Thrice Wedded, but Only Once a Wife — page 208: what you’re looking at

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

THRICE WEDDED. | 199 Now he ground his teeth with rage at the sight of their joy, but replied, with a fiendish leer: “TY have the satisfaction of knowing that my plots worked well for twenty years, even if they do fail in the end.” ‘Silence, fiend; the day of reckoning is for you at hand!” . He subsided again into a dogged and sullen silence. But, Alfred, how came you to get the certificate again? you have not told me,” said Rose, turning again to her husband. | “I told you that I followed him for a long time. I knew he must have stolen it, for I had never opened the casket which contained it except in your presence. I felt assured, too, that he would either keep it about his person, or else destroy it, and I resolved to satisfy myself, feeling it was well worthy an effort. In my-disguise I went to the inn where he and Ralph put up, and while the maids were getting their supper the nigh’ they arrived, I went into the kitchen and slyly drugged their coffee. My room was di- rectly back of theirs, with only a closet between, and after they were asleep (sound asleep, too, I assure you they were, for it was a powerful drug I used) I removed a board from _ the partition in the closet, entered their apartment, and searched until I found this precious bit of paper.” He put it in her hand as he ceased speaking, and she clutched it eagerly, while her eyes flew swiftly over it, de- youring every word; then, with a smile and a sigh of in- tense relief, she hid it within her bosom. | “1 concealed myself several times in that closet,” con- tinued her husband, ‘‘and in that way learned much of the treachery that was afloat.” The squire gave a howl of rage at this disclosure, and mut- tered a horrible oath, while Raiph hung his head in shame and confusion. — | . ‘Now, my precious wife,” said Alfred Ellerton, without heeding the interruption, ‘‘I believe I have told you every- thing you care to know, unless I repeat that I have an abundance of this world’s goods, and that your future life _ shall be one bright dream of happiness, if my devotion and love can make it such. We will improve every mo- ment, and strive to forget in the joy of the present the bit- terness and suffering of the past. But,” he added, quickly turning and glancing areund, ‘‘I have a couple of friends EComicbooks.co