The Argosy — page 77: what you’re looking at

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

Margaret's Grave. 67 perhaps a man rarely hastens to do so: and before he could find an opportunity, he heard you express your antipathy to widowers, and say that nothing would induce you to marry one. ‘I can’t give her up, Margaret,’ he said to me; ‘I love her too well. If you will only be silent she need never know that Viola was my first wife.’ Of course, I promised to keep his counsel ; what right had I to betray him? But I did not like it, and went away again as soon as I could. That’s the whole truth, Leslie. And you, you silly child, must take it into your head that I was the tenant of that grave, and run away in conse- quence !” Leslie leaned her face against Margaret, shedding some happy tears. The truth was so very much brighter than the dreadful improbabilities she had suspected, that she felt as though she were in Heaven. “Do you think Richard will forgive me, Margaret?” came the sobbing words. ‘““We can ask him. And perhaps we had better go back to the Pomme d’Or at once, Leslie, or he may be for setting the town crier to work.” “You will stay here now for a few days, won't you, Richard?” pleaded the young wife, as she stood nestling to him that evening on the vine-wreathed balcony. ‘‘ You don’t want to hurry away now ?” ‘‘T will stay as long as you like, my darling. All I feared was that you should see some one or other of the natives recognise me ; or dis- cover that grave in the cemetery.” “Tf you had but confided in me, Richard!” “My dear wife, I always intended to tell you sometime. But I was a coward, and put it off. You can never know what a nightmare it has been to me.” e “‘T shall take some violets to it myself to-morrow, Richard. May we not take some together ?” “Yes; oh yes. Thank Heaven for this peace—which is more than I deserve,” fervently spoke Richard Ensor. ‘Thank Heaven for all things!” comicbooks.com