Geoffrey's Victory by Mrs Georgie Sheldon — page 196: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

192 A STARTLING RECOGNITION. -. “Master Geoffrey, don’t—don’t tell me no more,” he pleaded, in an agonized tone. “L can’t bear it; they didn’t need any ductor to tell them that she was dead— just tell me where to find her grave. Dli go and take one look atit; then ili make tracks again for Australia; I ean’t step here.” The man’s tone was so despairing, his attitude so hepe- less, and his words so heart-broken, that Geoffrey had hard work to preserve his own composure. “But, Jack, there—there isn’t any grave,” he said at last. Jack lifted another vacant look to the young man’s face. 7 “No grave! no coroner! a doctor!’ he muttered, then suddenly he seemed to coniprehend, and was galvanized into lite. : He sprang up; he seized Geoffrey by the shoulder. “Boy! boy ! he cried, in a strained, unnatural voice, “ve can’t inean it! ve can’t mean that she didn’t die! that—that 1 didn’t kill her afterall! Teil me—tell me quick! if ve’ve brought me such blessed truth as that, -J’m yer slave as lung as I live.” He was terribiy agitated. He shook asif he had sud- denly been attacked with violent ague, and Geoffrey could see his broad chest rise and fall with the heavy throbbing of hig startled neart. “Sit down, Jack,” he commanded, rising and putting him back into his chair; ‘‘you must be more calm, or I] cannot tell you anything. Margery was not dead, but she was dreadfully hurt, and was ill for a Jong time, so il that for more than a month they thought every day that she must die.” “ And—she—didn’t——” The words were almost inarticulate, but Geoffrey understood him by the motion of his fips. “Don’t tell me,” he continued, catching his breath in a spasmodic way, a look of horror in his eyes, ‘don’t tell me that she lived to be--like as you was.” “No, no, Jack, she got weil,” Geoffrey replied, but his own voice shook over the words. SOT!) tiv fil Jack Henly slipped from his chair, falling upon his knees beside his conpanion, while his head dropped a dead weight «against his arm. “Lock here, wy man,” Geoffrey now said, with gruff kindness, though he was nearly unmanned himself, ‘“‘this eo \ CoOmicbooolkks.c@