The Argosy — page 127: what you’re looking at

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

II4 Roger Bevere. “ Really married ? Surely married ? ” ‘As fast and sure as the registrar could marry us,” came the smothered answer. ‘‘ We did not go to church.” “Oh, Roger! How came you to do it?” ‘* Because I was a fool.” I sat down again, right back in the chair. Things that had puzzled me before were clearing themselves now. Z/is was the torment that had worried his mind and prolonged, if not induced, the fever, when he first lay ill of the accident ; this was the miserable secret that had gone well-nigh to disturb the brain: partly for the incubus the mar- riage entailed upon him, partly lest it should be found out. It had caused him to invent fables in more ways than one. Not only had he to conceal his proper address from us all when at Gib- raltar Terrace, especially from his mother and Mr. Brandon ; but he had had to scheme with Scott to keep his wife in ignorance altogether —of his accident and of where he was lying, lest Lizzie should pre- sent herself at his bedside. To account for his absence from home, Scott had improvised a story to her of Roger’s having been des- patched by the hospital authorities to watch a case of illness at a little distance ; and Lizzie unsuspiciously supplied Scott with changes of raiment and other things Roger needed from his chest. of drawers. : This did for a time. But about the period of Roger’s quitting Gibraltar Terrace, Lizzie unfortunately caught up an inkling that she was being deceived. Miss Panken’s general acquaintance was numerous, and one day one of them chanced to go into the bar-room of the Bell- and-Clapper, and to mention, incidentally, that Roger Bevere had been run over by a hansom cab, and was lying disabled in some remote doctor’s quarters—for that’s what Scott told his fellow students. Madam Lizzie rose in rebellion, accused Scott of being no gentleman, and insisted upon her right to be enlightened. So, to stop her from making her appearance at St. Bartholomew’s with inconvenient enquiries, and possibly still more inconvenient revelations, Roger had promptly to quit the new lodgings at Mrs. Long’s, and return to the old home near the Bell-and-Clapper. But I did not learn these par- ticulars at first. ‘‘Who knows it, Roger?” I asked, breaking the silence. “ Not one of them but Scott,” he answered, supposing I alluded to the hospital. ‘I see Pitt has his doubts.” ; ‘ But they know—some of them—that Lizzie is here !” “Well? So did you, but you did not suspect further. They think of course that—well, there’s no help for what they think. When a fellow is in such a position as mine, he has to put up with things as they come. I can’t quite ruin myself, Johnny ; or let the authori- ties know what an idiot I’ve been. Lizzie’s aunt knows it ; and that’s enough at present; and so do those girls at the Bell-and-Clapper— worse luck !” Gomichooks (E(©) nm