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sixteenth of august i am at a loss to know what put the idea into your head that you had made a great discovery then that it was not advisable to anger him too much she burst into a hearty laugh i suppose i ought to thank you she said more for i am sure you meant well you could not possibly have a wrong motive in going to all this trouble when were you in i left there this morning he replied he liked being laughed at even less than the manner which had preceded it indeed she cried and how did you leave our friend your friend perhaps not mine he retorted and his name is if you please it is the same thing she replied lightly have you two fallen out i thought you were friendly as could not very well explain the cause of his difference with he thought it best to turn the course of the conversation must be very good natured to send a man like that over from europe to entertain his wife he sneered he has been there all summer for nothing else going down to her house after sunset and staying till midnight or longer he did not care much for absolute truth when he had a to tell about an enemy if the husband stays abroad much longer there will be no need of his coming home at all had at last heard something that the wanted to know s saw that was j s friend observer than she had given him credit for being he had learned in some way that was s friend she wondered how much more he had learned and adopted the plan of as the best method of persuading him to tell everything he knew mr probably thinks that he knows his wife and his friend she said pleasantly shook his head with a why should go there only after dark if everything is as it should be i should say to avoid the of and why do they ride out in secluded country roads in the afternoon taking different ways to go and return but meeting where they can be together for hours was startled from her perfect by this statement you do not mean to assert that that is true she said quickly ah but i do i have followed them more than once yes several times she was silent for some seconds his exultation at being able to reveal something that she had not previously known was plainly visible a great tumult was going on in her mind let me understand you plainly mr she said presently for this is a serious business do you say that mr and mrs are in the habit of meeting in out of the way places apparent appointment i do he replied boldly entirely what thb ft his face fell a little at the question oh she has the children with her of but what of that they are too young to understand what is said she had all she could do to conceal her disappointment at the answer the children that puts quite a different aspect on the case now she leaned towards him and smiled just what have you seen don t be afraid i want to know he was so pleased at being asked for his confidence that he never saw the trap into which he falling but it was not easy to look her in the eye and invent why there was nothing very terrible aside from the fact of the meetings themselves that did not look like mere friendship for the absent husband you know they just met in the road and rested their horses did you hear their conversation no i could not get near enough for that the children stayed with their mother they usually got out to pick flowers in the field near by but they were always in sight oh yes and their mother talked with mr she in her carriage and he in his assented and that was all yes leaned forward and laid one of her bands on s as he in his great surprise looked up he saw that her dark eyes darted flames you are a bad witness she said husbands i am afraid something is the matter with vision he stared at her is it reasonable she vent on rapidly that a would drive day after day to meet a gentleman merely to talk to him a wife let us say whose husband is absent in europe and who has never seen him six times a year since her marriage would she not have offered her cheek if not her lips and would not her companion have accepted the challenge how can one conceive of a man like that spending a whole summer in the ridiculous way you suggest mr you do not like to tell me the whole story he protested that she was in error adding that he only regretted that it was not so as he had reason to wish no good to no you are wrong you are forgetful she replied still with the eyes fixed on him you must try and think if you cannot recollect better i you to visit some town near where or or whatever name he goes by will not suspect your and there watch again and the next time you must write down your observations taking care that you miss nothing your memory is treacherous he could not fail to understand her she had almost told him in so many words that he must himself at her call it did not him as much as he could have expected but it did arouse an idea that had lain for some minutes if miss asked such a favor as this of him he might make it the basis of a claim in return i cannot conceive of any request of yours that i

0Arthur Conan Doyle

should refuse he said i would ask what thb l i nothing better than to be your slave for life you cannot be to the feelings with which you have long inspired me her brain was on fire she hardly seemed to him if you waste no time she said you will get the evening train without difficulty to let me see to that is only five miles from and a good point from which to make observations she rose from her chair as if to hasten his departure would you like to write to me she added above all things you may do so and when may i see you when your has sufficiently improved when have something worth coming to tell he looked at her with hungry eyes and my reward he faltered she started slightly it is no time to talk of rewards if you discover anything that leads to a reasonable suspicion your duty will be plain you have no time to lose go t her s chapter xl you have child he caught her hand quickly and kissed it then with a hasty good bye he left the house the minute that he was out of sight miss i manner changed she held from her the hand his lips had touched as if it were an thing her eyelids drooped and her rigid frame relaxed the strength she had suddenly summoned seemed to leave her rising wearily she to her chamber where she washed away the physical taint of contact with this man whom she but even as the soap and water covered the place it came vividly across her mind how impossible it would be to wash the dark spots from her mind and conscience for had a conscience one that burned and pricked her whenever she its and at this moment it rang a in her ears which seemed as if it would her forever when the hand was to all outward appearance clean again she returned to the drawing room and dropping into an easy chair tried to think why had she sent on that wicked mission why had she stooped to make use of such a tool when the result must inevitably be to place her under obligations no end of annoyance she heartily wished as she sat there that she had not been so there had not been time to consider the opportunity had come so top children also that she could not resist the temptation she could write to him or telegraph him even now at bidding him do nothing about it but what then if could only be persuaded to seek a separation from his wife by some means less danger she turned to her mantel on which was his photograph and taking up the portrait she pressed it to her lips oh my love she cried in spirit why have the divided us so cruelly bound by your own rash folly to a woman who is not your equal held in chains by a fancy that your duty lies in that direction is there no help for you is there no help for me must i descend to the of ordinary women in the mad hope to gain you how much longer can i live in this vainly for the drop of water that should cool my tongue she was aroused from this by the maid who came to say that the s boy wished to know if the proofs were ready perhaps it was well that the necessity of labor compelled her to forget for the moment her troubles she plunged at once into her work and was soon making alterations and with as firm a hand as ever it was a brilliant number of the magazine that she issued that month everybody said that miss had a right to be proud of it at nine o clock that night when the last of the proofs were finished and after she had eaten an apology for a dinner her appetite not being improved by the events of the afternoon she went again into her drawing room and sat there alone i husband s with her head buried in her hands never had she felt io lonely never had life seemed so little worth the living but when her spirits were at their lowest ebb she was roused by two quick strokes at the street the skilled knows the touch of a brother and can detect it years after in an unexpected part of the country knew that only one man could have rung that belt though she had supposed him four thousand miles away there was no doubt that was at her door the color that had deserted her face rushed back over it her eyes brightened her white lips grew red her thin nostrils dilated she sprang up nd took several steps toward the door and then something with a suddenness that was very like a shock paused set her teeth together and walked slowly back to her chair hardly was she again seated when the cause of her emotion threw open the door of the room and with rapid strides stood before her all his joy at being with her again after six months of absence all the of his hopes long deferred were in that one word she held out her hand not the one that had kissed and coolly asked him to be seated his astonishment at her manner was plainly evident he hesitated several seconds in sheer amazement staring at her in the vain expectation of learning the reason for his strange reception but pride came to his rescue and he somewhat took the chair she indicated h l did not expect you so soon ht said also not to let him guide the conversation how did it happen he could not understand her coldness but he would have died rather than have told how much it affected him i found

0Arthur Conan Doyle

that i could catch a faster steamer at he replied and so i did not go to liverpool it made a difference of three days and i wanted to get home as soon as possible yes it must seem a long time six months said and he responded that it did and thus they went on for the next half hour talking of little things each well aware that there was no heart in either questions or answers he told her that he had filed his for in all the countries in europe and that the business promised well he had in fact received one very handsome offer for rights to take effect as soon as the were allowed he talked of paris and and london and and as he went on with his details he knew that she cared nothing about it all at last he decided that he might as well know now as later what had so altered her manner towards him and at a pause in the conversation be abruptly well what is it r she glanced up what is what the cause of my peculiar reception want to know i have a right to know tell me your reception is as cordial as i have given to any gentleman since you left i wait he interrupted i am not asking for much considering all that has passed between us in upon him husband s considering all that has passed t what has ever passed between us to give you the right to count yourself on a different footing here from other men he was incredulous of his own powers of hearing as he her words i have come here as your friend for more than eight years he said quietly you have never treated me as you have to night and you know it well you have written me letters within the last three weeks and none of them in the vein you now i am not complaining i am not saying that you are wrong now or that you were right then but i think i have a right to ask the cause of the change his calmness which she could not help feeling vas greater than her own was and the programme which she had laid out was not easy to continue if there has ever been between you and me a cordiality greater than that which has existed between myself and others she said in a voice not perfectly firm there are reasons why it should end hereafter it is better it is wiser for us to assume towards each other only the ordinary friendliness of business partners do you not think so yourself she hoped he would answer that he did not but he merely that point is for you to decide he replied and yet i feel none the less justified in asking you what has led you to this decision she was silent for a full minute although she twice made an attempt to speak then she said in s firm voice you have a wife have children al o very true he replied and a shadow crossed his face but that you knew before had calculated neither the strength of this man nor her own weakness as she uttered the next sentence she raised an face to his you have children also he understood it in a moment she had learned this in his absence you have deceived me she went on passionately throwing down all reserve i remember well all that you said that day you came to me after after professor died you were married then that neither of us could help you believed it your duty to support the girl you had wedded in your folly that i did not object to though i thought it then better both for her and you that you seek an early separation on that we made an agreement you and i i was never to think of marriage and you were to be a husband in name only ah how well i remember th were every one your own you said you loved me that you had never for one moment ceased to love me and i said that i would take you at your word i told you that i would accept no attentions from any man but would wait though it might be until my hair was white or until the grave closed over me for you i have kept my word i thought i was dealing with a man who was above his fellows i have loved you as no inferior woman could without doing in all that time a single act that could lower me either in your estimation or my own but she paused her lips trembling you it was impossible to complete the sentence and an she gave up trying her frame shook with sobs her s waited until she grew calmer and than proceeded there has evidently been a misunderstanding between us and this is not so strange when we consider how this agreement as you call it was brought about i came to you at the time you refer to i admit in a state of excitement i had committed the greatest error of which a man can be guilty and the fact that i found you still free added to the effect of my action i knew that i had married one woman when every throb of my heart was for another you told me then that your love for me was as strong as mine for you there were three of us to be punished for the sins i alone had committed if i could have borne all the pain most gladly would i have done it but that could not be the girl i had married had a heart that might also be broken yes and it is not becoming in you to sneer at that statement

0Arthur Conan Doyle

country girl that she was and is she too loved me the children have reconciled her to my almost perpetual absence they have smoothed the way for her for me and let me say it for you do you not see how she had th children and you had me i have hardly been a month at my home counting the minutes and adding them together in all the years since my marriage every hour that i could spare from business has been yours how could i in common decency have done more she held her throbbing temples with her hot hands and when she spoke the bitterness was gone from the pleading tones oh you cannot understand she said in a choking voice how could you being a man a you have children al o know what a woman like me can suffer in all these years while i have kept this ivory exterior the rack of pain has torn me day by day you have been here it is true i have heard your voice have clasped your hand have looked into your eyes but how could i forget even for one instant that you were not mine you went to i knew that and it almost killed me to know it but i did not know i did not suspect i did not dream that you on her the caresses that were denied to me you expressly told me he interrupted that i did not want them yes and it was true i did not wish your kisses but i did not wish them given to another i would not have accepted them never at any moment since you told me of your marriage a caress from you would be only a mockery while the law held you in another bond and so my children poor little things must come between you and me he said gently for he could not help seeing how she suffered they are to separate us is that it not as far as the cause is concerned she replied striving to master her emotions but i never can feel as i have felt that you were as much mine as hers i must this terrible love that has shown its power to give me such vital pain we will work together still but that is all he shook his head with decision i could not do that he said i already feel most uncomfortable here i never could forget what has been no he added we must give it all up we must never see each other there is no middle course she wondered if h meant it if he husband s give up seeing her and she knew that if he did it would be her death blow the fury of her passion had passed and she felt it time to she said tenderly could you give up all our relations as easily as that is there no deeper sentiment in your breast after the professions of these long years but what can i do he asked helplessly if you cannot forgive my poor babies for coming into the world the younger of the two is nearly four years old and my wife who has seen me only five or six times in the last two years how can i treat her any worse than i have she has never uttered a word of complaint never a hint of discontent and yet i presume she has feelings like other people as long as she is true to me i must recognize the law s relation miss caught her breath and you do not question of course you do not that she is true he smiled with the confidence of one who could afford to laugh at a suggestion like that it is beyond all doubt he replied she is innocence itself and if you should find yourself mistaken he looked up sharply if she were criminal why in that case there is only one course open to a man of honor he had said all she wished him to say and she managed to turn the talk towards the topic of where they could meet on common ground it was late when he left and she succeeded in a promise from him to call again soon for the purpose of discussing an article that had been submitted for the next magazine it was with the great joy that she heard his acceptance of the proposition now that she had spent the force of her storm she could not bear to think of its possible effects came the next day and the next and so two weeks went by he found time to attend to his business and to go to miss s and to see her in private but he did not find time to visit his wife and children and all the while a mysterious man who with a farmer in continued to haunt the wood and roads of and the of the house chapter xii haunting the railway station had had her way her brother tool that he was in her hands had signed the new will s name was not mentioned in it a lot of foreign missionary societies seaman s and orphan were to get the dollars that he had contrived to make and she to save after their dust had been gathered to that of their fathers though both the were attendants at divine worship neither of them had any conception whatever of real religion they went to church just as they paid their taxes because it was considered a necessary and proper thing to do in the community in which they lived they probably had a dim her husband s idea that rent filed away for half a century would constitute a sort of preferred claim on everlasting salvation a kind of against fire in the next life as a policy in the or the

0Arthur Conan Doyle

state company was in this miss had picked out the societies that were to benefit by her brother s from a miscellaneous which lawyer procured at her request none of them were to touch the money during her lifetime should she survive it was easier to select her than one might think for the main point was not so much to decide who should have the money as to make sure that the never got any of it her bitterness against her niece had been much increased by her persistent determination to await the return of her husband and to hear his side of the story before taking for granted all that her aunt told her as long as we had only suspicions the old lady had said darkly i could forgive your foolish with a man who has been away from you almost every hour since you married him i have brought you proofs that should satisfy any reasonable woman if they are not sufficient for you you need only to make a visit to boston and find out for yourself m he is my children s father had answered i must wait until he comes before i can decide yes and let him smooth everything over with his soft tongue was the reply will not lie to me if he has done wrong he will admit it when i ask him the direct question exclaimed aunt unable to the railway its herself longer if that is your final decision you and i are done forever all that has made was left to you years ago by his will but i will have it altered this very day our money shall never go to the wife or children of a man like that while they cling to him with such obstinacy do you hear you will never get a penny from us so the new will was made and all knew it before twenty four hours as they knew almost everything else that should have been kept secret thought little and cared little about it she had never been in want of money enough for her moderate needs and aunt s threat had for her very little significance what she did think of night and day was her husband for whom she had developed a more absorbing passion than ever since these charges were brought against him she could not deny that his conduct had been most peculiar that he himself for very long periods and wrote seldom and briefly but she had always accepted his explanations that business affairs were pressing and that his time was taken up with things of moment which he could not well neglect there had been times when she had doubted whether he loved her as much as a man should love his wife but it was incredible that another woman had been given the affection that she had been denied still the story that her aunt had brought determined her to learn the truth at whatever cost if had been guilty she would leave him but first this must be proved beyond either by his own confession or other positive evidence at this period she had only two sources of consolation one was her child tea the other was husband s the little girls were growing prettier and more intelligent every day she felt the greatest pride in them though it was now mingled with a sort of terror as she thought of a possible future when she should have to tell them that their father had been a wicked man from whom she had to flee looked remarkably like him and though she had her mother s dark eyes and hair bore an resemblance to the the elder child with a perception far beyond her years was quick to notice the melancholy that had come over her mother and to extend her sympathies why is it that you never smile any more mamma she said is it because papa does not come hush child hush answered the mother frightened that such a thought should find in the little brain wound her arms around her mother s neck and kissed her gently i dreamed of him last night mamma he was on a big ship and coming right towards me and when he came near i waved my handkerchief and cried out to him but he did not see me and his ship went sailing on but dreams do not mean anything for i dreamed once that i was dead and lying in a and when i awoke you were bending over and kissing me said very little about anything she kept to her amusements all day long being as well satisfied when she was alone as when she had a companion if talked to her about their papa she would shake her head carelessly no me doesn t know any papa she would say me never seen im came every day for since haunting thb railway ton had left town he saw no need for special his sympathy for mrs continued to increase as he noticed the sadness which now marked her every mood and expression at times he felt so against her husband that he could him with a good will and again he hardly knew which of them to pity most at these latter times he used to feel that his friend was to a who upon a desert when an that is his by right lies within a hundred paces he had seen enough of to know that he was far from being a happy man much of his sadness laid to what he called his doctrines but he thought a wife like ought to be able to bring light into the face of any man even a rank bachelor as he was it seemed to him little less than a crime to cast aside the love of such a woman and he felt that the effect must

0Arthur Conan Doyle

fall heavily upon the head of the s position was a very strange one there was so much that he wanted to do and so little that he could accomplish he had come there at first from motives of mere curiosity and the course that he afterwards adopted grew upon him unawares the change in all the habits of a lifetime astonished but did not dismay him he believed in the first place that was not he believed all that had told him of the purity of their relations and he felt that there was no such chasm to bridge as if the opposite had been true if he could show the full value of the treasure he had neglected there was great reason to hope that he would assume the right position at last g he used to picture to himself the united family the happy wife the fond husband and father and at such times he used to wonder why his own heart grew sick within him and why he felt like from the place where all this good result had grown from his unselfish efforts wrote to quite a month at least certainly much oftener than he did to his wife s answers were all from new york where he sent them to his and dealt solely with the ordinary affairs of the day when a letter came to him dated at boston and stating that had already arrived in america he was somewhat surprised as he had not expected him quite so soon it made him a little nervous too as he reflected that the must now be very near he was glad was in the country of course he was for had he not been hoping all the summer for his speedy return the sooner he reached the sooner the work of reconciliation could be begun but something was the matter with the he grew paler and neglected his meals and he began to haunt the neighborhood of the railroad station there was one train from the east that stopped at at about ten o clock in the morning and another at about eight at night all the other trains from that direction dashed contemptuously by the little village as if they had something of more importance to attend to than its insignificant interests went regularly to each of these trains thinking it best to welcome his friend at the threshold of the town he paced the platform sometimes half w hour before the train was due according t ov the printed posted on the walls of the wait ing room ho heard the of the carriages in the distance the shrill scream of the a mile away the roar of the approaching mass the hissing of the steam at night he saw the huge light come bearing down upon him like an demon there was nearly always somebody who alighted the mail bag was thrown off a trunk or two and a few express the conductor cried all aboard the wheels again and the long serpent vanished around the bend he went to the station for days and days and saw this repeated like a dream that comes and goes and never changes he saw this always but there was never any as the long time went by he grew bitter again was at boston five hours or so away from his wife after months of absence and did not think it worth his while to pay her even a brief visit it was even worse than this for showed in response to his hints that she believed her husband still in europe and had no intimation of the date when he might be expected it was growing outrageous it was becoming chapter o ground one day in one of his walks about the town he met miss he knew her well enough to bow to her after the fashion which recognized all people after the third street meeting bill husband s he had never spoken to her nor she to him time however she halted in the path and fixed her dark eyes upon him looking as she leaned on her heavy cane like some old about to a spell over an unlucky stop a minute young man she said in tone very like a command i wish to speak to you he paused not displeased at the occurrence for he thought she might have something to say worth his hearing he knew that she was mrs s aunt and landlord of the house had told him of the prevailing concerning the new will you are a friend of she said in a grating voice i know mr was his reply and you know his wife my niece w slightly not as well as i do her husband he added with a vague idea that it was better to tell her that before she proceeded much farther she peered into his face in a like way did he send you to he send me here certainly not why does he not come home very very black were her eyes at that moment and he did not know what to say i know it is not his habit to make long calls when he comes she went on the most he has done in the last three years is to arrive on the morning train and leave at night but it is more than six months since he was here last and he not only does not come but he does not write you are his friend and you probably know his reasons regarded the old woman with ground degree of curiosity he could not get angry with her as he felt he ought if i knew anything about mr s affairs i certainly should not reveal them to you he said you are not i fear any too friendly in your feelings towards him miss struck her cane savagely upon the ground ought

0Arthur Conan Doyle

i to be friendly with him she cried has he acted in a way to deserve my friendship do you think he came here and took from my house a girl who was to all my daughter almost without so much as asking if he might he married her when she was only eighteen a mere child who could not have known her mind and then the old lady choked between her wrath and her sorrow and then he left her within a week and she has hardly seen him enough since to know whether she has a husband or not i suppose you think i ought to be very fond of that man and to love my niece better because she preferred him to her and kin who took her when a child and would have left her all they had as if she were their own you are his friend and you can speak for him is he justified in going away for the better part of a year and then returning to america without even sending her a letter to say he is here she knew that too did she i am not the keeper of mr s conscience he replied his conscience she retorted you would have a fine time finding it i think he arrived in boston three weeks ago i know you see now is he coming here again or was his last call a final one his wife knows all about his conduct she has the c her husband s very name and address of the woman for whom he deserts her then thought he ought to interfere i know the lady to whom you refer he said and i think you her she and mr a magazine together i am confident that their connection goes no further miss s eyes flashed again tell that to some one besides me she exclaimed with tell it to his wife probably that is what you are here for you can make her believe the moon is made of green cheese but you can t stuff such nonsense into a hard old head like mine she shook the hard old head until the black bonnet threatened to fall off i have given mj niece every chance she continued after a pause if she prefers the sort of life she is living and the sure result that must follow to her father s sister and brother very well it is an old and true saying that he who makes the bed must lie in it when the time comes that he leaves her entirely and she is and comes to me for help i won t even give her a crust no i will stand and let her starve she makes the choice with her eyes open flushed a little mrs will never come to you as a beggar he said himself up what will she do demanded miss when she is left with her two children to support he lowered his voice if the time ever comes miss as god grant it never may when your niece needs pecuniary id i shall make it my duty and pleasure to relieve oh dangerous ground her i have a large fortune for which i have had as yet but little use it will be open to her at such a time the surveyed the author of this statement with more interest than before her gaze wandered over his form from toe to crown be care ful she said you are on ry dan ous ground how is it dangerous your words betray you sir she replied i do not understand then it is time you did do you think in the event you speak of that you could retain the friendship of mr if he knew you gave money to his wife it would shiver his good feelings towards you as a hammer would shiver glass after he had entirely deserted and failed to supply her with necessities asked yes in such a case i should not be long in making my choice said he i should have to sacrifice my and think only of my duty nonsense said miss why should you have a duty to perform towards the deserted wife of more than towards any other woman look out for yourself young man your feet are on ground that is very dangerous he felt the force of what she said and hesitated before replying then her voice took on a kinder tone there is something in your face that i like i am inclined to judge you differently from any man i know but let me tell you candidly what i should think of anyone else in your place i should her husband s that he was standing by the tree ready to catch the fruit when the bough fell beneath the repeated blows of the man whose duty it was to preserve it he was betrayed into giving her more of his confidence that he had intended heaven knows i would do anything to prevent the of that bough he exclaimed i believe you she replied and for this reason i tell you still that you are standing on a no man ever successfully arranged a difficulty between a husband and wife without being himself a sufferer you cannot unite these mill stones but if you could you would be ground to pieces between them i am not afraid he responded earnestly miss searched his face again with her restless eyes i tell you as a friend you have stayed too long in she said you can do no good here and you may do much harm how can i do harm and to whom to yourself at least to your friend s wife possibly i can hardly think that your interest in her welfare is genuine he answered growing suddenly red after what i have heard you say to day it to me likely

0Arthur Conan Doyle

that mrs may need a friend and i am sure she will never find a truer one than i miss listened with more patience than could have been expected but you ought to know she replied that no man can show such friendship as you call it to a woman whose relations with her husband are at fault without doing more injury than he can ever oh repair i am out of patience with my niece it is true but i should not like to see a worse thing happen to her than she has suffered already you understand i do not wish her good name he cried out in pain as if she had pierced his heart with a knife miss not so fast she exclaimed interrupting him i do not mean that i should have any doubt of my niece s honor under any circumstances i think i know her well enough for that but the of public gossip no one can stop you can never convince the world that it is an innocent proceeding to take the side of a woman in conflict with her husband or to give her aid after has separated from him what must i do then he demanded growing desperate for she seemed to be weaving a net around him she struck her stick again with a characteristic motion upon the walk leave go on your travels cease with what you cannot help if i were her brother he began but you are not there is no position in the affair that can be explained if tongues begin to wag he thought it over for a minute and then returned to the argument there is force in what you say miss but it would have more weight with me if it came from some other source just consider the case as it presents itself to my mind are so angry with your nice for continuing to live as mr s husband s friend that you openly declare all relations over between you common says that you have already altered your will so as to cut her off with nothing you have told me that you would let her starve in case he deserted her if she applied to you for aid and she seems to have no other near relations to help her and you have done more than this you have caused her to suspect her husband s and have done your best to a collision whenever he comes home now i have no selfish motive in whatever i may do i have no to foster no to carry to the bitter end both mr and mrs are my esteemed friends if they become happily united my mission will be finished if worse comes to worse and either of them either of them miss need my assistance they shall have it i have given you sensible advice she answered you must be your own judge about following it a man may smoke a cigar in a powder magazine for months without doing any harm but if a spark does touch the powder it is then too late for repentance with these words she turned abruptly and left him there he walked slowly back to his hotel pondering upon her strange warning and trying to weigh the and of her suggestions he had known for a long time that there was something unusual in the way he regarded the affair now the matter was presented to him as it appeared to an on not in judgment to be sure but capable of forming an opinion and knowing what others might do and think above all things he would not wish to cause suspicion to rest on mrs and he realized that there was truth in the that ho had just heard on dangerous ground ft it he remained much longer he might do her much more harm than he could possibly do good he began to stare the idea of departure in the face and when he comprehended how much it meant to him to leave and how little he cared for the rest of the world his spirits sank very low he went as usual at eight o clock to the station and he saw as usual the train arrive and depart without the object of his search he would have been greatly surprised had it been otherwise for he had quite given up expecting to see him when the train rolled off he walked over to mrs s resolved to tell that he was going she received him as she always did now with a sad smile of welcome and he saw that she had recently been weeping he dared not ask what caused those tears he led the conversation into ordinary topics for a few minutes in hopes to see her countenance but in vain at last despairing of reaching the point by he came to it directly i do not know as you will see me again very soon after to night he said i think i shall be obliged to go away to morrow i am sorry she responded with a nervous start a i wish you could stay a little longer i expect my my husband very soon he has written said another tremor passed through her no she answered never thinking of but mr the told me that he saw him in boston yesterday said he had been very busy since his arrival but that he should come as as possible you you have not heard r her husband s he was ashamed to lie to those honest yes i have heard he admitted but i did not know how to tell you i do not know how to tell you anything he proceeded his voice shaking i have wanted to help you and i have not known what to do and i am going away she struggled to command herself and succeeded though it

0Arthur Conan Doyle

was a sore task how long has he been in the country she asked three weeks he answered and at boston all the time i think so his eyes could not leave the carpet his face was on fire mr she said bravely you told me a few weeks ago that the stories about my husband were to the best of your belief do you still say that he bowed a mute assent w then why why i ask has he stayed three weeks in boston without even sending word to me that he had left europe i ask you as his friend what explanation he can make felt his head swimming i do not know i cannot tell you he stammered i believe him of crime but i cannot account for his actions you ought not to ask me these questions and i ought not to answer you she had an exterior of wonderful coolness as she heard and spoke excuse me i have no knowledge of the ways of the world i have only lived in i do not know how much i ought to confide in you but this i will say he must explain everything to me to madness or i will never consent to go on bearing the name of wife to him hush he said do not say these things i am going here is my card with an address where mail will always reach me if you ever need me understand need me write and i will respond do not think i want to go but it has become my imperative duty i shall think of you every hour if i ever utter a prayer it will be for you when the right time comes you will see me again but now i must go she buried her face in her hands and did not look up as he left the room all the light seemed to have faded out of her life opened the gate with a shaking hand and heard it latch with its sharp click behind him before he had taken twenty steps he met a man who barred his progress stop said the man i have a word to say to you it was chapter xiv stung to society has thrown such bars and gates around the possession of that species of personal property known as women that every on domestic preserves should know well the perils he may encounter will do for a chicken thief but bullets are to be the correct thing for a husband s i though thoroughly conscious of the of his purpose in all that he had done felt a chill similar to that which the of a revolver to the neck when he heard his name called in that strange manner and recognized the voice as that of the man whose wife he had just left he knew that the color had forsaken his cheek but he resolved to put on the best front he could ah is it you he said holding out his hand did not offer to accept the welcome he had a constrained look as could plainly be seen in the fairly clear atmosphere of the evening for three or four seconds studied the face before him and at the end of that time he knew that a physical encounter at least was not one of the things to be feared but what to call the sentiment that gave the peculiar appearance to his friend s face he could not tell i have offered you my hand he said at last and you have refused it as i have done nothing to deserve this i ask for the reason when replied his voice and manner were those of a person who wishes to hasten the business before him he spoke quietly almost at times and his gaze was fixed alternately on the ground on the adjacent trees and on the sky everywhere in fact except upon his companion you ask an explanation he began well i do ot intend to give one for i consider it a i know how you have passed the summer you have not acted the part of a friend and the best way is to cease pretending to be one still i am not here to find as much fault as you might think natural i do feel outraged you can well believe that but to madness perhaps i am also a little to blame you knew my secret you knew that i had a wife who was very young quite inexperienced and whom i undoubtedly neglected you had seen her photograph which showed that she was comely i presume it was an opportunity that you could not resist bit his lips until the blood came he folded his arms and looked at the speaker without a word then proceeded some men would say most men in fact that i ought to kill you i do not care for their opinion i have and standards of my own when i heard of this i had a good while to think it over and i found that there were two men who must be tried together i was one of the two the guilt began with me years ago when i married this girl without loving her and it has grown ever since through my constant neglect i said to myself this harry is a pleasure he has no serious business in life the course he has taken is the one that ought to have been expected it was outrageous surely to select the home of his bosom friend for but many another has given him a precedent i left my fold if some wolf has entered i ought rather to blame my own than to curse the conduct of a creature that has after all merely acted out its nature so i came down here to night not to assault you not even to

0Arthur Conan Doyle

say ugly things but to ask you what you propose to do that there may be no misunderstanding hereafter s tightly folded could not conceal the agitation that shook him he shut his teeth more tightly together and said nothing th simplest way is for me to continue t absent her husband myself until the legal period of desertion hei to a divorce continued i prefer that the blame should fall on me alone for the sake of the children i will not consent however to endure a charge as i have never been guilty of any and care very much about my character as an honest man in the meantime if you will excuse a suggestion i think you ought not to stay so much in if wishes to leave here and accompany you to some distant place say in the south or west where you are both unknown it will not be so objectionable i do not pretend to dictate but people are sad as soon as she gets her papers that will her connection with me i hope i hope that you will do your best to repair the wrong you have done he seemed to wait as if for a word from the he addressed but there was none he then con in the same quiet strain looking at the of trees across the street there are the children of course she will want them both if i had proceeded in the ordinary way i could have taken them from her but the last thing i wish in the world is revenge i will provide whatever she thinks is right toward their support i suppose some people think i do not love my children knowing that i have been so much from them that is not true perhaps she has an idea perhaps some one has told her that i shall marry again i do not think so there was a time in my younger days when i believed miss s love necessary to my happiness that time has passed as i have told you all our relations have been as pure as could be imagined we have been friends and are till so but no more if you will tell this to madness some time when you are together i will thank you i do not wish to increase the regrets that will be inseparable from her new position for i know that she has a conscience that will not let her rest content but it is only justice to me that she should hear this a by would have thought the two men were discussing some very ordinary affair spoke in a as if he were arranging something for a third party there is the house he indicated it with a motion of his thumb that is hers of course the furniture and everything in it she is welcome to i hope she will go away soon and not stay to hear the talk that will be made or to reply to questions if she is willing that i should see the children sometimes she can write to me saying when and where if she had rather i would not speak to them i would like to go where i can occasionally see them pass i hope she will not speak too harshly of me to them it is all very strange i cannot comprehend her leading this new life she always seemed so innocent i trust that you will use her well she is very sweet and gentle you had best not take her into society after your your marriage even in a new country where you are unknown she would not shine there her place is in some quiet like he paused and his eyes for a moment across the valley i am saying a good many things pretty rapidly but i have to speak as they occur to me has an aunt here a miss whose heir she ought to be i hear that the woman has recently changed her will because of her hatred to me if she is told that to get a divorce she will probably make another will like the first of course ou would have to keep in the background it it something worth saving over a hundred thousand dollars i am a in my views but under present conditions people must have money don t forget to speak to her of this and to urge it upon her she is careless in such matters she can use the money to the children the younger one will be very bright if i am not mistaken the elder is a quiet little thing very much like her mother or rather like what i used to think her mother was shall give her as much as she wishes but the aunt s money ought to be looked after yes it ought to be looked after he seemed lost in thought for a moment and added that is all i believe unless you think of something for the first time he met s gaze and was evidently startled to see the anger that filled it you you do think of something said he yes i do think of something said with thick utterance i think that you are the most contemptible of all living creatures i think that i ought to put my hands on your throat and choke your miserable soul out of you dan ell s surprise was evident but he responded apparently quite softly softly the idea of your coming here continued the other with this silly pack of sentences based as you well know on the ever invented in hell the idea that you can stand there like a cur and utter such vile to against the purest noblest woman that heaven could give to such a wretch as you to pretend to my face that you believe me guilty of which you ought to

0Arthur Conan Doyle

blush to of t thus your devoted wife the mother of your children god how could even for another woman so have changed you still seemed unmoved you deny everything then he said i wa hardly prepared for that and yet it did occur to me that you might do so but your violence is ill timed i assure you that i have proofs proofs exclaimed in a tone of mingled rage and astonishment indeed yes plenty of them you cannot wish to drive me to produce them as i have told you i much prefer the way but if you compel mt i shall bring forth my witnesses turned toward his and the word liar in his face he could not bear to touch him and yet it seemed impossible to resist it is evident that i shall have to tell you said with a that seemed when compared to the heat shown by his companion you have been in for months and have visited my wife almost every evening admitted replied but does character count for nothing is the kind of woman who cannot meet her friends in her own residence under the roof that covers her children without suspicion say nothing about me leave me out of the question do you claim that this is true of your wife shook his head slowly her husband s friend it is useless harry i did not wish for th scene you and she have driven out in the forest and met there time and again you have been watched and the children were they not always with her the children replied are very young lifted his clenched fist i can bear no more of this he cried raising his voice you will force me to doing that which i shall be sorry for there must be ways to get rid of your present wife and secure the one you seek for without this is a woman whom no temptation could persuade to to you or to anyone who has poisoned your ears with these tales i repeat that they are lies lies i came here and found her i hav e visited at her house i have sometimes met her when out driving and we have stopped to talk but never the suspicion of a thought that you and all the world might not have known has passed between us i am about to leave a minute before i met you i said good bye to her as i was going away in the morning every that you make against her is and i cannot trust myself to listen to you any longer let me suggest that you calm yourself was the quiet reply you are excited for a perfectly innocent man the extraordinary interest that you take in defending my wife would be considered by some as in itself suspicious all the affection that had learned to feel for swept over him hi hand dropped to his side and his voice trembled to madness a i do take an interest in her he said earnestly i have learned what a treasure it is that you have cast aside i have hoped and prayed for the day when you would return that i might try to persuade you to treat her in a manner more with her worth it seemed to me that i could show you your great mistake she is not the uninteresting woman you have represented her with a little cultivation she would adorn any circle i have seen the sweetness of her i have noted the tender way in which she always speaks of you never even by complaining of your conduct she has known for some time that you have returned from europe though you were too busy with your affairs at boston to write her a word and all that she has done has been to excuse you and hope each day for your advent never a murmur has escaped her though there were traces of tears that she could not hide and a of spirits that of the loyal heart that was breaking the husband listened attentively she was doubtless indebted to you for the information that i was so near he suggested by no means i held my peace fearing to add to a burden that i could see was becoming already too great one of the the whom she told her of meeting you and when she mentioned it to me i tried to pretend ignorance but could not her aunt miss knew all about it half the town for what i know she was aware that you with me and when she told me what she had learned i could no longer deny it let his gaze fall on the patch of grass which bordered the walk at his feet her husband s perhaps she knows more he said slowly u perhaps she has heard of of miss she has really and for that knowledge she was not i presume indebted in any way to you on the contrary i have done everything to shield you smile if you will i am not smiling you are incredulous however naturally then i will tell you no more returned angrily if my reputation for truth me nothing i am foolish to waste words on you let me only repeat before i leave that your wife is the purest woman i ever met and that in her as you do you are casting aside a pearl the like of which you will not find again i had hoped to see you restored to her in the intimate relations which she has a right to demand and expect after the glimpses of your inner self which you have given me to night i can only hope that you will carry out your purpose of her i can conceive no worse fate for such a woman than to spend a lifetime in your company

0Arthur Conan Doyle

he had turned on his heel and taken a step away when the branches of the hedge that enclosed the were parted and s face appeared it was a face white with excitement and she looked more like a spirit than a living soul both men started at the unexpected apparition have heard every word she said in a voice that was full of surprising firmness and i have something to say to both of you will you come into the house was astonished even more than to at her manner at once so gentle and so commanding he did not like to the scene but he thought it the better way to and he started toward the gate without speaking waited a second wishing to escape if possible are you sure you want me also he asked her i want you both he waited no longer but followed at the steps of the house met them walk as quietly as you can she said and speak only in low tones i would like not to disturb th servants they into the parlor with the of each of the men felt how much this action increased the of the situation having closed the door softly mrs faced her companions with great self possession my upon you was wholly accidental she said addressing her husband i had gone to my room in which a window happened to be open i heard your voice and i could not help listening when i discovered whom you were talking with i thought it would be a pleasant thing to surprise you it was only when i was near enough to catch the drift of your conversation that i found it advisable to pause she looked at him hoping that he would say something but he did not stopping to take a deeper breath she continued i have been a child all my life tonight in one moment i became a woman you wish to leave me it shall be so were you to ask it now with all the apologies you could make i never be a wife to you again i will g tr m her husband s friend as soon as i can get ready and i will take the children with me if you wish to help support them i presume you will have a right to do so i do not know how bad you consider me when you think i first became but you do not doubt i suppose that you are the father of and for the first time a of deadly pain crossed s features no no he cried in a hoarse whisper there was no need of saying that there was a question i meant to put to you she went on but i no longer care to have it answered when my aunt told me that you were living in boston with another woman when she went so far as to me for my blind faith in you i said to her will not lie to me f will ask him but now it makes no difference you have doubted me and whether you have been true or false i care not for eight years i have professed to be your wife you know how you have treated me you know how i have borne it i have had no friends no intimate acquaintances this summer mr came here he has been a brother to me never anything more in word deed or i believe in thought he has acted like a brother to you also he told me that the stories about you were now there is only one thing more you have made against my honor to night which will forever divide you and me i only ask you to say before you go whether you still believe them was powerfully affected by his wife s words he had never heard her utter anything beyond the most ordinary expressions and her new eloquence to positively astounded him was this the woman whose ignorance he had so long pitied and despised in spite of her extreme he saw also that she had a beauty of face and a dignity of carriage that he had never noticed she was standing as were also both the others and her full dark eyes did not as he looked up at her if you deny it he began i do not she interrupted i cannot stoop to deny a thing that has never entered my thoughts that would be as impossible to me as the murder of my children aside from what i may or may not say candidly do you believe i have been i want your answer he looked up again but could not endure the gaze which she fixed upon him then he looked at in whose face was pictured the most intense sympathy for the accused woman there was no guilt in either countenance and yet he had heard i have been told he began again excuse me but you are not answering me what can i do he broke out in desperation when they come to me with witnesses when they pile up the most evidence i have told your friend here i have told mr that i do not wish to accuse you in public i am willing to go farther than that and say i never will accuse you i prefer i have said i preferred to let all the of our separation fall on me i am sure i do not see what more i could offer you would not like to be brought into court in a suit for divorce and confronted with evidence i would exclaimed his wife earnestly oh you do not what you are saying husband s i da if there is any way it can be accomplished i shall insist on it if there is any person however contemptible who dares accuse me of i

0Arthur Conan Doyle

wish to be brought face to face with him before some that can decide between us i shall then be able to leave the court room with either my guilt or my innocence established to day some is abroad with invented stories i cannot put my hand upon him he can talk and not only you but possibly others will listen to him i entreat you bring this matter into court without delay i want to know who it is that charges me me with she drew herself up until she seemed the of the three and no american judge or jury would have hesitated a moment in her an innocent woman i repeat said somewhat confused that i did not wish for any scene it seems unnecessary to say all of these things i came here ready to do anything in reason for i had with my first anger and conquered it i am aware that i have been much to blame but i believed in you and was only led to doubt by testimony that i had testimony too she answered and my reply was i will ask him that is not the usual way of deciding things he replied but if you have evidence against me it is your duty to then it is also yours you are wiser than i in the ways of the law and it is for you to begin her calmness disconcerted him i do not wish to injure your good name he i bad much rather protect it if i can and to then there are others to be thought of your self she knew that he referred to the children she leaned an arm on the mantel marble by which she stood feeling suddenly the need of support and by a strange coincidence the door opened at that moment and the little ones were seen peering in dressed in their night clothes oh i knew it was my papa cried the elder starting to run toward him it is my darling papa come back to us again the mother put out her hands and drew the child against her skirts before she reached her destination it was an act and one that she knew on a moment s reflection she could not defend looked up into her mother s face you are not dressed you should not have com in like this without permission but i heard his voice and he has been gone so long exclaimed the child herself in tb folds of her mother s dress then she gazed at the entire party in turn and knew that something unusual was the matter came slowly along her hands clasped be hind her her father made a movement to attract her to himself but she walked straight to and paused at his side why it is papa cried ashamed of the conduct of her sister me don t know im was the positive reply m knows mis r he tales me to wide i think it is time i should go said in a tone of distress indeed i must say and good bye again in a few moments responded mrs then to the children you must run back to bed it is too late for you to be up hesitated clinging to the skirts t i kiss my papa once before i go she asked her voice full of tears no was the firm reply you must obey me i am not pleased with you for coming in without asking leave dan ell s color had fled he took hold of the back of a chair to steady himself do you refuse my children leave to kiss me he i do she answered but they can kiss him f he indicated who had stooped in response to s fingers and was receiving the baby lips on his cheek yes if they wish lost control of himself then all i say is he began wait a minute commanded his wife raising her voice they must not hear you she disappeared for an instant with the little ones during her absence the husband like a man of reason you have gone too far he exclaimed when she returned you have extinguished all the mercy that i had for you i shall make your shame public and compel you to surrender the children you are no longer fit to own try it her eyes flashed when a court says they are yours you may take them away until then they are in my charge and your touch shall not them to i beg you both to remember where you are exclaimed speaking for the second time i know where i am retorted i am in my own house where i can say what i please in your own house echoed the wife he bowed i beg your pardon he said i forgot it was a present to you from me i believe well i will go you and your lover are welcome to it strode before him pale with anger insult me no more he cried between his teeth i shall leave to morrow as i told you i am now going to the hotel mrs even to please you i cannot remain longer my presence is evidently only an good night saying this hastily descended to the street as he opened the gate he caught sight of george who stood near wearing an smile then it flashed upon him all at once who had told the which had led to the scenes of the evening stung to sudden madness struck the man a blow that him to the earth like a log and without pausing to see whether he rose or not he walked off in the direction of the house ebb husband s chapter xv s if ever a man was uncomfortable harry was so when he reached his room that night and dropped into a chair to muse

0Arthur Conan Doyle

for hours on the situation in which he found himself he never thought of going to bed sleep was impossible and it would have been useless to go through the labor of he had hoped to accomplish so much and all his efforts had only resulted in making everything worse than it was before in fact his interference had the very difficulties he had wanted to it was true that and his wife had been all the time standing on a powder mine but their well meaning friend had touched it off and witnessed the explosion reconciliation was now out of the question neither of the interested parties wished for it each believed the other guilty of all that was evil harsh words had been exchanged which could never be forgotten both were bent on settling their in that most frightful on earth a divorce court i have long held the belief i who write these lines that there should be some means of separating married couples who have reached a stage where their union becomes a curse without its being necessary to charge either of them with all the commands of the or all the of a state the bitterness of the average suit for f marriage is well known there s no that ah s t truth is frequently sacrificed to attain the end and that are often ruined which should be left two persons can present themselves with little or no before a clergyman justice of the peace mayor or and in a few minutes they are in the most important of all bonds when time has passed and this pair have discovered their total to each other as a certain proportion oi them are sure to do why should they not be able to go to some competent judge not with of assault desertion or but hand in hand and ask to have the instrument that tied them set aside we have tried marriage they might say with perfect good nature to the magistrate and we cannot agree as man and wife should in case we are obliged to continue in we shall quarrel we shall separate relieve us we pray you while we are still friends and the judge should answer them put your to this document which your petition in six months from to day if you are in mind come again and the writing of divorce shall be yours a terrible suggestion cries some one who reads these lines half the marriages would be if the process were made sc easy but if that be true my friend it is unnecessary to argue further in behalf of my proposition the angels look down on no sight than a home occupied by people the wife is familiar with curses and if not with blows and yet she goes on bearing children who grow up in a hell tor the making of which they are not responsible one terrible mistake blast the whole life of the father perhaps ear of or the her husband s of religion keep them for a long time from applying for dissolution of the painful tie but at last they stand in a witness box with the laughing world in the spectators seats and recall every unkind expression every deed of years the newspapers tell the story as as brightest writers can record it and the decree is entered even with this terrible method one marriage in every eight is broken now in a state that has earned the title of the land of steady habits the of easier divorce might as reasonably oppose the of a finger which has become by a deadly soon the hand will feel the effect then the wrist then the the surgeon will come and remove the entire limb or perhaps neglect it until the patient s system is so that death ends his pain thought for hours but could see nothing in the gloomy horizon that promised a ray of hope mrs would keep her word and leave of that he felt certain whatever she did he must see her no more should he write her a letter of farewell he felt that it would be the best thing he could do was to absent himself and cease all connection with her affairs for the present at least miss had been right in one thing if in nothing else it was impossible for him to aid her niece without exciting suspicion if this had been true before it was doubly so now when the exasperated husband would probably lose no time in bringing his name into the suit he was about to he seemed quite hopeless in the present emergency it it was cowardly to fly it was also to remain after long consideration he decided he would go at once to boston and lay jim case before a prominent lawyer there whom he had known for many years he looked at his watch and saw that it was half past two o clock he began to pack his baggage to divert his mind while engaged in this occupation several were heard at his door so low at first that he paused before answering in doubt whether they really at all when they were repeated a second time slightly louder than before he opened the and found landlord waiting there sh said the landlord putting his finger to his lips and stepping over the threshold he shut the door behind him without a of noise ah you are packing up are you he said in a whisper as he saw the clothing scattered about i thought you would be getting ready but i came up to make sure don t you be any afraid of me he went on noticing s astonishment i ll stick to you through thick an thin the best thing for you to do is to let me drive you over to war and the train there looked the

0Arthur Conan Doyle

landlord over and then surveyed himself in the mirror to make sure that he was awake will you be so kind as to tell me what you are talking about he inquired sh said mr again don t talk too there s no train out of before eight o clock and the be after you before that if he don t find you here he ll drive over to sure as you re living if you re ready in fifteen minutes i ll put you and your bags into my and you can get the new express at war where there s a with the northern if they found out i took you that won t prove i her husband s friend the reason for yer off i don t care a rap any way taint criminal to give a man a ride as i knows on an by i like you an i did like you and i goin to see you locked up right out of my house if i can help it though all of this was in a whisper in the dead silence of the room each word was perfectly clear to the person to whom it was addressed but he was still quite as much in the dark as ever as to what it was all about mr he said i may be very dull or very stupid but i do not in the least understand this who is it that wants to lock me up and why the landlord opened his mouth very wide wall now he said in an injured tone you ought to have more confidence in me than that i don t ask you to admit anything you were when i came up and somebody have to drive you over if you ve got any one else please to tell me interrupted impatiently why anybody needs to drive me over to or anywhere else i intended to leave town on the eight o clock train but i know of nothing that should cause me to take such methods as you propose the landlord s expression changed to something like admiration you think it s best to stay and have it out then he said oh don t bother me cried i tell you for the third time that i don t understand you why can t you answer a plain question what is there that i should run away mr evidently thought this the moat man he had ever encountered tm s you wasn t down to g house last night i s he said yes i was and didn t come home and there wa n t no row and that george who used to live here didn t meet you as you come away and you didn t have no blows with him s face showed that he comprehended at last do you mean to say that he is contemptible enough to want to have me arrested for that he asked wall no replied the landlord slowly he ain t done about it that is he ain t likely to do much about it just now neither i guess he was found where you left him they carried him into mrs s and he ain t spoke but the night watch as found him heard about you bein there and as how it was probably you as hit im an he s gone off to the who lives six or eight miles up the mountain an if we stand here much longer he ll be down with a pair of irons and clap you into the lock up i guess you understand it now an ll appreciate the need of lively was much disturbed by this news he had not thought of since he dealt him that sudden blow and had had no idea till now that his hurt could be of a serious nature how did you hear this he asked jim my come to wake me up an tell me replied mr you see jim happened to be along with the watch when he found an he helped to carry him into the house mrs was still up and she and the did her husband s all they could for him till dr come jim hung round and heard the doctor say about of the brain an that such cases was very when they came out the watch never said to jim but went and up his and started up the mountain road jim he was goin home but he hid till he see the watch start off toward s and then he legged it here and woke me up in a i like that he says you an i don t want no harm to happen to him so if you ll rouse him up i ll be the mare and have everything ready i flung on my clothes as soon as i could get into em an here i am this was a pretty kettle of fish to be accused of an assault at least and perhaps a murder tried to think what it was best to do all his instincts the proposal to run away but on the other hand he did not relish the prospect of being shut up in a miserable country lock up or to be held for trial perhaps during long months while the question of s recovery lay in doubt he decided that it was better on the whole to sink his pride and put a long distance between himself and if the man dies he reflected i can come back and defend myself if he gets well he has got no more than he deserved i did not mean to hurt him seriously then he addressed himself to the landlord i will be ready in five minutes here you can take this bag now and i will be down as soon as possible with the other one mr

0Arthur Conan Doyle

looked at his watch there no time to he said briefly s we can jest about the train if nothing breaks down don t put too many into yer packing nor be too to see that yer hair s parted straight yer won t be likely to meet no ladies between here an war come down the back stairs and don t make no noise when arrived at the stable the bay mare was ready jim seized his and placed it under the seat with the other jim had received many an extra dollar from that summer for the fine care he had given the latter s pet saddle horse but he drew back when an attempt was made to press a twenty dollar bill into his hand no i thank you not this time he said positively i wouldn t have you think i done this for money you used me mr and i d do a good deal more n this to get you out of a scrape i know that but you had better take it jim was the pleasant reply no thank you insisted the man away look out goin down the steep hill at mr if they come here i ll throw em off the good bye and luck go with you be s chapter off the scent the mare bounded off with quick short steps and the found themselves making splendid time on the road to the the train is due at said the landlord consulting his watch but sometimes it s a little late we ll make it either way have you made up your mind how fur you ll go before you leave the cars why to new york of course you might as well stay in as to do that more n likely an officer be there for you let me see started for s about two o clock he ll there at three and back at half past four sure with the carriage they ll drive to the hotel and find you gone by the time they ve got that through their heads it ll be five then they ll go to which ll take till quarter of six that ll catch the other train an they ll see you re not there by ix o clock they ll come to the conclusion that you went from war an they ll the out of bed and telegraph the new york police to you it s a close and you d better not it replied that he saw the value of the advice and would profit by it i s pose you re not used to this business pursued the landlord as he his reins it s a kind of science i ve done of it in my time it wouldn t sound well in the village but i t mind you under off the s ht ihe circumstances th war i did a httle business on my own account that took me through the lines if they d caught me i d a swung for but twas table an a man must take chances there s enough bad things about wars an if there s any good in em at all why not take advantage of it i one jest like this one when a fired a shot at me in the woods near i was along in the inch bv inch when pop went his gun how i did run i d been back to before now if i hadn t let up you see when the got pretty large i and went out to save my country i got all told that time but i didn t like the job after i got into it so i cleared out an north they was higher yet when i got back to new york an the fever to help this glorious union came on me too strong to resist i signed a second time for in cold cash and was sent to the mountain air there made me and i soon left ag in by that time i had formed a sort of habit an i couldn t stay nowhere i jest kept an till the war was over the landlord chuckled softly to himself as he spun this but was too much occupied with his own thoughts to make more than the reply there s war said mr as they gained the top of the hill he pointed to a village that could be seen several miles ahead i ll drive down within twenty or thirty rods of the station and then turn into a road in the woods you d better hang on till you hear the whistle to ee if anything looks suspicious then if all is safe you can aboard without any one me if there s any trouble i ll be with the mare and we ll give em a chase they won t i guess it s all right though nobody s passed us on the road and there one chance in a thousand that could have got to and round stay on the train a couple of hours and then leave it quietly and double on your track like a fox i ll never forgive you if you let em you after all i ve done i won t replied but there s something you can do for me i shall want to hear how the man gets along and i ve no one to rely on but you supposing i give you an address to write or telegraph to you could manage it so that nobody would suspect couldn t you you can bet your life on that responded the landlord leave me a false name and i ll send you word every day as long as there s need of it you can write to me safe enough if you disguise your hand on the envelope thought a minute and then

0Arthur Conan Doyle

took out his card case and wrote joseph care bank n y city handing this to mr he said send your news there and i shall not be long receiving it i cannot believe the man is hurt so much it was just one quick blow you wouldn t mind me what the row was about said mr i ve all your secrets this far and i m interested to understand it all you know sighed heavily i can t he answered the affair is the business of other people it is one of those cases where was to blame and yet where a oft the great deal of trouble must come i wish i wish you wouldn t ask me anything more there were no suspicious looking people at in fact was the only passenger who appeared on the platform and in two minutes from the time the engine halted mr saw the smoke of it disappearing in the direction of the new york state line he drove back to by a partially different road from the one on which he had come and reached his stable yard as the town clock was striking four half an hour earlier true to the time table which the landlord had and had driven up to the hotel and pulled the front bell as no one responded after a delay of a minute or more they pulled it again upon which jim emerged from the yard rubbing his eyes as if aroused from the sleep don t make such a noise he said in a low voice though in fact beyond the of the little bell the two men had been as quiet as if a funeral fc r ere in progress the ain t well he left word that he mustn t be disturbed the men left the as quietly as they could ind approached the with a mysterious air i suppose you know what we re after said n a sly wink no i ll be hanged if i do replied the well we want that mr who he that s up to mrs s jim stared at them with an expression of utter stupidity it s a nice time of night to be calls he growled daylight good enough for you her husband s friend you d had the whole house woke up in a minute more the eyed the man with a look of official pity for his ignorance it s my duty as an officer to arrest him he said dr says that may die we can t stop to think of the time of day when there s a murderer to be took if you ve got a key let us in and we ll take him off quietly if you haven t we ll have to rouse the landlord that s all the law he assumed an air of importance the law sir cannot wait the convenience of any one but that each minute might be worth much to the fugitive with the officer for some time longer he brought to bear every argument he could think of to cause delay dr he said was an old whose opinion wasn t worth a sou mr was a gentleman and ought not to be locked up on what was after all only a guess as no one pretended to have seen him strike the injured party it was a disgrace to the house to have it entered in the night time on such an errand then when swept all of these considerations aside the declared that he knew enough of law to be sure that no one could be arrested like this without a warrant and that he should advise mr to snap his fingers at the until he had such a document in his possession there s no use in talking any more said mr losing patience at last i m going to arrest that man warrant or no warrant and the sooner you open the door the better when a murder s been committed it s time to catch the murder er and it won t do to i loo long on a fine point off the if you do anything to hinder us jim i shall proceed against you for interfering with an officer in the discharge of his duty this awful threat seemed to frighten for he made only a muttered protest in reply and after more and trying of various keys he opened the door as requested and the officers went softly up the front stairs it took them but a moment to discover that their prey had flown and they returned in a state of great excitement he s gone they cried in chorus when they reached the again gone bag and baggage you don t say so exclaimed jim staring at them when did you see him last demanded the excitedly seemed to be his memory why he was here at supper last night he said i talked with him myself oh yes an he started toward the station just before eight o clock as he s been for a long time p he brightened p he took the train then shook his head in response to an inquiring look from the i tell you mrs said he was there with her husband as late as eleven o clock he s been back since and packed up you know what she said as well as i do he continued harshly left about eleven and her husband a few minutes later and she told us all she heard was her husband s voice two or three times after he passed the gate calling where are you and then his steps walking quickly down the street the men must have had their row just before that her husbands friend and th poor fellow had good reasons for not answering when called him well s he added to the consulted his watch

0Arthur Conan Doyle

whispered something to and the twain entered their again and started quickly toward they had evidently concluded that this was the most probable point for which the fugitive would make jim went back to the stable locked the door and rolled over on the floor in a of delight for fifteen minutes he kept up this peculiar amusement without stifling the sound of his laughter by pressing his coat sleeve against his mouth before his were fully under control he heard the steps of the bay mare in the yard and hastily sprang up to admit his employer yes they ve been here he said in answer to the inquiring look of the landlord he rolled the great barn doors together and fastened them while both men laid their hands to the work of the little beast i threw em completely off the scent an they ve jest started fir did you meet anybody not a soul u then help me to get this horse rubbed down and the cleaned so s won t suspect the team of being out when he returns and as soon as that s done you into the house an go to bed i told him you wasn t very well and they t wake you up oh it was such fun i ve been fit to kill ever them two great like and imagine that all the law in the country lay on their shoulders and a they proceeded with their work jim off the sob jt landlord word for word all the conversation that had passed between him and the officials the was hastily cleaned and rolled back behind others that had been washed on the previous evening the mare was rubbed until almost the last drop of moisture had left her hair and the harness was thrown under a heap of hay to gain time i hope he ll away all right said jim when the work was finished never fear replied the landlord i m goin to write to him every day or two he gave me an address a quick suspicion came into s mind he looked at his employer sharply if the man dies there ll be a reward offered he suggested yes i s pose there will a big one p likely an you could get it if you liked i s pose i could an would you the landlord choked down a lump that had risen to his throat no jim not if it was ten million dollars i like money but not well enough to it that way i m true blue in this so help me the eyed him this man ain t to me he aid slowly he s only a gen what s treated me white but do you know what d happen if you were to help the to him mr shook his head in the negative why some you d be found dead a fork in you v her husband s tht landlord not at all fluttered by assertion an so i ought jim so i ought he said i ve never done anything as mean as that an i m not goin to commence now i m fifty years old the war when the ment was a them machines and out by the to pass round i might have got a few of em in a way that wa n t approved of but i no blood money an you needn t fret at all about that i won t fret about it said jim quite satisfied u put it there he held out his hand which the landlord shook warmly then mr went into the house and to bed according to the programme that had been arranged it was after seven o clock when the representatives of the majesty of the law stopped their carriage again in front of the house the proprietor was taking breakfast when they found him and he wore about the eyes the look of a man who is not well i hear one of your in the night said after the ordinary had passed between the three m one of my yes that mr hadn t you heard he struck a man last night who ll probably die you don t say exclaimed the landlord in apparently profound astonishment he owed me a week s board to morrow but he ll it he added i don t think he d cheat me out of a few dollars like that it was mr s turn to speak thb scent s was any of your out last night i ve jest got up was the reply bill this to a large boy who was lounging through the room tell jim to come here came in his own good time and bowed to his employer and the visitors did you catch him he asked no but we know where he s gone and he ll be caught safe enough replied did anybody hire any of our last night r asked the landlord no said promptly or this inquired no i let a team since then the landlord asked to be told the whole story and the officers rather proud of the part they had taken in it repeated it to him with all their and theories thrown in where s asked mr when they had exhausted the subject well we don t know he came to town in a with this man and must have drove off alone it s a devilish queer affair take it all together how do you know it wa n t him what hit to answer this question they told him all mrs had said which seemed to dispose of that theory and besides they argued s flight was in itself evidence against him as there was nothing more to be learned at the hotel the officers soon after took their departure as soon as his breakfast was ended landlord addressed himself

0Arthur Conan Doyle

to s i m goin down to call on mrs said he profoundly i don t pretend to understand this whole thing but i ve got an idea she wouldn t ike to do mr any harm i m jest goin to tell her as gently as i can that she s be n a too much when the landlord reached the place he met dr at the gate he s not recovered consciousness yet said the doctor in response to the inquiring look which him i have left orders for everything to be kept quiet but you are a sensible man and can go in if you like mrs welcomed the landlord sadly and readily understood by the motion of his head toward an inner door that he wished to speak to her alone pretty dangerous ain t he he asked when she had accompanied him to the parlor she immediately assented you know who they suspect yes she said but it was a very faint yes indeed he s got away from the officers this time an i don t think they ll him but ft they do it s on your evidence they ll have to rely to him she looked thoroughly frightened on mine yes you ve given em all the points they ve got so fur you ve told em that he was here and that when your husband left he and there wa n t no answer now you wouldn t like to have any harm happen to mr i m sure oh no no she cried faintly then take a little advice from an old man what s known you ever you wa n t big enough to appealing to the law walk put a patent bit on your tongue an keep it there see that all your are pulled up tight and don t let the reins crossed double the hold back and lay right back in the they ll be after you a dozen of em before they through don t let any of em make you lose your head ag in after this odd combination of good advice and stable lore perfectly intelligible however to the woman who heard it mr went into the other room and took a look at chapter xvii appealing to the law returned to boston and went to his room in anything but a happy frame of mind he resolved not to visit miss for a few days for he knew that if he did so he could not very well avoid telling her the particulars of his visit to but habit is a thing which the best of us for many years he had gone almost daily to her house when in the city and it is not strange that he found himself unable to keep away now that he had so much on his mind as soon as the sun had set he went to see her thinking that he might as well undergo what was before him now as later i am going to tell you everything he said in answer to the mute inquiry that shone from husbands her eye we have had words high and she has dared me to do my worst miss had herself to suppress her emotions but her delight at this news was so great that she well nigh broke the she succeeded however in herself and waited to hear the whole of his story which he told concealing nothing what shall you do she asked as he concluded consult a lawyer and if he it apply for a divorce at once is not the evidence rather weak she thought it good policy not to appear too much in favor of his scheme not if can be relied upon i wonder what became of him after i went into the house probably he got at having to wait so long he is a queer fellow how long have you known him only this summer he would not you do not think he would said hesitatingly she studied his face with an inward alarm and asked what could be his motive what motive could he have in getting involved in the matter at all responded thoughtfully i do not think he likes but that would hardly explain the pains he has taken perhaps he has a strong sense of justice suggested miss he is like ourselves a and his sympathies would naturally be on your side a greater motive should not be needed than to do what is right if you begin to suspect a appealing to the law man like him you may end in suspecting others of your friends perhaps even me he shook his head at that and seemed lost in thought for several moments i had no idea how disagreeable such things are he said at last last night was the first time i ever spoke harshly to my wife i wish i could have escaped that it leaves a bad taste in my mouth miss made a gesture of impatience it seems to me she said that you take this too much to heart a wife who has been deserves no such exhibition of tenderness i cannot say half i think because i see you are inclined to doubt motives but the woman who has deceived you once may have done so many times before straightened himself up in his chair as he answered no i do not cannot believe that i have neglected her came with his smooth tongue and sympathetic ways and she fell a victim i am very much to blame very much indeed i should not think you would talk of a if that is your feeling she replied coldly ah said he but it is necessary he repeated the expression he had used to her before there is but one course open to a man of honor she saw plainly that it would be necessary to urge

0Arthur Conan Doyle

him to his work before his mind had time to change m if you wish my advice she said you will either proceed in this matter without the least delay r give it up altogether give it up i can t give it up he exclaimed w s then you must go to your lawyer to morrow and have the papers served as soon as possible your witness is ready now and your facts are easily i should think however your wife would prefer to have the affair settled without any more than is necessary when she comes to think it over she will not he replied sadly she is determined to her character as she calls it and by heavens i don t wonder at it it is a terrible thing for a woman to go out of a court room as an it would be better if the grave closed over her then he stopped the thought him she has to think of her children the woman could not afford to allow him to dwell on this subject that is an old excuse for she said she should have thought of them before oh does not ask he interrupted she defied me to my face a smile a most smile rested on miss s mouth she said you have the most innocent for a man who should be somewhat in the ways of the world i fear to say as much to you as i ought because you know i have always regarded this marriage as injurious to you and have felt that you should broken it off at all in its earlier days i knew that some such as this would bo the inevitable result of the course you were pursuing then there is another thing for me to consider her expression grew harder if i understand you rightly she to bring me into the affair appealing to law with what i do not care to guess in common justice to me you will have to present your case in all its strength or my devotion to your highest interest will be to the world there is no limit to the hatred of a woman who finds herself detected and exposed i have a right to ask of you at least as much protection as she who has disgraced you and now to turn your better side toward the public marked with her own wicked listened and seemed convinced yes he said simply you must take to a before he is put under other influences she proceeded earnestly have his story taken down and sworn to this is not a case for soft measures if she that there shall be a fight see that she is met with suitable weapons if you prefer to give it up to forgive her and go back to your old life now is your time any other man would have noticed the sarcasm with which she uttered these words but he did not seem to i can t give it up he said again no i must go on i will see a lawyer to morrow but the next morning when he dragged himself unwillingly to his attorney s office and began to tell his story the legal gentleman stopped him to inquire whether he had read the morning papers on learning that he had not he thrust into his hands a column or more headed mysterious affair at the correspondent who covered the western district had made up a very story out of the assault on for which he was highly m her husband s commended by his in a letter which accompanied their next check his detailed the finding of lying unconscious in front of the house and gave an interview with dr in which the opinion was expressed that his chance of life was precarious the article further stated that mrs positively refused to be but made up for this by a narrative of the adventures of messrs and who had no scruples whatever about talking freely a good many beginning it is said and our correspondent from a source helped out the which was to suits for in case the matter that it contained should prove read the story through and then turned to the attorney the thorough astonishment that he felt was visible in his face a devilish queer thing eh said the lawyer very replied and very disagreeable he added if there s anything i hate it is this sort of it is intensely unpleasant the lawyer shrugged his shoulders it might be unpleasant for his but it was merely business for him in response to questions told the lawyer his story of which minutes were made in an way in a book which adorned the desk went with you of his own accord said the attorney in did he go what would you say willingly i should say eagerly mr was the reply why should he have been eager i have no idea appealing to the law mr wrote this down with some reflections of his own and then proceeded with his torture and he behind when you heard coming out of the house yes how do you account for that i told him i wanted to speak with first alone then he did not seem to wish to avoid meeting him no you were in the house with your wife and not over twenty minutes you think about that left first yes you went away not more than five minutes later continued the lawyer consulting his notes assented and when you came out you called s name several times loud enough to be heard some distance and there was no response exactly within that five minutes then if is the man who him the blow must have been struck now what was the motive said he could not answer that question can said mr it was jealousy i have been in business for

0Arthur Conan Doyle

thirty years and i tell you there could have been no other reason both of these men are in love with your wife felt a rising indignation he found it impossible not to experience a sensation of personal notwithstanding all that had happened at any charge which concerned his wife s honor he her husband s to had come to preliminary proceedings for divorce but he wanted some kind of bounds set yes sir continued the lawyer confidently one of these men was jealous of the other there were quick words and quick blows i should say that had in your wife s good graces and had a violent pain in the head mr he interrupted if you think such things as that don t say them i am not here to listen to your i want a divorce in the easiest way the lawyer looked at him as the must have looked down upon napoleon with all his thirty years of experience in his gaze i can serve the papers he said but while your main witness lies in his present condition we can do nothing more if he should die there would be very little left to work on oh is liable to recover consciousness at any moment was the impatient reply the best thing to do it seems to me is to have one of your men go to without delay and take his as soon as he is able to speak very well i will have that done and after that all we can do is to wait that is all only mr paused it would be as well you know to be in your movements for a while i wouldn t visit miss he turned to his notes miss any more at present the could not help a little under the searching gaze of the lawyer why we are nothing whatever but business part we own a magazine together appealing to the law certainly i understand but you had best keep away broke out hotly i shall do nothing of the sort it would be in itself a suspicious thing after all these years i shall go there as usual and people can say what they like mr smiled grimly we have a proverb he said that the man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a there is a still more foolish man the one who a lawyer to advise him and then refuses to take the advice i have paid a doctor before now to medicine and then thrown it away responded more good miss s character is too high for their shafts have your own way was the lawyer s reply but don t forget that i told you during the four and twenty hours which elapsed after the body of george was found near the in front of the house several officers of the law besides and had heard of the matter and interested themselves in it one of these a man named was soon struck with a phase of the case which had escaped the others nobody suspected himself of having done the deed to the mind of mr there were strong pointing in that direction and had come to together in a on that all information seemed to agree one of them had left town hastily without the other a very odd fact except on the theory that the officer was why had no suspicion rested upon this man simply because mrs had said that she heard him calling s name after he left the house and did not hear any reply now this according to was utter nonsense if mrs did actually hear s name called as she claimed that did not prove that her husband had not had words with him and struck him it was possible also that the wife had invented the story for the purpose of her husband as was quite natural or it was easy to suppose that after having struck the man had run back to tell his wife what she was to say in case she was when the and jim found the body long after her husband left she was still up and dressed mr decided that he was justified in asking the court for a warrant and while the new york police were searching aided by who had gone on for the purpose he hastened to boston and laid his hands on soon after he entered his office that morning after his talk with lawyer chapter xviii under arrest i have a warrant for your arrest on the charge ot murder said mr in response to s look of astonishment what he exclaimed feeling the earth under around him at first he never thought of or the affair at all for the murder of george continued mr you went from boston to night before last you returned alone breathed easier when he found what the accusation was but it immediately occurred to him what his lawyer had said about the effect of the death of his witness and he grew faint again when did he die he asked this morning replied believing everything that might lead to the detection of crime he rallied at the end he added narrowly watching the effect of his words and told the of his murderer it was impossible not to be affected by this and started violently who was it he exclaimed you the prisoner seemed dazed for a moment then he drew himself up and looked at his with an air of supreme contempt you see this warrant said feeling the need of up his statement though all the of stood at his back it would be better for you not to deny the thing probably he suggested you did not intend to strike him so hard found his tongue at last there must be decent men on your force he said they might at least have sent one of

0Arthur Conan Doyle

them for me as you have a warrant that seems to be regular i shall go with you without the least but if you insult me again i will not be responsible for myself george never said husband s that i touched him and you know it as you stand there mr drew out a pair of as his answer i shall have to put these on you he said i could have taken you without them had you been civil held out his wrists put them on put others on my ankles if you like but do me the favor to talk to me as little as is necessary he touched a bell with his elbow tell to come here he said to a boy who answered the summons mr was general manager of the and his surprise at seeing in irons was pronounced you will please step over to mr s office and tell him that i have been arrested and taken to said quietly i want him to come there at once to catch the eleven o clock train if he can shall we go on the he asked of i have nothing to say responded the officer i am going to do as you requested bit his lips never mind give him my message he said to who disappeared with if you have a dollar s worth of property i will make it cost you dear for this he continued to false come high sometimes the officer who had a snug sum laid by in real estate felt a cold chill creeping along his he wondered if he had been too you won t gain anything by threatening me he have to do my duty that war under arrest he touched his pocket is issued by the court and i must obey it he called a carriage and entered it with his prisoner twenty minutes later they rolled out of the station bound for mr succeeded in boarding the same train and mr who had now become quite uneasy willingly consented to allow him to consult with his about eight o clock that morning george had found himself staring at the curtains of his bed after a long blank of which he remembered nothing slowly it came back to him that he had been struck a heavy blow by and had felt himself falling to the earth he recalled it all quite clearly the ride with the husband the approach to the house the sound of s voice the request of that he might meet him alone the half audible conversation between them the unexpected appearance of the wife upon the scene the vanishing of the entire party within doors the long wait the re appearance of the recognition and the blow he wondered how long he had been ill he knew that impressions were not to be relied upon in such cases and he fell to imagining that weeks or possibly months had passed soon he began to think of in whose behalf he had taken the risk which led to his present situation when they came to him as they would certainly do he tried to think what replies would best serve the errand he had set about he knew that miss wished to convince of his wife s guilt why perhaps from her husband s friend at something perhaps from revenge but what was it to him what her reasons were he had set out to do her bidding like some knight of old caring only that he should be sure of his reward at the end this affair of his with had complicated matters was an opponent of the force of law his grievance must be settled by himself if at all since it could not help miss s plan there was no need of bringing his enemy s name into the matter he decided as he lay there that in case was suspected he would deny that he was his and his knowledge of the man if no particular person was accused in the midst of these he heard the soft opening of a door and the whispering of voices he deemed it the part of wisdom to a little longer the first comer was the nurse who had been engaged to care for him at night after a hasty look at the patient the nurse signified that the other visitors could enter they were mrs and landlord it was the third visit of the landlord he had received that morning a letter from who was resting in a little village in the and was anxious for the latest information from he has lain just as you see him said mrs in very low tones dr said last night when he left that to day would decide whether he would recover or not if he does not have his senses before night the probability is that he never will found some difficulty in himself when he heard these words nothing but the under y semi darkness of the room prevents his countenance from betraying him had he then been so near to death it was very strange that it was mrs s voice to whom could she be speaking it is hard for you to have him here replied mr if he gets well enough to move you must not continue to undergo the strain i never saw you looking so pale and ill oh no was the he shall stay here till he is quite ready to travel or her tone sank still lower till the end i was ill before this happened in fact i have not felt well for more than a month i would not have him removed for anything there would be a risk in it the doctor says the injured man listened with pulse in her house of her hospitality of her sympathy it was too much you haven t heard nothing from his relations

0Arthur Conan Doyle

said the landlord no but i think we may to day i wrote to them at once using the address that was found in his pocket i wish i had better news to send to mr said the landlord it is very unfortunate for him he told me he never dreamed he d hit so hard now the papers are full of the story and half of the police of and new york are or him even if worse happens that must be some of the things in the papers are outrageous there wa n t no excuse for your name in mrs sighed deeply yes she said i am very sorry so many people who do not know me will read those accounts ebb husband s friend here in where i have lived from a child my reputation is safe i never wronged a soul in my life and i cannot understand why i should have such enemies the speaker withdrew and the invalid breathed a little but now the of his conduct was presented to him in the outlines what a price he was paying for the jewel he sought could there be no way to establish his own happiness except to ruin that of this innocent woman it would not have taken much at that moment to a confession of his but there was no one to put the questions and the opportunity passed by the only passion of his life was involved if he had known that he was to rise from that bed other than s accepted he would have preferred to meet death then and there compared with her wishes all honor all truth sank to nothing it was a strange development of the human mind and not by any means peculiar to the person under discussion when dr came at ten o clock thought it well to act natural he opened his eyes and made intelligent to the questions of the medical man the doctor went to mrs s heart with the news and soon it spread like through the town an of officials and swept down upon the house and the muffled bell was pulled continually tom the boy of all work was finally to his great delight to sit on the and give this invariable message to all mr is conscious and will probably recover but dr has positively him seeing any one before to morrow or later under arrest the newspaper men did not like this bluff as they very freely termed it they had the impression that ought to give out a statement whether it killed him or not and each one conceived a special plan for securing it whenever it should be made for his own journal exclusively so great was the enterprise of these knights of the that the cook surprised two of them in the cellar listening near one of the furnace believed to communicate with the sick room they having entered through a very small window a special was thereupon engaged to the premises but his was not proof against the of one of the boston who after dark mounted a lightning rod and nearly burned one of his ears off at the kitchen chimney dr refused even to say good morning when he left the house and was in the evening journals landlord who was from the order of for no good reason that any of the could see came in haste when he heard that was conscious to the news he had to run the of a thousand inquiries but came out half an hour later jim drove out of in an express wagon with a in his pocket and before three o clock was in possession of the welcome news in his retreat toward the close of the afternoon another struck the village and caused a temporary scattering of the guard that had in the neighborhood of the house it was learned that officer had arrived with his new m si and lodged him in the town lock up b r was as anxious to talk as dr was to avoid it and the note books were soon filled with his experiences and theories leave was refused to interview but mr was not idle as soon as he ascertained from dr that was practically out of danger he applied to the nearest authority to admit his to and before the sun had sunk behind the horizon walked out of the lock up and toward his wife s house with a regiment of officers and other people at his heels not a word would he speak to any of them he strode forward like an iron man at the gate he paused and asked tom who still stood if he would request dr to come out the doctor was surprised at the immense crowd which greeted him as he came down the steps and took mr s hand but he concealed his astonishment and asked why he was summoned dr was the clearly uttered reply have known you for many years and i believe you are a truthful man if you think you have a right to do so i want you to answer me one question has george who is ill within there said to any one or implied to your knowledge that i am the person who him before the medical man could reply mr stepped forward i object doctor to your answering that the reason i object is because it may interfere with the course of justice turned sharply on the man if you interrupt me again sir i will treat you as a deserves to be treated you are aware i hope said mr under arrest that you are threatening an officer who is in the discharge of his duty i am aware of nothing of the kind was the reply you arrested me this morning in boston as i believe with a lie in your mouth i am

0Arthur Conan Doyle

now out on and you cannot touch me at this moment you are no longer an officer in the discharge of his duty you are a and a tramp and i warn you once more not to interfere in my affairs dr he continued if you think you ought not to answer my question i shall not press it but if you can it may relieve me of an unjust which the press of several states have cast upon me i see no reason responded the doctor cordially why i should not reply to what you ask mr did not recover consciousness until about ten o clock this morning and since then he has not mentioned your name there is no in your answer none whatever i thank you strode to where mr stood on the edge of the crowd and looked him in the face under what did you get a judge to issue that warrant for my arrest he demanded before to morrow night i will put an attachment on every piece of property that you own i assure you sir i shall this affair to the bottom dr who had re entered the house came back and whispered something in his ear your wife wants me to say that you are welcome to come in if you wish tell her i do not care to he replied taking mr by the arm and walking off with him in the direction of the hotel husband chapter xix an letter in making this response had no intention of the feelings of his wife and certainly none of conveying any such impression to the man of medicine he was not thinking of or of what she said or of the projected divorce he was thinking only of and it made him very i am glad you did not go in said lawyer when he heard the nature of the doctor s request they might accuse you and your wife of you are after all only out on you know there is a case against you i am sorry you had those words with the officer they will sound badly when repeated furiously good heavens what you lawyers are he exclaimed do you think i can be insulted in this manner arrested imprisoned posted all over the country as a murderer have all my family affairs discussed in the newspapers and keep as cool as a snow bank i haven t killed any one yet but i fear i shall if i am driven much further at which the lawyer shrugged his shoulders and looked down on his again from the height of his thirty years of practice the next morning had improved so much that the doctor felt no hesitation in allowing ah mr to see him but when the in man found what was wanted he refused positively to make anything in the way of an the only object that i have said the lawyer to him is to relieve your friend mr of an unpleasant suspicion under which he is laboring he has been arrested for this crime and held to answer his reputation is of some value to him as you may imagine and you can easily clear away everything consulted with the doctor a moment before he replied i have a natural to legal proceedings of any sort he said finally i would not take an oath because to me it has no but i can meet your wishes in a more direct way you may invite into this room any officials whom you please mr himself if he likes to come and the i will answer any questions that may be put to me in regard to this matter in the presence of them all it was not the regular legal way to do the thing but mr was wise enough to see that it was the best he could get and he immediately assented to the proposition he went out and engaged one of the newspaper man who was a to take notes of the subsequent proceedings and to submit them in writing as soon as possible with an of their then he went to see who approved of what he was doing but declined to be present and half an hour later he had gathered a company of over a dozen people in the sick chamber ready to begin his proceedings it is mr s desire explained dr her husband s friend to make his statement as explicit as possible but as he is still weak i cannot allow any unnecessary mr will you put your questions as as you can the lawyer hemmed and the held their ready your name is george began mr the injured man smiled faintly and responded in the affirmative how did you come to be in your present condition i was in front of mr s residence was the assault committed by mr i think not sir there was a slight sensation in the room and many eyes were turned on officer who lost color and shook his head as if incredulous had mr as far as you know or believe anything whatever to do with the assault no sir that is all that i care to ask said mr i appear here only as counsel for mr then spoke will you tell us who did assault you he asked with the air of one who would now show that his judgment was smiled again that would be impossible sir he replied the was much disconcerted impossible he echoed why because i do not know the sensation this time was most pronounced officers stared at and ay stared at each other was all their week s work to go for naught you do not know repeated mr did you not see that night yes when i approached the house with my friend i saw him mr or mr whichever his name is for reasons which i need

0Arthur Conan Doyle

not i remained in the background and the others entered the house together i was while waiting outside was a disappointed man but he held on to the last did you see mr come out yes smiled the witness finding much amusement in the anxiety that was depicted on the s face he hated all officers of the law as a matter of principle i saw him come out and walk away did you speak to him or he to you not a word did he see you r i cannot say how can you be positive that he was not th man that you i have not said i was positive of it i only say i do not know ah then it might have been said the brightening yes or dr or you the expression fled what do you know about it asked i know that i was standing a little way from mr s gate among the trees by the roadside and husband s i know that some time after i found myself lying in this bed that is all withdrew at this and officer thought he would try again you could not swear it was not mr said he delighted at the discomfiture of any of the law i could only swear if i chose to swear at all which i do not that mr had gone into the house and seemed to be still there that mr had gone in and come out and that i appeared to be alone and you saw no other person none now gentlemen if you were to gate me for a week i could tell you no more and i must wish you all good morning the next day in his retreat read this interview from the official report in a copy of the new york times and was intensely surprised he could not tell what to make of it on its face it seemed a very noble thing in but it had a suspicious quality not like the sound of true metal it was not easy to nobility to a man who had deliberately attacked the character of a woman like perhaps it was a to tempt him out of cover when other and positive evidence would be presented for all knew some third party perhaps himself had witnessed the assault he decided to remain quiet for the present it may not seem the part of a hero to hide himself when he is wanted to answer to a charge oi which he is undoubtedly guilty but am had never claimed to be a hero and here was nothing attractive in the prospect of an in court or a term in prison a fishing rod and a boat in the lakes of the hills suited him better at that season he wrote to an attorney in boston whom he knew a mr asking him to look into the matter and ascertain whether it was safe for him to appear and give mr took the letter to and at once placed himself in communication with landlord to whom he showed his the wary landlord however patience and thus a week went by during that week had abundant leisure for thought he saw no one except his nurse the doctor and mrs and made rapid progress toward recovery sent a message to him by dr saying that his attorney believed it wiser for him not to enter the house but that he would do anything else for his comfort that might be suggested but there was nothing that any one could do for him that was not being done his sole desire was to reach boston and see miss again he and for one bright glance from her eyes one tender smile that should tell him that what he had done was appreciated as soon as he could sit up a pen and ink were furnished him with the caution not to tire himself he wrote to whom else could he write to her every word breathed the of his devotion the passion of his love i have obeyed you he said in every respect he believes her guilty and nothing will convince him to the contrary who me as you have probably read in the paper fled and i her husband s friend could have had him severely punished but what was my revenge to yours i have made a public statement that i do not know my for i knew that in case he was arrested he might not be available when the time comes that you need him i could not consult with you but i have tried to do as you would wish think of my situation here under her roof to by her very hands i have had to every feeling but the one of loyalty to you never before did man feel such love for woman i would be true my promises though they carried me through the gates of the in a few days i shall be able to travel and then it will be only a question of hours when i shall be at your side he had just strength enough to the envelope and the stamp when he sank back on his pillow exhausted dr took the letter to mail and as he was leaving the stopped to talk a moment with mrs our patient is improving fast he said see he has just written a letter she never knew what induced her to ask the question it seemed so totally unnatural to some of his relations no he held it up to her to some lady friend perhaps a sweetheart there are moments when each of us is surprised at his own mental strength read the name on that envelope and recognized it as that of the woman of whom her aunt had told her the woman had kept from her for nearly the whole of hi married life but

0Arthur Conan Doyle

she did not start or turn pale a v u c i am going to the post office she said quietly and i can put it in the box it will save you leaving your carriage he thanked her and placed the letter in her hand then he drove away and after seeing that he was out of sight she re entered the house went to her chamber locked the door drew the blinds and sat down with the on the table before her she read the name and address again though the letters danced before her eyes she turned the envelope over was not sealed in his weakness had neglected this important act though in her present mood would have opened that letter if it had required a cold to do it but when she saw it lying before her without even this expected barrier to an inspection of its contents she was startled the meanness of reading private correspondence touched her she dreaded to do the thing she had resolved upon had anything less important been at stake she would have sealed the letter and sent it on its way no pecuniary interest hardly the question of her own life or death would have tempted her but her reputation was in the scale and everything must give way before the she thought there might be some word here some hint that would show whether her husband s relations with this woman were what her aunt had claimed she never dreamed of the discovery she was about to make and when she had read the letter and realized the plot of which she had been the victim her indignation was roused to the highest pitch i will go with it in my hand and ask him what her husband s friend he means was her instant resolve so thi is the serpent that has himself around us this creature that i have nursed back to life would rob me of all i hold dear on earth he shall explain it to me he shall know that i have discovered his and then sick or well out of my house he shall go she threw open the door of her room and was about to descend the stairs when she heard the voices of her children calling her after turning back to attend to their little she went again into her chamber and sat down to think her excitement had had time to lessen in a measure and she tried to consider which was the wisest course to take the final result of her was that she put on her bonnet and went down to the office of the village lawyer mr he was the same lawyer who had drawn up s latest will and he knew most of the secrets of the household as he did of all the other within half a do en miles he could have recognized each individual skeleton in all the of and vicinity had his knowledge been put to the test and it with its correct name before mrs had spoken twenty words he interrupted her to say that he knew all about her with her husband and that she might confine herself to the latest phase of the case at that she showed him the letter and when he had read it his professional and physical eyes opened very wide indeed this was written by the man who is lying sick in your house he said she assented how id you get it am letter she told him it is a serious matter opening a letter that is ready to mail said he you have laid yourself liable to imprisonment it was she replied no fear at this dire announcement responded mr well what do you wish me to do i wish you to tell me what am to do she replied with slight impatience you want to retain me is that it why yes i suppose so twenty five dollars please she counted out the money she had known lawyer for a long time and his blunt ways were no surprise to her do you want a divorce he asked when he had the bills safely away in his pocket i am sure there will have to be a separation she faltered i could never live with him again he is willing is he not was the next question yes she hesitated but he me of of all sorts of crimes and we must show him that he has been deceived by this man how can we show him that why by this letter he will understand at once that there has been a conspiracy between those people the lawyer shook his head we can t show him that letter he said tt must be to night you can make a copy of it if you are willing to run the risk and will keep it under lock and key i don t advise it mind it is a dangerous thing to do is your husband still in husband s friend u i think so i understand that be is still stopping at the house i will see him if he is at all inclined to be sensible i think i can make that letter of use you may make a copy on your own responsibility but you must never show it to a living soul unless i give you leave whatever you do mail it to night just as it is in time for the evening train or my plans will go for nothing mr sat and thought for nearly an hour after his fair had disappeared it was a favorite proverb of his that a man who has two hours in which to do a thing should spend the first one in deciding how to use the second to after satisfying himself about the course he had decided to take he wrote a brief note to mr asking him

0Arthur Conan Doyle

to call at his office and to bring his attorney with him if mr was at hand who was lounging away the afternoon in his very dull fashion at the hotel was thankful for anything to vary the monotony though he had no idea what wanted he summoned mr and together they walked down to see tb lawyer i wife chapter xx i represent your wife present your wife was the statement of mr as soon as he had welcomed his visitor and gone through the ceremony of introduction to mr there is something disagreeable to any man in meeting for the first time a legal gentleman who is to use this phrase and felt a chill creeping through his bones i represent your wife repeated mr and again i understand that you intend to obtain a divorce from her if you can on a certain which you propose to bring now i think you would dislike to accuse her of anything of which she is not guilty in other words that you are not in the matter i think i am able to show you by satisfactory evidence that you have been deceived by a person mr put in a word when do you intend to give us your reasons for this extraordinary assertion mr mr replied that he proposed if mr desired it to put him in the way of proving that his were true within fifteen hours before i say what i will or will not do mr interposed i must remind you that my wife has also made against me i would like to inquire if she is willing to withdraw them her husband s friend if they can be shown to be as at yours are against her said mr i may safely say they will be abandoned at once at the if but he assured mr that it had been his full intention when he came to to allow his wife a separation with complete honor to her name and he added that he should still prefer his original plan which he briefly as he had given it to there will be a good deal less trouble in the world put in mr when people learn to their business affairs to men of the law if you had come to me in the first place mr and sent me to see your wife arrangements could have been made and all avoided to this view mr warmly assented as no doubt mr would have done had the third counsel in the case been present and all the other members of the bar for that matter what is it that you want me to do asked you said something about a conspiracy i did responded mr are you prepared to undergo a great shock to your feelings to find that one in whom you have placed confidence has set deliberately about your ruin i think i can put into your own hands the means of a plot of which you are the victim it will require nerve and courage on your part but if you will agree to play the cards according to my instruction the game is in your hands listened but he told the lawyer to state his proposition you must go to boston to night on the late train and take a cab to your residence seeing i in the morning as early as half past eight o clock you must make a call on your friend miss c a sudden start betrayed the surprise of the he to speak but suppressed the inclination go on sir he said i want you to see your friend before she ha opened her morning mail in which if i do not mistake there will be a letter post marked you must possess yourself of the contents of that letter mr paused and met his eye with an smile a truly ingenious plan he said but before i agree to do an act which appears on its face the most contemptible in the world will you tell me what i am to expect to find in this mysterious communication the lawyer sat back in his chair and with a pencil that lay on the table possibly that your supposed friends are your worst enemies and your supposed enemies your best friends he replied slowly it is not for me to say you have been married for nine years to one of the loveliest girls in if you prefer to believe her guilty of that from which her soul would revolt you will neglect this opportunity to prove her innocence do you charge miss miss c with being one of the against me he demanded charge no one with anything by an accident i am in a position to give you this advice follow it or not as you please if you get possession of that letter do not part with it husband s friend mr who had looked on with somewhat sour countenance now interrupted do you advise my to steal that letter mr smiled i should have no hesitation in a man to commit a little crime when it will prevent a great one he replied the letter in question will probably be mr will be able to read it before he whether it is worth carrying away could not help a growing distrust of mr whose story seemed to him quite absurd how could he possibly know so well the contents of a letter and even whether it was or was not in a sealed envelope have you anything more to say he asked rising nothing was the response shall you follow my suggestion we will consider that subject together said mr mr will remember i trust that you are his wife s counsel not his we wish you good day sir on the way back to the house the extraordinary proposition was discussed at length and both men found themselves quite in agreement

0Arthur Conan Doyle

about it they feared that there was a trap of some sort involved in the affair and thought it would be the part of discretion to let it but as the day wore away grew more and more uneasy in his mind if there was really a scheme to deceive him and especially if miss was in any way concerned he wanted to know it as the hour approached when the evening train was due he could bear the suspense no longer he suddenly i represent burst into mr s room with the announcement that he had decided to go to boston it happened very oddly that the same form of reasoning had been going on in the mind of the attorney who however disliked to be the first to state his change of opinion and after a moment s consultation they decided to go together if you are determined to do this i may as well accompany you said mr wishing to make it out a of his advice in case anything went wrong if there is such a letter as has been described and you should get hold of it i ought to see it as soon as possible was not accustomed to lying awake much in bed but he got very little sleep that night as soon as daylight appeared he rose and ate a slight breakfast after which he strolled across the common to kill the interminable hours he had made up his mind at whatever sacrifice of his feelings to possess that letter from if it was in miss s mail he concluded that the easiest method was to the post man on his early delivery the letter him well and the plan worked to perfection if you have anything for miss i will take it as i am going directly there he said and half a dozen letters besides newspapers and magazines were handed to him as soon as the post man disappeared into an adjacent store glanced hurriedly at the letters yes an envelope post marked was among the number he hesitated no longer though his fingers trembled he took out the note and began to read it husband s he looked first for the signature and his heart beat violently as he proceeded with the itself i have obeyed you he believes her guilty what was my revenge to yours i have tried to do as you would wish think of my situation under l roof never before did man feel such love for r the reader s eyes grew misty the revelation was too horrible if what it implied were true all faith was dead on earth he tried very hard to be cool his task was only begun this letter might be a there was but one way to prove its he must sit in the room when she read it and mark her face and attitude mechanically he returned the letter to the envelope and this time he sealed it he would leave nothing to excite her suspicions he put all of the mail in his pocket and rang the bell the maid who admitted him looked surprised at his early call but as she showed him into the room at his request he explained that he had just arrived in town he said he was in no hurry that he would sit there and read the morning papers till miss was ready to see him as soon as the girl left the room he placed the mail carelessly on th desk and taking up a morning herald began to read she came in half an hour it seemed a asked him to go in to breakfast with her when he said that he had already she suggested that he bring his paper in and keep her company but he declined on the plea that he would delay her and that he was absorbed in long i represent your wife article on the of which he had in reality only read the head lines miss saw that he was troubled about something but knowing much of what had passed at she was not surprised after taking her breakfast she returned to him and as he seemed still engrossed in the newspaper she asked leave to open her mail to which he assented by a nod taking up her letters she them one by one and laid them down again until that from was reached when she divided the envelope with her paper and plunged into its contents the expression of her face which he watched narrowly changed several times as she read and at the close she could not repress an exclamation of impatience turned at the sound bad news he asked no she replied slightly confused and yet not wholly pleasing a business matter he asked again rising from his chair and stretching himself no it is from a friend merely it is of no special consequence his eye rested on the envelope and he surprise why it s from she could not prevent him taking it up without exciting greater suspicion but it was with much uneasiness that she saw it in his hand yes i have a friend who is staying there for a little while she said he forced a laugh oh i know the writing he responded why didn t you tell me at once it was from he stood in front of her and she tried hard to laugh he husband s too but she was more frightened than she had ever been in her life well it is from him she assented i should have told you in a minute more but i didn t like to encourage such a feminine trait in you as he kept up the of a smile and asked her what had to say he is at my house you know he said or rather i ought to put it at my wife s yes there are

0Arthur Conan Doyle

only a few words he is hardly able to hold a pen but he says he is improving and expects to be out soon he pretended to turn away as if to resume his chair then with a quick motion he snatched the letter from her hands i don t believe that s all he said holding it away from her in his left hand and still pretending gaiety i believe he is making love to you i am jealous and i shall read it for myself her agitation was now extreme she rose to her feet and made several vain attempts to reach the letter which he held far above her head but she was no match for his greater size and strength ana in a moment she took a new tack mr she said i want that letter if you do not give it to me at once all friendship ceases between us his face grew very grave it must contain some momentous secret he replied when it leads you to say a thing like that by no means she answered i am for a principle you have no right to read private correspondence even if it were only a bill from my baker l represent you i was convinced by this time that lawyer had known what he was about and he had no scruples now about pursuing this matter to the end if i read this letter i understand we are to be no longer friends he said i have said it and i mean it replied miss will you cease this levity and give it to me not after that statement i am not a good man to threaten i shall read it his voice had grown stern and she knew that further were useless her quick brain set at work to the effect of the storm that must her manner changed instantly and she burst into a wild laugh read it by all means she cried with affected read it and make out what it is if you can for it s all greek to me the blow that mr received has evidently unsettled his never too strong brain glanced over the letter he had no need to read it again for every word was burned into his memory when he looked up his face was very dark you don t understand this said he not at all well i will explain it to you this man led on by your suggestions and advice has been lying about my wife the queen like air that all of s circle knew so well came back to her do you believe that she asked i do and on that evidence she pointed to the letter m on that evidence he replied husband s she looked him full in the face you can say this to me because i am a woman i if i were a man you would not dare i have been mistaken in you some day i will force you to admit that you have me the eyes that beamed upon him filled with sudden tears and he did not know what to say this man has forced his love upon me all the summer she went on rapidly i have done everything i could short of actual insult to him for until this hour i believed my heart wholly the property of another man when he came here and told of his discoveries at i thought it only my duty to introduce him to you the blow he has had has unsettled his reason beyond doubt he says in this letter that mr was his though he has given a contrary statement to the press he now seems to be laboring under the delusion that your wife because she has treated him kindly is innocent of the crimes which he formerly to her he is an unfortunate fellow whose may deserve your pity but certainly not your you have believed him in preference to me let it be so quite confused somehow found his hat and cane and left the house with a consciousness that his head was in a whirl but the letter that wrote was still tightly grasped in his hand i am a woman chapter xxi i am a wicked quite unconscious of the catastrophe that he had george at the dr finally said that he could leave in a week information which mrs received in silence since she had been made aware of the of her guest she had never entered his room she could not trust herself to speak to him for she had a nature that was a stranger to the first outburst of indignation under which she had resolved to order him forth at once gave way to a more reasonable frame of mind as a sick man he should have the of her house as long as he needed them as an individual he was wholly to her and she could not do her feelings the violence to come again into his presence he noticed that he saw her no more but he had no reason to suspect the cause and consequently gave the matter little thought what troubled him most was that he received no answer to the letter he had sent miss he gave himself a thousand fears which did much to his recovery ten lines from her thanking him for what he had done or suggesting something else that he might do would have abundantly repaid him for those weary days he had no one in whom he could confide there was nothing to do but wait the fortnight which he passed in the house seemed endless but at husband s friend last a day came when he was allowed to be assisted into a carriage for he was still weak and be driven to the railway station where he was placed in a of a engaged for him in advance

0Arthur Conan Doyle

he took along the nurse who had attended him and as the train sped towards boston he felt a new animation stirring in his veins none of his relations had taken the pains to visit him though a cousin had written a few expressions of regret at his accident was not a favorite in his family his views had made a breach between him and the others that time had only to there was no warmer welcome awaiting him at boston than that of his landlady whose interest in him would have ceased abruptly had the price of her rooms not been except for the presence in the of the universe of one person he would as have been toward any other city in the world to meet that was the hope the joy the of au things and yet why had she not written and answered his letter that evening he sent her another passionate note written with all the that was in his heart and begging her to the earliest possible hour for their meeting he excused her in advance for the reply to the other letter but her not to keep him longer in suspense in response to this his messenger brought a card marked simply friday evening nine o clock he could not understand the quality of the answer nor the reason for the three days delay which it but he tried to content himself with the prospect and improved so rapidly as the time approached that be t ix a wicked woman had no hesitation in making the visit without taking his attendant with him bidding his driver remain until his call was finished he walked leaning on his cane up the steps of miss s residence once in the parlor he could hardly restrain himself in the joy of anticipation he waited with excited nerves for the advent of the woman he loved ay worshipped above all else on earth when at last the door opened and she appeared he rose and took a step toward her with an exclamation of pleasure on his lips but as he caught a glimpse of her face the cry of joy was stifled he stood to the spot unable to proceed to retreat or to speak a word that quick look at s face had shown him in one second that there could be nothing more between them why he knew not but it was beyond all doubt you have done me the honor to call she said with bitter irony proceed with your business in his weak condition he could not remain stand ing any longer and he sank again into his chair i have been very sick he feebly you should have died she answered harshly yes that night you were before you ha t time to blast the lives of others he felt that it could do him no good he knew that all he could say would be useless but he had a great longing to know what had caused this u whoever i may have miss he aid i have been true to you you have ruined me she cried you have acted the part of an the only man in this world who is worthy of a moment s thought bat been torn from me by your i husband s friend his brain she was beside herself with rage the only man i what could she mean one of us is certainly insane said he pressing his hand to his forehead i do not know what you are talking about she stood looking down on him as if he were creeping thing that she to crush with her heel you wrote me that letter did you not and read it what could i say to him in explanation you had not veiled anything it was all as plain as the sun he believes me guilty of to destroy the fair fame of his wife stared at her like one stricken with madness believes you he echoed and you have not done it is that your meaning never i did not tell you to invent lies all i asked you to do was to watch your letter made it seem to him that i had been your partner in a conspiracy it was infamous in you to write it with all the dangers to which correspondence is subject i it destroyed my only hope my only joy in existence he heard but he could not believe his senses you you loved him loved him she repeated the word with a deep groan of anguish loved him i worshipped the trees under which he walked i would have kissed the soil his shoes had pressed and now he is gone from me forever he was too stunned to rise to the angry mood that would have been natural to him i want to understand he ventured in a trembling voice what was it you wished surely ray i am a wicked only desire was to do as you would have me thought i thought she interrupted him sharply you thought how could i help what you thought you thought no doubt that after he had got free from his wife that would the breach between him and me he saw for the first time the trap into which she had planned to lead him you made a for me and have fallen into it yourself he said gently but though i cannot comprehend the reason i feel no toward you i would serve you now as willingly as ever if i knew the way she heard him with profound surprise she had expected a terrible exhibition of wrath to match hei own you would serve me she echoed yes he said eagerly with my life you do not love me that knowledge makes my future a blank i placed all my hopes on your love now nothing is left tell me anything i

0Arthur Conan Doyle

can do to make you happier and it shall be done miss studied the face before her into which a new brightness had come it was a revelation of the heights to which self sacrifice can rise bring back to me she said convince him that he has wronged me in his thoughts make him what he was before there nothing else you can do for me he heard her how shall i accomplish this you never can accomplish it f she groaned m but you can tell him that you wrote that letter while brain was affected you can swear to he husband s friend him that the which rt contains me are and and the wife he waited like a slave for her orders she hesitated for a long time what you saw she said finally you saw said dropping unconsciously into the use of her first name we misunderstood each other the last time let us not do it again i saw nothing she walked to a window that was partially open and shut it you were going to swear to something in the divorce court she said when she returned if i had thought it would have pleased you he replied fixing his swollen eyes upon her i would have sworn that i saw her commit murder his dog like impressed her powerfully but she did not dare to trust his judgment again you have spoiled everything by that miserable letter she answered a divorce is now out of the question all that you can do is to write to him taking the blame from me and then and then you can disappear waited a moment do you mean die he asked if you do say so she uttered a little cry of terror no no i only mean that you should go away where you cannot be found for a number of months go across the sea to some place where you w j u not be likely to meet people who know you he bowed i will do it is there anything more f i ax a wicked woman that is all she said thoughtfully except for as you say we must have no now there is to be no reward thought of this time i know he replied i can never love you i am sure of that he answered as sure as i am that i shall love you as long as i draw breath no human being could have helped being moved by the of his voice and the depth of his devotion miss found herself a request that he would forgive her for the she had used there is no reason why i should forgive you he replied you love i who also love understand all that you felt when you thought your lover lost if i can return him to you i will and then i will go far away something in the dreamy tone with which he uttered this alarmed her you will not think of anything like like suicide she said uneasily i should feel as if it were my fault promise me not to do that he rose leaning on his cane i will live if i can he said slowly but i should prefer it the other way since it is your wish i will try to live i shall go to europe at first my address will be at brothers there may be something i can do for you again if there is you have only to write he walked cautiously toward the door and miss followed him wondering at the change that had come over her when he turned at the threshold and was about to say good bye she bent her forehead for him to kiss her husband s i am very sorry for you she said as she raised her eyes again i am a very wicked woman and i have treated you cruelly do not say that he answered speaking with difficulty you are not wicked you are only in love it was kind of you to give me that kiss i shall not forget it he went his way and the unhappy woman threw herself on the floor and wept before slept that night he wrote for a long time he wanted to send a letter to that would be the most effective possible and he put the things he had to say into many forms before they satisfied him this is what he finally sent my dear though somewhat recovered physically from the injuries i received in i find that there has been a mental shock which it will take a much longer time to cure my brain frequently and i find myself during my illness at your house i must have done some strange things this evening i met our mutual friend miss who told me i had written her a letter in which it was implied that she and i had combined to injure a member of your family by false reports nothing could be farther from the truth if wrote anything like that it was certainly when i was temporarily all that i told you was true and i am sure miss had no unworthy motive in asking me to bring so serious a matter to your attention i also find that i am reported in the papers as saying that i did not know who my was when quite contrary is the fact act returns to ing under the advice of my physician i shall start at once for a distant place where i hope to wholly recover from my to go court or to be troubled about any similar matter might be very injurious and i do not dare to risk it i think i am writing this in one of my moments and i hope if in my madness i have done any one harm this explanation will undo it your friend

0Arthur Conan Doyle

chapter xxii returns to left miss s house with he went straight as in duty bound to mr s office the lawyer read it over and wa forced to admit that it was a very suspicious looking document you wouldn t get very far toward a divorce with that in the hands of the court he remarked but how are we to know where these plots and begin and end all that is not gold mr i can see a dozen possibilities about this letter beside the one that appears on its face s brows contracted as he inquired what the lawyer meant by that well let us look at it for a minute how did you come to the knowledge that this letter was m s friend might be we will say in existence from your wife s attorney people do not often expect the fairest of advice from the counsel of their opponent in a case it was natural that i should suspect the motives of mr what s his name mr but i thought there could be no harm in seeing what card he was playing so i consented to come to boston and go through this performance as he told us there was a letter and we have it in our hands though i must admit not by a strictly legal method i have read the letter and it looks very bad for miss and very favorable for your wife but that does not prove in the least that it is a genuine document for heaven s sake tell me what you are driving at exclaimed and do it without any unnecessary delay mr smiled quietly with the air that a man should have who looks back on thirty years of practice at the bar softly mr softly i must choose my words and my manner of speech in order to put this matter before you as i think it requires we must look at several theories and a case will illustrate one of them perhaps better than anything else supposing that this wished to clear your wife of suspicion could he have taken a better way why should he wish it you will ask why he has lain for a fortnight in her house attended by her and her servants gratitude may have overcome every other feeling indeed sir something much stronger than gratitude may have developed in his breast during those trying days the listener drew a breath of pain was this lawyer going to accuse the whole world of falling ill to love with a woman whose husband had not been able to develop a passion for her after nine years of married life do not forget mr he said that it was on the evidence of this man that i came at first to suspect my wife he must have a very complicated set of motives if what you suggest is true exactly and so do most men if you them carefully now tell me all you know about him very little was the reluctant admission miss introduced him to me it was not necessary that i should know him intimately to believe his straightforward story men have been hanged i suppose you know on the evidence of beggars he threw this in as a bit of self justification and was rather pleased at its sound but now that you have this letter which seems to alter the complexion of things so much what do you propose to do responded with some impatience that this was exactly what he had come to the lawyer s office to find out you want a divorce said mr the question is how to reach that aim in the easiest and most manner glanced up quickly pardon me he corrected i do not want a divorce that is based on the slightest of the main facts at issue my wife and i are not it is useless to deny that if she would consent to a of the tie that us i gladly avail of it but while there is the least doubt of the tales i have heard against i shall proceed no farther her husband friend the lawyer replied that this was very and just what he should have expected from a gentleman of mr s high standard of honor but his disappointment was none the less evident in that view of the case everything must rest in for the present he said for as i understand it you think the letter you obtained this morning opens up a reasonable doubt decidedly how would a special do said mr opened his eyes for what purpose he could watch my wife do you mean mr assented not if it was the last and only resource was the firm reply i will never pay any one to dog her steps but if one could follow the lawyer eyed his with admiration that s not a bad idea he said so it happened that from the minute that george left he was by one of the keenest men that could be found in boston when he visited miss the marked the feverish impatience with which he crept from his carriage to her door when he came forth again the same eyes saw his weary look his still more feeble steps and when his letter came the next morning it so completely with the report of the that it seemed pervaded with n air of absolute truth added to this there soon came the news that had bought tickets returns to for france and a few days later his sailing was announced mr held various with during these days but he was to tell the truth fully as much troubled as his both of them agreed that divorce proceedings could not longer be thought of on the basis they had taken and tired of the whole affair worn out with the strain upon him went back to his

0Arthur Conan Doyle

counting room and tried to drive away his mental trouble but when the evening came he missed his visits to miss nine years of habit are not overcome in a month in spite of everything they kept up the mutual direction of the magazine she sending him articles to read and he returning them with his comments written on slips of paper sometimes brief notes were necessary but they were always in business phrase miss was too wise to attempt anything more at present she hoped time would bring all around right again and was glad that the gave her an excuse for continuing even the present unsatisfactory relations with him her large circle of acquaintances and followers over as much of the affair as they had knowledge of the fact that had a wife and children was no longer a secret as the newspapers which had been full of the assault case had not omitted to t abundant to the most minute circumstances connected with it that matters between him and his wife were somewhat strained was also apparent and when there was added to this the fact that he came no more to miss s there wa c husband s genuine flutter among the circle that there no one not even mrs st john with her boasted intimacy had presumed to ask a question though they were all to use their own expression dying to know what was the matter the general opinion was of course favorable to miss as her were quite blind in their devotion to her miss had expressed it perfectly when she had said in response to mr s question suspicion of the hostess herself bore the increased scrutiny to which she was subjected with remarkable though quite the of she had always showed a very quiet manner in public she was like an whose mind is torn by most distressing news but who must proceed with her part in the play as though nothing unusual has her had never been as fully attended as they were that autumn all the regular comers continued to be present many who had dropped off took the opportunity of coming again and not a few new people suddenly discovered that they had long felt an interest in miss and her theories and persuaded friends to introduce them to all old and new she was the same dignified obliging lady and the events instead of her standing as a social power improved it in a marked degree s continued absence was reckoned by most of her friends a point in her favor as they supposed that his marriage had been hitherto unknown to her soon learned through mr wai returns to lace and also from mr that the grand jury had failed to him the absence of the party in europe and the readiness of many witnesses to swear to his statement that he did not know his made confess that the case might as well be given up now as later officer suffered for some time from apprehension on account of s threats to sue him for false arrest but when time wore on he began to conclude which was the fact that the threat had either been forgotten or the intention given up went to new york not caring to return to boston or and passed a time there he wanted very much to see mrs once more and have a final explanation with her but he did not see any way he felt that he ought not to begin a correspondence while she and her husband were talking of a divorce even if she had given him the right to do so he knew that she was in all probability without a single adviser and yet he feared that a friend like himself would at this time be worse than none at all weeks were passed in these unsatisfactory reflections he learned from landlord in whom he had come to have confidence that ing new had concerning the trouble between and his wife the husband had not again visited and she had never left the place even for a day the landlord also wrote that mrs went out much less than usual and seemed anxious to avoid company so far as he could learn she had not made up with her aunt miss an air of pervaded the where she lived with her children and the four servants had been reduced to one her husband s friend during those days tried more than once to read his heart he searched diligently to see if there was a single unworthy thing in the deep affection which he felt for the abandoned wife but he failed to find it he would have wished to have her nothing but what she was loyal self sacrificing good and true could there be anything wrong in wanting to make her life brighter he had given her happier hours in the summer that was past and who had been the worse pacing night after night from union square to fifty ninth street he tried to think whether it would be best to go to her tell her how much she had his sympathy and his assistance if there was any way she could accept it at last unable to bear it longer he decided to go having a little business to see to in boston he took himself first to that city on the evening of his arrival he encountered mr washington street and through him learned for the first time of the between and miss anxious to hear everything possible concerning the affair he invited to dine with him when the champagne had loosened the tongue of his guest he was put in possession of all the news and gossip that he could and do people say he asked when all the points of the narrative had been given well said they say many things the general opinion is that

0Arthur Conan Doyle

miss declined to receive when she learned that he was married went abroad on account of his injuries which you remember they at first ascribed to you though of course he added in a burst ol to after dinner generosity of judgment nobody who knew you believed that with his wine glass and let do most of the talking but finally he said feeling that it was necessary s family claim him now i suppose indeed no said his guest he hasn t left the city once i know his mr it s a mighty queer affair all round that night searched his heart again and found it still innocent of and he determined that the next night should see him in if he were yet alive he wrote to landlord to meet him with a carriage at as he did not wish to set all the in by the ears when he reached the station it was dark jim and not his employer waited for him explaining as they drove away that mr had been called off on other and imperative business though grateful to for the service he had once rendered him could not be as confidential as he could with the landlord at first as they rode along they exchanged only but after awhile jim got to talking about the assault case and grew interesting he related the entire story of the morning when escaped and chuckled with glee as he told of the discomfiture of and grew very uneasy as they approached the house the possibilities of the contemplated interview staggered him he did not exactly know what he intended to say or do but he could not doubt that the visit was with great moment he began to think that he her husband s friend ought to have written to her of his intention but it was too late for that now be it for good or evil he must see her that night he instructed to wait for half an hour in the vicinity at the end of that time if he did not re appear the man was to return to his stable and expect his customer to reach there considerably later five minutes will tell how i shall be received thought if she wishes to see me our conversation may be a long one he went softly up the steps and pulled the bell with so light a touch that it hardly at all but the little sound it did make attracted attention within for some one was soon heard approaching and a moment later the astonished visitor stood face to face with the surprise was mutual but s was much the greater i beg your pardon he stammered i came to see mrs is she he began to feel a nameless alarm she is not ill miss s black eyes pierced him through and through come in was her only answer she led the way to the parlor more than formerly with her heavy cane he wondered that he had not heard and recognized the sound of that stick before she opened the door and he was very much afraid he should have run away had he known it and had time she handed him a chair and sat down when he did why do you wish to see mrs asked that is rather a peculiar question u it mt r returns to ordinarily yes to night no he hesitated feeling than before that something out of the common had happened young man pursued miss you will remember that i told you once that you were on dangerous ground let me repeat it now you can do nothing for a woman who has trouble with her husband nothing but what will injure her and yourself miss he replied more firmly i do not know by what authority you have become the guardian of mrs toward whom i have reason to fear you have not always acted the part my errand with her is a brief one but i cannot it to you will you oblige me by informing her that i am here the maiden lady grasped the stick she held with a motion i like you young man she said and i don t know why unless it is on account of your whatever your intention was in coming and i am not going to say it was a wrong one you have arrived too late mrs has left this house and she will not return he could hardly believe her and yet why should he doubt the explicit statement gone he exclaimed to her husband do you think i would be here if she had cried the woman angrily no my niece has gone as far as possible away from him as she ought to have done years and years ago i have bought the place and all of the which she did not take do you think i gave her that money to go to him no no i she has se n his face for the last time i trust r her husband s friend why was he so glad to hear that he knew that he ought not to be tell me only this he said quietly was she well when she went away and do you think she will be happy miss s stern face relaxed under the pathos df his manner she was not well she replied how could she be after all that has been on her mind for the last year when she gets to a new place and this trouble leaves her there is no reason why she should not be happy she has youth and she will not want for money no she added as he looked up he will need none of yours as long as she keeps from her husband i shall see her needs supplied if she is ever from him i will have my will made

0Arthur Conan Doyle

out again in her favor till then she knows what to expect he leaned over toward her resting his arm on the table that stood between them be careful that you do not carry this feeling against the poor girl into the grave with you he said earnestly as you truly say i cannot now offer her my aid i wish i could but why do you not do her full justice as matters are she is only certain of an income while you live will it make your dying pillow to know in your last moments that you have condemned one of your flesh and blood to want the old woman shut her mouth firmly together it was her own choice she made it she answered and she knows that i never he struck the table with his hand and their eyes met if mr or her children are ever without i love you v means are ever deprived of their natural they shall have me to look to he said i will stand between them and your dangerous ground young man dangerous ground repeated miss though she did not appear half as angry as he expected she would the best thing you can do is to dismiss my niece and her troubles from your mind he rose and stood before her if you will promise to execute a new will in her favor without i will try to do it he replied come come she you are asking too much it really is not your affair but i shall make it mine in the event i speak of he answered firmly good night miss the half hour had not expired when jim wondering what had happened drove silently b to chapter i love you t t t step which mrs had taken had been by her for some weeks after the j with her husband and the circumstance connected with it became exceedingly d and although she knew nothing of the f world she felt that it would be better to husband s friend venture out into t than to stay where every scene recalled the bitterness through which she had passed knew his wife very little indeed when he imagined that she had found even partial content in the life to which he had so long doomed her the fact that for eight years no word of complaint had escaped her only showed her devotion and her pride of spirit she could never have or him into her with more of his presence she could never have suggested even by a look that he ought to take her with him on his travels the love which she had given him had burst forth in her young heart and nothing but the absolute cruelty of events could have lessened its in all those years when she and for the society which he denied her she suffered as only a deserted woman can suffer and made no sign s fling that such a sacrificing wife did not deserve a more faithful husband shows well the difference between the two women there are fires that burn with a quiet and steady light there are others which flash their beams far out into the evening but let no man say that the latter is necessarily the better flame one of those evenings of the early winter just as was about to l h his lamp for the time honored hour of retiring had nearly arrived knocked at her aunt s door it is only following the manner of speech to state the occurrence in this form as nobody ever alluded to her uncle as even a roof over his head miss s always stern face darkened as the form cm ed her threshold for she had supposed the relations between her niece and i love you j w herself severed for good but she could not resist the sad smile with which greeted her nor the outstretched hand and she was soon put in possession of the cause which led to the visit was about to leave and had thought it only right to say good bye to those who were her sole relations there miss always suspicious thought at first that there was in this an attempt on the part of her niece to re herself in the family with a view to securing the money of which s latest will had deprived her s quiet bearing and evident of spirits soon however this fear she said she was going away she did not exactly know where and she wanted her uncle to take charge of her house and sell it as soon as he could obtain a suitable offer she had enough money to last her a little while and perhaps when it was gone she could get something to do all of which showed her prudent aunt that she was about as fit to go off alone as little would be and she told her so but i cannot stay here said m you yourself have advised me to go not without money retorted the aunt you ought to secure your divorce and a handsome allow ance i hear that your husband is getting rich he can afford to give you a large sum would not listen to her not after after what he accused me of dear aunt i could never take his money while be believes that at this miss poured forth the of her wrath as a villain jf the deep eat unworthy the t charitable thought husband s he ought to support his children she said i tell you you must make him do it but was inexorable she had changed her mind on this point for once miss had met a spirit as as her own the wife was willing anxious to go away and never wanted to meet her husband again his money she would not take that point was settled and

0Arthur Conan Doyle

the after a long debate was fain to be content she felt that it was a victory to secure the separation perhaps the rest would be reached in time the result of the conference was an agreement that should take the house and pay her a certain sum for it it was necessary that she should take money enough with her to live on for some time and probable customers for such a place were not numerous had an idea that he might dispose of it to a party who wanted to establish a young ladies school the house could be enlarged with wings so as to do very well for that purpose not a word was to be said in of mrs s plans the things she wanted to take with her were to be sent off by and she was to make her exit with her children without exciting the least suspicion of her purpose everything was carried out as planned and had not been gone an hour that night when called at her door she went at first to boston where she stopped at a hotel until the morrow intending then to continue her journey to a small town in the western part of no child ever made a more novel trip she had never ridden five miles on a steam road in her life the towns which she passed seemed innumerable and lit up by as they were i love you s larger than she had ever conceived possible when he rode through the streets of boston she was overpowered with the rush and bustle and felt her heart sink at the thought that somewhere in the midst of it all was the man who had sworn to love honor and cherish her till death when the next day came she did not take the early train on the boston road as she had intended a new and overpowering desire had come upon her she wanted to see the woman who could hold for so many years the husband whom she had failed to impress she had determined during the long hours of a night when little sleep visited her eyes to try to see she knew the address well that day that she read it on s letter it was impressed on her mind and no ordinary lapse of time could it she knew nothing about the city but she ascertained that could be obtained and shortly after breakfast she left her little ones with a maid at the hotel and was driven to miss s house it was a wild idea she did not even know what she was going for she felt nothing except that strong wish to see her rival she could not imagine what she should say when she got there but go she must the of the new light was astonished to hear that she had a who would not send up her card thinking it might be some on whom it was not worth while to waste much time she told the girl to show the lady into her room where she was writing at the time as mrs entered the room the maid with drew j husband s what can i do for your asked miss politely nothing it was a dignified answer but certainly a very strange one miss who had risen from her chair looked at her visitor with some doubt of her but the handsome lady who stood before her gave no other indications of a mind and she dismissed the half formed suspicion i understand she said that you wish to see me it is true about about anything in particular no just to see you that is all it suddenly occurred to miss that the lady might be one of her unknown admirers you had heard of me she suggested yes will you give me your name yes it is miss took several paces backward and leaned heavily on her desk long weeks of mental distress had made her very nervous there was something quite alarming in this apparition with the large eyes and speech what do you want she almost shrieked what do you intend to do i only wanted to see you to see what you were like in eight years i could not make my husband love me you held him here i wanted to discover what there was about you that he preferred to me i do not see anything you are not as fair as i you are no taller or better your voice is not as sweet how did you do it each sentence was uttered with the utmost de i love you i and there was twice the ordinary pause between them miss was much disturbed you have heard idle i fear she said mr and i have merely a magazine together his family affairs are nothing to me and for a long time now he has not even called here it is six weeks since i last saw him looked at her with gaze why do you say this sha asked he can be anything more to me i far away with my children his children you taught him to believe me do not deny it i saw the letter that man wrote you but how you hare attracted him she looked miss over from head to feet i do not know then she went her way and an hour later a physician s carriage stopped in front of the house miss was quite ill from the shock and had to her literary labors for some days it was a month before found mrs during all that time he had persisted in his to discover her retreat at last he hit upon a clue which revealed it to him when he knocked at the door the children had gone to bed and the one servant a girl of fourteen had gone out to spend the

0Arthur Conan Doyle

evening with her parents for a moment stood at the threshold looking as if she was about to you do not wish to see me i will go he said in a low voice and yet i have much to say to you come in she responded i was surprised that is all i am very to see you very glad indeed husband s friend h entered closed the door behind him folded his arms and ignored the chair she offered let there be no misunderstanding he cried passionately vou shall never say that i came under false i love you she looked frightened and drew a little away from him it has been months since i have seen you he went on blindly god knows how i have been able to endure it as long as i could visit you i could bear the rest but when i was nearly desperate and went to your house and found that you we e gone then i learned what it was to endure i have done nothing since but search for you i thought perhaps your eyes would with joy to see mine i thought she put up her hand to stay him i am a wife do not forget that a wife he repeated bitterly and what a wife you have the yoke of the ox without his food and shelter your master has loaded you with burdens and then thrust you aside you no longer owe him any you know that my heart is breaking for you that my arms are outstretched to receive you and you can talk to me of him i only know she answered slowly that i must not listen during all the months that we have been acquainted this is the first time you have ever uttered a word to me that i ought not to hear you can spare me much pain by not doing so again he took the chair at last and as he sat down he drew a long breath of desperation be it so be after a moment s pause your your youth your bloom to this i lot you a wa i heartless man whom you still wish to call husband sacrifice me i am of no account compared with what you are pleased to think your duty sacrifice everything but him throw away the next eight years as you have the last and the next eight after that no one can compel you to do otherwise forget that i ever you differently and now farewell oh not so soon she answered as he was about to rise i am sure you are very welcome here tell me what has happened since i left for i have heard nothing what did my aunt say to you she told me to dismiss you from my mind he replied gloomily but i could not do it i should never ask you anything inconsistent with honor you can easily procure a divorce that will make you as free as though you had never wedded afterward if you love me you can become mine oh what is the use of this terrible struggle he broke forth you do love me i know it is it a greater sin to this marriage that hurts and you than to maintain it when the result is the ruin of two lives she clasped her hands over her eyes n a sudden of pain have mercy she ejaculated feebly you are the stronger and it is not well that you should tempt me i have not lived as much in the world as you but instinct tells me what is right i have chosen the difficult path every word you speak makes it harder to tread tell me one thing he leaned toward her and his breath her brow you e her b her honest eyes met his and all the answer te needed was in their depths i am not as good as i ought to be she said gently you came into my life when i was very lonely i grew to like you before i knew what i was doing if it was wrong i shall be punished but when i discovered it i did all i could i came away hoping to forget you hoping you would forget me i cannot do this all alone you must help if i do love you it is as hard for me as for you that we must be separated let us bear the load together he caught eagerly at the word together he echoed if we only could i mean she stammered you your share and i mine and how long must this last he inquired u is it to be endless supposing he hesitated supposing that death mrs started at the suggestion never by the remotest could i promise myself to another man while my husband is alive she answered you know my sentiments you ask me if i love you secure in my determination to do what is right i may admit even that if i could have foreseen the end earlier i could have saved us both from what we suffer to day but our only safety is in remaining far apart tax touch op chapter the touch op he made another move as if to rise but sank back in his chair and was silent for several minutes you are willing that i should come and see you sometimes he said when he broke the silence would it be best he suddenly drew his chair nearer to her and folded her in his arms can nothing move you is it possible that you can go on forever under this mistaken sense of duty and never awake to a knowledge of what you are doing you are a woman in years you have been called a wife you have borne children but never till now have the arms of a real

0Arthur Conan Doyle

love you in the innocence of childhood you made a contract with and he made a like one with you he was to love and cherish you till death you know he never fulfilled one of his bargain while for these eight years you have been true to yours now that he has deserted you wholly and let him go out of your mind forget that he lives give your life your soul your love to one who would give up all else he holds dear to purchase you the slightest happiness you are wavering already you feel that this is the way your course should lie my darling touch my lips just once and i will take it for your answer ihe did not struggle in his arms as he half anticipated sh would but her great eyes were bent her s him and he read in them a deeper pain than he had imagined she could feel you know so much more of the world than i was her response that i want you to answer me a question is it right from your own that you should embrace me like this would it be right as the people you know interpret right if give you my lips to kiss he broke from her and paced the floor like a savage no no r he cried it is not right but i am no longer responsible for what i do my love has carried me away from myself and after all who can tell what right is i have embraced you who is the worse for it if i should kiss you who would suffer the evident distress under which he labored told on the young wife her sympathetic nature aided by the high regard which she had for him strained her resolutions to their utmost in spite of the reflection that his arms ought not to be about her there had been bliss in the moments when she felt them there her heart had beaten more rapidly at the proposal she knew that the longer the conference lasted the harder it would be to resist him we have nothing to do but to summon all our courage she said going to where he stood we must not act like children who cry for what they cannot have men and women have gone to the even to the stake with smiling faces let us be very brave now and say good bye her voice faltered at the final word and he very gently put his arm about her again it may be right it may be wrong but i love you it may b right it may be wrong but i thb touch op cannot give you up the strength to wait until you can be my wife is all that i shall be to find the strength to go forth leaving you tied to a man for whom you have no reason to care a man who has any claim that he may ever have had will never come apply for your divorce on the ground of desertion your husband has offered to give you that without a contest it will take six months perhaps a year before you are free must i wait longer than that for you his words moved her powerfully she looked him full in the face a sensation as if her brain wa in overwhelmed her if you should kiss me once just once before you go what harm could it do she repeated in the tones of a sleep she took his face between her hands just once on the lips she continued in the same dreamy tone just once i something rushed across his mind like a he saw with horror the pit on the edge of which they stood all his strength he took a step backward no he cried his hold of her you were right and i was wrong until you are free i ought not to touch you your aunt told me the truth i am indeed on dangerous ground i want your promise to be my wife or at least i want you to say that you will apply at once for a separation from your husband in the meantime we must not trifle with ourselves to day you are married a kiss from you to me means he ground his teeth together as he said it for he realized the of the disagreeable word why you are my brother replied her trembling at the i may give you a kiss may i not r he straightened himself up with the new strength that had come to him no i am not your brother he said i am your passionate lover i am your husband that is to be up to this hour have never done anything you have never done anything to make us look back on our acquaintance with a blush we must not begin it takes so little to cause regret for a lifetime i know you are going to be my wife you have not said it but it will have to be the first kiss i will give or take from you shall be on our wedding morning she closed her eyes and shrank about the as if his words hurt hen was right in the first place she replied as nt finished my husband lives and i am his till death it is true i would have kissed you do not me on that account i hold your friendship very dear i care enough for you to marry you if i were free but not enough to take the step yo suggest to free myself i am afraid i cannot make you understand but i will try if you were not in existence i would apply for my divorce to morrow it is because i am placed in the position of seeking for the purpose of my present union

0Arthur Conan Doyle

but to make one with you that i cannot bring myself to do it he contemplated her silently for some time trying to think what it was best to say let us be honest with each other he said at last we can afford to be that answer my questions as you hope for heaven she bowed her head and x love you you no longer for husband r she indicated a negative still you propose to continue in tne chains at matrimony with him as long as you both shall live t i must she faltered and if he should decide as he has the right to do to live with you again oh no not that never she exclaimed he smiled you do not know the w be mi compel you but he would not how can you tell r her cheek at the thought and she raised her eyes to his again there was a look of terror in them i wanted to know what your intentions were h said you purpose retaining of your husband nothing but his name what good will that do you is it a better name than mine r she did not answer and he persisted hoping to change her view you intend to remain his wife in name only supposing he to rid himself of even that claim you have deserted him he need only the court and show that fact to procure his freedom that will leave you with a tinge of disgrace which you would not have if you took the disgrace she repeated vaguely yes you will be in a position which you will not deserve then if you marry people will say tm s but i should not marry again the replied then people could say nothing he saw that he had used the wrong argument and he returned to the original proposition on the other hand if you apply for the divorce all of your friends will believe you justified everybody in has given you their sympathies all these years has every agreement that he made with you why are you so afraid of causing him uneasiness r she trembled visibly i wish i had had more experience she said i can do things from impulse and forgive myself but i dread a deliberate act that may be full of momentous consequences i have no doubt my attitude surprises you a few moments ago you clasped me in your arms and i did not protest a moment later had you not stopped me i would have given you my lips to kiss i had no time tor reflection in your embrace i found peace in your kiss i knew was the joy i had never known and now never shall know i would have accepted it then without a thought of consequences but to apply coolly to a judge to wait month after month to appear in a court room and my story for that i have neither the strength nor the patience if would do it instead i should be glad if there is any i will bear it though the people who have known me all my life will understand how little i am to blame and yet to marry after wards how could i r he took up his hat and held out his hand for a farewell it is evident he said bitterly that when yo talk of love do not understand in th least what th touch lips the word means i shall be better able to bear my loss when i remember how little you are willing to sacrifice for it all the tide of passion that she had held back swept over and bore her onward like a flood she threw her rounded arms around s neck and strained him to her bosom i love you more than you can ever love me she cried try as i may i cannot conceal it tell me what i ought to do i can bear disgrace the of my conscience anything except to lose you forgetting what he had said so short a time before he pressed his lips to hers write to mr he whispered before you go to bed to night telling him to proceedings immediately i will she answered brightly let me get the paper now and you shall tell me what to say she opened the writing desk and sat down to it but he hesitated to dictate the words it seemed awfully like a plot there is no need for me to word your communication for you he said bending tenderly over her shoulder all you want is a simple statement that you wish a separation for desertion and as soon as possible ask him how long it will take if there is no opposition she looked quite happy and raised her lips to his again and where are you going to be she asked i must write and tell you his answer i will return here a week from to night he replied she frowned prettily out husband s friend a week r oh that is a very long time i how we have changed in the last five minutes he exclaimed yes she laughed i have tasted something which makes me another creature i did not the touch of your lips would be so i am drunk harry drunk with my love for you he felt a certain horror creeping through his veins at the change that was in her this woman whom he had adored for her faith and loyalty even while he cursed the unhappy ties that bound her and though he kissed her again he left her with more than he had ever felt before chapter xxv it is too late engrossed in his business knew none of these things the question whether his wife was or was not faithful had never been settled in his mind she had elected to

0Arthur Conan Doyle

go her way and allowed him to go his which he believed relieved him of all responsibility for her future action as to the past his main thought ab ut it was that it was very disagreeable his marriage had been a grand mistake he had no desire to risk another error of the same sort and therefore did not pine for greater freedom than he possessed he had nothing left but his theories and his business and just at this time there was a particular reason why the latter demanded his attention it too late when he had the invention which he confidently believed would bring him a fortune he had had to call upon capital other than his own to put it properly before the world so evident did it seem that immense returns must that he had not the slightest difficulty in interesting a number of gentlemen who were on the for such opportunities a company was with a capital stock of one fifth of which was actually paid in s attitude was quite opposed to the modern methods of doing business but he consoled himself with the reflection that there was no other way to accomplish his ends and that he should use the fortune when it was acquired in the cause he cherished it happened however at about the time of his open with his wife that a suspicion arose as to the complete originality of his invention a who had been to obtain the in reported that a similar process had been already there considerably agitated at this news could not content himself with the slow vehicle afforded by the but after consulting with his sailed for europe to give the matter his personal attention on his arrival at he found things even worse than he had anticipated the vital principle that he had relied upon had undoubtedly been discovered by the and they had even had a factory in operation upon the product for more than a year his first thought was to buy them out and the two concerns but the tn mo hurry to accept his offer they saw as husband s clearly as he did himself that he was in their power and they rejected his proposals as fast as he made them his at home when they learned the state of the case were furious they accused him of obtaining their money under false and announced their intention of winding up the company under process of law in order to recover what they could of the amount they had invested stung to the quick by these things did not know what course to pursue a year before he would have turned without a question of the result to a friend who had plenty cf capital and who would certainly have aided him this was no longer to be thought of and he knew of no one else on whom he could depend capital by confidence or friendship is the most wary of all the birds that fly there was not in s veins one drop of s blood and he could not have asked any one to lend him a dollar which he did not feel morally certain he should be able to return with interest in despair at the turn affairs had taken he finally offered himself to the concern hoping to get them to give him a share in exchange for what he could do in the rest of europe and the united states but all they d propose was a very moderate salary and which looked very vague indeed and after wasting the whole of the winter the discouraged man shook the spring mud of from his feet and went to paris among the letters which he found awaiting him there was one from in it he learned that she had seen in th newspapers which led her to fear he was in want of it is too late money she wrote to offer him all that she had and expressed the hope that he would not refuse to accept it as you know she said the professor me in his will the of his lifetime they were not large but such as they are they are yours i can cable you at a day s notice and more later if you require it if this will save you do not let by stand in the way i make it purely as a business proposition he read the letter twice and then he fed the fire with it not for an instant did it enter his mind to accept her proposal another envelope which had travelled long and reached him covered with post marks contained the legal notice that his wife had asked for a divorce on the ground of desertion the time assigned for the hearing was near at hand he thought it over for an hour and decided to make no response her was true he had deserted her if she wanted her freedom why should she not have it what did she want it for to marry undoubtedly it was as well that way was still young she would probably marry some one and why not there were the children ill luck was pursuing their father at every turn it was something to know that they would not have to share it several weeks went by feeling the need of what money he had left lived in an lodging in the his sentiments naturally led him into with the leaders who were hoping for something to occur which would make a republic possible and at one of the earliest meetings that he attended he met george s tha two men bowed stiffly to each other of them felt like shaking hands on his part did not know why he had this feeling but he refrained from anything beyond the most ordinary politeness after that they met quite frequently often sitting together around tables

0Arthur Conan Doyle

on which a two dinner was spread or in little halls up dark side streets consulting always consulting with a crowd on the situation was looking very badly his face was pale and it would not have required a physician to convince one that the limit of his life was already fixed among the for such the associates really deserve to be called none were more in earnest than he i shall not live long he said one day but i hope to see a vacant throne in france before i die no one in the circle to which they belonged imagined that the two americans had known each other in their native land they never came or went together they never engaged in mutual conversation each seeming to prefer talking to others of the party which was usually made up of many it would have surprised any of their acquaintances as much as it did to find at his door one evening and hear his feeble voice saying i want to talk with you there was no reason that knew why he should not admit this man he had refrained from intimacy with him mainly because his presence recalled scenes which he was only too anxious to forget and not because he had any reason to suspect the double dealing of which he had been guilty so h received hint with a show of civility and waited to his errand it tt too late ft i know you do not like me mr was the way the visitor began and i will make r stay as short as possible i came to ask you a question which might seem impertinent if i did not intend to explain it in advance you are too honorable a man to my motive as you and everybody else can see i am on the down hill road travelling at break neck speed if i could ever have been your rival which i am far from believing that time is passed i only came here to ask how soon you are to be to be married stared at him with a newly awakened pity he thought the brain had failed even before th body if you will think a moment he responded you will recollect that i have been married a long time do you not the incident at took a newspaper from his pocket which he slowly unfolded my mind is quite clear he said i know what i am saying read this paragraph and you will sec that you are married no longer read the paragraph had received the news before him a divorce had been granted to against her husband for desertion you see spoke up s thin voice that you are free you can marry as soon as you like all i want to know is when it will take place i do not think you will refuse to tell me i cannot understand what you mean replied his former suspicion re asserting itself it appears that my wife secured her husband s divorce as you say beyond that i do not know what you are talking about s pale face grew a shade at this announcement it can do you no harm to tell me he said wistfully it is true that i love her and shall carry that love to my grave but it is also true that she loves you that there neither is nor ever was the least hope for me i gave up every thought of it when i crossed the sea i expected to die without another glimpse of her but last night i heard you say you did not intend to leave france this year and i knew that meant she would come here for the wedding i thought perhaps you would consent that i should be present for i am quite reconciled she has been unhappy for such a long time nothing else in the world will bring back the brightness in her eyes and i have done with selfishness think of it again when you consider everything you will tell me i am sure as he went on speaking the error under which he labored dawned gradually upon are you speaking of miss he asked yes responded eagerly of whom else could i speak in that way then you are making a mistake was the reply i assure you i have no intention whatever of another marriage as for miss i have not even written her since i came to europe last autumn our business has been the eyes of the opened wider than is that possible he ejaculated why she loves you with all the devotion that such a woman t if too an feel for the man of her choice for years you were attached to her what could have come between you he paused a moment and then added suddenly it was not the silly letter that i wrote when my mind was wandering i sent you a note explaining that nor could it have been jealousy of me when i searched for her heart i found where it had gone she frankly told me that i had no chance whatever it cannot be that anything has you you were made for each other something must be done if there is a standing it ought to be set right the strangeness of the situation presented itself to s mind in spite of the pathos of this appeal but he knew no way except the straightforward one of truth nothing can make possible a marriage between miss and myself he said it is true that we were deeply attached friends before i entered upon my own unfortunate union i liked perhaps even loved her at that time she was engaged to professor and i supposed she would soon be his wife after his death our mutual liking kept us much together i neglected my own family in a way

0Arthur Conan Doyle

which i cannot defend and yet which i could not have helped without every feeling in my heart the affair of last summer has wrought a great change in me which subsequent events have my experience was not of a kind to induce me to attempt a second one besides this i have met with pecuniary i have lost not only the fortune i considered certain but most of what i had saved before i my invention i should have nothing to offer a wife husbands f i am a discouraged broken down man whose have left him heard him with surprise but at the last sentence he seemed filled with a new animation i have some money he said it is yours if shook his head no the fight has gone out of me i found that a firm of in discovered my process before i did six months ago if i had had money enough i could have done something it is too late now and i do not feel any regrets after a while i shall return to the united states and begin life over again the more thought about it the he became that nothing would move this man to accept his offer you are not sorry about the divorce he asked no i had time to prevent it had i chosen to do so your revelations made it impossible for my wife and i ever to live together again but they did much more they my faith in all women how could i marry again when such a wife as mine could prove the pale face grew paler yet its owner was ready to sacrifice everything even his reputation for truth in the interest of the woman he loved there is something i ought to tell you he said in a low voice i have written it out and left it to be sent to you after my my death but what you say makes me feel that i ought to tell you it is a a confession was suddenly interested but he did not make any verbal reply he only listened intently cannot live long pursued and if it it too late x tou choose to hasten my end it will matter little but i want to tell you the truth about your wife entirely forgetting the man s helplessness caught him roughly by the throat and seemed about to him then and there you villain he cried what do you mean then it occurred to him that he was making it impossible for to answer and he released his hold still however maintaining his attitude of hostility the was too much overcome to speak for a few moments and recovering his senses brought him a glass of water which he drank do you mean that she was demanded when the other gave signs of being able to peak bowed and there was ao truth in th report you made none was the reply but continued still half incredulous why did you invent the what could hav been your object p i hated mm yes the two man sat looking at each for minutes if you believed in anything i would make you swear to this said at last it is true replied the other true as that i hope for a in france i have no reason for lying to you now was convinced but he felt no of resentment for the bearer of the tidings husband s friend if you are indeed speaking the truth to day said he you are self accused of a most cruel act you have my wife the mother of my children you have taken away the reputation of en innocent woman and for what to gratify a toward another person from this hour forth i shall refuse to speak to you under whatever circumstances we may meet nothing but the knowledge that death is already close upon your track prevents my the summary vengeance that you deserve he opened wide the door of the room as he spoke and added go t one word just one gasped you will do justice to miss go she is in no way to blame for my folly she loves you deeply she go or i shall forget your weakness and lay my hand on you was the fierce reply g and never attempt to speak to me again as long as you live the frail man lingered no longer that night s landlord received notice that he should be away for several weeks the next day he was on the ocean bound for new york pacing the deck of the steamer alone day and evening he seldom spoke to any other passenger rapidly as the boat sped on her way the voyage seemed long to him when he reached boston he called upon his attorney and learned that the divorce being was still open for a contest he directed mr to prepare at once the proper papers denying the of desertion and setting forth the fact tf li too late that h had been travelling in foreign lands on business while the suit was in progress then he went to where he found a deserted house in the yard of which the early summer weeds and grass were rank there are few things more than one s old home and finding it in this condition it seemed to him as if all his family had died he hesitated about inquiring of any of the neighbor and was what to do when landlord of the house drove by and him my family have gone away it appears he said as the landlord in his horses more n six months ago was the reply i guess they didn t look to see you round these parts ag in he added can you tell me where they have gone asked not thinking it worth while to notice the quality of the answer

0Arthur Conan Doyle

wall it s out of sure said mr an out of the state if i m any nobody knows miss she could tell you but that ain t that i think she would there was no friendliness in the landlord s manner and moved silently up the street as it was he felt that he had no recourse except to call upon aunt miss and her brother were standing in the yard of their house when he arrived at the gate and both of them showed great surprise at seeing him bowed with that entire absence of either love or hate in his manner for which he waa famous miss straightened her thin neck not husband s and stood a whose gun it in a position u cavalry i have come to see my wife miss said i find the house empty and am told that you can give me her new address not for another year of life would the have the exquisite pleasure which she felt in the reply she was able to make your wife mr is it possible that you have married again so soon he under the unexpected thrust you know who i mean he answered during my absence i understand certain proceedings have been taken but they are not final and i am in a position to have them set aside your niece is still my wife and i have strong reasons for desiring to see her will you tell me where she is her face was distorted with rage at his announcement thank you not she replied bitterly the unhappy girl whose love you abused for so long is out of your she has taken the first step to tree herself from you it will take only the lapse of a few months to make her divorce absolute if there is one of sense left in your head you will make no attempt to annoy her further who had been them both with the calm gaze of an ox turned away to drive some out of a shall find her with little trouble answered miss when i do i shall have something of importance to tell her after she has heard it she shall decide whether she still wishes a separation from me you have always hated me and i am not surprised at your attitude but my it is too late j s wife my wife understand shall decide entirely for herself he strode away without waiting for the reply which in her wrath she would have thrown at him engaging a carriage at the livery stable he drove to the country seat where he asked to look at the papers in the case of as he anticipated the address he desired was there now of me the next day he was at and when his wife opened the door she stared at him with a vague alarm don t let me frighten you he said i have something to say which i could not very well write and so i came in person i shall only stay a few minutes may i take a chair the children were playing in the rear of the house and the maid was engaged in the kitchen there was no one to what they said i have not come to justify myself pursued the man hurriedly i know i have never used you right in one sense i have always been true to you yes i swear it before god but in another i have all the sacred promises i made when we were wedded i realize as i never did before the of my but that if not what i came so far to say for two weeks ago i was in paris and i took the long journey entirely for the sake of this brief conversation in the first place i want to beg your pardon for the suspicions that i entertained against you and to say that the person who made the charges that i then believed has confessed that they are entirely without foundation you have entered a suit against me for i thought that you had mb s your vow i was willing that you should hav at separation now that i am convinced of your truth i want to offer you again my love and support not the kind of love you had before but the love you should have had and the life by my tide that you ought to have led first tell me that i am forgiven i was deceived say that you pardon me s tears fell fast how shall i hope to be forgiven if i do not forgive she said and can you is there room in your heart for me she looked him full in the eyes as was her habit though her own swam it is too late the love which i gave you during those long years of neglect is dead i harbor no resentment i wish you every happiness but i can never again be your wife he had expected the answer indeed he could hardly conceive how it should be otherwise but it hurt him nevertheless i ought not to be disappointed he said with an effort i make no claim on what i threw aside when it was all my own but there are the children who will care for them the mother s instinct brought the blood to her cheek a who has cared for them since they were born i am no less able now than before the re mine and mine they shall remain the husband hesitated a minute will you answer me a question he asked pet do v u love ha ry it might have been the most ordinary question in the world judging from the calm way in which be put it it might have been the most judging by the way she received it have you come all this distance

0Arthur Conan Doyle

to insult me t she demanded no only to settle my future course if you art to be separated from me you must rely upon some one if it is to be say so that is all i wish to know i have no toward him when you are free from me you will be your own mistress tell me is it to be she buried her face in her hands and her silence was a sufficient reply for him well then it is harry you are to have a husband and i am to lose a wife is it not fair that should have the charge of one of our children sh sprang to her feet and above him in her excitement which one she cried which one of them do you think you have earned the right to take from me tr m me who bore them nursed them taught them t speak and have never slept beyond the sound of their voices why they are only babies you have no home to take them to unless unless she paused you intend to your name to in spite of all he managed to maintain the of his the question of my ever marrying any woman bu f you is beyond debate said he i have neither seen nor written to miss for eight months you can complete your divorce and marry whom you please but one of the children i have a right to claim and you ought to it without contest lit nt husband ran to tht window when could both playing on the lawn they would not go with you unless you used force she said turning toward him would you tear them from their mother against their will they are too young to understand he replied but i will leave it to them if you dare let them decide i will abide by their choice confident beyond expression that the test would him tapped upon the pane and m to the little ones a minute later they came in shouting in childish glee each to be ht t at the threshold there was a sudden pause put her tongue in her cheek and crept softly to her mother s side stood for one moment like a little statue and then into her father s arms papa papa i she cried you have come home to stay where did she get it this never fading for the whom she had not seen a dozen she was old enough to remember him t no little one said whose eyes had become all at once very moist hive not come home to stay i shall have to go away again very soon and travel many miles across the sea and be gone a very long mamma and i were just talking about it as you came in i told her i wished i could take one of my children with me because there are times when i become very she thought you were both too young to leave her but she said if either of you wished to go with me she would consent so she called you in and we are wait ing tor your answer t the child looked grave her little face grew very did as she heard him are you obliged to go she asked slowly yes there is no help for it why can t you take all of us f u it is not possible i cannot explain it he said i must either go alone or take you or heard her name spoken and lifted her head from her mother s lap i won t go off with no man she i shall stay with mamma well how is it with you the child looked from one of her parents to the other and her little bosom heaved mamma she said you have had me all my life and papa needs me if you are willing i will go him then she burst into violent sobbing she has decided said the father quietly chapter mrs is very ann had given her word and though she thought heart would break she never dreamed of keeping from her father after she had offered to go with him it was arranged that he should return to boston and come for the child a week later the sad task of preparing the little wardrobe was begun it almost hie mother s c the garments she s husband s friend preparing were grave clothes she felt that might never return but she had given her promise while engaged in packing the things on the last day before her husband was expected made his appearance a few words broken by sobs told him the story is a very odd child was his comment of course when you accepted his proposal you had no idea that she would be willing to go i should never have imagined it possible she replied and yet ever since she could speak she has been fond of him she used to get worked into the most frightful fits of temper when aunt spoke of him she was one day when he came to see us at s refusal to recognize him even the articles that he had touched seemed to become sacred to her papa s chair papa s plate papa s were held by her far above all similar furniture when you reflect how little she has seen of him it is most remarkable he watched her silently for some minutes as she resumed her labors how you must have loved him in the first months of your marriage he exclaimed suddenly why do you say that because there is no other way of for s it was born in her she bent her head over the trunk as the memory of those days came back to her again she walked with him through the pine woods again she heard his

0Arthur Conan Doyle

gentle voice and felt his strong arm yes she bad loved him indeed i did love him she said looking up i loved till that moment when i heard him doubt m is i loved through all those years of neglect but those words of his killed my love with one blow he leaned back in the and looked at her are you sure very sure that it is all dead he asked i sometimes fear that it may revive no i ought not to say i fear it if it would make you happier i ought to rejoice she arose and stood beside him but you would not rejoice harry you would be very very sad he took the hand she held out i want to do what is right at whatever cost to myself he said and something tells me that i ought to go away from you and stay until the complexion of things is altered go away she exclaimed is he to take and am i to lose you too it pleased him to hear her say this but he persisted we are both of us a little touched by insanity said he you are still a wife and will be until the six months when your divorce is to be made absolute think back one year and imagine yourself listening to words of love under circumstances like these her eyes dilated do you feel guilty r asked nervously sometimes i feel this way that i am degrading you i feel that we are acting too the least thing that i ought to do is to go away and stay till you are free she beat the carpet with her foot and why do you not do it r it is so difficult she took a chair more to vary her posture than mr husband s anything else and clasped her hands her knees but it must be done she said yes i see it clearly now it must be done then you ought to leave this village said you ought to go somewhere where there is movement in order to divert your mind not to new york i shall be there a good deal but to some other of the large cities say to philadelphia if you needed me it would be easy to send word after a little further talk this course was decided en and though it gave a pang to them both they parted with only a verbal good by fearing to trust themselves with even a clasp of the hands came for his daughter at the time agreed upon he had written to begging her to make the parting as simple as possible and the mother gave up her child with dry eyes and a forced appearance of contentment herself wept vehemently but still in her determination to go when the carriage had gone felt as if she had only one living child left and with no one to help her she took up the burden of existence again with a heavy heart but there was one thing she had neglected to provide against miss had not been consulted in the disposition of the child and when she what had been done after it was a tf w she fairly boiled over with rage she wrote her niece a letter declaring that by this action she had all claim to her further good and that she need expect nothing whatever from her from that time forth as you have preferred to listen to the man who ib test as so disgraced you rather than to me your choice is your own said the letter never again will i give a thought to you never shall a penny of mine find its way to your pocket i di own you completely go where you please do what you like but never let me see or hear from you s cheek burned with indignation as she read her only design in consulting with her aunt had been to gain moral support not pecuniary aid she had accepted the small sums sent her with some doubts of the propriety of doing so to have it thrust in her face as if she were a beggar was too humiliating she had declined s proposal to divide with her what he had left and now he was on the sea and could not be reached even were she disposed to write to him the sum that she had on hand was very small it would take her to philadelphia but would not provide for her and very long after she got there it was evident that she must seek paid employment upon arriving at the city of love she consulted the newspapers inexperienced as a child she set out to answer some of the which seemed to offer engagements suitable to her capacity she was surprised and disappointed at the small compensation offered hardly more she had paid her cook at there was one exception an old gentlemen who wanted a housekeeper and who said that would be no objection whatever he told her to fix her own salary but there was something in his manner she did not know what that alarmed her and she told him that she would have to think about it when she reached her room she was glad to remember that she had not given him her address her husbands wrote to her but she thought it best not to answer him just at present through the kind offices of her landlady she got half a dozen children to teach the of english but the sum received did not quite suffice to pay her rent and the cost of the meals which she cooked herself over her little stove she began to grow rebellious one evening she her watch for twenty five dollars it had cost one hundred and was coming home when she encountered on the he knew the

0Arthur Conan Doyle

moment he saw her that she was in some new trouble and though she resolved not to confide it to him she had told him all about it before they had walked four blocks together a the old he exclaimed in allusion to miss and how long would you have fought it out like this without letting me know i hated to write of it to you she answered clinging to his arm i could not accept when there is no way in which i can repay them no way he uttered the words like a cry no way in september just as soon as the law will permit i want you to take my name don t oppose me any more you must have a protector it is outrageous for you to go on as you have been doing and darling little too it will break you down you are not used to it how dearly she washed she could agree with him but she could not there is no need of saying such things to me she said i cannot marry you and that being the case i cannot accept your assistance u what wig you do then he out m is starve haven t you had enough of this but if i cannot lend money to you i can to won t refuse it from her best uncle take me to your house and let me talk it over with her at first positively refused to show him where she lived but he plead so hard to b allowed one look at his little niece that sha with heightened color she led him into the barely furnished chamber that was parlor kitchen bed room everything to her and her child s delight at seeing him was boundless he made her say a hundred cunning things to which he called her mother s attention as tending to prove his side of the case and when she grew tired he assisted in her and held her in his arms until she was asleep before i go he said as he laid the child on tha pillow and stood waiting with an instinctive knowledge that he ought not to remain much later i want you to promise that you will accept the money i am going to send you to morrow you can call it a present a loan or what you please but you must take it without a word her voice trembled much as she tried to answer him i have been thinking a great deal since i met you to night and i have tried to reach a right conclusion if i were entirely alone in the world i could earn my own bread it is because of that i have had to refuse situations offered me i appreciate all you say and i have faith in your goodness if you will take my my baby you may have her the suggestion staggered him tt take he exclaimed take the child from you you cannot mean it i i know she stammered that it will be hard i have missed so much and is like half of my heart but i cannot take your money i can let you spend it for her without feeling the sense of shame that would come if it were for myself you can place her with some kind lady who will be a mother to her and i i shall get along very well i have no doubt a bright idea flashed into his mind if you will let me select the lady who is to care for her with pleasure she responded u for i should have perfect confidence in your choice and you seek a situation he added with a smile yes consider yourself engaged she was not to be caught at once with this attractive though it was and she protested that he ought to take her proposition more seriously you cannot understand said she how degraded i should feel to accept your after the talk of love that has passed between us it will be hard for me to earn my living i never dreamed how hard until i tried it but it can be done mr has and he will not let her suffer you may take if you will be so kind and when both hands are free i can battle with my fate alone again there swept over him a wave of passionate longing whether she were another man s wife whether she were ever to be his what mattered it he loved her and as before at her cottage at still well he took her in his arms useful you talk of hiding away from me he cried his voice shaking who is being punished the most life to me without you is i want you i want you to hold next to my heart while existence remains to me we shall both have to overcome the foolish notions due to education you gave a soul all goodness and purity to a man who has trodden upon it like the swine upon the pearls he has every right to you even the law has stepped in and barred him out you are mine now and i shall never resign you never never he had one arm around her shoulders and held her head back so that he could look into her eyes all the woman that was in her pleaded for him you are too generous she began i ought not to allow you to say these things his lips touched hers it was a caress as gentle as that which a mother gives to her sleeping babe i have done with listening to you he said gravely you are not a fit person to with important to morrow i shall engage a house for you and and you must go there a blush her features careless one she replied have you no

0Arthur Conan Doyle

thought of appearances i could no more go to a house that you had hired than she paused for a sufficiently strong why what would it indicate in the eyes of the world he saw it as she did now that the matter was presented to him i am afraid common sense is both of ms he admitted you are right of course although i should not come there my paying the her husband s rent might make talk i will therefore send a of money not to you don t flatter yourself but to you can use it as you please in her interest i will keep away if i can until september confound mrs what an idiot she is disengaged herself gently from his clasp and stood gazing at him with eyes of affection no harry mrs is a very useful personage she has a mission to you have over persuaded me and i will accept your last offer for s sake but she paused and her voice grew i can promise nothing more sometimes it seems as if i could not live without you and again the frightful thought of two living husbands me you are too noble and generous to make this money the basis of any claim i am sure of that or i would not touch it and now we must say good night jf there are as we are taught in infancy angels whose mission it is to record the struggles of men toward what is highest in their natures they must have filled a page for as he pressed the hand of and went his way the next day decided that it would be best to engage a small of furnished apartments for herself and rather than either a whole house r a boarding place the sum which came directed to miss was sufficient for their necessities for months in advance time passed by she heard often from but never saw him she had become quite reconciled to her lot when one day to her infinite astonishment her aunt presented herself at her door her first thought was to refuse her is useful but she feared a scene in the hall way and she silently escorted the grotesque figure into her sitting room when the door was closed the two women stood regarding each other with anything but friendly looks i am not going to ask you to sit down said in a voice whose firmness surprised even herself if you have any business to with me you can attend to it standing miss s sinister eyes flashed as she let her gaze wander about the room when you were at she said i wrote you that t should have nothing more to do with you but i cannot let my brother s daughter sink so low as this without an effort to save her i came to ask you to return to not to for there you would cause talk that would be unpleasant to both of us but to some quiet town n the vicinity where i can supply your needs and prevent further disgrace to your blood felt all the that was meant by these words but she made no reply she was like one ever since you first met the wretch whom you afterwards married continued her aunt i have noticed a change in you all the advice i have given has been wasted i thought when i wrote that letter to that it would bring you to your senses i imagined that you had had enough of it seems that i was mistaken there were other depths into which you could descend and you a goodness girl are you going to stare at me all day like that have you no reply to make husband s for answer stepped to the door of th room flung it open and pointed to the oh you turn me out do you screamed the but i tell you i will not endure it i will inform the police and have you taken into court you shall not go on in this way you the into which the woman s nerves had been wrought proved too much for her she staggered to a chair where her evident weakness began to alarm her niece i am growing old said miss when she regained her voice is growing old we have saved our money all our lives for you when you exhausted our patience i had a new will made giving the property to missionary societies it was not what i wanted to do but your conduct compelled it but bad as you are you are of our family and i would rather you had our money than any one else leave this place come with me and i will destroy the will that you i think i have not long to live and i want this matter settled before i die could not trust herself to speak her only desire was to bring the interview to a close what do you say repeated miss will you not give me an answer the extended arm with the hand pointing to the street entrance was the only reply she received then god forgive you moaned the aunt may he judge between us i am too weak to walk back to the station will you be kind enough to let come one call a carriage there is something in insult that tht natural compassion in the veins of women s heart would have melted with pity at the very useful sight before her had its victim been a total stranger as it was she saw and heard only the hard woman who had trampled on her tenderest feelings and crowned it all by an accusation that she could not overlook leaving the room she rang for the of the building and sent him for the carriage as requested luckily was out walking with the maid

0Arthur Conan Doyle

and the aunt and were the sole occupants of the apartment when the returned asked him to assist the lady in the next room to the street and herself remained out of sight till she was gone she knew that if she trusted herself to say a word she should break into reproaches and that the safest policy was silence but when she heard the carriage roll away she felt a little guilty after all it is very hard to do exactly right she to herself but there is a limit to what human nature can endure she heard from once a brief note saying that he had arrived safely at paris and that was well he made no allusion to the past and gave no definite address it was clear that he had burned the bridges behind him and left her to follow her own course when september came that september that had waited for the cable flashed the news that napoleon iii was a prisoner of the and that his empire lay a crushed and broken thing under the feet of the conquering army was advancing upon the capital of france its march would alter the destiny of a nation but to husband s the mother it meant but one thing danger to th child she had surrendered had spent the summer in a ceaseless round of the watering places vainly hoping to hasten the dull dragging days when september arrived he felt that he must know his fate he could wait no longer he wrote to that he was coming to visit her and her by all that she held sacred to let no foolish considerations stand in the way of their speedy union when they met he saw in her eyes nothing that encouraged him you have heard the news from france she said anxiously i am very uneasy about if the surround paris she will be in great danger why did i let her go i have regretted it every moment since i do not think she is in especial peril he replied but it will be easy for you to ascertain if you desire we will go there on our wedding journey she at the suggestion it is hardly fair she said that you should use my mother love to influence me i wish i knew she was safe i have three times and received no answer as i did not know s address i have tried to reach him through the american or it does not seem wise for me to go knowing nothing of the country or the language but if i had some one a friend who would their eyes met i will go he said quietly it matters little to me where i am so long as you will not give me your love heart is useful oh harry she cried my love and ray heart were yours long ago if it must be he continued not noticing the interruption that you will not trust your life in my keeping one part of the world is the same to me as another i will go to paris on the next steamer and send you word what i learn but i shall not return to america i have borne as much as i can and my native land has grown hateful to me she came close to him and placed her hands on his shoulders i do not deserve such devotion she whispered i wish oh how i wish that i could it better he put his arm about her in the old familiar fashion i ought not to complain he said love that you tell me is mine i ought to be happy why am i not i wonder why do i grow sick and pine for the substance as well as the spirit but if i am to catch the next steamer i must be in new york to night bring in for me to kiss and i will go miss was not troubled with scruples her delight at seeing was she sat on his knee till the clock warned him that he must depart and her place very reluctantly at last stood for some minutes with s hand in his reluctant to break the hold that seemed now so slight the sea has its dangers he said in a low voice i will pray for you if i should perish what should be my last thought her husband s friend that i have done what i believed right she replied weeping that i love you and shall be true to that love as long as i have life he knew that if he gave way in the least his fortitude would be shaken and with a gentle kiss upon her cheek he silently withdrew before he slept that evening he read over his will made the previous spring the bulk of his property to and her mother should it ever be in those terms it might excite comment from the people who are always ready to think evil on the other hand they were the ones he loved best on earth and they would need his care even after his death yes the testament should stand there was a couple on board the steamer a happy pair who and all day long in their chairs upon the deck heard accidentally that the bride had recently been from an first partner with whom she had led a dreary life what a difference there is in women he muttered to himself but the more he thought of it he did like less for the contrast shut f ik chapter hut up in paris was in time to get into before the german army invaded it but he was not in time to get out again as soon as he could have desired he found with little trouble not through the american officials from whom the ly kept aloof but by

0Arthur Conan Doyle

a quiet investigation made fr a member of the force whom he engaged for the purpose was too much wrapped up in the main object of his life to devote a great deal of attention to his former friend he received him in fact without exhibiting either pleasure or regret but ia answer to questions he stated that was quite well and that he had no intention of allowing her to return to her mother it is only fair that i should keep one harry he said when you are to have the other two bit his lips i am to have neither of them he replied i came here at mrs s request to ask you to let me save from the extreme dangers that surround paris that is my only errand if you positively refuse i have only to telegraph her mother to that effect and pursue my journey toward the east took a newspaper from his pocket and held it up some kind friend has sent me this th announcement the divorce has been made absolute i do not see why you should husband s your happiness surely there is nothing a the way how could he have loved this man almost like a brother for so many years mrs is perfectly free he answered and purposes remaining so looked surprised i must inquire the reason he said what stands between you now you do was the quick reply she has an notion that a woman should not have two living husbands pulled his moustache for some moments that is nonsense he said at last if she applies it to this case as far as she is concerned i am as if i had never existed the law joined us and the law has dissolved our union she is a good girl and i seriously hoped you were united before this time i tried to right myself last summer but it was too late she refused to live with me again and there was nothing more to be said i took and came here where there is likely to be enough soon to all my attention i have grown very fond of the child and i could not think of parting with her if you can secure a you had best go without delay paris is going to be an uncomfortable place for men with your views before the winter is over with my views repeated then i should think it a poor place for any american if you refer to me i am not an american was the quick reply no i am a frenchman while this conflict lasts napoleon is as i predicted to you that he would be that day at the arch of but there is still much to be done our shut up in rulers are almost as as those we have i fear the french have little chance of the responded with no recognized leader whom all are bound to obey they be at the mercy of the the will enter these gates before christmas unless aid comes from some unexpected source smiled let them enter the have no wish to keep them out the french people must be before it can hope to arise triumphant let the in our walls and spread their armies over our streets eventually they will have to retire and out of the chaos the people will come to day we have only exchanged a for a i welcome the as part of the discipline we need but you who love for itself alone can have no object in remaining so i say to you again procure your before it is too late sent a to saying briefly that was well and that he could not induce her father to release her but when he sought his he found that there were innumerable difficulties in the way after weeks of fruitless effort the of the city began and he found himself doomed to remain within the walls a document with which minister provided him made his passage safe about the city but the of his imprisonment became almost he varied the monotony of his life by calling frequently upon to whom her father gave him free access and who remembered him perfectly the child wept when he spoke of her mother and sister husband s whom she admitted she missed sadly but she did not wish to leave her father the perfect devotion that she had for him was almost like worship it could not be accounted for on any ordinary to her he represented all that was good great and noble the hour or two each day which she passed with him were her happiest moments she was under the charge of a who assisted her in her simple lessons in english and in acquiring the tongue which she absorbed with astonishing readiness before s arrival she understood practically everything that was said in her presence by the who called upon her father and she had no difficulty in making herself comprehended she was given a full part so far as such a young mind could be in the constant conspiracy that was going on around her her father desired that she should be present whenever he had visitors for he thought no age too young to that hatred of oppression that was his own ruling passion it delighted him to hear the earnestness with which she would utter such expressions as a les and la on such occasions he would pat the head and respond ma she knew that she had pleased him and for there was no higher standard than this among the people who gathered at s apartments were many women some of the most pronounced were of the so called sex mistaken they may have been in their but they made as unselfish and as earnest a band as were ver engaged in any cause they up us paris ly their

0Arthur Conan Doyle

masculine in disdain for personal consequences and faith in the success of their principles one evening was surprised by an unexpected addition to their ranks a mile brought with her an american lady for whom she gave her fullest it was knew it was but he had to admit that she was greatly changed she had now abundant threads of white in her hair and many of those lines that tell of suffering about her mouth and eyes he was not willing to follow the hint that her quick glance gave him and pretend that he did not know her he preferred to say coldly i think i have met miss in america and then he went on with the business of the evening as if nothing had happened the republican government is not likely to make additional trouble for itself by any of us at present he said it has quite enough to do to resist the siege if however we should be placed under arrest it would only hasten the revolt that is in the breasts of our friends the national guards and lead all the quicker to the opening of the gates to the for one i hope the contest will be a prolonged one i want it continued until the temporary masters of france become as to the people as were their imperial our country is eighty years behind the true hour of her destiny except for the unhappy of the first she would have taken her place before the end of the last century we must see to it that she is not controlled by another man on horseback when next we find her bleeding in the dust husband s friend these sentiments were warmly by all present and similar were made in impassioned language by many others both men and women arrangements for carrying on the were made reports were received from various and new life was into the movement it was one of the peculiarities of the french that most of the leaders were men of foreign birth and none of them were more trusted than his labors his marked devotion made him conspicuous even in ranks where such qualities were the common property of all when the meeting broke up miss told her friend mile that she had a little business to with mr and remained after the others had departed but when she found that they were alone she could hardly trust herself to speak the cause promises well she managed to articulate after an embarrassing pause i should answer yes and no to that he replied the test will come when we have to rely on these french to fight the government forces i will say however that i have high hopes you were surprised to see me here yes how did you manage to pass the there is no guard so strong that it can keep a woman from the man she loves she answered with set lips the reply startled and did not please him for god s sake he said is this a time to talk of love when we are all lying with our necks under the knife i have but one sweetheart one wife one hope france a look of pain and sorrow shot across her face shut up in paris you know that her absolute decree of divorce has been granted she said yes and i am glad it is so she will marry probably she has done so already added the woman it would be all the same to me he responded wearily but you are mistaken he is here in paris here she cried with a start here he called at this house this morning he has been in the city for some weeks her look of incredulity faded slowly away what is he doing here he cannot be in sympathy with us no he is only waiting an opportunity to get away he was caught when the siege began she eyed him narrowly and he calls on you are you friends with him he took up a book on the table a life of and turned the leaves i am no longer the friend or the enemy of any man he said i am only the friend or the enemy of principles s affairs are without interest to me i care no longer for anything but the and as she gazed at him with new inquiry he added my little daughter who is here with me she could not help a blind and jealousy of his wife s child her at that moment you took a child from her then i left one and took one she agreed that it was fair but of what interest are these things to you f we can never again be more than the merest mo husband s friend the past as far as you and i are concerned buried she was a picture of audacity as she replied a why she demanded harshly because i wish it so he answered with all my time all my energies all my thoughts are embarked in the cause of the freedom of france my life has hitherto been full of errors i will keep it as it should be henceforth there seemed little use in talking to him but she did not know when she would have another opportunity do not forget one thing she said your first mistake was when you married all the others grew out of that one perhaps so i will not dispute you he answered but what is the use of discussing it now there is this use she said you have never heard my whole story and i have waited here to tell it to you will you listen he took out his watch impatiently and bade her proceed if he must hear this he thought it quite as well that it should be now when you first knew me she

0Arthur Conan Doyle

said i was engaged to be married to professor he had taken me when i was a little orphan adopted and educated me when he asked for my hand i did not know how to refuse him for there was no other way to discharge the heavy debt i had incurred he was the kindest and the best of men he admitted that he had been in love with me ever since i was fifteen years of age he alluded to our of years and said he did not v i it me to marry him unless i could bring to him my whole at that time the thought of love for another hut up in park v ad never entered my head and t promised to t e his wife on my nineteenth birthday in the i met you and before i was aware of it all the affection that had waited for a touch was awakened moved uneasily in his chair evidently much disturbed he began in a tone of protest hear me she replied u for my story is not a long one i cared for you from the first day we met but even on that afternoon when you declared yourself i did not realize the full extent o my feelings i supposed my promise to the professor almost as binding as a ceremony and the thought of breaking it never entered my mind when he entered the room and found me with my arms about your neck you remember how kind he was when you had gone he took me on his knee and said there was yet time to our contract and that if i would say the word he would consider our engagement ended then he left me and for days we hardly saw each other the more i tried to think i ought to marry him the more i could not your face always came before me i wanted to see you again and test my heart in your visible presence but you did not come and i did not know where you had gone the next thing was your letter informing me that you had taken a wife the world from me as i was reading it professor entered the room the suffering oc his face taught me my duty i thought of all his years of more than tenderness and i him had made up my mind but he was never deceived my spirits could fe the former i ms husband and more as the wedding day approached and though i did my best to conceal it he knew how unhappy i was you know how he went to the house and how before the ceremony was performed he was dead after the funeral his lawyer handed me an envelope directed to myself and i found two documents within one was his will me the whole of his estate the other was a letter dated three weeks before in that letter he stated that he had a that he should never live to marry me that he was destined to a sudden death in case his proved true he begged me not to spend too long a period in mourning for him but to give my hand to some good man without needless delay a fear came over me as i read it that all was not right with him a physician at my request made an and found that he had taken poison was interested at last that is dreadful he exclaimed yes she answered looking at him he killed himself that i might be happy you know the scripture says greater love hath no man than this no one has ever been told of it you i and the doctor are the only persons who know the professor had no relations and ten years have passed that is why i feel safe in confiding the fact to you there was a momentary silence and then said i confess that i hardly see your object is it too much she asked that such sacrifice should bear its legitimate fruit until a year ago you were all to me that you could be and still maintain to your foolish marriage now you are shut up paris o for nine years of my life those years that ought to be worth most to a woman i gave every thought to you you have no right to cast me off he looked sufficiently astounded well he said i never thought you would come to this thought she exclaimed scornfully what do men like you think did you imagine i was made of stone or iron i was eighteen years of age when we wept in each others arms because of what stood in the way of our union i was only nineteen when i found myself an widow unable to shed tears over the grave of my benefactor because his death left my path the more open to you then you returned to me have you forgotten it with of an love and i took you for what you were or rather for what you seemed i have endured all the that a sensitive mind can feel knowing that you were hers by the law and mine only by the light meaning of a word you never realized what agonies i passed through in those years for i have always tried to turn to you the face of a resolved to perish rather than let you know the fire that was me i talked of social of everything but love i sat with you day by day listening to everything but that which i hoped and prayed for a declaration that you like me had borne ail that you could bear sometimes it seemed to me that your calmness was like mine assumed sometimes it came upon me as i know it now that the affection you had felt for me in

0Arthur Conan Doyle

my had died and been buried month after month year year i endured it for at least i had her husband s your presence with me but when you came do more my fortitude gave way he murmured something about the of such reminiscences and the pain that would from calling them up but she would not cease i was an attractive girl when you first knew me i have portraits that tell me i was almost beautiful i am an old woman now see i am growing gray i am nine the woman you married is about my age but i might be her mother if looks could count i have seen her tall and fresh and ruddy she came to my house to show me how much she ought to be preferred i wonder that i let her depart alive she had borne two children to you two i did not know till came from europe and exposed the secret but she is gone she is no longer your wife and it is time you did me justice with these words arose with dignity and took her departure and sat there for a long time till it dawned upon him that her mind had probably become affected by the strain upon it and that she was in a measure for what she said in a few days the german cannon began to throw shot into the city and little found herself confined to the limits of the house and garden in the her father was now very busy and only saw her for a few moments each night and morning except when a meeting was held at her rooms when as before she was always allowed to be present the provisions grew short and the horrors of famine began to prevail around them but with foresight had filled his cellar with an abundance enabled him not only side by bide to supply his own table but to assist many of his friends who would otherwise have suffered much weary of idleness offered his services to the government and bis medical knowledge found him plenty to do in the so the terrible winter passed away till one day in march the hated walked into the city and soon after william the was crowned german emperor in the palace of the great at chapter side by side this is not a history of the french the terrible events of that spring of in paris have been told and re told until the world is familiar with them threw himself into the popular cause with all the that was in him he was a member of the of supply and defence was called citizen by his with important affairs slowly the forces were overcome by the better fed and better soldiers of the government everybody with the conditions knew that it was only a question of days when order would prevail but the held out with desperation on the i th of may assisted at th of the her husband s friend of genuine satisfaction as the great bronze structure fell he imagined he could see falling with it the tyranny that had man for centuries he remarked with pleasure that the statue of the first napoleon which had surmounted it was broken in pieces and that its head was severed from its body but the joy of the was of brief duration within a week the actual taking of the city had begun and in a few days more only the most of the had any doubt that the end was near government troops penetrated to the place de la and the place de opera others took possession of the and still others occupied the de the and the in es those in charge of the defence from their quarters in the hotel de issued orders to resort to the ancient system of and these were erected in all directions by were arrested and pressed into the service under threats of was stopped one morning on his way to a hospital and ordered to assist the who were throwing up upon his refusal in terms more energetic than polite he was about to be executed without further when george appeared upon the scene he like was a member of and his authority to save the american he was a mere wreck physically but the excitement of the contest kept him on his feet the members of the national guard always spoke of him as the ghost what can you gain by holding out any longer said to him when they were a little removed from the scene of his late imminent danger it must be evident to you that your cause is utterly side by side hopeless the will shoot you all down like dogs in a few days more that is true was the response most of us will die here but what of that as the blood of the has proved the seed of the church so our deaths will do more than our lives could accomplish for france and humanity posterity will be compelled at least to own our have you heard the women who went yesterday with a demand for a for the in the place du royal each one wore for a lover or brother whom they had sworn to there were no horses to be had and they dragged the machines by hand first their skirts about their to prevent them their march a people like this can never be wholly crushed our cause is just and as for our lives what are they it is but a few years at most that any of us would live if we sacrifice ourselves for liberty do we not die well the last struggle took place on saturday may th three quarters of the attacking army were in a semi circle the two extremes of which rested on the the portion following the to the d

0Arthur Conan Doyle

general advanced by the du temple general attacked by the prince everywhere the resistance was furious at the of the richard and the prince stood a sixty yards in length as the obstacle was in front the troops advanced by the and succeeded in placing the between two fires the slaughter that husband s ensued was terrible the ground was dotted with blood and lay in heaps here fought his associates not to yield an inch of territory until the latest moment at last the remnant of the fell back that evening the were taken with about eight thousand prisoners the of also fell into the hands of the troops and general took the and cattle market of la such fury of attack and such desperation of resistance can hardly find a parallel in modern warfare the national guards who were left from the general destruction plunged into when night compelled a of the more active many of them got drunk on wine and stronger and whole districts women and children were not only in the street but even in their own no accurate report of the committed can ever be made but in their the guards spared neither friend nor foe they seemed to realize that order would soon be restored and that they must make immediate use of their freedom tired out with the work of the day citizen ate his loaf of bread at and issued his orders for the morrow though he must have realized how hopeless was the contest of his broken ranks against the and victorious of the enemy he gave no sign of he had taken his life in his well knew his probable fate if he did not fall in battle a speedy execution was almost certain to be his doom the already taken had been down in crowds the government he was quite bide bt mm ready to follow them had he been offered a to escort him safely beyond the lines he would not have accepted it such is the to which man can rise either in a good cause or a bad one citizen had lain down on a in one of the buildings in hopes to get a few hours of sorely needed sleep when the at his door came to say that some one wished to see him immediately when the visitor was admitted s face covered as it was with traces of smoke end powder darkened still more for he recognized at once the features of george do you come on business of the state p he demanded sharply no replied not raising his eyes but it is a personal matter of the greatest importance s voice was as hard as steel when he replied there can be no personal matter between me and you i forbade you ever to speak to me and now repeat the he looked at s face as he finished and something in it alarmed him it is not about about f s head hung yet lower speak man cried i can bear it is she dead the drooping eyes were lifted to tho father face m worse he answered for a minute s heart so strong in ail the of the day grew sick and faint tell me ail he said but remember i do t want your sympathy i a nothing but the fact a white ago i slowly husband s met a number of national guards all they were carrying away your child and several women by force i followed them for some distance hoping to get help to effect a rescue but all the other guards that they met laughed at the tears of the and greeted their comrades with remarks finally i spoke to the men who carried offering them all the money i had with me for her they refused with oaths and continued on their way in desperation i fired into the party killing several of them and received this wound in return now noticed for the first time that one sleeve of s coat hung limp at his side a bullet had shivered the bone of his left arm the father broke into apologies but the man stayed him we may be able to overtake them if you can find any of the guards who are sober he said i will not wait for that cried throwing on his coat and taking up a show me where they are i am a match for twenty of them alone but before they had gone a hundred paces a guard stopped him with a letter it is about your child citizen he said this was the contents of the note at the midnight dear some of our men captured a party of a few moments ago and i found with them the guards who had her were too drunk to resist and being taken with arms in their hand were promptly shot i shall take the best of are of your child till i see you again but will you ot take this opportunity to save your life i side by promised by the that if you will surrender at once you shall be allowed to depart freely harry leaving in the street returned to his post with the feeling of one who is partially the next day he fought like a demon before night he was surrounded and taken prisoner after a desperate resistance having secured the deep attachment of the general in charge was enabled iu spite of all to save him and to s surprise he was marched off to a prison instead of joining the others who were destined to immediate death the bravery of the american surgeon and the value of liis services also secured to him a document ordering the same disposition for two other americans supposed to be among the captured but he could not find them in time one was a defiant woman in the prime of

0Arthur Conan Doyle

life the other an man with a broken arm both were taken with arms in their hands and after suffering various were placed against a blank wall to be shot the man pleaded earnestly with his not for his own life but for hers he urged her sex ner even the doubtful condition of her mind and offered to give an order for a large sum of money but in vain he soon saw that nothing could move the heart of the lieutenant who had had two brothers murdered by the time was pressing the lives ot the prisoners were limited to seconds they granted him leave at last to go to the woman s side and speak to her he said we are to die her husband s yes she replied with a and humanity you you are not afraid p no the tears came into his eyes i have long had but one wish he said will you not let it be gratified a priest is just below us let him say the words as she comprehended his meaning she shook her head priests have had their day she replied it is not for them to unite souls only great love or a great purpose can do that he took one of her hands in his a great love is more than i can ask of you he said speaking rapidly but a great purpose we surely have in common see the soldiers are raising their they only wait the word of command let us go out of the world husband and wife she had a momentary struggle and then she said we will and as his lips touched her forehead the spectators who numbered thousands heard the frightful crash of three hundred guns fired simultaneously the who buried the victims found two with their hands still clasped together and hey laid them side by side peace at last chapter at last through those long weeks when she could hear nothing from her friends shut up in paris suffered all the of suspense and fear her dearly beloved daughter was there her lover whom she had come to regard with the tenderest feelings and her late husband toward whom she could not bring herself to feel anything like now that he was in each day she the newspapers for accounts of the situation found little to comfort her the funds which had left for grew low and another experience with want seemed about to stare her in the face even might have in her hatred had she seen her rival in those unhappy days when her affairs were at the lowest ebb a letter came bearing the post mark of she was not familiar with the writing and she sat for a long time holding it in her hand hardly daring to break the seal what a flood of memories the word brought the scenes of her childhood her youth her marriage all came back to her in her children were born in she first saw harry across the hedge of her she had heard her husband express doubt that she had been true to him and there the love that had survived all his neglect died out of her breast forever who in could writ to her her husband friend the was a brief one but its contents were momentous the signature was that of lawyer he wrote to say that her aunt was dead and that her uncle wanted her to come and live with him miss had been in feeble health said the lawyer for some time and her was not by the neighbors he advised to accept her uncle s invitation and hoped she would come with the least possible delay her first impression was that she had best not with the suggestion but on reflection she decided to go it would be hard to face the people of who had always thought so highly of her and who were now without doubt prejudiced by the tongue of they had known her when she was a happy wife and mother they knew her now as a woman and is the fault a taint hangs to the person in the minds of the good back country folk of new england probably they had also talked over her relations with and drawn their own none too conclusions but her uncle was alone and wanted her and it was her duty to go met her at the a little more bent a little more dried up than of and escorted her to his lonely home she thought she would have known even if nobody had told her that her aunt had died for there was an atmosphere in the deserted rooms that only death can bring had a woman to do the one of those noiseless footed women that add to the stillness of the places where they walk little was impressed by everything that she saw peace at last and did not at all like the idea of taking off fc r things and considering herself at home tt she nor her mother ate much of the supper that w as prepared for them and both retired early the next morning told in slow language the story of his sister s death after she come back from he said she didn t seem to care any more for anything she used to sit all day in the there with hardly a word and her appetite fell away astonishing i wanted to call the doctor but she wouldn t hear to it some of the neighbors come in and offered to do anything they could for her but she said there wasn t nothing to be done and that she would be out in a few days you know that your aunt always had her own way and i couldn t do anything right against her will the morning she died and i hadn t the least

0Arthur Conan Doyle

idea she was so near the end she talked to me about you at first she and said you ought to have known better than to have acted so cross when she went to see you and then she grew very tender like and asked me to bring her that last will that made leaving the property to the i didn t know what to do then for i had burned it up as soon as it came home for fear anything should happen to me suddenly and i didn t mean that you should lose what belonged to you by right but i to hunt for it and at last i come back as she was getting uneasy and said i couldn t find it she was very low then and i got scared and asked her to let me go for help but she wouldn t i want you to promise me said she that you will destroy that will i wan to have the property when you are through too husband s friend with it and i want her to come here and live with you after i am gone i saw then for certain that she was really dying and i called out of the to one of the neighbors who was passing to send the nearest doctor as soon as he could when i got back to her she asked me again to promise and i told her what i had done when the new will come home you ought to have seen her smile she caught my hand and held it tight and when the doctor got there she was dead wept at the recital she had the satisfaction of knowing that the good will of her only relations was restored to her though one of them had left earth too soon to feel her gratitude the daring that her uncle had shown was a genuine surprise and it revealed a new side of his nature crushed as he had been by the superior strength of mind of his strong willed sister he had yet dared to prevent the injustice which she contemplated toward their brother s child saw more than the assurance of a comfort in the story of the old man she learned that he had a warmer place in his heart for her than she had ever dreamed of and that her aunt must have suffered something of the pangs that rent her own breast at the unfortunate circumstances which them heard his niece s story of her fears in regard to her dear ones across the seas and promptly advised her to take an early steamer for england where she would be in a position to get the first news of them when the siege of paris was ra ed he provided her with funds for this purpose and did everything that he could to her departure she took with her to leave the only child she could now claim even peace at last though there were great dangers in the journey she was about to undertake arriving at london she engaged a and several days after the end of the s struggle she found herself in paris was easily found by the the fame of the young surgeon had spread over the city and he was as easy to as one of the successful in two hours after he learned that was in paris he was by her side and more than that much more to her he had with him sitting in her little parlor at a hotel he told his story and told hers he had recently proved beyond doubt that and miss had perished in the manner related in the preceding chapter one of the soldiers who in the execution had recognized as a man whom he had seen talking once with and had taken pains to bring him the sad news told how had tried in every way to save her from the guards who her and her mother s heart was touched she freely forgave them both for the injury they had done to her and uttered a prayer that heaven would be merciful to their souls as for your husband i mean mr said in some confusion he is still in confinement his life was promised me by one of my friends among the officers who ordered him to be from the general fate of those taken with him but unfortunately the officer was killed the same day by the accidental explosion of a shell and was consequently unable to carry out his agreement the general in chief has strong ev against and so far my have been in vain her s i shall use every effort to have him released but i must tell you that a feeling of bitterness to all of the prisoners who held out the longest in official circles if you would like to see him i will obtain a permit said immediately that she would go as soon as the document could be obtained and went to get it citizen as he called himself said the governor of the prison is a very sick man he had three wounds of which he never spoke when he came here and the say he can live but a few days at the longest there will probably be no more for a week and by that time if i do not mistake he will have passed where another will judge his cause his wife wishes to see him you say certainly she shall have the privilege this paper will admit her as often as she desires when and mrs were shown into the cell occupied by the invalid they found him in a high fever the doctor who attended him told them that he was a little in that state where reason and struggle for the mastery threw herself upon his breast and kissed his pale lips with all the

0Arthur Conan Doyle

of according to the decision of a judge he was no longer her husband but the near presence of the great brought back all her old affection do you know me she asked him gazing into his sunken eyes yes he responded with an attempt to smile and i know him also my wife and my old friend i have come across the seas to see you she went on i hoped that i could do something for peace at last you i wanted to take you back to america where we be happy again no he said i have never made you happy and i never could he he pointed to who had retired to the farther corner of the room he is the one who can do that i want you to love her harry as i ought to have done promise me then his mind wandered for a few moments if he will not fight for the let him die he exclaimed what does he say that he cannot disgrace his uniform how could one disgrace the uniform that him a of i love france i love her as a bishop loves blood as a christian loves gold never trust one who makes a parade of her virtue to day is the crowning sin of woman to morrow it will be something else they say it is drink that keeps down the laboring classes if i were one of them i would drink myself drunk and never live to see a sober hour what have they to gain by consciousness i cannot kiss you no one can give a true love kiss unless his soul is on its knee if a city like this can supply the people with music why not with bread if it can give free water in the public fountains why not in the dwellings of the poor if the authorities can pay priests why not doctors every man believes in a god otherwise he thinks a shakespeare or a the greatest mind that ever existed why have they brought me here i demand my privilege to die with the rest then he roused himself and said feebly where is they told me she was can you not bring her to me her husband s held his hot hands can you understand me perfectly she asked he nodded she is such a child i fear it would give her too great a shock but if you wish it he shook his head no i was very thoughtless she ought not to come but she loves me very much and her heart was in the cause did you know that had an arm broken when he tried to save her i thought i would never speak to him again but i thanked him for that have you seen has her he will take good care of her and of you is the other one well they are good children i have been a bad father teach them to forgive me if you can she told him that they both loved him very much and that they had nothing to forgive and her tears fell fast i am sorry very sorry he went on for the way i used you i thought my happiness bound up in another but i was true to you through it all i neglected you but i was not as bad as you might have thought it was all a terrible mistake then you remember how i blamed harry i saw afterward how wrong that where is he i want to see him came forward and the dying man put their hands in those of each other i am only sorry for one thing said mrs on the day that she found herself entitled to bear that name and that is that i let you kiss me and take me in your arms so long ago i cannot at last excuse myself for by the ties of law i was then the wife of another but i was your husband s friend he answered it cannot be that you intend to let that little slip distress you she laid her hand on his shoulder a little slip she echoed you would not call it a little slip if i should do the same thing now with some one else ah he cried with a start that would be a very different thing she laughed softly at his earnestness and as they were talking the children came to join them and how do you like your new papa she asked came and to s side lifting her rosy mouth for him to kiss but burst into sobbing i am glad mamma is to be happy she said when she could speak and i am sure i like you and i hope you won t think me naughty but oh i did love my father so much and took her in his lap and his own eyes filled as he soothed her against his breast the select novels of alone hidden path moss side sunny bank s husband at last my little love s temptation the empty heart from my youth up husbands and homes true as steel the novels of are of surpassing excellence by power of character drawing and descriptive facility they hold the reader s attention with the most intense interest and fascination all published uniform cloth bound price cents each and sent free by mail on receipt of price by q w company new york books by edward bat an of new york the heroine has all the charm of s in new york surroundings new york sun it would be hard to find a more charming cheerful story new york times altogether delightful express the comedy is delicious union it is as wholesome and fresh as the breath of doth illustrated i net the middle wall the times union says of this story of the south african

0Arthur Conan Doyle

who wish to do so to obtain my novels in that form the constant demand for even the very earliest ones that they have found a permanent place i only to my readers ask those critics who feel it necessary to attack my stories violently to read at least a portion of some volume before they their and to those who have so often given me more praise than i deserve i credit me with the intention and desire of entertaining and my readers and i shall be content at this date i am but unable to do much work to those who have sent expressions of sympathy i return thanks it is much to know that so many whom i have never met were induced to send messages of to my loved ones when they supposed me beyond the reach of their words when i am sufficiently recovered i shall be impelled to renewed efforts to please my million readers who have been so steadfast and loyal to me cambridge mass may their marriage bond chapter i a contemplated union the handsome old fashioned of mrs at near boston were filled with a happy company mrs had heen a resident of the town for many years and invitations to her evenings were held in high esteem by for many miles around the people one was likely to meet there were seldom either or lions but were selected with the idea of making a cheerful group capable of pleasure to each other and occasions where the danger of being bored was reduced to a mrs though hardly yet out of the had been long a widow at the moment when our story opens she was standing with her handsome daughter in the centre of an animated circle engaged in conversation though still so young she had an abundance of silvery hair which she had never taken any pains to conceal their marriage bond she was of build with a good color a bright pair of dark eyes and a charming expression of countenance in her dress she was but simple she was not a in the school which throws a young woman back into the of youth merely because she happens to be of her husband neither did she think it to parade her loss on all possible occasions though she felt the blow keenly she had with great between the perpetual black and veil that make one shudder at a certain species of woman and the frivolous actions of another variety which becomes a sort of for the of the rising generation she was possessed of a fair fortune and the estate on which her residence was situated was a beautiful old place many acres which seemed destined with the growth of boston to be very valuable at some time in the future miss the only daughter of the lady then in her nineteenth year was unquestionably the fairest object among the many good looking women present plump without being stout a little above the average in height with a lovely complexion and an abundance of fair hair arranged with exquisite taste she was as pretty a girl as one might find in a long journey she was most and her manners were a happy medium between the ways of the and the airy pretensions that so many of her sex think it best to affect simply charming was the expression of all the men who saw her and the same verdict was wrung unwillingly from the lips of many women whose envious eyes wandered over the beautiful picture oh there s no denying that is pretty their marriage bond ihey would say in despair and i wonder who taught her to dress with such perfection i never saw her when she wasn t a model for a though i don t believe she any more on her clothes than hundreds who can t approach them in effect two young men stood on opposite sides of the room from mrs and her daughter them as closely as was consistent with good breeding between the pauses in the conversation they were having how beautiful is to night said one of them whose name was as if the expression was forced from him in spite of himself to whom the remark was addressed did not take his gaze from the object of its she is on the whole the finest girl of her age i ever saw he responded in a low tone she would be proud to know that you said so replied with a laugh i believe you are considered the best judge in the state feminine beauty according to all accounts is one of your as if he did not like the intended compliment in this connection i wonder on what the base their information he said with a shade of coldness i know well enough that my name gets mixed up in half the in the neighborhood of boston and yet nine times out of ten there s not the faintest excuse for the talk perhaps the reason is that i have a sharp eye and a quick ear nothing me more than an interesting woman who has begun to take the bit in her teeth i like to know one of that sort to converse with her to litter veiled allusions and watch the effect even to somewhat the scope of her imagination but to lay every pas to me is a gross injustice not only to h their marriage bond myself but to others who boast of their and are cheated out of the credit that properly belongs to them there was no the vein in which the closing words were uttered i have evidently fallen into the popular error smiled i should have said that your shoulders were broad enough to carry all the weight piled on them still if i were put on the stand i can t recollect a single bit of

0Arthur Conan Doyle

proof in any case it has puzzled me a little too that i never heard you speak of a woman the nostrils of mr he talked in a very low voice though in the shout him an ordinary tone would have served to confine his remarks to the ears for which they were intended during the entire time his eyes remained fixed as if fascinated upon the figure of the pretty girl across the room there are two kinds of women he said against whom no decent man will anything one class is composed of those about whose he could testify if he liked the other class is composed of those of whose he knows nothing smiled that s sweeping he said you mean that women should under all circumstances be from criticism mr nodded a woman should have the privilege with men of passing for what she pleases to appear it is a pity members of their own sex are not so suggested the greatest of replied ah he added re their marriage bond the gentleman named was slowly making his way toward the pair he was a little older than the other two who were perhaps twenty three or twenty four of slender build and with the sloping shoulders often associated with the idea of a student although his face was rather pale however he gave the impression of possessing the normal amount of strength and of being a man of force and determination his countenance bore lines of care already as if he had found life a serious matter and showed a vivid contrast to both the others who gave equal evidence of having passed their youth in contentment and ease his garments were as plain as possible he almost entirely and he had a hesitation in speech that reminded one of an girl most strangers if invited to guess would have set him down as an clergyman or at least a professor but he was in reality a lawyer who was already making a name at the bar and had secured possession of a satisfactory practice he had dark hair which generally hung by a of nature half across his forehead and sombre eyes that could not help attention on account of the strange mysterious quality that shone from their depths was just saying remarked when mr reached them that he makes it a rule never to speak ill of a woman whether he knows anything about her or not oh don t tell of my rules exclaimed mr impatiently he doesn t know anything about women any way what he wants is to have people pointed out and named and get to those he doesn t know then in a tone and manner that showed his liking for the young attorney he proceeded from where they stood their marriage bond to impart information regarding those present whom his friend had not met giving their names mentioning their occupations and other matters that he imagined might be of interest i think you know every man in boston and vicinity said mr pleasantly well i know a good many and in a place like thia i make some one tell me about those i don t know i m a little quicker than you in some things and yet i suppose you could talk more to the supreme court than i could apparently considering that his friend s curiosity was confined mainly to the masculine sex mr made no allusions to the women except to utter such expressions as that lady next to him is his wife or that elderly lady in gray is the mother of the representative in the from a fourth gentleman joined the party at this juncture and was presented to messrs and by mr as mr one of the boston herald staff whom you ought to know mr who was attending mrs s for the first time was also in search of information and knew that he reached the right place to find it i understand that the elderly gentleman in that corner who never leaves his chair is mr edward he remarked consulting his yes said mr and that good looking fellow on his right the one who was just talking to mrs is his son the man last pointed out was indeed a good looking fellow he was a little past his majority tall enough and exceedingly well his clothes fitted him to a ills hair was brown with a faint tinge their marriage bond of red and he it in a manner that was becoming he had a look of good temper on his fine countenance mingled at the present moment with a tinge of anxiety which none but a close observer might have been able to note is it true that his father has arranged with mrs to have him marry asked with the idea that mr might be interested in that question i ve heard so responded mr clearing his throat of something that stuck there you know the lands of the here in join those of the and some people fancy the english way of connecting marriages with real estate transactions then they ve been thrown together from childhood he s only twenty two and she there seemed nothing to cause the breaking off of the sentence but the listeners saw that mr had finished all he meant to say on the subject he was looking again at miss you know young mr personally i presume said mr when the mantel clock had off fifteen or twenty seconds what mr s face lit up yes we ve been intimate for years we were off at school together i suppose he added if you were to ask him for his friend he would mention my name then you ought to know exactly what his intentions are said wisely no there are things he never speaks about and this is one of them i used to hint about

0Arthur Conan Doyle

it he went on as if talking to himself but it did no good indeed the first i knew of of miss was by seeing her their marriage bond photograph on his desk he told me her name and said her family lived near his home but nothing further i renewed the subject more than once but made no progress he had plenty of other pictures there women as well as men friends relations all the usual there was nothing to show that he held this one in special regard but the speaker drew a long breath as if he were getting tired i have heard me you mention and i think very likely they are true mr remarked with that in that case mr must be a very happy man messrs and silently indicated that he expressed their own conviction mr looks in wretched health to night doesn t he said mr almost his father and if you watch him you will see how earnestly and anxiously he in that direction all the members of the group followed the suggestion and soon had proof that it was true i wish you would present me to said mr a moment later to mr you will excuse us he added to the others when mr responded that he would do so with pleasure finding that the new acquaintances entered at once into a lively conversation soon left them together and strolled about the house speaking to many persons whom he knew and going almost everywhere in fact except toward the spot where mrs and miss were he paused to hear a sing two pieces which were received with general applause he talked politics for some minutes with a party of men who seemed to have an aversion to feminine society or perhaps it was the feminine part of the gathering that did their marriage bond not care for them so going from one set to another and always finding himself welcome he came gradually to the chair occupied by the senior mr and finding another sat down to have a chat with that gentleman a delightful party he said but then mrs always to have that mr nodded assent she does indeed said he my illness prevents my enjoying these things however as you younger people do i would go home even at this hour except that i feel it a duty to remain the have been my neighbors for twenty years you know and one owes much to appearances his eyes wandered back to the place where mrs and were standing don t you think she looks remarkably well this evening he asked abruptly mr started our hostess yes i had noticed it he answered the elder gave an impatient shrug to his shoulders and at a that followed the motion no no he exclaimed she shines like a star of the first magnitude among all the girls around her oh said himself yes looks very well a glance of suppressed indignation came from the old gentleman there s nothing prettier in all the land he said sharply nor sweeter nor better i have watched her grow from an infant to this day and no flower ever came from shoot to stem from bud to blossom with greater their marriage bond loveliness what a happy man he will be who that flower for his own there was a fascination about the subject that he had determined not to discuss miss with any one again that evening but the opportunity that he could not resist had come to him is is there any one in particular who has that prospect he inquired carelessly looking toward the farther end of the room where a lady was about to play a selection on a piano mr s face brightened for the instant his pains were forgotten and he looked happy i may as well tell you he said in a low tone though you had best not talk with him about it i would rather you did not it has been understood for years between her mother and me when the right time comes she is to be my daughter in law wondered if any of the would notice a strangeness in has countenance to conceal his feelings on most occasions he knew that a close inspection of his face at this moment would excite remark ah he replied i had heard of that possibility so it is arranged mr his chair nearer perhaps i am he said but you are an old friend a much liked friend of my son i ask you again not to speak of this to him unless he first the matter to you i cannot truly say that everything is finally arranged but it to the same thing her mother is satisfied i am satisfied they are eminently fitted for each other they have been close friends from neither has ever expressed a fondness for any other person of the opposite sex it is coming their marriage bond around all right they are young there is no great haste i only wish here mr grew very serious to see them united before i die it became incumbent on mr to remark that the disagreeable day would undoubtedly be very long in coming he had not noticed he said that mr seemed any worse than he had been for a long time and was about to mention instances where people of his acquaintance had long their expectation when his companion interrupted i indulge in no fancies on that score he said the doctors give me three years at the most i am quite content my are too numerous to make this world worth clinging to i want to see settled happily married to this beautiful girl and then i will take the summons without complaint mr bowed with as was fitting and rose with the remark that he noticed a friend to whom he wished to speak his

0Arthur Conan Doyle

friend must have been a of the vault for he went immediately out upon the and walked up and down with his eyes turned toward the stars he stayed so long that who was in search of him came out and found him there isn t it time for us to go asked we must either get this train to the city or wait till all right was the answer i m ready where s is he going too he s with said he says the last train will do for him together the gentlemen went to bid good night to their hostess with the usual courteous expressions miss in a word or two sweetly her mother s hope that she would see them both at her next their marriage bond took her hand in parting but the ceremony and bowed low instead good night he said as they passed that gentleman no we ve our train to catch and there s no time for he added hastening by their marriage bond ii strokes the mrs had done her part fully in relation to the marriage which she meant should take place between mr and her daughter she had talked of it as a settled affair to the girl from the time was thirteen years of age she had the child as to what her conduct must be under every imaginable situation toward their neighbor s son and she had found an apt pupil no ship was ever better under the guidance of a had never felt the least symptom of the complaint called love for she had fancied that it would be nice to have an establishment of her own some time and much better to have a fine looking gentleman at the head of it than to live an old maid with and cats she liked men in the the pleasant kind of men one is apt it meet in society if her mother had chosen any one of a dozen others whom she knew and said to her this is the individual i have selected for your husband she would have lowered her eyes and answered tes mamma with equal contentment and though he had seen her frequently the managing parents had left them a good deal alone had never spoken a word to her that indicated particular affection the reason for this is easy to give he had no more love for her than she had for him he had never been especially attracted toward any person of the op their marriage bond sex though he was fond of the company of girls and not at all he wanted to please his father as she wanted to please her mother he knew from frequent expressions on the part of his only living parent that in his mind he was as good as engaged to it seemed an inevitable thing and while at the time of the evening party referred to in the preceding chapter he had no intention of the paternal will he wished the date of his wedding postponed as long as possible he was not insensible to the attractions of miss he could not be and have the full use of his senses he had never had his attention called to a more specimen of the female race physically she was very near perfection mentally she was above the average she had paid due attention to the best of teachers and had a good education believed that if it were not for the fact that his prior claim was generally she would have plenty of for her hand if he was compelled to marry it might as well be to her as another perhaps he often thought he might have fallen in love with her of his own accord if things had not been so terribly cut and dried there was no sense in paying addresses to a girl who had been marked and for him ever since she was in short when the time came she would be handed over and he would have to accept her as if she were a monument or a set of engrossed resolutions there was nothing to stir the of youth in such a affair was already in business he had chosen that path in life in preference to any of the professions and was the junior partner in a and coffee im their marriage bond house where he was admitted to have talents and to be of value to the concern he was the only child of his father and there existed much affection between them the elder had always obedience and the son had always rendered it there had been nothing up to the time of which i am writing to cause the least between them to get established well in business and to see him married to the girl of his the father s choice these were the of edward s life and when they should be accomplished as he had told he was willing to meet the messenger of death several weeks after the party at mrs s was asked to make a foreign journey in the interest of his firm the first one he had ever undertaken when he came home to announce to his father that he had been selected for this mission his face flushed with pride i think it a great compliment said he when there are two other partners older than i who have never had the chance to go and besides i have always longed to see europe and they have agreed to give me ample opportunity i am to go first to london to attend to a little business there then to holland where i have things to settle with the dutch colony people and on my way from there to the east i am to be allowed a fair amount of time to see the cities and other objects of interest en route mr says

0Arthur Conan Doyle

he thinks it best to give me a chance this time as i shall probably have to go often hereafter and i might as well satisfy my curiosity first as last isn t it delightful it was not till he had finished these exclamations that saw the deep shadow on his father s their marriage bond then it struck him all at once that he had been very selfish and he proceeded without delay to my dear father he began i ought to have thought i am very sorry no don t say that interposed mr it will it is true be hard for me to part with you for so long and perhaps in my state of health forgive me i will not go cried on the contrary you must was the dignified reply it is not for the old to set up their against the best interests of the young i have lived my life and what there is left is of but little value the son tried to protest but was not allowed to speak i want to see two things arranged before i go and they both concern you one of them looks fair it is that of your business connections the other as you will undoubtedly guess is your marriage who had been growing pale turned red at the concluding words but he only bowed politely your partners tell me that you are a business man by instinct pursued mr after a momentary pause they prove their high opinion of you by the commission of which you have just told me to go through this life a man needs a suitable income and a good wife i am certain that you will have both bowed again his father s solicitude his perfect self impressed him deeply when are you to sail asked mr in about five weeks the father looked thoughtful it should be announced before you go he said their marriage to what do you refer asked the son slightly startled your engagement to miss there was great uneasiness in s manner which he strove in vain to conceal you know at least you understand father he murmured that no word has ever passed between and myself on the subject the elder man raised himself in his chair quite proper he commented with evident satisfaction there was no need of when both of you knew what was to come i have expressed my intentions to you a hundred times and mrs has done the same to you are sensible young folks who know what is good for yourselves all it wants now is a few sentences from you to her a dozen words in reply and then a paragraph in the society papers you can go over to call on her to day mention that you are going abroad for how long do you think four or five months four or five months repeated mr and suggest that this seems a proper time to announce your intentions to the world bit his lips nervously isn t that hurrying things a little he asked a man has to get up to that point rather gradually i should suppose i ve got to ask her if she ll marry me haven t i before i suggest announcing our engagement mr moved about impatiently in his chair gracious he exclaimed with signs of coming temper have i at my age got to instruct a boy how to approach a girl in a matter of this kind nothing is more simple just step in and have a little talk tell her their marriage bond you are going away say you want her for your wife and when she answers that she you explain why it is best to make the public statement at once to keep others from her during your absence it isn t an affair of more than ten minutes the whole thing though not at all sure that he could arrange these momentous details in such a short space of time was not ready to enter into an argument with hia parent which would be he foresaw to no purpose so he merely answered very well i ll be hanged if you seem enthusiastic over it said mr speaking now with a smile that s a pretty fine bundle of goods for a fellow to get if you did but know it always reminds me of a dish of and cream by boy you ought to thank me for saving it up for you some other chap might have got his hands on it by this time except for my vigilance the young man tried to laugh if for nothing else to please the father he loved so much but the of and cream struck him vividly that was it and cream sweet fresh ripe and cold an hour later thinking it best to have the experience over he was walking across the fields to his neighbor s house his father s land stretched for a goodly distance over the country and that of the covered as great a space immediately beyond it when the city should grow out in this direction as the owners had often said there would be a fortune in this real estate not for them they would be numbered with the silent majority but for their children who were to be united with the land as he approached the residence saw a fair face at one of the windows and the waving of a handkerchief in welcome then its possessor their marriage bond with an indication that she would meet him at the door there was nothing surprising in this freedom as babies they had dug up the walks and pulled each other in little carts as boy and girl they had gone together to the same school there had never been the least between them why should there be any now i wonder if you can guess what i

0Arthur Conan Doyle

ve come over to say he asked a little later as they were sitting in the library he with a big at his feet she with a pet in her lap now to make doubly sure there would be no in this affair edward had sent a note to mrs half an hour before the programme of the day and that excellent lady had given her final directions but the girl with a assumed a look of curiosity which implied that she had not the slightest idea what subject was uppermost in her visitor s mind well said i m going abroad slightly by the of the statement which she had supposed would come later as an explanation miss colored and could not speak the young man misunderstood her silence and thought to himself with something like alarm can it be that she loves me yes he continued my firm wants me to go to the east on a matter of business that will take four or five months and i m to start in five or six weeks from now miss recovered her outward with an effort it will be very pleasant for you she said with a voice which still had a trace of strangeness in it their marriage bond the young man felt again fear that this girl was in love with him very deeply in love and that the thought of parting from him for so long was weighing heavily on her heart with all his soul he hoped it was not so however he went on with the message he had been given hy his father feeling that nothing was to he gained hy the issue yes he answered it will be decidedly pleasant it is the sort of journey i have always wanted to make it pleases father too he regards it as a proof that the firm believe in my capacity he says there is only one thing more that he wants accomplished before he dies grew very serious he wants to see me married miss searched his face so narrowly as he said this that was disconcerted her serenity seemed to have returned for she did not as she replied that she appreciated mr s sentiments he says a good wife and a good business are the best things a man can have pursued though i believe he put the business first he added with a little laugh he wanted to do something to relieve the strain having settled the business part the question of a wife comes next and it isn t a question either in my case for i have never thought of but one woman in that connection he on thinking that he was not doing it very well but feeling that the way to progress was to keep pushing ahead ah said miss i suppose most young men have been in love twenty times before they reach your age he exclaimed their experience must differ widely then from mine i ve never been in love at all tt i understand the symptoms a spot of red came into their marriage bond the girl s cheek and stayed there there is one girl however who was the of my childhood and has been the companion of my youth whom i esteem highly and to whom i should consider it a great honor to be allied will you marry me he looked at her and saw that she was smiling good for a moment she made no verbal reply your answer said calmly it is yes said the girl i will marry you and i thank you for the honor your proposal does me it struck him that this was not the usual way this sort of thing was done he had asked the momentous question and she had accepted him in much the same manner as they might have for a house or a piano but if it satisfied her it did him he had carried out his father s wish that he should engage himself before he sailed for europe i don t know much about these matters he said after taking her hand and giving it a slight pressure immediately dropping it when this was done but i believe the next thing is to inform your mother and my father and then to send a note to the newspapers she nodded will see to the newspapers she said it will be all right and the the time that has nothing to do with this has it he inquired it is a matter for future consideration perhaps you had best talk that over with mamma said the red spot in her cheek a little not now i don t mean but some time before you leave replied that he would certainly do so and aa their marriage bond there seemed nothing further to say in this connection he began to mention an engagement of another sort that he was obliged to keep and to pull out his watch and inspect the figures before he had gone however mrs came down attired for a drive and greeted him i have a bit of news for you he said as soon as he could get a chance i i ve proposed to and she has accepted me the mother s arms were clasped around the daughter s form as if in an instinct of protection she cried in suppressed tones is this true for answer the girl hid her face in the maternal bosom precisely as it had been arranged an hour before that she should do well said the widow wiping away her i hope i know you will both be happy i have seen you together all these years and i confess the thought has come to me that this might be the result you are fitted for each other i do not know any other man to whom i could think of giving my child our families

0Arthur Conan Doyle

have been such friends it is undoubtedly for the best yes we must look at it that way went slowly down the steps for he had already opened the door when his future mother in law appeared will you be kind enough to see that it is put in the papers he asked i will attend to it ihe replied then she added i trust this will meet with the entire approval of your father oh yes he will it fully i know by what lie has already said must you go die asked sweetly their marriage bond yes it is necessary i have an appointment lifted his hat to the ladies and walked rapidly toward the village when he was out of hearing mrs had a hurried conversation with her daughter all that had occurred was to her and he didn t offer to kiss you nothing of that land said the mother no mrs patted on the head the who was waiting anxiously for her to start on her ride that he might have a run with the horses he is a very regular young man was the slow comment he will be a very safe husband for you he s no fly away when does he desire the wedding to be he said he would talk it over with you to tell the truth mamma i don t think he would mind if it never occurred at all let us see said the lady the this is december he will return by may probably about september that is the time i will see that he to this as we begin on your the carriage came to the door and mrs entered it while went slowly up the stairs softly the she still held in her their marriage bond chapter iii you know my wishes during the time that before his date of sailing and indulged in none of the pretty arts known as love making their engagement seemed in fact to make their conversation more distant than formerly it was as if some trouble had come between them something that must be regarded too seriously for called several times a week and passed an hour or so in the company of his she came once with her mother to his father s house and dined with them at table the affairs of the young couple were alluded to in a way and the date which mrs had fixed for the wedding was brought up without exciting a protest from those interested kingdom did not see any way to escape the net that was being woven about him and he thought it wisest to assent to the plans that best satisfied his invalid father he had no doubt that he would have to marry this girl borne time the elder people had arranged everything thus far why not let them finish it there was the foreign journey in between at any rate that would give him a breathing spell and a chance to think by his parent s presence he was like a man in a great crowd pushed along without his own edward bore the pain of parting with his son very well now that they understood each other there nothing to fear if he should die before their marriage bond returned thought the father the announced engagement would make everything right was an honorable young man who would not break his word his future was safe the business talents of his son had already been recognized the selection of a wife had been made a girl not only beautiful and good but possessed of something handsome in the way of expectations an item not to be despised in these days when dollars and cents count for so much the between and his future wife were courteous if not tender they had a genuine esteem for each other both considered their future condition as absolutely settled they were to live in the of relations for perhaps half a century nobody could say beginning eight months hence how fond they would learn to be of each other time alone would tell he fancied that was already a victim of a passion which she could not show too plainly while he kept himself so much aloof she on her part considered him one whose affection for a wife would be a matter of slow but constant growth and was willing to risk that i suppose you cannot tell exactly when you will return she said it depends on the way your business turns out doesn t it yes he replied but they think at the office that i can finish everything so as to get here by the latest before june st perhaps a month sooner and he found himself counting mentally july is two august is three september less than four months after i come home i shall have to go to live with this girl then she asked him again for they had the matter several times where he expected to make his their marriage bond stops he detailed his route as well a he could and talked of the things he expected to see when his was all packed for the new york evening train he walked over for his final call and spent an hour in saying nothing special i shall have to go he said at last consulting his watch it takes time you know at the station for checking and buying tickets then my dear old will have a lot to say at the last minute so good bye he held out his hand just as he used to do except with a little more reserve and took it pressed it and let it go as if it were that of any ordinary friend as for an embrace the thought of it never even entered his mind let me call mamma said him an instant mr is obliged to hasten she exclaimed as

0Arthur Conan Doyle

that lady made her appearance she had never called him mr before in her life except in the presence of and he noticed the expression good bye said mrs descending the stairs and giving him a warm clasp of the fingers she would not give him any dignity titles not she we shall think of you and look for frequent letters i wish you would cable when you land in england there is always a peril of the sea and we shall feel better to hear from you direct i shall cable to father he answered and i will tell him to send you immediate word i shall be safe enough good bye mrs good bye if i wait any longer i shall lose my train the two ladies watched him across the path in the snow that was always well beaten between his their marriage bond home and theirs and when he had disappeared from view they re entered the house and conversed for the next hour upon the situation the preparations for the bride s attire entered into the talk to a large degree for to mrs brace s mind eight months was none too long a period to devote to this important subject he is all right commented the widow in a satisfied way as she noted a slight cloud on her daughter s brow i d put my trust in that kind of man sooner than in one of those fellows who protest their every moment he is the kind that will wear well you won t have to fear that some other woman is going to him the minute he gets out of sight a widow of middle age is supposed to be a shrewd judge of the opposite sex whether mrs an this description will appear later in these pages her assurance certainly pleased for she rewarded her for it with a most filial kiss and smiled into her face the parting between and his father was a most affecting one although the parent suppressed his tenderest sentiments lest he should inflict pain by being too knew well that the separation was full of distress to him he resolved that he would cut his journey shorter than he had intended and made a remark to that effect but mr responded that this was what he particularly wished him not to do it is your first trip abroad he said and it ought to be of great value to you i only wish i were well enough to go for i am familiar with most of the countries through which you will pass and could be of value in pointing out the places of chief interest take your time my dear boy since your partners are willing you should do so on your next journey you will i hope be their marriage bond able to take your wife and that will add immensely to your pleasures it is well said that happiness was born a twin the rightly constituted man is always happier when he has some one to share his delights with him bowed for he did not feel that his enthusiasm on this matter was great enough to vent itself in words and if anything should happen to me during your absence added the father pausing to place his hand on his side where a sudden had caught him you know my wishes let them be sacred to you there was a night ride to new york a trip across the city and before noon the great ocean steamer had begun her journey on the deep felt the of the who has this sensation for the first time he witnessed the good of the crowds on the dock the beautiful of land and water he felt the force of the waves under him the gentle jar of the machinery the breezes coming cold and refreshing up the bay he wandered from side to side of the steamer catching the most interesting of the sights presented when he responded to the lunch call he found the immense dining saloon filled for the season was not the most popular one for going east and yet fuller than he ever saw it again until the s cut the muddy waters of the lunch over he walked the deck getting acquainted with several of his fellow passengers after the manner of they were to be companions for six days and formal were out of the question in most cases it was simply my name is jones here is my card and mine is and the exchange of a for the one received their marriage bond of course in a world as small as this numerous mutual friends were discovered in the midst of conversation knew john s johnson the lawyer who occupied a of rooms opposite jones brother and jones was related by marriage to gray who married miss of a second cousin of s the of the cigar which most americans away from home was brought into only the most of men can fail to enjoy the society of his fellow passengers on an atlantic or any other steamer in the world where there are people whose language he understands was during the week that followed from anything more than slight of and kept his feet on all occasions he enjoyed the trip from start to finish and was really sorry when the lighter came alongside and conveyed him to the dock at liverpool it is unnecessary for the purposes of this story to follow his movements closely across great britain and the continent suffice it to say that he had his eyes open and visited as many points of interest as his stay would allow in due time he took his steamer for the islands where his business affairs led him reached his port safely the affairs on which he had come with signal success and started on his return to europe extremely well satisfied

0Arthur Conan Doyle

with the result of his journey among his fellow passengers on the return was an english army captain named rivers and his young daughter a girl of about twenty years of age captain rivers had seen foreign service in many countries and was now making his way home by slow stages being in a very low condition of health his real purpose their marriage bond was to reach england in time to be buried beneath its sod for he had a passionate love for the land of his birth though nearly all his life had been spent in doing her service abroad became well acquainted with both of them and learned to like them well he passed much of his time on the steamer in conversation with captain whose stories of army experiences entertained him greatly he also walked for long stretches of time with miss margaret her father being unable to the decks except for a very brief period and then quite slowly the captain was not yet fifty and in a healthy country would probably have been now in the prime of life he was paying the penalty of and a diet that was never made for northern it seemed unlikely that he would live another year and he himself was fully aware of his condition he talked freely with the burden of his speech being regret at having to leave margaret without adequate protection he had never been able to save anything out of his pay and she would have to depend on the good offices of some distant relations or her own efforts tears came to the eyes of the gallant soldier as he these things to the sympathetic ears of the american who did not to offer much consolation in such a very delicate case margaret rivers was a good specimen of the wholesome english girl not what could be called a beauty but with an honesty and simplicity of countenance that won immediate regard she was more slender than the type to which she belonged for we learn to associate with the british maiden who is apt to have a figure their marriage bond after that of and to carry the english rose in both of her full cheeks margaret had spent much of her life in the east which had reduced her natural weight and lent a to her face that did not belong there of right she was of medium height with very dark hair and eyes that matched it neither however being black her attire was very plain partly perhaps from necessity partly from choice a sweet trusting and girl this is what mr decided that she was before he had known her an hour people get to be very confidential aboard ship especially when as in this case they become attracted toward each other to the of all the other passengers had occasion to know that many of the english officers that one meets abroad resemble the of a retired on half pay the of their lives have too frequently their dispositions and made them anything but agree able companions captain rivers had the natural courtesy of his disposition through all the fact that he was of irish blood on his mother s side may have had something to do with this he thanked the american many times for the interest the latter showed in margaret and was pleased at the intimacy that developed between them it s a pity he said that the young should be in their movements by the of their elders i like to have margaret walk with her own free step instead of dragging at a s pace at my side i can see that she is looking brighter and better in every way since you took her in charge the couple talked of a thousand things in those long walks she of life in the indies and in cape colony he their marriage bond of things american in which she was deeply interested she had formed ideas of our country of the most magnificent description and had wished very much she could be permitted to see it at some time that however she said with a sad smile she would now never be able to do told her of his father of his business of almost everything in short except miss and his engagement to her he put that out of his mind as much as he could and thought it the last subject to discuss in the presence of this interesting little woman going and coming to the islands mr was obliged naturally to pass through the canal on the outward trip he repressed his desire to get a glimpse of the wonders of egypt feeling that he ought to attend to the business of his firm before taking any more time for his own pleasure before returning however he received a letter him to for this very purpose and spend a week or two at least in the land of the captain rivers continued so ill that mr made him promise to break his journey when they should arrive at and rest over a steamer with him knowing that the financial question was a powerful one with his new friend he showed him a list of at in his where for a very slight board and room could be obtained he also feeling that this would be of great influence upon the father spoke of the value to margaret of seeing the and the the result was that the captain agreed to the proposal to the delight of his daughter who wanted to go ashore for the double reason of resting from her journey and of being a little longer in the society of mr whom she had begun to like exceedingly their marriage bond but it had been that the english officer was never to see the shores of egypt with his mortal eyes the night before arrival mr was aroused

0Arthur Conan Doyle

in his berth by a steward who said he was wanted without delay by miss margaret he dressed with the utmost haste and hurried to her cabin where he learned from a that captain rivers was in the midst of a violent from which the ship s doctor said he was not likely to recover on either side of the now unconscious man the daughter and mr passed the rest of the sad night nothing could be done for the dying but felt that his presence was a material support to the weeping girl who had no other friend on the steamer when the red sun rose across the wave the exhausted body yielded up the spirit and margaret beside herself with grief threw her arms around mr s neck and sobbed against his bosom their marriage bond chapter iv margaret refuses to listen it is not easy for the average young man to occupy the position of to a pretty girl in an hour of great grief to her without going a trifle further than the necessities of the case warrant margaret was wild with her loss and clung closely to the only other friend she had near in the extremity of her affliction in comforting her found himself giving utterance to terms and even to slight embraces and the manner in which these were received encouraged him to continue them for who could resist such an opportunity to comfort the do not sob so violently my darling he would exclaim remember your father is free now from all the pain and suffering he has undergone oh yes was her reply but he was my only one now that he is gone i feel all alone in the world no no you are not alone margaret you have a friend left still in me i shall not desert you dearest i will see you safe home in england his arms held her close to his heart as he spoke he was acting the part of consolation with a vengeance you are so kind she murmured i don t know what i could have done without you but sob what shall i do in england without my sob father i have only distant relations and they have cares enough of their own there is no place left for me mr england is no longer the happy land of my dreams their marriage bond he cannot share it with me there is nothing to attract me there now more than to any other spot on earth to this he made suitable reply that when the of her grief was past she would see things in another light he asked her as soon as he thought wise if she wanted her father s sent home offering to make all arrangements but she said with another burst of tears that was as much english soil aa and that the soldiers there was the best place for the they were to arrive at the next evening and is but a few hours ride into the interior besides she added with a frankness that was habitual with her it would cost much more than i can afford to send the home i have talked with him about it many times and he has said he only asked to lie under the shadow of the english flag mr remembered having heard his dead friend make a similar statement and at once in the idea that this was the best thing under the circumstances he volunteered to see the authorities and find out exactly what to do everything must be plain said margaret trying to wipe the tears from her face the very possible to be honest with you mr i have not a penny that can be wasted excuse me for saying he replied that i shall attend to all the financial matters captain rivers was my personal friend and i wish to pay every expense connected with his you ought not to do that she protested though an inward satisfaction was manifest at the load it would lift from her shoulders why not said he there is no reason why i their marriage bond should not do even more i can let you hare twenty or thirty pounds for yourself just as well as not and never miss it i would not want you to arrive on english ground with your purse empty but to this she entered an instant to take charity from him was the last thing to which she would consent he put it in the most favorable light he could think of but she did not for the father perhaps she might allow his kindness for herself it was not to be thought of she could reach home with what she had there would be a small allowance due from the war department and then it would be for her to seek employment charity she would not accept and she thought with a sudden pain at the heart least of all from him it was no time to urge her and mr dropped the subject for the present at when he could leave her temporarily he went to arrange by telegraph for the which were taken in charge by one of the officials to his great satisfaction he returned to margaret and told her what had been done and she rewarded him with a warm clasp of one of his hands in both her own she had grown much calmer during his absence how can i ever thank you she exclaimed as he took a place on the sofa which she made vacant at her side it is little enough he answered i wish it were a thousand times more i should have died without you she murmured nearer you seem to me like a real brother or what i suppose one would be for i am an only child it was a bond of fellowship between them when he said

0Arthur Conan Doyle

that he also had never had brother or sister and it gave a sort of excuse for the kiss which he pressed on their marriage bond her forehead pushing back her hair for the purpose she continued to hold one of his hands and the sensation was not disagreeable but after a little while a sense of the came over him and he made an excuse to leave her for the present as he was crossing the hall he met one of the servants who handed him some letters that had just arrived one of them was from his father and this he read first i am feeling much better of late and perhaps i shall yet live for years i think it is on account of my pleasure at your prospects which is the nearest thing to my heart i have seen a member of your firm who says you have made a marked success on your trip then i receive a call daily from mrs or when the latest condition of the forms the main subject of conversation just think how near it is september ah you are a lucky young dog with such a bride in store so young so pretty so good and a thing not to be despised an to a comfortable fortune i need not caution you to be most in your conduct the remainder of your journey for a clean record is the best present a man can bring to his wife temptations must fail before the prospect of this superb creature in your arms such a short time away says you have written but seldom but i tell her some of the letters may have been lost you have moved about so much write a little oftener to both of us but if there is time for only one write to she will come over and tell me she has heard from you and i shall know you are well and safe felt a of conscience as he read the loving words he had not written to his father as often as he ought since since especially the date of his meeting with captain rivers and his daughter to their marriage bond he had written not more than twice a month and he had done little then beside telling of the scenes he had passed through much after the manner of a newspaper correspondent not once had he given way to an expression of affection nor had he alluded in the remotest degree to their engagement or approaching marriage in her answers she had made no reference to these things either but it was not to be expected she would do so when he had so avoided the subject resolved that he would write more frequently in accordance with his father s request both to him and to the news of his parent s improved health gave him great delight and he reflected with pleasure on the to the time when they would again look each other in the face as soon as he had written and his replies to the firm and to his father mr escorted miss rivers to the train which already bore the body of the dead soldier and they set out for the funeral took place on the day after their arrival the hot weather in that country making impossible the simple military service was read the salute fired by the and the soil of egypt began its work miss rivers bore the strain better than he could have expected she leaned upon him in everything not only did she commit to his care the disposition of her father but of herself she put her slender purse in his hand with the utmost confidence saying that he would find the least expensive route for her to take in the tickets for england believing that a diversion was the best thing for her he began on the second day after the funeral to take her with him in his drives about together they saw their marriage bond the wonderful works of long extinct men which have made this vicinity the for of all lands together they strolled through the ancient the and the beautiful new quarter fringed by the old laid out like a piece of paris itself their conversation during these days was held in a low key and those who met them realized that some recent misfortune tempered their steps it was undoubtedly better to divert the mind of the young girl than to permit her to bury herself in her grief to margaret the of her escort was an of surpassing power after studying all the ways that might take one to england mr out a route that would include and there was no reason on the part of miss for haste and he wanted very much to visit both of these on his way home the to on some of the smaller lines were much lower than those which sailed direct for there connecting with the across the continent of europe though the latter were by far more he explained the difference to margaret who answered that she would leave it entirely to him if he was going in the same direction she added with charming she would certainly prefer that route by all means there was no need to spend a long time at the port from which the start for would be made a couple of days would suffice for all the sights at that point so the intervening time was passed at which above all places holds the attention of the as long as his good fortune him to remain the endless display in the their marriage bond him the donkey drivers and their beasts the bearing and burdens the stately the veiled women the from all parts of the world in their native the like at the magnificent hotels both of the young people with whom we have particularly to

0Arthur Conan Doyle

deal would have been glad to stay here a month longer although the last of march had arrived and the temperature was steadily growing warmer at they stopped at the hotel where they had the best meal they had enjoyed for months the steamer on which they were to sail was the a boat that had seen better days but was still upon going aboard mr had a moment of heart sinking at the of the arrangements for passengers but miss rivers who had a great deal said she was sure they would do very well and he suppressed the that rose to his lips a struck the ship soon after getting into the open sea and continued with force for most of the five days which the voyage consumed margaret was as good a sailor as the master himself captain who seemed to prefer the deck to the cabin even in the worst of weather she had not a single but mr was obliged to lie in his berth or on the sofa in the smoking room for several of the most days the girl tended him and he was hardly sorry for his condition when it brought him so much kind attention from a companion he was learning to prize so highly he was certainly glad however when the great walls of the fortress of broke on his vision and set foot on shore with as good a will as he remembered to have felt on any occasion their marriage bond quarters were secured at one of the hotels and the couple set out to view the island famous for its relics of the knights of it had a hundred interesting things to visit both in and out of the capital city of in the evening they strolled up to the little park by the where the sweet peace of nature sits in strange contrast to the deadly preparations for war on every side there were cannon to right of them cannon to left of them cannon behind them and the silver sea in front it was plain that nothing but treachery could this iron jewel from the british crown it could be secured only by such methods as in the case of and in these days that is practically impossible beneath these guns a hundred might rest secure to possess is to control the thought of all these things and yet at this time he cared little for them in his brain there had lodged the of an idea quite with anything naval or military until lately he had taken it for granted that his acquaintance with miss rivers must end in a fortnight at the farthest now he began to against such a fate and to say to himself that he could not would not endure it when does our boat go she asked after one of their long there are two boats he said one leaves to morrow morning at a very early hour i did not think you would care to go on that especially as i need a little longer rest after my attack of de and the next one it will be something like a week i thought perhaps you would be willing to remain a little longer rather than leave me here alone their marriage bond willing she echoed it is exactly what i should prefer to stay with you to the very latest mi the tears from her eyes and answering drops filled his own then you don t feel tired yet of my company he suggested in a low tone she bit her lips and stifled the sobs that came to her chest she shook her head decidedly margaret he said clasping her shoulders with his arms i wish we were never to part it was an open of what had been in his mind for days but when he knew the words were uttered he was alarmed at the sound and his feelings were not lessened in that respect when she turned and buried her face against his my darling were his next words this is a very cruel world sit down here and let me talk to you it can do no harm to hear a little of the truth unpleasant as the facts may be she obeyed without and sat looking at him as if he were a judge who had her fate in his hands as indeed he was i want you to forgive me in advance he pleaded if anything i say gives you a part of the pain it gives me to tell it i am sure she answered warmly that you are the soul of honor he was not and her confident words cut him deeply you shall decide he said when i have finished i am engaged to be married she drew away from him as if a sword had pierced her side and started to rise but he held her down not he said listen till i have finished otherwise the good opinion you have formed of me marriage bond be ruined and there will be no pity for me in your heart she gave up the struggle and turning her face in an opposite direction waited for him to proceed when i was a child too young to be told of it my father arranged my marriage the little girl who was growing up for me had a mother who was equally determined that the match should take place between this girl and me there has never been the slightest of love from that day to this i have seen her frequently we have been simply friends no more my father has been for a long time in a condition of health which makes excitement dangerous he cannot bear the least opposition without flying into a temper that might easily be fatal before i came from home he insisted that i should make a formal proposal of marriage a

0Arthur Conan Doyle

shiver ran across the young form by his side and the hand he placed upon her arm was firmly pushed away a formal proposal he continued after a momentary pause i had never known what the feeling of love was i believed myself incapable of that sentiment i did not want to marry any one and but for my filial duty i never would have done so with any person i had then met but i had tried to be a dutiful son to a father whom i adored and who has had for years no one to care for but me i did as he requested i went through the to his great satisfaction before i left home on my present voyage i had promised to marry this young lady next september but listen one moment longer margaret i never shall marry her now if i live a million years miss faced about and gazed with eyes at the speaker their marriage bond you will break your word she cried reproachfully i did not think that of you mr my word he repeated would you you tell me to link my life to one for whom i have no affection when there is another who holds my fullest and truest love would you she stopped him in his impetuous declaration rising and standing at his side one moment she said sharply whom do you mean who is it that you love like this my darling he answered in the same strain but she stopped him again you refer to me most earnestly and sincerely yes then i must ask you to bring your confession i should say your recital to a close he stared like one drunken then you do not care for me at all he ejaculated you have no right to ask me you have treated me as a friend until now as a very sincere one but to tell me of your engagement to another and in the next breath to say you love me that is a very near approach to insult against this he protested with all his might refusing in spite of her urging to be silent to tell you the truth is to lose your esteem i see he said in conclusion you may still retain that if this matter is allowed to end here she replied if you persist in saying anything more to me that i do not wish to hear i shall bid you good bye he was still for some seconds and when he spoke it was desperately like one who has received a blow their marriage bond you shall not say good bye to me he faltered until your boat or mine bears us out of the sight of each other if you insist i will say nothing more in relation to you but let me repeat that i shall never marry the lady to whom a mistaken sense of duty made me give my promise i will refuse to two lives hers and mine i know now what is to i mean that i can conceive no greater than to wed where i cannot love to join my life to one woman when my heart my very soul is margaret you are too hard i cannot defend myself when i am in my phrases he waited hoping for some of her command however slight but she did not speak it may seem to you that i am wrong he said but if you had promised to wed a man and found that all your love had been stirred into life by another can you conceive anything worse than to enter upon a life of falsehood merely because of a promise made in an hour she stood before him with an expression of sympathy and grief written on her countenance i am no she answered i only know that promises of marriage are meant to be kept i understand the pain of which you speak for i too have had all my love stirred into life and yet i would not take one who belonged to another though my loss hurried me as perhaps it may to the grave margaret he cried springing to his feet not another word i pray you she protested i have borne all i can if you are the friend i believe you let me go for the present i wish to lie down i must have rest bowing profoundly and with a strange mixture of sensations in his brain mr walked from her room their marriage bond chapter y then i must live single kingdom walked up and down in his chamber for hours turning the matter over in his mind he had never met a girl he liked so well never one for whose close acquaintance he cared she had said almost in so many words that all her love had been stirred into life by him was her sentiment of his duty to to wreck the ideal life that might come to him and to margaret she was unreasonable in the high estimate she put upon such an engagement as his no he would not let her destroy his hopes and wreck her own life into the bargain he would save her from herself if there was any way to accomplish it and there was a way there must be one with so much at stake his head was very hot he bathed it from the that stood in his room he brushed his hair carefully and looked at his reflection in the glass he saw the countenance the heavy eyelids the set mouth and beyond it all he saw the features of the woman he adored he would not let her force him into a course so hateful unless her will was stronger than his miss rivers kept to her room the whole of the evening and he strolled up and down the steep streets and in and

0Arthur Conan Doyle

out of the military club to which he had been introduced by his before going to bed he smoked innumerable cigars and read a lot their marriage bond of old newspapers until he knew their contents by heart during the night he awoke a dozen times and when he slept his dreams were filled with visions of margaret always trying to escape him hut each time before she quite succeeded in getting away he was hanging about the hotel when to his surprise and joy a waiter came to say that miss wished him to call on her as soon as he could find it convenient not pausing a second he ran upstairs three steps at a time to her apartment and answered her come in without a moment s delay before he could speak a word she exhibited a letter she had just received and began to talk about it i wish in the first place she said to beg your pardon for troubling you with more of my affairs but i have no one else now here or perhaps elsewhere she paused and he saw that something agitated her extremely something he rightly conceived that must be contained in that letter i hope i need not say he answered that i am now and always at your entire service oh but this is beyond your power or any one s t remedy cried margaret with a sob in her voice that she was trying her best to choke down i i cannot tell it to you read it for yourself she thrust the into his hands and rising went to another part of the room where she threw herself in a burst of tears upon a sofa much distressed at her attitude but by the she had placed upon him yesterday he refrained from following her and began to read the letter that had caused the trouble first he the envelope which had an english stamp and bore a post their marriage bond mark indicating that it was in a town in my dear niece it ran your letter informing us of your father s severe illness and the probability of his early has filled us with deep regret i wish it were possible for me to invite you to visit us or to make your home here should you be left an orphan but such is not the case my daughter s husband has recently died and she with her three children are now living entirely at my charge the house is literally full and my purse is feeling the severity of the drain as well i gather from s letters that he is near the end and have tried to think of some way to aid you but it is impossible my advice is for you to go straight to london and seek employment you must not be too particular do the best you can and when you are settled write me again sends love your affectionate aunt the words of this were before the eyes of the reader as he realized what a pang they must have given to that slender sobbing figure but with this thought came another that caused his heart to swell in this desperate position might not margaret a little in her attitude toward him you were so severe last night he began that i hardly know what i may be allowed to say she roused herself and presented her wet face for his inspection do not allude to that i beg she said this letter makes me sufficiently miserable without recalling the pain that conversation gave me but i am left perfectly helpless he protested to offer you any assistance or advice unless you indicate that i shall not receive another dismissal before i can explain myself i told you last night how dear you were their marriage bond to me don t speak i am not trying to repeat it but only to remind you where i stand you have refused to listen to the proposal of marriage i was about to make or to anything that our future beyond the next few days i would like to help you in a pecuniary way if you will permit me beyond that i see nothing that it is in my power to do she heard him with a trembling of the lips and a going and coming of the color in her cheek oh if you could comprehend she cried what a true friend i think you and how impossible it is that i should take a penny of yours which it is unlikely i could ever return that note of my aunt she is an aunt by marriage only leaves me a beggar i have money enough to reach her home and i had hoped that through her influence i might be placed in some position where i could at least earn my bread that expectation is at an end all that is left for me is to go as she to london and seek in that immense city a chance to a crust from a million others as perhaps more so than i i wish i could keep from telling you this it breaks my heart to parade my poverty but there is no one else in all the world to whom i can speak and i must myself or die he told her she was quite right to confide her trouble to him and that she might rely upon his sympathy and consideration to the fullest extent he could not see however why she should object to a gift of money which he could spare as well as not and which it was very evident she would need can t you can t you understand that she asked earnestly not even when i have confessed that i love you with all my soul i could go to the strangers in this hotel perhaps to the passengers on

0Arthur Conan Doyle

the steamer that their marriage bond takes me to england and tell them my story with an appeal for help but not to yon i would rather starve here in than accept anything from your generous hand can t you understand that can t you she repeated gazing at him with parted lips i must admit that i cannot he responded here is the situation as it appears to me i have a certain sum of money which i can spare you through no fault of your own are in need of it what is wanted is the simple exchange of that sum from my pocket to yours she rose took a few steps across the room and sat down in a chair near the window but this money she said you would not give to every who might be in my situation you offer it solely because of your unusual affection for me is it not so his answer was delivered in a tone which showed his impatience though he tried hard to conceal it i do not know in what school you were reared he said but your points are more intricate than any i ever before heard if a friend who cares very much for you is not to be permitted to render assistance who is should you persist in maintaining this attitude you will add a deeper pain to the one you gave me yesterday and possibly live to repent it i was reared in a school she answered that taught me to avoid everything which strikes a direct blow to my pride and my sense of justice if i was sure to return this money to you i would accept it as a loan with many thanks but i see no way in which i can do so in all the sky there is no ray of sunlight for me i have been educated in a manner that will spoil me for a servant my father s income while small has enabled us to live my manners are not sufficient their marriage bond ly humble for a lady s maid or even a of children should i be lucky enough to draw so grand a prize in the of london life if i take your money i shall merely spend it in trying to for a few weeks an existence which has lost its charm his position was a difficult one he could not put his arm about her now as he had done when her father died and press a kiss of friendship on her forehead she had withdrawn from all that i have even been thinking she continued after a pause that it is useless for me to leave this place my means will last longer if i remain and the chance of employment in some one s kitchen is as good here as elsewhere he told her she distressed him intensely by these statements and again pressed upon her the of accepting a loan or a gift from him he professed to believe that her prospect of it was as good as that of the average but he did not convince her there is another thing i would suggest he said when the right opportunity seemed to have arrived if i were sure you would consider it in its true light in the firm of which i am a partner there are several girls always employed at writing and keeping accounts if you will go to america i will you a permanent place with a salary three times as large as you could expect in england the same that is paid to others of your intelligence and capacity he explained as he saw her doubting expression to advance you the price of the voyage is nothing more than has been done in such cases a hundred times a mere business affair if you refuse this i shall not know what to think of you she listened with the utmost attention and then declined the offer without delay their marriage bond unreasonable as it may seem to you i refuse she said but i will be perfectly fair and give the cause in your office i should perpetually be brought in contact with you should see you at least passing in and out of the place i should see your wife perhaps and by and by your children no mr i have not strength enough to bear it because you love me he asked because i love you she said with i am willing to say so as often as you wish there is no wrong to your in doing this so that i hold fast to my determination not to cheat her out of her rights i have to think she continued of what i should suffer if i were engaged to you and she came between us to my mind it is worse for a man to his vows than his marriage ones there are for wives but none for i think of that young lady with her wedding gowns partly made the congratulations of friends constantly arriving the sweet dreams of with the future to rob her of her bliss would be worse than murder and if i were to accompany you to america in your present state of mind you would persist in your rash resolution to break that girl s heart hoping that i should after all it is only by separating yourself from me entirely losing my address having me vanish utterly from your knowledge that you will find it possible to go to the altar in september according to your solemn promise was amazed at the of her declaration she admitted her love for him as freely as if it were not outside of all forgive me if i inform you once more said he whether you leave me or not i will their marriage bond she shook her head to show that he must not

0Arthur Conan Doyle

finish the sentence if you said that a thousand times it would not change me then i am to live a single life always he said no you are to act the part of an honest man and carry out your obligations she was very intense the strongest hope and belief that she would do as she said shone in her eyes so help me heaven he began do not finish it she cried you can do few for me now and i plead for this one he had never seen any one so decided and was puzzled what course to adopt what else can i do for you he asked desperately i do not know yet she replied hesitatingly i will try to tell you to morrow then she asked him if he could take a walk with her without alluding to any of the subjects they had been discussing he promised eagerly and they strolled where everybody in along the their marriage bond chapter vi the dangers of london there was nothing in the personal appearance of miss rivers to indicate the extremity of her fortunes she wore the plain mourning which she had for her father she remained at a good hotel the story which she had told to mr of the letter from her english aunt was unknown to any one else in there was staying in the house an army officer and his wife col and mrs and margaret had held several talks with the lady on the evening following her walk with she sought mrs with a definite purpose in view the colonel s wife had been in london had passed much of her life in that city she ought to be able to impart information of the kind that margaret most needed she found mrs alone her husband hav ing gone to the club and at once spoke of the subject nearest her heart i have just heard of a case in which i am much interested began margaret about which i want your advice i have a young friend who has been left by misfortune and who is now in the southern part of europe uncertain what move it is best to make she has been advised to go to london and seek employment she is fairly well educated and has been reared like any other young lady of the middle class she could teach children or perhaps assist if nothing else offered in the care of a house she has not a single acquaintance in the their marriage bond w city but thinks her prospects there better than in a foreign country it is a desperate case with your knowledge of london what do you advise me to write her mrs looked deeply interested how old is your friend she asked about my age is she good looking margaret slightly so she replied lowering her eyes and of course she is with the world if that is what you mean she has never had any responsibility outside of her own home the lady shook her head slowly it is a sad thing to say miss rivers but the chances are all against the success of your friend i mean to tell you the truth if she were a farmer s daughter with sturdy limbs and a capacity for hard work she might get a place in a shop a kitchen or a factory if she were b teacher there would be a possible chance in a school though all of these lines are fearfully but being what you describe her the encouragement is small indeed london is a great it out both wheat and i am ashamed to say it but the most probable result of your friend s going there without protection is starvation or a moral catastrophe margaret looked up with frightened eyes you mean she began exactly the tragedy is repeated daily the honest well meaning girl comes to london at first she diligently for such a place as she would like to find in a few days she her ambition and only asks for any honest means of getting her bread her re their marriage bond sources grow slender and hunger begins to seize her the rent of the poor room she has occupied becomes due some evening she is upon the street by a man who has noticed her air he offers warmth to the cold food to the starving stomach there is no alternative but death from which the young spirit even in its she goes with him and from that hour her descent is rapid i do not need to dwell upon it but it makes me say to every such girl keep out of london margaret shivered from crown to toe she imagined herself already at the dire extremity mentioned with the frightful alternative before her own eyes keep out of london that was very well to say but if out of london where then was there any spot on earth where the poor girl of good could find a living i should say to such a girl continued mrs kindly seek your relations however humble they may be put up with a lowly home make your lot with the poorest but never go alone to london find a husband among the or forget that you were ever in a different rank devote yourself to your family as it comes but never never never go to london margaret knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that the lady had penetrated her secret and felt that she was addressing the friend whose situation had been un to her the voice of mrs was more than kind it was sympathetic and deeply earnest there surely must be a possibility of a better fate in that immense place murmured margaret yes there is a possibility that the of a ticket will win the capital prize but half a mil their marriage bond lion other only lose

0Arthur Conan Doyle

their money listen rivers i knew personally of a girl who went to london and became after many the wife of a noble and honorable man but hear through what she passed in the meantime she tried as hard as any one ever tried to find work at anything she was not particular what one day a finely dressed woman took her from an employment office to her home she was given a pleasant room at the top of the house and fell asleep with a prayer of on her lips that she had found at last the shelter and food she sought an hour later she was awakened to discover that a man was in her chamber and when she uttered a scream he told her that no sound could pass the walls it was one of those traps of which so many abound in london and she was as helpless as a fly in the spider s web the lady paused breathing heavily as if her story brought back a she could hardly endure and you knew this girl you saw her afterward exclaimed the listener ah yes i knew her and still know her well was the reply delivered in a tone of the greatest intensity and you say that after this experience she still found a husband yes after this and twenty more for she was kept a slave in that house for long weeks the bloom fled from her cheeks she could not eat more than enough to keep life in her half her waking hours were passed in tears she lived in constant dread of what each minute would bring forth margaret listened with fascination the story was almost incredible to her young brain but it bore the impress of truth and she did not doubt it their marriage bond how did she escape she asked i will tell you among all the men that visited that house in two months there was just one who learned of this girl s situation into whose heart there came a manly impulse he was an officer of her majesty but that was not it several of the girl s had shown their in the room he had come to the house to while away an evening and the prize on the upper floor was offered him he had no intention of taking advantage of her situation but was resolved to save her from it if she proved the unwilling of the house which she was represented paying the money he was given the key of her chamber when he entered she was sound asleep so exhausted by her fears and trials that she did not hear him the door he knelt by the girl s side and gazed for a long time at her pale and wasted features the colonel s wife could not control her voice as she came to this pathetic part of her story tears rolled down her cheeks and miss could not help weeping with her when many minutes had passed continued mrs when she could speak and the girl did not awaken the tears flowed faster he began to kiss her cheek gently reverently her eyes opened and she saw only one of the sex she had learned to fear and to hate springing up she was about to renew her long continued struggle in a hopeless cause when she heard a soft voice bidding her have no alarm gaining confidence slowly she told her sorrowful story to this man on whose face she soon saw signs of the deepest indignation he found by further questions that she had no friends in london and in their marriage bond deed none on earth to whom she could with confidence appeal do you wish to leave here he asked oh how earnestly she answered if i will take you at once will you go with me said he where to my apartments the alternative was not agreeable but escape from this fearful den was to be accepted at cost have no clothes she stammered will wrap my around you he said and take you in a carriage they will not let us go i will brain any one who tries to stop us afraid to depart not willing to stay she gave a trembling consent there was now no question in margaret s mind that she was listening to a bit of the excitement with which the lady related the history was too pronounced for any other the was wrapped around the girl who had the air of a winter s night to face then the gentleman am i not justified in calling him one rang the bell a masculine servant who answered was pulled inside the room by a firm hand and ordered to do as he should be under penalty of a sound it was now three o clock in the morning and the house was still as death only the man who had answered the bell was on duty to make resistance less likely the officer gave the fellow five sovereigns which he put in his pocket promising obedience taking the girl in his arms she was no heavy burden for his strong frame the gentleman followed the servant down the long stairs the heavy carpets giving forth no sound reaching the door on the street level he gave a last whisper of warning to the man and passed into the street the snow was falling their marriage bond luckily a carriage happened to be passing and he placed his burden inside giving a direction to the driver he followed immediately and the hateful residence where the girl had been was speedily left behind the relief at this stage of the story was plainly shown in the face of the lady relating it again margaret felt sure she was telling a tale of her own experience but the marriage she asked for she could not forget this important matter how

0Arthur Conan Doyle

was it brought about i am coming to that said mrs arriving at the gentleman s residence the girl was carried directly to his rooms which were handsomely furnished besides being of a delicious warmth refreshing after the cold night ride the situation was most embarrassing now that the excitement of the escape was over the girl began to feel the shame of her new position but the hero of this story relieved the girl s mind at once i shall have to leave you now he said as there is not room enough for both of us here go to bed without fear the key is on your side of the door and sleep as well as you can till morning when i arise for i shall be in another part of the house i will send you a maid who will take your orders for breakfast later in the morning i will get a to take a list of the clothing you need and have the most important articles provided at once when you are ready to see me i will call again say at six this evening after that your movements shall be for yourself to decide miss rivers hung on each word of the singular narrative before the girl could speak the officer had taken his departure the events on the following day were carried out as he had planned at six o clock he called and their marriage bond was received in a fitting costume which had been hastily fashioned over from a ready made stock with all the politeness imaginable the gentleman asked if he might order a dinner for both sent up and the request was granted to each attempt on the girl s part to utter thanks and they were many he raised a silent but expressive he wished to find what desires she had for the future and to continue to aid her in that direction so far as lay in his power she timidly revealed her situation but for him hopeless without his aid besides though she did not tell him in set phrases she loved him already yes with all the of her young heart to be separated from him was like going to death she could not think of any future in which he did not form a part and yet how could she dream that he the polished army officer would see anything to attract him in the poor girl whose past two months had been filled with a succession of horrible events such as should arouse in the breast of any decent person all that had passed through the mind of the unfortunate woman was again upon her countenance with a delicacy that cannot be described the gentleman met the situation he said to the girl that she could remain where she was until she could think of something more agreeable and to her statement that she had nothing with which to repay the expense of her maintenance he answered that this was a matter that need not trouble her in the least miss shook with a slight attack of she knew as well as if the first person had been used in the recital that mrs was speaking of herself their marriage bond at the end of a few weeks continued the colonel s wife be asked her hand in legal marriage she gave it to him and since that day there has been no happier wedded couple in the world but this was a great exception to a terrible rule had he never seen her she would have been kept a few weeks longer in her prison room and then despairing of any other fate would probably have accepted a place among the painted women who lived below without restraint and gone to the end of the career thus opened go to london tell your girl friend to go to the grave rather col returned at this juncture and margaret made a closer inspection of him than she had hitherto done the whole scene of his meeting with his wife came vividly before her mind s eye she saw him stoop and kiss the face held up to him with the fashion that had been so well described a few minutes later she excused herself and went to her lonely room to london no she not go to london where then it was a dreadful problem and she fell asleep some hours later without it their marriage bond chapter vii his times was a rich young man he had inherited a fortune from his grandfather that had grown rapidly in the hands of honest and during his in the eyes of the world he was a lucky young fellow and one to whom fate had brought only good but if it was very clear that he had no habits that would be called dissipated it was equally certain that he devoted himself to no serious object he did not drink to excess nor nor his money in any manner on the other hand as has been intimated in the first chapter of this he had an attraction toward women that had coupled his name with a number of in and about boston mrs had heard of these things and had taken some pains to inquire about them but had found no proof that mr was guilty in a single instance no direct charge had been brought against him by any woman or her friends the principal thing said was whenever there was a new instance of to be discussed isn t that the woman has been calling on so frequently or you remember her she was with mr in a box party at the boston theatre when was last there mrs had known the family from her she did not mean to put the seal of her on with all that would imply unless was something against him so she con y their marriage

0Arthur Conan Doyle

to invite him to her and even to dine with herself and daughter at occasional intervals he was an attractive man to women certainly with his handsome face his polished manner and a certain boyish for his twenty four years he was liked by all of his acquaintances in the presence of mrs he was scrupulous never did he descend in the slightest degree to familiarity although she did everything to make him feel fully at home when alone was in the room his manner changed a little and became one of a sort of devotion still well within the range of courteous propriety there had long been that in his attitude which implied more than ordinary liking and yet the sentiment that seemed to him had never been put into definite words it was believed by most of those who knew him that he was not a marrying man that his attentions to any member of the fair sex were not the to an intended declaration of a desire to wed knew for instance of the popular supposition that and were destined for each other long before the date at which our story opened he was a friend of both parties he made no move to prevent the of the plans concerning them he went about with in the city and at his home and believed in his heart that he was mr s most esteemed masculine friend and yet whenever was alone with there was something in his actions which said as plainly as words i envy that fellow shall never know what it is to perfectly happy again if you carry out this scheme of becoming his wife is a type that will be recognized by all who are familiar with the social life of this generation their bond it is a type that does more harm perhaps than the out whose reputation is and who is yet admitted to the best society and has an opportunity to plant his dangerous seed on the evening of the reception at mrs s to which allusion has been made mr was in a state of mind into which he frequently worked himself he was wildly jealous of his friend on account of the pretty piece of with which the latter s name was constantly allied he regarded from all corners of the rooms in which the reception was held it seemed to him that she was a thousand times more lovely that night than he had ever imagined her he marked the brightness of her eyes the softness of her expression the grace the grace of her pose he followed with greedy eyes the outlines of her superb form which the past few years had constantly rendered more and more he noticed with what discretion and taste she was no woman in the house approaching her in that respect though many had ten times the cost of her clothing upon them several times overcome by his emotion mr wandered to the side of the fair girl and exchanged a word or two with her the feeling that possessed him was made apparent to her quick mind in every tremor of his tones in every of his face he loved her it could make no difference in her life for her husband had been selected from her cradle but she felt deep sympathy for a man whose estimate of her charms was thus plainly she had had occasion before to feel a strange thrill at a stray word from his tongue a random look in his countenance it is in the nature of a young woman to like their marriage bond admiration was too inexperienced to estimate this particular article at its true value she did not know that while allowed himself the supreme luxury of his misery he would not have married her then had the opportunity heen presented to him no he used often to say to himself he was not going to be tied to any woman however much he might like her it was his dearest pleasure to make a woman feel that she had made an impression on his heart that would be and to know that he had made an answering one on hers he had a list of women who blamed themselves for ruin on his life who said in their hearts poor fellow if i had used him better he would be a different man he ought not to be blamed for anything he does since it was his love for me that him there were married women too who used to dream of this pretty boy perhaps at that moment tearing his hair in rage at the happiness of his successful rival their hearts as they thought of the cruelty they had shown to him when as a plain matter of fact a steam engine could never have drawn an offer of legal marriage to one of them but they felt what he wanted them to feel and when he met them their regrets were by veiled allusions to the past or glances arrested just when about to be shot into their bright eyes it was a favorite amusement of this man to visit the frequently after went abroad he generally called first at the house of mr who was very glad to see him as indeed he was almost any friend in the condition in which his and his son s absence left him sometimes their marriage bond took lunch with that gentleman and then strolled over to mrs s at three or four o clock remaining to dinner as he was always to do he had no regular occupation and the usual business hours of men of his age put no on his movements coming from mr edward s the conversation between him and the widow naturally to and in her presence there was no indication of the real reason that accounted for his call he was known to

0Arthur Conan Doyle

be an intimate of young mr and one who had the pleasure of frequent letters from him the fact that the wrote less frequently to his and that the letters received by her were much than would have been expected was never mrs had settled it in her own mind that the marriage with her daughter was something that could not be set aside and that time would bring the young couple into the harmonious relations that are supposed to and sometimes do follow that ceremony she had to await the result with patience and being so completely under the influence of her mother the girl was doing very well in this regard but in the absence of her future lord it was agreeable to have so often the society of one whose manners were delightful whose conversation was pleasant and whose admiration for herself was kept within the limits of decorum was so veil known as the particular friend of her engaged lover that his presence in the house or in the walks which they took together in the neighborhood could not excite the faintest criticism in the breast of the most particular among her set several times he came out in the evening and brought with him had divined that miss possessed more than usual interest for the young at their marriage bond was such a very virtuous fellow and so in the presence of women that it was a pleasure to watch him under these circumstances the slightest direct question a color to his pale face that was worth seeing s usual was that of the silent listener and when he was forced to take part in the conversation with as another in it declared to himself many times that it was quite as good as a play to see him one of these evenings found courage to speak of his own accord and to announce that it was his intention to take a business trip to europe the following week now to was only a who managed in some mysterious way to pay his office rent and to live in a desolate pair of rooms in an part of the city it therefore interested him uncommonly to learn that some person thought enough of his abilities to a mission of this kind to his care he the facts out discovering that a of was the principal in the affair and that the matter related to a patent which was being interfered with by a german concern mrs who had had a liking from the first for expressed her congratulations in a charming way remarking that he must feel highly pleased at being elected in a case which was plainly one requiring unusual tact while smiled the same sentiment without opening her pretty mouth oh it s just because i happen to be a bit of a i guess stammered it will be to speak german italian and perhaps spanish and our leading lawyers are seldom equipped with those but where the did yon learn those their marriage bond asked with frankness i never knew that you could do anything of the kind why i spent two years in was the reply and it is almost impossible to live there without acquiring spanish and italian the german i picked up largely by myself together with french we never shall know laughed addressing the ladies the full extent of this man s i am constantly being surprised at something about him i don t think he can have much to learn but a fellow who hides in his rooms or his office and sticks to his books must acquire an awful lot of wisdom in time there was a quiet ripple around the party at this sally and then mrs remarked that it was possible mr might meet mr while away i hardly think it likely but i should be glad to hope so said if i happen to get anywhere in his vicinity i shall certainly go out of my way to meet him the talk here wandered to the road that had taken and the possible by which he would return it was clear to knew more of these things than did either of the ladies and he drew some conclusions from this fact he drew more yet from his observation of the standing which had in the household but not being able to grasp the character of his friend fully his knowledge of social life being limited he understood the situation imperfectly if had definitely the case as it lay in his mind he might have concluded that had offered his hand to at some time in the past and been refused or that he would have done so but for the knowledge that this would be the result as to the conduct of mr there was a mystery that he could not and which he waited patiently for the future to their marriage bond reveal not that he was inquisitive about it but it interested his mind naturally given to weighing evidence and besides in an honorable high minded way that belonged to his nature he was much interested in once or twice he found himself alone with her and although he had a fear of the species called stage fright he kept the knowledge of his alarm from her entirely she could not have comprehended how any man in the world could hold her in awe mr was somewhat older than she and much wiser he was a little odd to be sure and perhaps not much accustomed to the society of women but beyond this no special impression was made on her mind as to thought of him a great deal he managed to make her believe him unhappy and to blame herself in an indefinite way as being the cause he also her sympathies by vague allusions to the absent lover and expressions of dumb wonder that any man who had

0Arthur Conan Doyle

the happiness to hold her promise of marriage could let a mere business reason tear him from her side did not say this in so many words it was not his method he only let her know that he felt it that it gave him pain that it passed his comprehension and she thought him very kind and that his of what was his life evinced the most remarkable to his absent friend might have learned to love mr in which case had marriage been the question he would certainly have found to the acquaintance but that she was a good girl who obeyed her mother mrs had settled upon the man her daughter was to wed and the idea of departing from their marriage bond the programme never occurred to tlie younger woman it was rather dull waiting for it be yet when she had achieved him but path was plainly marked out for her the k marriage chapter viii kiss me knowing nothing of what was passing in the mind of margaret rivers went to his sleepless bed that night and tossed for hours he felt the time drawing near when he must either bid a final adieu to the girl he had come to love so dearly or secure her company a little longer by a or direct deceit a day or two was the limit of their close acquaintance unless he could arrange some plan to her the next morning margaret surprised him by saying that she had concluded not to go to england he stared at her for he knew no other course open un less she was to accept his proposal to visit america but he said nothing for in her statement he saw a gleam of light along his own path where was she going then he asked her and she replied as calmly as she could that she was going to where she knew several people with whom intended to make a short stay but after that he asked with clouded brow f you will not stay forever at oh margaret if you would only do the wisest thing and go to america with me she regarded him with piercing eyes and his gaze fell before their fires the wisest thing could he honestly maintain that it was the wisest thing for her to take that long journey with a chance acquaintance met on their marriage bond s with all the risks that it implied still on the other hand what could she do if she remained in europe he tried to argue to himself that the one course was at least as likely to benefit her as the other i will go with you as far as she said gently i will see my friends there and then we will talk about the rest it was at least something he was not to lose her quite as soon as he had feared there would be a few more days for them to be together and perhaps who could say she might change her mind the spirits of the young man rose margaret was going to take another journey with him under his protection she would leave her past life there in and begin an essentially new one on the steamer that sailed toward the west there would be several days in which they would be alone together and in that time he could bring all his influence to bear he accepted her decision with joy and as there was no longer occasion for delay he went at once to the office and bought two tickets for when he returned and she took out her slender purse to repay him he said she had best wait until they were on board remarking that there were other little bills he would have to settle for her like the conveyance of herself and her boxes to the boat he wanted to say something to her cheek a little and indeed his own the of his spirits was tempered by the of the time when he would have to set his face toward the setting sun and breast the waves of the atlantic alone once more among their acquaintances at the hotel mrs was one of the kindest in her expressions when they came to say good bye she drew margaret aside their marriage bond and again warned her against letting her friend go to london seeming much pleased when the girl replied that she should advise her not to go there under any circumstances she asked questions about mr with a look that the liking between the young people was stronger than that of ordinary fellow and although miss shook her head decidedly the colonel s wife murmured a husband like that is what an orphan girl like you needs most don t be foolish my dear child or too backward if such an opportunity comes your way with her head full of matrimonial ideas she also found time to say to what a lovely little lady miss rivers is i congratulate you on making this short voyage with her were i a man and single i would make it a much longer one if i could he wished for the moment that they had another week at for he might have told his story to mrs and her efforts in his behalf but the steamer was about to sail and everything had been sent on board he entered the carriage with his companion and they were driven down the steep street to the an hour later the steamer was headed for the point in spain and he had margaret entirely to himself the three days between the two great naval stations of the british empire in the were passed in the manner by the young couple nothing in the way of further entreaty that margaret should accompany him to the united states passed s lips they said remarkably little to each other in

0Arthur Conan Doyle

fact although they were hardly separated during the voyage except in their sleeping hours but one thought was in both their minds they their marriage bond dreaded separation and wished there was some way to prevent it margaret thought also frequently of the tale the colonel s wife had told about the girl who went to london she did not dwell so much on the experiences of the month or two when she was held a prisoner but on the night when her handsome came to her rescue she saw the officer in her mind s eye kneeling by the bedside kissing the cheek so gently that he did not disturb the of the tired girl she saw her wrapped in his folded in his arms and carried and out into the wintry night there was something fascinating in the story to the daughter of captain if all men were like colonel she thought marriage was never as interesting as love certainly not in novels of which margaret had read many nobody cared to tell of the days spent in the harbor after an exciting voyage had finished there were the risks of the sea of course the danger of the waves and storms while the harbor and calm brought safety to every passenger but the freedom the the excitement these belonged to the open ocean mr had not heard the story that proved so interesting to his fair companion but he was trying to one of his own with her as the central figure he did not know very well how to do it he realized that each revolution of the ship s carried them nearer the shore where according to their present plans they must separate what would be the future of each of them when of salt water rolled be for her it their marriage bond could not be very bright for him the outlook was exceedingly dismal i wish you would let me talk about myself a little he broke out on the last evening before they reached about yourself she repeated yes about my unhappy engagement which i have determined whatever you may do to break she let him finish the sentence and when he paused for an answer she did not speak it is cruel to treat me as you are doing margaret he protested you have taught me to love you and yet you intend to drive me to a marriage i had regarded with dread even before we met i am thoroughly in earnest in what i say if i never see you again after i leave if i never hear whether you are dead or living i will not marry i think it would be a crime again he was not interrupted much to his surprise he had hurried in his speech thinking that she would refuse to let him finish your father she said simply there is a limit to filial obligations he replied if my father bade me put my arm in the fire or swallow a deadly poison would it be my duty to obey i have against this plan of his for years and now i simply cannot carry it out i love you margaret and you alone without you life will be barren and bitter i will not make it by marrying another whom i actually dislike there was a pause during which miss rivers gaze was fixed on a point far out at sea inclination and duty frequently conflict in this world said margaret at last is it not possible that their marriage bond in thinking of this matter you your dislike to miss possibly thrown together as as we have been you also your fondness for me and between these two it is more than probable that you think too lightly of your duty to your father besides this there is your to consider her engagement to you is announced her wedding clothes the sweet voice began to tremble are being made can you comprehend the blow to her if you your promise now he was plunged into the deepest gloom by her expressions all of these things had passed through his mind more than once but arranged in order and by her they had new and more terrible it only presents itself to me in this light he said should one completely ruin his life because he has made a rash and foolish promise if the breaking of that promise ruins the lives of others yes she replied gravely oh it is well enough to say that and it sounds very noble answered but one has to be in this position before he what it means she put a hand frankly into his and turned her eyes full upon him i know what it is and i am doing precisely what i ask you to do she said my life is ruined if you go out of it yet i say to you be true to your word though it breaks my heart and yours he took her hand and clasped it close in his own it was dark and no one was near them on the deck there was a about the contact that he could not resist there is one other chance he whispered what if i went to her and told her that i did not love her their marriage bond that i knew we should never be happy together if she released me then would you still refuse me in the long pause that followed he could hear the of the waters about the steamer s sides and the rustle of the sails overhead she never would release you cried margaret with a gasp no woman who had your promise to wed her could give you up it was ecstasy mixed with pain to hear her talk thus t if you were in her place and knew i never should love you would you not let me go he

0Arthur Conan Doyle

asked not for worlds present and to come she answered fervently he trembled before her earnest think it all over he continued a husband who felt aversion for you who adored another but he would be mine she interrupted no i am sure i would not surrender you and i believe as time passed on i should be able to make you forget the absent one ah he cried you do not know me i am afraid she smiled sadly you do not know yourself it was hopeless to alter her decision but he breathed a blessing on her head when she put his hand to her lips at parting for the night and kissed it warmly the next day they would be at and perhaps before another night his steamer for the west would bear him away from her that kiss on his hand waa the sweetest memory he could take with him at daylight they sailed into the harbor and mr found margaret already dressed and on the deck when he went up to view the fortress and the town hotel people their marriage bond who came on board told him the boat in which he ex to leave the place had not yet arrived and was not expected till the day following he thought margaret seemed as pleased as he when he brought her this news and he wished with all his heart that she was not so stubborn in her ideas it was arranged that they should go together to the hotel and take breakfast after which she would make inquiries for the friends of whom she had spoken one i presume said the hotel clerk to as the couple stood together at his counter no two said i beg your pardon was the reply as the natural mistake was corrected he had supposed them married have them near together if possible said miss rivers her companion started with astonishment at the suggestion certainly connected if you like said the clerk who now thought he had hit upon the right relation of the parties they were of course brother and sister that will be best came from the girl s lips and a second shock thrilled the young man s nerves twenty seven twenty eight was the direction given to the and the couple were shown to some pleasant rooms on the second floor ashamed of the thoughts that followed this simple conversation drew himself together and began to discuss the usual things which interest in a town new to both of them from the windows of his parlor they could see the street the harbor the ships at anchor and in motion from hers as they soon found the frowning walls of the great rock were visible he their marriage bond wandered with her through the two with a freedom that she seemed to encourage talking of the strength of the fort the size of its the value it was to england and the manner in which that nation obtained possession of it soon however a lad came up to say that breakfast was served and they went down together and partook of and coffee like two sworn companions who had no differences i will ask at the office for the address of your friends here if you will give me their names said when they had once more reached their rooms and much as it is against my desire i will go with you when you seek them out he had found a new courage and he wanted to avail himself of it while it lasted but to his surprise miss responded that she was in no haste that later in the day would do quite as well and that she had rather sit there in his parlor with him and inspect the sights outside not displeased he took a seat by her on a sofa which she had turned to command the view and discussed it with her in low tones his arm stole around her form and when he attempted a half apology saying that it might be the last day they would ever be together margaret seemed not to hear him or to notice what he was doing she talked rapidly and moved closer until there was no more room to that is a french ship he was saying do you not see the and that is a russian see the enormous guns she carries and that a head lay on his shoulder and an arm drew his face downward what do we care for ships said a voice what are their flags or their guns to us their marriage bond chapter ix two rooms connecting the day passed away and the evening came and still margaret said nothing about the friends she had desired to see at noon when a knocked to ask what they would have for lunch they looked surprised they did not want anything it was quite too soon to think of food after their late breakfast why the idea was absurd in a moment more they had forgotten the disturbance and it was only when the shades of night reminded them of the day that the thought of dinner entered their minds to both of them the day had been the most perfect one of their lives in thought and conversation lost in each other no dark harassed their minds had for once laid his about completely aside margaret had put far from her the black page in her life that yesterday had seemed so near for him during those moments there was no father to no to gratify for her there was no past no future nothing but the delicious present it was the of love pure and sweet between persons of youth and health and intelligence it had not the delirium of passion but possessed the charm of undisturbed serenity when the sun had sunk so low that they could not see each other

0Arthur Conan Doyle

s faces margaret was the one to suggest that the lamps be lighted he responded softly that he their marriage bond would see to them presently for he dreaded being even for so brief a period from her side he could not think of anything the dream in which he indulged was so beautiful he could have wished it to last forever but the broke in upon them for the second time with his knock on the door thinking doubtless that the interests of the hotel demanded that people should give him a dinner order when they had not had a to eat during the day and the happy lovers laughed as they reflected that a diet of kisses alone cannot sustain life beyond a certain space of time eat yes i suppose we must said when he had sent the boy away with directions to return in ten minutes it seems ridiculous though i never was less hungry look over this bill of fare my dear and tell me what you will have miss rivers did not know what she would have she said with him that she had not a of appetite that it would be quite the same to her if dinners had never been invented she looked over the on the list and ended by declaring that one thing would suit as well as another get anything you please she said i will try to help you eat it he decided on the articles announcing them aloud to her and she said they would never be able to eat half of them then he wanted to know whether she would dine in the general room or have the meal sent up to his parlor suddenly her face the story of the colonel s wife that had lain for hours came back to her the girl in london had taken dinner in her lover s rooms the night of her rescue what might hap their marriage bond pen to her after this man sailed was something margaret could only think of with dread while he remained she would have him near her at any cost have it sent up here she stammered and while he was giving the order she wiped a few tears from her eyes that came there in spite of her it was nearly an hour before the meal arrived but they thought it less than a quarter of that time the waiter spread it on a centre table and they began to eat and talk as if no one but themselves were there finding to their surprise that they were rather hungry after all during the of the attendant allowed his hands to stray across the table and envelope those of his companion he was still in a as far as the outer world was concerned and she was in nearly the same condition what was most astonishing was the amount they were eating from the first course to the last they did full justice to the there were too with the various courses and they were not neglected when the waiter had gone for the last time took up one of the cigars he had brought bit off the end and was about to light it when he threw the match aside exclaiming how careless of me i had forgotten you she laughed at the idea declaring that she liked tobacco smoke and that she would be best pleased if he would go on when he she lit a match herself and put it to the weed breathing in the he soon as if they were could this only last forever whispered the trembling mouth between his it can he cried it shall forever yes and a million years after w marriage bond her thought had stirred in him for the moment the memories of the past but he refused to let them his happiness he had never been so near heaven he had never dreamed that such bliss as this was vouchsafed to mortals the hours passed at last still the one to think she asked him what time it was i do not know he cried and i do not care i am afraid she said softly it is time to separate and i am sure he answered that it is time to remain together she sat still for a few minutes and then she spoke again oh what if they were to come before morning and say your steamer had arrived he laughed aloud i should tell them to let it go on again without you you may be sure but there is not another for two weeks she said her voice trembling i would not care if there were none for two years he answered she did not mean to let him neglect his duty at whatever cost to herself but she thrilled with delight to hear him speak thus it added another joy to his stay with her though it might give another pang to the hour of parting you know she said with a gasp what must be the end of all this there will be no end he answered smiling oh yes she said there will be an end and their marriage bond very quickly too we have gone too far already when your steamer comes you must join it to do otherwise is to pursue a course you would regret all your life it has not come he laughed and we need not talk about it till it does why should we waste these precious moments in margaret tell me once more that you love me did she need to tell him that she murmured could he doubt it when he remembered where he was and yet you mean to send me from you some time within a day or two at most and never see me again she cried out in pain at the blunt statement but she nodded assent well said he

0Arthur Conan Doyle

i love you too and i refuse to go without you if i take that steamer you will take it with me since you are so anxious i should not neglect my duty i leave it to you to make me it each sentence was with kisses and his mood was joyous he refused to think of any parting from her what are you going to do he added have you discovered some new way to make your fortune let me see how rich you are he took her purse from the mantel where after the manner of women she had laid it he cried sweeping the odd sovereigns and shillings into his pocket you haven t a penny you are a beggar in a week after i leave you will be dying of starvation he meant all this in a spirit of but the words had a terrible meaning to margaret the small sum she possessed would have lasted her but a few weeks at most and then what had she to expect but starvation or before her mind was always the story of the their marriage bond colonel s wife the fate that lay open to a girl with physical attractions it might not be the horrors of an imprisoned room but it must be the giving of one s self in exchange for the means to sustain existence please put my money back she said put it back and let me settle with you now for the ticket you bought in and the hotel charges here he laughed so loudly that she feared he would attract attention from other persons in the house you are a he answered you are unable to settle your debts he spread open the empty purse and must be sold under the hammer i shall not admit other i know too much for that i am going to have you at my own price how much shall i offer he placed one foot in a chair and taking up the empty purse assumed the attitude of an well i will start it at my life my love my hand in marriage my true devotion as long as i live at the close seemed impressed by the significance of the words he had uttered so lightly he threw himself on his knees before the girl and covered her hands with kisses ah margaret he cried how can you let me keep up this farce to leave you is to go to everlasting to bear you with me as my promised wife is to open the gates of paradise i must save you from your own i must refuse to let you your folly let us end this suspense here and now tell me you will be mine the lightning like change in his manner as well as the of his expressions affected miss rivers powerfully but she would not surrender if you speak like this there is but one course open their marriage bond to me she replied i must bid you and good bye he rose to his feet as erect and almost aa pale as a statue of marble very well i he said if it is to be let it be now if you are resolved to doom me to torment i may as well understand it to night as later there is no new argument that i can offer taking a handful of money from his pocket much more he was sure than he had abstracted from her purse he stuffed it into that and went to the other side of the room he seemed to be waiting for her to the apartment good bye my my friend she whispered when five minutes had passed and he did not stir good bye he replied shortly without turning his head won t you shake hands with me she whispered after another long pause no he exclaimed turning fiercely toward her then he melted a little at sight of the pathetic figure and added i can t margaret don t you see i can t i must compose myself or i shall go mad unless unless he said it you will change your mind it was the girl who turned this time more to hide the of salt drops to her eyes than for any other reason a moment later she had taken the few things belonging to her and left the room through the door that connected her apartment with his mr drew a long breath and sank wearily into a chair he pulled out a cigar and began to fill the room with smoke finding that this did not steady his nerves he got a strong glass of liquor from a bottle that their marriage bond the servant had left and drank it ten minutes later he rang and asked the to find out whether anything had yet been heard of the american steamer while the lad was gone he busied himself with his baggage tossing things into the trunk and bags this done he took paper and pen and wrote the name of miss on an envelope into which he put fifty pounds of english money with this line take it you will need it some time the boy returned with the statement that no news of the steamer had been received she could not now enter and leave port till some time on the following morning the gentleman could sleep undisturbed with the assurance that he would be called at any hour he might name sleep much sleep he was likely to get in his state of mind he told the boy that he did not need to be called he wished heartily that the boat had been in the harbor and that he could have gone on board of her it was simply in that hotel with the cause of all his woes separated from him only by a brick wall u damn it he ejaculated

0Arthur Conan Doyle

many times the words seemed to partially relieve the on his mind he did not dare think of her still less did he wish to think of home and what awaited him there what a long night it promised to be he looked at his watch and wound it from the force of habit it was only half past ten he walked up and down his room in and out of the bed chamber beyond oh how long how very long the night was he the face of his watch again their marriage bond it was now a quarter before eleven he lay down and tried to sleep he lay there for hours for days for weeks and then in desperation he looked at his watch again to see what new lie was on its face half past eleven what an absurdity a century passed after that during which he tossed and turned more sleepless if possible than before then a clock somewhere began striking and twelve strokes sitting up began to curse the that could utter such a senseless falsehood he forgot the silence of the place and the distinctness with which his voice in the empty rooms when he stopped he fancied he heard a new and strange sound like the movement of soft feet on the carpet in the parlor his brain was turned he could not his senses across the open doorway faintly shown by the lowered light stole a slight figure a human shape and it came toward him their marriage bond x mr and mrs it was late the next morning when arose he had lain for more than an hour after waking harassed hy the most horrible reflections and fears he was far from being at heart a bad man could it have availed to blot out the of the previous twelve hours he would have sacrificed every hope of success that had filled his brain with languid steps and pale features he dragged himself about the room like a man partially when miss returned to him long after he stole a glance at her face to see if there was left a single gleam of pity for one who had wronged her so deeply to his surprise he noticed nothing that indicated hate although her manner was much more subdued than formerly overcome by his emotions he took a step toward her and fell upon his knees at her feet with the sweetest words of comfort margaret him for his prostrate position and succeeded at last in persuading him to arise and talk with her but when he pleaded his love in of his conduct and promised to take her hand in marriage as soon as a clergyman could be found she proved as as ever no man in his senses she said would talk of making a wife of a woman disgraced as i am your excitement turned your brain don t talk like that unless you intend to make me really he groaned their marriage bond she shook her head sorrowfully i don t know what to say to you she ejaculated and i wish you would forget this disagreeable subject there are some hours yet left to us before your steamer will sail must we spend it all in talking of matters about which we differ why cannot we be good friends and part without a quarrel he demanded to know why she thought he could ever quarrel with her why he should ever be anything but her dear close friend he repeated in spite of her entreaties that there was no reason in the world but her why she should not let him call her by the name of wife before the day ended his love for her had grown ten times greater since they came to he would not leave her he would give up the business of his firm he would remain in europe unless she consented to go to america with him why he cried in conclusion you are already my wife the ceremony prescribed by the law can hardly us closer than we are i will listen to no of your duty margaret this is a matter in which i have a right to insist how wildly and passion will make a man talk she said your wife indeed if i had promised you my hand and the hour of our wedding was fixed for to day i would refuse to keep my promise after what has occurred unless i could become a wife with the respect of my husband i never would marry oh margaret he cried what is it you mean to do you have confided to me your situation you are innocent of the ways of the world if i leave you here you will fall a victim to some miserable and live a life you despise with a man you hate their marriage bond she shivered and he drew her closer to his as if to warm her i realize the truth of the picture you have drawn said she after kissing him once more to gain strength i have known it for some days the of expecting to make a living at any respectable employment but the men who are to share my smiles will not hold my heart in their grasp as you do i shall not feel that fierce hunger with which you possess me that jealousy of every other female creature in the universe heard her with the utmost impatience i wish you could feel for one second he said the torture you cause me it is simply i cannot give you up now whatever i could have done before make your own terms with me margaret give me any obligation you like only don t say we are never to meet after that dreadful steamer arrives i should throw myself from its deck into the ocean if i knew you were consigned to the awful

0Arthur Conan Doyle

life of which you spoke a little while ago i will not leave you here i say that once for all you shall go to america or i shall remain in europe if there be no place where you can earn a living here there are certainly plenty on the other side of the sea you have no right to refuse my offer to obtain one for you there an honest opportunity to get your bread if you refuse that you are beyond reason miss rivers saw that her companion was being wrought into a state of and she tried to soothe him what i fear is that your resolution to leave me when we reach land will not be so easy to keep there will be their marriage bond the same trouble over again the talk of marriage and that sort of thing no he said eagerly i will let all that go i will give up all hope of marrying you and certainly i shall never think of marrying any other woman there it is settled then there is no more to be said you will go to new york with me i will put you in good hands and he said the last words with a choking voice we will part forever he could not hold back the tears and seeing him weeping she mingled hers with those that down his cheek i had forgotten that you wished to see friends here he said presently we shall have to attend to that this morning or it may be too late i do not want to see them if i am going with you she answered oh i wonder if i had better go the temptation to escape my certain fate here is great but there must be no break in your promise make it again solemnly he repeated it after her slowly and sealed it with a kiss on her lips i i will go she said after a moment s pause yes i will go and now i must return to my room and get ready for it must be nearly noon a minute he said as she was about to leave him you know i have done you a fearful wrong and you know i am very sorry it will do me much good to hear you say you forgive me i will say it and welcome she replied it was all my fault i believed you would leave with less regret you learned that i was not the kind of woman you wanted for your wife he shook his head as if he did not yet understand their marriage bond i thought she stammered i wanted yo to go away with an easier heart he drew her closer to him again you poor little innocent he exclaimed in what school did you learn these strange ideas a few minutes later a was knocking the american steamer had arrived and would leave in about two hours margaret opened her door when he hastened to impart the news the steamer is here our steamer he said we are going in two hours together hush she replied when she had disengaged herself from his embrace if you act like this i shall not dare go with you i want to say one thing he whispered and you will understand at once in order that we may be as much together as we please i shall register you on the passenger list as my wife oh she exclaimed but he stopped her it is not an official document i only want to stop the tongues of the other passengers we shall have nothing to do with them it is merely for there was another knock at his door and he went back to talk with a porter who wanted to know when the baggage would be ready he sent down for his bill and paid everything for both it was a good thing there was so much to do for he was afraid every minute that miss would raise some new objection if she had time to talk with him alone presently they were in the carriage and toward the pier what names asked the agent when asked for two tickets mr and mrs he replied their marriage bond christian names and once on board margaret went directly to her where she elected to remain for the present pleading a slight with a tender caress bade her try to sleep saying he would not disturb her for an hour or two as he regained the deck he saw coming toward him a familiar form and held out his hand exclaiming well you are mistaken was the icy reply my name is their marriage bond chapter xi come and let us talk the astonishment of mr at this reception of his advances was marked he knew that the person he had addressed was mr and he could not account for the direct cut he had received or the that he was mistaken for some moments he stood staring after the form of the other as it moved toward the farther end of the deck wondering over the strange occurrence suddenly he saw it whirl about and come toward him quite as rapidly as it had gone away come over here and let us have a talk said in a more tone followed willingly for he bore no ill will on account of the treatment he had just received when they had reached a quiet spot where there were no ears to their conversation remarked i was not looking for any one i knew and i have reasons for not wishing to be addressed here by my true name that is why i answered you so abruptly but as you are apparently going to be my fellow for the next ten days you might as well understand it now as later if you have any secret that you do not

0Arthur Conan Doyle

wish me to learn i hope you will not think it necessary to reveal it responded i would not have addressed you had i suspected that to be the case and i will profess not to know you during the voyage if you desire there is nothing to be gained by that course said after reflection i have committed what most marriage bond people would call an and it is too late to undo it if i had expected to meet any person who knew me on the boat i should have taken a different method all i need explain to you is that i have bought my ticket under the name of and that a lady who come with me is as he spoke as if the matter was a very ordinary one for he did not mean to have his tones excite more interest than the words they uttered but could not help a slight start and a change of color there it is out now added you could make it very unpleasant for me if you chose but i think i read your mind better than to suppose you would do so i am involved in one of those affairs which explanations only the least said in the matter will be mended mr bowed and said he should do nothing to add to his friend s uneasiness he had no wish to learn anything on the subject he colored as he made the statement very much as a girl might have done with the same suspicions in mind but felt certain of his to his word and breathed easier the conversation then changed to mr visit to europe and to the legitimate business of mr on his foreign trip it seemed that had been to take some at and had taken the opportunity to see a little of southern italy but his time had been extremely limited and he was going home still hungry for the sights he had missed he listened to s account of his own voyages asking many questions and showing interest in all he heard on learning that it was only five weeks since had left boston mr inquired about his friends their marriage bond there the young lawyer gave an account of many of them among others he also mentioned incidentally that he had gone with once or twice to mrs s and had also seen mr the elder how did he appear the son anxiously much as the last time i had seen him the time you were there said i had quite a talk with him mainly as was natural about you i did not then know that i was going abroad i started very suddenly but i think at that time he expected you home a little earlier than this explained that he had done more business than he at first expected and then he inquired about the mrs looked the picture of health responded and miss though not as ruddy as her mother was as ever very beautiful by the way he added as if not quite sure that he ought to mention it i saw the announcement of your engagement just before you sailed to this statement vouchsafed no reply he was the scene to himself the of mrs the familiar faces that he knew must have gathered there in one chair in a corner his pale faced father sat talking a little occasionally and thinking of the days when he took a more active part in the affairs of the world thinking too no doubt of the absent son whose future he had been at such pains to secure both in a business and matrimonial way what would happen when the son returned and told him that he would under no circumstances carry out the promise he had made to marry trembled at the thought but he did not believe anything their marriage bond could make him from his determination to marry margaret rivers or die a bachelor knew that the subject of the engagement was a distasteful one to his friend and he did not again allude to it he could not help reflecting that the of two persons as mr and mrs had something to do with it the matter had a strange fascination for him but he had no intention of taking pains to the mystery the first time he had seen he thought her the most creature he had ever beheld he had looked upon her as was already to be as the most happy of mortals he knew that was the general opinion in and about boston and he was greatly puzzled to find that some cloud had come into the happy story of the young couple mr and mrs had married while abroad and taken another name on the boat to avoid a premature announcement of the fact to his father that seemed the most probable explanation to his remarkable conduct it will be practically impossible to live together on this steamer a week and avoid each other half the time said i should not like to do it even if i could mrs is at present in her cabin but she will be on deck i trust before the day is over you will be likely to see a good deal of her you intend to present me then certainly our mutual talk will be about europe and the united states in a general way as far as i can guide it i think margaret he paused at his error mrs will say very little on any subject when we are together as i said and as i wish to remarked ho their marriage bond with that flush which came so readily to his face i want to know nothing of your private affairs but in order that there may be no confusion tell me one thing am i to consider in my conversation that you are married to

0Arthur Conan Doyle

this lady is that what i am given to understand that is exactly what we wish you to assume replied in case the necessity arises to assume anything for reasons which i cannot explain if i would we have in that manner and we wish to keep up the assumption till we are landed in new york soon after saying this he excused himself and went to attend to some business with the and head steward while determined not to with matters that belonged to another could not help bringing his legal mind to bear on the case before him from the concluding statement of his friend he gathered that and the lady with him were unmarried he had not said so definitely but he had spoken of it as an assumption a thousand conjectures might be made of their reasons for under a false title there was certainly nothing to show that s marriage with miss had been broken off or even that this voyage with mrs had anything to in it of a nature still as he kept saying to himself whatever the affair meant it was nothing to him he could not undertake to act as guardian of the morals of a universe the world was a queer one and strange things happened every day half an hour later being in the dining saloon he was spoken to by the steward mr has asked me to give him and his wife their marriage bond ill eats next to you and the gentlemen who had them have consented kindly to make a change that will be very pleasant stammered mr involuntarily he glanced at the card which the steward had placed by the two plates and read them mr cabin mrs cabin the lunch bell rang while he was thinking about the matter and he himself for the ordeal before him to his relief however came to the table alone with the explanation that mrs did not yet feel equal to sitting up and would be served in her cabin margaret was not really ill but exhausted with the strain through which she had passed in her excited state she was already sorry that she had yielded to the temptation to follow the man she loved into the new world still she trembled to think how she would have felt at this moment had his vessel disappeared across the and left her to face the hopeless future of poverty alone the emotions dealt severely with a none too strong and the girl lay prone upon the sofa in her cabin a very pitiable object why had she ever left in his company she asked herself a thousand times there was the point to separate as her conscience had told her plainly every hour spent together made the parting more and more painful why had she to her great love at the hotel instead of making it easier to part either for her or him it had made it infinitely more difficult and here she was as his wife living a lie but on the other hand her situation had been indeed trying when she had resolved to give up so much for the sake of that american woman whom she had never seen she had need of something to strengthen her their marriage bond heart a single happy memory to the the after years of her life must hold she had stolen nothing from miss mr would marry yet at the hour he had agreed she would make him do it the ten days before he reached land were hers she might have taken all the days he had hut she had reserved to herself only this space giving all the rest to her rival on the second day at evening she appeared at dinner and ran the of many eyes as the probable bride who had come aboard at she was presented to mr who sat next to mr and exchanged a few words with him decided that he could tell nothing about her yet and waited to get a better opportunity to form an opinion she was certainly a pretty woman though he reflected had nothing of the radiant beauty of miss she wore mourning which added to the subdued appearance that had become natural to her she looked as if she had passed through some recent trial the of her face might be ascribed partly to this and partly to the effect of a day at sea when the dinner was ended margaret walked for half an hour on the deck leaning on her husband s arm and the most of the passengers satisfied their curiosity regarding her at that time then she retired and mr went to th smoking room to light a cigar the days that followed were much like this one though miss rivers was more upon the deck than at first she had little conversations with mr in which he learned that she was of english birth and had lived much in the east but nothing mare their marriage bond xii lost in new york at six one morning miss rivers went early upon the deck she saw from the window of her cabin that land was not far away that the harbor of new york had already been entered as she walked about her eyes searched for a familiar face and she soon saw it with its eyes gazing toward the shore good morning mr she said as she approached him as he turned and looked at her she saw that he was not over pleased at the encounter he replied politely but there was a lack of cordiality in his manner that he perhaps did not realize good morning mrs he said lifting his hat i want to ask a favor of you she said wistfully i want you by and by when we have landed to give this letter to mr to mr she held a little envelope

0Arthur Conan Doyle

in her hand offering it to him but he made no move to take it why do you not give it to him yourself he asked because i am sure you will not betray me i am going to leave him as soon as opportunity offers he he is not my husband i knew long ago that you had guessed it and i must relieve him of my presence i can t explain any more but when i am gone this note will matters and prevent his a for me won t you please give it to him i am sorry to refuse but i really cannot mix in the their marriage bond affair he answered the chief steward or the might accommodate you but for very strong reasons i cannot a look of deep distress her features and there was a suspicion of moisture in her dark eyes she said good morning again not angrily and went toward the dining saloon i suppose i ve been fearfully said to himself but really t don t see what else i could have done not married to eh well as she says i never believed she was it s one of those that good men fall into in their youth and according to what she says it ends here he will go back to and marry miss who will never know of the i wonder he mused what she would say if she did know of it there would be an end to her wedding preparations i guess she s not the sort of woman to stand a thing like this if it came to her ears margaret found that the head steward was busy and on reflection thought it best not to give him her note yet for fear of accident soon after she knocked on s door i think you will have to hasten said she it will take some time for you to dress and pack she added as he opened the i have been up for an hour and a half and have only just finished at the hotel to which we are going she continued in a whisper there must be no more of mr and mrs you are again to be and i margaret rivers when he was ready they walked to the saloon where went through the form of declaring to the officials that he had no goods either in his baggage r that of his wife for this purpose he was obliged their marriage bond to answer to the name recorded on the passenger list then they went to breakfast eating the meal in comparative silence had taken his breakfast already and left the table the other passengers around them were at the prospect of being so soon on shore a number of ladies whom margaret had never seen made their appearance the inevitable found on all atlantic who keep their during an entire voyage on account of were being exchanged with promises to write always so at the end of a voyage between people who have formed which they believe will be lasting the brightness and bustle struck a chill to margaret s heart most of those around her were going to happy homes after some months or years of absence she alone seemed to have come to a foreign land where no one knew her and where she had no hope of anything more than the if indeed she was so lucky as to find that they went upon the deck where absent pointed out to her the islands of the harbor and the buildings on shore as well as the spider s web which the great bridge appears to the distant sight he could not talk of much else for fear of making a scene the attitude of the couple joined to the dejected appearance of margaret and the mourning that she wore caused comment among the passengers who decided again that the american had married an english wife who had lately suffered some great the belief settled down to a deceased mother whom she and her husband had gone to to bury at last the steamer reached her dock and was made their marriage bond fast the plank was arranged and the passengers alighted with little delay passed the and he was soon on the way to a hotel with his companion their hands stole together as they rode through the streets but neither dared utter more than when they drew up in front of the mr asked the girl to remain for a few moments in the carriage while he inquired if suitable rooms could be obtained as it was a time when he supposed the house would be quite full he had hardly passed out of sight when margaret made a quick resolve and acted upon it she had given up the plan of asking the head steward of the steamer to deliver the little note of farewell which had offered to mr she had in the suggestion that should remain with her for a day or two until he could find her a situation with the understanding that all relations but those of friendship should cease between them from the time they landed but when he alighted to look for their rooms a fright seized her she was morally certain that the rooms he would select would communicate with each other she knew how hard it was for him to give her up and she dreaded putting her weak strength of mind against his strong one should she enter that hotel she did not know how she could resist if he opposed her determination to leave the present was above all others the time for freedom and she made a bold dash for it the moment he was out of sight she called the cab man to the window the large trunk and the smaller bags are to be taken off here she said hurriedly the

0Arthur Conan Doyle

other bag and the little trunk go on with me their marriage bond what you don t stop together said the man no be as quick as possible please there is no time to spare knowing no reason for delay the man called to the hotel who stood around and had the baggage removed from his vehicle what shall we do with them ma am asked one of the when the articles named were deposited in the doorway the gentleman will be back directly he has gone inside to engage a room she said then to the driver do you know of any respectable boarding house where the charges are not very dear i want to be taken to such a place at once the driver for a wonder knew of exactly such a place and mounting his box drove off toward it the room and board with the price asked for the same proving satisfactory miss settled for the cab and entered her new home her first act after finding herself alone was a very feminine one she lay down on the bed and cried for an hour as if her heart would break as for his surprise and disappointment may be imagined when he found how he had been deserted he inquired of the of the hotel who had seen the carriage if they remembered the number or would recognize the driver if they saw him again but in both these points he was met by it was plain that they thought the joke on him a huge one for he could discern covert smiles in their faces and felt that they would not help him even if they could the lady had meant to give him the slip and their sympathy was all with her he could not explain the state of affairs to these fellows and rather than remain in a house where the story their marriage bond was certain to be repeated among the guests he took a second carriage and went immediately to another one what was to be done he did not want to leave margaret to the tender of a strange country he sincerely wished to aid her in every possible way to earn a living since it was clear she was bound at any cost to carry out her intention of leaving him but new york is a large place she might have left the city by one of the numerous trains reaching out into the country in a hundred directions she would without doubt do her best to avoid him the more he thought of the matter the more he grew his conscience pricked him severely for the part he had played toward her he was no she was the first woman toward whom he had ever acted in this way he would never have been led into it but for the belief that he could right his wrong by marriage what were her chances to obtain an honest living he feared they were not of the best she was pretty very and nearly he knew just how much money she had for the day before landing he had put a hundred dollars in american money into her purse from which he had taken the last shilling when they left she had protested when he did this and he had promised to take it back again as soon as she was settled in a good place and was certain she could spare the amount a hundred dollars it might last her six or seven weeks with the rigid economy she would be sure to practice and after that without the least idea that he was likely to see her he walked up and down the streets all that afternoon and into the evening peering into every female face he en their marriage bond he was without hope and yet it seemed as if he could not give up people stared at him so pale so in his quest he had eaten no lunch and no dinner about eleven o clock at night he met on the a familiar form and stopped at the warm greeting of mr why where did you come from i don t know was the strange reply the speaker was so full of the of his thoughts that for a moment he could not collect himself see here said you re not well come inside one of these and take something for your nerves not able to resist though he hated to have his walk interrupted followed his old acquaintance into a brightly lighted place and in response to a request to state what he would take said simply that he did not care you are ill said him closely you d best have a little brandy and water he indicated to a waiter who had appeared that he might bring the when you ve swallowed that i ll get a carriage and take you to your hotel where are you stopping i don t know was the answer while mr showed signs of for heaven s sake brace up said the other becoming alarmed you had too hard a sea voyage i guess and haven t got your land legs yet think he added fearing that his friend would faint before he had given information as to his hotel where did you get your dinner mr looked at the and then the brandy and water arriving some of it slowly their marriage bond i don t think i ve had any dinner he said finally you came in on the steamer from this morning didn t you eyed his companion nervously how did you know that he asked rousing him self i guessed it from the fact that your father told me a few days ago that he had had a letter from you dated at and that you intended taking the southern route home and i saw in the noon edition of the that

0Arthur Conan Doyle

the boat was in the explanation the young man and the allusion to his father opened a new train of thought my father is he well about as usual and very anxious to see you if the news of your steamer s safe arrival was in the evening edition of the boston papers he will sit up to night waiting for you your best way now is to take the midnight train and be at home early in the morning there was something in this suggestion that caused to break into laughter not loud enough to attract attention from others in the room but sufficiently strange to cause mr a good deal of apprehension had his friend completely lost his mind it was the kind of laughter that is often followed by tears but in this case the stopped short of that if you have really had no dinner you should eat something said nothing is worse than an empty stomach in the idea of and a was soon spread before him of which he partook with a reasonable appetite the effects of the their marriage bond were almost immediately apparent in his improved appearance i cannot go to boston to night he said when that subject was again but perhaps i will go tomorrow i have a little business to here for my firm yes i think a note stating that i have arrived might be sent home it will relieve father of anxiety in case he hears of the arrival of my boat was procured and the a messenger being summoned to take it to the railway station as it was too late for the you d better let me walk to the hotel with you when the name of that establishment was at last given to him i m at the and tomorrow unless you re a great deal better i advise you to be careful not to go about too much you gave me a start when i first met you upon my word as there was nothing to be gained by continuing to the city in his present condition consented to go home and to bed after his arrival there he for a time into his former condition of despondency it did not seem as if he could close his when the girl he loved so well might be already a victim to the and that would be set for her feet but tired nature had her way at last and he slept the sleep of an exhausted man till morning h their marriage bond chapter xiii you are a sick man when awoke it was with a start the which he had been obliged to face on the previous day was still in existence for a full hour he did not attempt to rise but though he thought of the in every conceivable phase its severity did not margaret had deserted him in a manner that showed how strong was her purpose to end all connections between them there was a possibility that to day or to morrow frightened at being alone in a strange land she would and come in search of him if she held out beyond that he did not know where to find further hope he could not long delay going to see his father but he resolved at least to wait in the city forty eight hours there was no telling whether the english girl was still in the vicinity or whether some of the trains that run to all points of the compass had taken her miles and miles away he would write a few words home stating that he had arrived and that a business matter would delay him in new york for a couple of days in the meantime there was the of the long streets and avenues the perusal of the newspapers the frequent returns to the office of the hotel where she had left him with inquiries and a careful to each of the clerks to detain any person who might call for him came around about ten o clock to inquire after his condition and who was then at their marriage bond breakfast got rid of him by a plausible story without giving said he was in the city on no particular business merely passing the time while the coffee was disappearing he took occasion to speak of edward and of the family but paid little attention to the subject there isn t anything that i can do for you is there asked as his friend excused himself i don t like to see you looking like this and my time is wholly at your disposal if it s of any use no was the reply i am upset a little about a business matter but i guess it will come around all right if you want any money pardon me you know you have only to mention it thank you it is nothing of that kind good bye he was very much broken up who knew him go well was perfectly certain of that but there was nothing he could do either to help his friend or to satisfy his curiosity and he parted from without either of them alluding to a possible after walking about for a time peering into the faces of every woman he met returned to the hotel and copied from a a long list of intelligence offices these he obtained help in arranging in some order as to their distance from the hotel and the direction in which they lay then taking a carriage he explained to the driver his desire to visit the entire list as fast as convenient and set off on that errand i wish to engage a young woman to teach two children the ordinary branches was the story he repeated at each office an english girl newly arrived would be preferred at two or three places they said they had exactly their

0Arthur Conan Doyle

marriage he wanted and called out of adjacent rooms various types of females to prove the assertion they would not do however and leaving an address of course at the general he arranged that in case anything more suitable presented itself he was to be by evening he had tired his driver the and himself and discovered nothing in the hours between dark and midnight he could not rest he renewed his wanderings in the streets how many women there were without not few of them were on errands that filled him with he thought continually that margaret the pure and gentle margaret for to him she was still pure as ever might yet join that she had hinted of it in some of their talks this resort of the woman who has to her living from the cruel world it drove him frantic to think of the probable fate of such a girl alone ignorant of life with no trade or profession unless he could find her his steps grew heavier perhaps she had already begun the downward career the descent into hell is so struck with a new idea called a cab from a stand and told the driver to take him on a round of the pleasure houses of the city it was but a chase for wild and one resort was as likely as another to bring him to what he sought he had known hitherto but little of this kind of thing but he had a general notion of the manner in which these houses were conducted he went from one to the other ringing the bells being escorted into the seeing the troops of painted girls enter for his inspection noting the eager glances their marriage bond which they cast upon him each one hoping to touch his fancy he paid for the wine that was proposed though he did not lift the glass to his own lips he questioned each madame as to whether there was on her list of a young english girl lately arrived in the city and excused himself from the house with a feeling that he had already his welcome as far as the occupants were concerned this he repeated at a dozen places then he realized how hopeless was his quest how improbable it was that margaret would happen to be in any of these houses how unlikely that he would find her even if she were when there were five hundred other shady that he had no time to visit overwhelmed with his emotions haggard and he was driven back to his hotel on the way he stopped at the other hotel and renewed his inquiries as to whether any one had called to ask for him nobody his own and going toward the to seek his chamber met in the i am going to bed said briefly to his visitor i want to talk with you a moment responded let me go up with you m ch as he would have liked to escape the conversation did not know how to do so the two men ascended together and soon the door of the chamber was closed upon them i don t want to impose upon your privacy said when they were seated but the condition in which i find you makes it my duty you are a sick man with something on your mind that is driving you distracted i am your friend your companion of long years and i cannot leave until you axe in a better con their marriage bond last night when i first encountered you you were nearly out of your mind this morning you were unfit to go out alone but i had to let you to night you need a physician if ever a man did now you can t go on like this you needn t tell me what is the cause of it but you must take my advice i know you will have a month s illness unless this thing is stopped right away realized as his friend was speaking that there was truth in what he said he was very weak his head was whirling he looked in a mirror opposite to where he sat and was shocked to note the of his face and the circles that had grown around his eyes what do you want me to do he stammered to let me send for a doctor to begin with he will give you a that will help you to a sleep then i want to get a room near you and remain till morning you ought not to be left alone and to morrow throwing everything else aside i want you to come to boston with me where your father is your return and watching for you with every train that comes to the station the mention of the word father did not impress as had believed it would there is another who waits for you he at random the girl you are engaged to marry a distinct shade of pain crossed the other s features did not understand its meaning but he could not help seeing it very well said after a strained pause call the doctor i do need rest that is a fact as for going home we will talk of that when to morrow comes touched a bell and hastily a note which he gave to the attendant who responded not their marriage bond long after a doctor whom he knew quite well responded and without any more conversation than was necessary a was given that was filled and taken mr was too tired to make his sleep long in coming and the character of the relieved him of the restless dreams he would otherwise have experienced mr stayed in the room for an hour until he was satisfied with the regular breathing of his friend and patient and then retired to a room across the hall which

0Arthur Conan Doyle

he was able to secure three or four times during the night he rose and went to look at the for he had not removed more than a part of his own clothing but there was nothing to be done the morning came and found s rest undisturbed and it was after nine o clock when he finally opened his eyes his first sensations were another sinking at the heart as the truth forced itself upon him but was ready with encouraging words with about the trains to boston and with allusions to the father who had not seen his son for months and whose anxiety must be great to welcome him there was little prospect that longer delay in new york would avail anything at least thought he might go home and meet his father and business associates and then if any glimmer of hope came again to his breast he could return and his search he indicated to that he would go with him and the one o clock train was decided upon he allowed his friend to send a to announcing the decision then he took a slight breakfast packed his things inquired at the other hotel office if any visitor had come or any mail sent to the general post to see if anything had been received there from the intelligence their marriage bond office people and finally drove with his companion to the grand central station on the train he had a and was obliged to administer a cordial to keep him from an entire giving way the dreadful thought that margaret was alone and helpless in that great that her fate could hardly be a matter of doubt came over him like a flood even should she in her mad purpose to avoid him would she know where to find him america was to her a she had passed most of her life in the east where the conditions were so widely different she was by nature shrinking and to ask it might be that at this moment she was sobbing her sweet eyes out in an agony of regret at her desertion and without the slightest idea how to proceed in a search for him oh it was as the train approached its destination however became calmer he had a trial to meet and he resolved to put on the best possible appearance till the first of it was over he made himself as as possible in the toilet room of the he occupied and when mr parted from him as he did before took the train for he entertained no doubt that it was quite safe to do so good bye said pressing his hand see you in a day or two or sooner if you want me these sea voyages are to many people and a little longer time on land will set you right my regards to your father and the their marriage bond mrs s advice the welcome which received at the paternal mansion was as warm as he could have expected this was the first time he had been separated o long from his father and the elder gentleman evinced his pleasure at seeing him again in no uncertain manner it was some minutes before he noticed the that mental distress had wrought in his son s face and he was easily satisfied with the explanation that the weather at sea had been rough the talk lasted until half an hour after the dinner was ended and then edward suggested that go without further delay to pay a call on his sweetheart i have not sent them word of your arrival as no doubt you thought i would do he said so your coming will be a perfect surprise duty is duty my boy and must be considered before everything else don t stay too long for i want another talk before i go to bed how good it seems to see your face again still to some extent by the events that had occurred could not help being impressed by the happiness of this relation who had been until within the past few weeks the dearest person on earth to him before leaving the house he stooped over the invalid s chair and received a kiss on the forehead after the old fashion the path that led across the field was bordered now with the country flowers of early summer the grass on their marriage bond both sides was green and fragrant and the trees were in the full beauty of their foliage the sun had set but the evening was still with light and the air was as as that of the islands he had visited in but the heavy weight on his heart overpowered all else was sitting on a of her house and discerned his form some moments before he arrived she called her mother in a low voice through an open window and when approached near enough to make the action discreet both ladies waved their hands to him and descended the steps their quick eyes saw even before any words were exchanged that he was in no very joyful mood and they adapted themselves tc the situation the usual expressions of pleasure at greeting a wanderer were given as mr approached and took their hands and his answers were courteous enough still no spectator would have imagined from his manner that the younger of these ladies was to him and that the day set for their wedding was only three or four months distant mrs had a great deal of tact and she so managed the conversation that all went smoothly she made him talk of the things he had seen and alluded to her own foreign journeys taken many years before did little but listen and she did that very well her smile was ready when the situation called for a smile and her fair brow darkened with apprehension when anything

0Arthur Conan Doyle

was said about the dangers of the deep the welcome home that both of them gave him was of a kind that would have gone far to influence his future had he not been to everything in that direction he thought in the pauses of the their marriage bond tion of the imperative necessity to let these people understand his true situation regarding them before many days had passed and the that were certain to arise filled him with dismal himself at an early hour on the plea that his father was sitting up for him strolled back to his home it was impossible for edward to let the occasion pass without alluding to the marriage or speaking of the congratulations that had been upon the match from all sides i don t believe you half realize even yet what a lucky chap you are he said with a chuckle your possesses every requisite for happiness she is young beautiful wealthy and you are the only man who has ever in the remotest degree won her affection it will be but a little while now before this will be yours and you are already the envy of every young man within thirty miles of boston it was no time to get involved in a as important as this would be i think i shall have to go to bed remarked with a wearied look i am still very tired with my voyage and you know i have a great deal of business to do to morrow the father though with a trace of disappointment in his countenance for he dearly loved the subject on which he had launched out the next day escaped the discussion he so much dreaded he was with members of his firm until evening and came home so late that his father had already retired the succeeding day he managed to get leave of absence with some business for the concern in new york as an excuse and hastened to to pack a their marriage bond well business is of the first importance commented edward sadly as he heard the news you won t be gone more than a day or two i suppose there s time to run over and explain it to miss i hope you ve only spent a couple of hours with her your long absence yes said he would have the carriage stop there on the way to the train he would return from the metropolis as soon as his affairs there would let him of course then fearing to talk too long he bade his father a hasty farewell and entered the cab which had been summoned his interview with the ladies was even they accepted his statement about the urgent and sudden business call without arriving in new york he went first to the but there were no letters for him there he drove next to the hotel he had intended to occupy and found that no lady or other person had called to inquire for him or to leave any message he received both of these pieces cf information with for his nerves had recovered something of their natural strength and be he had not allowed himself to expect anything different there was no danger that he would this time or require the services of a physician although his regard for margaret rivers had suffered no he next sought out the services of a and arranged for two of their best men these never have any other kind to search the city for the missing one he told them her correct name gave the best description he could of her and detailed the manner in which she had him there was no need to hint at the relations he had sustained to their marriage bond her but he did say that they had arrived from on the same steamer giving the name of the vessel and the date the commenced in a way by several hundred strange to say they found the one who had taken miss and mr to the hotel and had then at her request driven her to a boarding house returning to their office they found there this was on the second day and one of them went with him to the house the lady evidently wanted who had however given the name of was easily identified at the boarding house but she had remained only one night and the landlady had an impression that she had said something about leaving the city as he listened to these words mr felt a deep conviction that all the efforts he might put forth to find this girl would be wasted that fate had swept her with one gigantic wave out of his reach forever he went back to the paid his bill saying that he needed nothing more at present then he pulled himself together and went about the business matters which had served as an excuse for his visit to new york giving no indication to the gentlemen whom he met that a pressure calculated to drive one to insanity was weighing him down he returned to boston on the third day firmly convinced that he had lost his heart s love and that he would never find her in this world firmly convinced also that there was no consideration even the health of his father that could induce him to become a living lie in the person of brace s husband there was a conflict before him from which he would ordinarily have their marriage bond shrunk to the extent of submission he must meet it now whatever its results with a firm front the following day was sunday and in the afternoon he went to visit his the sky was bright and the weather warm and responded with alacrity to his suggestion of a walk the route selected was one seldom much a by road shaded by tall trees when they were

0Arthur Conan Doyle

out of hearing of any other person began the disagreeable task that lay before him he said in a strained voice i have brought you here to make a confession a confession she started at the word for she dreaded what might follow when a young man talks of making a confession to the girl to whom he is engaged it may well excite her apprehension i want to tell my story in a straightforward way he continued and when it is ended i want you to forgive me if you can the plain truth is that i wish a release from the promise i made you before i went away it is not from any fault with you but the fact is i have gone on in this matter against my judgment from the first merely to please my father it was by his request almost by his command that i spoke the formal words to you on the eve of my departure his health was so poor that i feared to cause him distress and at the time i really thought i could carry out the plan he has had so long at heart but i cannot do it i have no such sentiment toward you as a man should have toward his intended wife i like you extremely well i should be glad to think i could always share your friendship marriage should it seems to me be accompanied with warmer feelings unpleasant as it must be for you to hear this it is even more unpleasant for me to tell it i will go further and say that i con their marriage bond it a plain duty to make this revelation for a marriage between people under these circumstances could hardly result otherwise than as a curse to both of them whatever had entered the mind of the girl when the theme of a confession was entered upon she was wholly unprepared for what she heard it was quite impossible for her to make a verbal reply until some minutes had passed during which the walk was continued slowly and in silence i wish you had had the courage to tell me this before you went away she said at last it would have been easier then to settle the matter now when our engagement has been published when all our friends have come to consider it as a matter of days when we are to be married the embarrassment will be terrible but i don t mean to influence you in any way if what you say is your full determination i shall only have to confide it to my mother and abide by her advice he was relieved that she took it so calmly he had half expected an outburst of tears with perhaps a torrent of one thing is sure he said you are not according to the popular use of the term in love with me there will be no heart no she answered but to a woman there are other things that count for almost as much pride fear of the of the world the of a life that seemed already out then this has been a favorite hope of both our parents i have thought it my first duty to obey my mother i have conceived that her regard for me was so great that her advice could wisely be followed it will be a great blow to her i their marriage bond tears had come at last into her eyes and voice but they were quickly overcome did not like to exhibit her feelings to a man who had just spoken to her in this manner well i have a great deal of trouble before me as well as you if that helps console you said it has cost me something to come to these conclusions my father has been accustomed to give his commands to me and rely upon my obedience for the first time since i can remember i shall have to make a stand against his will i would not do that if i could see any honorable way to please him he thought as he thus of honor of the english girl and his cheek then he thought of her desertion and he again let us go toward home suggested she wanted to be as soon as possible under the guns of the maternal fortress there was nothing more to be said and they their steps arriving at the house was about to say good evening when the girl interrupted him i want you to come in and tell mother what you have told me she said it will have to be done some time and the sooner it is over the better he would have been glad to escape but he saw no reason to refuse her request there were just so many steps on this disagreeable road and he might as well take this one now as later he was ushered into a parlor and left alone for what seemed an interminable length of time but mrs came at last and with her the widow was apparently quite composed while the daughter could not conceal the fact that she was still much their marriage bond t good afternoon was mrs brace s greeting at the same time taking his hand will you please tell me as near as you can what you have been telling well it s just this responded mr in a i had never been in love i yielded to my father s wishes trying to make myself believe i should feel different about it when the time came to marry and i don t feel any different i feel more than ever as the day approaches that i cannot carry out the plan i think it honest and fair both to her and to me to state the case exactly as it is mrs bowed have you said this

0Arthur Conan Doyle

yet to your father she inquired no i wanted to present the situation first to and ask her to release me my father is an invalid and i dread the effect on his shattered health i thought mrs that when you and saw the situation as it is you would help me close the engagement in a way that would my father s regret surely he added desperately there is nothing worse than to without love the widow was silent for a moment i do not think she said that you realize the position in which this places her engagement to you was announced six months ago with your consent congratulations have been upon her from a hundred quarters nearly ever since your departure and have been at work making preparations for the wedding it has even been settled who are to be invited and most of the guests have been privately of the fact in order to give them time for preparation an engagement is considered in these their marriage bond days a very serious thing not a promise to be broken because one of the parties takes some strange notion into his head as to your idea of not loving sufficiently that comes in thousands of cases after marriage instead of before i cannot say that i had a sentiment for my husband strong enough to be called t love on the day we were united but our regard for each other grew my dear i believe you have been working yourself into a state of from which a little rest and right thinking will relieve you but to this he shook ms head decidedly nothing whatever will change me he exclaimed there are reasons which were i at liberty to give them would convince you are these reasons anything asked the lady slowly that reflect upon my daughter no no a thousand times no he cried then she must not suffer from them said mrs decidedly speaking in her name i must declare that we shall hold you to your agreement shall insist replied the lady on your carrying out your promise of marriage mr rose i never shall carry it out he said never mrs people have changed their minds before now was the quiet answer when you have given a few hours more thought to this matter you will conclude that to inflict suffering upon a young and innocent girl does not accord with your highest and best views of what is right it is too late to withdraw from your word before heaven you are pledged to each other almost as truly as if the clergyman had pronounced the their marriage bond words but let us say no more about it now i want you to think this over for another day he uttered an exclamation of distress thinking it over will only drive me mad he replied i have thought it over now until i can hardly cat or sleep i know it is an injury to if it was only to me i could hear it better to refuse to marry her a train of troubles to marry her would let loose an not daring to trust himself to say more the young man left the house and walked toward his own home he meant to tell his father everything and have another chapter over with but he saw the doctor s carriage at the door and learned from a servant that mr had just been by one of his attacks and was in a very precarious condition their marriage bond chapter xv warned during the days that immediately followed found the overwhelming love for his father that had been for nearly his entire life a passion with him returning with irresistible force to sit by the side of his parent to him according to the doctor s directions was his only consolation edward was fully conscious but too weak to talk except in occasional whispers it seemed to his son however that he could read but one thought in his father s mind and that this was connected with the marriage on which he had so long set his heart the physician at the end of a week to a request from the sick man to permit mrs and her daughter to enter his chamber for a few moments separately the widow with rare judgment contented herself with a moment s stay and a word or two of encouragement who had not seen since his announcement of his changed views came at once to the bedside and stooping over the invalid a kiss on his wasted cheek nothing that she could have done would have pleased edward more than this his eyes lighted up as she rose to to draw near he took one of his hands and one of s and placed them together between his own it was a significant expression of his anticipation even in his weak condition the uppermost thought in his brain their marriage bond with rare discretion miss allowed the incident to pass without doing anything to annoy her if such he might at that time be called certainly the young man did not think it an moment to his trusting parent when the interview in the sick room was ended spoke a few words relating strictly to his father s illness to the ladies in an room and they returned to their home it was a month before the doctor said edward might leave his bed and during nearly the whole of that time his son was in almost constant attendance upon him toward the last permitted himself to run into the city and attend to a little business but his were brief as soon however as his father was pronounced out of danger he was anxious to absent himself for a week or so he made the excuse at home of affairs to attend to in new york while the need of rest

0Arthur Conan Doyle

answered the same purpose at the office he dreaded a renewal of the conversations with his father that would certainly refer to the marriage and besides he wanted to seek once more for traces of his lost margaret had not entirely given up his to the english girl even since he returned to boston and he had placed a personal advertisement in two of the papers asking miss m e to communicate with the friend whom she had left so suddenly in new york on such and such a date and promising not to interfere with her in any way providing her circumstances were satisfactory to her he had also offered a reward to whoever would send him information of the present whereabouts of a young woman answering her description and had this announcement inserted not only in new york papers but in those their marriage bond of and philadelphia nothing had been heard from either of these efforts and the young man felt a wild longing to visit again the city where he had last seen his idol in the mad hope that the which had her might cast her up again at his feet he made his plans so that there was no time for his father to talk with him beyond a simple good bye arriving at new york he conferred again with the firm of he had formerly employed and assisted them in searching the various lines which they recommended a week was passed in this way a weary week without a trace of sunshine and the result was nothing whatever what mr sustained in the way of mental pain during that week the reader can only imagine his love for margaret rivers had grown with every hour since she left him his apprehensions for her safety doubled as time passed he even feared that in desperation she had committed suicide and among the he made was a careful inspection of the self destroyed in a dozen cities from lists sent to the by request when he returned to boston his belief that he would never see margaret again was he was actually giving up all hope life would be to him a dreary existence by love of woman a mere round of business cares of plain duties the other thing that troubled him now was the inevitable conflict with his father he had seen this parent hovering on the edge of the grave too recently not to dread the encounter but come it must there was no escape had had no private conversation with the their marriage bond u since he announced his intention of breaking the engagement but on the day of his return from new york mrs sent him a note asking for an interview it served at least as an escape from his father s tongue and when the evening arrived presented himself at the widow s residence was not present for which he was thankful during two hours he was subjected to mrs s ingenious arguments delivered with all her art and in her most agreeable manner she presented the case in a dozen lights in every one of which he seemed a wretch unfit for decent society if he carried out his scheme still he was not moved he replied to everything that he had made up his mind that he could not bring himself to the marriage he was very sorry for he would give anything if he could her pain but marry he would not there was nothing for mrs to do after this but to call on mr and him with the situation the anger of the father when he learned what she had to say knew no bounds when his son came home that night he turned upon him savagely and in a torrent of rage demanded his reasons for this conduct seemed by what he had endured and did not mind as much as he once would have done the that were into his ears he replied over and over that he did not love and that nothing would persuade him to wed her seeing that the mode of attack he was using had no effect edward s tone changed suddenly to a pleading one he said he had a terrible secret to reveal to his son one that made this marriage an absolute necessity for years he explained seeing the astonished look in his son s eyes i have been in financial their marriage difficulties i have prevented the truth being known but if my real condition was public to day i should be in the court miss is rich with an alliance between our families everything would be easy you are my only child is the sole heir of her father it would kill me to have my affairs dragged into the newspapers to refuse this marriage would therefore not merely destroy the happiness of a beautiful girl who has trusted you but would end the life of one who has no other hope to preserve a hitherto honored name the young man was astounded he had imagined while giving no special thought to the matter that his father was comfortably off in this world s goods certainly far beyond the line of poverty they had always lived well a snug sum had been paid into the concern to secure the when he mentioned these things he was told that the money put into the firm was borrowed on heavy interest and with this marriage in view as the only way in which the notes could be taken up it was not a very honorable transaction and he felt it to the quick but he could not reproach a father for what he had done however ill for his benefit he began to grow desperate one by one all the that had sustained his life had fallen away his determination not to marry grew weaker even before he was aware of the change

0Arthur Conan Doyle

since he could not hope for happiness himself was it worth while to send to the grave in disgrace the parent who had upon him the love of a full heart father he said with a deep sigh let me think of it a little longer give me a few days to consider during those few days thought incessantly margaret was lost to him he no longer felt any their marriage bond u doubt of that there had heen but two beings who had ever claimed his love and only one of them was left was it not best on the whole to make this sacrifice but the marriage it would be a dreadful thing without love on either side well he would leave that to those who insisted on its if mrs and her daughter were satisfied he could stand it as well as they he loved margaret whether she were dead or living and he never could love another woman if he told that his heart was cold toward her and that he was sure it never would be otherwise and if she accepted him on those terms she would have no right to complain afterward would she consent to take him when he had told her this he decided to test the matter going directly to the residence he sent up his card with a line on the back asking to see him alone before coming down she had a council of war with her general in chief whose advice was to promise anything whatever in order to bring about the marriage on the day originally set mrs believed fully that if the pair were once united time and not a very long time either would dispose of all their troubles she had a shrewd knowledge of men and great confidence in the power of her daughter s beauty to win over a husband i have decided to be very plain with you said when he had taken the hand of miss and seen that the door was behind her in the first place do you still wish to hold me to my promise miss bowed modestly in the affirmative at the same time smiling faintly she bore evidence of embarrassment and of a tendency to silence their marriage bond very well said the young man drawing a long breath now my father has had a serious talk with me and i have concluded to please him if i can do so and be perfectly honest to you i do not love you if you take me in marriage you will take my name only i shall have to repeat the words of the service or to give assent to them saying i will love honor and cherish you till death and keep myself unto you and all that sort of thing but it must be understood between us now that i shall do nothing of the kind a complete wave of crimson spread over the girl s face as she listened excuse me she said rising and moving toward the door i would rather you said such things to my mother whether i say them to your mother or to you he replied i shall never vary from them i have resolved that if you insist upon holding me to my word i will go through the marriage ceremony with you beyond that i promise nothing it was not polite to utter these expressions mr knew that very well but he was in no mood for politeness while announcing his change of mind as far as the ceremony was concerned he had the feeling of a man and he meant to make his dose of medicine to others as well as to himself he was determined if they forced him into an alliance which he detested that y should do so under no they might lead the horse to water but they never should compel him to drink miss bowed low as she left him partly to conceal the quiver of her lip and partly to hide the tears that sprang in spite of all her efforts to her eyes she their marriage u sought her mother and fell on that lady s neck with an outburst of sobs oh mother she cried it is too much to ask of me i cannot go on with this he has become positively awful slowly the widow drew the truth from the trembling mouth and a flush of indignation her brow as she heard it i will go down and see him she said sternly compose yourself my child the marriage must take place when it is over he will forget the silly notions that now cloud his brain it must take place she added with determination don t mind his in a week after you are wedded he will forget that he ever talked such nonsense and you will laugh to think you it descending to the parlor mrs greeted her with her ordinary good nature she had a game to play and must be used to the last what is the matter with you she asked with an air of how can you frighten my little girl with i have told her just what i mean he responded and i respond in her name that we will hope for a better disposition on your part said mrs with a smile there are now but a few weeks before the date that has been announced and everything will be ready on our side it is gratifying to hear that you have idea of breaking your word as to the rest let us leave that for the future if love has not yet lodged in your bosom await its advent will accord you every consideration now that she understands your mood their marriage bond he was surprised to find her in this quiet temper he would have been better prepared for an outburst of anger which he could

0Arthur Conan Doyle

not help feeling his conduct in some measure deserved and if love for your daughter never finds in my breast he said slowly what then mrs a trifle but the smile of remained and is this all that now stands between you young people she asked as if it was very little indeed all he repeated yes it is all i do not think you realize what an l all it is then let us turn the conversation into more agreeable channels she replied half the marriages that take place nowadays are on that very basis t nine of them come out better than those of young hearts filled with affection the wedding will take place with your consent on the day announced so long ago you will i presume cover from the world any scruples you may have your father s dearest wish will be gratified i shall be delighted and as for yo u and you certainly enter the state with a full understanding on a most important matter there was no use in talking longer with this lady and only saying that he would like a word with his future before he departed he wanted an explicit understanding between the three parties to this compact it is not necessary said mrs understood you perfectly in the first place and you may guess how the repetition of such things to a young girl may be distressing i assure you we have a perfect accord and that i represent her wholly in promising that their marriage bond she shall take your hand in marriage admitting the mental you desire when the young man had gone mrs went immediately to her daughter s room where as she feared she found stretched on a bed dissolved in tears it is done said the voice of her mother there will be no talk of change after this but sobbed the girl raising her woe countenance does he say he never will love me that he will always treat me with coldness was the reply what difference does it make what a man says when he has a fit of temper the point is gained that the ceremony is to occur on the date previously arranged their marriage bond xvi matrimonial to the many friends of the and the families all the struggles through which had passed were entirely unknown the wedding had been announced long before for a certain date and on that date it was to be edward brightened when his son informed him that there was to be no more discussion that he had given his definite word to mrs and would abide by it the elder gentleman thought as lightly as did the widow of the dangers of in a couple whose relations would lack something of harmony as to the financial troubles that annoyed him the elder felt that he would be perfectly justified in presenting the case to mrs when the ceremony was over and asking a loan from the large fortune which her daughter was to inherit the preparations for the event now but a few weeks away with renewed rapidity passed his time at his business office paying occasional brief and very formal calls to his and plunged in a constant state of from which it was impossible to rally him his visits to were without any further talk in reference to the matters that divided them he was going to do the straightforward thing and to carry it off in such a way that the public would never guess his real state of mind that was the new contract he had assumed their marriage bond called occasionally to see his friend sometimes at the office of the company sometimes at the home he alone of the knew that something not down in the bills had happened he had seen in new york in a state but a shade removed from insanity he knew that in spite of every effort the young man was still possessed with the mental disturbance that had then manifested itself it was easy to see that the coming marriage was without joy to him that it was to be entered upon unwillingly or at least without enthusiasm spent many an hour in contemplating the situation but was unable to guess at the mystery he could not ask direct questions and there was nothing to do but watch and wait mr was a frequent visitor also at the home of the his presence there served to divert the attention of from her unpleasant for he was bright and entertaining in spite of the muffled tone which he always used to her when they were alone it is something to any young woman to feel that an eligible youth considers her unusually attractive that he would propose for her hand if he believed there was any chance of success and this was the attitude that constantly seemed to assume you are engaged to my friend i will be true to him in all my words and acts yet i do not think him worthy of you and my heart is heavy both for my loss and his gain to plain words this was what seemed to say over and over to miss without uttering a single syllable that could be into these statements their marriage bond and with him in his distress and thought him the most noble and of men it is only two weeks he said to her one day before you will be a wife how infinitely happy the man must be who looks forward to that hour it was not irony she said to herself as the smote on her brain for certainly could not know the secret so carefully between the two families it was the honest expression of a manly heart it seems he continued as if was going to take away my right to be a friend to you i shall have to all my

0Arthur Conan Doyle

conduct when your name is mrs by no means she responded quickly i shall like you just as well as ever and hope to see you just aa often marriage does not compel one to her list of friends and you know you stand very high in mine the emotion that he could so well made him turn his head away lest she read too much in his con countenance then he rose and said he remembered an engagement in the city i am sorry you are going so soon she told him come as frequently as you can and don t fill your head with silly notions that i that mamma and i will like you less after after my marriage she held out her white hand to him and he touched it with his own have you decided where you will live he asked we shall have rooms in the city for the present she replied choking a little at the thought of leaving home he lingered a moment as if he had something else to say and then bidding her a sudden good bye went their marriage bond thoughtfully out of the house and down the walk she watched him till he was out of sight with a poor fellow on her lips and a throb of the purest pity in her heart the wedding took place at the residence instead of in church on account as was stated of the of edward which made it safer for him to avoid the uncertain temperature of a public edifice forced himself to appear in such a manner as to criticism in the morning being alone a moment with he had said to her you understand fully what my to the clergyman will mean and she had answered with a bow and a blush her part in the ceremony was quite as trying as his but both bore themselves well all the expressions with which the church hedges in a couple who have declared their desire to marry were uttered by the clergyman and to by the man and the woman the large gathering of friends of the parties could not suppress a murmur of admiration as appeared she was with even more than her usual taste and her luxuriant beauty of figure showed to the fullest advantage who stood near had a that was not all as he gazed at her it flashed through his mind that his resolutions never to marry would receive a severe could he set back the hands of the clock a few months to own that creature in fee was surely worth the sacrifice of freedom which he had sworn never to make as for mr his habitual was he saw beyond the room in which he stood a on the atlantic and this man who was to join himself in sitting by the side of another their marriage bond woman devoted passionately to her every word and movement he saw the passenger list with the names of mr and mrs and this was less than three months ago it seemed as if he ought to speak when the clergyman asked if any one present knew any reason why this marriage should not proceed but he did not and the that this couple were now man and wife struck like a note of evil on his ear the end of the service marked the beginning of the reception mr and mrs took the hands of a hundred friends and bowed their thanks for the congratulations upon them with admirable nerve they answered smile for smile and neither in the least except on two occasions the husband wa disturbed when he saw mr in front of him and the bride knew that her cold fingers trembled when she placed them in the palm of god bless you my dear son came from the lips of edward when his turn arrived and the face of mrs was positively radiant with satisfaction it was too late to start that night on the wedding journey which was to be taken to the white mountains and therefore a of rooms at the had been engaged for temporary use about ten o clock the wedded pair bade good bye to their friends who would still remain for later and were driven toward the city well said after a few minutes of silence it is done y e s was the response uttered in a trembling tone their marriage bond and you remember oh she interrupted don t let us talk of anything unpleasant just yet i am fearfully nervous from a hundred reasons and a very little will make me give way at these pleading words a wave of shame swept over him he saw how he had been making himself to her he cried i ask your forgiveness i mean to make your situation as agreeable as is possible under the circumstances like you i am in a nervous mood for although i am a man i have had things to make me almost a child here he added let me take your hand let us agree to be friends if nothing else she gave him the hand in its glove and he held it from sheer forgetfulness we ought to reach the hotel in an hour easily he continued that will give a long night to rest as the train we are to take does not leave until nine it is a ride to the mountains i think you told me you had never taken it everything in nature there is at this season to my mind than in the foliage has begun to change and some of the effects are magnificent then the hotel at which we shall stay is one of the best and the drives in the vicinity are superb she listened to him gladly thankful that he should pursue any subject except the one she dreaded and he talked on at random until

0Arthur Conan Doyle

the lights of boston began to around them at last the carriage turned a corner and they were in stately avenue passing the homes of princes built as is the street itself their marriage bond upon filled land rescued a quarter century ago the ocean waves at the hotel he had but to mention his name and the apartments engaged were instantly placed at his disposal we had say good night said when they were alone as we both feel fatigued after the events of the day i have engaged three rooms and a bath en you will sleep there only separated by this little from me if you want anything in the night call me at once if you rap on the wall ever so little i shall hear you he had turned away and taken a step from her when his bride overcome by the strange sensations that filled her head touched him on the sleeve as he faced her again she opened her arms and stretched them toward him mr she said don t leave me like this i am afraid to be alone in this house i never was in such a position before if i am shut away from you by a door i shall have her alarm was too real to be doubted and he hastened to calm her both of the open from this he said as you can see i will leave my door wide open and you can do the same there is no entrance to the except this one here which i will now bolt as well as lock we shall be in one room all the time she followed with her eyes the objects at which he pointed but there is no need of haste she protested though in a tone it is still early we can sit up a little while their marriage bond certainly if you wish i am not sleepy to tell the truth wouldn t you like a lunch sent up he said good she assented thinking it the way to time and besides she felt a trifle faint and thought c of something would do her good the effect of the lunch was what should have been expected it restored to both of them something of their natural serenity a little before one o clock proposed of her own accord that they retire her last request of her husband was to make sure that he left his door wide open then she closed her own and in a sort of instinct locked it he had to knock several times in the morning before he could awaken her and on comparing notes at breakfast he admitted that he had also slept very well the first night of their married life had been passed with no especially disagreeable episode this was something on the way to the railway station an event occurred which set all his blood in motion he was talking in an ordinary tone to about the journey they had begun when happening to glance from the carriage window he saw a figure on the that caused his words to in his mouth either there were two women in the world who looked exactly alike or he had beheld margaret rivers in that boston street his impulse was to stop the carriage and run after her but the reasons against this came to his mind with it he might not find her in that crowd with the streets running in fifty different directions if he succeeded there could be no more occasion to learn what he wanted to know he had barely time enough to catch the their marriage bond train he could neither abandon his wife nor ask her to accompany him on his peculiar mission if the english girl was living in boston as from her manner he judged she must be it would be no very difficult matter to her boston was not new york a determined attempt would be almost certain to succeed and besides the ceremony of yesterday which bound him to the woman at his side cut him off forever from the wild hope that margaret s discovery would have brought two days earlier he would hunt for her and if permitted would assist her but to marry her that was now a dead dream of the dead past the carriage was flying rapidly along for the clock on the outside of the station was in sight and the driver realized that he had no time to spare s sudden start had not been lost upon his companion but she had of course not the faintest suspicion of its cause no mood that he would be likely to assume was in any danger of surprising her particularly the horses dashed up to the and entered it the driver descended with alacrity and helped out his passengers three minutes left he said brightly you have your tickets i understand third track on the right during the hours that passed before the house was reached mr said very little to his wife he ordered a lunch for both at the proper hour and assisted in of it the rest of the time he was wrapped in thought was not wholly displeased at this turn in affairs for silence was at least better than a return to distasteful subjects of which she was constantly in dread s manner was courteous and she did not deem it wise to disturb his reverie the first thing he did after arriving at the their marriage bond house was to carry out a project which he had formed during the day he wrote this letter and it to my dear i am going to ask you to do something for me as a lawyer i wish you to treat it as a business matter and to keep it secret as between an attorney and his i think you will remember a mrs who crossed from

0Arthur Conan Doyle

to new york on the same boat with you last summer she is in boston and i want her address i you to employ whatever help you need she is also sometimes known by the name of margaret rivers her personal description is known to you upon securing any information which you believe of value please send word to the house n h f where i expect to remain a week very truly n b this is a business matter solely and never to be mentioned between us in any other way k d this letter was delivered to mr on the following afternoon at his boston office he read it through twice and then wrote the following answer mr house n h my dear sir in answer to your communication just received allow me to say that the business which you desire me to does not come within the sphere of the legal profession i have never let me add followed the trade of a spy or a yours when this reached mr he was for a time in a of rage on but as time passed he began to realize how the matter had presented itself to the mind of mr he knew that had passed for ten days at least as the husband of the woman he now sought and every action of his from the day he met him on the boat at to that of his their marriage bond marriage with miss proved that the was now while on his wedding journey he had apparently sought to his friend s aid in the relations it certainly had not an agreeable look and was disposed the more he thought of it to forget the bitter sarcasm of the lawyer s letter however the necessity of finding margaret and of if she had the necessaries of life still remained his marriage had not relieved him of that duty not feeling inclined to his mission again to the he passed a long and dreary week at without doing anything about the matter his mind was so filled with it that he never thought of entering on further debate with his wife as to what their future should be for which she was thankful her life at the hotel was not very cheerful but it might have been worse had he chosen to discuss on all occasions the unhappy questions that divided them the week ended at last and the wedded pair returned to boston where the rooms they expected to occupy for the winter were ready to receive them both were glad to return she wanted to see again her mother and he believed it could be but a few days now before he would stand face to face with margaret their marriage bond chapter what do you expect mr as the reader is already aware was not a man of virtue possessed of a handsome face and figure dressed invariably by the best endowed with the most agreeable manners and with a fortune to spend as he pleased he found much satisfaction in the society of the fair sex and did not limit his acquaintance to those of character a pretty face was as apt to attract him among the crowd on a or at a public entertainment as if he had been introduced in the most formal manner he tried to believe himself a very miserable person when he returned to his rooms in the city on the night of s marriage the physical charms of the bride had appealed to his senses in an unusual degree he had known women who were beautiful but none of them possessed the attractions that had gone to this fellow who was as fit he thought to judge their value as a wooden image he tossed on his bed and found sleep only when the morning light began to the room in which he lay the next day he was gloomy and hid himself from his usual associates the third day he was a little better but still in the evening he went for a walk among the by streets of the city for the sake of getting the air and still run no risk of meeting acquaintances the extent to which the present mrs had filled their marriage bond his mind did not however prevent his noticing each comely face or pretty form that he encountered and at one of the corners he met a young girl in whose personality he was immediately interested the face into which he looked was not exactly handsome and yet it had a fascination it that fixed and held the there seemed a whole history in the large dark eyes at once shrinking and inquiring the girl s dress was very plain and its materials were black interested to a remarkable degree almost before he was aware of it mr followed the figure which had turned at the corner and gone down a side street he was idle he had nothing else to do if anything came of this pursuit well and good if nothing resulted what would it matter it was soon apparent that the girl was walking in much the same way as himself with no particular destination she crossed her own path several times going up a street and down another returning as often as otherwise to the original several times light remarks were addressed to her by young fellows at the corners the only attention she paid to these observations was to her pace without turning her head mr managed to keep the girl in sight without appearing to to be on her trail he noted with pleasure that she was not apparently a woman of the town judged by her lack of attention to the remarks alluded to she was either what she seemed a virtuous girl or searching for a lover who was expected to keep in this vicinity she was poor without a doubt and

0Arthur Conan Doyle

those who possess wealth always expect to derive an their marriage bond advantage from th poverty of others she was following at last seeing the girl go into a street which had but one outlet waited and watched her she must either enter one of the houses on this short way or return it was soon evident that she was going to pursue the latter course for she showed signs of surprise when she reached the end of the street and discovered that it went no farther she came back slowly and when she reached mr there were no other persons within hearing i beg your pardon miss he said in a pleasant voice and stepping in front of her may i speak to you for a moment it was the first time she had noticed him for her eyes had been fastened upon the pavement during most of her walk she looked up with a startled surprise a glance told her that he was a very well dressed gentleman and her natural instinct whispered that he could want nothing good of her i do not know you she responded in a trembling voice you have no right to address me she resumed her walk more rapidly than before but who knew the lessons of street acquaintance by heart was not in the least discouraged by the he followed after her murmuring in the sweetest voice that she ought not to him that she had his highest respect and that if she would give him but a minute he would prove the assertion it was a sight familiar enough in most cities as the pair on their journey through the streets they were observed by more than one who stopped and surveyed them with an air of amusement the girl was walking fast with her face turned from the their marriage bond man at her side whose nothing from the manner in which his addresses were received the increased as the girl he home laughter came from various groups at the spectacle created but the feather that was to break the hack of the came when a half drunken from the against which he had been leaning and put his hand on the girl s shoulder while he shouted a wholly invitation in her ear the girl stopped as if she had been shot and shook with fear the disagreeable quality of mr s were as nothing compared with this assault his tones had at least been kindly his words those of a gentleman in the in which she wag now placed she turned instinctively to him for protection from the greater danger oh sir was all she could articulate but her wish was clearly understood taking the by the whirled him around like a top ending by leaving him in a heap on the pavement luckily the fellow found no sympathy from his companions who seemed rather pleased than otherwise at his seeing that the coast was now clear and that an opportunity wholly unexpected had placed the young woman under obligations to him drew her not unwilling arm through his own and lost no time in putting a good distance between them and the late collision i thank you very much indeed said the feminine when they were safely away from the place and now if you please leave me here i am obliged to go home my dear child interrupted let me at least accompany you to your door you are possessed with a notion that i intend you some harm and are almost aj their marriage pond much afraid of me as you were of that rascal below i am a gentleman and have lived in boston all my life i wonder what there is about me that makes you want to run away do i really look such a terrible villain she stole another glance at him and was partially reassured by the engaging smile on his countenance it is not that sir she stammered but there is nothing in common between a poor girl like me and an elegant gentleman like you if you wish to do me a real kindness you will leave me here to be insulted by another drunken be exclaimed no i must see you safely home it is you are not used to the treatment you have just received i judge that you are a stranger in boston in spite of herself she was being drawn into to his proposition and she felt herself growing less and less afraid ts i have not lived here long she responded her walk i do not know the streets very well i only left my room to breathe the air with no errand in view he laughed brightly t how remarkable he said f that is exactly my own case i had spent the whole day indoors and felt the necessity of a stroll do you live far here no she named the street j think it is only five minutes i can find it sir alone and i am sure no one will me now but he would not listen the street to which she was bound he said was on the direct road he was obliged to take and it was best that they go together at the doorway of a poor lodging house she stopped and announced that this was where she lived their marriage bond the extreme poverty of the surroundings would ordinarily have prevented a wish to go farther but there was something about this girl that made mr especially loth to leave her does your family live here he asked surveying the front of the house i have no family she replied i am all alone the sympathy written on his face aroused an answering in the girl s breast she did not like to be to him don t think me inquisitive he said but i am wonderfully interested in you you work for a

0Arthur Conan Doyle