A Struggle for a Ring — page 35: what you’re looking at

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

DECIDING HER FATE. 31 ring it will be the doctor himself who comes; he will not let me enter that house again; he will send me home and tell my father; my father will kill me. I can see it all.” She sank kneeling on the pavement, her face buried in her hands, weeping as he had never heard any one weep before. ‘*Alice, I -cannot hear that; I am so sorry. How foolish I was to persuade you to do this; but, indeed, I only thought of giving you pleasure. Can you ever for- give me?” She looked up at him with weeping eyes, all wet with tears. ‘‘T have nothing to forgive,” she replied. ‘‘ They will kill me for it; but I would rather have had it and die than have lived without it; and knowing you fi ‘But, Alice, they cannot kill you; you have done no wrong.” ‘“No,” she sobbed; ‘‘you do not understand. My father is very particular, and there are three of us girls; he always says that his is a dangerous profession, one that obliges him to be very careful with his daughters, more careful than other people. My sister, Rosa, is very pretty and a great flirt. Hesays to us sometimes: ‘Mind! in spite of all I do, you may one of you go wrong; but yan shall never live wrong.’” ‘¢You have not gone wrong, Alice.” ‘‘No,” she replied; ‘‘but he will hardly believe me. Of the two, believe me, Lord Carsdzle, I’ had far rather that he did kill me.’ A sudden feeling of despair came over saa she wrung her hands with passionate tears. 3) ‘¢What shall I do?” she cried. ‘‘Oh, Heaven! what shall I do? You cannot realize it, Lord Carsdale, you Ai ‘books @) : com (ee }