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About Lincoln County leader. (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987 | View Entire Issue (June 7, 1907)
DOOMED. I By WILLARD CHAPTER XII. As soon as Stafford had completed hit task, he summoned one of the servants to how him to Mr. Wylie's apartment He waa moat eager to learn what hla visit boded. Mr. Wylie waa discussing an ex cellent cold collation. The evening waa drawing In fast but although the weather waa very warm, a bright fire biased upon the broad hearth. "Ah, here you are, Mr. Stafford !" cried Wylle. "Surprised to see me here, no doubt Very seldom I get way so far irma own ; inaeea, l may say, mat sine I entered my profession, I have never been so far away before. Our buainess Is so very confining so unlike yours. Very delightful to be able to roam about all the lovely spota of the earth,' and. to combine profit with pleasure." Here Stafford's Impatience broke through all bounds. "Excuse my inter rupting you, but you told me In the pic ture gallery that you desired to apeak with me on very Important matters. May I Inquire what those matters are?" Un able to hold back the thought that lay upon his lips, he blurted out, "Do,, you lenow anything about that picture In the gallery, Mr. Wylle?" "Which picture?" Isjalr'd Mr. Wylle. ' "The one of Circe." "No; I told you so before. But you evidently know something of it, or want to know something of It" Mr. Wylle had 'been asked the very question he had been fishing for. "Who, I?" stammered Stafford, who could have now bitten his tongue for giv ing utterance to his blundering impa tience. He knew sufficient of the family Affairs to be aware that Mr. Wylie was no friend to the Griersona; and he had, "by hla Indiscretion, aroused in htm suspi cions of a 'mystery which might hereafter work mischief to Constance. "I was only thinking of the strange resemblance It bore to Miss Grierson." 1 "Very strange, and to like that, one might be almost tempted to tuppote thai the tat for it," answered Mr. Wylle, with narked emphasis. "And now to busi ness ; for I can " perceive that you are growing very impatient I have come down here to consult with Sir Launce about his son's marriage with my ward. Now, Mr. Stafford, I know that there have been certain love passages between you and that lady. Suppose, instead of her marrying Arthur Penrhyddyn, I could " ao bring matters about that she should tnarry Edward Stafford Instead?" "I do not understand you," said Staf ford, bewildered. v "The explanation la simple enough," an swered Wylle, In the same sharp, decisive tones. "First, answer me honestly and honorably, without disguise, a It Miss Constance Grierson you are in iove with, or the heiress?" ."I do not consider myself at liberty to answer such a question," replied Stafford. "Ah, then, it is the fortune, and not the lady I" sneered Mr. Wylie. "How dare. you speak such words to me?" cried Stafford, starting up, hot with passion. "Miss Grierson would be the same to me were she penniless." "That la exactly what I want to get ' at" cried Mr. Wylie, rubbing hla hands at the success of his ruse. "Then you would be equally ready to marry her with or without her fortune? We will take that for granted. Now, aa you are, doubt less, aware, were Constance to become your wife, she would forfeit her entire fortune, with the exception of a small an nuity; but aa you are indifferent to the money, and only want the girl, that would not matter to you. Get her Into the same way of thinking, and I will aasist you to the utmost to forward the match, and give you a couple of thousands to start housekeeping. Aa to my motive in mak ing this proposition, that is not your con cern. Do not answer now; think over what I have said, and give me your reply In the mornlngN" But Stafford, who -had sat motionless during this last speech, now rose from his chair, and gave way to the Indignation ' that was boiling within him; and In a buret of passion that positively electri fied Mr. Wylle, refused to be a party to (he bargain proposed. ' "If I cannot win her without fraud and treachery without assisting ner enemlea to rob her of her fortune, let me never look upon her face again ; and should you ever again dare to hint such a proposi tion to me, I will chastise you upon the . in , pun j v So saying he strode out of the room, lamming the door behind him. Mr. Wylie had encountered two aston- ishing phenomena that day a servant who refused a bribe, and a lover who re fused to marry for a scruple of conscience. In all his experience he iad never en countered the like. . He felt Inclined to exclaim with Hamlet "la doomsday near?" He had committed two serious errors shown his cards to two persons who had refused to play his game. But he trusted to the fertile resources of his scheming brain to. quickly redeem these mistakes. "As to that idiot, Stafford," he mut tered to himself, "he may change his mind by the morning. Still, I am sorry that he knows so much. What Is this utory about Eleonora de Solssons? Some treat Importance to such things in these barbarous places. One can never know too much. How cam the picture of a D SoIsmbs here? What a Strang re MacKENZIE semblance, tool There's a mystery here that I must fathom." Thus, with the red firellrht elowlnr nnnn hla tr. unit tfia dark Shadows of tha nfirhf r.ati0r4l rrninll him, did ha alt planning and revolving new scnemes and combinations. , CHAPTER XIII. Edward Stafford did not leave Penr hyddyn on the morning after hla inter view with Mr. Wylie, as he had arranged to do. Harassed by anxious doubts and fears, he had lain awake until daybreak; then, worn out with mental fatigue, he fell into a deep slumber, from which he did not awake until an hour after the time of the train starting. Upon reflec tion, he did not regret the circumstance. His Immediate presence In London could effect nothing; he might be better em ployed In keeping an eye upon Mr. Wy lie's motions. Sir Launce was surprised to see the guest whom he had -taken leave of the night before, and whom he thought was by this time whirling along the iron road to London, enter the library next morn ing. "Sir Launce," aaid Stafford, "I ' am about to 'trespass upon your .hospitality for another diy er to." "If you are at leisure for a moment Mr. Stafford, there is a subject upon which I would speak to you. Pray be seated." Stafford took a chair, wondering what was coming. "You are, no doubt, aware of the pro posed alliance Cetween Arthur and Miss Constance Grierson. Perhaps you know the lady?" "Very well," answered the artist; "I painted her portrait, and gave her some instructions in water color painting." "And la the very high praise I have heard of her deserved?" "It would be Impossible, sir, to praise her beyond her deserts," answered Staf ford, warmly. . 1 "To the young lady I can form no pos sible objection. I would tnat I could say aa much for her family more partic ularly of that member who is at present honoring me with a visit Have you ever met him before?" "Once or twice during my visits to Harley street The man is an unscrupu lous schemer; be on your juard against him." "You have expressed my own' opinion, Mr. Stafford. I am on my guard ; and be fore I permit the matter to proceed any further, I shall make a Journey to Lou don. I am but half reconciled to an union that would ally me to such a man." Just then a servant entered with the letter bag. "Where Is Daniel this morning?" in quired Sir Launce. "He had an attack of rheumatia In the night and couldn't get out of bed this morning," answered the man. "Poor Daniel I I must go to see him. Who went for the letters this morning?" "His grandson, Jim Starkie,. Sir Launce," replied the man, hesitatingly. "And why was that careless boy sent upon such an errand? See here! There Is a cut in the bag, quite large enough to allow of a letter passing through," ex claimed Sir Launce, who had been empty ing It ef Its contents,; "and the letters are crumpled and battesed. ' Here is one for you, Mr. Stafford. Send Jim Starkie to me. Immediately. In a few moments a shock-headed, mis chievous looking boy, dressed in a fisher man's blue guernsey, sidled into the room, With a most guilty expression of face. , "What haye you been doing with this bag? It Is cut and probably some of the letters lost" said Sir Launce. "You have knocked It about in some way. Run back all the way you came, and look well over the ground. If a letter has been dropped, I have no doubt you will find it" (In the meantime,' Stafford had read his epistle with the most delightful feeling of satisfaction. It was from Constance; and although It was the briefest, It waa the pleasantest he had yet received from her. It ran thus: "All is broken off between me and Ar thur Penrhyddyn. I told Mm that my heart 'waa already engaged; and In the most noble manner he at once relinquish ed his suit ' "Youra ever, "CONSTANCE." ' "God bless him ior.a noble, generous fellow I" murmured Stafford ; "and if ever I can repay him by any sacrifice In the world, I will do it!" Mr. Wylle had risen at sunrise that morning. He walked down the narrow footpath, beneath the foliage of the dwarf oak and beech, through which glanced the red sunbeams. He passed into the village, and thence down upon the rocky coast As he returned he thought that he would wait for the arrival of the mall before going back to breakfast So he called In at the poatoffice. Presently the mall cart drove up with Its epistolary burden. There were several letters for hint, among others were one from his wife, and one from Fig, the con fidential clerk, which he attended to first Jim Starkie soon overtook Mr. Wylle, and strode along, whistling, and swinging the letter bag from aide to fide. The pace at which that gentleman was walking kept a little In the rear of the boy the whole way through the walk. . Master Jim indulged In various eccen tricities during hla progress, such as toss ing the bag up in the air and catching it whirling it round bis bead by the string, and knocking it against the trunka of the trees. ' When about half way up the path that led to the Castle, spying a bird upon one of the lower branches of a tree, he gathered up the unfortunate bag into a ball, and hurled it at the bird. The bag lodged upon a branch just above hla reach, and obliged him to climb the tree to recover It which he only achieved by much stretching and pulling. After this, he performed the rest of his walk somewhat more aedately. Mr. Wylie had been a witness of all this. As he reached the top of the path he caught sight of something white upon the pathway. It waa a letter. He. pick ed it up and read the address: "Sir Launce Penrhyddyn, Penrhyddyn Castle, near Bodmin, Cornwall. That waa dropped out of the bag," he muttered, turning It over. "I wonder for his wife and children and every who It is from? What la this A. P.' in one connected with that home. It the corner? That is Arthur Penrhyddyn ; meant alteration of habits, association and In the further corner. Immediate.' and enTlponnient I wonder, now, what that letter con- . . . ... tains?" And Mr. Wylie scanned it with ' M that 7M CM detect ' his lynx eye.' He put the letter In hla chr,rtIan botae almost soon aa you pocket and walked alowly towarda the nter ltT May It not be that the Chrls Castle, in deep thought j ttan lives, the Christian customs, the Two hours afterwards, ha again issued Christian conversation of the oecu from the Castle to 'take aoother stroll, pants give to It a sort of sacred atmos Down among the rocks he came upon a phere? A man told me once that a re lonely fi.herman hut At the door, bask- buke whlch he cou,d f t njM ing in the warm sunshine, was an aged t . .. , . , , man, over whose withered face was apread from tha U f hl fath"' a network of wrinkles. There was a wild, ' wno- uPn entering the new-made half-Insane look In his eyes, aa he sat I bome, said : "My son, thla house Is vacantly staring at the waves, and mut tering to himself. r Mr. Wylie regarded him for a moment mentally observing to himself, "Here is an old seer, now, who must know plenty about Penrhyddyn, if he has got the brains left to tell It We'll see." So, by way of a beginning, he wished the old man good-day and found him quite Inclined to talk. By and by a hale looking man, about sixty, and another of about forty, who saluted the old man re spectfully as father and grandfather, came up and touched their sou'-westers to the gentlemen, and then they fell into the conversation. After about an hour and a half spent thus, during which he sucked the three men dry of all the information they could give, Mr. Wylie put half a sovereign Into the grandfather's hand and wished them all good afternoon. "Rather fortunate I came this way," he muttered to hlmsel faa he walked back. "So, Master Daniel, I've learned a great deal more than I should have bargained with you for, and 'or just ten shillings less than I offered you. A very strange story that It almost makes one believe that curses may be realized at leaat there la every probability that this one will. Psha 1 absurd ! A mere coinci dence." Early next morning Mr. Wylie sent a servant to Bodmin for a chaise to convey him to' the Btation ; and when it arrived, took his departure. But before taking his way to the station he desired the coach man to drive him over different parts of the estate, especially where the mines were situated. "I will take a survey of my property that is to be before I leave," ho said to himself. Stafford remained Sir Launce'a guest Constance's letter he regarded aa having removed those scruples of honor Which had at first determined, him to leave the Castle ; It had also removed the necessity of his immediate return to town. He did not give Sir Launce the slight est intimation of the contents of the let ter he had received. "Of course Arthur himself will Immediately acquaint his father with the state of affairs. Strange he has not done so before !" he thought Sir Launce wondered greatly when an other day passed away without bringing a letter from his son. He had written to him, however, on the previous evening. A reply to that letter must arrive by the morning mail. (To be continued.) . j Where Mahogany Grows. The tree which produces that beauti ful and well-known wood, mahogany, la one of the most elegant, if not the largest, of the country In which It Is found, and frequently grows In the crevices of rocks. The appearance of so large a vegetable production In such a situation Is extremely curious and picturesque, and It Is to be accounted for. from the construction of the seed, which Is like that of the thistle, winged, or capable of being blown along by the action of the air and In that manner deposited In holes and fissures In the rocks, where It speedily vegetates and springs up. As long as the plant re mains young the place In which It Is found Is sufficiently large for, Its growth, but as It Increnses In' size the roots gradually but Irresistibly force asunder the walls of their rocky pris ons and throw off large portions of stone. ' It Is not always, however, found In these situations, the largest timber be ing produced In some of the flat and marshy spots on the const of America. Such Is (the Honduras mahogany, which Is much looser In texture and of less value than that from the moun tainous districts of Cuba and HaytL Dust Protector. Gunner That Is a very polite porter they have on thla train. Guyer So? '. Gunner Yes .before he begins to brush you down be hands you a pair of automobile goggles. ' Out of the Ordinary. ' Oyer Hlgglns Is a remarkable man. Myer In what way? 'Oyer Why, be can wait at the tele phone without making pencil marks oa the desk pad. CHARACTER BUILDING. By Rev. William 0. Stimson. To-day I must abide at thy house. Luke 10: 5. When Christ entered the home of Zaecheus the publican. It meant not only' a changed life for Zaecheus, but beautiful, but I see nothing here to In dlcate distinctively that It la a Chris tian toome." ' The lowest conception of home Is to speak of It as a place where man's ma terial wants are satisfied. We can ob tain this satisfaction In a hotel. A limn living lu one room lu a hole! or boarding-house seems like a grapevine in a flowerpot, movable, shifted from place to place, docked at the root and short at the top. No doubt it la an mevuaoie condition to which many people must submit, but this "cabined, cribbed, confined" home life of the cities Is minuting against the best interests of the family Institution. Whatever the material shape or ac commodations of the home, It should be rne piace wnere Hearts ana lives are united In loving compact The home has been called "the Institute of the affections." Where does the home be gin? At the marriage altar. When should a home begin? When the hearts and lives of a man and a worn an feel that each Is made for the other and can enter the marriage relations Intelligently, resolutely, hopefully, with the spirit of bear and forbear, deeply mindful of all the' legitimate conse quences of such a relation. ' Blessed Is the home that Is estab nsnea on tne oasis or love, and no home can be a home, however attrac tive or comfortable or abundant its ma terial environment where love Is not the regnant principle, the unifying bond. There la no other educative agency comparable to the home. The parent Is both teacher and priest The father and mother there make vows for the child. The child, knowing the love, the care, the compassion, the wisdom of the fath er on earth, soon passes Into larger knowledge of the heart and character of the great father In Heaven. Human fatherhood Is a divine trust An eminent business man recently said that If he bad bis life to live over again he would perhaps accumulate less wealth, but he would spend more time at home with his sons, so that the relations between them might be more intimate and that he might determine In them as none others can, the great Issues of character. What a child between the years of 7 and 17 learns from the parents, and especially from the mother, of duty, honor, love, sympathy, obedience, can never be wholly misplaced or lost Ob, for the home of the Bible, the family attar, the blessing at the meal, the sacred song, the home that Is Join ed hard to the church! Such homes are the true domestic commonwealths. From such republics . have come the men and women into the larger repub lic, winning honor In every sphere of life, devoting time, strength and mon ey to the service of God and their fel low men. LIFE'S SPRINGTIDE. ' ' By Henry T. Cope. Who satlsfleth thy mouth with good things so that thy youth Is renewed like the eagle. Pa. 103 : 8. Everywhere the leaves break forth In obedience to the calf of spring. Every where the bird song starts again; ev erywhere the flowers come out Into the sunshine. There Is no rebellion, no an archy here. - All nature Is In tune. Out of the depths of the past springs the life of the present. Slowly, Impercep tibly, all nature develops, because there Is life. There Is a new life. Each springtide marks a tide a little higher than the one before. Is there anything In man's higher, moral life that corresponds to this? Can. It be that while all nature Is In tune with the Infinite, singing his praises, and finding new life, man alone Is out of harmony? As truly as there Is a tide when life springs up ward In the woods and fields, so truly Is there a tide that reaches the depths of a man's life. , The years of youth return to nona : the elasticity goes forever from tbe step; and. yet man may renew his youth ; his finer self may come under' the power of the returning tide of life. There Is a springtide for the heart So long as hope and faith remain there is always the possibility of new . begin nings, the shedding of old leaves, the breaking Into new beauties of soul and of deed. . If there were no new beginnings how drear the prospect of living. Though we may have long ago given up the possibility of finding the fountain of eternal youth, that hope was but the' outer evidence of an eternal, inner fact There Is a fountain of .eternal youth for the heart The bead may become frosty,' but the sun shines warm one again; new hopes1 spring up, new and better ideals are born, wherever there ' la a heart turning toward love and light Is there anything more desolate than the life that seems to have settled down to perpetual winter? With some It comes before the days of youth are ended. The cynical spirit the world worn attitude, or the heart crushed by moral failure and seeming dead to all hope, lie burled beneath the snows of despair. Yet there may come, through the wonderful awakening to the fact of the everlasting, all Inclusive love, through the vision of the brooding hope and longing for new life that beats In the heart of the most high for us all, Jhere may come tne Deginning or new lire, the bursting Of the bonds of the old lethargy and the dawn of a new year for even the dreariest lives. Hope lr the only measure of age. Your years are many as your Ideals and aspirations are few. The forward, upward look, the anticipation of better things farther on, the determination, despite past failures and wanderings. to find the best, to begin again, give promise of life renewed. Lift up your heart To have fallen once Is not, must not be, the end. Begin again. Infinite love Is on your aide. Sitting In the days of gloom, never believe that there are no others. Enow that the love that makes a world so fair never meant that our hearts should ' be forever desolate. Life's winter may be long; but In the wonder of the springtide that follows all Its weari ness shall be forgotten. Joy waits for all who look up and go forward. God Is over all; he who brings again the glory to nature will restore your life. TAINTED WEALTH IS POVEBTY. By Dr. Polemus H. Swift. Many a man thinks that be la adding to his Inheritance when be is making himself poorer day by day. True, rich es consist not In what we have but In what we are, and no man can commit a wrong without wronging himself more than he wrongs anyone else. He who adds to his property by falsehood, trick ery and dishonest methods has made himself infinitely poorer than be was before, no matter what may be the re sult of his speculation. It Is a good thing to get property If It Is got hon estly, but to get property at the ex pense of manhood, Integrity, a good name, self-respect, a blunted conscience and a blighted moral nature Is the worst thing a man can do. No man can do a wrong without wronging him self more than he wrongs anyone else. A dishonest deed will mar the beauty of an honorable name, and rvhen once the Inheritance has been marred It is well-nigh Impossible to restore the gem to Its former brilliancy. EVTL IN HASTY JUDGMENT. By Bishop Fallows. This Is the short, sharp, Imperative command of the one absolute teacher of truth and righteousness. It Is a positive forbidding of a harsh, censor ious, uncharitable opinion of another and of Its expression In word or deed. It has been aald with a great show of truth that men have not only many' of the physical features of their lower re lations In their own faces but also their evil characteristics. It Is a sure sign of the lurking or open depravity of hu man nature. 'Especially in Judging of men In public life everything should be weighed. Broken hearts, unjustly ruined reputations and the unwilling ness of good men to serve In official life would then be far less frequent than now. Short Meter Sermons. Honest methods wait for honest men. v. Trials are to build us, not to break us. The truly strong never Ignore th weak. The man who dare not fall la rax to do It Heaven sees our gifts la the light of our gains. The full hand oftent goes with the empty heart It la not far from winking at sin to working for It The flame of lust quenches the pur light of love. ' . Valth for tha fiifnita la Hi. mM.. - - - mw uuujiu) hope of man. If you really have the light of the, world In your heart every one will get, i some of your sunshine.