lam yours heart and son!. For the present
1 dare not declare myself. for the reasons
yoa ’..ready know, and for th- same reasons
am br-ad to keep up a seem.ug friendliness
with some I would jiadlv break with alto
gether. Bat lam bar er only with yoo. and
I happy too in the that our hearts
beat as one.
“Yours forever. A. D.”
Dora, having finished reading the let
ter. glances at him uneasily.
I “And —what is the meaning of this
| letter? What is it written for? What
am I to do with it?” she stammers,
beating the precious missive against
Ihe palm of her hand, as though in
loathing of it.
“You will show it to her. You will
speak of it as .or written to
you by Adrian. You will consult her
: as to whether it be wise or prudent to
| accede to his proposal to meet you
i alone in the lime-walk. You will, in
! fact, put out all your powers of decep
tion, which”—with a sneering smile—
j “are great, and so compel her to believe
! the letter is from him to von.”
“But—" falters Dora.
“There shall be no ‘but' in the mat
ter. You have entered into this affair
with me. and you shall pursue it to the
end. If you fail me. I shall betray
your share in it—more than vonr share
—and paint you in such colors as will
shut the doors of society from you.
You understand now, do you?”
“Go on.” says Dora, w ith colorless
lips.
