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Show no right. The law and the priest may give you the legal right, but in the sight of God he belongs to me and I to him. Of course he cannot marry me I am not of his world all I can do is to love him and be loved some doll born with a gold spoon in her mouth must bear his name," and then the girl laughed a long and ghastly laugh. Then clenching her hands: "Yes, you can bear his name, but you can never have his heart and always al-ways you must know that you are second that I was first yes, and am first now and will be. He is mine and I am his. All you can do is to ride in his carriages and live in his house and bear his name. Much 1ov Tlie Saving of Collie. BY HOWARD DEVINE. (Copyright. 12. by Doily Story Pub. Co.) "Dollie!'' cried Madam, sharply. "Did yo i hear? Miss Hayes is waiting wait-ing to have her wedding dress fitted. Didn't I tell you to watch for her and attend to it. Are you asleep?" "Yes, mam no. mam; I mean. I will attend to it. I I did not hear, Madam, I I beg pardon," and the girl sprang to her feet, flushed and trembling, trem-bling, gathered into her arms the priceless gown of the heiress and vanished through the door leading into the dressing rooms. "No, I do not," replied the woman at the altar in a clear, tense tone, throwing aside her veil and disclosing a face of ashen color strangely set.. "God help me, I cannot. I " "My God, Florence, what does this mean!" exclaimed the groom aghast. "Silence," commanded the woman, turning upon him with flashing eye.. "I will not because I cannot in the sight of God and man. I will not and cannot because this man belongs to another to a girl whom he has deceived and intended to betray. But, good friends, you will not be cheated of the wedding you came to see. The-bride The-bride the real bride is here, and the ceremony will go on," and with an imperious gesture she motioned forward Dollie Culver from her bridesmaids, brides-maids, lifted the veil from her frightened fright-ened face and, turning to the clergyman, clergy-man, said: "Proceed, sir, the bride and the bridegroom are ready." The reverend father caught the-poetic the-poetic justice of the - occasion and to you," and the girl laughed and cried hysterically as she stamped her pretty feet on the carpet. The face of the other woman was a drama during this tirade. With the self-possession of the born aristocrat she maintained her entire dignity and self-possession; but it was evident from the first how strongly she was moved ' and how deeply she was There was a snicker from the other girls and an angry snort from Madam. "I don't know what's coming over Miss Culver," she exclaimed. "She seems to be in a trance." In the meantime the pretty blue-eyed blue-eyed gir' with the pink cheeks that were th;Jnvy of all the great dressmaking dress-making shop of Madam Gervais, had disappeared through the door of the I v- viki The little dressmaker tore out two great handfuls. shocked. When the dressmaker paused for breath she stepped forward for-ward and laid her hand imperiously upon Dollie's shoulder. "Is this true?" s.ie demanded in a voice so intense as to awe the girl. "I must know the truth. Do not trifle with me. If you tell the truth I will be the best friend you ever had. If you are merely after money you can have all you want only if you tell me the truth. But do not attempt to trifle with me. I will not stand It and I warn you for your own good." She paused, and the other woman met her eyes without flinching. "I tell you the truth," she said simply. "I want no money. AH I want is him Howard. I am not here testifying to my shame for money. I do not need money why, he gives me enough money to keep me from that. But it is not his money that I want it is him. I love him yes, I do I love him a thousand timi;s better than you or an;- other woman knows how and you are going to steal him from me." She sank on her knees and buried her face in "My God, Florence, what does this a sofa then rose suddenly and fiercely fierce-ly and went on: "No, you are not. You cannot. I will wait and watch yes, and pray, and I will keep him, I know I will. You will have all the honor and the name and pride, but I will have him see if I don't him and his love. You will have the husks and I the kernel." "Wait, girl," cried the other fierce- mean!" exclaimed the groom aghast, sternly began the service over again. The startled groom, unable to gather together 1 is scattered senses, mumbled mum-bled along the responses and in a trice the closing words were spoken and the Four Hundred were making their way to the door amid a rattle of tongues that would have put th tower of Babel to sleep in a cradle. work-room and emerged into a dainty dressing-room, where awaited a haughty damsel with flashing orbs of the deepest brown and the regal figure of a born queen. This was Florence Hayes, easily the belle of all the city and the greatest heiress as well a superb young woman, with all the hauteur hau-teur of the born aristocrat added to features and form and carriage of a beauty of nature. She had reigned long and with a high hand, but at last had succumbed to the ardent court of Howard Dunton and the wedding wed-ding day had been set and preparations prepara-tions were in progress for the ceremony cere-mony which was to be by far the most pretentious affair the town had ever seen. ly, forgetting her position, her dignity everything but the words of the woman before her. "Listen to me." And she grasped her arm so fiercely that Dollie winced. "Prove to me what you say and I will do for you what you never can do for yourself. I will be the best friend you ever had." Dunton was young, ardent, and of acknowledged ability; already a power at the bar and in poli'ics; not of known family nor fortune but distinctly dis-tinctly one of the coming men of the place and recognized as one of the most desirable catches. It was, lu sooth, a model match, and society reveled in it. The work of fitting the wedding garment was soon in full operation. There was all the pulling and hauling, haul-ing, ripping and pinning and smoothing smooth-ing and tucking so necessary to a successful gown and finally all was as it should be and the two women the heiress with her cold and classical classi-cal face traced with lines of pride and hauteur, and the round-faced little dressmaker with her voluptuous figure fig-ure and her simple, trusting countenance counte-nance faced each other, the task finished. fin-ished. And then a strange thing occurred. Without the sign of a warning the little dressmaker stepped forward, the lost color blazing in her cheek and grasping both hands in the filmy laces in the front of the priceless gown tore out two great hands full. "Your wedding gown." she screamed hysterically. "Your wedding gown. You shall not wear it. Do you hear, you shall not wear it. You have no right in the sight of God, you have A few moments later the two women left the place together and rode away In the magnificent equipage equip-age of Miss Hayes. Never had there been such a gorgeous gor-geous wedding scene in the social annals of the city. The church was crowded with the fashion, beauty and chivalry of the most exclusive circles. The floral decorations were something marvellous; the costumes beyond even the female society reporter. At the appointed hour the groom stepped from the room assigned to him, accompanied ac-companied by his . best man, and moved toward the altar, just as the bride, arrayed only as wealth can array its favorites, moved up the aisle preceded by a pretty flower girl and followed by a splendid array of bridesmaids, brides-maids, all veiled. They met at the altar and the ceremony began. The great audience craned its collective neck to hear the responses. "Do you. Florence, take this man to be your wedded husband, to cleave unto him, forsaking all others, to love, honor and obey him until death you do part?" read the clergyman solemnly in his most sonorous voice. He paused and comfortably awaited the response. Then came the crash from the clear ky. |