e to hate Roger; you cannot make me love
him in a minute. I will never take his hand. I will be his enemy as
long as I live. In my heart of hearts I have cursed him, and I will
not be friendly now because of a whim of yours."

"Wilfred," she said, "as you value my happiness, as you value your own
happiness, here and hereafter, do not refuse. Roger," she continued,
turning to me, "great as has been your misery and loneliness, it has
not been nearly as great as mine. Oh, if you have suffered for your
sin, I have suffered a thousand times more for mine. Morning, noon and
night, I have had no rest, no comfort. When I married your father I
promised that, God helping me, I would do my duty by you, but as soon
as Wilfred was born I hated you, and I vowed that he should be
Trewinion's heir and not you. No one but Wilfred knows how I have
schemed, deceived, sinned for him, and now, when I am getting old and
am yearning for love, he, my only son, has turned against me. Oh, I
might have known that the harvest of my sin could not bring happiness;
but I loved him so, and trusted him so fully. Oh, Wilfred, you can
never have anything but misery while you are your brother's enemy.
Learn to love him, Wilfred, and even yet all may be well."

"No, I cannot, and I would not if I could," he cried, savagely. "Both
of you have helped to blacken my life. You taught me to hate and
deceive, and he, in spite of all we have done together, has thwarted
our every purpose. And now why should I love him, or you either. Nay,
I hate you both."

Never shall I forget the cry she gave, so full of anguish and despair.

"Hate me, Wilfred!" she gasped.

"Yes!" he cried, harshly. "You taught me to be greedy, and selfish,
and deceitful, but you did not tell me of the futility of money and
position to satisfy, nor yet of the terrible power which they have, no
not even when you knew they would mock me. But for you I should have
been poor perhaps, but still happy, while now there's nothing but
misery for me here, and hereafter. I tell you I believe we both sold
our souls to the devil to get rid of Roger and obtain Trewinion, and
now he is chuckling over his bargain."

"But have you no love for me, your mother?" she cried in anguish.

"None," cried he, cruelly, "I love nothing but myself."

Never before have I witnessed the payment in full of the ghastly wages
of sin as I did then. Never shall I erase from my memory the awful
look upon h