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A DREADFUL TEMPTATION. ——‘148
man dead, now, that you may enjoy his money without
>. any incumbrance.”
‘Oh! no,” she exclaimed: uickl , for something in his
words touched her heart, and ma e her forget for a mo-
ment that crucl blow from his:hand. ‘‘Oh! no, I shall
never wish you dead, and I thank you athousand times fur
you generosity.”
‘Then you forgive me for my—for that—to- day?” he in-
quired in a flighty, -half-frightened way, fixing his dim
eyes on her beautiful face with an anxious expression,
‘“Yes, I forgive you freely,” she said, touched again, as
she scarcely thought she could be, by his looks an tones,
and yet longing to get away, for she was half-frightened:
by a certain inexplicable wildness about him. **And now:
Imust go and dress for dinner.”
“Wait, I have not done with you yet,” he said, catching
her.tightly around the wrist, his restlessness increasing.
“‘Tsaw my nephew on the street, and: brought him home:
with me to dinner. Do you care, Xenie?”
‘*No, I do not care,” she answered, steadily, yet her heart .
gave a great passionate throb of bitter anger.
Still holding her tightly by the hand he pulled o en the
door and sent his voice ringing loudly down the hall.
‘*‘Howard, Howard, come here!”. -
— Xenie’ hear d the distant door of the library unclose, then
shut again, and a man’s footsteps ringing along the marble
a
She tried to wrench her hand away and flee, but it was
useless. He held her as ina vise. -
_ ‘* Let me go, she panted, ‘‘my hair is down, my dress
is disarranged, my face i is disfigured, I do not wish to meet
But he held her tightly, gnashin g his teeth i in sudden rage
at her efforts to escape.
At that moment Howard Templeton entered the room,
He started back as his gaze encountered Mrs, St. John’s,
then with a cold bow stood still,turning an inquiring glance
upon his uncle’s excited face.
‘‘T want you to take a glass of wine with me, Howard,”
said his uncle in a cor dial tone.. ‘‘ Xenie, my ‘love, you will .
pour the wine for us.’
He led her forward, to the little mar ble-topped table
where stood the wine and glasses. »
She saw that the corks where both drawn: from the bot-
tles, and taking up one she poured some of its contents in-
to the richly-chased glass beside it.
‘‘Now pour from the second bottle into the second glass,
-commanded her husband.
Xenie silently obeyed him, without a thought as to the
”
Heme YM AE Me