HER SILENCE JUSTIFIED.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9531, 1 July 1909, Page 2

HER SILENCE JUSTIFIED.

2* BY HENRIETTA B. RUTHVEN. J I Author of "His Second Love," " Corydon's Infatuation," %» C 5 2* " Daring Dora," "An Unlucky Legacy," Jf Etc, Etc. /

CHAPTER XXXlll.—Continued,

Instantly the truth flashed into his mind. A slight chante in the style of her hair, and the casting aside of the cap that had hitherto concealed it, made a strange difference in her appearance, "ihe suspicions he had hitherto refused to entertain became certainties, and, starting to his feet, he stammered: "You—you—are " "Do not hesitate to say who and what I am''" she demanded, when he stopped, suddenly conscious that all eyes were fixed upon him. "Js it from me that General Haydon must learn a story that reflects so little credit on you?" "If I have been tricked—deceived " Laurence began: but he was quickly checked. "Bring no such accusations against me, lest I be tempted to retort upon you! If Mrs Wakely's letter led you to think that I was no more,it left you free to seek your child—to return to me —to heal by your love and penitence the heart you had broken!" "What does this mean?" faltered the general, looking uneasily from one to the other. "It means, sir, that I am Daisy May Challen, the girl your son married in a fit of generosity, and left as hastily as he wooed her—left her, although he knew she would soon be a mother; aye, and knew she had overheard him not only tell Mr Stuart that he had grown tired of her, but express himself in terms that led that gentleman to believe her to be a degraded creature, unworthy his consideration! Let Wilfred Stuart deny it if he can!" And, raising her hand, she pointed to the clergyman, who stood at the door, which he had opened as she commenced to speak.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE WIFE'S JUSTIFICATION.

"la this my mother?" Lois was neard asking, in a, flutter of joyful astonishment. She had learned to love Nurse May so dearly that to know she had a claim upon her was delighttul. Daisy pressed the hand that stole into her own; but it was to the general she spoke. "It is quite true, sir, that 1 am the wife of Laurence Haydon. In all my wanderings I have preserved the certificates of my marriage and the birth of my child." General Haydon was sadly troubled. "You refused to go to Inida with your husband," he said to her. "Speak, Laurence'!' —and now he turned to his embarrassed son —"did not your young wife prove so wanting in affection " "Oh, pray, sir," Laurence interposed, "don't let us recall the past! Whether I was or was not to blame, I have been scandalously duped ever since. Why was I permitted to believe myself free to marry again?" ! "Why, indeed?" the general gravely exclaimed. "To this question you have a right to demand an answer." "A right?" echoed Daisy. "First tell me what claim upon her love or duty the husband retains, who, as he was hurrying away from the wife he had resolved to desert, would have robbed her of the proofs of her marriage? When I went forth into the world to earn a maintenance for myself and my child, I never meant to see or speak of. Edgar Laurence again. It was by no act of j my own that 1 was brought in contact with my husband's father." "It was a fortunate moment for me," the old soldier promptly affirmed. "By your generous devotion you have earned my lifelong gratitude. That a woman whose career has been as blameless, as noble as yours, is not thoroughly worthy of Laurence's respect- and affection I should find it difficult to believe; but I cannot understand why I have not bees allowed to know that it was my son's wife who had lived under my roof so long. Why, I ask, have you hidden from me your true name and position?"

"I had renouced tthe one and ceased to value the other!" she murmured. "It is false!" cried Laurence angrily. "You had other and motives for your reticence"! "Yes, I had another motive," she assented. "Aye, you meant to revenge yourself. Like a snake in the grass you have crouched and waited till you could spring on me and sting me! You did not care whose happiness you wrecked so that you could gain your own unwomanly ends!" She heard him without a change of countenance.

"—Blame me if you will, but do not fancy that my silence has wrought so much mischief as this. The young heart, in which you were worshiped as an ideal"—and she glanced at the pale Ambra —"began to discard your image as soon as the baser' clay became visible. I knew it would be so, and I felt that my silence was justified, because 1 was a mother. And here you have the motive for my silence; I dreaded your influence over my child, but I dread it no longer; the love, the respect you might ha\e won, is given to your father!" "You think that you have taught her to despise mej but you shall not

have the satisfaction of letting her share your triumph!" and, furious with morification, Laurence Haydon laid his hand on the shoulder of Lois: "Go and get ready for a journey! No resistance. It is I whom you are to obey—it is with me you shall live! Do you hear? You leave England with me thi3 night! If 1 cannot have a bride, I can and will have my daughter!" "No, no!" sobbed Lois, clinging to the general. "I will remain with you, sir. You have been so good to me always. Oh! don't say that it is my duty to go with that father of mine, who only takes me from you out of sheer unkindness!" Hal Dartford had started forward, evidenly intending to resist any atttmp to tyrannize over her; but Nurse May held him back. "There is no need for your inter ference," she told him. "Mr Haydon will not care to be burdened with Lois when he knows "that she is not his child." "Not? Then this is another trick —another deliberate deception!" raved Laurence. "It was none of my doing," she quietly replied. "You went to the New Forest, and insisted that Mrs Wakely should render up your offspring. You asked for a daughter, and she, being resolved > not to undeceive you without my permission, allowed you to take away Lois as her grandchild." "And you sanctioned the imposture? Do you hear this, father? Your much-vaunted nurse has not hesitated to cheat you as well as her husband!" "Nay," and Daisy's pale face glowed with maternal pride, "I knew nothing of your proceedings until Lois arrived here, and I fancy General Haydon will forgive me when he knows that I atoned to him for what Betty Wakely had done by bringing to him his grandson." "Hal Dartford!" She arswered the general's exclamtion with head erect and flashing eye. "Yes. sir, Harold is my son. For his sake, I have debarred myself the joy of acknowledging him till now; for his sake 1 have toiled and denied myself; for his sake, if he or you are ashamed of Nurse May, she will depart, content to know that he is happy and safe under the roof of his grandsire " But the general had seized her hand, and Harold's arms were thrown round her. How could they let her go? Must it not be their pride, their duty, to care for her even as she had cared for them ! | TO BE DONTINWED.I v Many persons find themselves affected with a persistent cough alter nn attack of influenza. As this cough can be promptly cured by the use of Chamberlain's Cough Remedy, it should not be allowed to tun on until it becomes troublesome. For sale by all chemists and.store keepers. For Children's Hacking Coughs at night, Woods' Great Peppermint i ure, 1/6 aid 2/6.