The American Marquis by Nick Carter — page 63: what you’re looking at

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

4 — THE AMERICAN MARQUIS. 59 CHAPTER XVIIL WHEN THE FLOOD-GATES OF LOVE WERE OPENED. As the happy weeks flew be. and the time narrowed down to within a few days of when the marquis must keep his appointment with Tete-de-Fer, the young man became — restless, and totally unlike his well-contained self. It was useless for him to evade the issue before him. He might, indeed, declare his love, and make Grace his wife, for he was confident that she would consent. ~ He knew the masked woman could never recognize him, even if she dared to avow herself. Nevertheless, he could not for one moment contemplate a : the thought of deceiving the pure, confiding Grace. How two such conflicting sentiments as his love and his bitter hate could find. room in, the same. breast, would have been impossible to comprehend, were it not for thefact that 1t was only by the satisfaction of his vengeful hate that he could dare to indulge in his love. Hours he spent in the darkness and solitude of his cham- ber, wrestling with his fate. - Could he’ leave Grace, and devote months, or years, maybe, to the pursuit of vengeance, without saying to her one word of love? A Could he tell her the truth, and ask her to wait for im? Tell that innocent, gentle girl of all the treachery, blood, » and hate in which he had been an actor! Tell her that he would have her wait for him until he could compass the death of a woman! What then? “*«Deceive her, or tell her? Speak his love, or leave it unspoken?” ‘Lo leave it unspoken would now be dishonorable. Lo speak it when he was bound to another woman would _ be even worse. GEomicbooks com. ;