Show THE M mo i MAN M 4 N by MARY R P HATCH author of the bank tragedy copyright 1892 by bee and 81 epard CHAPTER continued cont aued your question Is a strange one from you to me if she were my wife nothing should drag her from me but if she were not my wife no hope nor 10 her beauty should allure me your question has made me doubt and I 1 will open my heart to you as I 1 never have to mortal before I 1 loved hat mat woman profoundly once it was atter alter she donned black for her bus hus band I 1 had always derived inspire tion from her presence at church but when he failed to return I 1 allow ed my heart to lead my hopes along you think perhaps that I 1 am in capable of such love as you feel but I 1 tell you no one can understand what I 1 suffered in wrenching this love from my heart when you came here but I 1 did it you can do it it if it is a sin to cherish it mr Harn hammerly merAy arose to depart and the two stood a moment face to face then each reached forth his hand good night good night they said and rind parted no use no use said the minister I 1 laid bare my heart for nothing she must be mistaken mr carter came into the library ind found mr hamilton in deep thought evidently for he did not look up I 1 think I 1 will go to bed vane he said all right I 1 will close up the house was the reply and soon mr carter was asleep and dreaming one of his dreams he recollected in the morning as a little curious it m was as of vane going by his door light in hand all dressed in fine black and gleaming linen tall fair and grand handsome as a prince and so he went on down the stairs and mr car ter went on dreaming but nothing adulte so realistic as that but it was not a dream mr ham dlton did pass down the stairs and out he door dressed with care to look his best and he was exceedingly handsome he saw a light at mrs fry s and he now you thrust me back into hell he said with terrible significance the vi pitying elem element ent awoke in her soul now for the first t time I 1 me she approached him and laid her soft hand on his arm victor she said brother victor I 1 can love you I 1 do love you lou as a brother I 1 forgive you loit what you have cone one everything if you will now bet et rn aters right you have done wrong hut but we will forget all that and love iou ou vane and I 1 for the moment she ceased to think him a forger ar T perjurer she forgot everything in her pity how could you do it victor 7 wa s her next womanly cry she saw him shrink and cower at tit her words and she said soothingly tell me tell sister constance about it victor there was almost divine pity in in her vo ce her wrath was ras all gorie gode when she saw him dejected and peni pent tent before her he had not confess ed there was no need she knew he had dropped all disguise before her and would never seek to deceive her again will you not tell me she said again how it all happened 7 A new light struggled into his face constance he said I 1 am not all bad I 1 am indeed vane s brother and I 1 long ago knew of his search for ne rie I 1 am a forger a bank defaulter but I 1 anfoot a murderer 11 constance drew back she had for gotten about lenora in the excite ment of the interview now the dread tul ful charge came back with terrifying force and she could not prevent tbt repellant epe llant movement no as heaven Is my witness but ct cr what use are vows in one like me here are my written words they wi I 1 tell you all ail everything I 1 wrote it long ago tor for I 1 meant to give it to vane only your beauty kept me in suite of my will to go I 1 came here to give you this paper tonight to night for that and nothing else but you see I 1 was led out of my resolve when I 1 0 T 1 t I 1 OV L nevertheless that s akly dark haired wretch is my husband and you are not went there and asked to see mrs hamilton please say I 1 want to see her alone ard on important business he said it if she is stil still up yes ashes she s up she don t sleep no great nowadays said mrs fry throwing an accusing look at him be tore she left to deliver her errand walk this way she said return ing in a few minutes she says she will see you and mrs fry conducted him to the sitting room which had been given up to mrs hamilton s occupancy the night was chilly and a light gleamed from the open erate of the little stove upon the lap and ond white hands of constance as she sat cat before it but her face was in he shadow out of the range of the lamp feebly burning she did not look up when he entered and he strode to her side and gazed down at her before speaking then he said almost with fierceness look at me constance she raised her eyes and let them ink again then as it if wishing not to anger him she said will you be s bated I 1 think lou ou wished to see me on business 1 I did constance I 1 did it was on the business of my utter happiness or miser I 1 asked to look a at t me to see cee whether lou ou could doubt me am I 1 not the exact image of the man you married 7 9 yes she uttered faintly do I 1 not look more like 1 our hus band than the sickly darl haired wretch in prison tell me that you do nevertheless that sickly dark haired wretch is my husband ind nd you are not said constance rising to her feet and confronting him with blazing eyes and cheeks 0 constance don t 1001 at me like thit how can you when iou lou know kno I T love you so have you no love tor for me mea no none noie she said pitilessly she turned away and there was silence between them when she next looked up she met a face so changed that it startled ber laer there was such a lost despairing look in it and his voice was hollow when be he spoke yon you have showed me heaven and 1 A caw aw vou nou will you promise me cite a thing I 1 think so let me hear your lour re quest let this interview b secret and do not read this paper until a week has passed what could she doll do she was a weak loving woman whose thies outweighed her sense of jus tice she had in mind the savior s words to one who had broken the aw neither do I 1 condemn thee go and sin no more and she said ravely and I 1 promise not to read it till a week has passed would you like to see clare and percey yes it if I 1 may without speaking she led the way 0 the room where lay clare in her dmn ov bed and perley in his crib pic tures ot of childish grace and innocence I 1 was once like that he said bending over and kissing them tender ly clare loved me from the first ho he said what can you tell her I 1 shall tell her that you were her uncle victor and when she is older he will understand perhaps how changed you lou are constance or oice ce so repellant now so forgiving it was because you were trying to deceive me I 1 almost hated lou ou at times for that but now it is different you are changed yes I 1 am changed but I 1 scarcely know bhat has changed me unless it was the ring my mothe left me my different surroundings the chil dren your womanly influence per hape haps it was all combined and per haps I 1 am not naturally bad that is it said constance eager y and you will go away where lou ou cn live a good honorable life will ou 1100 Is it not too late for thata it is never too late never why ou have only to call back the im pulses of lour our nature inherited from bour good parents you are not nat krally depraved I 1 ke some no ii I 1 think I 1 should like to be good evil has no attract on tor for me but I 1 knew no better 1 sl I was burtur cd ed upon wickedness my talents were coned ned into evil deeds i did act believe in honesty I 1 had no faith in christianity I 1 it imily a cloak can aou ou understand 9 I 1 think I 1 do t 11 took her hands 10 1001 64 ed into her face and m was as gone constance sank down into her chair and began tu to 17 silently but there was joy in hei her tears joy for herself and vane but forrow corrow for the one who had left her rho had gone out with the world word I 1 again because he must what would mould I 1 e the end of it all alla she arose and alth ith compressed aps hid the closely written sheets in III her drawer and she did not read them hern t for two weeks instead of 0 one meanwhile mr carter was alone in the great home with tilly only for compan com paril the man known as PH mus edes was in prison but with comfortable r surroundings and cheer ed by a meange message from constance couched in four words courage baere a is hope while she was a HI ill with mrs fry no one wondered at the absence ol 01 mr ur hamilton not even the minister nd no one had t the he least suspicion that he would mould never return no on one but constance CHAPTER the confess on I 1 am the twin brother of vane ham ilton and when an infant I 1 was stolen I 1 y solomon marks and his mother in the hopes of receiving a heavy aar a om as my father was a very wealthy I 1 lean an at that time but there was s ch a hue and cry that marks aid did not dare approach the offers of restoration I 1 was hidden away foi for months and then my father had fall ed in business and rn o 0 abductors felt that the hope of reward would scarce v balance the fear of being brought to justice therefore I 1 was kept con celled and allowed to grow up among their evil associates in the midst of criminals if not in squalor and wretchedness marks and his mother were uni gormly kind ta me and as I 1 grew up marks thought he saw in me means of gain to himself for he fancied I 1 had talents which might be made use tul accordingly I 1 was sent to a good school where I 1 remained until I 1 wa was fourteen when I 1 returned to marks who had a partner at this time named soule no doubt they were engage 1 in nefarious undertakings but I 1 did rot know anything about it until I 1 was sixteen then I 1 was invested with some of the secrets of the gang of which marks and soule were the leaders I 1 do no nop recollect that I 1 shrank from their enterprises which were chiefly such as required great skill and ingenuity in genuit not actual robberies but dishonest schemes of less pro bounced nature marks had an office and organized a peculiar kind of business he sen senj out letters to bubines men informing them that on such date their buildings would be consumed by fire professing to know through the medium of clair boyance bhat such atte attempts in ta w were era meditated at first no notice was a aken of the communications but after several warnings were followed by the predicted conflagration the matter began to be inquired into and the police interested themselves in the matter marks was mas taken inac custody but he appeared innocent ot of any criminal knowledge laying it all 0 a peculiar gift by which he could couler tell when such fires were meditated that was mas all and he was released afterward a new feature was added 0 these communications marks pro fessel to receive impressions that it such sums as he stated were mere sent to a given address no fire would take tale place the sums nere were not large and it if paid all went well mell it if not paid hp he buildings were burned to be continued |