooden padding at the end of the laboratory. Maimie laughed and clapped her hands childishly—she thouglit Sydney would like to see she felt a proper interest in his neMLipven* tion. Then she took up the pistol agam from his hands, ai^a as*" ^ cautiously: > , "Is it loaded, Sydney?' ,^, now n worics. 1 « loaa 11 agam lor you to tiy witfr: only ,».«« i^ ^ must aim straight, and be awfully particular.'' ■ " Oh, how nice 1 " Maimie cried eagerly. •« Fanqr being the vety first petson in the whole '^orid, except the original inventor, ever to try a new discoveiy 1 I shall alwa^ be awgUy pioud of i^ Syd» Sydn^ loaded the pistol at ottte^ and handed it back to her with a smile of rea) triumph. \ ^ " Mind yoii don't hurt yourself," he said cautiously. «HdId it wdl away from you. It's y«y explosive and dangerous stuffVV tt goes o£F with the faintest pressure on the trigger, nund you." \ " Will it burst in my hands ? " Maimie a^d, hesitating, and Irt* ting themuzzle point upward as she spoke toward the ceiOng of tlul laboratory. I Sydney sdzed her band in haste, and turned the muzzle horizonp tal in some trepidation. I *• No, it won't burst," he answered smiling; <*biit i£ it goes off polntiqg up like that, Maimie, itil smash throu^ the Cftib'iig in half \ second, and into the breakfiEist-room, and km cook or soip^body, and then of course youll be had up for manslaughter rjght oft. littla woman."' ,...'" ' Maimie shuddered a visible shudder with her exprateive thoul- d«rs, and held the pistol at arm's length tfanidly before her. I ;*ShaU I fire, Sydney? "she asked, polntiog towaxd the tainst Mith her finger on the trigger. '' • / -Fire away," Sydney answered briskly. Maimie's forefinger pulled the trigger with some tremulousf m* Anin there was no smoke or flash or tumult, but 9he fdt the butt- end kick a little agahist her urm as far as the shoulder, and saw another big round nole come not wiy far from the centre of the tteget. „^ ' ■- ' 4^ . . ...,■, -; ywnniiid IndeMi- Sydney cacdalmed, appEiidlng. *Why, Maimie, you've made a rqnilar bull's-eye ! Anybod/d say you'd Dten accustomed all your life to constant practising." *So I have," Maimie answered laughuigiy. *^Poor papa naed S? ""rf? Eli; Pn»«<*»« »t * t*nfet with a nisty naval pistol down it MK oM Silbiiiy. He said it prevented woqif 1 Iran bavii^ oanMk \ '« .'^^Z-;'A:-W^'''- two ^ ^M SiAniilE*^ SAJtS, Jj^Sf"*?.**^** golds, and ^metimes centres. But I don't seem onllf hot S^^^nS'^^'^"" of you« Sydney. It looks u^caSSTs^mS ftow. It goes off too smooth and fast and sudden, don't you knowL murderers, and burglars, and such-like people? vSlsef Aw ^vSii^r' <=r"^»t a murder >yith it qOite 3enljf aSd n^^ ever hear or know anything abdut it." ""uwy a uX^'r^^Jlf'^ *"^** * ""jy '''^^'■^"^ "W^^"' yo" Jmow, Sydney/* Maunic retorted, growing quite ai^menttt^. " If a maii useJ a faufe. he must be clbse up to the ^rson helwkes. and ^ht^^i ?n? iuJ^^u *"* '*2««^^ * ^^^^' ^' "»«« or less, defend hSnS? ^1 L^H*^5 murderer gets blood on his cloS. of couS^Sd iSt^JS^ An?'"?;K '^ ^^'^ ? """J*' *^^^*=« °^ o»«'s detects hto afterward. And with a pistol and ordinary gunpowder, thw's a &fdl1fS^f^'^" see. that excites atteSio^ K?£ S?S,J.r! dercr identified at once. But with this dreadful new 5uff of yours It seems to me a man can pop his head out of a window anvwh««! quite unobserved, and shoSt*anybody dovra fa the Tt?S^t • S?d ^ SSSS*^Lr"/-?*K^™P down dfad ill of a Men S^^Io^S SlSS;yiiS^- te?^\*°J?^*^*' t^"» "P ^d see there was a bS- |5^^ VhtS d?^^n'L&2'^^'^ ^ ^^"^ '' ^ ^^'y ^^ ^yj ..W.WO «iuc3iiuu lo sciuc, 1 aamit. But I don t think it's reallv t ^^o^KS;;^ ~f°^P*^ ^^'^ *^^ Y^"*^ *<> the nation of 'S jn extraordinary explosive-the secret of which, of course. I sh3 kern to mvself and our own Govemment--^peciaUy fa dealing with SSt 2X S:To?«, ^"^^ ^^^y ^«"PPOS^«^ 8om?S7t ^cS 31^ «L^Ik°' r^ ^Tu^J^lT'^ **»«y '^^^^J*' ««n«J a few dozen •dected sharp-shooters i>ut behind the enemy somewhere, and pick hSn^^J^r"/ ^^"^ nigger feUows at once, without tSir Iv^ tw "?^ f .'g! ^"! stampede there'd be. as soon as they mw thWr mim •We of them I They^ nm away m masse as &rd as ever their I«ra guW carry them. Wd never have been s^ f sSStpcdfinlS ****i?^^'* ^^^^i^ ">«" "»n »^y from HezelSF^ ■ iuiinit smiled a smOt of recognition-«bt had rud u far it F 'iV £* lit. 4^ » & M rs^TT^T.. j'i.i--. APPfJED SCIEKTCM. fat »»' the arms and fingm, with his hiuik ^ sceaddy tamed towardlier. A single motion of that little foie- .■*7r ■%'^- 1^*^ bmr 66MS, m fef JfT^?^ ^^^*? ^ It requires such a vm tiny poU to &« »* P S I ■ *ny'i With a little svppressed scream of horror and agony, Maimie "-— he? "P at once, trembling in ev*iy limb, to where S^ey was ??«M' °5.***" staggering, over by the tareet Though she had . pidled the trigger by a voluntary effort, well Imowing at the fastwit what she wras domg, she didn't even yet fuUy realize the true effects r ??f terrible momentary impulse. Sydney stood looking at her teadoiy, with his hand stiU pressed irf a breathless fashion against ms rtght breast ; and Maimie felt in some vague, uncertain way that the buflet must have passed richt through his body, and come out at the spot where his hand was held with convulsive tightness. Sh3 flung her arms around h^iMS|M wildly, and cried^ a voice ol aeadiy terror : 'w -^v "^ts-^^ ■■ - ■ > 1 "Sydne:jr, .Sydney ! my darting 5y^,hiiv^t kiUed you-4iave I , « I don't know," Sydney answered slowly, staggering to a chair Mm a dnmken man. " The buUet must have pas^ jult bctow the Jgt liu^: Its bleeding profusely. Make me a bandagc-<|uick, Mahnie tore the lltUe white table-cover to pieces in a second, and, opening his waistcoat, passM it hastily round his body ovtside the shirt, so as just to staunch the external bleeding. ' T*-^ T V " **JLS*?"^''! she,«ri«»' " my own darting I fhave IdUed you I Ihai^ faUed y pu! Oh, Sydney f I have S3 voal " ___ ^ ~l^S^^J°^^se Hill— 'If anything were ever to happen to dear old Sydney, Adrian—'" Sydney's voice failed hinl for a moment. He stood there, daz- zled, stunned, and speechless, struck through the heart a thousand times Worse than when the bullet h^d passed lEhrough his bbdy^ seconds earlier. " Then you meant to shoot me, just to get rid of me, so that mirilt many Adrian, Maimie ? " he said at last, very slowly, quftc pitifully. •^ Oh, Svdney I Oh, my darling I It was a moment's impulse. I hardl;^ knew what I was doing! I do love him so dearly, Sydney. ' , i » The wounded man paused irresolute for half a second, as if stnipk with palsy. Then he disengaged Maimie's arms from about his knees with tender solicitude, and staggered over to the lal^ora- tory vmtin^-table. "This IS a bad business, dear little woman," he said, stroking her head gently vdth his left hand (for she had followed him over to the table, and flung herself opce more in aeony at his feet). " If you but why oiant you trust me and tell me beforehand, and let us two plan it Carefully to* gether, instead of shootin? me offhand in this foolish, open, uncon-^ cealed manner! Unless I have strength enough to Write a letter,^ I'm afraid, Maimie, they'll go and hang you— hang you, my pet! — *"" w«J-5it Oh, my darting! my*^djffling, it^ too terrible to you tteireft Maimie! ."Sydney, Sydney! darling Sydney, you won't die, will jou? Oh, don't die, Sydney— don't tell me I've really, really killed you?'* Svdney drew the pen and paper to him as he answered feeb^^ for aU'the Ume he wgs bleeding withoyt pause : "If I can possibly do it, fu keep alive for yoii, (larling. If I ui , mm" \ STDItBY (k>M& m '^.n^ ' ^J^^». I *^ »* "™ys«" *>y accident. But if I die, cZlW^t^ ^ ** * ^^ ^^ *** P'*'''^ yourself iimS «e took up the pen and wrote hastily across a sheet of notei ppeh Maimie looked oyer his shoulder and saw the words as he w^T» 11 /"* ^1"^ ***^ ^^^ ^^^ trembling fingers. A drop of K^^if*"" ^'■°'" ^^ wouna -upon the paper whUe he wrote. Sydney Wotjed It away upon the blottmg-padin haste, and went on writing without taking any further notice of U; The woixls were written in his brdinaiy hand, with veiy little more shaking or trejaulousness . thaii might easUy have been accounted for by the cirtumstahces he imagined m them. ''dIsarest Maimie: hi am tired of life. My reasons for shooting myself will never lown to you. But I am about to take my own life, and I beg jjg^^eness for what I am doing. Good-bye for ever, darling " Your loving Husband, ' Sydney Chevenix.' time to save^^ou ! Now go. little wife. Go at once. I W of ypu, I implore you. I must be left here to die alone, or all'slbst Go up t^your own room, darUng. and try not to let anyone see you 5S!nf/*5Sf- ^V" ^""^ u^™ '=**™^ **» ^^^^'^^o'" ^^ f'ere tiU Just Sr^^?* J^^ ^° "»y b«s« meanwhile to live. Goatonce;go» , Afeimie^'tHrew her arms .around him once more with a wild g^tujrof utter despair, and sobbed out frantically . " ^"» * ^«» "Oh, Sydney, Sydney, I can never leave yoiu I My darling, mv fcJ'^jrT'!K°n ^^ '° ™^ ' ^*^^*^^^ *^«y »^^^ me or whethJ iney don t, I shall never, never, never leave you." » fastSv/honw""** ^" clasping arms. again with a little ciyof i "Oh, Maimie," he said, "what ever are you doing, sweetheart? You've got the horrid tell-tale blood smeaJed aU ovCT^rourXar ¥K.!:* *7?^ •' u^. »' once, darling, and put it on the chair here. There, that's nghtl Now for Heaven's Sake don't come a stS nearer to me. Go, go, go at once-for God's sake go, I teU you-- or else the ^pie's lost for ever." ® ' _ "Never, 'Maimie cried, flinging herself with clasped hands into ^easj-chain^X doj^tjMre wheto^^^ •^ never leave you, myhusband, my darling/' — r--.i.~ .«/iT*^ **k " ?? **i* ,?'**f '^^^ waistcoat with fast-filling hand% JK? SS?"* *i^ **£*L5f" o^thc table-cover around his boify, undtf Ae^ At k« did to, he looked through his clothes at 2S ^it w rOX MAOilE^S SAMtv **0 God/* he cried, as he saw the direction of the bullet, "tl^ i^ a worse business than even I thought it was. Maimie, I mikst try to live ifm^your salce. If eVer I die, it'll be all up with you. That was a foolish letten to write. I've no strength or nerve left now to write another one. But even the letter will never save you, I'm terribly afa^d. I The doctors will all know as soofi as they see it, such a Wou&a as that /could never possibly be self-inflicted. Maimie sat/ still in the chair, roddng herself ma(^ to and frO, as she had done pat afternoon at Primrose Hill, and muttering in an jgonised voice : " Oh, Syd^key, Sydney, befdre you die, say you foi^g^ve m^ spy y^ufoiigivenlel" ''Forgive /you, my dariin^," Sydney answered with a fresh access ke, he leant over her tenderly, and kissed her forehead. Maimie, looking up at him in agony from betweoi her clasped ' hands, pre^»^ upon her face^ saw to her surprise th^t he had man* ^geA to put on his big ulster. " Oh, Sydney-r-husband— what are you going to do ? " she cried in sore astonishment. Sydney answered onfy half-inarticulately, with a gurgling sound low in his throat : ^4^*/^^^^^ r' " Can't die here and let yoit get takint, Maimie. Q(^g (Wtside. , Rhig the bell jten mjnutes after I'm gone. When the servants come, tdi them Ira out— blood in the laboratory— ask for policeman. Keq[> the letter. Very important the letter. One more kiss, Mai* mi^ Good-byc--gooa-bye--good-bye for ever.'' "Sydney, Sydney, darling Sydney— you will forgive me 1 You don't hate me!' "Hate you, Maimie? God forbid, my darling. I lovie you, I love you — as deariy as ever." - Sne hekl his hand and tried to detain him. With a faint wrench, Sydney dra^iged it away, and turned, staggering, to the laboratcMry stairs. He stumbled up them, b|eeding as he went, iwver noticing even that the kitchen<-qopr stood ajar behind him ; up the stairs, ^and along into the pasisage; out of the door, and into the cool "November evening. The fresh au* revived him for a moment He ' himself on for twooty yards, and thm hailed a paaurin^ ^ ■fis h- ^ The man stopped and looked at him sugpiciouslv. A drunfcfltt IwreJ But, still, a gentleman. With ,a supreme eflfort, Sydhcv nted himself somehow from the kerb-ftone into ^ cab, and pim •bt in a gurgling vdce, *^R^rs Fftric Hospital." H«a flUMoait fajb had iaUen back hMvUf npoii tin aaitaad ■# ■■'V.i> . ^^^M 19/ ward. utt^ unconsdotis of ail dse that happened to him afteiw When Hannah Gowland came up in answer to the bell ten mhw S?e ^; ^rhXiSf ,^"^"^^li^**"« ^.^* laboiafo^cS.'^ '&3V 1t !■ ,av ^ :"M CHAPTER XXV. ANOTHE|^ BLOOD-SPOT. 'rt-r.- -rf*?A*^A^ Gowland, hd ks she looked, lifted her m&tnM I2r ?S^^*^*^ ^'^f^ ^P "* **^'' annSiand carried her safdytoS ^iiuJ^^^u' '^**^'''" S*? *=">^' holdingrup Maimie's head upon the S^lSl"i^*^^*™- "Bring her water qulSdy I A little sal voktiki A httle brandy or something. She's faintedl She's fainted I^e dw sou . she^ fainted .way at the bare sight of it T^LbSS aj^hS^* ^"^ ^''^' "°^ Mr. Chfvem, isn't alJS^ . " Blood I " the housemaid cried, starting back suddenly. " Blood.' &ttSr4e??^'""^* Why,w4onear3?do^ouffl; i»«?SIl?li^v^^ P"*®^ *^*^** ^^ **>wel to Maimie's fbt«. head with tafimte tenderness as she answered slowly, *^*****^'*"^ ^-•♦Irl: !S-' **'*.?y ^^^' ™"^* *^ve blown himself up acd- kS.^i^^~"^^^'^? ^™^ °^ ^"^ <»readful chemicals of to Sn^lSSTK™*;*?:;*^ ri? • ^^. ^- Ch^venix, poor little soS. she? ne iiflo the laboratoiy, and found the blood Wg aU ^t Ae iw mfu'tK^^T^i '^"'^ *ry o«tri£ht^^th? ^^i? ^of WclK^"" *^*' tender-hearted, Xe couldn't sSd t£ Wh«t??{J^* ^^/^"^'^ L"llt IvIf^ainlSSF there inthechairbythe fireside, and I toofherup and ci^lSrS ^^ in my arms, away from the blood, and tKe mess, and even^ -$« *^- ia6 fox U4miE*S SAX^ Locy ran hastfly down the stairs, and along the passage, and oul Into the laboratoiy. Blood lay everywhere on the rug and floor, but * »pt a ^ of Sydney to be seen anywhere.. She glanced hastUy at ?H?T?y ^^^ ^^®^'.. A letter lay upon it, beginning with the > words. ''Dearest Maimie." It was in, Sydney's hindwriting. She read It hastUy. Great Heavens I yes I it wafi too true. , MrJCheve- na must actually have gone and just shot himself. • ' She rushed up with the letter excitedly to Hannah. »^ . r^See. seel "she cried "he's left a letterl He's left a letter! He s shot himself, Hannah! It's that that's killed her." , * Hannah Gowland took the paper from her feUow-servant's haii^ ^ with languid curiosity, and ran her eyes down it hastily and care*« tessly. As she did so, her faqe flushed a sudden crimson, andV - Is h*^i? ^ ^^^^ ^^^^ and feverish in the middle of ti$^^ "He wrote tfrj^tl" she said, half to herself, folding it up with- . care, and putting it cautiously into her bosom. " He wrote that, did hep—the goodjoul I He did right, ^shouldn't have thoS he had it u> him ! Then she's aU safe : she's sdl safe, thank Heavoi I Thev won't go wronriy suspecting her, anyljo^ At that moment Maimie opened her eyes dreamily «n."3^*^4" ^^^ ^^^'" Hannah— Hannah, wha&s^: Chevenlx> Wheni^ishe? How is he?" ^ >^ - cv«ii»r Hannah soothed her mistress's hair with her hand • \ -If ".L*l°"'y^°^' y?" P?®*" ^^'" she whispered softly\ " But it's u "ft, ^^^ neednt he afraid. He's gone out, I thiiik. Per-, haps he'll come batk again." «u^ * uuim^ rer- ^ Lucy ran hurriedly downstairs once more, and began to toe the haU and passage. There were drops of* blood lyine^ along It, and out of th0 door, and down the door-steps. She ^e. back and whispered to Hannah, "Mr. Chevenix must have crawled to thS fr^t d^'' "™^^ ^^ ^^*^ ^^^ ^^^ ^* passage "^ ' Hannah shook hdr head impatiently. . •« Uke enough.'' she said. " He may have gone out and crawled mto the street. Perhaps he did, and perhaps he didn't. But what we ve got to do now is to look after this poor dear precioito h . .V°P^^ ¥^^ ^^ "&^*' ^ ^V' *o ?o ^d shoot themselves, ex^tedl • ^ ' ""^ clutched tight hold of her arm, and cried 1 " ^X^Jl^y' Sydney I oh, where's Sydney ! Send rtuind for Toed* hm and Hetty, Hannah. Send round for Jocelyn to ^e and c^ # *'^* 4*?i ' ^nah said in a toftie of authority, - go at oni^ (Qf Mr. and Mrs, Cipriani. Tell them they mustn't lose a smgld .tffiefflcnt. And on the way, you may.tell t||e poHcemanF'" "But #«w^ u?f ^^ ^ H'^y "^^ "^^^ °"* "^'^ "»™' she took dm .tolded letter from her breast, read it over again and again with • •earching glance, held it carefuUy out at arm's length, md then oacf aavi wei kUd it hi — SHnB. A "But it's ! b^. Pws |; toetom- '. 1 lying^ She camV B crawledV -M v' 1 Bpassage \ | i 1 crawled . M a't. But ■ *■ \ precious S Ives. ,S Euid cried S > r 3 atoneif V a 8io£^ ^ took ikcL K n with • H henoacf .^K ^t S |_ . difOTBSg BlOOD^SPOr, ' y , ^ ' £^«u.^ rf «»<»»PP«. i. bad, WU.. 4fc t..i^^ Dcst when he was dre<»o<) ':~^"J"«»cauv. Jocelyn-alwavs Ionlr*«i ' «K* a crisis, anither woro4"?y|^J?Si^^?K' '"»"«• t""^ l«.Mp?>i^4«?/LV..'^ '»»«''''- voice, "Wh«,b- * hospitatV somewhere " ' I suppose theyV '^ad Uie emotionsol others like an open book upon then- speakmg countenances. It was terror of ;i<« Uiat Maimie exhibited; terror o^^kw— not merely terror ce-. hn spoke to her ; but she 6beyed sutfeidy, and shut tihe^r after fcer, with the reluctant air of one wha yields agamst herwiU tpl^ overpowering necessity. < ' . i _i„ »..^-^ ♦!«. Jocdyn rose, as soon as she was gone, and slowly turned tte key in the door. Then he took the letter dehberately over to^c rasUeht by thetablc. For a second Mairaie's heart bounded vio- Fcntly ; shi thought Jocdyn was-going. to bum it— her one piece of eTcipatory evidence. Bit Jocdyn only took his Kttlc ens, such as painters use, from his waistcoat pocket, and gazed mteaitjy at the spot anjl at the writing. Yes, yes, there jcodTdbc »* denymgltj The letters wem vmtten^ right across the Wood-spot. ^In otjg words, Uie^otm^^=€ert^a^J^fl»e^ bcen upffll t h e p a BgT^ ^g™? letters were written Over it Sydney Chevenix must have pciwefl 4ihat note after, noV before, the fatal shot was fired that kffled »»*•" Why, then, should he say, " I am about to tal» my own «*- - for all practical purposes he ha4, at thai moment ajrca liken tt? Why thus preVaricate, with his own Wood ANOTffE^JSLdOD^SfOT, ( '1 M^ gowtejr item the wound he had himself inflicted upon his dwn hbdy? Sjrdnejr was always a trutljful and an upright ihan ; why should he die with ah. obvious and^tuitous lie thus deliberately traced on ,.tell-tale paper by his trembling fingers.? . ,' 1; Great God I-Great God! Could Uikt be ^he meaning of it>% - Witfi one of those sudden gleams of intuition which sometime*^ breaJc upon sensitive men like a lightning flash, at a great crisis, the whole truth burst at a rush instantaneously and wHdfy upon Jocelyn Cfpnams bewildered brain. Ah I yes, ah ! yes, he^ mw it aU now. as If by some subtle transference of impressionywhy Maimie should ever have wished to shoot her own husband he couldn't as ' yet, to be sure, even imagine. Whether she had done it accidentally ' or mteiitionaUy-he hadn't at first the remotest Conception. He on^ gnewnn some vague, indefinite, instinctive fashion, that Itfaimie had somdjow shot Sydney, and that Sydney, to save her, had afterward ttaced With ms dying hands that short and curt exculpatory letter. But that that was the true explanation of the mysterious blood-stain and of Maimie s own abject and terrified manner he felt wholly, ab- J sdutely, msiinctiyely certain. '| , He glanced at Maimie once more from the table, as she sat there! crouching, vWthhiir face in her hands, and read in every curve of-T her bent shouWers an^ treinbUng. back her shrinking, infantile per- ffonal terror father, own security. or Jocelyil folded up the letter carefully, put jiKdn his pocket, and - *KPP^ **^^ *? r«od» again to where Maimie sat, cowering like a4 child iroon the sofa»-^\,j> ^^ -^ JMmmie,"he s^ Very softly, seating himself beside her, and holding hear l^d, " Maimife ! I must go and find out about Sydney. This IS a sad business— a terrible business. I underefand it all. The first thuM^ to do\is to discover whether Sydney's dead or Uvirig. If h6 s^dead, you wbuld have been left under the shadow of a t^ble doubt, but for pdprv Sydney's explanatory letter. ' But don't be aftaid. Sydney s letter wiU entirely relieve youirom^all danger of unjust^ suspicion. It was a noble thing of Sydhey to write it. I wiU take very, very c^t care of that priceless letter. It wiU save • you etttirely—entirefy— entirely." "* a-v^^ .really mustn't go , myself if I'm left— kill myself if you forsake mel It is too terrible —too terrible. Yes I yes I it was a wonderfuUy noble thing of Syd* neytownteit! v , - " ».:.^ ***5fP**^*' ^? **»<»'• ^^ a wspidou; eye b^ w FOR MAJMJB*S SAKE, lL» As for Maiilciie, left alone for awhile with her terr<»s bi the doir, jshe flung herself back upon the sofa in a hcsh agony of tears, and' muttered audibly between her tempestuous sobs : "He doesn't love me! He doesn't care for met He woiddn't Idss me I He wouldn't be kind to me I I shall be left alone, with nobody to comfort me ! Not even to-night : he wouldn't Idss me.*' f, .. " My ppdi- darling !" Hannah Gowland cried, springing hastily « - . to her fescue. " He has been fri^tening yoij 1— he has teen fright- «iingi you I The wicked man ! he has been talking to you and frijriitening you. But they shan't hurt you ; they shan't hurt you^^ Whoever else turns against you, I shall stand by you, I shall be with you. My poor darling I he shall never frighten you I " Alaimie turned, as was Maimie's wont, and buried her head ca- ressing^ for the moment on the first shoulder that then and there c^ered support and consolation. "Thank you, Hannah," she murmured through 'her tears ; " thank you ; thank you. It's veiy kind of you, dear. I hope Toce» tyn will send round Adrian. Sydney, Sydney, my daiiing Sy^eyt' 1 wonder what on earth l^is ever become oi my poor dear unfortu- nate Sydney I " ' . And all this tune Sydney Chevenix lay unconscious, betweeal life and death, hanging by a thread, in a ward of the Regent's I^urk * Hospital CHAPTER XXVl. MURDER? How Sydney got there, he never knew; He eoiiM re m em b^ ' sti|ggering out from the laboratory steps to the front door, and hail- ing the cab, and falling back senseless upon the padded cushions ; but when he next recovered consciousness for a few minutes, he found himself lying on a bed in the accident ward, with his wounds all properly dressed, and a house-suigeon looking down'criti^f nipcn him with professional indiflferen^e. How often he had stootf and looked so in medical unconcern at an "in^restingtase "in his student days at the Middlesex Hospital ; how Uttle he ever thou^dit then that he himself would be so looked upon at such a momenn>y a brothep>surgeon I He couldn't speak. His returning consciousness was still iiM too^t and feeble for ihaL He ooulAonlyi i ftW^jey eft and moaU iil half open, listlessly gazing up through his o^dids at we young sur- geon, and hearing in some vague uncextw bust the cotiversatlon that was passing between Iftn and the fJlirBe at the bedskle. In-< (fefiiiite sounds, floathifi^ faintly througvhis dazed head, they»«$ seemed, and yet his vivia interest in t^ subject of their tal|c taath A^ I 'IJ^-J J m y Si <•■• \ tears* uldn't .with me. tastily right- I and : you. dl be id ca« there •1^ 5% *^ mber haU- lions ; is, he >unds icaUy stood inhi$ »t]£ht nt by U far loatk •ur- Atioa In- !y»idl cnadt r, ^ UUHDEXf lilm listen intently, with whatever fatelligence he had left him for^' the moment, to the solitiaiv scraps he couW pow and again overhear of their whispered colloquy. .|-, ' "Notsuicide . . . im^ible to be self-inflicted . . . Ball must have passed m at the back.\beside the shoulder . . Aout below the f*"i *""!/ * : Very seribus." Those were the fii^t stmy scat- :te«^ snateh^ he cai^ht of the young surgeon's runnil^g comment. Sydney Chevenix shut his mouth hard, and drew a fong breath to temWe trepidation. Then they had ab-eady discoVer«l. as he imew they would, that his wasn't reaUy a case of suicide ! There would be no saving Mainiie u^n that simple plea. Whatever cain«^: he must^ manage to pick up strength enough to tell some absuiJI oodc-and-bull)stoiy about his fastening the pistol and puUing it with a stimgim^ order to give it the appearance of an accident. Yes, jres, at aH hazards he must save Maimie. darling Maimie— " Maunie, Maimie, Maimie, Mainiw I And then his mind began Once more to wander deliriously. k«»""«! He vm recalled to consciousness again the. next moment bv *tanMrttJe nurse answer confidently: . % " BiTthen Aere was no bullet-mark, you see, sfr, in the ulsteri ' He must have fired oflF the pistol first, and somehow put on his coat afterward and staggered out to a cab before he fainted. He had 2? ^uf n I ^^ ^*^**^?^' ®»» *»w^ 0% the uliter above the shirt, wit the Dullet-mark in it'* ^ ,^ > ;^ - ^T- With an immense effort ^dney Chevepix gasped oik, " I didf '• and then relapsed once more for a while ii^ wSk uncon^ scKNisness. /.'' ■'_'- --^ ■ .-.'.i. ., Five minut^ later he became dreamily aware, yet another time. of voices by the bedside, and heard thi suigeljj ask Se nmS «av« you found out what's his name and address yet ? " "There was a card-case in the pocket of the ukter,"the nurse Otevena, 27. Beaimont Terrace, Regent's Park, N.W.' We've sent off at once to m^nsB on the cards to make all inquiries bom the people there about him." ^h»*"^ i^5^!lf^f^^*l!l°^*L?^P ^^^^ Then Maimie would soon becoming to see him. That was bad-bad for Maimie. He hoped something would turn up to prevent her from coming. If Sic £2S#fc;'S"^** f?** i*?^*? ^ ^° *=n^' "^^ ^^ and upbraid heractffoolishly, and ask his foigi^ess, and then it would all come out hopelessly. The terror and anxiety of that horrid thought made IhfmJSf «/¥**" *"*** unconsciousness for a mfaute; yet, even in w^Jma °^ TJ*"^ •^"'^ ^^^ ^'"fi^eJy «wat«. aU the time, as j*^*^ ^i yi^i '^^"'^-q^ .^^g t« ?iM danger «v#>rT,anginr Mn7 ^- ^^^ra?^^MsSil?r ^Ir^at kSfyKhe «!S«?!r;^£JS„^S'^ ^1"^ ^"^ prt>foundly he loved her. In spite of mythfaig. he loved her unutterably. . H only he coifld speak and tell the hospital people all about it— m tht real stoiy of course^ but the lUse exculpatoiy one, of ho# ^'i '.'*! tjfi rOM UAIMtS'S SAKB, t ■.St «ii'^»i?5?i*^S R¥*** *° *•" table, and puUcd a^nfir. and shot Mm. ^ . self with It I But his tongue somehow seemed to be fairiy paralyzed • ' hd 1 r t utter a single sound. He could only he and think it over • And Maimie I dear darling Maimie. How terribly she must be ' u fc^e, alone at Twenty-seven] He hoped Hetty Cipriani was there -« With her. Poor chUd. she did it m a moment of impulse: she SfT".*^*^* ""•*^^^, ^^ ^^^"^ accident. And then to think 1 . wV*r V*^rt *°.*^**' t*»ey would try to hang that sweet little.angel "^ forit! I Wretches! monsters! The bare idea was ten thouSSid timw more agomzing than death itself could be. How happihrhe couW die, if onlv he knew that he left dear Maimie safe behind him. Fortunately he had made a will in her favor when they were fiftt mamed ; he executed it on his wedding-day. She would be left happy a^dweU provided for. And then flie letter— the letter would wculpate her. She would inany Adrian Pym. whom she Seemed to love better than her husband, and who would be a good husband to her. Oh. yes, if only the coroner's jury would beUeve the lettec Maimie might yet live very happily. I And then a horrible thought struck hina suddenly. Suppose; •"^•-all. he were not to die. but live, and improve, ^d «Jt^«S again I >Vhy. that would be almost worse than the other way. He could go back himself, of course, and love Maimie as Well as ever* ^^* nattered a mere^assing Impulsive action on the part of a chfld ETu^ Maimie? But how could she ever come b^k to him and tovehim? How could she ever feel the same toward hhnairaiii? How could she ever manage to forget that she had tried to~welL to get nd of him ? How could she foiget the faet that she had toll Jim that she loved Adnan Pym better than she loved him."her huft^ oand, Sydnejr Chevenix ? ^JLuX^' 5^ *' ^** *.**** t«»TiWe. Come what might, for Maimie's iaiee, he must trv to die. He mustn't Uve to prove her misery. She never could be happy with him ag^n, She nevei' could get over ter natural fwhng that he must distrust her, and suspect her, and disldce her. and be angry with her. He would only bhght and spoU ho- life--he, who had no thought except to make her happy; Come what might, he must manage to die, and leave Maimie free to ifaany * Coftjc what mi|rht, he must die ! he must die I He mustn't stand ^ In the way for Maimie, Maimie, Maimie, Maimie I It ring in his ears : and then he relapeed again. * ^|4 By^d-by, he woke up once more. Raismg his eyes, with his " head thrown back loosely on the pillow, he saw a number oButon of thebcd— it was seventeen-^d his own caixl stuck inaUtMlldinff mctaLiiame just b e n eath^lt.^ .^^^ ■y.^„,.r:!!*-jL„ Somebody dim was standing beside him— 4t was Jocelyn Cipriani £ Maid "** *atcr— and whispering something to the nune at ."l^rifd to commit •uicMe in ^ own laboratory/' JooetKB wig \ ^^ J em6 It «nobI r She : seen !■■ • -You 1 "P^te jp ' S k . retpii 1 ^i X MURDER9 ■\l: ■', ¥ .. W aayinf in a low voice ; " . . . well-known man ^of science aiid dis- tingi&hed chemist ; . . . left a letter behind for his wife, to say that he was going to shoot l:%nself. . . . Seems to have repented of it afterward and tried to handle himself. . . . Poor wife lying at hpme utterly prostrated. . . "". Far too ill to come here this evening. ... Doctor s^jTS she mustn't be disturbed, or moved, on any ac- count. . . . Thought I'd better come round to identify him, just for form's sake. . . . Doesn't think it at all probable he'll live till mom* ing;]|)'m, doesn't he?" . Thank God forlhat I— thank God for ^hat f The suigeon didn't think it probable he'd live till morning ! - ^ Then, at any rate, he wouldn't live to bBght Maimie's happinesli ^Maimie's happiness. Maimie, Maimie, Maimie, Mailnie I How it rung in his ears still. The whole universe had narrowed itself down now to one little whirling, eddying circle^ and of that circle Maimie was the centre. Sydney Chevenix's mind revolved over and over again in his delirious frenzy on that one solitary broken pivot. Soon the nurse pioved away for a minute to another bedside. Jocdjii Cipriani stood still, leaning over him in silence, and watch- mg his face with profound interest. Presently, Sydney's eyes half opened* for a moment, and Jocelyn, looking down, saw part of the pupil gazing vacantly upward, with the fixed blank stare of total unconsciousness. Next instant the pupil had rolled slowly round with deliberate effor^, and was concentrate^Jn a meaning, imploring look straight upon his own wayering eyes above it. Jocelyn Cipi^ ani started suddenly. "Sydney," he whispered in a low, frightenec! tone, "are you' awake? Are you conscious ? Do you know it's me? Have you anything to tetf me?" , ' Sydney's lips moved convulsivelv. He could hanlly speak. As in a ghastly dream, he seemed to be tongue-tied. At last, with a terrible mumbling and mouthing, he brought his parched and fever- ish thrpat in some dim fashion ,to frame the words he was trembling and gasping to utter. ^ « "Jocelyn," he cried^ in an agony of effort, " sav^Maimie ! save Mutoie I " And then his eyes closed again automatii^ly. Jtk^yn grasped the bloodless hand that lay now outside the cqveriet, and pressed it hard with a ^mpathetic pressure. "You're a noble fellow, Sydney, • he answered with unwonted emdtion. the tears' rising fast to his eyes meanwhile ; "you're a veiy §oble fellow. You've done your best to screen her and save heri he hasn't told me, but I suspect and guess the whole truth. I've seen your. letter, and t know the meaI^ng of it. Don't be afraid. J[w jroay die hapw . T ^ ^ rWc ^ l savfrhe^^tiBrJa, s^tel^all, witFpie aid of your letteh" Sydney was too^weak to speak again, but Jjpcelyn felt a slight return of his pressure from the bloodless hand ; and the tears fsrfrly leQ tfom his'swimlming eyes as he looked down in pity on the /paUM eyeUdt dodng below him. Sydney's lower, jaw nmed once matv If i-a M FOR dfAIMIB'S. SAKE, Ud Joedyn . thoi«hfc for a foment he vm really dead. But n - . 51?;!^.'''^* ^^ ^**^^y • ^^ *^*?^y «^P^ yet mother time > into temporary unconsciousness. . • . ^^;# t Jocelyn Cipriani bent down tenderly and kissed witK reverent '^ * awe, hke one unworthy to touch it. the white hand upon the coarse * ^ n hosgtal counterpane. Then he'went out slowly, muttering to them nurse asthe passed : . ' • * /^;^ «JrL^^ again, to adc after Mr. qb«nrcni:Ct<^om)W''^r :i^i< '^.,/'i CHAPTER XXVII. '' OR SOTCroE> • Would Sydney Hire, or Would he die? That was now the SS^S'"'^^!.* ^X^ ^J^J '' was,«er^y ^ acci^nt!^ S! tcmpt«i suiade; butif he died, as Jocelyn knew futt wdLit wa« . raurder^murderi^dMaimiewasamunderess! ^^^" ^^ k. Sii^**^^"**P' as Jocelvn went out oil his sdurch for Sydney. fnM tL kI- fl ^ "If ssfengo- from the Regent's Patk HospitS. who SL E.^i**'?^ '?*'*'"' fy^^y '^'^ ^^««» t^en; and close^hind Sftrf ^ •****?°'*T^'^"* tfe nett stieet. brought round officiously to SKi^w ^^ ^"^'y' ^*= Jw*"seinaid. Jocelyn turned back with ^^m Jn^t ""r^-?* ,*** ^^''i:^'" ^^^"^^^"^ Maimie would accom-^ Mny hun to the hospital ; but the mere suggestion of once mote M^ her d^g hus&and. afterall that had^ppened, threw Mai! ^e mto such a fresh paroxysm of hysterical weepyig and deadly feintaess. tiiat thc;doctor promptly vetoed the pitxSaiig, andlent tS^^J^'^^^T *»^,n»««on of inquiiv. ^An hcSfCer.^e HrSLI^'^'*?* breathless haste, telling Maimie that Sydney was Jtillafive and dom^ fau-ly, and that he would go round to inquhv M? **** "JI^^ ^"^' P*^»¥y «^« *iU morning.* The newstS S?"5Jr '**" »»^n8: jpadfied Maimie a Uttle foi- the momtot, imd she cned now more Neatly and natuiaUy, as weU as with lea& cS tenor in her weeping, than it the first ou&t '^*'^">/«»m McanwhUe Hethr had arrived to keep Maimie compahy in her ^7^1^^?^^ M 5T»^«4? and • comroissionaiie. fiurriedhr &l?5fr JH. «5*^/ *»at,bro"ghi round Adrian Pym in hot haste »om the Great Western Hotel at Paddington. : te7",**^J*^" ^"* a^one >n the drawing-rooni. . '^a^^4s ^4aa4 fai«tegs8f Adriin,-^' he^^^ itcret iwilh him about the wholeHSSr.- « ^van^tm^^ ^i^JZT^-^^^^ Sydney has .hot himS, and MaSE "•^iS^^rirbi^^ ^ lite, for you to 1^ W > f j f^ , ^C^f > S / OJf SUICIDE f /"^ 130 Adrian Pwa read it thjrougb carefully, in his calm, scIC-restiaineo^ manner, and then handed it back again jo the observant paintor with a deathly pallor on his cold, clear countenance. In a moment Tr ^op* J"™Pea at a conclusion of his own ; how could he conceiv- ably do otherwise, when he remembered those terrible words of Mai- mies that very afternoon ? "If anything should ever happen Xo dear old Sydney, you know, Adrian ! " Great heavens ! what could tbis sudden reahzation of her prophetic words so quickly mean ? Was It possible to doubt that the prophecy had wrought out in Maimie's rash hands its own fulfibnent ? ^ Adrian Pym gasped horribly for breath, and looked hard at Jocelyn m dire perplexity. v , « ^ n Well;" he said at last, alter a long sflence, " and what do vou make of it. yourself, Gipriani?" "-^uoyou " rye been to the hospiti^," Jocelyn answered evasively, " and I ve seen Chevenix, an4 the SMigeoh there thinks it just po^le he ' may yet recover. I *^ ' Adrian Pym drew a knjg breath. : _ " He. may yet^recover,^ he repeated mechanicaily ; « he may jet recover. The surgeon th^ks it jusj possible he may yet li cover. '■;.:.:. ,:.^>" ..,._'/_'::■■■■' -'■''■':-._,/ . , ^ -i. ? , " Yes," Jocehm went on, eyieilng Ihim hard ; "and, in that case, of course eva?ything might, no 'doubt, in the end, be anaAged the same as usual. . % ■:-yJ:\.\-,P'^ Adrian stared at him vacantly. "The same as usual," he muttered as in a dream ; "the same as usual. Quite so—quite so. But what in the name of Heaven. O-- |ramj^<^ have made . . . Chevenix . , . think , . , of sh^ng By the pause, and the sudden jerk he gave at the name, Jocelyn knew, as weU as if he Could see by magic into Adrian's heart tliat Adnan was really thinking to himself, " What can. have made Mal- mie shoot him, and what< can have made Sydney afterward write such a letter as that to exculpate her ? " \ uJ!i*i**i.***"^^^P^" t'^ living or dying now," Jocelyn continued abstractedly, as If he hardly knew what he was saying. "If he hv^ all wul be well ; if he dies, we must try our best--'^ •• Our best to do what ? " Adrian interposed eageriy, as Jocelyn hesitated with deliberate adroitness for a second beJore finishimr his sentence. * ^ " Ow*" best to make Mrs. Chev^ happy," Jocelyn cootkitied Adrian Pym dre w back ih'alar mt and looked ha^tA fl»jM iwf wtffioui trftftiaing. BiTthis man, then, ants^infiitf&vdy at the same suspicion as he himsdf had ? Did he, tooi guess with his *^^jan f^tjjit®?^ ^^ Maimie had played no minor part in thfa su^ p«<^ tragedy ? But no, no ; he was over-suspicious. G>nsdence makes cowards of us aU. Even h^ himself hadn't really any good grounds for his hasty idea. Syiln^ had wHtten with hla own haad -^^ \ ■m f^'sj Aat h« was going to Ml hims^tf} And why on earth should Sydnty write that, if it was reajly Maitffli who was going to kill Mm? Af- ter sOl, how ridiculous to suppose that Maimie had said to her hus- band, " I mean to shoot you, my dear. Please^ sit down and write a • letter at once to screen me 1 " Sydney Chevenix was doubtless the rooft indulgrait and most infatuated of husbands— so Jocelyn had told.him— but that was really beyond even Sydney Chevenix's utmost span of nifatuation. ', » ■' Jocelyn eved him closely still. Adrian Pjrm, smmg-mlnded as he was, quailed and fidgeted a little before that frank, open, inquire inggaze. He didn't exactly like Tocelyn's severe scrutiny. H« felt tijat the jpainter was scanning his face with the trained eye of a reader ^^cmotion. ^If only it had been anybody but Jocelyn Cipriani! Adnan did his best to look wholly unconcerned, and, like all men who make that most hopeless of attempts, failed egrefiiously'in the impossible efifort. ' Presently Jocelyn broke the awkward silence. ... ",y®" ™?*^^»?i? ^^ afternjbon, I believe, up on Primrose Hill, didn't you, Adnan ? " ' Adrian, in spite of his habitukl self-control, gave a visible ;8tarL and then with equal maladroitness repressed it ^sibly. ' u " K^^" ^^ answered, with Ul-concealed agitation. " How . . . how <^d you come to know of that, pray, Cipriani? I mean to sav . . . what the deva_^". that is, rather, I should like to know who evipr can have toldr^tTso ?!'' "Maimie mentioned tdfmei that she'd seen you there," Jocelyn ccmtmued m a musing voidi, asf though it were an abstract fact, to which he attached not the slightest practical importance ; " and she* asked me to send Jor you to the Paddington Hotel. Indeed, I sbouldnt otherwise have known yqur address, or even that vou were up in town this evening." ' ^ ' '"" Adrian could have cursed in his heart his own chUdish dumsi- ne^ m lettmg Jocdyn see so plainly how annoyed and frfehtened he was to l^rn that the painter had heard of their accidcnta mat- ing. How foohsh of Maimie ever to have mentioned it ; how many thousand^times more foolish of himself to have betrayed such tdi- tale and ill-timed agitation I t- / vu i«i- " It was kind oi you to let me know so quickly," he said, with awkward pohteness, aware aU the time that Jocelyn's keen eye was stiUnveted upon him. "I ... I am gladtf lean be of anyser- vice to . . . to ^frs. Chevenix m her great trouble." JoSeJyn held'Ae fatal letter stiU unfolded in his hands. " Yes, he said, glancing casually sidewa\ " we must all do our best to . . ^tosave^ ' " ^'3*+'-^ .^v "vn^^mrm^^micis. it maalorBi^^'^g wrote this letter beforehand. A man who intends to commit suidde owes It as a moral duty to others to put his faitentions plainly in wptii^. It prevents all unjust suspicions. Had it not been for Oris wttor —-he paused significantly. p^ %w. ydan ' " rhus- nitea* , $sthe a had tmost . ed as OJf SUiaDMf Irian said, with Wed impatience; "hadltnotbeoi ,.1 \% :« • fn- this tetter- . of nnhf.'?'^"''"' ^^" 1<^M went on quietly, "a mat deal stam^•ffl;fourte,uS=i^^"^ ' .Jn T" «* Kps, and he^ Wm'Su'S'in S lS^l^'!3iW ??^^,y<^ Whv nn ^;ii,\Ii,A *i!r^ "^7 «"guiar ne should say ^^^^7ii&^^"^ °'' earthNshouId he ask me at such a momeirt ^diw Pym paced up and d^ the room ex^^^ *< Cipriani, Cipriani! " he said\t last "a«» vn.i A^^^ *u' 51^? A«yS..n*.(rdeUbe^Sinj£iaiy?g^^pS; Jocebm answered only with an evasive si/ue: . «Hh a SSilSe'S'^'S'i 1? tlT^^ his bn«™ heart Adnan snatched the letter from his finn srasn in a sitri^-« «♦ exasperation and terror. . ^ v^ ^ ft"^*^ ?* * sudden fit \f ii^>^ answered; "yes, I noticed it. of counaj. What J^V:^en? I suppose it got splayed on when Sydnej^diot^lS «TLr?«n»,^'i' J«*^y° answered, coldly and demonstiativeiv In &. Sd Si?^,L^^P!!^*«- ^T^^^ once the d^S A»S^ J ^' between drops and splashes. That's a Hmn A.tw1i^?,P '^^ * ^"n** '• an*J. what^s m^ it^ thenSl don tmmd telling you-before ever the letter w^WriASf" ' -^ Hespoke low. solemnly, and imprassivdv,«S-SISrt«w^«ir " WeU," he said, in a daied aid pualed voice, avoiding Jocelyn'a m^jfa ^ Si* Nil ¥i' ' ' 3?{ l4*i\ K T pit Mes as yi€Bi as 1^ was able,. " I suppose CkeveQik ^may have writtoi the ktter, then, after h "Precisely," Tocelyn replied. "That's just 1^. He \^te thit**,,'^ letter after he snot himself. Look atvthe word^i astheyrun dia-%|'4J. tinctly right across the blot, Adrian. Don't you see quite unmis^^' ' takably that^the ink lies oii top of the blood-spot, not undemealli it? If you can't see that >yiui,your own eyes» tstke my lens here^ and ex^ine it carefully.** Adi^ scanned tl^ letter througl^>the l*^f 2!?'"' a»<» ^en muiTOured Adrian started. \ ' :. ^ We. of course, to fnnal servitnde."^^^ a«er the fact, and^ha. tesI^,'oiSl S^ci "^tl^H^":?.?"'™?" •* CHAPTER n. fnf«'^°™?* /P ^** ^** °«^t ^* Maimie. who had f£«n n^ But presenUy Hannah Gowland appeared at the door aL «rf*i. " Sir. Sir " shi» rri#^ •«#«, ^^^ir^^^t^^fU^i^ ~r _^~- iAA M ^^ MAlliiS^S SAXE. 1 .Ti"- Jocdyn Stole back softly into the boudoir. " ; "Adrian," he whispered, "you must come with me and sec HAS thing out. The fire is at the Regent's Park Hospital, where they've taken Chevenix.— Hetty, you must stop with her and take good care of her. ^We may be back, before very long.— Come along, Adrian, we must go land look into it." Maimie raised herself up on the sofa. v ' , . ^ "(You're not both going out at onc^ Adrian? " she cried pas> sionatdyr "You're not botn goine off together, are yoa^and going to leave me here alone with Hetty ? " " We must go and inquire about Sydney," Jbcelyn answerM, pafifying her. "We ... we think there may be some possible change in Sydney's condition." Tiiey hailed a passing hansom in hot haste, and drove as near as the horse could take them to the sc^ne of the fire. A couple of hundred yards aw^y. or more, they were stopped in their course l^ the surging thipngj of curious onlookers. Jocelyn jumped out, . closely followed by Adrian, and ptehed his way sturdily throurii ihe' dense" crowd. The firemen were playing upon oiie ward of the hospital, and a ring of policemen kept off the crowd in every di- rection. • - ' ' . y Jocelyn passed the policeiilten in his authoritative way. ,<■ , " Friends of la patient," he said with an air of comnumd. ^'Ccane to look after him by, special permission.'' The nearest policeman nodded accjuiescence and let them pass srould poaon her Sfe?or ^er: #miy fiear he^dead, but she inust never know a word about th^e." \, fil^,;' : / v - ^ '•Ndyer," Jocelyn an^fered very firtnly. / ; Adrian Pym approaiScd the corpse once mbre, with a blandicd fatee^^ri^ intSest. It seemed to posses/for him some homd ^**^^^!" he muttered to himseU 1i a Ifosise undertone. ''He is dead, dead; and Maimie is a — r'^ v J: L. " <^ » Jocelyn checked him sternly wtha^rd^g gesture. ,^^_^ ^ He is dead," the painter said inMiSteier voice, "and Maimic is . . . a vMow. Never for a mj^ s4y the other even to your "^iUd^hl^S^'went b^ck t^^^ said^J a wwd about thi fire or the^utilatioh. They t^d her mat^. brStt^to lier gently. thalSydney Was dead-dead at the ho^ ^ ■: -; ^^ ^ -I: - -?4- 4' — r TBI OftDSAlir r -- ^s «*?>; Tfiri»K ^ an inquest, of course : it wjuld {«^ t^^?^ impossible to do without an,inquc8t; but, aftw all, it was » PJ»««I Ka one. The fire had almost obliterated from "J^^^^jfitSj STtol^^^^SnSiWS^^Wtoraiapen*^^ St^y the real and origiiSl qucstfon how Sydney Chc^enix W .>J. ^e ^ his suspidoils and mysterious death in the first pj^' "Jjj ♦ SSwirf the Eharred and Sisfigured corpse ^b«)rbed^ention from the wouiid and the letter, whidi seemed, for the re*. ««• ciMrebvto«» / THE ORiyiA, H7 'denJ^ ^^^^S^^^^^^S^^Ji^ ^ fve her eH- coroner and jury. natiira^tSed^l m.St^ *"** J^^" ? «»<« sorrow in so yoJni arldchnrfj«h ?, ^^ °*"*^** beauty and so mudi ber go, SStSlthan £1^^^^ "^^^ ^*^ content to I^ comfto t£ kSto^^n^he e^^^^ ^H"^^- ^*^ how she h5 place aU deIu»S\Sth blJhd w S??*****^ ?"**^«*«' ^^ ^©Wd the Se table. sS^^ M^'?!!^; letter (produced) lying upon her ever he^Tworf Z^lS^ and tbok her homVlJiuSttt horrible dS^m^S;? ' ^"^ "^ '™" ^^' **»<>«' ^« «« and S h JSTey&S^ fS^j;^^ K "r*^ oath, andtlescribed dep«^^ and duU i^dfeSJi^d^El^JiS %!^'Si^ had si^eSX jS;^^^ so; that he tempt to destroy himself.'* ™^ J^' fiWng to make an at* hinSf ? *• *^ ■»'*»P<« ol » ihW when Mr. Chwaix dwt •tend «iMgelyOTtVed3«.^S^„ *'""',,'"'"«' «o™*ow to i48 FOR BiAIMIS'S SAKS, 1 » . "■ ■ we wanembdr that she too sees things^ from her own particu&r points of view exclusively. So musing, Jocelyn Cipriani dismissed from his mind tjiis queer suspiciousness of Hannah Gowlaiid s der fchSive manner ; andas for the rest, they were neither painters nor observers <^thuman nature, and they overlooked the signs of it,alt?>- **^hi only other important evidence as to the cause of death was the iibd«i-suigeon's at the Regent's Park Hospital. That evidence Jocelyn watched with close attention, and so also did Adrian Pym. Surely the doctor's practised eye would detect the fact that the wound ws not a self-inflicted one ? Yet, after all, why should it ? Many wounds must be much the same whether the pistol be held by the hand of the wounded man or that of an adversary. As for , the surgeon himseU, he had very little doubt at aU about the matter. He had at first supposed, indeed, he said, that the wound had been inflicted by another hand, because he thought the b^ had passed in at the back below the shoulder-blade, and out m front by the right lung. But now that he had been able to perforin a careful and accurate post-mortem, he saw distinctly, as did his brother- opttator, that the appearances which had at first led him to adopt that hasty opinion were whoUy deceptive, and that the buUet had really been discharged from a pistol held close to the body—nght in front of it— as wo3d naturally be the case on the hypothesis of a suicide. Death was due entirely to the pistol-wound. The injuries by the fire were clearly subsequent. Life had been exUnct [or fuUy half an hour before the beginning of the burning. The jaw had had time to set in completely. Of the causes of the fire the surgeon ^Two more witnesses were caWtA, pro forma ; but their evidence really related entirely to the accident in the ward, and not lat aU to the underiying question of the fatal pistol-shot. They were the nurses at Ae hospital. One of them had seen the deceased, Syd- ney Chevenix, No. 17, die at a quarter to three m the morning. She had tied up his jaw, as usual, with a handkerchief, Mid left him there tiU tha^ressers were ready. She was positive he was dead before tWlfe broke out : why, yes, of course she was. She had seen hundreds of them die in her time, and would she have ffone and tied up his face if she thought it possible he was stiU liv- mg ? At four o'clock she handed over the charge to Amelia Hcs- idwether. And so she, for her part, was weU out of it. Amelia fiesselwether had nothing serious to add, so far as rte Mrded the cause of death, to what hadbeen already stated by the last ^tness. She had seen the deceased, Sydney Chevenix, lying dead '-^1irifoi7'vdiciishfrioek ove r the room from her pedecessoF,^^^^^ was stone-dead : of that she was certain. As for tfe» fire, which had nothinjr to do with the cause of death, it oririnated in the restlessne^ • of anotoer patient, in No. 18, delirious with fever. No. 18 had u». set the paraffin lamp by his bedside, and the whole place was to flamM b « iecoAd. By great efforti they hMd watcMuixOfy r^ *>-. TffS OXDSAl. f^^^r'""^ , L ««»J^^^^?r^'' .!lf*'*^^"? ?^ narrowly, observed that this wit- S.« ti^i^^^ ^^^^l^^^T'^^'^? ^* reluctance, tad in some oSH ous trep dation. Clearly she had certain good reasons of her oSra for wisUr to hush up the business as far ^ possible. W th his S sbncbve habit of throwing himtelf into btW people's attitudS. ?«Tf 'J*^*^?" ^* once invented a plausible cause>r iti. The^womi vIaII '^^en dozmcrwhen the accident arose; it was evident she ♦-Ik? <=^ar Idea or her own how it aU came about ; and she was Kteon ""^ **^' "*^ ^°' ^*^ sh^should lo89 That concluded the whole evidence. » ♦h« kL^® W whispered together over their verdict, four faces in different dMg||fed kinds of anxiety. Jocelyn Cipriani's was pale Si'f^^^K" Pym's was sullen and teVrifiecT: Hannah gSw! H«crfwS!P^ "^1?^ a deep red spot of violent intensity : Amelia Hesselwethers was heavy with, the sordid stoUd fear of a dull stupid, self-centred servant-girl. « »«ir ui a quu, «?« Ji^^K^ ^°""*^' *^^*'.* "i^nute's consideration, that the deceased, S ^ ?^i?!?' '=*'.?™'"^/"'"^« ^^»« '" an unsound ^^f mmd, and added a nder condemning the use of paraffin lamos bv the patients' bedsides in the Regent? Park HospitSl. r^ ^ rinlni ..x?^'"'^*?'?" ^1" *n"«ered soft and low to Jocelyn '^^ rrfJl^ w ^i"*'"* P"^' ^^J^'^^'^f ^ J^ir MAIM/S'S SAITE^ tffing him back wk what the verdict was as sooil as thiejr'd ^[hna K. He's been as mad to know what it's all cbming to as if he thought they were %oms to hane him f (»- bpsetting the paraffin. I do believe tne man aint right im his head s omet imes ; and that's jiBt my opinaoik about it*' v "' \ ^ ■ Beoyov^! Benyowski! so that was the -name of the patient w^ ume*: the lamp, was it ? Where on earth had Tocelyn heard ^ the name before? It was quite familiar to him. Atid then, with a;^ siidflen revival of memory, it flashed across his mind that Benyow-""^- sId was tjhe name of the grim Polish assistant who used to work in ^dney Chevenix's laboratory. What on earth could this man Benf^^ji: yo^lp have to do at the hospital, and why should he be so ihterw\« ested in the result of the inquest? Thiee days later, Jocdyn Cipriani and Adrian Pym went down witii many other mourners to S}'dney Chevenix's funeral, at Wokin|p^ . Cemetery. >And whefi they saw the loose day shovelled in upon that oaken coffin in the shallow crave, they both fdt in their own ' minds that the earth hac^ dosed for evfcr and ever upon Maimi^'s secret. -• • -» ■ Murder will out, says the old-fashioned ^roverb- « . »u i a „.,«-«.■ - Still the i4ght wore on. Three ! Half-past three ! A quarter to foiir ! He couldn't sleep for lookiag at Stanislas and Ainking of Maimie. A clean-shaven man like himself, Staiuslas! Oh. if 4t had only been the other way I If Stanislas coUl^ hayiflived and he could have died! Then Maimie might have been free to make herself f^tf. V '"'%, ■^. 10 was he that he should dare to stand in the way of Uia- ^^fwdl^e could Kve long enough to vindicate her. mid. then —the Thames after aU was very bandy. She should have her way, . and many Adrian. * ., ^ ., _ , ,,, 1'^ ■ If only he could change places with Stanislas BenyowsW I . His head was running and reeUng now in the wild vortex ot a feverish delirium. A great change had come over hun durmg the last half-hour. He felt theatrain of that silent agony was growirjg „ too much for him. His bi^ whirled round and round hke a^ddy dancer's to two swiftly alternating refrains^" Maimie, Maimie, . Maimie, Mairderr^'Ifdnly I corid change places with Stanislas llowly out of this diizy chaos of fevered thought a tcrribte, i»- dcfinite. incoherent plan seemed to rise up and spontaneously frame itself. Sydney; Chevetoix hardly knew how or why the idea occuned to him ; but it did^occur : a wild idea, a mad idea,^ a feverish idea, but one that jyst ffien for th^t passing moment took fuU possession of his enire nature with absorbing vehemence-the strange idea of actuaUy and physically changing places with Stanislas Benyowsla. ' What vw/he, and what was Benyowski to the nurse and the sur- aeon ? A case, a number, a Bed in the accident ward-that was aU; notapersonbrareaUty. Howcould they ever really discnmi- nate one from the other? Impossible, impossible. »« ^new what, hospital practice was himself? and he felt certam that No. 17 and No. 18 were cyphers, cyphers, less than nothmg to nurse and doctor In Aeir official capacity. . .1^1. besides; the second nurse would soon come on-r-at four X) clock. %^ only he could take advantage of the change, they wquld never " know one man from the other. , . . , e v But then the inquest 1 the identification I the neccssarjr formahj ties t Maimie or Jocelyn would be called upon to identiff him-- the r>.rp>^, th^t is to feBenvoi^U's body. How on earth wouhl be ever get ovw that Bsuperab^ dimeilRyr "^ "^,^1. "i*:*^ i.- If he had been sanft and cool and collected as usual, the hitt*.^ thus Immediately perceived would have sufficed at once toqim for ever the very idSi of his foolhaidyundertakmg. ButtymgAm ^ h« li^* feverish and delirious, i«ith the concentrated agony Hi that -The of accidents. OneinsanedSSncMs^iij?- ^'^ *** ^^ *^*»»P*" Placesvdth Stanislas BenyowSa- ^^^ f ^^^ a together down the ward. Sydney^f^hSnc - ^° ^^^^ ^«"^ i^y sharpened and exalted Chfe SS^,M!f •"^^P'^J^nitu- as diey approached, every syflabte SS.¥*1^"""*' <^^ l&r. thef^endofthelongcofridor ^^^^^<' ow anotherfiSn -The^'iSeTi'eL'dSdSJ^^th^S^ fS^offlland voice. opposite^endoftheA^ NeT^ni^^^""*^^^ Down at the • or something. There'ra si^rSS ^' P*^*°* ^**""*^ ' No. iV or 18 alongside ofiim. Kstd JS ?i ""SeTf^*^ ^'^'^^Z ^^ same, ^hi ^ down Maiylebone wayrF<^dSe«®Sh^„?^ iiamworAussianorsometS^ ' - **^ ^°»' «ot cS^i . tl^ttStra'Ste't^^^^ ^r?-^ Thaok God ;or timft all might yerS^ mX^^m^ Je ""iS^^Sr^^^ «^ ^ «^« what he wanted br why he waited fJkf,; • ^if- ^'^"^^ «*ac^y Jmow , how felt that if only he^cSuld^h^J^'pkces S?thT."^^ ^.'"^^ «d, Mamue m ght stiU be saved arSi^il* ^- Stanislas Benyow- Maimie. Maimre.MaLieSoS^K^^^ MSfmfc. Stanislas3enyo>^kir °^^ he could change places with mte, Maimie, were even suspected he r^fiH .^ ^f P^P«»^ ^^ Mai- . that she had hot murde^hfm h m •*'T''^°T»«^and pfove were not suspected-if th^uiS <«t!L """l^^i **" '^^'^ o«»er hand. , he would ce^enti^r to he Sv^ntv?h^^^ *^« i^'T- hwccforth Stanislas Wwsta^ ?e?vl«""fer*?'** ^°?*^ "^ome eveiything on earth that WaThk nn??! y^-.J^a^mie should have •<»re former u^.^d^fe^ul^*'"'?"^**^**^** <>^»herand she had chosen. ^ "^'^^* ^^^ happy with the husl^ iden^cation ? ^^- ^ ^^^ *« difficult problem of When that was once fiirly iccSno^^^ SW^^nyowsld. about the suteequent qSon^Tn«^^' ^^ *^^'^ ^^"^ afterward 'V* I- A 156 'rOJt MAIMIE'S SAKS. ,lf:, mie'a bappin^ 11^ concerned. Sydney Chcvcnix ^»««^^5^.^^ tei«l toSmsdf that right fndwrongdidnt enter at glu^ta. ^i^al calculation of possible consequences. In Maimie s case ftc "^iST^ff iimi'sianislas Benyowski's fresh whitecorpse lay crha^tSf aS ffely on lis bed beside him ; and from minute to mUw gSf^^d^y Ss dazed ey^acros*^ it wiA a hideous, hungry, ""TffiiSSg. indeed, that Stanislas, too. was a d^-shaven . ™«r ^rS ^ Re Wmsdf was. Whit nurse or doctor would SS'^iSatrone close^shaven P^i-t of tWrty-fiv^^^^ an-;, other beside him. lyine in bed the one dead, t^e other h^g? Anyhow, if only chance should favor hmi, the attempt, at least, was wcU worth making. * , At*a Quarter past four, the second nurse, now alone on Ae 3S nCS hosnital Then his brain began to reel frantically with • S^ S^eS^tAd he%early swoonefl^ he stood in the space between the bedsyWith excitement and exhaustion. _ . ^WiSi a terribfe strain he puUed bimseK together and d'dn t M. Come wl^t mShtihe must carry his plan through now. There wa^noj^Wof turning^c.. Ta do.so WPU^d be fat^^U Mdroie^pin«ss. Maimie Jlain»e,Maimie, Maimie I He must change places with Stanislas Benyowski I , n*.„vnwski'a •^ We stajTjrered across, scarte knowing what he did, to BenyovraW s iiedSe^rcoipse ky^ere, still Ind olacid, mocW with ite ^^ floe th^whirtt of fever anJ/ passion that was f aj ^S?a^ Sydney's Chevenix's own re^n. He bent over it, ^TSught it in^hisirms. Hushl hushl was that tiie nurse com- taffSlairain? Were any of the other patients looking ? No. S? AuXp, asleep or unconscious. Ati, all except >e man ^ih Ae SA ^ at the end of the ward, who was IW on lus Sde, turned the other way, muttering and groaning ^ebly JO, *»««: Sin Sn and loneliness 1 With one mad swoop He caught up t^ SSm^TkeTlog from the bed, and. nerved by the momentan^ Srth of fever, raised it bodUy up in Ws own strong arms. Th^ "God for his stren^h, if it saved Maimie I ^^^|fe^tiir?«8tly burden easUyacr^the^^^^^^ "' .TTj. _J*i ♦!,-« o*««^ hftlHina it irresolutc m his j ^^'Hv the twobeds. aifd thei stood, holding it in-esolute in his graspW^^J ft momenrS^ve No. i7--his own till tliat minute. Then he glanced I «pX rounS The nurse wasn't yrt returning. AU was weU, He wXuld stiU save Maimie. He laid the corpse down n h«te o^rSe b4 aad arranged the coveriet neatly across it The ,7 SUSP£I/SA W him vriS, hortbfe «SjKt*"v^lS'df/?;''' «'''' '=^^ hat mysterious corose nr unZ^^^^' l. *^ "^ care now for ^ake l\iaimie happ^ ^*'"^' °' ^>^^"& ^ ^^^^ as hcToSd fierce joy from its pla^^g^d; im u^^^^^^^ delmum, calmly inspected TecXsehe^^^^ '^"«^^ ""^ ^ theedg^of the coverlet sSKout th^n^t °"*i3^ P»^ed Jhen Wlanced with intense IpprovS^^^^^^ head offhe bed. "No ry " h^ SS «i j **'^ pnnted carti by the 27, Beaumont Tcn^ce/LgLntT pfi^ m "^"^^ Sydney CheveiS! jAuclded td himself a^f^Kckft'L^-W.*' As he ^^/^ th/stS by%he*bedSe%Sr®"' ^¥^P ,*^ *^« ««»« deal table Npino; nobJdyLds^tor noticed r^ S^ljred humedly'S r o , would bum it to asnes, or, a* silent corpse. OGpdl oooai ^"X* rr«»t Heavens' ^^t a 4~v| ^ cTtriva^ce or deUberate ,f««g«"1^5'^5f t^?^^ " SJeenabled him t<» surmount 1 I* ^as w<>"^5^;.!S!S^ S howteSbfe! ror there were many more patoenttjl 2^^'nS andfcr^ff plaintively in the wards, and the fir^. &1&SlJfc' ABd thenit^^nOd be M ^ vrho ^"]Slcss with horror, Mspense. and fc^«*ito»s, Sydney Cto^: Tenb^^^dSmhSarbut 'a si^le tune ringring for ever m^^- S^ears. " Maimie, Maimie, Maitnie, Maimie P Come what migM ^ Se^S^^ce^cf ^n^ ^^ll^J^n^^^l^S cally his name and number. . .„^„«^ f^Mv « c;tanis. Inachokine voice, Sydney Cheverax answer^fMbly, Jwn»- lar&^SW li VnSthfiaccideat ward^ And the«,«t >^^£^iKt bSe conscious, itwas broad ^f^^^ ^'iS^hSd no more ruim>. anl^o^ ^^^^^^^ saw around him, in the ne^hbonng beds, "M^o^^^Q^* ffi obaerved the nigbt before in Uie room i» which they had nm w^ ^^Thd firel the firel" he cried to thefMsive nut»e at Oto sirs^M^sk v:-^!f^iw^' ^ m The woman turned amd ff)anr#vi -»* ut^ ^ . , v^ out, and it'i aU i^ht ^" ^'^'^ ^^^^"^ m longer. The foSJ .t,«.£?5^ y?* 8^ exciting yoii ««sw««i with stohd indiflflren J J« r K®?f ^ 9"*«' and cool asl to anybajv. tou've got to lie ^ ley "went on eagerly. « Are ^body dead withjt?**^ too account," tfiewoaian ?rs orders fa, that you're !« not be allowed to talk , . «». * Mijui DC ail the mom>»i^^*— r *^«te yourself." cbimed in impotent anSe?i 'mSi "^^ ' ^'" Sydney ex- ^ ''^^"^ the manr'^^e nniMi. «»«>M j . . - •jperity. ."La>;^ow.Xton^^Sf k"^?* some considerable they w(^ IdUed or nof for ?^rf^r^^^Vt« know whether you. eh? and that had oSht to be aSJ? ^m^^ ^J^^^^ a^^ only came in here iust fast niiJ* a ^^^^^. sufficient for you. . Yoto" and bother alnSdyJlaS^ih'^;* yp^ve given us more ^uW? whole place put t<3f T^!^^"^ ^<^f ^^^r I^d in 5ie and sct*fire iStiie^&^tJj^ ^"^ ^ "P^' ^^ lamp^uraSf as milk. whethJ^Tny ^ W?i;f A°°?;7^" }^ant to know.^SSd there's none of %m LSn^ ^r^! Accidents is injured by i ? So • aU away at a miSSe^^ n^c^"^ voStl^"? SS"^' ^e got 'em oiSani^ation-thafs whTrdu i? L^^'^^/^^llL I*** *» *te^^ ^^^ Infectious. I ^ '^ J^Sln ,f !3" ' W '«> *h«* thdwholewardfulof 'em! YoSS^JTi T**"^^' yoffHotfireto y«',.%tojudge by ^^iJkZy^^^"" be adjuster by trade, u so particular anxious, I shou^l'lke to know. about this 'ere patrent-Cheven x ? You didn t S?h of you shoot one another, did you? Patients is Pftients--and Sere's lots to spare of 'em. Well. his;face isn't prettv to look at nivw ?ert5nlvliis own mother wouldn't know him from Adam, he^'scSa'and burnt so. You've spoilt Ws ^beautV^r him But hcAvas dead all right before the fire broke out ; and if there s ?«„kSv Warned it'll be vou that's blamed for it. so that's a com- ^It^otnoi'^^o^rl^^ for anything I tell you Disdpline> SplSe You're not the only patient in the hospital, remember. iPot Sree long endless days and nights. Sydney lay there m one contoourJeSo^ writhing on his bed. not with.physical pam-for hte^wS w^progressing favorably, the surgeon said-Ut with SSr^Ssusoense lor the ultimate success of his penlous imperson- fSr^l^ woSd be^em to identify the bo/y ?• he wondered. How'fdi^ was It disfigured and how far recognizable? Would Mai- mSie caU^d to see it and know at once it was not her husband's ? . S ^wSSd she ose her presence of mind, and say at tha*>supreme ^t so, woum si» jt wasnf Svdney : or would she wait and ^TK'l;run& the mSS^^^^ account. Without dls- d;«t"So he'r d'oSTto^anybody? Hour after hour d^y aftpr&v and nieht after night. Sydney lay there tossmg'knd turn- bgSwy anTtorturing1.ims4f by asLg over an^over again those endless, hopeless, unanswerable questions. ^ _ ^^.^^f BenwwskiMs about the same height and build as lilmself-- ♦h,t mucrS X rate, was in his favor ; but he was a somewhat ^^^^'i'^J r^i^Lr. 'nnH thit. on the other hand, was in so much ICI UVIIIU avfu. .«».- .-.,— -^^-i VI ble abyss of crime sdd falsehnS^ * ^5^ '^°'^est manTwhat teS S^^5^'^t^^"y<>^W's murderi« ^^^^ be screen^ Ae be matan^ himself an accSso^^^^^^^^^^ He 43d SLL?"'^/*?nsciencesT and vet wEafJJZ "*^ i'?^^' and to palter Ma»i^ic, Maimie, he must savfMo- • ?**r *=<*"W he possiblv do f g»n^ te|t one eternal thought "I mL?*'^^"!^ *^«"W neverth?IugmirTffSUt«drwhi!enTO^ . tound state of mmd, the same as alwi^s. Another of your fotg** eis, a man with a pointed brown beard and some crackjaw ouflawfc Ifh name or other^ ^ - \. ^.v^ " Cipriani," Sydney sucfcsted tenatmq^. j0 J««» a careless nod of the hSd « h? ^"' . *^« »"«« answewrf ll^dy-not that there wS S left L""?* ^ *»d ide|Scd^ wdow— a pretty littl*. t f,tn JT ^ ^^ ^^^ to identifv^an^ ^ 3je came £ crji^fit S b^'"^^ TJ^ S^'^^^^k^g^ ' The/Se^^ ^Zl^^Z^^^S^r^t his waited bosom .s4> ' ' ! CHAPTER XXXSL AtlAS BENTOWSKX. - "ijS^ ^1a see the notice of the fSne^S th^T *^'"°^^ ^^^ J™«w W gfeteken ; here it ran, « Fim to his funeial—with hi« «w« J-ondon ffone down by snecial .And a little leaderette upon hfaXath *^ Rent's Park Hoa^S ej^wdves . . . overwitMio** iSSr ™^^ag*»tion8 on the naw^ "•"WO* MJperimenu nSSK i^.T'^*' '•*" • ... iS i64 FOR MAIMIE'S, S4KB. \\ V den cutting short of «o valuable, so promising, and so blameless m, life." Sydney Chevenix laid down tTje paper with a sigh of relief. . For all was safe and snug now, and Sydney Chevenix \v^ dead^and " Legally dead W buried^ no doubt; and next week. ^ he ' leamedriot long afterward, Jocelyn Cipriani and Heniy Donaldson, the two executors named thereby, duly proved his wiU at Somereet House, and proceeded to hand over the whole of his estate ^to his ; wife. Maimie, in accordance vJrith the provisions therem recited. So that was thp end of Sydney Chfevenix. But on the low bed at Regent's Park Hospital a man of the name of Stanislas Benyowski lay fevered and anxious, repeatmg to himself in one frenzied delirium the name of Sydney Chevemxs wife, " Maimie, Maimie, Maimie, Maimie r For three weeks hfe lay there still, and nobody came to ask or inquire for him.** Bound up in himself and in his own thoughte, Sydney Chevenix seemed to grow as morose and taciturn as th» • murdered man whose name and personaUty he had taken upon him. The nurse or the surgeon sometimes asked him curiously whether he had no friends or relatives with whom he wished^to commum- ' catc : but Sydney always answered curtly, " Has a Pohsh refugee any friends or refatives?" \ „ .. .^ " You «peak English w6nderfully well for a foreigner^ ^^e doc- tor said to nim once, half in joke and half in earnest. . '-J.^ "We Poles are all good linguists," Sydney replied shargy, With a sardonic smile; "and, indeed, I haye Kved so long m England that I speak English now better than Polish. That at least, he ;; thought to himself bitterly, was no falsehood. 4f The police came, too, on a visit of inquiry. A row had occurred among the Marylebone refugees, and somebody had been shot, thWh not fatally, and they wanted to get the facts of the case from the man Benyowski. But the man BCnyoWski could teU them nothing; he had cleari forgotten all about it, he said ; the l^t thing he could distinctly remember was his going away from the place where he worked on the evening of the assault, and from that time forth he recollected nothing. He was so perfectly stoUd m sticlang to this simple non-committing story that the pohce with aU their astuteness could worm nothing out of him. ^ . ^ . « " It's clear." the inspector said, shaking his head with ain air of Diofaund but baffled wisdom, " he's afraid to teU us what-he knows ibout the matter. He's terrorized by the others, that s the long and the short of it. It's always the way with these foreigner communist Sople. Even if you shoot them, they won't peach upon one an^ -%ifr. Meifainksifiie tells nothhW wtWr^iey m ay I c tJum. off ^~ time with just a bullet through his breast by way of a warning ;. but •if he confesses how it all happened, they'U kill him before long, as safe as houses. And upon my word, if I were hi Ws place,!, SSi't know but that I'd do a& he doea. Its a deuced awkward ihinf to have a pack of these lawless communist people down )' ■\- ' < -'■ 165 . ' ALIAS ££jvyo fvsm, S£&!?'"^^^»^y- Weiou3tk%bureycuponthi.maa to rise and dress hiSf n^^^^ ^^^"^ °/ ^'^ ^o""*^ to be ijoi^ for the fi«t «me sScf thTfa^^^^ ^^ '^^'^^^ ^ «»« ^ how strange a change hTco^ ovivtm\niZ^ ^^'^'?''^ *° ^ pl doubt and terrbr ^ "* *" '"°^* t^^'ee long weeks in, tohLw^ S^vS^^^ '?^' *^^ ^^isMfdlanea Mlow and L^Sunken^ Z?h?f ''H^'u ^' ^^ chScs w^ stubbly beard, moustechp'.nH l""- , ^* **'^^^' * ^^^k growth^ clear-cut. deSat^ dSSvS W^^^^^ completelj^^obs^ured hS sight of thecuriS^s^d unflSlf^^^^ S*^ "J^^** ^ ''^ ^^^"ght wo^ not have kno^VuSaTiyS^S Che?^i >'°T '''"' ^ have done. '. . ' - t'^ ™* '^^ *" ^^an he might^therwise dajr spent at d^hiStocSfiffT the outer world. ^ve^P ering that he was nM BenSw^ H.'^fTf °' ^<'"»'»lpWng, ^me threfs or four d^V! •^^^-^-^Tin looked at him with ihJ SAKE, .efytoget^' that caine r' ^;;^ tak( p * cngl loud i# pfrinan^ is to see ifme esca; No, no; impossible. ith feari^embahass..^, -j^- ^^ ll'be;Mot'oply half an hodr 8i»0'U kindly excuse me, and I mustlft SSg^M^lon^" And W his hat-Benyowd * fifeSwl to Sbve away* in haste arqund the comer.^^ , , •ffoes'bv the name oT Stanislas Benypwski ? _. Trapmann ^^^,^^^}l^y^^ A plot f He saw it all W^ck^ S d^uSrTMtiStehcd t^^^^ fe St^tton?ftd ^ th^Nihttists. Ifnowine they wqat Ue in SSit forS had changS- clothes and name ^\ this oti I^i^hSing still u^ght in ^«^^^«' f Si^^^ w to go out.no douhWimder sortc ridiculous disfi^i away from England tallica. But not ;miiization— ha, hal ^Ww^O" gagged. by dea|h«ro^^^^«| ^^Sttil J^urtcffto " Alexander i ?siJs5ttd^%fods:^r£)X^^^^^ ipp^ned Lhiebeti he must betray the s€ led^ of the ^^■frsjg^miirsrj. detective/' ^ "»e worse in the cad for you. I am k ptivait^ back. anTSrS^^'SUi Oil siS ^fT^ ^'^ ness. r " «"iw MIX me spot with dismay and weak- Ru^ * ^'" T'aP"^^ . cried authoritatively to tJieiU^Ve^ ' swcIiST^eShf ^tea?^ T^apmann an. ; better for you fn the long^^J - ^ «^.W^^^ ^th us/ It wiUlfe powerless in the mS's h^ds H^c^fw t*"^"" "^^^ ^^i^^^^y ^nst them. He must wTwiihoS „^» ^ "^^ *.^"Sl« ^ Even if he had reaUy knoWwho thS^^' Virhercver they took hfm. the police torpr^^c^^M^t7h^^7 1"*-!' ¥ ''^^ "ot appeal- to- hewasi^ot ^S^B^^^'^^h^^^^ king 9«^eteryas.Sydn^(Sr^ixSi^Lw^h?^^ *^ ^6- were in searck Better riSS^K^&'Kl-^S^ ^^ ^^°™ ^^ ^^ "P<»n that certain exi^su^^^JK^^^^^^ ''^^"^^ ^' *^ *^ with the RuiSn mZtt^^f^rS^L. P*'" ^182' « ^msett^^ jwt whither. for^^iS^EL J»?P^^«y '**'""- "'* ''■"'- ' drove off, Sydney knew s^ot whither, f«)^p,^,^,^jy.^m^j^ . , access of wild Joy aAtwruno- S iSESf^^ sIHnd In m own in an the muitleitrs c^In 1^.^^^ VkI^* ^^* '^ ^^^^'^ and he could f«Kri^X« -iJJ?*^^*^^ «^ «> ht htosSSEiS.^rfVP^y ^J^^W be eve^W ai ^^^m^r^^n^ftdt^tion. They would be plciecd l5g r 1^0R^AIMiB*S SAKE, >',j to acquiesce inAiis li^e subterfuge, They would aid and abet him J "in the disguis€ he had adopted. _ __._^-1^^---t-- -^^^'""-^ ■ ^^^^^ i That they were banded ass^sms and common murderers mat* f, tered less than nothing to Sydney Chevenix nowadays. He had one fixed idea, and- one idea only— to save Maimie; and to make her hairtiy at whatever sacrifice. Besides, what was murder now to V him? 'Had not even Maimie— but no, no. he was still alive and ^ well and in evidence, and Maimie's tharactd- was stainless as ever. " Watch him," Trapmann said in German to his shabby confed- erate, ushering Sydney and theRussian into a room togrther. " I go to speak to Fraulein Trotslcy." . , .„ / . j. The mart bowed silently, and Sydney, weak with illness and dis- tress, but now much reassured, since they turned oijt to be^ only ;,* murderers, not officers t)f the law, sat calmly down Xp await his re- ; appearance. . ♦ ' , . ,. ^^..u u- In about a quarter of an hour Trapmann retumedieand with mm came Mdlie. Vera Trotsky. . / ^ oj Tli^e moment the fair-hairpd secretary's eyes rested on Sydney, she gave a sudden start, and a little hasty glance of recbgnition. ■ "I have met him before." she said. " I Jtnow who he is, fnend Trapmann. It— it was from him I learned that Benfowski was a traitor. . . . There is destiny in this. The Unconscious has worked, in its own strange way, one of its own niyterious purposeful coin- cidences." ■ / , ^ 1 TT J.J Sydney Chevenix rose and bowed i© her courteously. ^He did not understand what she said in RuMian, but he caught with preter- natural aeuteness at fhe name oF Benyowski> and he saw a»a glance that dxe remembered havhig talked with him at Sir Antony ' Wraxall's. " ' ■ •■■■#'■ / .' ■ ' « " We have met beforaj madeftioisdle," he said eagerly ip Frencm, thdr common language. " Y^ know who I am, and I know who ydu are. We have each our ovm purposes to serve. Let us be fiink H^ one another, and^strike a bargain. You know that I am not the man I pretend tobe ; arid I~I know for my part that you have between yoij— let vf say it jilainly— conspirdd to murder Stan- islas B^owski.". , , , . * 1,. \ VeraTrotsky, \Wth6ut moving a muscle of her face, or betray- tag the faintest token of surprise or emotion, took a chair hereejf, and beckoned Sydney into one. Then she sat dpposite him quietty, with her elbows on the table, looking across at his pale, thm face Hvitb cat-like watchfuhiess. . ^ „ /J ^Jil " Well," she said in slow and measured tones, ''s*bnlythfe." Sydney answered, embold^ed by her calmness -butTSwtemihe wh^^^ stake with these despprate people: " Bcnyowski is dead— dead and buried." ' VeiA Trotsky ahd Trapmann exchanged hi^jed, glances acrow ■V f .us;;tLS!"n1piKf^^^^^ t»y." Sy^ne^ went on, "I was taken to ThfjiosSr^^.flT*T^^*°^*^^™^^^ Jwound,onthesameevS?n?tInL^^^* back with a serious of my own. whicri ne1d^fot fcl^li? Benyowski. For reasonsv inadembiselle. must sSrelyZX wlu^^^^^ monsieum^ his private reasons "-VeJa tSsW n^SjL^- "^".'"^7 "^'f* ^a^e t^e parenthetical statemenTwe^^n nW **"* "npatientfy. as>o»^h 5myown.then/'SyXef^^^^ it considered by niy familv S Z^T^a^\ " ? V^^^^ *« have whoformerly ^4Sed for mW? no ^i ^^^ *"*^ ''^""ed. Benyowski, ♦ tendance. And the hnSv .hi. .if • • ^* *^ •""• "^uts in at- body «id t/lll^J^t o'j^Cdh'Sf .'."^ ''■^ ""<' '•»-^« ■•.Wiat do you ta?S?d dS,g'^w'?"^*^SS'»^ "^^^ m«?^fortiSrto,5d?not?p^.l?''» «- knew„.; j ^., moreSTpffi^LSy^'-'™^. ".«""»«'" T«P"»nn once ^ •ecoUect i^l.I iSect it^ *" "™'' I met him at jdadi's. I the !i^„r*'«^ ^y*^*o do o.hen«« than coindd* to ^8 would-«ve- Mfr^,TS TSi yowski alwavs m iivAiMf/-^ ♦k— L _t5r. yowski always m -. WCTQ ever required t •een you ana int trouble and difficulty, taot^ contamieto^wiar^tel^t^ .^♦k-- i"''''r-/'We should have a Ben- j then, to point to in triumph in caacwe ted you. That would earer,iBt to ordiir," she said, with" perfect cahnness. " OipN^is^^ere m||ht have been a difficuky in , gettk^ the money. This is your signature, of c6ui»e, H. Qie^ ^enix^Ah, yes, I thbttg^Ljo. Have the goodnes^ hionsieur, ta lake twben and write yipPlame here qfii^his I»ece|p I)ape|." Shfspo^Take it, M. Trapmann," Vera Trotsky said, handing it to Mm, "Monsieur, you had better stcfp with iis here in this house for ^ pnient. It will be some little temponuy guaxantee of your giod \ ^ZJAS BEIfYOWSid, 171 ^^ «^^o„'?2SiTi- '%^^'^j^-> ^__ •A^^'^ Sydney answered with nerfpr* f««i,i"" ■ «. . . • { ' " f hi.k»?" «^- "^ * ^ntfoftable room for you ? " time to aisappear from sSr • .^ u^ 1 ^'?^- I w»l> to ha»e ^ my extS app^iSL' f^^Z.^ grow longer: to a*"">e altogether Ser ^„S,?' fSS""'; """J r"^- «<> Mi«. Vera bdwed and laughed. ' ' You c'Se^o^'^^^d^ to^'o f J^^^^. '^'./ «^ y««' at a moment's nStice dovml^aTv^^J^^A u^^""^ J^ i^ we chose, and^every living soul C^i? m it p"^' IS^^h?**"^ ?P.^ *"» ^<*^ a %ilar mwol litti^ISs ^ st^ oJm ^**^ *=**^'*^^y ^ •^-^-^^f opposite. ^ ^'^^ *^ *°«* gawnt upon the fTsmiled.^; ^ :.•' -^•/-,":-r--^" ■'.■.■.-■-'•"'•- ■■■>':■ -"• lifeS^:^^^ "I know them life at tppiMav railwav stJfiS v /^^ attempt on the Cwr's ^ For a wedc or two after the inquest, Maimle's nerves were coair pletely shattered, and J[ocelyn Cipriani thought it best that she aihouldflO away for a while to the sea-side for rest and change, such as befiirod her condition. Jocelyn suggested a cottage at bilbuiy; and Hetty cried out at him for a monster accorduigly. " Go to Sfl- bury^ indeed, where her poor father had lost his life suddenly a year before, when she was now suffering from the still more sudden and horrible shock of her husband's suicide! You men are always so unfeding \ You hav^ ho tact an4 no sympathy ! " And Maimie quite agreed with her. She would be mop^ to death, she said, at Silbury. She wanted to be taken out of herself, and to see new scenes and different people. So she went down to Brighton, while things were unsettled, and Hetty went with her to take care of her and keep her company. A drive on the King's Road daily, and a first glimpse Of that perpetual panorama of vt^;ar ostentitiousness that unrolls -itself for ever on the long sea-front frdm Kemp Town to Cliftonville, did Maimie good ; it was her idea of life, the sort of thin^ she really relished ; and it helped to banish for a while from her mind the memory of that ter- rible accident of poor dear Sydney's. For Maimie j^d not know what remorse meant ; she was very sorry at the moment for what she had done, and very frightened at the possible consequences for a few dajTSi Mter; but as soon as the coroner's jury had broii^t it in temporary insanity— that cheap and insulting refuge from the' a>arse barbarishi of a practically obsolete law— her mind was com- pletely set at rest, and ^e felt in the ample language of French t Assemblies that the incident of the explosive was now closed. Anyhow, she couldn't come back to Beaumont Terrace ; that was certain. The aUding associations of the place would be too dreadful. She must take a new house somewhere els^ in the neigh- borhood, not very far from dear c^d Jocelyni*s, for herself— and Adrian. For of course M^mie took it for granted now that Adrian would marry her. Poor dear Sydney, how lumpy he would have been (for he was really fond of her) if only he had known that she would be comfortably roauiied. when he was gone, to dear Adrian! ' X V ,, *• Of course, darling," she said to Hettjr, with d, confidential nod oil htir baby head, so quaintly and quakerishly pretty in the incoo- ^ yuous head-dress^ a wittow^a cap— "of ^ou r se,,^lt i^,^^rocMa%^ ,uke to be very far away> you know, from you and Jocelyn ; you have ahwayH been such- dear kind friends to me since I first knew jrou, and more than ever in this terrible trouble : so if Tocelyh would jiuH look ouik a house for me somev^ber^ in the neighborhood, and Mt J,> ^■: ''■•■"-r ^V'^NLY JuIfCffXJJ^' new house and SVeSrS^'Jt^^^^^ "^^ «^ ^ack to thS dear. I don't undei^taSdX^^esShnlSlP^^^^ ^! «nd gpteful." , Dusiness—I should be. awfuUy obliged Mtrra'&S'^''^"S='5fy recti-! „oa^ • rouirf spot that always bSTiri"briSf2rtl I?P«^^ -^'^ ^^' Aan^ she cried, " mv darTiifa- «i*«^j v /.# . . * one ininute. longer Aut 41 iTftlS^^^ I couldn't wait have tome 10 sei me of youroL iS®^ ^T^ ^« ^ou would «e--«e forsaken me."^^ ^^'^' ^°" *^^e quite forsaken •iv^i ntdJi^; «nH they gt tj^!!^*lff ^ qu etly a nd uAo btm, v 4ny fonn of wl»^s adeouaiely To hvS *^^^*^»«»"y expressive for f4! ^^^:±^^^ ^- «»««*> • moment fhun * " How do you ^c Ac new house, AdriMi ? ' •v « 7 1/4 jiox M4iJifiJS*s Sdjns, < The $trange question, so unexpectedly put, brought Adilan bade to himaelf suddenly. ' *' I like it v«*y much, Maimie," he answered >with a start, gazing,^ at her childish innocent face in something half-way between wonder, f and admip^tion. " It looks extremdy pretty, I am sure ... as far as I've seen it." ^ \ lylaimie rose, and taldn&f his hand once mor^, led the way ^th V giiiish timidity into a sniair back room behind the drawing*room}r4p furnished as a libraiy. lift' •*I^ok here, darling," she said, gripping him still tightly by the lumd, as if afraid to lose her*grasp of him ; "this roorn I mean for ,:, yowr study, Adrian." -? - ? ^* Whenever I come here ? " Adrian said interrogativ«j^. r. . " IVA4M you come here," Maimie ans\Vered v«;ith emphasis,: "Whenever that may be; you will come to stop for always, !• sup- pose, darling." . -^^ * '.. - * ^ Adrian gazed at I»r with a throbbing hiear^. . ' "* ' ■A-'- *• Maimie, Maimie," he cried, " you are too deliciousf S(o it's aW" ; aettled, is it ? You've arranged this house, then, for both of us. hav6^^^ you? My darling, , my darling, vou are too good to me. WiU^cm*"' take me, Kfaimie ? Will you take me, my sweetheart ? " * Haimie led him back again with a bursting ^ bosom^jbo the big drawing-room. It was a terrible ordeal; but still she must go through with it. Before she answered Adrian's question, she must tell Ufm everything— everytljing-T-everything. Truthful to the last, she must not deceive him. She must not marry him with 'that hor- rible secret undisclosed between them. For though she didn't oftehf' dwell upon it now— except alone at night-^and though all chance !^ of detection was fairly past— piMt. for ^irer— it vitu horrible; there Was no denying it. Besides, perhaps .Adrian, ijivhen he cameMo'. hear how tt all happened^/fnightn't care to ma^ry a^well, a girl^ who had abddentally ngtiot her first huHband. She must have no. seprets from dear Adrian, whatever came of It— even if he rejected] « her, dismlssei^her, tramt)Ic^ her under foot.' She must have sym- ^tby, sympathy ttoa^ him. She must not deceive her darling, hefr "Adrian," she said, seating hiin beside her tremulously upon the sofa, and leaning over tpwara him with a beseeching look in her great brown ^es, " the real q^estion is not that,, but will j^oii take m*f My darling, my darling, I have something to tell you fi^t." Then in a frigfatcined sobbing undertbne, without preface or.apolc without note or comment, "Adrian, Adrian, it was I— I— wmi Sydney.*^ ■ -^ k Adrian seized her tenderly in his arms;- "Ai" tie Maitnie, t oug'ht to have^old you loHg before ho# th^f kne««!| it: I knew it, Maimie; I knew it peHectly. My darlingtW^^arlviji to think that yov should trouble ydur sweet little heaufUpil breafi*^ ii^ to me, mich a^trifle^-a notbing->-«n accident* Ot mne, Maio 1 MKBJ^tr MATC^MiK ■,iV fltagJ'SS,ri?dly„'|SSa?h'?''"" W"^ cried, half aloud -..nffli.l^l^™--' "er heali a„,„^. fr„» hi, .iT.^ .Ill fell% just h^ itlii T, *""''J"' •»°'» *« iaOf M 2.^3^ V aj^ Wu for St' all thf Sii^''i 'ii.'°™J^ '"• ». mr dSr- •'A8a^"h'^'"'"''""'''*''^tMri'ied . ' *• with a |to5ng gfcSe froS^" '^k'^J?«P htoW.' colibtoe i4* ^Wh^ ^''^** * ^'c^ smile. * *T ' fR wny, of course lam ,1a ►i:^^..*.. .1 , V. 176 5V» ■ JFOM UAIMlk'S Mi i : -I. „ . . , a ierface awo-struck in her hands. «You frighten me when jm talk like that I You're the wickedest of the two 1 After all, yott r« "That's well, little one," Adrian answered with a cabn saiik. " Now Vyt made myself particeps criminis, as we lawyers say : I'm an adcessory after the tact, indeed, and as such Uable to be pun- i»hed for the act every bit as much as you are. So, if you bke, and if it' would reUeve your poor little heart, darling, you may tell me att about just how it happened. I dare say you Ij feel all the better m the end for making a clean breast of it once for all to a iather-coBP So* Maimie, leaning close upon his shoulder, and with many soto and tears and compunctions, began her story, and told him word for word how it all came about, omitting not asmgle item, or speech, or thought of her heart, in her full, free, and eager confession. Adrian fotened wilh a compassionate smile playing about the clear- cut comers of his mouth ; and when she had timshed, he kissed her tenderly upon the forehead once more, and waited to hear wttat else she had, to say to him. , , . •/: j - «*u^ « WeU, Adrian," she whispered at last, m a temfied voice, then you wonJt be afraid even so to marry me ? " .*,..* ' "AfAid, Maimie! Afraid of you, my darling! Afraid to ac- compUshTthe one long wish of my heart for ever ! . • • Majnue, Maimie, Bsten to me, dearest. A man never loves with all the force and fire'of\his nature save once in his life, and once only. I nave heard it said often, and I used to think before it was a mere fiction of the novelists and poets. But I know it now : I know it by ^- Derience. A>boy may fancy he has felt what love means—with his fittle sentimenttdksighs and phrases; but when a man has reached ' my years, Maimie/^ really knows : he knows and feels it— he loves with aU the stored-up force and passion of his entire nature. Mai- mie, Maimie, I love you: I love you: I have always loved you: I shall IdVft you for ever." . , , „ . , The beautiful giri played with his hand half unconsciously ^ "And to tiiink," she said, with a meditative sirfi, "that if they only ever found out about it, they would actually hang me just tor that, Adrian ! " t . Adrian gave a hasty deprecatory gesture, ^ 1 ^ < " Don't talk of it, darUng," he crit^ with a shiVer, looking around him cautiously. " Don't let the Ve^ walls^d ceiUngs hear yOT mention it. But tiie English l^w-the ^"ift* law—Ilcnow it tpd wS. too well, MaimieJJhat Systallized flRd of the foUies and barbarities and ^puerilities of our ancestor^f^he Enghsh law does strange things iq^f^ and hideous in all the IlSttlt ^ matters. I have seei onment for Wfcking his wSe within an inch of her Ufe.wifli his naUed boots; and a poor, shrinking, slender, deUcatejflri, on self-same day, sdhtenced. to death for preventing ajeAs^M j bom baby^from drawing Airtotb the veiy first moment «f h« erEtftyMATCHBja. ' - be afraidTf^eS!^' " " "^ ""'^'^^h W I \ JFOX MAIJi/£*S SAjrS, :-%^* *;•?* Kv*i. 'I n CHAPTER xxxnr. , " A NEW MAtt' I ■ 'r {,«■ ■9S For two or three weeks, while still only convalescent, Sydney Ctevenix remained not uncontentedly at the Russian lodging-house la the back strtet of Soho. Nihilist companionship is better after idi than absolute solitude; and Sydney knew nowhere else to go, even if it had been competent to him to go where he pleased at any minute. The Nihilists, ta be sure, did not interfere at all with his freedom of action in most mattprs ; but he felty for all that, he was under surveillance. StiU, he minded ^uq^i slight restraint but very little. The Nihilists would soon fln*0»t he was no traitor, and perfectly harmless, and then they would let him go his way in peace to find his ovra level in the great city. Meanwhile, he didn t wish t» leave the hou?e ; walking about tne Greets of London would be very dangerous, until his beai'd was well grown, and his appearance <;^erw^ somewhat altered. As to his future, he^had as jrct no piahr«^tever; he only knew in a vague and indefinite f^hion he wanted to ^ Maimie, and to watch ^waj^over Maimie's happinesi. Slowly, hoWer, the practical question began to rise up and frame itsdf vividly before him, how was he ever to gain bis livelk hood henceforth, and procure the mean%«f watching over Maimte? It is easy enough to resolve heroically ine n yuwgkl. Thcig icuitincJ, Uwm, omIj il^at lyy of the destitute— the pen. Literature or joumaliSm,, strum or . ttarvation ; he must try 1m hand at it, one way or W.^^J^-Jf onWhe could earn just«f^6ugh to kii* hftasetf^allwwkl^WiB, imd be would yet be able to wat^ph'cuver Maiopie. s- t . 4fia%^fiW ^ 4^J\rEHr jyrjij^. .... -*- 1a % ^W cwnplexion-a^nice deep Itali^''^tb?SX, tf Tv coS t^ tamed at the shops in the neighborhood. TSimC^bSjit th^ deep black, and changed his skK'a^l tS^± t!?.iy«l?"? ■-n, ■ tor hair, that used to cover to n«k to a,e!Sjiii»!;*K"5 ".f-S . WsTook marvellously even fcom Sd He k^SSfJ *?" ""S*^ Sydney looked at her for a moment ift falterinir hesitation "Tenez, mademoweUe," he said ^t IaS^i?rtX?r^2 j j .gently leading her into her o^Kttte SjSSff ^"^Y^if f Sir^^ti?" ^" understiid me. I wiU mi^yo« ^h^ I 2S,S^T^S*^"?^ °* ^"^ entire hist^iy to W' Ifhc himself SrlKiiSrtKt^' ^^ te^^l '^fi^y- »^ ^<«»ld be better ^K V^iJl???"*^y '***"^^>"°^ the whole tmh aSm it . Tera Trotsky hstened attentively while Svdnev told h^in k«w •'S&d for tier sake, yoa mean tp give tip Wervt4ur mniMii*..r > For her sake, you ai« waUnjr to dte a dv?fH#Iti?^3Pk!! ***"L' t»dv with notifagiTyour picket?^ ?»vil death, adrbecome nd- SydMv answered shortly. " I am w|Ilihg, mademoiseHe " ^^^J^t^JJ^handafh^i^T^-SSTun,^ YOU shoukr have beei» JoiMd t^^ «»<5,flr ui giier% and not tolR ■«3 iSo FOR MAIML EngiishwoiMii. '. ,f My friend. I kdmire you. Count upoa me ^^ H&re is anything I can do for you in any way, at any time, ask it . of ii» . . When wouki you like to leave this house, and what do ?ni mean to do on leaving? W<: are friends. lican trust you. ou will never betray «. Strong rtien and brave women are fnends and brothers all the worid over, A badge, a name, a party, what feit» Nihifiit or communist, nothing, nothing. But brave hearts, true tongues, enduring spirits, they ab the genuine signs and tokens diteternity. I press your hand. It is friendship ; it is soUdanty. ^% What are your plans and your ideas for the future ? " -^v 4 woman's swnpatbir is always! grateful to ^ man in adversity, though the' woman herself who gives it be -an adamantm? jiunist Sydney told her his sthemes— such as they were— frank friendliness. Vera Trotsky listened, and sighed iiil|«f- ^^^^zxA work, hard work," aie said. "It will not be e^y. I iiope from my heart vou will prove successful." \^ So that very day, in the shades of, evening, Sydney Chevenuc ^^oiwed to prowl out to his old neighbothood, and there discovered. by careful side inquiry, that Maimie ha^ taken a new house, and that Jocelyn Cipriani was furnishing it for her. He walked along to Maimie s future ho^e, in Wilminfft0p Cres- , cent, and there found, to his great delight, th^t a lodginfe-hoi^was aituated exactly opposite it. He hugged him^lf in silence, ftovi- dence seemed to favor all his designs. He wfent in, and asked for apartments. A hard-faced woman showed hirii a sitting-room on the second floor. It was thirty shillings a wetl^— an enormous sum in these days ; but Sydney, fingering the money in his pocket tremu- lously, agreed to taWb it. He would come in, he said, to-morrow evening. Refeiencf?— no, he h?d no reference in the nei|hborr hood ; he was a foreigner, a stranger, a sojourner in the land (name, Benyowski) ; but if the landlady liked, he would pay the first week s tetit in advance, ih lieu of references. Money is the best possible "^ testimonial to /Character in this realm of England; the strangely named foreigner was a respectable man— he was in possession of a gold sovereign^and ten shillings. Next day Sydney installed himself duly in his room ; and a few ' evenings lat*, through the half closed Venetians, dimly, he saw Maimie return from Brighton, and an unknown man of very profea- lion»l appcamnce came in a cab, by himself, to see her. „ ^ Sydney hid never beheld him before, but he knew from the pho* to^ph in Nkimfe's album tb*t it was Adrian Pym, the tutor of St Boniface. ' , • „, , *» ." • That w«i a hard hour indeed for Sydney; but Maimie— Maimie -Maimie wa s Jiappy ! He could see her ^t^^^^o^^g^"**^ j^g ^^" f ^ » i now and'theOi an .driah's too, in e«n(f*t converte ApwrenUy wiih Maimie. Sydney had put his hand to the plough, and he would not turn back. * •• - •- • Adrkn. Enough ht hia i^lOmm ymkmV '-'^^'W! ""^ h i. jf ITEW MAlf, •1^ ^u?°?"' SO soon ! Then he wa/ forgotten already! A bitter thought, but Sydney stifled it. Mai/nie willed it so. fie must^w to Mairnie. Thank hekven, at least the sense of having killed him , had not crushed her. His whole being now was me^ed and swal- lowed up m that single id^a— how to ;nake Maimie happy. ~ The morning after, he sat down- early at his Uttie table, and t^ing out a sheet or two of white foolscap that he had laid in be- forehand, he began to try his hand for the first tiiie in his life at literary labor, other than a memoir forthe Royat Society It was' a short article foy a London evening paper— a little fancy sketch of a Polish dynamiter: m fact, a portrait in character of th^ real Ben- yov(^ki as he him^lf had known ahtf seen him. He must do some- ^ thing m earnest for his livelihood now* for already he had reached almost the last sovereign of the twenty-five inherited from Stanislas Benyowski. He had felt compelled to bring in a« little luggajre for appearance sake, and to buy himself a ^ewthanges of linei^ There was hardly any shiall chd:nge left now: and though Vera Trotsky had said to him ^t parting, •' We are a poor folk, we Nihilists, my mend, but at a pinch we can always lend a bi-other in difficulties! spare pound or two/' he would have been loth indeed to fall back in nis last distress on Such strange assistance. He wrote ca^ef^lly, and with great pains, for Maimie's sake^ he did everything. T ' When he had finished the article and strictly corrected it, he wrote at the top in his bold hand, •• Stanislas Benyowski, 42, WiL mington Crescent," ^md sent it off by the next post to the office 6f toe paper. It ^as with some trepidation that he awaited the result. He must manage to make a livelihood somehow, or else what was to become of Maimie ? ' Next evening's post brought him a short letter from the editor, enclosing a cheque for three guineas. " Your article is admirable," it ^d briefly. " Send some more in the same line. I shall be riad to bear from you as often as you are able." ^ Three guineas is a great sum. It will pay two weeks* rent, and leave a couple of shillings or so over. But that was not all. It was nrospective wealth : it was^nrofession, a career, an opening, a liveWiood. Sydne\ Chevenix toolc heart of grace once more. He might begin his life in earnest over again. After all. things in ih3t*f i ° w^ ^were not much worse than before he inherited his ridi unclti's * aillt» Md money. He could still push his way in the worid. But he had nothing to push it for now, to be sure, save that one thing— to w«teh owr Maimie's nappiness. t .7^ mine of wealth thus unexpectedly discovered dk! not pwig in the eud lu be a itecepuvr^oHe. Tn aTiEw days more Sydney tail" sent m three articles, all of which the friendly editor had imiiie* diatelv printed. Not only so, but after a week had passed he wrote to a9k whether Mr. Benyow^i wduld care to review a parcel of books, forwarded herewith, which offer Sydney rightly rnterpreted «s equivalent to an ^rrqpiar engagement on the staff of the paper. «»««!,*»*B»PIPV w% s^• jroJt MAPHTB'S SMMTS, i8s 80' now the que^Stkm of bare Ihr^ood was easily and satisnustorily ) settled, beyond the utmost dreams of Sydnw Chevenix's modest avarice. After all, when man has but himself to provide^for, man wants but little here below, nor wants that. little long. I^ b the. pressing necessities of wife and children that drive us all to worship sofdidly at tfijB'base shrine of hiiteful Mammon. Ships~sail the sea, ' and KulwayFscore the country-side, and merchants go daily down ii^^o th^ dull city, and men toil naked underground tn stifling min^ and ia vast comm^ial pother and turmoil fiUs the giddy world wit^ Its hum and biw^e, ana all for what ?— for the wife and child who sit at home in their ease and comfort, and know nothing of th^ thrbes by which it' is provided for them. So Sydney Cheveriix si^o^ (r TS£ WORLD Sirs IN jx;dgmbnt. ;, \%x in hb € I ' y CHAPTER XXXV. I r THE WORLD SITS IN JUDGMENT. ly it had been anybody else but Maimie, all the woiid would hav« been surprised and horrified. Gdssips would have gone about tfom drawing-room to drawing-room, hinting unuttered scandal and mnuendo about that shocking— shocking precipitate marriage. Her poor dear husband only dead for just six monfiis— and such a dreadful death, too, you know— shot himself, my dear ; positively shot hhnself in his own house, because he couldn t succeed in some ^sued chemical experiment or otlier he was tgdMf in his laboratory. At least, so they feud; all hushed m in jpujpj hot a word any- where about his wife's conduct or the life they used to liad together. And now she goes, yt^u see— a gay ybunifwidow vwthTfortune of her own-^nd, before half a year's over, marries this old Oxford flame of hers^ who has been most assiduous in his attentions, in- deed, ever since poor Mr. Chevenix's death, they teU m^ For mj^ pwj my dear, my opinion m the matter is— and so forth, and so fota^ad t'Hjifutum, with the usi|al charity of ihe immaciSite mid- ' dte^aged British matron— the charity that thinketh all evil /But a» it was only Maimie— bright, innocent, baby-faced, soffc- evfed htUe Maimie. with her widow's cap and her deep ciape, and ¥»; s*J"5fcpf' childish, confiding manner, that dlaiirmed cntitism, gad channed by its friendly nafveU even thejtaaibacalate middle- Agwi matron herself— why, as it was onfy Mat^, everybody said »d thowht it was really the most reasonable and sensibie^thing. she could possibly do, under the cinmaiikances. "Hiat sweet little Mrs. Chevenix. you faow ; she felt it so terribly, ind was ao along- _ =*=^=«»*'=*— ^ffT^lai^P^i^n^^r«aptMni, very weO ooMMe^ _ '.^ xir-i_- T v_,.„_ , ^ ^^ yoai-rertjeB^ber, oat . her Inarriage ; and ^w home quite a ytax, V "" recoUect htto-^ soin e wh e ie down jn Wales, I bclievi yachtiM^ UQcbr her very e then, wto^iieM haitUy bee^ gleat «Biy old bear ot a husband ifl iBrtAft-j * m • ^ ■ the man with were dazed, an< on earth except out, it seems, Oi -4^1^ ■.^v -:.,--■*■■ ■f.-^:^.>'--.- -.HP ^g?^Tf«, e long hair who used tostahd in a comer aisif ha }.* never could take the slightest interest in anything amite), well, he must go and blow his own braint of mere pique, bec^ise he couldn't invent som& honid explosive h^ was always trying to copy from la Russian Nihil- , ist, and leave his po6r, dear, heart-broken little wife— a sweet •; creature— absolutely without a friend in the world. The dear child X % she was terribly cut up about it; Shattered, I assure you— quite * shattered; positively mutilated ; for a time, I was really afraid the shock was going tovdeprivie her entirely of her reason. But she -^ bore jup. bravely— she\'s as brave as she's sweet, dear soul ! brave as a lion, you know I a granddaughter of one of Nelson's heroes — ^and we ail did our very Ibest to take care of her. Fortunately, the wretched man left her most comfortably provided for—which is always something— and She went away to the seaside, and tried to fotget the blow, or rather to deaden it, as well as she was able. - And now, that delightfW Mr. Cipriani, the R. A., who's an bid friend ^ of hers^he paint^ h*r, you recollect, as Lucrezia Boigia, or some ' other of those fashidhable Renaissance ladies, in that lovely thing of his in the last Acade her to yield to hi scruples, and m Pym, whom we party, down ai fully averse at timid, blushing for waiting at least y— Mr. Cipriani has very wisely persuaded ural inclination, and overcome hel natural t charming, handsome, gentlemanly Mr.' remember, dear, at the Fergusohi(^ garden- Poor dear little Mrs. Chevenix was dread- anything of the sort— she's such a sweet,, ature, in spite of her braveryr- jmd was all o , years for him. But Mr. Cipriani most Property insisted tha* for a vei^ young and. attractive widow like erself— she's quite a phild yet, you know— it would be wis^ in every way to marry at once, and not let a long engagement drag on foolishly all' for nothing, especially as she had no relations of her own of ahy sort to go to. Everybody quite approves of the ar- rjuigemerit, I assure you. You' see, this Mr. I^rn had been de- votedly "attached to het, before the horrid Chevenix man ever pro- pped; hut beinj? a perfect gentleman, with such nice honorable feelings, he withdrew at onlce from the implied attachment as soi^s tS SJ'^k'^ t^^^^ ^5 thoroughly and ideally suited to one another. Besides, she ha# made a,sacrifice for her present husband • she had gven up the chance of ^coming my lady ; for Adrianf^t lelsT would never be knighted. There i! nothing to ensure your iS anybody at aU equal to making sacrifices for them. ■ ^ And Sydney Chevenix, sitting ever with his opera-glasses unseen at the window opnosite. pould not kelp admitting tolimsdf with S mixed sigh that Nfaimie seemed to be perfectly hippy. ^ «ft.; on ^ ^^"^ T^^\ u*?"'"* "TJ ^^'^ o"t' no harm might come of it ^^r^cep^that h^ own Jife was. sacrificed. ^Anlwh^^bU^. ^^^one s owri life toahy one of us-even the smaUeSt-souI^ —Compared with a single woihan's happiness? -« «i«^ ***'''°'? ***''8:hts of self^evotion the worst among them •in raise the very lowest of usi ,, / /I i **« » '' • * * 1 - t.-HfX^"' 1" -—-^r^y^ WTTO "y»*fti^^^9^^^^W h "k ;» . - 1 ' ' - • « V* <*| ' "^ >' 1 ^ ' .1: / , -, X •* ' ' ' _ r " ■, . ■ \ ,"■ J .. - - ^, ;■ . -' # • - i # ■ '1 ^ • ' " , ;; ^ ". , . -1 " it % » 1 1 I ' ' f ^ i\-' r • f "» / ' <• * ■' ' « 1 ' , .. ■( -o / ^ " "T- .- ■ -r— — — — « ^r"' " ' * • , / > • t. ,. :i^ --■■■■^ ^" l 1. » f f • ' 1 *. A _^ i|u: - ;f + ,. ■ ■■■ .:^ i^'AcW 1 hh^^ .^^^ 1 ^^^^^^^ll^i^^^^^^ '♦-■ i;.^.tiai....:>-..,t>aki.v ■ .^.■. ^ll^^^i^,J^UI^^ ..;,;i.^;;i^!fc?iigaij i^isiiaMilJi^^B ■ Wmm ■ -• - >i ■ mmm ■■ ^^^^^^H ■ ^M 1^ '% ■ ^^^^^^^^1 ■ ^H ■1 Ik' . ' '. 4 * "-... ■r ' i » ._ , -, * ■"■X,. J* «) y • ' . •- '\' «» "•'■ ■r a # k , ' * f V — y , {■ . , ^ t ' _. , ----v,,:^ ■':#: .> « - ^ • l' - 1' . • ^ ■ _ .._,.:, ■^ « • ' ^ ! 1 V '• • .'■, •\. ^ , '■ 'l: .*' i"' ' ■ .1 ^^^ "''.'rV M IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT^3) / 1.0 I.I l*a. mm j^ Ui 12.0 IL25 iu Uig 6" ,•-<, ■■-^ ^}. ^^ 4^ ►v -f Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRHT «VmSTIR,N.Y. USM (7l6)t72-4S03 ^^^^2%"^ ^Vi '^ «i.- .•• ^-jW.> ^. ''-H> ' , V ^ i -, T'^' -"■"■■■' m \ / -■' ■ ---/l :V- ; ^ V^- - ■-/ " ■ "^ ' • / * ! • •.•>, '' 4 5^^ * t ' \ U. % 1 4 ■ ■ - ■ ' ^A*^ » « - , • 1 V f / 1 F /^ i ,. y *' / i " r ' -.J * / - • » 1. / ■ -.P , , ' *■ - . -'■ / ■ i« • K V \. / . ■y • / • - J v\ , * ''''\^ ^s • 1 t ■ ^ (» 1 1 ^^k. I ' 1 - ^\^ L *K « 1 '^^ > 7 / wi / /'— - / ■ ■■ • / ■^ V « • ^i^^iH « t "■ ^\ \^ . 1 ,' "" »■ Poi JIfAIMIE'S SAJtA H ¥K M- f^ \ CHAPTER XXX^. li'.^^ 4' 4' lOER LOOMS. AS the (iiMMitJis w«^t Wrand, and autun^i came^acain. Svdnair Ch™«r» nearly oppositVthe aprianis* - ThenceJie dodged them in and out pcrpetuaUy like a d&tant sSw Mw attracting their attention atS^his^aeSXwhaff but iM^ralM^ys clos^to Maimie and Adrian. .*=**™***^ »«»^ <>« wr'fJ?^ Adrian-poslUvelv liked him in a~ strange vicaiioui Sfiti Uni***"**i^^5-r*r*.^> passionately, and w^he nS^ .^jushr fand to^riinfir^Maimie ? fWthat, Sydney couW haw fav .. .JSJ- ^S^ *^?«^ ^ ?^ P^^"" *^™ ^«^ tiSt Xdrian made Snte Mmmr than he. Sydney, could ever have hoped, to do. Thoueh M«?2![ *'^2*' !J®1^ *!**"« to make Maimie happy in the oH davs I Btow often he had neglected her for the laboi^Sty anTthfS m^t How seldom he had realieed the needs and wanisofa fflt KS^"?'^^''^*' How absorbed he had be?n,fb*3rSfa ^f f^t^^J"^ P'''^^ ^ hte own ideals! Ah. wS.tS m^'^^^n. "^ " "^r He would grudge notWi^S »JS°!J SUS?" ^^ ^**? ^ iJortesMon of Ws second town, h«'. S^A*^t5"' ^ r"»» ^«^ * <1»A shawl and a^rfe 5S?r^ the ndgrhbwhood 3f Ae Ciprianis' wherMainSTana i^ww'^iSJ^^.^J^^r' He »«d iUerved the sSewoman mamr thnes before k Wflmlngtoa Ciwcent, passing upmd down rgL?*!:,f?^, "^ Jooelyn's house, the coincidence of tS f- -12, <- (<*«'' »c MUGMX LOOitX It7 .M looking after JheT^in^SH™!?^. " ™^ spedaBjr onplond in •traiwely familiar to hiS^ S^S" JjA.-J^'S *5» »?«**» first recow her peison^^ yttue couWn t, for tlie life of Um, at «»V S-^%tSStt£.dt?"''««"' 'k' '«» «~ back „, rio»s converaatiOT; ' '^""^' «>*°« scnii»s of her my^ former swant. iSi^^SS w 5"V'^J^ )** «»ogiute )iii bifeht red 9pS „ theSe^ wll5? k"*^ *«^y. The ailJ redder Wth«re^?A? J^P?" and ecit» prominent ; the o3ehbt,r£S ^ chcek^es stood out thin and w«is Ifcgering i» thTSirfSd sS^„n^!S"** *^ that thegW s^sie'&i&S&n^?!^ ■ 4 *5 X '-^1 '*.''ji > fj [8! f\ r»>' - .^' \'\ i^n MAIMIB*S SAttZ, \ Hannah Gowland evidently a^swet^d in the aflbmative. "Well, well, keep your eyes open," the detective continu * whfrever you go, and try to run down this man BenyowskL MBt find him. I don't understand it. I've been told by parties Ui^ know him well he's grown a beard and moustache^ce I dodged hithilast : and you must mak& allowance for that, 6f course, « you go a-looking for him. A beard and moustache wiU some* timepimake no end of a difference to these close-shavers. Batfitf all that, / can't find him. He pretends t<» be in London, I kno^, Md he writes for the papers ; but at the offices where he sends his Jhings they never see him, and they doii't know where he lives, «ven ; for I've watched the addresses ^ey've give me, and can't aever catch sight of him^no, nor of^nobody like him neither. There s another man gets his lettersi— a tall fellow with a biaclc beard, but Benyowski himself is not producible. As the lav^era lays, 'non est inve|pted.' Them communist feUows are teniWe cards for hiding and skulking. I'd sooner run in half-a-do«en or- tlmaijr thieves and vagabonds any day tha^ one blooming comma- lust. • . Hannah Gowland asked something in a tremulous voice which Sydney could hear was broken with anxiety. * . " Wdl, I don't mind tellinjir you," the detective said with aa ex- pansive burst, "though it /^against orders. The rule is to ask questions, but to give no answers; However, you'll on the scent yourself, and you're game to he|p us. There's a rewaixl going to be offered. He's wanted in connection with ajjiiHier, that's all—noth ing more, ipa'am." ' ^ '"A murder ! " Hannah Gowland crie^nilast, so comparatively loud and clear this time that Sydney coifld distinctly overhear every word she U|itered. " A murder, Mr. Cumbck I Oh no, don't go and swr it was a murder ! She never murdeiM him I She never iheant It r She never did I It wasn'tfi murder I " ' The detwtnre whisUed a long low '" wliew." Tbcn he paused and reflected a moment. a r- I'd like to ^ the matter. It strikes me, if it comes to 9iat,^oung~woman,"that you ve got more to tell about this here dynamiting case than you care to let on to me, and that's my candid opinion.^Ve don't know nothing about any j^. A he's the fox this time. It's Benytwikl hunseumr put it all down to." ' *'^^> ^^^y' "AzsaahCmA^xAcr^itA. " Put aB what do^ tor Mr. Chevenixs — ^^^l^^hevenix'r how much ^»t^^r deim l ve«^ . uxn'^Ti * *V*!***" change of voice Hannah Gowland continued. ^Mr. Chevemx'sas^stant." - . ^£^0, po," the detective abswered tea knowing tone. "Yow wwen t a-going to say that, you know. You were goiiiir to say. •Ifr. Chevenix^ MURDm' We aU know very wdl «£"-=-" -^ ' " he said, in a very cjuiet suggestive voke. «♦ Who's ski, know, miss ? I haven't heard nothing about any she in ^. TBB STORM GA^^s, r'f!^.- 189 . «e ; t>ut I'm one too Sn W^^? °* ^°** "^ * sharp one. you weU belmown, wenf^dteSi/?'" h?. r"fL Chevenix'.^t's .» Jetler behind onthr^leVoS^e Hnn^ •/*'^?*^'^'°^' ^^^^ in an that to criminate Beny^S^ Youi";^^***f ^^'* "''^n* nocent in this business • but kd^;-* w^v J^^ *** «««"> ^o »- : taow as weH BsldTmy^} ma'^ JSTIk? * deceive me. You Benyowsld for is not Kni?s S^? J^*'^*' "^T ^^ ^^^^ ter of the Guildford ^rff wi 1l£^' ^f^f^^^ ^^ ^^*^^ msit^ right and«.veyou7o^"Sn^^^^ me the m,tf.og^ him to/catch the wS V^e St^^^'S!^^^*^^^^ WW what you wanted him^J^jS!?K*' ^ *^" * ^ow that " Suspited^t?^ >^^ '***"^^* ^ i' TM 4. • t 'CHAmR xxxvn. ' ' I! f THE STORM GATHEfeS. • Th^S«^S'sJsj:S'l|fe.S i^t doubly „«eved. land might fear or im^XK wiTj ^*^ ,w\at«ver HaSnali Gow. BenyS hSi fiidSho? SS w^^dM V'^' '^^ ^ ^«*=^«* •he was on Maimi?ssirfi.«th-? ♦»."". ^ ^"" ♦ *nd, second, that to think m^tus^^S^^ZfU^ T""^^ '»«^'- ^* ^as appAUiW SJTr f »90 fOJt MAJMZE^S SAKE. \\ or pcnbiial difficulties. Stsdiislas Benyowskf was w^ted^ Wl peemed. for.a murder at Guildford. |!lothing more likely : Sta^siois 'Benyowsldivas sure to have blown up some treacherous feUoWf Nfliuist oir.ftther, Sydney knew from all he had seen at Vera Trot- dr^a^ as w^ as from alll Benyowski himself had told him« tjbat tilie renigees were by no means puritans in the matto' of vHhat they calM Jpomical exeditions. No doubt Benyowski had really kjllea somei Kus^n at Guildford, exacUy as he himself had been afto-- ' ivatd kilied in turn bv some uiflbiown Nihilist. But if so-'uid this was rea^ sibrious — ^then he himself was now Benyowski, and there- fore by clear implication a murderer. In taking^ upc^ Umself Boi- vowiAif s jpersonafity, he had also taltien uponhiim^the respon^iUfy tor all Benjrowdd's past acticms. - ; ' ■ \ "^ Yies, thi$ was really serious Not o| course because if they find you' ffuOty of a murdv, the)^ take you stioid'hang you by the neck till deaytP^Sydney Cheverax hardly ever reflected to himself upon that purely personal an4 incidental disadvanta^ of the si^uattoo-— but because if he were once arrested and tned as Benyowski th«re would be a great danger of his being confronted with witnesses, many 0^ whcnn might possiUy fail °^went wS h^ GMOdford boathouse peo^ SJS ik 7^1 ^ *^ T '^^^ ^»»at ^ tS Inquire about it. t\^^^^ evidence when I Went down to course-^t th^ MSamSeU CS^^' the bottom of ft S S mosiflyatthe bottom of Si SLhJr^iSli ^ t^7 *^ hert Ae" the bottom of BenyowskitiS^ttf^"^' ^^f" ^' Sheiks" Only you can't neWiStcH Sr S?3! T""^*^*^' ^ «*<»«'t deny ? never dbes anythinc eSS tki:. ?l* t<>o smart for that: she himself as «veSs3*theSl^*l^ P^P^l- ^^'« ^V^ downtotgebo^^hiS 5E^j,^ catdi and^^tiy. and swing fotil" ^ "^ Benyowskf we've got to - •'tI^^'h?p&o'dn^"rS!l!?r^^^ " bolder hadn't been drivenri- -^ Wc«ro7Si;s!^t«i^ the'nS*CiSno^L''?'^ff° the e„d <>f the dgar vet, air?" •boutit?" **^**^^ curw^y. "Any tmceof <5SuJS,now from that man ChJ?2di'f ^rivte*^ {"*''«««'n«comp63ni SSt •o raiich mixed ^^l^^J'^'^\°^-^^^i^^^ Ok HI, it wi. ffiSn'«£*2 '1211^' ""^^^ i^mSi "«% oi couiit ---tununf Wy adopt, shouldn't be able to 'track him down— a man whom we. . kndi^ to be now m London, who actually contributes under his own^ name ttfrrapectable newspapers, who still goes rqg^larly to Mdlle. Trotsky's, and who apparently makes no sort of ^ectual atteinpt to a^ way to conceal or hide himself. I can't understand it. I can't fathom it. In the whole course of my professional experience, Cumock, I never reihember any case like it. We're baffled, baffled —utterly baffled. It's a disgrace to the department, t say; adis- grace to the departmfent" -^ "They're such slippery peoplfe to deal with, that's where itis,**^^ Cumock replied* abo^o^tically, tvdsting his finger up and doWn before him m grai)myovraki— he don't never come out at all hardly by daylight ; and everytiihe, whenever I got there, it wasn't Benyowski a bit they showed me, but some other fellow not the least like him— a big black-bearded man with a toUiUy different sort of features. Benyowski's about ; that's certain.' He ^vas disdiarc^d from hospital least, he takes himself a\t^y as and he goes straight off back been seeil and spoken to sin ith the bullet-wound cured, or, at )n as ever his legs '11 carry him, Madamazell Trotsky's, and he's by plenty I know of, nurses and ouiers; but / can t never get a sight of hhn somehow, bless ybu. rit 8 most singular, most unaccountable.'' ' And ,he nodded his head like a nonplused oiigicial. " It's curious, too," the superintendent went on in a fiudi. tone, " that after these people tried to murder him he shouldgo to them as if nothing at all unvsual had happened, and frateiiu«c freely, and be on such friendly terms with them again the same as ever. I can't understand it. It's extreme^ perplexing." " Oh, that's all right 6nough, you bet," Cumock answered, smll- iMf, " as soon as you know as much about the habits and manners of the animals as I do. sir. They don't thfaik nothing of a shoot, I^rd bless your heart, they don'ti- that's only ddne m the way of P flfytet^' Jgi^ of ^ w a nuag lik e , MS much as to s a y^ ^^at y^ mind how you behave yourself In future, and don't you go a^taUdng impradent about us on no account to nobody.' He's as thick as thieves vjrith them now, anyway ; arid they're aU every bit as anxioos u he is to keep him (mt o the way, coirifortable, and pi«v«Git t0 «l pom getting 80 much as a stray look at him." iW*. H^-i lather if you please, ma'am : and Han- nah, she's at the Regent's Park Hospital, and she's dying of the consumption, ma'am, and she's got something dreadful on her mind that she can't tell to nobody but ypu; and' she can't die in peace unto she's told you." *- Hetty was pale as death now. She couldn't imacine what on earth could b^ the matter ; I but she knew it was something dreadful about Maimie; and in spiu of eveiything, Maimie, with tier won- derful power of winning hearts, had made Hetty Cipriani Ijpve her dearlvr as/ soon as that little episode sm!^ Jocdyn was fainy dead and buried in foi^etfulness. What on earth could this dimly re- ^onbered servant of the Cnev^nix household have to tdl her about dear Maimie? It must be something very alarming: if not, it couldn't weigh so heavily at\ such a moment , on the s^ and OMOb science of a dying woman. \ " * "locelyn, Jocdyn," she ciied in a tone of unspeakable alarm, burstmg into the studio to the\completeiconfuiiiOn of the fair^haired model girl sitting for the figure, for a Scandinavian goddess, " look a moment, will you, at this letter I A giri's just br0ught it from the Regent's Park Hospital; and she says the person who wrote . it is her sister, and she wants \to see me at once because she's •dying."-^ '.w. l:-:'%\ " - ' , .\' ■'■' ' Jocdyn ^took the dirty sCrap\of paper carelessly, and glanced 4nroc^fi-it m ' tiaste with, a itoachfrasit expressiCTit which- o c ep e n eo as he resul into a sudden flush of vivia crimson. 'Then he crumple^ ^ m ^gfat in his hupd-prea^ hand» aa^ flyng it angrily into the tltk dwueplaoe; x TffM STORM BREAKS. t ■■IC*' 195 moment's pause, in uldn'tgototeeher: l^era thousid'tim'es i^hiiT dli^^'^ef ?|5lhaf^^^ ebe should know a woni about it. Wiiy should yolhvL tSbffi SShiT.^*^ "^^ *l^ ^*»y ^"^^ y*>" ^^^ to hear anyfflS wnfidences she may have to make to yo^ against our isw^ Mai. ««L^"*wJ5f*^' J^^^^yn'" Hetty^ cried imploringly-- a dying < Womao, darimg 1— a dying woman I " * ' • "/«« ' h J°"^y" P""«* his beafd with meditative ddiberateness. U»»„ %"■ c'^^ture/Vhe said in his soft clear voicei unmoved t« n^ of women is very depressing. ThecmSys are indeed a feSle ferolk. They can never keep thdr own^Ssel. But vou niuYtn? , darhng. 3he must die unshrived by hiSelf for all tliat What H.S Tf ^^Vt<> P"t you^a^ainst poor little Maimie for now. I won' dcrf If you take my advice, you won't go, Hetty. Nothing but ST^rSI^l^ *'°'"? **' '*• Suspito, at any rate : periiapl dis- ^J^^^' r^^^^ estrangement. t!Ee world js not too Sill ol g^s^ )rou know, sweetheart. We can't afford to lose our one HMe i/^"w*^-™?' *""^* ^^ woman die with this thing uncohfessed and rankhng m her conscience? " , ""*«»w=u twi^^i^*"* **^ ^"^^^ ^"^ once more with nervously heillfstllS^at'l^^ «^^ ™°*^»' «««y'" "But for "'-s— •-' ' - for her sake: SE^S" ter somebody else : a dergyman or somebody-you ste SL^ ™ ^!!l '^i^****"ta clergyman: and if she really know sdmethmg or other|Kist dear Maimie—" . ^ I Jocelyn staled, ^t w^as a start of sudden recognition. Then he waited ^ gazed at. her sUentlv. while one mightcount almnSt^ At lag fie opened his mouth slowly. ««v«unwca. In Vl^^'A ' **^.-* • • *^^ter . . . go . . . Hetty," he whispered in a soft voice, with a cautious side glance towarf the too«SS think about it^ but prepare yourself for tfie worst : you may have to hear someUiing that wfll shock you terribly. The world isn^aU ♦K^i5?j P ^^^^ '"^ It—and by those we aU love dearly, too— J^dU-pew afi^bout them. Hetty. . . . PreparT^u^fStht riSteU'^ S? ^^^T^ ?^ preparation. TKirmay^Sn a tS! nwe oiiaii. But for Maimie'c Mke. as you say, you certainly ouEfat tog© and see k«r. You are wiser tian l/iweethettt; yoSJ^Sa i^^m ^^M ■\*t- • jrifor tlm i' You women jump at thingralwayt sd! niidt Vm. we men do. Ypu ww at once the weak poiht of the pvaof %a •b^te^OQ Frftuldn "—to the fair-haired model, in- GeSan —•"I mall not need your servicejr any linger tunday. Excuse m d toniw i n g you. I go out with m^ wife on unexpected tHisin( ' Watt a minute for me, Hetty ttarOng. Run up and put on y J****!* **»$?• ***^** a »ood girt. wHle I wasH this paint andstuDK -" "P^iW my fingcff. TU walk iround with you as (ar k the hospitS^' an^f wah for you bdqw while you go up and see this dyi|& woman, (Confound her; what does Ae want, to go and die for how, and »ke up chaigeson her deith-bed Kke a fool iagainst poor lit«e iWimie? Couldn t she,«> and di« qu^ somev^ete on her o«^ •ccounfc or hvejand hold>er tongue Uke other sensible, reasonabS j'^PFi/ YOuTl ntfed my arm when you come out, perhaps. ' Bng. Nerve jrourself up for the worst, ani^bc prepaisd to something temUe. " T »^ . " Oh, jocdyn, dip you khow something terrible' against Mtd then, yourself aheady, that you talk so dreadfidly ? 'f^ ■ «r know nothtag, Hetty." Jocelynl answered, sosthinff , w quietly-f " absolutely nothing: so far as roan tcU, thereiSiy Mthing to kno^. But Iknoyir the field of ttw^ possible is ^wavf u fim^aiid rmr^y to bdUevctoythiMr about anybody-Hsxceptyoi darting. And htf kissed her tcnderfy, a soft fight kisa upon her Vl»fe white, anxiqus. knitted fbirfehead. /T ™ l~» w Hetty turned away trembli% and went upstairs vidth uncertain ^es, to wit her jacket on. As she did so, Jocelyn slipiwd qu«!jflf s off to the dming-room sideboard and filled a little podc el flask M tllft5«5lc with old brandy. ^^ ™ « gfic may tteed it before she gets back." he $aid to hiinsdf widi MWtle smife. "Dear little Hetty I It wiU aU coipe od now. a^ •Iwdc b«;,in- . N i^ S.v, 2? outyoi round! 9nth a her wh cranken, woman. «Yc gentlest ^Youh meknoi able »allid L. the wild "Coi dioked Mins, C\\ Were a do^hei ywi; am P«;Jies « Mr mil \ TffM StOXM JiIiE4X& .'-us- m r-.y N If: ■ £■'•; -^. : ~p: weans a superstifious man- but thT^tJ»rt\^ j ff'W ^ *V »o nwmil to fetTy ™' ''°"'**"X«<» »»«> we aught nad £ Iwr wblte cheek, aid a S^ Itelr af^uP*" ^J^ ***•* Stages WMiaiitTKirt mehed iMtoX ,m ^ C ~ %.# I am "^to 1^ fay i^ can ^^^^S^^^ K-l '■•^l j«i it" FOn Ili4lMIM*S SAJtS, wfld ddiriufa ; but tiannah read at once in her e)re the unspolon thought, fjBd only clutched her all the tighter, pulling her down till lips and ear almost met, and whispefring yet lower and hoarser tfami ever to her frisfifened listener: — -^ ."I'm not besides myself," she murmured heavily. «• I'm bot Jav* tog, Mrs. Opriani. I'm as sane as you are-fquite clear and coltected like^ I But r couldn't die with the secret oh my soul, and 1 codk)n't^ tell) it to any other living creature except you, and ruin my darl%; so I couldn t rest- -untU I'd sent for you. You won't tell upon her? You won't let them knoVr about it? You'll keep it locked up hi Sur own heart as long as vou live, just as I've done ; and when it Is you, as it's killed me^uming and heaviiig so within me, like —you'll confers it all to somebody else you can trust to keep it, and not die with the weight of it burdening your soul in the veiy (^urch darling's ; my angel's. You know who I'm ing about as well as I do. Mrs. Chevcnix's, the darling, the the Sweetl^rt. the innocent lamb. God bless her I " Hetty's bteod ran chilly within her. > "And what is it you have to say about her!'^ she managed at last to gasp out feebly. .. "You'll not betray, her? Youll not use It agafaisther? i for Heaven's sake, say youll never desert her ! Promise me on _. dying bed, Mrs. Cipriani, you won't ever tdl a shigle Uving aoYJ •nputit!" . J. "I promise," Hetty answered slowly with a shudder. •# " Swear it by the throne of God ^Almighty," the woman peraistii anxiously, with the hungry eyes find fuu upon her. " Swear tikjtt you'll never say a vrord of it as long as you live to her or to fi6 " I can't swear/' HetW answered, tremulous, drawing back a Httle. ; ■ ;' ■- ' ','"■'■ "You 'shall," the woman cried, ctutcUfig her arm with # !u»r bony fingers deep imprinted, and pulling her down agafai tiH thetir li^cesactualfy touched one another. "You must; mtt bound to. \^ ))„ TaM STORM BREAICS. unapdcM r down til arser tfa|ui n&otJrav. rcolfected Icoui^n'ts y'darliAg; iipbn her? kedup in id when it \ me, lilce !epit,aiid rychurcbk r e woman ^estluftt le terriUe pdnst Yax ^[ers; but uttered in rt >t to know int to tell back into ers ! My I'm talk- he angel. tnaged at er? 01 neon my ving 80VU peniated weartliat r or to no g bade a :h filter ttlll thair boaniSto. / ten you : swear to me ous^ then? md hoaSeSi^icS^ ^''''' *"°"- P"*""/ she "Mt »»; W Hetty Started. Mu^erS^r^^"^J*?M*^^"*J- "Murdered, did you H^7hilnsd?i;,Si! ^^±r.^''^ifi T^^uni^'. say he'd done it" laboratoiy, and left a letter behind to conscience." secret weigtog w/he«vaj[ on your poor 3fed in, but tiSeTdid^tnn inL^^ Cipnani and a Triend out. as ^ite M ft 5Slf^^ tf^A *n** ^''- Chevenix, he came bSiw ofhfa uS.^ f5?*^ SS ^^ handkerchiel pressed over the Sd JL?^Z!? 2'**3*^«'' «ottci^Uke, right up the nam? W« Ml* Cbmnii. she was in the ixK>m then, I%il/sw iS^ -H-t ioo It** ('< mk itAmm*s sjjcm. dbtinct in h^r dress aiid bonnet, but Lucy couldn't, for F was ilk ting 80 as I looked out through the crack of the kitchen door. a«d 8a:# into the; laboratory. Aiid there was blood, too. blood in tf^at swimming pods lying all over the floor of the room there. If I^ ' Obevenix shot himself. Mrs. Chewnix was in there with him wh<^ he. did it ; and that never came out at the inquest, because I wai the WllQ^d reached this awful climax of her tei^ tible iMoiy. She only looked upoii the woman and pira^ inaM)ly« with muttering liiMi;'*Have mercy upon herl have ffliercy upori her I " As to Hannah Gowland hersetf, worn mt with the eS TflHf viced each other there m silence fm: mam^ long minutes^ tfaMie two jptile women, HannaH Gdwhnd scowBng paidully in ttat mdti^^iostttor poor Maimie. and Hetty Ciprirai murmuiW stiS With blanched lips, her inarticulate prayer to dtyW Heaveci : and;^ ttt% a^ last Hetiy broke the awful stiUness with a searching quesa tlMf. ** If ^ knew all this was true, my poor woman, why mawfl^t ©ftrter si^ a ixrord to anybody about it tul this very minute ? ** m •« Why? "the woman cried, lifting herself half up hi b^ witK*' fuutul eantiistness, and peering at Hetty from her bloodshot ey«|. like a haegard maniac: « Why? do you a^ me ? why. indbed. ^ sKel III tdl you why. then f Because I toved hert Y^ I L hert She never cared for me no more than to know that I wa« cook In her kitchen. But I loved htiiwl loved he^ with all my 1 and swil. Mkc everybody else that ever came across her. Sbt^ Wk Io#ageye to cast over one^ somehow, as witches have the ^bpt^ e^ to newitch one. I loved her and I love her s^ and I'd lH^^lpi tore her, if she was twenty thnes a nSisenible murdereis. I mm ^ her with all my heart and soul ; and when I was sint away Itim0 her I never came back to See her again, because the sedet ^^ bumfaig into my heart, and I was afraid she'd notice me and fynkii w^and know she was discovered— the dariinn^ t he anyt ' It^j^ ■^^i; bWB<|d frto ra^ i ttd bu mcftme oMt» tmd"-thM*^ ww I'm ly ii ig ~ Kt qrti. td, I lyhearH; {he li«i' tlieeill- Hwavs If Ittiap' reti^»i^ fincMi * Itl i I'Dt a erMal^ SMtTt tmNMtS FOX ffEMSEZf, ^ ^| .^1 she spoke,, and the fiery rad 8|>ot reader and fiercer every nidhute. less with terror. Incapable of think- absorbed in contemplation of thft ,/• " < - i'-'f looked up at ha suspidoosly frim, £f^ ^ iflMddered terribly even ^ ceirdre of her cheek gre [od-vessel. Sue wasnt hanging to life by more than a thread, an(d the excitement's kiUed hen She's d^ ttes mbittte. She wouldn't be satisfied ufltit she saw you, and now this is tht 6nd/of it. t uM her how ft'd be. m go and get th« hokise-surgeon/at once to look at her right off, and mtth the eaiia* «l death bcfoit there's any doubt about it." ,iiii.im OtAFTEil XXXIX. -, > '■ VltTT THINKS FOR HSRSSLT. ^Sicmitss and awa««lruck, Hetty reeled and staggered ddwft mm wppitsa st^r^aivd groped her way blindly out into the MtW^ -^ "^W^^^^^^I^^Jy^^^wwaiUngforherwiAbatedbrtalh. Ail ' »ttiiaD0dtfat^i^;her trembling knees fatitrg»)^e W&aill ^Jt' MA/Jf/S'S SAJTS, j I V Into the antooomT oS^S^^tt^^^^ ^P^*"^><» «nd her palKd ins a^ti^«S^ "* "^ glwM-Bke as death, reitenrte,/3 e^lSSS-T^r , ^r^ '" J^«^'» "pMy. just passed through. syuawe of the fearful scene she had difficulty to hier uS. ^^S Se wolJt hoi'*'^** ^^ S*^^ <="P ^th confess^ to tou And whS ^f^ i?*! «**""*"• Jh* womSa has -^^.^^^^l^^^ aU. darling? .Jon'tcaUh^^XS oSi-t^k^^ «^ ^deadl dead, dead, dSd tihS iSn.,;! ci?*^'»:^***P*^'"«*««"re's befort my viry faS^Sw-SSrSnc^^!^ **"""* * .blood-vessel A widen gleS^Shope^^^u^/i^^ ««•" ' : eyes as he echS^a?edly ?^. ^ unexpectedly from ^ocelyn's M'S^iv^^ SwoTwhSr^ ,][J«n<«»' f fl ■'K irXTTY THINKS FOR BBkSBtf^ 2031 .^\ H*tty shrank back from him in evident alami. '*%r?^**°K^^^' Jo<^«H*'she echoed m a bcwUdcred wW«- PJf • ,. . "?' T*^ ^^ ^"^ *^" y<*" mtaxi, darling ? Did you knov^ ~f *5*??* *' before, yourself, then, and never say a single word to me .Oiitr / ^.■■: ■ ^, ■',- ■ . '• . p^ " Never, Hefty, never; I knevr nothing. I know nothing now. 1 m as Ignorant as you are of i^, I had a suspicion—a mere vague, floatmg, formless suspicion—baseless, basdess— absolutely basdess —about which it would have been wicked to say anything to anv- body— even to you yourself, d^ litUe vdfe." . . " What was it, Jdcelyn ? Yo\x,must tell me l" ^ Jocelyn hesitated. -^^ "Well, you know, Hetty," he wluspered fearfully At last, casfing an anxious glance around him as he spoke, "that lett^ that Sydnw wrote the night he . . . killed, himself . . . you remeriiber the let-* ter to say he had committed suicide— " ' " Wdl," Hetty cried, breathless with anxiety^ " It . . . it wasn't : a foigciy, vras it, Jocelyn ? " And then a sudden honor coming over her whole soul with onte wild flash of vivid suspicion, she ^£^ jgain m a terrified whisper, " Oh, Jocelyn, surely it couldn't have been that Adnan Pym forged that letter, did he ? " in spite of the awful solemnity of the moment, Jocelyn Cipriani smiled his quiet philosophic smile in prompt acknowledgment of the curious felicity of that passing suspicion. _ " No, Hetty, dariing," he answered, smoothing her hand vdth WS own confidingly. " How quick you women are in jumpinir at a conclusion ! But you're wrong for all that. He didn't forge the let- tor. It wasnt a forgery at all, I'm certain. It was m Sydney Chevenix s ovm handwriting ; of that I'm Confident But, Hetty. I believe It was Written after the mur— T^mean, alter Sydney hlid reauy shot himself. There was a drop of blood upon it: you know we both noticed it, Mid, darUng, I saw in a minute with my Uttlc , pocket lens that the blobd was there beforg the letter: the ink wa» writteii straight across it. He must have sat down to write that letter ^immediately after the bullet went right thrtiugh him. I tell you this for fear you should think I know more than I do kndw But I know very little. That is absolutely aU I've guessed about Hetty shuddered. ' - WeU, Jocelyn," she said firmly,^ with an effort to be cahn, •• thi Pmon he wrote tiiat letter afte^ he was shot was JMst because of this— oh, darling, I can hardly speak it out, even to you ; but surely she wouldn t lie t o me with her dyi ng breath, w ould sh e, jocelyn ?-l irwB^^ecauMiS^lR^riHUSl tell you—** dropS^B^voice to a terrified vidiisper-" Maimie shot him." ' *^ • Joc^ held her hand tenderly in his, and soothed \t with Ws mn. a dozen times over before he ventured cautiously to answer. Then hn muttered very low, twice or thrice together: "Mliiiiiie shot him I Maimit shot himt 7 . . . I thoi^ tlw ,^A %: *. 204 i^ MAiim^s sAxm "^^^S^^^t^r^^^Ji^-^^^K ^ac^sftwtheWoQd on the floor, locefyn^^ blood hfbim Umm siting fe the room after S ^e i^tefnfl'^^i?*'^ ^'Wg m the room after tl» ^^he^dent; and she hear^ her s^y, '^(y.Sydney,! ^^ Hett^"" ''^f*^ ^ ^^ '^**°^ "^^ teU 'anyone aboiit it befoit^ dJiJS^i^i^'!^. ****■' She loved Maimtel-ahe loved her te.pft^'^ ^"^ ' *" "^ " wi-^Kol^wicfad to ^Img litUe WMMB, and theyH csny ha- off bymaii forMto lESi *>S****?^ juiymen; and theyll tiy her for her life ?aSd ^.^ S^f^'^ '*» «**<»^ «^« <>id it ; and theyH M™ %l?Sin- ^^r^*^^***' Hetty-^hink of that, my S^ mIS^^ S^Jfe::*^sk!*S»^' <>"^pretty.g^tfc!wo3k; ^«.«^^ ^'»»i^H**f'Hrtly, Hetty, my swerthW-VoO^J .^compassionate, good Utde ang^-^too iood formTtal^^vJ^; to ^cate voice perBoa^ivdlySd diimatiS^tolS^lSiSJnW M^^I w«lneTcrteait; I wiU keq> it secwt idr ever, for evTSd M hami can possib^ ever come of it Apd Hetty/dSS" fofM^ . J<><*gw. «»cri«5«<>h^ darting Jocefyn, I jiw«;rt^^ .'ift" :# ; M^fTY Tffmj^S^ Jf0Jt BEltSStK -4/~ eVen. Let us eo honifeand a«;.I«f 3S^ i? ?** " °^**' with «• Hetty." ^ '^ ^ m^JOfS^ aW the future quietly there^ mam tread and shut the doors of the t^ttsom^SrS ^^ Jocdyn rianced at him curiously fbr f m^eSTIfc sfe^m^ t?^^ ognui^ the features sooiehpw : kdy ^It^^^SX ti k^ se« ggmewhere or oth^l a brtrth^l^i^^e fdtew hSd^ '^1 FOR MA1MIE*S SAKE* S/f 9Q6 to*day for tovf^ ofNMaimie. Now Hannah's dying br dead, and , lilt's been fo see fitn- and heard the truth of it. I could see she had leamt it all by herdeathly face and haggard Eyelids I This is aterribte new danger^ indeed. What can I donowtd make Mai- mie happy ?— to vcak^ Mdhnie happy I Maimie happy ! Maimie— ' Maimie — Maimie — Maimie t \I must do something to make Maimie happy." U . \ / ■w CHAPtER - . - 9 riSTTY ACTS. All that night, Hetty lay awake on her bedt tearless, with her . face buried ideep in Jher pillow, and her heart Within her burning fiercely. In the first fresh horror of that unspeakable secret She hardly uttered a word, to Jocelyn, and Tocelpi hardly X)tt«red a word to h«r; as they lay there idlent side by siJe, both were too full of their own thoughts and their own fears for the terrible future, but each knew the other was awake, and each felt in his own hearts what it was the other was. thinking of so intently. ' Early next morning, Hetty rose; she couldn't lie in bed any Umgov tossing, with Chat aWful^v^ight of care p;nessing upon -fa^ breast; -and she dressea hersdf hastily and carelessly m whatever came uppermost. Jocelyn rose, too, without a word, and put on lus working suit of velvet ; and they went downstairs tog^her as of one accord, and out instinctively into the glaring studio. There Jocelyn made two cups of coffee in his little etna, and silently*, with a kindly husband-like g:esture, made Hetty swallow hers as well as she was able, though it burned her parched throat as if it Were molten lead, so dry and feverish was she ^th pept-up horror. ;' ** Well," Jocelyn said at last, as he stood, palette m hand, before his Academy canvas and pretended to be busying himself with a few ui^mportant minor alterations, "why have you got up so very eaitv this morning, Hetty ? " Hetty looked at him and burst into tears. It was an immen^ tdief, after the long strain of the night watches, that one good ay,' and jod^ didn't attempt in any way to prevent it. On the con- trary, he flung down his palette hastily, laid her head on his shoul- der with gentle solicitude, and whispered at her esur in his softest^ and most soothing tones: " "Cry away, dariing; cnr away, little one. It'll do you good. ^]^ere?riiothing^ike% Wten^«wCTR«r«»n%^er3^it%ifi^fae^worsa= for her. I knew you were longing to cry all night, and couldn't find atear to shed in all your eyes, pet< And I-»I, too, could cry bitterly, Hetty. I could cry. darlii^, as widl as vou can." * And •• be ipoke, the t^ara rbse dimly to hip owit ctw, and^ I ■\i. B^ i ^M^^. ^^^-^ JC^ chs^^'^T' ^« *^^" Jmerely ta^ed theh- cup al^y mnvA her— '"yon must dome at once to me to be comforted. ^I^rhatever can Joc^yn have been sayiifg or doing to you to roakf^ yousounhapi^k I wonder?" _ \ - Hc^s heart fluttered vicafe ntir is s he spo ke, with j new-born hope; ^^y. sOi^y; I$^iii£ C:^^ or wild with oefirium 1 rthat sweet Iktle Maimie coukt never, ttever, never have flred the fatal pistol t U waa impossihie, incredible, ut- twty iACQnoeivablel And fH^-mnik ^ even Jaee^ saemM tt ^ *WMTTlr ACpS, f09 ^^^ '% 'n. tWnk h ndfflit po^Iy hnre been so. But now that the atood ^ce to face ^t wth^darOng Mainue, after aU her toSnrStohtS fev«iah horror, she hadnt the heart even tateU that^wt. ££ ^^^^^r^^!'Z"T *|>f «he had everliarbored such a tSS Tl^ou^htmhdhPart about her. ^u^^^'^^J^ P^'i"^ ^^\ ^«^ ®^ *o tfec low, lone sofa bv *i«.**?"**' P??*°^ ***^'* <5hcek -and «froking her'hafr silentb- for a time, began A last to grow alanned. -uBuuy^iora »Ale cmis of ming tenor. ?'You and Jocelyn hav^'t fSi^? with one another, have you ?— you who usfld alWai^ in \J^u^^ * ?v*"''Hl'?*^j^<*t«'»**'«'y»I»l«n words i \ "Noi no, Miiftiie darling, ft iftt'tthat, or^uiytliiar like ft. W. buried horror ^ ^_ »,.^ »„, more in all its viyiS and hid»urifiaaE"^bty*bSS W fihe ^?^.^«:J«»«ttful round neck instinctivehr ^STh? SS wSS ^^S J Ten me they haven't been telling you anytk^TtciS ^^JWJh« fc^ rfruddv Hetty ^ced that «trange insthictive &S^J^^^ * hand^ around her statuesque S and dSv Si^T?^^!."'?*^'*^'*^ ^^"^ toheragain^an agoiiyS fST h A^li*^ ^n^^ T^ ^. oWToulder, in^S of S ^tulA^J^x^^K"^^ ^y ^^y* *~t *»^« knewflow that i££ m had rrafly done lt:lhero was something in her sudd^Ta^^ W^^"^ ftf P^nly^ ^^ coul/s^iT-Fh^^lS AteriSt^S-Zr^^'* *»»^^"e^f» MT^widertwi^iirf^fcBfimr, that" I.' I'itt^j ,'^vl HQ ^Jt MAtmM*S SAJCM. ^A^ kt /■' haH,afateriy,cai«ess Of affectionate soothinjK.^Hett7*couIrfiY «n)l«ii. .' atand it in the least herself; but «wthSl#S^SSSS «.m™^il K ^^*™th With the least posfiible cS of toguisfiand I^^^rf**!*' • ^"^ ^? ^*' ^«" ^o^ « quickly and r?S3v Md as kindty as possible that tfere was So djiger? tSt S^S Jocdyn Mo^e shi^ the terrible secret, that th^«,l^Se ^ " ^wi«. rr^ *^^u°^ righteous wrath or of shrinking had SLte" ^'^'J now that she actuaUy stood face to i^mW w consaenc^ and to tl^e need for i^bentance ai^ fr— ' ^w?;«5^£r***^'*'"«f ?^*^°" "^W remained trouWe, and Mainue must be comfort|d. ^^^ ^ t- - , uiKm^J^ l±.S*illP'!^"«^^^ the RaEW teifeg^ upon ner tender bosom, " Maimie. rov sweethrarf mtf #iai4{««. ^- pr^ous one, don't be af^id: th^re vUhS^S^'^^Su?' S2 body sh^ hurt yo*. I know it aU-Jocelyn ind I-thS n;rS2l beside who ever knew has just told li i bK a soid d^L^S toows ,t and nota soul.eli on darth shKr £iow i^hSui*^^ You -needn't be frightened, Maimie; you needn't be frSS^Zn " .AJ^?i!l'S "J^ "I'"''** «"■•, """"l into Hettt's bosom and took the TOial|,deUc»te l«uid childishly in her own Smoothrf;.™!? iwud,,«ftone,. Fw.whaeSesob^SiTOyTpSfeSS S^S.^fe-h^'^nS'^ byHetty^^gS^^d^^ Wat'H?4^■^'"^ '■»"*'•' '^ ..Myou«„*l -w ^ ^^P^l^if'^^^'^Y^y^^ Hetty's fraitaea.^ she heard that b<^il, ae^tle. dain^|®KireSSS^^ those naif and aw^Kords of self^midBEHBon "^ii'****"^ a. 1?*^ ^'?""f i!*'!?'"^**^ cried.'BBrerKuiitary shudder RS.*!2^ ^^"^ Heaven^s sake, don't say a sinrie word aSST Si Bort't whisper it I toon't talk of it ! Tio^±d^^tll^^t^ ^Ii^?tn;^r^''^ ^'^^^^^-^^^^^^^^ * ^yjobsburet forih afresh more wiMly tha n ever. and ffi;J!w1f/?*y fr«m Hettjr With a wilO gestuiHT^ ;Krb^' %^SS?'t^l?^^ "* *^^ **•" ^* 6urf»ionlikea8pofl^ ' Dwy. YOU dont love me any longer. You hate iiw-^^ESl ■:i%-^: illf to you. Hetty darting, it was almost an accident . I hardly* knewS- a single second, what it was I was reaUy doing." . "*/ ™cj^ |ydney. I At the uneiroected sound of those long-foigotten but wenire- Hannah Gowla^d had repeated them to her the iug^h^^ Mainue s own very tone and manner-r-Maimie's hear^vea stadS toothless bound tod then stood stUl for a lo^pSTap^ Jrfthm her. She d^ not cry; she did not soh; sheWnotSf- she did not lilt up her voice and pour out her soWin Stter ^^y .' A«,iSP^W-'"^'?^te and s&bound.inca"bteof s^S^^ bought pi- Wn, a hving stotue of unspeakable terror. iW)5 SS^il^r'^^i'**^ ^'''""1 feverishly. aJSlhe Imew nothing^ Aought of notiung, save that she was stunned, cnmhed, des&^ aiid anmhilated by that terribfe disclosure. ««~. acsiroyea, ^ Hetty ffazed at her. once Inore in penitence and soitow What- JJCT W s% dohe to poor Maimie ? *Who waij she hSSf thS^ giould venture so harshlvand crueUy to judge a fJow^^ut?? Jte ?n^l'^"f"r^'r •"^^"*.?^ whole^^'V^J^l'^'S ^nn«h ^Tl ^I'^^aT^ ^^^"''^ °^ dj5ng, consci«»c6.stridS HMinah Gowland ? Had her words struck Maimie dumb and ^se- ^rwSitrK**!^ wondered ? So Wbhe. so pal^ so motioSS^ marble-lrfce she looked, as she sat there bolt uSht on the <£^ew SSfl?'^ horror-smitten and ^lumbed witK speeS« S?f t that hideous reminder of her one great tragedy. *^^^ T J^ ^ 5*' Maimie, Maimie, speak to me, Maimie." Hettv cried faninrin.^ ^^SSI*''^"^ tov&l hei^With her blaJSgsTSiS&- ^ownWjiiS as she spoke, and appealing eyes turned sti^igUpm " Hetty, Hetty, yptt wiU kiU me, Hetty." Maimie answered almhut J^ mS!"^ ^^' "^^ ^^^"^^^ lifelc^wSS^^ Ud^ 8?yc a little involuntaiy cry of remorse and horror. Maimie, she whi9perK^. •;! teveyou^I lovcyou. Yooncver It I know you never did it I can't beUeve you did it T^ did it WMan must have Ued to toe. She vm im^f s^ i^^^^^ering ^^^E tSL*^'*'? Hiaudijle^^ajwirticulatc munnur. T i» htS/^fc^^*^ ^"^^^ Ciprimi: had s^pod stiU beside them, hat mtond, Without iwa^ a word or moving a musdc. watcS 3S Pfiiiter could pomUy have watched them at so terriWe a mSt tt9. FOJt UAmiB*S SAKS, ■,.j*i Ik". ^ ife 8I*« of Wmsdf. almost, he could aot help noticinp and mariini ^^'HS^^i**^ that foHowed 6ne another at fi^t^^S Mfes fuU white throat and neck, or the*«gid fixity of herlflatS ppas. when.Het|y qootedat last those con^dng,^JS,rS k^words of Hannah (k>wland's. But nowthat'theiKuKt of gi^m boOi the women had_ graduaUy worn itself out a Utt^S Jtgtt^himsetf, with a man's timid diffidence in such a final crisftT *n ^S^5°? ??!» moment's dhrersion of the cunent of emotion ^^ Mainue, he whispered, coming forward suddenly and toufchm* her on the shouldjr^h his finned, so as to wake^Tup?3 Si^Z!!!?* "*°* *® momentary trance imo which she had faUeni ^^SS^.T V "^ ' ^ y^""^^ get so pale and wWte^d^Td SS£!?^'2lJ**" ""? "*",^ y°""^" ^»^^«^y »«<« hear the whOle SS?^ ''j^ me^from Hetty. There's l4i harm done by fa? than you imagine. The woman who told Hetty all this was Hm- ^tSi.h"^?^ wdece^Uon: and Sydtt«gr was a tmthftil Li uS man. whose widence we <^ght to iuveV hesitation ip uni^^ some anpaar haUufcination. you must have been in the laSor^ AerewitE Sydney at Ae moment he shot himself. No.1SmS? mtemipt me. For soibe good and sufficient raasonof S owl Ctosely. you didnt care, it seems, to let us imow that you were present at the exact moment when Sydney fired the &tal oistol f ^^^J^''^^'^^^^ »«asons forso natuml a rSKw^ M your part, Maimie. You wtte agitated and terrified; voujES Hist lost a husband who idolized you?and whom y^toreiamlJ^ d^: V^u didn'Jtwish to have to givfc evXiS mT^M% fj^rf^ t *=S!^r' * i*^' *«<* «> »«« your actioiiB q£^^ fWh^JSi J^ih^^* unsympathetic thl4-headedES^ mhi^ there had^ been-^ there often must be between liusCS S5«2?^?® *¥«^* ?? *»r ^undemanding between tou^ %lney. Perhapp"~and he looked at her haid^ the W8«^^ •^ve suggestton^" perhaps in a momentary fit vish to tell Vff >le m the^venr first—that you w^re in the laboratory with poor "^ "® "**** **»« shot that/ made you a widow; none of »gir matter to us or to anyone else the least in any way. you couldn't have wished/ pr meant to hurt Sydney. We It ^Sydney really shot hinfiself. Wp know that even if you the fatal pistol it must have been by some terrible, un ' j^cident We reqigre no excuse, no explanation./ au of you IS simply tW? say nothing even to Hetty and mS all. I can trust ydc. Hetty can trust you. Show us ib ♦youcantrurtus,andsaynothmgonearthtous " looked up thnidly at her husband in wonderii [owclevjocelyn could setWiything straight in S-dni ! He was quite right: of doyrse hewas right^ ijo dof bt of It. Yes, yes, there had been merely a mdmemtary qijar- '»5^ ,2^c^ ;; "y<»,do,^dear/' Hetty cried with brave insistence for A*. fi«* ^/a217^u^ !",?^<=l4ent' Hetty,'* Maimie cried passionately risiiur JS ^^Jf^''/"" ^^'^"* ^^ t^« g«at bow windbw-^rw^^ an acadent-almost an accident; a moment's impulse-Tme^ passing fancyir^an trraUonal emotion, t ™T?"..™P"«^-a. ««« poor dear SydnW, QtifV the laboratory ' he was making jk^ pracS^at a taiget w n^ess explosive, that A^Siisaicf I must for ^e worfd to anybody-.r^;(e Adrian wtong now m tellmg you— and Madentally on Primrose HUl, anu i thought to myself liow much I loved everto happen to dear Sydney—" ^ .♦,i^*?^'* ^**^? ?^^ cramped with horroI^ Jfirt of unspeakable astonishment at that su Maimie hardly even seemed to notice it, and weia^on withoiif -v-m. ^ VSr?K''^***''^*^"'?V^^ *"d hoiTified Ustener. X ov«. tnwlif q"'/**" ^' i ?W"«<* accidentally to poi^l over toward Sydney ; and I said to myself, • If only that niSic to go off now. T>y any chance, Sydney wodd fauXm dSJlkfo, me and Adnan and I might beliappy together! 'A^laTfhSlS imf dff nniAl,?!r!?.A^^P somehow of itself; JSd th^.p^H^ ^w^a^^TTT^' y°" Jsjow— that was the way, of course^S^ K fif Syf^^yS^e^^'.wpIosivc-and in k miutc SydSr^ ^ot, and there wus I, ciying and sobbing and wrinrimTmv Si^ P^^f^ "^^ clasping his^feet. and t^g^iSSSS 1^ i^lS^Lr^SS^ !«.» her .! It CKmtained only a f^ words *. g^ "MtFriind, • * Save ywirsdf. To-night the police will eall at your monto 1 jompany ^im, Txxjpmana. and if tb.!4amty,foina white fejwL^?^^^ t*»''<>at. her deKqate^ |. Wt|M|tmute^f^toJun^1o^tdJ^*^^^^^ K.. i .,„.-. .„...^^ „ , , .:.;,. .■^, ,. ,::........-;.,:..;. : 1^^,. m ' T^£ TIME ARUIV^S, 2j ;fag fixtures, decipher slowly the very words sh«> ««« .^♦- • most from the motion of her lips anfthe2^nw!?l "^!f"°gv ^- sensitive nostrils. Sydney X Tnewl2^^^ **^ ^*^ ''^ could teU by her facrScStiv wh«t -t^.K ^"^^^ muscle so well,, : and he leanled foi^ ^^Shed w?^^^^^^^ "^^ .'"^^ ^«'-' : absort>ed for the ^^-^ton^ts^t}^ Maimie foolishly answer and criSii^telie^If''^ questipa^would . hin^^^St^^fhi^^^^ : -T^an unconscious actress with «ini».m» I^^Jt "Y ?*^* nappened shewas. Ko doubt of itI-So doubtT?H }?^?^ii ^'*;?' ..^i^^^lZ'^l^^^^^.'^'i hurried^ S^ J.'i *,^«i tlMai fei»: ■r\. ^X MAlUm^S SAKE. tious onwau ^t^^^\\^^LS.^^^ ^, supposed unpropi- . n#a. lucky or uCy the^s^£r.ffKl ^^ tiigcthcr. NeveT STMaimk Th^S^ oSiS?^ '^'^ f**^ at least to saw^ the dfe8di«Srf,^?^?J?te ^&^ «« had the day of the sale, and be had vmln^£ ^S^ ^ ^ ™** home on tor IJiU, had s^dK^diTiSSi^^^ S^ \q««5^. sessing it that he never ^^^P^ he, at the chance of pos- *Mbawl, as aESSTiJS^i^J^ buy her present tO;her dead CHAPTER XLII. |^;r^«ESURRECTION. s«*K.SS. '^^s:^^>^^T^j^.^:^ •twwarinan W to the hospital St ^Sui^ " i?J^I^i ^^1 ^^^^ story of thei> our tfviag ti» wncealit a«7hS;^ tS? "Pi^^^^^WiVnogood SS91 iWiJdoJS^'^TS?* this thin^ even now the Lt«r « w th« temptation. WauV haw «« anotherriS one comes to face it, f oTsuch^fnnL ^'T^ * ?° *»«^ym turned rmm/^ "^ ?''°^ ^ cvw. «»««• "You and I S m» »?l3i*»"'» «"' coi.«n«S'12i' - out by merehrwSS ft ^^^^ » murder ind miffht fet irSn cpi^pared idth the (actSLh^^ f^ niggard, and^rewSTw? BttMunoiit Teiraee- but ^ u ^*^5^ 'n the^ ha^^JS t»!der, and PaSTSd^bw^ 1?^^^^' T^^m^sXjt^ ^ and not mAhJ^J^ISanS^'^^^ not <3earSmJ «S^ed him at oic^^mlt 1°S!!?S^^^ A<»Sm' P^ ' »'\ 92i FpJf'J'J/f/Mi£*S SAJtE, •if Mafanie wildly fa bis arms In one long embrace. Adrian or no Adik an, overrome by the force of his pent-up pasdon. But with £ miehty efftfrt he sternly repressed himself. She was Adrian's now. by his own ;wt, by hfs own wiU, by his own design, by his own contniraince; he had handed her over himself^to his rival, he had put tb^ into that fals€ position of his. own acconJ. and he must^ abide by it for ever, come what might of it. So he drew himself iS. «oldly and irresponsive, and only answered in "a hafd drv voice Ausky with concealed emotion : - - /""**'''• "It is I, Maimie— Sydney Chevenix." #• . Slowly Adrian Pym came forward from "^e group, and stood confronUng him, mcredulous and critical. 3|fe' had seen Sydney Gbevenix but once before, as he believed, dea&d mangled at thi Regent s Paric Hospital But that was a phj»B^. a doul.le, a sub- S^wJ*"" *»»e fi'^t time in his life he behpld him now in ven^ toith, the man whose place and wife he had usurped; he beheld him riow, returned to life, standing like a visitor from another worid. erw:t and silent, gazing straight before him at the awestruck groun and waiting lon^ for them to ask for an explanation. T> Axlnan was the first rudely to break the death-like silence. We thought you were dea How have you come \o life again so suddenly ? Where have you' been spirited away meanwhile ? And why have you concealed the truth so long from us ? " . < "For Maimle's sake," Sydney Chevenix answered slowly and solemnly. "And for Maimie's sake I have come to life agMm this morrang on purpose to tell you. I saw from the window of the fiouseopposite what^ taking place between you to-day. I knew that Hannah Gowland must have blurted out everything. I knew that Maimie must be living in fear of her life (or the conseouences ' zJ^ murder she had never committed. I knew that notSog d$e , coi# pi»siW^ have reUeved ha^fen»^^h^ cept my coming here bodUy this morning. So I came, f came at Uis^ in spite of everything. I chose thelesse><)f two evils. U«ttec^ Maiinie should know I am still living, than ^er any lonawrth? •agmb and torture of supposing she had reaJJy «nd truly kilM me.* m J^^ ?"*/~'"' for ev^r Wl ^e? I ^^^^. once moJ?^ atand and explain to you.^' *"° *^*''- ' ^^ ^'^ *it down, Xwffl ^ Awed bv his voivi_u.v *_ • rr^^^^wui fsslym solemn silence m th^I^Jif ^ ° *"®y-^«*«ne<^ to it bi^rfT buried Sydney who ha^rfSn frSt" "^IT^ »» ^^^ the dcSdTd *oi« in a cab ti the R,SLn»?^rt,°"* »'<"'« into tfc^aH,5 «ends^p, a real or mistake?^C^*?uT:?"°? brWs CooimS flaw* a&\^°^ J catd. his breath, a»d stole a basaWi, OT » shoulder. He had Sme i? ^SH 'f ™PI«« "Poi aS • n she was hapiy. ft vrasn,A».?i. ™"»« • he could notcoiMiT^ ,;inthecou'S>• ^*T* ««. mechanical t?ne .Tffii ^;L?"''*'':J»»'»»an>ehak S^fe««f<^al faint?iSSorto^eT4S2P'«<' «**^ n»w^ V^.*^. m the Kd besidl^; "i.™.'^~ consonants, " Bm. mmmB-s SJ^M. v-t| ^stress and ihconvenienc^ ta poor Midmk. So almost b^ore I knew what I was doipg^ I got out of bied-^^-^t Uae time, I bdi<6v>e, more orlesstU^irious — and dmgged across Benyowsld's coi^se tnt^ ~ the bed whicK.bore my name at the bed-bead. In dopg so, I acd» ^uUy upset, as far as I cafiLmake out, a> panUfin lamp that stool : upon th^H^e ; apd the lani^set fire to t^t ward of the hospit!^ > Tht flame^ rose up at once and caufirht th(^\bed^tbes around Ben> ;^ yoW5ki*9 body, a^a so disfigttred/ it that ybu and others quite boii^ estly believM you recognized it as mine when called in to id^tify it on the morning of t|K inquest. So the body that lies buried at poking Cemet^ is not re^y Sydney CheveQix's» but Stanislas Benyowski's.'* t. That was iU~that 'bald, concise, cold narrative of the'fact§t without one passmg bint of the terrible emotions and volcanic throei of intornal-feelings by which theyji^ been accompaiUed in h^bwjf- bosom. Sydhey Chevenix suppriii&dall that : he-was not thd« to, magnify his own conduct, or to p; " After that, ' ' he' continued once more, " I remained at the hofr" ^tal tmtil my wound wascuned, and then I went out agaiMnto titii worild, tl^i^ th6 name of Stanislas Benyowski. I let myb that nobody ^NblO knew me iixk^^ easily recognize me. Then I came and took- the rooms opix^^ Adrjan*8 house here; and 1 4iave spent m/j^se ever ance in to watch over ifmmie's happiness. : j \,. Adrian ga^f^ an involumary start. ,' " *'Then you were^the man with the black b^iar^'' he ol^ lij astoni^menl, "at number thirty-five?" &rdney noded in silent acmnescence. •*! was," he answered, looking not toward Adriiui Pyni, hut ^ only toward JOcelyn Gpriani. "And £rom the room Qpposll#IJ Winched yo^ all over here this mOrifking, and saw there was mischi^| i»rewing mr Mumie." ^ X ' j **But your money'— ybur hoiMw-'^-your proi»rty-HBverything^'i |0cdyn cried^ bewilderea. " What on eami oan you have doo/e,] youvaeH. ior a living? Why on earth did you give them up without . .a'.wqrd:fo r..i gmgj^ - ' "" -™™>oa urn- s' ^X^'^Z^^i^A^SS^'^ ^»^ of mbe can ev«r e«ftn^#i>l 7^ *?**. «stonishiiicnt. •• naw»ni^ , It o not for Hicb u bml^wSjT^"'"* ' will hM ■fiemM? SS£^ ^•'^^s ^S;-^^ ^^' ^nwJftS^S»?i^° *^» d«tfh to lifter rL; ;«• j^^ M 9 <'«3f A36 f. 90M MdlUm^i SAJtS. h^^^^l^l^^'^^^^tS'^^ noticed oofy toovblbfy. But «i 25^ ^i?Hi??P^i!^%^«*y«« suipflse from thJ &SSJ nwsob^ and stood conftf n^ Wm ^ a scariet ia^tod\ «««»iWB look of woimded oride i^n K«- hahv f»«f» JT ^^ ""** * 4'- ;;S;Jw«? •1?**^''*°^W' P^ ^^ *«» twitched with a dealv •arai^SMdfiit of lu8 earnest nature. / "* «u uw SS2r£?«S^ Sf^ J«f ,t»VS once* since you ask it, for J!^9f^^^^\ ^ Jo^ yo"^* l foveyoul f have ii«teiSfh?fa??ii^ »P«^'n« ^^ %htly and -it. ;. f*if« pp> €&A^f8R XUtL Vnonriit fer A ndttnie or two «. mcMaoothert and thed Adilaa »a»J«!il>itfiwfaiipcBed, fai a voice fi ^liitboitt oediai^ltag a wwi na tuiMd imrablQflly to joc^* of shabe uA jpte^tences iStf*5\?L^ foBow him. and sec what faeimte to do» mi I dw^ know whetbff^tft's in a fit state to^TS SoSfc us jMyw much ]ong«iw.m)a. aliin fntitm, Do you think k ■ ''W^ wmrsMMi 9$^ Brng with the teats thS «mU m^ «Sz S* >* fl» W»»» ,J«*lyn t«™d to her wM, . ,»«tert^j^^ j,,^^^^ MlnjthiSg Ut Si toSSl^^^' oo «Mth (or h» vbo «nn nttet^ and awJ^ •98 *M MAIMtB'S SAXm •nd then Ic^ it d^ i^. f JL^S^^^ * *«WuI pw^ui^ 22J <»«*l«^%^ the*JS*.S^ SPVS^^S ""'^^tixanbliMr accents. ^ »w««a4c Then Hetty i^e i, --but Maimle I SSmi^'?^** ^^ appmdated «o g^ti^Sf pwcious Hetty. It fa fm^Sc* u P^J^^o^Pgist you reaDy are. m» , goad man. rS,e ^l&t^^^'^^. « <^fS?J , wadv toisacrifice evenrSu^ 5^.t ?^w?*"**¥ '"^ SSiyJ *^ jwiptiest women, the shallowSt JLJ^JSJ *u ^«"*^* w>n»en, the tfcat men have alwaw ^n^«n?^ women, the unworthiest wSnt^ ^ **Sj^iS^»s?s^ *«^ «- to «yfo. : *".: MdiMIJi MrMA J ' ttAWM XUf. H' crowds of passinir DeorftsoliSS Lui^**^ througfiaronM and Seen liwidciW aU iSe^lifaS^^ known how fittks he \nato S^S^JTi.^^ aSkiiowfedgin? It • thii«; known J? Md^^reSdM^nS i*^^,^^ cherished tendcrhMSa dl«iSn,I2!Lri^ *?** ^^^ «cvw had ^enl wn pwsessibn of him» i£SLyt? '^ S>«.fi«ed idea whfS^i3 lAiesa^EdTow hThA^ii^^S?^ MahS W daylpqger wa^ to risic the me UAuat's uxs. e wittea till he cam* to tk^a*^,*^ n^^ .... V.-, ■ H ' •akelft •"^•fe taOSrflU^ « te wiOked down tfi mm i»«R)te « «»««j cud ta itaK* to yw ^^««M cMkf WM standiiig b* the door as hiii«iW *!• l«*n<-. MAmm SAVMJ}. ^3« J beafiaMoftoejTLv^*^ tK,?^L^ Don't , So, miittcring em- to E^r « i&IS^M . ».^. along to the wSves bv^iiS^*.!^*^ ^fmokiV' he walked K™«J. ^»Wiout much fS ortSj^OTli^hS^^ "^ Jhn nervously, he took offhk^MattS ^^ ?^«T*»«f "«»»»d " ust go qui^^^*ttL^J^ dcwn tot, UH, u^ , IH&^n^oe^ iniScfWemif t \ ft 'J?'- '■I' *" •' -*■ .^5 •*,•^^^■• /'.> '.(tf M' / V- f 1 .7.w.»»^.' *• \ \ - .4 \ \ '• 'rj BSki -af^.' J* ^#