Bonny Jean, and A Severe Threat — page 156: what you’re looking at

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

* A SEVERE THREAT. 149 God hears me (I believe it) is guilty of her murder! Old Zin- gra used to tell me that I am gifted with second sight. Be it so or Otherwise, this I prophesy: I am convinced that John Gordon has had a hand in this. And, so help me Heaven! he shall pay dearly for what he has done!” : She paused for a moment, her eyes searching the white face before her ; then she stooped, and, removing the wedding-ring from the cold dead hand, she slipped it, with a shudder, upon her own slim finger. ‘‘Now for the marriage certificate,” she muttered, and with eager hands she searched the escri/oire, but all in vain, and a look of agony dawned on her beautiful face, for an unerring instinct warned her of the truth. ‘‘ Traitor!” she hissed, vengefully. ‘‘Ah !” as her quick eyes wandered to the fireless grate. } With a single bound she reached it, and on her knees searched eagerly amid the heap of feathery ashes for some frag- ment, some trace, some sign of what she sought. At last! She drew her breath hard, and that same yellow light, like brass, shone in her dark eyes. A tiny scrap of paper, which had escaped the ravages of the flames, lay in her hand. Panting and breathless, she held it up in the lamp-light. Yes; there, plainly discernible, were the signatures of John Gordon and Stella Gilroy, and just beneath, the name of the officiating clergyman, though blackened, and burned, and partly de- stroyed, ‘‘Andrew Ch , and there the record ended. sy With a groan of agony, Lola gazed upon this certain evi- dence that something was indeed wrong. It was evident that the certificate had been purposely destroyed, and there could be but one person in the world who could have had a hand in such atrocity. Clutching that scrap of paper in one little hand, Lola fell upon her knees at her dead mother’s side, and lifted her white, despairing face heavenward. Outside, the storm-fiend howled, and the thunder sent forth groans of sullen defiance, like a wild beast suddenly brought to bay ; but there upon her Eomicbooks (ee) =)