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About The new Northwest. (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 1881)
-v i - A. THE ;KBW NORTHWEST, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15; 1KH1. rJTHE BEGINNING OF THE END; ,'Ak EsfOLiiii Tale.- ."- . ,,,vBv A. A. .CLEVELAND. (Entered, aroordltm to Act of Congress, In th yw 181, la tbe offlrt of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. . , CHAPTER XIV. - . ;. It will be rememtH?red that Bedford A Ca. had taken possession of the straw "factory. 1 Boon after the trial, tbe agent, Mr. Richardson, wrote to bis employers, informing tuem 01 trie fact or itose's having obtained a divorce, and., alsa.or.1be effect the loss of her rhlld' had uron her mVnd. MrV Bedford received this letter, and' on going Urtbe office mentioned the ract to bis partner. -"Gcod-mornIng, gentlemen' he said. "I have Just, received this letter from rRIcbarfsoh, our agent- at the factory. It appears from this that Mrs. Hanson has obtained a divorce from her hus band, but that the Court decreed the care of the child to the husband.-Of , course he sold the fac tory and the secret for preparing straw without her knowledge or consent" ithoutAerfcnowledg one "of the partners. What did Ae. have to do with it?""; ., ; "Well, he left her aome yean ago, and during hla absence she scraped'togetber some money of course,' aa her husband was away, we will not In quire too closely how and .started this business and discovered this process herself. Her husband came home nd sold the establishment to us, as I said before," Without her knowledge or consent, and r;' .r, .,- ' "Then he Is an Infernal scoundrel 1" said the partner, Mr, Smith. "If she earned the money daring his absence, It was hers, to save or spend or throw to the dogs If she wanted to. And any man that wbeld rob- a woman like that ought to be horsewhipped." r; "Don't you know, Mr. Smith, that a married woman cannot hold property T It Is not hers.It is her husband's." That. I know. Is law: but it Is not Justice. AnBedterd, 1 arasiiamed of you j I really am; To bint that she obtained her start In ah Improper manner, is brutish. I can tell you that women with brains get their start in life honestly, 'This class of women are too scarce for the good of the worldj If she needed It, I'd start ber again to morrow." ; r "No doubt you would, Smith ; especially If she was tolerably good-looking. Hal bat hat" said .another partner .- j. "I have no objection to being laughed at, gentle men; not the least," said Mr. Smith, "But I want yui to understand thaC I am rather touchy upon some points, and this Is one of them. . And I will tell you why."- ....'. '. "ISloW, SIUIIU, Would you not plYlUJ that the re clplent of your bounty should be good-looking 7" -Without answering this question, Mr. Smith -rontinoedr - "I am, I suppose, what the world would call a 'rich man. At all events, I am very well off. But it's no credltTio me, gentlemen. My mother was . deserted by my father, and had to battle with the vrorld both before and after I was born. She sent me to school to the best In the land for common ers, you understand." . . "AH honor to your mother, Mr. Smith, say I' said one gentleman ; "all honor to her, sir." Thank you," said Mr. Smith. ".She taught me not only how to toll, but also how to save." Suddenly rising to his feat, while his features Iworked convulsively, he continued t , "And the man that would hint that we must not Inquire too closely how my mother got her start before God, Is an Insinuating, low-lived blackguard I And if he made that remark to me, or I overheard him make It," bringing his fist down on the table with terrible force, "I would kill him t Excuse me, gentlemen. I will see you this afternoon." - - : ti -' And unable to smother his emotion, he left the room.. " . u . "Well, I declare t" said Mr. Bedford, after they had somewhat recovered from thelraatonlshm.eut, -"lam thunderstruck I Who would have belleVed ihat from, friend Smith ? Why, he Is like gun lowder, to go off like that I But then, a man ought to stand up for his mother or sister. He's a regular woman'a rights man? he Is, by Jove 1" ,es7Thdeetf,,na1 shrewd business roan. But the strangest thing Is, a number of the best men In the country are Join ing In this movement. It's ouly the rag-tag sort that are booting at It now." "I'm not rag-tag, and I hoot at It," said Mr. Bedford, "and always will. You can't convince jael-can'tanjofivlnw her place keep house arid look after her babies and men will respectjber. I am losing all respect for women. I mean, of course, the kind that want t a wtxt nl aII that nonsense." '"' "Well. Mr. Bedford," said his partner, -you will soon be In the minority J that's certain. .But business, gentlemen ; business. We bouh this secret from this roan Hanson. Now, what Is to -prevent him from selling It to some other firm? We are doing well with, this secret, very well. But If we have competition, our profits will grow ma)l bydegreesand bauUtully-leWSomethng must hm done. srentlemen? .What shall It be? htf r It 1 aTtTkTlInctured with the woman question ..that I shall not advance It." Come, come, Bedford," said one ."your plan J We wjll leave the woman question put of our bus iness. We want to make money. Tell us the plan." ' J "No; J will hot; But Jf you will agree to leave It with me, I will hold a monopoly of this secret for us all," said Mr. Bedford, l"Enough said.- We. wlll leave the matter en tirely in your hands," was the reply of one, In . i i. .i in i wiiivu niry u concurred, j JWhlle these -events were transpiring, Rose Hanson was still the same. RJUe was5 "perfectly narmiess; put her lace grew tnlnner ana paler, and many thought that the end was pot far off. L At length a very eminent physician . was con- suited, who gave it as his opinion that If eheeould see her child there might be some hope; but un less she could, he feared that there was none; "She has had cruel treatment, poor thing t" he remarked to Will Brownly. "Tbe shock to her brain at the time she lont ber eye was terrible. Had It not been for that shockhe would have triumphed over that man In the end; for she would have risen ajraln, and; would have been rich"and-respectedr-wline-' there -is -no -doubt that he will die like a dog."- - r WULrepeated tbe doctor's report to his mother, and then continued :,ta, , . "" ' "I love that woman, and you know It. I am going to try to find her child for her. -1 don't suppose she could keep possession of It even if I brought it to her; but tbe sight of Bessie might restore to her her reason." . "I sympathize with you, my son," replied Mrs. Brownly, "and will try to help you In this, as in everything else. I would like" to see her in her right mind, and I think I shall live to see that day. I have no'h&pe In man, but I feel that uod will not allow evil-doers to triumph forever." "I try to feel that all Is for the best, mother; but my heart Is sad very sad," said Will.' am a happy woman,' his mother sa Unlac ing her hand lightly upon his curly head; "happy to have a son who can feel for the misfortunes of one of my own sex. Your father was a kind man, nd we loved each other dearly, Will. But, now that he Is gone, oh J how thankful I am that you are left to me, my son, comforter!" - The good lady was Interrupted by a knock at the door. Opening It, a portly, smiling gentle man stood before her. ' ' ' "Excuse me, jnadam," he said. "I am seeking Mrs. Rose Hanson. Can you tell me where to find her?" : V "She lives close by, sir," said Will, stepping forward. '"Perhaps you had better come In. Are you acquainted with Mrs, Hanson ?" - v "I cannot say that I have Jhe pleasure of her perWnaTJacqualntance Some years ago we en- rtpymttHl tn da business with the lady, but fou nd she bsrliengaged her goods at that time to other .Wl.. ffl ..11 Ik. Mnll.min ' "Mayoe you are not aware or ner anuction T" i'MrBedford?'! said Rose, absently; and rising from her seat she went to him and asked, "Have you seen my little Resale ? She is such a long, long time coming to-day. Have you seen her? Have you seen ray child ?" "I think shejurill be along presently, Mrs. Han son," said Mr. Bedford. ' "Then I will watch at the door," she cried, eagerly. "Oh, pessle, roy Bessie, how I long to see you 1" Mr. Bedford sat some time listening to tbe old grandma, who with streaming eyes recounted the hole story to hlm Rising from his seat, he said: "I wlll'talk this over with Mr. Brownly, and will make a proffcwltlonito Jilra If he will kindly call at the office to-fmorrow. This Is a case In which every one Is, or should be, Interesteii; that 1lpsveTXonehthafiTyec1tngrhTCrpn grandma. Terhaps everything will turn out all right (Jood-day." - . And bowing to Rose, who still stood at the door watching for her child, Mr. Bedford, accompanied by Will, left the cottage, v "He said to cheer up," said the' old lady. "I with4 could-cheerup. I feel that the end Is not far off for me, and Who will take care orawjTOotheisahiVill.- hen I am gone? Sometimes In the night I awake suffwatlng, and my heart beats so that I know It won't be long. Only the other" night I dreamed that father came to me andftoUPme he was waiting only waiting.. Ah, old. husband, you'll not have long to wait for mother now. I often wonder If I'll know hi no over there. Will he meet me when I reach the other shore?, In (lod's own good time He will send for me. Let me be ready ready." , . The nex tjnoni I ng Wil I called at t he office now owned and occupied by Bedford A Co. "Yes I have a plan, gentlemen. But you are to' Mrs. Hanson, there is no use In disguising or denying the fact, however much we may regret it, that she Is Insane," -Will shook his head mournfully. f"When she conducted the' business, we enter tained a very high regard for her.' . In fact, she was'the only rlvsl the Arm of Bedford A Co. could not successfully cope with. Her method -of pre paring straw was what gave her the advantage.' J Yes, her busl ness was,' I am ,told, in a very flourishing condition." said Will ; "and had It not been" - "Ah, Mr. Brownly," said Mr. Bedford; Inter rupting him, "it grieved me terribly to think that a woman could outgeneral the old firm of Bedford A Co. It was so for a time. But mow," and he rubbed his hands together; softly, smiling com placently 'tlve while, "things are very different. How did she obtain this method of preparing straw;" " 4 ; . ' " Z-', "Mrs. Hanson has worked In the straw business alLher life, and ' was always a great hand at ex perimenting She experimented on straw and was successful." . "You astonlslfme, Mr. Brownly," said Mr. Bedford. . ... I;- ' '.'.It Is oolyjashQrt time alnce she made a valua ble-suggestion- ttur;englneerabout therage the miners are raised and lowered lu going to and from their work," said Will.-; iThe engineer acted upon her suggestion, and a short time afterward obtained a patent on an invention called the Wilcox Safety CageVL- "What Is there peculiar about this cage?" asked Mr. Bedford. ' ' . 1 ; ; "It Is so -constructed that should the rope" or chain break, the men inside by simply lifting a lever can hold It from falling to the bottom and killing every man In It. If Mrs. Hanson had her Just dues, this cage would be called the Hanson or Horner Improvement," said Will, with em phasis. - j-v- "I am filled with' amazement," said Mr. Bel X? JL'I-ne ver-tltough t -thereouldTielraTnT enough In a woman to accomplish all this." "It seems, even by your own account, that you found brains enough in tlilsr woman to cause the great fl rm . of Betlford Xio.-ro uch uneaslness.'l said Will, laughingly. "Yes; that Is a fact. But you understand, Mr. Brownly, I mentioned this to you in confidence. We could not, for the sake of our bud ness prestige, make sucji a statement publicly. It would never do to sown-1 that we were nearly cornered by a woman. But now for my proposition.',' i I shall be pleased, to hear lt,f said Will, -"If it is for her good, poor woman t" "I am acquainted with a physician who keeps a private asylum. -He has been", and is still, very successful in the' treatment of these cases. I will send or rather take Mrs. Hanton to him and place her under his care for a year, if she should need his treatment for that length of time, of course becoming responsible for his b1l. I do this out of :tto respect to her and out or pity for her misfortunes." "Mr. Betlford," said Will, rising from his chair, said MckJ3fQwnlyr jr "Yes. I heard from our agent, Mr. Richardson, "Wait, If you please, Mr. Brownly," Interrupted IhatfjTJLllaiJSOttJiJ i& Bedford, of Bedford A Co. ram at present on a visit to this place, and out of respect to so enter prising a woman I thought I would, call and see her; and If I -can be of any assistance to her,.! shall be very happy ."7 - "Come with me, sir," said Will. "I will take you to her home." On entering the cottage In which Rose and the old grandma now lived, Will aald: "Rose, this Is MrBedford.H has called to see you on b uslness," have had some experience with persons afflicted as "Mrs. Hanson is, and I am sure she will recover. Is not the Idea a good one? But I must annex one condition. You must tell no one who pays the bill." ; -i , "You are a noble,-generous man to do all this for a stranger; you are Indeed. If It-were not for the fact that one sees once In a great while a mart kind and disinterested like yourself, I hould long ago have lost all faith in humaulty," said Will, earnestly."- . r-, "Oh, come, Mr. Brownly, don't put It in that way. . Of cure we must help one another. This man's charges are high, very high ; butl never do things by halves. His terms are two guineas a week. Quite expensive, you see," he continued, with a patronizing smile. "But I can very well afford It; very well Indeed.' - "I should like to make a proposition," said Will. "I should like to bear half the expense. I should take it as a great favor. I am not rich, having only what I earn Ho live on. In fact, we have been saving mother and I In the hope of some time putting Rose under skillful treatment We can very ' well spare a guinea a week to help a , woman aud a neighbor in distress." : stool looked In Will's face as he made the proposi tion. "Give me your hand, Mr. Brownly,"sald Mr. Bedford. "I'm proud to take t We will divide the expense between us. And mind you, not a word to a living soul." "I will not mentionlt to anyone except my hecome faded and your coat threadbare, You must give up your accident Insurance policy.. Your table will see no luxuries. Can you afford It, Will ? Yes you can afford IL For bread cast upon the waters wllLrcturn after many days.".-X "Mr. Richardson," said Mr. Bedford, arousing the. accountant, with a start, "that's what I call business. Doctor Haslet Ine will charge Just one guinea a week for Mrs. Hanson's treatment and board. That soft-head will pay It all, and I'll get the credit r and the Joke is, I told him not to tell " anyone.. Just as if the people would not know. all about it when they see me Uke-her away In 'my carriage' . ' "' - -r- ---' But Will Brownly knew nothing of-ihls as he walked toward, his borne, and he was saylog-to. himself: . . . - , 7? "It will leave me nine 'shillings a Week. Ta,be sure, it's'not much. But then, If mother is1 will- ' ing, I can pluch a little to make it easier for her. I( was kind, very kind, In Mr. Bedford to allow me to share the expense: He is" a rich man, but he understands my feelings.- j Tbedear old mother consented to the plan. She had -not a word of elf, not a thought except to pinch -herself a-Ilttle-more-io"dogood torothers." A&d"wltriklndly'im)leni)he to prepare to ' accompany Rose on her Journey to her new home. Mother and son went to the cottage together and told Grandma Hutton of the arrangement. The old lady's tears fell at first; but she was consoled with the thought that Rose might be restored to her'health aud reason again," arid consented for her to be taken away. , " " " ...i ' "Grandma," said Will, "don'ttalk about being r -alone. You mfilSt come and live with us. You will be company for mother, and such a help to her,7too.fT am-awayall day,"youknqw7and mother Is alone So dry up your tears, old friend. 'Tis always darkest Just before the dawn." . ' The next morning Mr. Bedford called to take I Rosefor a riIe lnrhlscarriage7whlch Was drawn ' ., by a pair of beautiful grays driven by a sepgatit dressed In a livery of scarlet and gold, and Mrs. Brownly, who was ready to accompany Rose, was not left behind. . ,. As MrBedfofl,hai fmllctedr the-news-Tanlike wildfire. The villagers were all excited over the " fact . that a rich gentleman, a Mr. Bedford, had called and taken Rose In his carriage to a private asylum. . . , . ... The Institution was not far away. England does not boast magnificent distances, as does America, and Rose was soon placed under the care of Dr. Haseltlne, where we will leave her for the present in kindly hands. , - . "Mother? saidV ill, after they hadieft Rose, "you please go home and take care of grandma. I am going to find Bessie if I can7 I am going to London. - In two or three days I will return home." 'Come as soon as you can, Will," said the mother; "and may God prosper you In your mls-- .inn nf tnawv ' ' , Win went to Ivondon, and turning his steps toward Scotland Yard,jva8 soon Ja .conversation - with the chief of the detective force. On leaving him, Will said : . f - Do-thebet-yotran8ln I ln1eTidBTradrfiga day or twamyself in the city, and if I hear any thing about the child, I will return here with the Information." . - . - . He had" scarcely left the office-before another visitor was announced, who, on being shown In, said: - "I wish to secure the, services of an expert de tective. I want, a man .shadowed. 'Here is my card." ' .' ' . 1'" :L : v And he handed a card to the chief with the name of Thomas Thorn engraved upon It. - After looking at the name, the chief said : T "You say you want a man shadowed? Is It to get evidence against him, or merely from curios ity ? I ask so as to be guided In my choice of a . man for the duty. Does your man freuueut the En-tor the West End?" " "The Kast End generally, I think. The man is a gambler." "We'll set a rogue to catch a roirue." said the chief. "We have a man connected with the force that will answer your ruriKe. for he has the entree to all these gambling hells. To tell you the truth, we have not much confidence in him ; still, he answers our purpose sometimes.' If you pay mm enougn, ne win oe true lo you. If not" The chief sfiruureed his shoulders in a verv sig nificant manners: ' j '- Mr. Rlchanlop who hal been writing at his desk, too much oi-cuple! apparently to notice this corrveTKationTstopped ht"tnrand"tu rnlngTiif Ifls Tend'AVfitre w To meVHte saTd to the attendant "He cannot do any harm, at all events." said Tm. "Send for hi m, if you please." sv a. a. ' .r i ne rnier mucneii a ih?ii. A man entered the room and took off his hat with a resitectful bw. He cat one ouick elance atThorn, and then dropped his eyes to the nor.' -iiere is your man, Mr. lliorn," said the chief. "Go Into that emun and Ulk the matter over." On entering the room, Tomafd: - 1 "IHk here. Mr. Detective. .Theft I n man whoe name is. Phil Hanonr who has lut ob tainel.KsMession in a lesal manner of a child: In Iive-yu-ywtnacahelJaJeMtherI-have- mat ne nates me. child, and I want to find out What he has done with her. If vou will follow me, I will try and polliC him. out to you during tne u.tyj... x. ; .; "l know hlrn, sir. He Is a gambler." that." .;: "Then the thing Is settled.- Get her ready, and we will take her In my carriage to-morrow. Brlng"jrour goinl "mother with you, Mr. Brownly, as company ; for Mrs. Hanson. And now excuse me. Good-morning." ; . :" " as win lert the omce, Mr. utcnanlson rose I enguge you hy the month to watch from his desk and followed him, and standing at f "d will pay you liberally." the door, watched him as he slowly walked home ward, apparently in dep thought, pu returning to hU desk, he soUhxpilzetl thus: "Can you afford, Will Brownly, to give twenty I am vlad you know him." said Tom : "it saves trouble. If you will find out for me where that Child is, I.will give you twenty pounds, and I will Iter for ine, "Any further orders, sir?" asked the detective. 1 . t .kV...i. II.. u I. ..... i l .i . . .v-ii. uric iiijf i-anii urinic ilia the earliest Information, can find him ?" "I will rTnd him to-nMt. sir " lie was H4 When do you think you 1 a r . sri . sai inane inn .Nnw. w will talk huniiiiiuwi In ugard klndncse to a woman TV4m-Wat-hJ.LJt "Z?? I- means to you, Will? Your mother's dress rill To be eoatlnasd.1 -4 .