e had left
her to the cold mercies of a cruel world. Poor little Daisy--the
unhappy, heart-broken girl-bride--sat there wondering what else could
happen to her. "God has shut me out from His mercy," she cried; "there
is nothing for me to do but to die."

"I am a desperate man, Daisy," pursued Stanwick, slowly. "My will is
my law. The treatment you receive at my hands depends entirely upon
yourself--you will not dare defy me!" His eyes fairly glowed with a
strange fire that appalled her as she met his passionate glance.

Then Daisy lifted up her golden head with the first defiance she had
ever shown, the deathly pallor deepening on her fair, sweet,
flower-like face, and the look of a hunted deer at bay in the
beautiful velvety agonized eyes, as she answered:

"I refuse to marry you, Mr. Stanwick. Please go away and leave me in
peace."

He laughed mockingly.

"I shall leave you for the present, my little sweetheart," he said,
"but I shall return in exactly fifteen minutes. Hold yourself in
readiness to receive me then; I shall not come alone, but bring with
me a minister, who will be prepared to marry us. I warn you not to
attempt to run away," he said, interpreting aright the startled glance
she cast about her. "In yonder lane stands a trusty sentinel to see
that you do not leave this house. You have been guarded thus since you
entered this house; knowing your proclivity to escape impending
difficulties, I have prepared accordingly. You can not escape your
fate, my little wild flower!"

"No minister would marry an unwilling bride--he could not. I would
fling myself at his feet and tell him all, crying out I was--I was--"

"You will do nothing of the kind," he interrupted, a hard, resolute
look settling on his face. "I would have preferred winning you by fair
means, if possible; if you make it impossible I shall be forced to a
desperate measure. I had not intended adopting such stringent
measures, except in an extreme case. Permit me to explain what I shall
do to prevent you from making the slightest outcry." As he spoke he
drew from his pocket a small revolver heavily inlaid with pearl and
silver. "I shall simply hold this toy to your pretty forehead to
prevent a scene. The minister will be none the wiser--he is blind? Do
you think," he continued, slowly, "that I am the man to give up a
thing I have set my heart upon for a childish whim?"

"Believe me," cried Daisy, earnestly, "it is no childish whim. Oh, Mr.