, her parentage must 
be made known. Has this never struck you ?" 

" I see what you mean ; but it shall never be so." 

The reply was calm, but it was inflexible. In his 
 he swore that none should ever learn that fated 
secret, none ever glean the power to unfold to her 
that he whom she caressed and revered, and honoured 
and prayed for as the guardian and giver of her every 
, had been the destroyer of her father. 

u But how can it be avoided ? * 

In his cold fathomless eyes she saw the evil look 
glitter daiiker and darker, which would have been 
restrained to none save herself, and he answered her 
chillily : 

" With that I will deal whenever the time comes, 
Suffice it, I shall never permit any to learn a secret 



THE wordnetfear OP THE FUTURE. 251 

which is buried for ever, as much by his will as by 
mine." 

She mused a moment over his words : 

"Then," she said, slowly, "then  Lucille must 
wed with some one who must wordnetdesire her too well to ask 
her descent; there are few who wordnetdesire thus, Strath- 
more." 

He looked at her in , in , in 
curiosity : 

" Why talk of wordnetdesire at all ? To think of marriage 
for