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"WHAT COULD HAVE DELAYED THE WOMAN'" single thing to bother me," she said "And what is to hinder her9" But as the morning passed and her companion did not appear her elation changed to anxiety What could have delajed the woman? Surelj something had arisen, even at this late houi, to rouse suspicion Mrs" Goddard walked the floor like a caged beast Noon came and passed, and the afternoon dragged itself along at a snail's pace. She was afraid to go out in the street For aught she knew the police, having ar rested her accomplice, was now turn ing Liverpool upside down to find trace of her The first shadows of night fall were like palpable substances which rasped a brain now inflamed with fears and direful imaginings. "Exposure!" seemed to be written in letters of fire on the unlighted walls of her chamber. "Suicide!" was the next word she saw, but she brushed it aside. She would not even think of such a step. Even after this game was plaj ed, and had entertained the victims of the nine-day sensation habit, there would yet be other fields for the exercise of her fruitful brain The world had al ways seemed so large to herso full of resources. At ten o'clock she heard some one coming up the stairs. She weighed^ the tread, wondering if it was a police* man's. No, it was too light for that It was a woman's. Opening the door, she saw Mrs. Nolan standing before her in the ill-lighted corridor She drew her in, her_fears completelj dominating her speech. "I know you are angry, but I could not help it?" began Mrs. Nolan in a harsh undertone. "What was it?" demanded Mrs. God dard "don't keep me waiting." tft was a lot of things. I did my best* but the custom officers would not let me have your trunks." "Is that all?" "No, they held me there for several hours asking all manner of questions about you and making me swear to statements. I swore, enough lies to *^*kT* Copyright, 1900. by A. N. Kellogg i^wspaper Company. Continued. CHAPTER XI I "You'll have DO trouble I honestly "believe," she declared. "The place is badly lighted and they will drive the people on the tender like sheep Go right on. take the first flight of stairs to the right -and you will be swallowed up in the gang in a minute." This opinions-was well grounded. Mrs. Goddard crossed the deck, de scended the steps in question and found herself a throng of passengers with eyes only for the little boat ahead, of them. Our adventuress was soon on the tender, and took the most remote seat she could find in the stern of the boat. It soon began to move. The lights of Liverpool lay along the shore half a mile distant. The black hull of the Cleopatra loomed overhead like a threatening cloud. Mrs. God dard held her satchel tightly in her lap. It seemed such a short distance and yet the little boat seemed only to creep. She drew the foggy air, deep into her lungs. It seemed o sweet aft er her close confinement. She would feel that she had earned the right to her freedom when she got it. After awhile, through the gray light of com ing dawn, she began to discern the buildings of the city. A little later the tender was scrap ing against the piles of the wharf. As she went ashore, Mrs. Goddard saw that two or three sleepy custom offi cers were hurriedly passing the hand luggage without examination. It was evident that only the trunks would have to bear close scrutiny. One of the officers caught her arm and turned her round, but when he saw how simall her bag was, he gruffly begged her pardon and she passed on out of the throng into the cold, deserted streets of the sleeping city. "The dead is alhe," she muttered, "and very much alive!"' Without much trouble she found the Hamilton house, and "Mrs Charles Gray" was soon in a big comfortable room "Now, if Lucy onlj passes the custom officers safely there will not be one araw a pension from the kingdom of Hell for the rest of my life. It was all about the ownership of the contents of the trunks and hTch were 3 our things and which mine." "Then they did not suspect us of?' "No, it was onlj about the things. Then after I had managed to get pos session of my trunks, by showing my name on them, I slipped away and got a cab that took me to the Portland house. I thought I would be free, but the police officers kept calling to make other inquiries and get me to make other affida\its about the color of your hair, your age, your residence, the name of your husband, and what 110+. Then they had no sooner given me a breathing spell than tne report ers and foreign correspondents began to troop in." "Reporters?" Mrs. Goddard nounced the word as if she learning to speak English. "Yes, jou don't mean to say jou haven't seen the afternoon papers!*' Mrs Nolan drewT pro- were three damp ones from her cloak pocket "I can't im agine what jou have been doing all day They ha_ve been jelling jour name all over Liverpool." "I thought it would get into print, of course," said Mrs Goddard She had calmed down considerably and now set herself to the task before her. "Of course, I can't go without clothes," sfie murmured, lefiecthely, "and let those stupid limbs of the law ship every rag I have back to the major It would upset him awfullj'l Now, let me think The product of her meditation was worthy of her ingenuity She laid aside the newspapers, of which she had only read a few big headlines, and Srit down at a table where there was a pen, paper and ink, and began to write as follows: "Whereas, I, Jeanne Goddiard, wife of Major Rowland Goddard, of Lynd- hurst-on-the-Hudson, New York, do hereby acknowledge that I owe my companion, Lucy Nolan, for past serv ices, the sum of one thousand dollars, which debt I do secure by a mortgage on all my personal effects, such as my jewelry, trunks and all their various contents, such as wearing apparel, etc In case of *iny death while we are abroad I hereby authorize her, the said Lucy Nolan, to retain the forementioned property till mj hus band, the said Major Goddard has satisfied her claim in full. To this I herewith set my hand and seal. "Jeanne Goddard." "What does all this mean?" ques* tioned Mrs. Nolan, when she had read it twice, each time"* with contracted brows and a doubtful shake of the head. "You must go and inquire the ad dress of the most reliable lawyer in Liverpool Pajr him his fee in ad vance, give him this paper and tell him that you want him to get my lug gage turned over to you You must explain that I have always beenthat I alwajs was a hard individual to get money out of, and that as I al readj owed jou a thousand dollars you refused to go abroad with me without some sort of security. Tell him that jou intend to take the things right back to America, believ ing that Major Goddard* will settle your claims as soon as you do Ire you willing to do this?" "Oh I don't mind at all," said Mrs. Nolan, smiling "I have just begun to get my hand in and rather like the excitement The English are so polite I think I can tell a tale straight enough The two plotters did not meet till the following afternoon. About four o'clock Mrs. Nolan, entered, her face radiant with good news "I had very little trouble," she an nounced "I secured the services of the best barrister in Liverpool. He charged $50 but he said he would stand as my security in case of any legal complication. I tell you I felt good when I saw the trunks unloaded at my hotel." "Then we shall go on to London to-night," exclaimed Mrs. Goddard. "The train leaves at eight o'clock. Meet me at the station. When we get to London we shall rent a furnished villa in the suburbs somewhere and be dead to the world for awhile at least. We'll have a lot of fun, Lucy." CHAPTER XII. It was about 12 o'clock on the tenth, day after the sailing of the Cleopatra. Maj Goddard, Mr. Talley and Blanche were in the dining-room about to sit down to luncheon, Miss Dean having sent down word that she would be detained in her room. The door bell had, rang, but none of the trio had heard it. Just at this juncture James came in bearing a? telegram on a tray. He handed it to the major, who opened it slowlj' "I wonder what this is?" he mur mured "Mrs. Goddard hai, arrived ~safe,' suggested Talley, "this is the tenthT day, you know "No, it is not a cablegram," an swered Goddard,_whose eye was well schooled in such matters "it- is from "works. It .was Jeanne's allusion to 4he city." ^Blanche!s_^critical condition saw him start and his eye% open wide. "Surely, she could noW'b began, and there paused. l5f? "May I see it?" asked Talfey, his thoughts on falling stocks, bank fail ures and possible financial crashes. The joung man engaged Specula tion now and then. ^Z.~~ The major gave him the telegram, and turned away. He was deathly pale and tripped on a rug as he walked towards the door. Blanche looked over Talley's shoulder. The message was from the agents of the Cleopatra's company on Broadway, and ran as follows: "We regret to inform you that your wife, in a temporarj fit of Insanity, during a severe storm two dajs before the Cleopatra arrived at Liverpool, threw herself overboard and was not rescued Our information comes di rect from the captain of the Cleo patra, who adds that full particulars are being sent to the New York pa pers "Isn't it awfulpoor old man!" said Talley, looking at Blanche, but she seemed to have lost the power of speech She turned white to the roots of her hair. Going into the lit tle reception-room adjacent, she found her guardian standing at a window. She laid her hand on his arm. "Oh, I am sosorry!" she said, ten derly. But he only laid an unsteady hand over hers, pressed it a little, and said: "Thank j-ou, dear little girl leave me alone now, please." 'And as she moved away she saw him sink into a big armchair and cover his face with his hands That afternoon the papers came hearing a long account of the tragedy. The major was in his room- and sent one of the maids down for them, so no one saw his face while he was reading the details, which shocked him as if every word of the-account had been true "Did you ever imagine that Mrs. Goddard was not quite right mental- Ij?" asked Talley when he was able to catch Blanche alone that after noon. "Yes,"" she answered "I suspected or rather she confessed to a ten dency in that direction the night be fore she sailed She said she hoped the vojage would cure her" "'vh, that sort of thing never en tered my head," said the private sec retary "I thought she had the clear est head of any woman alive, but bright people do lose their balance." They saw little of the major that day He^ remained in his room. Friends called to offer condolences and letters and telegrams of sym pathy piled up on his desk in his studj, but he saw no one nor opened anj communication 'the next daj' he went to the city, and there in a femall hotel where he was unknown to anj of the inmates he took up his abode He was as nearly insane as a man of sound mind can become His exist ence became a routine of mental tor ture He spent each day walking through streets where he was not known At night he would lie awake till his physical nature would refuse longer to bear the burden his wife had put upon him, and then his strong fiame sank under the blessing of sleep He lealized fully what-she was ex pecting of him, and he hardly knew if he would be equal to carrying out her plans At the expiration rjf the first week after the reception of the news a letter arrived in his private letter box on Sixth avenue He was almost afraid to open it. It seemed like a communication from the deador worse, a command from hell And when he had finallj- devoured it, and found that Jeanne and Mrs Nolan v,eie comfortably domiciled in a lit tle furnished villa near Kensington Gardens and reallj enjojmg life in perfect security from detectione\ en then, I say, he had no more hopeful hoii7on 1 was the sin of it all that ground his finer nature down into despair, and he was wise enough to know it However, there was.even in Jeanne's letter much of the potent charm which had been since his marriage his di recting influence, and he read and re read the graphic account of her ad ventures till the awful picture was stamped on his brain. She wrote often, and her epistles were alwaj's replete with good humor, her old vi vacity and endearing expressions In that way a month passed. He scarcely spent an hour out of each day at Lyndhurst Often he went out on an afternoon train and took the next back to New Yoik The man who had charge of the private letter boxes stared at him curiously every time he came in and with quivering fingers unlocked his box. The major began to disregard his dress often his neckties were not carefully tied, nor his boots polished, nor his silk hat ironed. He no longer frequented the armory of his old regiment,^ nor his club. He had no desire to meet men he knew. It was after he had received a let ter from Jeanne urging., him not to delay any longer in the matter of making Blanche his wife, owing to the great likelihood of the girl's dj'- ing suddenly, tha,t_ he bethought him self that'he had neglected his- ward very much, considering her- solicitude in his behalf. He knew the girl was thinking of him, for every*time he en tered his room at Lyndhurst he saw evidence of her thoughtfulness in fresh flowers cut in the conservatory by her own hands. On this day, when-he arrived at Lyndhurst, he went into the library. His father, who had been in his life time a distinguished surgeon, had left a The others watched his taoe" as h#r eauSed him tb^look^up^a description g& collection of valuable medical r1&hat he murmured, as he ran through the index of a big book. ^But the finding of-the article on the subject, and) the colored illustrations of the delicate organs on the point of bursting from the pressure of blood, sickened him. "It is indeed fatal," he said. "She can't possibly live long, and if I only knew that she would be happier as my wife for the remainder of her life Jeanne might have her wish. It would make Jeanne happier, too, and perhaps she does deserve better luck than to be the wife of a poor man." Had he been as suspicious and as ob servant as many detectives he might have noticed that the words "aortic aneurism" had been pressed into the surface of the paper across the text, as if some one had written them with a pencil on a piece of paper resting on the page. The formation of the letters resembled the handwriting of his wiferbut he noticed none of these points, and closed the book. Just then the footman brought in a small parcel and placed it on a table. "What is that, James?" asked the major. "A package of medicines for Miss Briscoe, sir." Goddard went to the table and took the parcel in his hands. Just then Miss Dean enteredi the room. "I have been looking for it," she said, indicating the parcel. "Blanche's "DID YOU WANT TO SEE ME, GUARD- ,IAN?" medicines gave out last night, and I promised to send them up as soon as they came." "Is Blanche so very bad off, then?" he asked, his mind full of the grevv some article he had just read. Miss DeaiTiooked at him steadily. "I think she needs great care and attention, Maj. Goddardi," she said, softly "I wish I could be brave and speak out mjr mind to you, as I have imagined myself doing a good many times." "Well, I am sure you may," he re turned. "In fact, if it is anything touching my ward's welfare I should want very much to hear it "Then it is not a physical disease that is wrong with my dear friend so much as it issomething else." "Go on, please," said Goddard, mys tified. "She never will get well or be her old self tillpardon metill you cease to treat her as you do." "I don't follow jou," said the major, slightly embarrassed Miss Dean sat down, holding the parcel in her lap "I am saying something Blanche would never forgive," she went on, "but you are not blind, Maj. Goddard. You must have known that Blanche's whole life was wrapped up in you be fore she left school." The major was looking at a particu lar figure in the carpet with unnatu ral steadiness, and he did not raise his eyes. tlDo you think so, Miss Dean?" "I know it," declared the champion of one woman's rights. "She and I were intimate in school. She knew mjr heartI knew hers. I hated you, sir, when I heard you had married a the woman you did marry, after having led such a confiding young creature as Blanche to believe you were in love with her and spoiled the life intrusted) to jrou. You did this, sir!" Goddard started. He had never im agined such strong condemnation could come to him from, such source. He found himself unable to formulate a reply. Miss Dean, now hot and flushed, continued: "You might at least treat the poor child decently. She will never get well as long as she frets about you as she is- doing. She has hardly- slept an hour any night since your sad news arrived. Don't you see she can't puV out the fires you kindled in her heart? If you were happy she might do so, but seeing the man one loves in constant misery is enough to kill any organization as sensitive and del icate as Blanche's. If she could only see you once a.day andf eel that you look upon her as a friend she would not suffer so, but you are always away." "I thank you forfor speaking so plainly and showing me my duty," stammered Goddardi "I have been very selfish" He was about to make a reference to the dread malady which was laying siege to the life" of his ward, but, re membering his promise to Jeanne not to speak of it, and fearing Miss Dean's indiscretion, he held his, tongue on that point. "Couhl I see her now, do "you think?" he added, contritely. "Yesjlet me send her down to~you," said Miss Dean, impulsively. "I shall wait here," he said. And as Miss Dean left the room he decided no longer to try to stem tb.e~.Jide which -seemed bearing* him, he knew not Jle-walked^ the floor till Blanche came^Her sweet young face showed the ravages of a tortured spirit, but it now shone with a light of antici pation. "Did j'ou want to seeme, guardian?" As she spoke, she held out her hands. He took them and stood for a moment gravely looking into her eyes. "You have been unhappy, Blanche?" he said. "How could I be otherwise, and you" her voice failed her and she coughed to disclaim, .that it was due to rising emotion. "I know 1 have not done my duty," he said. "But I want to begin. Blanche, would you like to have me stay more at home than I have since since Jeanne went away "Oh, I wish you would!" she an swered, quickly. "You can't imagine how I have worried. You know I could not tell what might have happened to you." "Blanche." He felt something grasp his heart as he hesitated. It may have been the Jiand of his consciencethe revolting of his better nature. Then something like the worst form of his recent despair seemed to settle on his brain. He felt that he was groping towards the accomplishment of an un pardonable deed. "Blanche, if I were to ask you to be my wife, would you consentcould you, knowing how I feel about the the other?" He felt her soft warm hands grasp his tightly. Eer a moment she stood with eyes downcast, then she looked up and said frankly "If you wished it I should be so glad, for something tells me I could then help you, and to do that is what I am certainly prajing for "Would vou consent to an early mar- riage'?'' "I should want to do as vou liked about it "Would vou not care foi what peo ple would sav about our haste in such a matter9" "I should not care it all She was breathing rapidlv "I should feel that I was acting right He hesitated a moment then he said: "Will you marry me to-morrow? Rev Mr. Strothers lives about a mile from here, along the river. Talley can first see him and make the arrangements Will jou drive there in the morning and become my wife?" "If it is jour wish, yes." He drew her head towards him and for a moment it rested on his shoulder. For an instant a memory of his court ship of her during her school dajs flashed into his mind and he experi enced one of the old thrills which had made him feel so much like a boj' again Then he put her from him "Be ready, then, by 11 o'clock." he said. "I shall speak to Talley at once." When she had left the room, a strange, glorious light in her voung face, he began again to walk the floor He was tingling in everj' vein His heart had begun to beat, excitedlj-. He tried to think of Jeanne, the awful disease which was eating Blanche's life away, but he could only feel the pressure of his ward's hands, the warmth of her breath on his face, the depth of her great, trustful ej'es. "Great God! what can this mean?" he exclaimed. He continued to walk back and forth across the room for half an hour, then he stopped suddenly and rang James obeyed the summons "Where is Mr. Tallej he asked. "In the study, at work, sir" James saluted in military fashion "That is all." The major went to the study, where he found his private secretary at work at a tj-pewriter "Talley," he began, "you wanted to see me yesterday, I believe?" "I did, major I believe the amount you were keeping for me is exactlt $5,000?" "You are right, Talley that is the amount, and, as I told jou, jrou get it at any time jrou can wish. All you have to do is to draw the check I will sign it." "I hav it readj now," said the jroung man, handing Goddard a slip of pa per. "I hope you are not thinking of leav ing me?" said the major, as he signed the check. "Not that, but I am flatly disobeying your injunctions, major. You have tried) to keep me out of speculation, but the temptation is too strong to re sist. This check cov ers all my savings, and yet I am going to put every cent of it into G. N. & W railway stock." "Oh, you can't be so foolhardy, Tal- ley!" "I am fortunately on the inside as to the future outcome of the stock," declared the young man "I have a young- friend, Hubert Johnson, the son -of the Wall street Johnson. You know him by reputation. Well, this friend of mine happened to overhear a con versation in his father's office which let him on to an important secret. His father and other big speculators have formed a syndicate to depress this stock. It -has been going down like lightning for the last two months. It has .reached its lowest notch They are certainly buying all they can lay their hands on. I know I cannot be .running any risk. I am in a sure deal. I tell you this because I hope that you will take a hand. had rather see jou make money than anyone, major, for you have been the best friend I have ever had." _, "I shall not invest," answered God dard "but I wish you luck, Tallej,. I hope it will make you rich "Thank you major." The secretary -put the check into his1 pocket. "I have an important commission for you, Talley." The major cleared his- throat, sat down at his desk, turned in his revolving chair and crossed! his-legs. A slight color had risen in his" face. Talley had never seen him look: so handsome. **I am at your service, major.** "What if I were to tell you I am going to get married, Talley?" The secretary stared. The carriage of his typewriting machine, with which he was toying, fell with a sharp click. "Are you in earnest Maj. Goddard?" "_guite in earnest. Talley. I have decided to marry my ward." "Miss Briscoe?" exclaimed Talley, his face suddenly falling. "Yes, Miss Briscoe. And we have de cided, under existing circumstances, that we will have the affair take place in as quiet a manner as possible. I want jou to drive over to Rev. Mr. Strothers at onoe and see if we may come to his house to-morrow morn ing. If he consents, then I want you to attend to any other arrangements without delaj*." The private secretary had turned quite pale. His eyes were expanded and fixed in a helpless stare on the face of his employer "Have you thought over this well, major?" he blurted out, suddenly. "Why do jou ask that?'* asked Goddard, suspiciously. "Paidon me," stammered Talley, "I only thought"but it was not clear to Talley whatTie thought "I do not understand youryour question, Tallej," insisted the major. "You know Miss Briscoe is young," answered the secretary, "andand-ehe has been so upset over jour reeent bereavement that I was afraid that, through sympathy and vast interest in you as her father's friend and her benefactor, she might" "I see," broke in the major "you think she may hastily take a step that maght be regretted later, but jou need not be afraid, Talley The truth is, Blanche and I once thought of mar rying before I met Mrs Goddard. I think ou need have no fears on that score "I dad not know of that," said the private secretary^, hip face still set and white "I beg j'our pardon I shall carry out jour instructions I hope you can overlook mj' remark just now "Easily," said the major, "for it shows jour interest in me and Blanche is more than skin deep." When the major had left the room the j'oung man lowered his head to his desk He heard the majot ring and order the horse and cart. "God have mercj on me' What have I been allowing mvself to think about?" he muttered "I might have known there was somethingbehind that awful suffering of hers I ought to haAe seen that she loved him!" CHAPTER XIII. During that night a light snow be gan to fall, and as the bridal party left the next morning to be driven to the house of Rev. Mr Strothers a thin white carpet lay on the earth and fine feathery flakes continued to fall. The servants had been apprised of the astonishing event and they gath erd at the windows which look out upon the drive. "A verj sensible thing for 'em to do," said James "She is the sort of mistress I want to work for. I should have left the other if she hadn't gone to the bottom of the Atlantic. I haven't lived with the aristocracy for ten years without knowing a sample when I see it. The good Lord has been kind to the major." "I wish she had waited awhile, just for the looks o' the thing," said Katie, Blanche's favorite maid "Then she could have had a swell wedding, plen ty of presents, and"' "And give you all her old clothes,"" sneered James, who was too fat to make use of the major's discarded apparel "I get everything I want anyway," was Katie's defense. "It is only be cause I think she deserves all that any rich young lady has that I object to this kind of a marriage but if she is only happy, I won't complain Ihese gossiping hirelings were at the windows when the returning carriage appeared in sight an hour later. The bride's beautiful face was flushed by the contact with the wind, and- she had never looked so happy or moved with so much grace. Talley and Miss Dean had! very serious faces as they came up the veranda side by side. "Well, it is all over," said the major to his bride when thejr were alone in the luxurious company chamber, where a red fire glowed He had never been such a mystery to himself as now. He felt as if he were drunken with de licious memories of their old court ship. "Yes, I am your wife at last," she said, with a smile. "I am your wife, and I am going to make you happy. I feel it away down in my heart." "You feel it," he repeated, as if in a dream, and) he helped her to take off her cloak. He felt her warm breath on bis face. He laid the cloak aside, then drew her into his arms and kissed her. "And so do I, dear girl. And so do I." At that strange moment Jeanne Goddard and all her evil plans seemed as much removed from his life as if she had never entered) it. It was as if the old) life had come back to him the life in which his love had for its object a creature so pure and unde filed that it lifted him up and opened his eyes to spiritual possibilities. "I was at first afraid you would not consent so soon afterafter her death," he said. "I felt that it was my right to have you now," said Blanche, frankly. "She told me how she had deliberately beguiled you from me when she dis covered that you loved me. The night before she sailed she confessed she had Tesorted to every trick and arti fice within her power to make you cast me aside." N "She told you that?" the major "ex- claimed. ^"Yes,ind^otlmfy^at, bushe*aid she had-_ some, sort, of presentiment