Thrice Lost, Thrice Won — page 78: what you’re looking at

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

¥ —, 5 ‘s : = *, s a ot. ey OF ; Aa ’ >. Rd gh, a ry ‘ oo Cepia oy 2 Darrell? But, on my child, my baby! are -_- you really, really married?” Sy “No!” said Estella, with a sudden energy—“not in the sight of God. I am no man’s wife, although I have stood up and gone through the marriage ceremony. I abhor Roysten Dar- yell from the bottom of my heart. He is a pirate—a lawless outeast—a murderer! I would die ten thousand deaths rather than be his wife for an hour!” And then Estella, slowly and brokenly—for she was piti- fully weak—told the story of her strange midnight marriage, of her terrible mistake. *T thought it was Dick Derwent. Poor Dick! I liked him; he was always good to me; he was my only friend. I would have married him to escape these two cruel men, and he _ would have done his. best to make me happy, I know. But _ Roysten Darrell overheard, and had. him abducted by his law- less, outeast, smuggler crew, and came in his place, and took me away. I don’t know who performed that mockery of mar- _ riage, but surely no minister of the ehurch would be cuilty of so heinous a crime.” “Pid you love this Dick Derwent?’ Helen Metis asked. “Love Dick? Oh, no! But he was very fond of me, and ay, desperation to escape Roysten Darrell. Poor Dick! - Who knows what these bad, cruel men have made him suffer @ e EY aoe < “And then,” said Helen, vividly interested, “what hap- “pened when you found out your terrible mistake?” The sick girl shivered from head to foot as she recalled a = ‘tind horrible night. Brokenly she told her listeners the story of her passionate refusal of Captain Darrell’s claim—of the — hours of that stormy night spent in the attic among rats. — “Pitiful Heaven!” Helen Mallory said, deathly pale. “To | oe phils that any human being could torture a helpless child in _ that manner! The merciless, horrible old man! And then?’ senseless: to the floor ; of her waking to find Carlotta, her ss nurse. 5 Site told. the polibotia: story of that weary coming back to 3 life, hopeless, in despair—of her compact with Peter Fisher. “TY meant to kill myself when I made it,” she said. “It _ seemed easy to die. What had I to live for? And I thought it only right to give my miserable life to save Dick. I prom- | Bet - ised to marry Roysten Darrell in the presence of witnesses if be oe they would liberate poor Richard, and they agreed. But from es Sain moment I made the promise I meant to end my life. Ah! oe + wieked and xcs if know, but I think I was half re " _ P , é -. 4 F Pu a. a) a * ’ .'* yr 4 We ert . ae ; i”™ Nae , f , ‘ ; : , ay uae 7”) . x al WEA a * a : ; « ‘ | . ¢ Be de mY ie -y . e we ms AY WO P * , a ae iS " » % iy - ** a ‘ , , Ks r a ali! oY, ' \ A f ais : 4 , s ‘ , _> ” ¥ a” ee mL . "I . ae et Pe oy "e ee Ae . Se abs ‘ 2 oe a © ~ hy eee ~g » a , % ‘ ae. © i a Se 4 a? 4 at cng os j “ se,’ « ® i ie * ibe ay / -~ ' ; ; Ke. ree’, ve Estella related the last recollection she had—of falling Ba , "very good to me, and I would have done anything almost in _ IOOKS CO mn Pas de soe ‘ one sae ee — , y “ “com et Pw M ae ae < : ’ - el : — * : .