“‘That is very unfortunate, Wallingford, and as soon as she regains consciousness, I’ll go to see her and tell her that you did not hurt Demar; she certainly will believe me.’
“‘If you take my advice, you will not let my sister see you, until you can prove Demar to be alive and unhurt. The manner in which she spoke of you was anything but complimentary, I can tell you. She regards you as the cause of all the trouble, accuses you of influencing me; and the truth is, Heartsell, you did persuade me into it. We have been rash and hasty in this matter, and I begin to repent of the part I have played in it. I wish I could be like other men, but my unfortunate temper won’t let me. Most people think before they act, but I act first and then do the thinking when it is too late. A most horrible suspicion is crawling over me. I begin to think after all that Demar has not run away. He owns a half-interest in a drug-store here with ten thousand dollars; he made no disposition of it except to will his interest to my sister in the event of his death. He left a sealed paper with his clerk to be delivered to Lottie, and it turns out to be a will. Now, if he had been married to the other woman, why should he will his property to my sister?’
“‘Indeed, that does look a little strange; but what can we do to clear up the mystery?’
“‘Put detectives to work to find out what has become of Demar. Has it ever occurred to you that the woman might have been some relative of Demar?’
“‘No; I have never dreamed of such a thing; but why should he elope with her if she was a relation?’
“‘I don’t believe he went away with her, because he took a freight train and started to Horn Lake. I believe he intended to keep his appointment with us, but met with an accident—perhaps has been murdered.’
“‘Wallingford, your language puzzles me; give me time to think.’
“‘Yes, it is very proper we should both do a little serious thinking. It is a pity we didn’t do that before. Instead of acting so rashly, we should have demanded an explanation of Demar, and afforded him an opportunity to make it. I can see now the great error we committed. He might have been able to explain it all to our satisfaction, but we did not give him a chance.’
“When Harry left Heartsell, his affection for that gentleman was considerably decreased.
“Time continued to drag along very slowly, or at any rate it seemed so to Harry Wallingford. Lottie’s life appeared to be gradually but surely drawing to a close. Her beautiful golden hair had commenced to come out, while the flesh appeared to shrink away. The color had fled from her cheeks, and her eyes gazed listlessly at the ceiling. She would lie immovable from day to day, never complaining, never uttering a word, except occasionally to whisper the name of Eddie. When her reason resumed its throne, she continued to ask for Eddie, and on being told that he never had been heard from, the tears would flow slowly down her cheeks.