Roxy Hastings — page 177: what you’re looking at

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

168 ROXY HASTINGS. none when we go back, I know. Nothing but whimper- ing—” ‘* But Celia—” | The door opened and Mrs. Lee and her daughter entered at this juncture a little embarrassed. Mr. Eldon, who had Laura’s letter crumped up in his hand, quickly introduced himself without reference to his wife, whom he treated quite as a cipher. “My name is Eldon,” he said. “This letter, which I re- ceived in answer to an advertisement, is from one of you, I presume ?” “From me, sir,” replied Laura. “Yes. Well, Iam obliged to you, miss, and now I will tell you briefly my business. I have a runaway son—an undutiful, disobedient—”’ “Oh, George!” expostulated a weak voice. ‘‘No matter. We havea son, Louis Eldon, who is, or was, in the army, having run away and enlisted, without my leave, and—” , ‘But—but he never would have done it, if—if—” ‘‘Can you keep still?” asked the husband, turning upon her fiercely. “Does it take two to tell this story, or one? That’s what I want to know.” “Go on, George,” the wife replied, with another hasty application of the torn kerchief. | “As I was going to say,” continued the man, ‘‘we heard that he took the name of Hartley when he enlisted, and having seen in the published accounts of your brother’s escape the name of one Louis Hartley, who was said to be his fellow-prisoner, and to have aided him in getting off.” “Yes,” said the widow, who had listened very eagerly, and with a very happy face. “Having seen this, I say, we naturally guessed that it was the same person—a guess which a letter, since received from Louis by his mother, confirmed. We now know it is our—our son.” 66 Yes. 19 ‘But Louis’ letter was written before Mr. Lee’s escape, of which, of course, it gives no hint, though it speaks of your brother as his friend.” <4 Yes. 9) “Now, what we want is to know whether this foolish fellow, who put his neck in jeopardy so unnecessarily, has been heard from since the lieutenant’s escape—whether he is alive, in short, and—and all that you know about him.” The widow’s face had lost a little of its radiant gladness Eomicbooks.co