A Vanished Hand

CHAPTER I

_IN A BACK ROOM_

"For one shall grasp, and one resign, One drink life's rue, and one its wine, And God shall make the balance good." --WHITTIER.

Elsie Kilner had a battle to fight, and it must be fought after her own fashion. It was the kind of battle which is fought every day and every hour; but the battlefield is always a silent place, and ther...