Thrice Lost, Thrice Won — page 183: what you’re looking at

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

ah; ey eh A uF el! 5 178. Non ‘Estella’s s ‘Secret, be Bee - faint at cverseoay feet. It -was a ‘aéensuvipe cede s e din all the whole experience of all those languid eae a toh a ‘Mrs. Bartram was. conveyed to her room, and Mrs, gk ilton and Louise bent over her with restoratiyes. The faint was of brief duration—the brown eyes opened, wild and wide. hs, She started up on her elbow, with a low, startled ery. i : “Whereis he?” she wildly asked. “Where i is. Roysten — Darrell ?” en “Who?’ said ie Hamilton. “There is no a per- _ son, my dear Mrs. Bartram. You are a little confused, Ty am airaid—you fainted, you know, at sight of your hus- band’s cousin, Mr. Robert Bartram. It was a shock, I must allow, to the whole of us, but really I had no idea you were so excitable.” Estella had fallen baa among her cilia before NG pada F of this soothing little speech, her hands covering her face, trembling with excitement from head to foot. © ' “Where is Mr. Bartram { fie ‘she inquired, in a smothered voice. “Y our -husband ? In the drawing-room, my ; dear, vith his eousin and that lawyer person.” | | oh aie ee “And all those people ?’ fe tile a : mares Ae “Your guests? Oh, dispersed, of course, ne a he wonderful news. Perhaps you had better no talk too much: ~-you are not at all strong. Shall I remain, or wall. I turn down the light and leave you to sleep?” Pieces. : “Leave me, please.” . ‘ “A 4 Mrs. Hamilton lowered- the gas, ‘and quitted ‘ie apart ment with Louise. But Estella did not, siden a new and undreamed of cea ror had taken possession of her, body and’ soul. Not. the sight of Robert Bartram, the heir, had caused that swoon, but the sight of the man she thought dead months and. | months ago, Captain Roysten Darrell. And he claimed to her husband, and Alwyn Bartram knew nothing of that dark secret of her life, and now they were closeted sy ca and all would come out. “He saw me, and knew me, of course, arid’ he will tell his story first, and Alwyn will believe him. He will only be too glad of an excuse to cast me off; he hates me already. . How can he help it, loving her as he does ? Ob, why, why why was I ever born Q?? She. lay there, suffering suo Guieatae as ‘Sow ‘suffer in| life-time. It seemed to her—poor, despairi ng child—tha one trouble only ended to herald in a greater. ; Would sh ever again look upon the face of her earthly idol after thi terrible night? She lay still as stone, spre ag passit hours. One by one ne Menken gerd ove the ch bs Ky ms “ag sh of