ord to me I
shall be sorry that I ever loved you; I shall repent that I made you my
heiress." And her voice rose to a sharp, shrill tone. "I'll haunt you as
long as you live."

The girl shrank back from her.

"Don't mind a poor old woman whose hours are numbered, but you'll keep
yer promise, won't yer, Alice?" And she grasped both Alice's hands
convulsively.

"Aunt Heppy," said Alice, "I've given you my promise, and I'll keep my
word whatever happens. So don't worry any more about it, Auntie."

For a few moments Mrs. Putnam remained quiet; then she spoke in clear,
even tones. Not a word was lost upon Alice. "This adopted daughter of
mine has been a curse to me ever since I knew her. She was two years
older than Jones. They grew up together as brother and sister, but she
wasn't satisfied with that, she fell in love with my son, and she made
him love her. She turned him agin his mother. She found out that there
wuz no law agin a man's marryin' his adopted sister. We had to send him
away from home, but she followed him. She wuz goin' to elope with him,
but I got wind of it, and I stopped that; then Jones died away from home
and left her all his money. He wuz so bitter agin me that he put in his
will that she was not to touch a dollar of my money, but better that
than to have her marry him. I stopped that!" and the old woman chuckled
to herself. Then her mood changed. "Such a marriage would 'a' been a sin
agin God and man," she said sternly. "She robbed me of my son, my only
boy, but I'll git even with her. She asked me this mornin' if I knew who
her parents wuz. I told her no, that she was a waif picked up in a New
Hampshire road, but I lied to her. I had to."

"But do you know who they were?" said Alice.

"Certainly I do," said Mrs. Putnam; "that letter you've got, and that
yer promised to destroy, tells all about 'em, but she shall never see
it. Never! Never!! Never!!!"

Again she rose to a sitting posture, and again that wild, mocking laugh
rang through the house. Lindy, still lying upon her bed in her room,
heard it, shuddered, and covered her ears with her hands to shut out the
terrible sound. Samanthy, in the kitchen, heard it, and saying to
herself, "Mrs. Putnam has gone crazy, and only that blind girl with
her," ran upstairs.

When Mrs. Putnam uttered that wild laugh, Alice started from her chair
with beating heart and a frightened look upon her face. As the door
opened and Samanthy entered, Alice stepped