Little Sunshine

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Unabridged Edition

I ssued in a Co nvenient Form For the Poc ket,

Entered at the Post Office, N. Y., as Second-Class Matter. Munro’s Library Is Issued Tri-Weekly.

By ADAH M. HOWARD

NEW YORK:

IAN L. MUNRO, PUBLISHER 24 and 26 Vandewater St.

COPYRIGHTED BY NORMAN L. MUNRO, 1886 ill" ffin imnii'i iff ii i in i niiiliti mlniiiim'u i i'n i s

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The following books are handsomely bound in cloth and gold, and are for sale by any newsdealer, or will be sent on receipt of marked price.

SELECT FROM THIS LIST.

A Dreadful Temptation, by Mrs. Alex.

McVeigh Miller.

The Bride of the Tomb, by Mrs. Alex.

Mc\eigh Miller.

An Old Man’s Darling, by Mrs, Alex.

McVeigh Miller.

Queenie’s Terrible Secret, by Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller.

Jaquelina, by Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller. Little Golden’s Daughter, by Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller.

The Rose and the Lily, by Mrs. Alex. Mc- Veigh Miller.

Countess Vera, by Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller.

Bonnie Dora, by Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller.

Guy Kenmore’s Wife, by Mrs. Alex. Mc- Veigh Miller.

Janet’s Repentance, by George Eliot.

Silas Marner, by George Eliot.

Felix Holt, the Radical, by George Eliot. The Mill on the Floss, by George Eliot. Brother Jacob, by George Eliot.

Adam Bede, by George Eliot.

Romola, by George Eliot.

Sad Fortunes of Reverend Amos Barton, by George Eliot.

Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot.

Middlemarch, by George Eliot.

Mr. Gilfll’s Love Story, by George Eliot. The Spanish Gypsy, by George Eliot.

Impressions of Theophrastus Such, by George Eliot.

The Two Orphans, by D’Ennery.

Yolande, by William Black.

Lady Audley’s Secret, by Miss Braddon. When the Ship Comes Home, by Besant. & Rice.

John Halifax, Gentleman, by Miss Mulock.

In Peril of His Life, by Gaboriau.

The Romantic Adventures of a Milk maid, by Thomas Hardy.

Molly Bawn, by the “ Duchess.”

Portia, by the “ Duchess.”

Kit; a Memory, by James Payn.

East Lynne, by Mrs. Henry Wood.

Her Mother’s Sin, by Bertha M. Clay.

A Princess of Thule, by William Black. Phyllis, by the “Duchess.”

David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens. Very Hard Cash, by Charles Reade.

Shirley, by Miss Bronte.

The Last Days of Pompeii, by Bulwei Lytton

Charlotte Temple, by Mi s. Rowson.

Dora Thorne, by Bertha M. Clay.

Old Curiosity Shop, by Charles Dickens. Camille, by Alex. Dumas, Jr.

The Three Guardsmen, by Alex. Dumas.

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte.

Gabrielle, by Louise McCarthy.

Sweet as a Rose, by Mostyn Durward.

The Shadow of a Sin, by Charlotte M.

Stanley.

A Waif of the Sea, by Charlotte M Stan ley.

The Huntsford Fortune, by Charlotte M Stanley.

The Secret of a Birth, by Charlotte M Stanley.

Jessie Deane, by Charlotte M. Stanley.

A Golden Mask, by Charlotte M. Stanley. Accord and Discord, by Charlotte M.

Stanley.

A Death-bed Marriage, by Charlotte M. Stanley.

Hearts and Gold, by Charlotte M. Stanley.

Romance of a Black Veil, by Bertha M. Clay.

At the World’s Mercy, by F. Warden.

Circumstantial Evidence, by the Author of “ A Woman in the Case.”

Marjorie’s Child, by the Author of “ Only a School Girl.”

( Continued on third page of cover.)

OR,

The Secret of the Death Chamber.

BY ADAH H. HOWARD,

Author of the following ivorks contained in Munro' s Library:

NO.

54 — A Woman’s Atonement 83 — Irene Gray’s Legacy 90 — Sundered Hearts 107— Doubly Wronged .

128 — Uncle Ned’s Cabin

131 — A Blighted Home .

132— The Child- Wife

426 — A Mother’s Mistake

427 — A Haunted Life

428 — A Desperate Woman

429 — Little Nana

430 — By Mutual Consent 655 — Little Sunshine

PRICK.

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Entered according to Act of Congress , in the year 1886, by Norman L. Munro, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington , D. C.

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washi'

NEW YORK;

NORMAN L. MUNRO, PUBLISHER,

34 AND 36 YANDEWATER ST,

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[COPYRIGHTED.]

OR,

The Secret of the Death Chamber.

BY ADAH M. HOWARD.

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I

j CHAPTER I.

\ ENTERING ON A NEW LIFE. v

•* In our household dwells a fairy,

With a sweet and winning way,

And her footsteps, light and airy,

Make sweet music all the day.

How we long for her caressing L/ .When the twilight shadows come,

j For we’ve named her, with a blessing,

4 Little Sunshine ’ of our home.”

Arthur W, French

“Will you be quiet, Madeline? I declare, my head aches with the sound of your incessant clatter, ’ ’ laughingly protested Leone Delmore, addressing her room-mate and j school- companion, Madeline Clare, who had been for an / hour or more dancing around the room with the airy, graceful motions of a sprite, chatting, laughing, and clapping her little white hands with the rapturous delight of a child.

At the sound of Leone’s voice, Madeline sank into the nearest chair, pulling her face into a comical expression of mock gravity, but the next moment found her on a low stool at Leone’s feet, her brown eyes all aglow, and her lovely, young face dimpling into brightest smiles.

“ Don’t be cross, dear Leo,” she began, in her sweet, coaxing voice. “Indeed, I cannot be quiet to-day, I am so happy, so intensely, unspeakably happy ; all day" long I have been quoting — not aloud, but in my heart — Alexander Smith’s beautiful lines:

LITTLE SUNSHINE .

“ 4 This world is very lovely, oh, my God!

I thank Thee that I live.’

“My life has been so singularly blest, Leo; its skies all blue and cloudless. The roses springing in my path have been without one single thorn. What wonder that I am happy. I have never known a mother’s love, it is true, but papa has been all the world to me, and the wife whom he has lately taken to his bosom will love me dearly for his sake. Read her letter, Leone, and you will understand why my heart is filled with joy at the thought of the welcome awaiting me in my own dear home.”

Leone took the dainty, pink- tinted sheet of note-paper Madeline extended toward her, and read aloud a portion of Mrs. Clare's letter:

“My Dearest Child, — I regret exceedingly that I will not be able to accompany your dear father when he goes to escort you home from your school ; and believe me, I shall count the very hours of his absence, in my anxiety to clasp to my heart his ‘Little Sunshine.’ I shall love you very dearly, Madeline, not only for my husband’s sake, but for your own, and I sincerely hope you will learn to thinly of me as your loving mother,

“Louise Clare.”

Leone handed back the letter in silence.

It did not please her. Something in the tone of it struck her as being forced and insincere ; but little Madeline was too thoroughly absorbed in her own pleasant meditations to notice the shadow on her friend’s face, and presently the former resumed, in a tone that was a trifle less joyous, and with an involuntary shiver:

“ To-morrow ends my happy school life. Papa will come to take me home. It seems that a new existence is opening before me. The sun of my life is rising in glory. Oh, Leone, hoiv will it set ?”

The proud, dark face of Leone Delmore grew slightly pale, and she drew the golden head of Madeline Clare to her breast, as if to shield her from some unseen peril.

Madeline’s last words had been like an echo of her own thoughts.

What would be the end of this young life, whose path had led hitherto through green fields and flowery meadows, with never a glimpse of the barren and miry ways beyond.

It seemed to Leone, as she bent to kiss the lovely, radiant face of her companion, that some dim foreshadowing of the tragedy of the future dawned upon her, some vague but positive prescience of the coming time when Madeline’s life would have reached its sunniest point, where the glad feet were to stop, where the music was to be hushed, and the light to go down.

Leone’s somewhat gloomy meditations were broken in upon by Madeline’s gay voice, and Madeline’s hearty, girlish laughter.

“Into what a sentimental mood have we fallen, Leo, dear ; one would think we were enacting a scene from some emotional drama, and all our packing to be done, too. Gracious! what can we be thinking of?”

And Madeline disengaged herself from her companion’s embrace, and was soon busily engaged in the business of packing, with a merry song on her lips, and the old, happy, cloudless light in her brown eyes.

These two girls — Leone and Madeline, who were on the morrow to bid farewell to the seminary under whose roof the last three years of their lives had been passed — were as totally dissimilar in form and features as it was possible for girls of the same age and nationality to be. Leone was tall, dark, and stately, with a clear olive complexion, and black hair and eyes, inherited from her creole mother; while Madeline was below the medium height of womanhood, a graceful, fairy-like little creature, with a pearl-fair face, framed in short, boyish curls of golden hair, a lovely little mouth, around which the dimples played hide-and-seek when she smiled, and eyes that were like the soft, brown, tender orbs of an antelope. Her winning ways and sweet, sunny disposition gained her the love of all with whom she came in contact, and won for her the pretty title that clung to her from her childhood— “ Little Sunshine.”

Every one, from the stern and cold Madame Delorme — the principal of the seminary — to little Lottie Leigh, the poor charity scholar to whom Sunshine was especially gentle and kind — loved the sunny-faced little creature, and felt a void in their hearts that no other could fill when they thought of parting with her.

Leone Delmore, who was called proud and haughty, made but few friends.

Little Sunshine alone had power to call a look of tenderness to those cold, black eyes, and Sunshine understood the girl’s proud nature.

Leone was the daughter of a millionaire, a gentleman whose residence was said to be the most handsome and elegant mansion in Brooklyn.

Leone was Balph Delmore’ s only child and heiress, and one would think the girl should have been happy in anticipation of the brilliant future opening before her, but such was not the case.

Indeed, the mention of her home and her future would call such a look of bitterness to her haughty face, that

4 LITTLE SUE SHINE.

even Little Sunshine would shrink from her in pained surprise.

“Do not speak to me of my future, it does not concern you!” she had said on one occasion, so fiercely that Madeline’s pretty lips quivered like a grieved child’s, and she would have left the room but that Leone clasped her in a passionate embrace.

“ Cliere petite , forgive me! I would not willingly pain you. My little Sunshine, do you know that in all this wide world there is not another creature who is dear to me. My father and mother, you say, oh, yes! ha, ha, ha! is it not strange that I should have forgotten them?”

There was something so harsh and bitter in the sound of Leone’s laughter, that Madeline drew herself out of her embrace with a shudder, while Leone turned away, muttering below her breath :

“If she knew! if she knew the truth — she would not let me kiss her pure lips, or hold her in my arms. Ah ! my darling ! my Sunshine, indeed ! It will he dark — dark as midnight when vou have passed out of my miserable life.”

Madeline pondered long and anxiously over Leone’s strange words and stranger manner, but she did not venture again to touch on the forbidden subject of her friend’s future, and the hour arrived when the girls must say farewell.

They were not to he far separated, as Leone’s home was in Brooklyn and Sunshine’s in New York, and they had made many promises to visit each other regularly, yet all the proud calm of Leone’s manner deserted her when she held Madeline to her heart at parting, and the kisses she pressed on her little friend’s lips were like the lingering heart-broken caresses we bestow upon our beloved dead, ere they are removed from our sight forever.

Mr. Balph Delmore arrived at the seminary some two hours in advance of Madeline’s father, and carried his daughter off in spite of Madeline's request that he should wait until Mr. Clare arrived, that they might journey homeward together.

Mr. Delmore was a stern, cold, proud-looking man, and one glance into his face would show that he was not over fond of his stately daughter, whom he met with a cool clasp of the hand, after a year’s separation from her.

Leone's black eyes flashed angrily when her father denied Madeline’s request, but she said nothing; and a few minutes later the carriage containing the millionaire and his daughter was driven out of the seminary gates, and Leone Delmore’ s happy days were over.

LITTLE SUNSHINE .

Very different was the meeting between the other father and daughter, an hour later.

Lester Clare held his child to his heart, and gazed into her sweet sunny face as if he could never be satisfied, while his kisses fell like rain on the pretty, golden hair, the smiling lips, and the tender brown eyes of his darling.

“ Ze house vill be dark, monsieur — you vill take ze sunshine with you,” said Madame Delorme, as she bent her gray head to kiss Madeline farewell, much to the surprise of the assistant teachers, who chanced to be present, and who had never known the stern, cold Frenchwoman to bestow a caress upon any living thing.

When the last farewell had been spoken, Madeline turned to her father, with tears in her brown eyes.

“Come, papa; I have bidden farewell to the old life,” she said softly, and Lester Clare shivered and turned his face away. God only knew what hopes and fears were struggling in his heart as he thought of the new life upon which his darling was entering.

Chapter II. The First Shadow

“ She saw him lean over the stranger’s chair,

With a warm, new light in his glowing eyes,

And she awoke from her dream then and there,

And went out of her self-made Paradise.”

“They might have been here before now! Oh, dear, mamma, how anxious I am to clasp to my heart my dear step-papa’s Little Sunshine.”

The above words were spoken in a tone of mockery by Laura Vereton, the daughter of Madeline Clare’s stepmother, on the evening of Madeline’s expected arrival from school.

Laura was a tall, handsome blonde, some three years older than Madeline, the very light of her mother’s eyes.

Mrs. Clare, stern and determined in her dealings with all others, w^as a very slave ii\ the hands of her imperious daughter, and never ventured to oppose the latter in anything.

“ My dear love,” she exclaimed, in answer to Laura’s sneering remark concerning her stepfather’s daughter — 4 4 my dear love, you must really treat Madeline kindly. Remember how much depends on ”

Laura interrupted her with a burst of mocking laughter.

‘ 4 Trust me, my dear mamma ! I know on which side my bread is buttered. Hark ! there is the bell. Now you shall see how I will welcome my sweet sister. ’ ’

LITTLE SUNSHINE .

At this moment the parlor door was thrown open, but it was not the sweet sister who entered, hut a dark complexioned young man, Basil Brandon by name, the acknowledged suitor of Laura Vereton.

At sight of this man's face the entire expression of Laura’s countenance changed.

Her cold, blue eyes brightened, her pale cheeks flushed, and her hands were involuntarily extended to clasp his own.

He held them for a moment to his breast, and bent his head until his lips brushed her high, white forehead, while Mrs. Clare suddenly found herself deeply interested in the novel she held open, discreetly oblivious to the tender scene going on before her.

The sound of carriage wheels stopping before the house was soon heard, and Basil Brandon found himself deserted, while his fiancee and her mother hurried toward the window to catch a glimpse of the arrivals.

“It is papa and Madeline,” said Laura, sweetly, and in another moment Mrs. Clare had clasped the fairy form of Madeline to her breast, and was saying, in low, tender tones :

“My dear child, my little daughter, how fondly I shall love you. Come, Laura, my love, come and bid your sister welcome home.”

Laura embraced Madeline warmly, whispering pretty words of welcome, but strange to say, Little Sunshine was relieved when her new-found sister released her from her embrace.

Laura next proceeded to introduce her friend, Basil Brandon, whose bold, black eyes had never wandered from the face of Madeline from the moment of that young lady’s entrance upon the scene.

“ The loveliest face I have ever seen, by Jove! What a lucky fellow he will be who first brings the lovelight to those innocent eyes, ” was the mental verdict of Basil Brandon, while he touched respectfully the little white hand so frankly extended toward him.

“ My dear, you are pale and weary-looking ; I fear the journey has been too much for you in your delicate state. What shall I do for you, Lester?”

These words, spoken by Louise Clare, as she bent over the couch upon which her husband had thrown himself when he first entered the parlor, attracted the attention of Madeline, who in a moment was kneeling by her father’s side, with her golden head on his breast.

4 4 Oh, papa ! you are ill, and you have not told me. I see it now ; your pale face, the strange light in your eyes. Oh, madam, mother, why did you let him go on such a long journey? Why did you not tell me he was ill? Papa, darling, speak to your Little Sunshine. ”

The last words were spoken in a tone of alarm, for Lester Clare had fallen back among the cushions of his couch, white and senseless.

“Hush, love! do not sob so; my poor husband is subject to these attacks ; he will be better soon ; see ! even now he is reviving!” exclaimed Mrs. Clare, and Madeline dropped her face beside the dear head on the cushions, trying vainly to stilie her frightened cries.

Her father’s appearance was certainly alarming.

His handsome Saxon face would never be whiter in its coffin.

His forehead, from which the fair hair fell back in short, clustering curls, was icy cold, and the white lids were only half closed over his deep blue eyes.

It would seem as if the sound of his child’s weeping awakened him from that death-like swoon, for as Mrs. Clare spoke he opened wide his eyes, and extended his arms to clasp wife and child in one fervent embrace. .

‘ 4 Louise ! my wife ! and my child ! my Little Sunshine ! I have frightened you both, but it is over now ; see, I am quite ^strong again. ’ ’

He attempted to raise himself on his elbow as he spoke, but sank down again, weak as a little child.

“ My love, you must be quiet. Madeline will go to her rooms now, and I will remain with you ”

“No! no! Oh, madam, let me stay with him; I #ave been away from him so long, my own darling father. Oh, papa, ask your wife to let me remain with you, ’ ’ interrupted Madeline, and Lester Clare looked appealingly into his wife’s face, as if mutely petitioning her to grant his child Is request.

Child as she was, Madeline understood that glance. Her father’s somewhat weak and effeminate nature was entirely governed by the stronger will of the woman he had made his wife.

Mrs. Clare’s face flushed angrily as she listened to Madeline’s pleading voice, and in answer to her husband's mute petitition she answered, coldly:

“ Madeline, you will oblige me by leaving me alone with your father. You are only a child, and cannot understand what is good for him. You shall be summoned when he is able to receive you. I have rang for a servant to conduct you to your own apartments, where you may change your traveling-suit, and, if you are not too tired, join Laura and Mr. Brandon in the reception-room.”

She pressed a cold kiss on Madeline’s face as she concluded, and with a stifled sob in her throat, Madeline turned

LITTLE SUNSHINE .

away, and in the silence and solitude of her own chamber wept as if her very heart would break ; she had anticipated such a different home-coming.

She did not long indulge in this exhibition of grief, how- ' ever ; she was naturally too sunny-tempered and hopeful ; and removing all traces of tears from her face, she donned a pretty dress of some soft, blue, cloud-like material, and prepared to join Laura and Basil Brandon in the reception-room, in the hope of pleasing her stepmother.

‘ 4 She is papa’s wife. He loves her, and for his dear sake I must try to please her. My dear papa is worn out with his constant brain-labor — my noble, poet father, and his wife will nurse him back to health. How selfish I was to think that I had the best right to attend him. ’ ’

Madeline smiled as she uttered these last words, but her pretty lips quivered piteously, and once again the sweet, brown eyes filled with a sudden rush of tears.

She soon recovered herself, however, and a few moments later entered the room to which Laura and Basil Brandon had withdrawn — a lovely little vision in her blue, cloud-like drapery, with a cluster of fragrant violets in the short, golden curls of her hair.

Laura came forward to meet her with sweetest words of welcome, while Basil’s black eyes shone with a strange, intense light and his voice took a new tone as he addressed the stepsister of his fair fiancee .

I^he remainder of the evening passed off pleasantly. In lessxhan an hour Lester Clare was able to join the party in the reception-room, and after his appearance Madeline was happy as a child, filling the house with her merry voice and gay bursts of laughter.

She played and sang beautifully, to the intense delight of her father, who was a passionate lover of music, and himself a fine tenor.

The two voices mingled harmoniously, while one at least of the little party listened in rapt attention, drinking in the sound of the sweet girlish voice of Little Sunshine, scarcely conscious of the presence of the woman who was his affianced wife, and whose soft, jeweled hand had stolen into his own.

Laura was quick to notice her lover’s absorption, and her pale blue eyes glittered with an evil light as she followed the direction of his glance, and marked the radiant beauty of Madeline’s face.

Some hours later, when the house was wrapped in silence, and Madeline slept the dreamless sleep of innocence, with a smile on her lips, and her hands clasped above her golden head, Laura Vereton and her mother were closeted in the room of the former, conversing m low, guarded

LITTLE SUNSHINE .

tones. Laura’s pale -blue eyes were dark with some evil passion, and her hands were locked so tightly together that the nails cut deep into the pink-tinted palms.

‘ ‘ I tell you, mamma, I am not mistaken. Basil has already fallen in love with that white-faced baby. I have seen a look in his eyes to-night such as I have never been able to call from them, and when I accompanied him as usual, to the door to-night, he seemed scarcely to know

what he was doing. ‘ Good-night, Mad , 7 he began,

but seeing the look of astonishment on my face, he quickly substituted the words, ‘ my darling, good-night, my darling;’ but when I lifted my face for his good-night kiss he put me from him carelessly, and strode away before I could utter a word. Do you think I will endure this, mamma? do you think for one moment I will allow your husband’s daughter to come between me and the man I love? If you think so you will soon discover your mistake. I tell you I will stop at nothing to punish her if she dares to lure Basil Brandon from me.”

The last words came from between the tightly-clinched teeth of Laura Vereton like the hiss of a rattlesnake, and even her mother recoiled from her with a gesture of terror.

“Laura, you frighten me; do not talk so wildly. JL shall see that Madeline does not annoy you in the future. Ah, Lester is calling me, I must leave you ; have no fear, my beloved child, Madeline Clare shall never rob you of your lover.”

With these words Mrs. Clare kissed her daughter, and hurried back to her husband’s chamber, while Little Sunshine slept on, utterly unconscious of the woe in store for her.

Chapter III. Jealousy

“ Hell hath no fury Like a woman scorned.”

Days lengthened into weeks, until a month had passed since Little Sunshine returned to the home in which she had expected to be so happy.

Mrs. Clare was kind and tender; Laura controlled her angry, jealous feelings for some purpose best known to herself, although it was now a fact patent to all observers that Basil Brandon was no longer the devoted lover he had been previous to the advent of Madeline. He visited the home of the Clares just as regularly, but it was only too evident that Madeline was the attraction. Madeline, who was herself the only one unconscious of the state of affairs.

Little Sunshine was entirely occupied in attending to the

LITTLE SUNSHINE .

wants of her father, who was now a confirmed invalid, although he strove to conceal his growing weakness for his darling’s sake.

Louise Clare was a most devoted and attentive wife, and many times during the course of a day Lester Clare would laughingly declare himself the happiest of men, in having such a devoted wife and daughter to nurse and humor his sick fancies.

“ When I get quite strong again, my darlings, I shall reward your devotion,” he often said; but, alas, the time to which he looked forward so hopefully never dawned for him in this world.

There came a day, a month later, when Mr. Clare could no longer join in his Little Sunshine’s songs, and when the strange, gray shadow on his face, and the grave, puzzled look of the physicians, sent a thrill of terror to the girl’s heart

“What if he should die?”

The thought was too dreadful to be harbored for a moment, and Madeline strove to banish it, but it kept constantly recurring to her, and fearful that the look of agony on her face should disturb the dear sufferer, she fled from the sickroom to the little study that had been ner father’s favorite resort, and seating herself in her father’s chair, strove anew to put from her that awful fear.

While she sat thus a hand was placed lightly on her shoulder, and looking up with a start, she beheld the dark face of Basil Brandon bending closely over her.

She believed at first that he had come to her with some evil tidings from the sick-room, and springing to her feet, she caught his arm to prevent herself from falling.

“What is it? Oh, tell me quickly! He is dead, and I am alone, alone!” she moaned, swaying backward and forward like a fragile lily in a strong gale.

- “No, no, he is not dead! Oh, forgive me for startling you so, and do not look so white and strange, Little Sunshine, my love! my darling!”

He was holding Madeline closely to his breast as he spoke the last words, the poor child lying for a moment passive in his embrace, too thoroughly bewildered and frightened to make any attempt to release herself.

It was scarcely a moment, yet while be held her thus, a* white face peered in at the doorway, and disappeared in an instant — the pale, vengeful face of Laura Vereton.

Madeline soon recovered strength to tear herself from the arms of her stepsister’s lover, who shrank like a beaten cur before the scornful glance of her innocent eyes.

“ How dare you! How dare you speak such words to me under my father’s roof, when he lies ill — dying, per-

LITTLE SUNSHINE .

haps — and unable to protect me. You are a coward, sir, and I shall tell Laura of your conduct this very hour.”

She swept out of the room while these words still rang in his ears, before he could put forth a hand to detain her.

“Where is Miss Laura?” she asked of a servant whom she met in the hallway, to which question the latter replied :

“ I believe she’s with her mother, in the master’s room, Miss Madeline — but, oh, dear child, don’t go there, you’re ”

Madeline waited to hear no more. Something in the expression of the servant’s face terrified her. Laura and Laura’s false lover were alike forgotten, and with white face and wildly throbbing heart Lester Clare’s daughter burst into his chamber, her light feet making no sound on the velvet-carpeted floors, and the door swinging noiselessly on its hinges, giving no warning of her approach.