Thrice Wedded, but Only Once a Wife — page 85: what you’re looking at

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

Le THRICE WEDDED. the exercises had commenced. It won’t do to let father and gon meet, you know—at least, not at present—it would spoil our plans. Have you made any arrangements to prevent it et! 97? “Yes; I saw Hans, the smuggler, told him what I wanted, and he has promised to have a decoy ready as soon as the exercises are over. I will see that he is kept out of the way ‘until I bring the girl to terms and get my claim established; then he may go free, for all I care.’ “How are you going to manage it? You know as well as Ido that the marriage was legal, and can only be annulled by both parties consenting to it.” ‘‘T know it was legal, though I have told Dora Dupont that I could prove it was not. She won’t believe me, so I | have given up trying to lie her out of it. But she is ¢glori- ously proud, and I can easily send her a dainty little note, purporting to come from her gallant husband, saying that — time and absence have effaced the affection he once had for her, and planted other hopes and plans in his heart; and asking that she will consent to a divorce! Of course, you can easily imagine what the reply of such a proud little beauty would be to a note of that kind. And then my way is clear.” ‘“‘Hum!”’ murmured his listener, discontentedly. ‘I don’t know as I care, only I wish you would take up the other matter first. I hate the sonas bad as I hate the father, and want to see him dethroned. Perhaps, on the whole, it would be a good idea to get the girl away from him; it will nly make the victory more complete.” “'That’s it; now you talk like business,” returned Ralph, his good nature now fully restored at his uncle’s concession. “But,” he added, ‘‘I’m dused sleepy; so let us go to bed.” “Very well; but first tell me how you are going to manage to keep young Ellerton out of the way wae you do all this,” replied Squire Moulton. Ralph lowered his voice to a daa as he replied; and turn which way he would, their listener could not hear what he said, only once he caught the words ‘‘cave” and ‘‘smug- gler.” But that was sufficient to set him on the right — track. The bia plotters then retired to bed, and Ronald Edger- ton returned to his room, to wait until the drug which he had ou into their coffee should take effect, a -Eomicbooks co