Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 416 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

on * = aan hd ‘‘ Never mind what I wrote. Enough that I , ured out my whole soul, and long ere the end was reached, the pages were wet with my F tears. uF ** Secretly I posted my letter—my appeal— af and with emotions which nearly suffocated me, . forced as I was to keep them concealed beneath a a mask of gayety while in the presence of my husband, I waited for the reply, hoping against hope. 0 After a long and painful delay, it came, and + with hands that trembled so J was forced to | pause more than once, I tore it open and read __-what cut me to the very heart. ‘‘ Tt was from my father, but he addressed me -_-by my married name, not as bis child. He said | that he had tried to forgive my treachery and take me back to my old place in his heart, but without success. Since I had chosen another be- fore them, I must be content. And yet, beyond this one punishment, I should not be permitted to suffer. He had madea will in place of that which he had destroyed in the first outburst of anger when he learned of my desertion, restoring me to my former place as equal sharer with my _ brother mm his wealth; but this I was to forfeit -. in case I attempted in any way to intrude upon them while living. When he died, I might come to see him, not before. ‘“My husband found me lying senseless on the floor, when he came home, that cruel letter by ae .* +, = © ee eey ce . v SERIO. SOO =a ¢ A» b an i Sw te oe & a my side. He restored me to consc.ousness, but ets when I would have teld him the contents of that letter, he refused to listen. He threw it into the (fire, as unworthy either writer or recipient, I ag did not know, then, that he had read every line over and over, while I lay at his fect like one _ dead, before he sought to restore my conscious- | ‘ness, and that all this indignation was but a . ™ That same night my parents’ house was en- | tered and robbed, my father murdered in cold blood! Not the faintest clew was left by which _ to trace the author or authors of the double— nay, triple crime; for when she beheld the bloody corpse of her murdered husband, my ee r mother swooned over it, and passed from one terrible spasm into another, until death came to her relief before the sun reached its - meridian! “As I said, there was not the slightest clew eft by which the criminal could ‘be traced, tives prowled around like bloodhounds, seeking to earn the great reward which my bro- ther offered, but they were al] baffled. During that awful period, my husband was -_-very kind and tender to me. Only for his con- ' stant presence, but for his assiduous care and gentle nursing, I believe I would have been in condition to share the double grave into which oe my poor parents were placed. acy ‘ a ia - b " 2 . Py 4 pie td * fm ae F is f ¢ ra : ‘Sa - rm > t+ 4 ou see, I give the man in whom you feel . guch an overwhelming interest, all the credit his conduct deserves,” said the woman, with a me hard, metallic laugh, glancing toward Medea Pennington, whose face showed pale as that of a we ars : + ra. % =< At the outset, she had firmly resolved not to allow her better and cooler judgment to be car- _ vied away by the story this aby woman insisted on telling. She who hated Lloyd Pen- - mnington so intensely, could not do him justice. _ Bven should she try to be perfectly honest, her And yet, as she listened to the rapidly uttered gentences—so full of passion, pathos and a fright- ful cynicism, all commingled—Medea could not help feeling that Lloyd Pennington must bea Wie , inal of the deepest dye. She could not help divining the final charge to which this woman ‘was leading up with real dramatic power, des- | perately though she fought against the convic- tion of its truth. _- “T was notified of the time set for the double funeral,” resumed the woman, speaking Po me as though anxious to complete a painful task _ which she would not shirk; ‘‘ but I was then ly- ing at the point of death, and even that conso- - Jation—the gazing once more upon their loved faces on earth—was denied tomc. They were - ~ buried, and [ in ignorance of the death of ry ™) ¢ > ” & - ' ‘ M _ mother. “The lawyer who had ckarge of the will, was instructed not to open it, without my being present, with my husband, so that céremon was delayed until my bodily powers were suffi- eiently restored to permit my attending. _ ** My husband bore mecompany. My brother coldly acknowledged my salutation, but refused - toaccept my hand. As for my husband, he was utterly ignored. “The will was read, and found to be in per- fect accordance with the terms mentioned in my father’s letter to me; his property was divided equally between myself and brother. . * But searcely had the lawyer concluded read- ing, when the door opened and a little dried-up eh old man entered; the bosom friend of my father, aretired lawyer. In his peculiar tones, he beg- = nee he attention of all present, opening a Cocu- x c . nS ' > ij . which presented outwardly the same ap- , ce as the one just read—but oh! how dif- .: ‘ent in contents! Tt was a will, dated one day later than the other, and in it my father gave all his property wI Ve j & a ay. . i, ¥ ee EE EE Monte Jim, the 7 - ~~! 2 - , F “4 ‘ + Ae Bl to his son, cutting me off with a single cent, as a reward for my disobedience! *“T was looking at my husband, and in his face I read the horrible truth—to my terrified aze, he self-convicted—the assassin of my ather |” CHAPTER XVI. A WOMAN’S FIGHT FOR HONOR. Evren though she had been gradually led up to anticipate this terrible charge against Lloyd Pennington, Medea uttered a faint cry of shud- dering denial when those words—hot and venom- ously issuing through those red lips and pearly teeth—came from the woman who claimed to have been lawfully wedded to him, years agone, A sneering, disagreeable laugh was the man- ner in which her agitation was received. ‘*If you are thus terribly shocked by the mere recital of what occurred years ago, what think you were my emotions when I read the crimson truth imprinted upon the face of the man for love of whom I had sacrificed every- thing else which a woman holds dear? When I knew that the man I cailed my busbahd was the murderer of my father and my mother?” ‘*But you did not know,” faltered Medea, shuddering. ‘It was only a suspicion—only a hideous phantasy born of your unsettled brain! You had no foundation for such a monstrous idea, and none save an insane person could even have conceived such a frightful conceit!” ‘* Bah!” bitterly uttered the woman, sitting uP her dusky brows contracting, her black eyes glittering vividly. ‘“‘If the words had been printed in letters of fire across his forehead, I could not have read them more distinctly. Only for an instant did he suffer the cunning mask to drop, taken so completely by surprise, but it was long enough for me to read the soul- crushing truth—to know that my husband was the foul assassin of my poor parents! “That much I saw, then, with a wild and agonizing wail, I fell headlong to the floor, senseless. ‘* lt was long weeks before I came back tolife and consciousness again, and it was still longer before I was or pe enough to hear just what had occurred while [ lay in that death-like state of stupor; but I will tell itin the order of a 8 pening, so you can follow the dark trail with- out becoming confused by its windings and turnings. ‘*Tt chanced that I alone caught that fright- ful look which came into the face of my hus- band, for all, even my brother, were astounded bythe production of the second will, and had eyes only for the little old lawyer. ‘* My fainting was attributed to the shock of finding myself disinherited, instead of the rich heiress I had been led to believe, and after I was borne out of the room and placed in charge of the servants, the reading of the will was completed by my dead father’s old friend. ‘**] was left a single penny, as I told you, the entire property being bequeathed tomy brother. Then followed his reasons for disinheriting me in reality, while still leaving the impres- sion that I was to share equally in his estate. ‘‘He knew that Lloyd Pennington married me for the fortune which was reputed in store for me, and he resolved to punish us both to the utmost extentin his power. For this rea- son he had written to me that I was restored to my original place in his will; for that rea- son he kept his lawyer in ignorance of the fact that he had made another testament, one day later than that which was placed in his care. ‘** His old friend was to watch for the reading of the will, and when it was completed, he was to produce that which set it aside, and left mea pauper. It was a bitter revenge, but I will not say that it was unjust. ‘Better for me a thousand times had I never recovered my senses after that horri- ble discovery of my husband’s crime at the reading of the will; but my Po menage was not yet complete, and I came back to life, to con- sciousness. ** Almost my first conscious thought was of the discovery I had made; but when I Stn nized the handsome face of my husband bend- ing over me—when I felt his hot tears drop- ping upon my face, and heard his broken rayers of thankfulness for my restoration to et be fought against that frightful conviction, until I had crushed it down, as I then believed, forever. ‘‘Tt was too terrible to be true, so I told my- self. He could not be guilty of such a deed. He was too good, too pure, and loved me too dearly to injure those in whose veins flowed blood kindred to my own. It was but the wild fancy of a diseased brain, without the slightest foundation in truth. So I argued with myself in secret, and so I at length came to believe. such was my monstrous infatuation for the foul criminal whom I called my husband and hugged to my bosom. ‘‘But it seems that I was not the only one who had suspected Lloyd Pennington of the bloody deed, and though no positive clew could be obtained, no proof of his actual guilt be dis- covered, the cautious researches being made by the bloodbounds of the luw, so disquieted him, an ack Sheep of Bismarck, —- 50.) Fe, eee eae ee s > * ry - ; 7 a * , - ~~ ee. e- ——$__ -___ __ ———— that he took me and left my native place, not pausing until he had placed a crooked and tan- gled trail behind him. ‘* Then I began to see him in his true colors. He urged me to come out on the stage, but I could not gratify him in this. I found that my memory was destroyed, that not one line of all those parts over which I used to pore by the day at a time, could I recall, even after his re- peated promptings. I tried my best to please him, but all in vain, and in the end-he had to give over the idea of my making a living for us oth. ‘** He took to gambling, or returned to it, as I now know. He would remain out late of nights and then return drunk. He was cross and peey- ish, and at times treated me with cruelty such as I never dreamed he could exhibit, least of all toward me, whom he had so frequently sworn was dearer far to him than life itself. ** Nor was this the worst. That I could and did freely forgive him, for I felt that I bad be- come a clog which prevented him from climb- ing to a greater hight. But there was a still more bitter blow in store for me. ‘*My husbend began to talk strangely—so strangely that instead cf trying to comprehend his meaning, I fought against doing so, mind and soul. But it was in vain. The more I struggled. to disbelieve, the plainer grew his words, until, at last, even I could no longer doubt. ‘* I will not insult your innocent ears by re- peating his vile speech, word for word. Enough that he introduced me to a number of his rich, profligate associates, and bade me treat them with complaisance—to accept whatever they might offer me in the way of money or presents: no matter the price I had to pay for such favors. Money he must have, and I must belp him earn it; if not in one way, then in another. ‘“* For the first time since our marriage, I re- sisted him. I forgot my timidity in my indig- nation, and we quarreled most bitterly. e saw that I was not to be shakenin my deter- mination, and to recover the ground he had lost, he played a most cunning part. He pre- tended to be drunk, and seemingly by accident, he let it escape him that he had spoken thus to test my fidelity, against which some of his disso- lute comrades had cast out vague hints, ‘*Tt was a shallow ruse, and never could have deceived me, had my love for him been less great, or my brain as clear as in the days be- fore sorrow clouded it. As it was, like a fool, { fell into the trap, and believed all he wished. ‘*He drop into what seemed a drunken stupor, and I spent the rest of the night watch- ing over him, In the morning he was his usual self, and believing that he could not remember anything which he had uttered while drunk, I never alluded to the matter. ‘* A week later he brought my brother to me saying that he had sought him out and obtained a reconciliation in hopes of restoring light to my clouded heart. It seemed like a glimpse of heav- en to me after all I had undergone, and for a month I was supremely happy; but it was only a lull before the storm, ‘** By accident I overheard my husband and his most intimate friend plotting the ruin of my brother. I could not doubt their earnestness, for neither showed the slightest trace of intoxi- cation, and their cunning plot was carefull elaborated. Stunned, I listened; then stole away and warned my brother, bidding him flee while he could. ‘*He begged me to bear him company, but I refused. y place was with my husband, I told him; and all he could say was powerless to move me. Then he refused to go, but at length I persuaded him, by a to follow if a Pennington continued in his downward ath. ‘*It was late at night before I saw my hus- band again, and then, though I could see that he had been Crinking heavily, he was still mas- ter of his actions, so great was his rage. He asked me if I knew what had become of my brother, who had failed to keep an appointment made for thatevening. I replied that he had left the city, after bidding me a hasty good-by but that knew nothing of whither he had one. Cr ‘“My trembling voice betrayed me, and his suspicions were awakened. Sternly he ques- tioned me, and in the end learned all that I had done. Then his rage was frightful, and I believed he would murder me before he had done. As it was, for the first time in my life I felt the cruel force of a man’s hand, and cnly when I lay bleeding and gasping at his feet, did the brute whom I called husband cease beating me. ‘*In the morning I was unable to rise from my bed, and I heard him turn the key in the lock as he left the room. 1 lay there so full of wretchedness and woe, that 1 prayed for the angel of death to come to my release. ‘Instead, it was my brother who came, some time in the afternoon. As well as I could through my sobs and tears, I told him how I had been treated. In his just indignation, he vowed that he would seek the monster out and shoot him down like a dog; but I persuaded Gomicbooks } —— er —