The American Marquis by Nick Carter — page 86: what you’re looking at

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

B82 THE AMERICAN MARQUIS. — It was only right. He could see it plainly now, though he had so successfully put it out of sight before. 3 - But how could he live without her love? Alas! that was not the question. Before him, he saw two ways—one right, full of anguish; __ one wrong, full of madness. There could be no choice. _ If Grace were one whit less an angel, he might have felt that he could withhold from her the truth. | cae Yes, he must tell it to her—he must. | But need he tell it now, right away? Might he not wait alittle while? He caught eagerly at the hope of a respite. Why wait? Would it not be putting off the evil day, merely? Could any relief come by waiting? No, there was no use waiting in hope of anything occur- ring to help him, and yet the nearer he approached the house the greater his disinclination became to tell Grace his story. He stopped within sight of the house and discussed the matter with himself. No good reason could he give himself for delaying the confession, and only one excuse could he find for waiting. _ That excuse he rejected twenty times. At first angrily, and finally donbtfully. ‘What would be the use of trying such a desperate plan? I know it could only result in giving pain to an innocent +s man.” Then he turned to the thought of telling Grace. ‘hat - was unbearable. ‘«* But since he is innocent, it could only be a joke to him, and at least it would drive out of my head this infernal re- frain, which I know will come back if I give up my inten- tion to confess the whole truth to Grace. | ‘‘T will doit. He may be gone, but I don’t believe it.” CHAPTER XXYV. TETE-DE-FER MEETS AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. In that same little French tavern on Mott street where once before we have been, sat very nearly the same disrepu- table crew of Frenchmen, playing vingt-et-wn. EGOmMmic IC (0) <Sarevey ia) |