Roanoke of Roanoke Hall: A Romance — page 169: what you’re looking at

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

Roanoke of Roanoke Hall. 163 with some new villainy, their eyes met for an instant. “And now,” I said, when I had made an end of my story, “am I right in guessing that your griefs also spring from the same abominable source ?” “You are,” he answered. ‘‘ For three mis- erable years that man has made my life a burden, and now he will be satisfied with nothing less than my utter and irrevocable ruin. The facts are simple.” “I know them well,” I interrupted. “ Alice, your elder sister, whose place my father innocently took—” “Yes, yes, Ralph,” he interposed, hur- riedly, extending his hand to me, “inno- cently, I know, though, God forgive me, I did not heed it once.” «« Alice,” I continued, grasping his hand warmly, “did not perish as an infant, as re- ported, but is now the wife of John o’ Comp- ton, and in her name he claims your estates.” ‘That she did not perish is proved beyond all doubt. That she is not that arch-villain’s wife, which he has failed as yet to estab- lish, is my last remaining hope on earth.” comichbooks.com