Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Lexington wheatfield. (Lexington, Or.) 1905-19?? | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 1905)
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX3 TTTTTTTTT TTTTTi Tjhe By a. - . -- .- . CHAPTER X VI 1. (Continued.) Tit lawyer's Ill-timed attempt at i jeke save Mr. Mallett the eppertunlty he had been longing for, and ha tuned upon him almost savagely. "Be good enough to remember that tkia Is a business Interview," he said, frigidly, "and reserve your burner for a, more fitting occasion." The small, shab by creature shriveled tip at ence, and Mr. Mallett, with a show ef surface courtesy, turned to Babette. "And low madame, I think the rest of this Inter view can be carried on between us two; the presence of a third person la unnec essary, as I conclude the proofs spoken of by you are In your possession." "I must speak this once; and I nron't interrupt again," jerked In Daws. "1 am a partner In this affair I would not have taken it but on that understanding and, being a partner, I submit that you hare no right to shut me out; there fere I stay." Mr. Mallett shrugged his shoulders with an expression of utter indifference. Babette produced an envelope and took from it the small photograph of a grave which she had found In her mistress' desk. She drew out a small magnifying glass from her pocket and crossed the room to the dirty window. "Come and look," she said. Mr. Mallett did as requested, and then looked at her inquiringly. ' "Do you not see the name on the tomb?" she asked, impatiently, for she was so Impressed with the truth of her own belief that she was annoyed when others did not jump so readily to the ame conclusion as herself. Mr. Mallett bent down again In the doubtful light that found its way through the dust-grimed panes, and looked care fully at the photograph. Daws and Ba bette stood by, anxiously awaiting his answer. "I see the name 'Pauline' plainly and the last letters of the second name 'M-l-n-g.' What ttfen?" "Do you not remember that your niece's name Is Pauline, and can you not see that those letters which are blot ted out by that mark must be the first two letters of your own name? If It were not for that blot, the name would tand 'Pauline Mailing.' Can you not understand that you hold In your hand a photograph of your real niece's grave, and that this woman at Malllngford Is nothing but an adventuress?" "Great heaven!" He stood staring, first at one, then at the other, and then, in breathless amaze ment, he looked at the card In his hand. Babette felt satisfied as to the success of her coup. ' "And, if that is not enough I mean the mere name there is the date, 'May, IS .' This 'woman who has been quietly accepted as . the late baronet's Lelress first come to light In July of the ame year. It Is all quite plain." In a dazed fashion Mr. Mallett passed his hand across his forehead. He could not yet realize the position la which he stood; he could not grasp what It meant for him comfort, position, riches, splen dor, after twenty years of comparative privation. His head was in a whirl. - "Will you not sit? You look over tome, Sir Geoffrey." He started on hearing himself ad dressed by his proper name. Yes, that was just what It meant to him that he was, or would soon be, Sir Geoffrey Mal llngford, of Malllngford Park, Instead of a hard-working drawing master, doing his dally round of Instruction at so many shillings a quarter, and thinking himself fortunate If, after settling bis bills, he was able to put away a few pounds at the end of each term. He dropped into the chair placed for him by Babette, wondering If he should' wake up to find it all a . dream. He listened, without, however, gathering much of her mean ing, to the French woman's voluble ex planation. . j, 'We advertised for you day after day ' in" the Timet, but could get no answer; and I was In despair, when Providence sent you down ' to, Mallingford. Mrs. Perkins saw you and recogulzed you . as you went out, and told me who you were. How I prayed that aha was not .mistaken! I telegraphed to Mr. Daws, hud he telegraphed to you' this morning. , I made an absolute necessity of coming to town for some wedding finery;' and so here we are!" , "And now what is to be done? And am I to go down to the park and turn this woman out with a policeman, or how do you propose to proceed?" "She must not be interfered with until our proofs are all prepared," replied Mr. Daws. "My suggestion Is that Ma'm'selle Lestrange should give you the address of the man who took that photograph which, with a rare foresight, she with held from me; that you cross over to Paris by to-night's boat, and from there , make your way as quickly as you can to this place In Spain; that, when there, you get affidavits, or whatever their Spanish equivalent may be, from eye-witnesses of your niece's death, also the certificate of her death, and any other evidence that may crop up, and that on your return you place said proofs in my bands; and before a month has passed you will be in possession ot Mallingford, and ma'm'selle and I will be lingering tnat nve thou and." "I have no money to meet the ex- oenses of such a journey." "I thought of that the minute I re- calved ma'm'selle s telegram, and I rais :: VTfc's Secret, OR A BITTER RECKONING t CHARLOTTE M. BRAEMB - ....,....1L...1... ... ... t .. ............ I .d fll'ty pounds at a big sacrifice this morning. Sign this bill for seventy-five it three months, and the fifty is yours." Mr. Mallett's lip curled with contempt at the shamelses extortion. "Yeu must feel very sure of this game," he remarked, "to be so generous, ihall we call it?" Daws listened to the Innuendo with placid unconcern. "Well, I do feel sure of It, and I'll tell you why. Miss Mailing 'called upon me the very first day our advertisement f your address appeared, and she was n such an awful state of fright about it that I saw In a minute she was afraid f you for some reason or other. Put ting ffhat I observed and ma'm'selle's theory about that photo together, I con cluded that we were on the right track that your niece is dead died six years ago and this woman is nothing but an impostor." "Oh, yes, It Is sure enough," Inter posed Babette. "But let us waste no more1 time. I must get back to my fine madame, and you, Sir Geoffrey, will have to say good-by to the charming lady, your daughter, and make arrangements for your absence. Here is the address of the photographer who took the pic ture. That ends the arrangements so far as I am concerned at present; the rest remains with you and Monsieur Daws; he will let me know how you go on In your search. Good afternoon!" Daws looked after her In surprise. She had not spoken a word about the rfeed for haste if the marriage was to be prevented; he had been expecting It all through the interview, and she had gone without once Introducing the subject. Perhaps she had altered her mind; any way, that part of the business had noth ing to do with him. Once more he open ed his desk. "Here is the money, Sir Geoffrey, and here is the bill ready stamped to sign. You will send me an occasional tele gram, If you come across any news; and if you find another fifty necessary you can have it on the same terms. ' I wish you a successful search, air, and a speedy return." "I shall wire If necessary, not unless; and you may depend upon my earliest possible return." - He put his name to the bill, took up the small roll of notes, bade the lawyer good day and left the room without see ing his extended hand. "As proud aa Lucifer!" muttered Daws, not a bit abashed. "Never mind, the plainer and simpler the better." Mr. Mallett reached the noisy, bustling street and looked about him for a cab; time was getting precious, if he meant to start to-night; and he would like to do so, If possible for an intolerable rest lessness had come to him, and he felt that he could not spend a moment in peace until he knew everything. To his surprise, as be looked up and down the long street, Babette glided from the shadow of a doorway and beck oned to him. "I want to say a dozen words to yon that I do not care that . littl eman to hear," she said, as he reached her sidt. "I have only two minutes to spare, and I was afraid you would not leave in time. If you find out that your niece la dead, and that this woman Is an Im postor soon enough let me have a tele gram to1 that effect by Wednesday morn ing. I will not ask for my half of that five thousand pounds." Here was another complication. "Why by Wednesday?" asked Mr. Mallett, In surprise. "Because she Is going to marry Mr. Dornton at Bishopgate church at 11 o'clock on Wednesday next all in secret, you know and I would not only give up the money, but the best years of my life to prevent It!" , "Married to Dornton on Wednesday the very day after her birthday at a busy city church! Great heavens, what does it all mean?" asked Mr. Mallett,' In perplexity... j-v ' "It means she is fond of that young, man and will marry him in spite of ev ery one1 if you do not - prevent , .it I must fly lor my , train do what you can." ' ' ' ' " ' r He stood for a moment looking after tier retreating figure, 'tried to make out what the news meant; then gave It up Itf despair , and. bestowed , hia thoughts ex clusively on the arrangements for hid ab sence. ' .. . ' ; : CHAPTER XVIII. Sunday at Malllngford Park. - The house was full of visitors. Small attics on the top story which had never been slept in since the great doings of thirty nine years before, when the late Sir Paul came of age, were all occupied now, for Liord Summers having express ed a wish that Miss Mailing's majority should be marked by fitting festivities, that lady had thrown herself heartily Into the project. It was a close, stifling day,' and there was a faint, white mist on the park lands, and an Intense stillness In the air, which proved very trying to the majority of Miss Mailing's guests after luncheon. They sauntered out ' of the reception rooms by twos and threes, and sought the quiet of their own apartments until the ground floor looked quite deserted. ' Pauline's health was generally good; but she, too, felt a breathless languor to-day and determined to enjoy the after noon in her own rooms. She removed the gorgeous toilet which had fladdea ed the eyea of the villager! m church that morning, and replaced it by a light cashmere gown. "The last Sunday that I shall be known to the world as Miss Mailing," she mused. "Before this time next week Jack and I will be away from here, happy in each otner's society, and in die certainty that nothing on earth can ever separate us. Most young women would have numberless love tokens to destroy before their marriage; I have ab solutely nothing that I fear my hus band's seeing. Circumstances have been ngainst my cultivating lovers as aa i;uisement, and I am spared the farce of destroying the evidences of my " past foly." When she had taken two or three turns up and down the room, she stopped in front of her desk and looked at It thoughtfully. "I suppose I mav as wall destroy it." h aaid, absently. "It can do me ne good to keep it, and It might possibly do me harm In the future. That must have been In my mind all the time." She unlocked the small bronze box on the toilet table with a key that hung from a gold chain round her neck, and took from It a bunch of keys. Then drawing up a chair to the desk she un locked that also, and went alowly through the contents. She came upon one or two letters that interested her slightly and drew her thoughts away from her original purpose to search the desk, and It was not until both sides were quite empty that she discovered with a sudden heart-quaking fear the absence of that for which ahe wa searching. A look of wild despair flashed from her eyes and her breath came In short, sharp gasps, as she turned to the heaps of odds and ends which she had already gone through, with a hope that In her absence of mind she might have passed what she sought without noticing it. Her quick, nervous fingers turned over the papers until the pile had once more been thoroughly searched; and then Pau line Mailing sank back in her chair with her hand to her head and a look of de spair In her eyes. Horrible thoughts chased each other through her aching brain; and, when 5 o'clock at last struck, she had arrived at only one definite con clusion, that the person who had posses sion of the missing article and the one who had advertised for the address of Sir Geoffrey Mailing were one and the same. When she rose and relocked the desk, she was haggard and pale, and she look ed at herself wistfully in the glass; and nn Instinctive prayer went up from her heart that her beauty might not leave her until she was Jack Dornton's wife. In the midst of all that threatened her loss of name, wealth, position it was almost touching to note how this worldly woman counted everything as nothing , compared with her love for Jack. ' Lord Summers was one of the guests at Mallingford. He was staying "over the seventeenth," and the fussy, kindly old man waa slightly concerned at the existing state of affairs. He arrived only on the Saturday evening, and he was ' surprised to find Jack still at the Park. "And when are my pictures to be completed, Mr. Dornton?" he asked. This very question had been a point of disagreement between Jack and Pau line. He had wished to carry out the commission for those six pictures, and he had urgsd the unfitness of his earn ing another penny by bis painting after their marriage. So he hesitated a little before he answered. "Are you anxious to have them soon? I am anticipating a winter In Rome this year, and I should like, If possible, to devote myself while there to a close study of the old masters., But, If yqu are particular as to time, I will ' finish' your commission before I touch any other work, of course." , . "No, I don't thlnit I am exactly In a hurry, If you are not," and as his lord ship spoke he thought of the avidity with which Jack had accepted the offer when it was originally made, and his voluntary promise to complete the series by the end of the year. "So you mean to winter in Rome? he said, pleasant ly. "And how does Miss Ethel Mallett like the prospect of so long a separa tion?" Jack reddened suddenly, and he hated himself for it., ..... "I did not know you took enough In terest In my private affairs to be led into investigating them," be answered, "Nor do I. You are mistaken; . It is Miss Mallett's affairs I am Interested In. I beg you will hot credit me with Trying into your personal, affairs at all. As I have spoken on the matter, and as you seem to resent the liberty which, believe me, was not Intended as such I must explain how things are. I met an old friend of mine, with his daiigh-1 ter, at the Exhibition of the Royal Acad emy one day last season. I had known him In years past aa an enthusiast In art, and I was delighted to meet so con genial a companion." Lord Summers paused a moment, and looked carefully round the table; seeing everybody occu pied In conversation, he went on, In a slightly lowered voice. "My friend has had many reverses In life, which has ne cessitated his taking the name of 'Mr. Mallett,' and have driven him to earn a living for himself and his family by giving lessons In drawing., I see you be gin to understand now" In answer to Jack's start of surprise. "Well, we went through the rooms together and he came to a picture of yours. Miss Mallett's delight at its position on the line "Was eloquent of many things. I looked the question I did not dare to ask, and Mr. Mallett told me of the engagement be tween his daughter and you, and ex pressed his wish that she should remain In the same class of society that she had been brought up In, In answer to my suggestion that she should come to us for a season out of town. Now,, perhaps, you will understand my motive in seek ing you ont to excuse my seemingly im pertinent curiosity." ... (To be continued - m. m . t J a- r- m mm The Kind You Have Alwavs ture of Clias. II. Fletcher, and lias been made under his personal supervision for over 30 years. Allow no one to deceive you in this. Counterfeits, Imitations and Just-as-gnod " are but Experiments, and endanper tho health of Children Experience against Experiment. What is CASTOR I A Castoria is a harmless substitute for Castor Oil, Pare goric, Drops and Soothintr Syrups. It is Pleasant. It contains neither Opium, Morphine nor other Narcotl substance. Its afro is its guarantee. It destroys "Worms and allays Fcverishncss. It cures Diarrhoea and Wind Colic. It relieves Tccthii.fr Troubles, cures Constipation and Flatulency. It assimilates tho Food, regulates the Stomach and Dowels, giving healthy and natural sleep. The Children's Panacea Tho Mother's Friend. The Kind You Have Always Bought Bears the In Use For THI eiHTAUn OOMMNT. TT Lincoln the Farmer. Matters toon reached a crisis which drove the Junior partner out into the fields again, where- he undertook all sorts of rough farm labor, from split ting raila to plowing. As a man-of-all work, however, Lincoln did not prove altogether satisfactory to his employers, He was too fond of mounting stumps in the field and "practicing polemics" on the other farm hands, and there was something uncomfortable about a plow man who read as he followed the team, no matter how straight his furrows ran. Such practices were irritating, if not presumptuous, and there is a well known story about a farmer who found "the hired man" lying in a field be side the road, dressed in his not too immaculate farm clothes, with a book instead of a pitchfork in his hand. "What are you reading?" inquired the old gentleman. "I'm mt reading; I'm studying," answered Lincoln his wonderful eyes still on the pages of his book. "Studying what?" "Law sir." The old man stared at the speaker for a moment in utter amaxment. "Great God Almighty!" he mut tered as he passed on shaking his head. From Frederick Tievor Hill's "Lin coln the Lawyer" in the January Cen tury. Aa Early Reformer. "I am looking," said Diogenes, "for an honest man." "And when you find him, what are you going to do?" "S-shI I'm not going to find him. That would spoil the joke." Washing ton Star. MEUMATIS BODY RACKED WITH PAIN No other bodily suffering is equal to that produced by the pain of Rhettt tnatism. When the poisons and acids, which cause this disease, become in trenched in the blood there is hardly any part of the body that is not af fected. The muscles become sore and drawn, the nerves twitch and sting, the joints inflame and swell, the bones ache, every movement is one oj agony, and the entire body is racked with pain. Rheumatism is brought on by indigestion, stomach troubles, torpid Liver, weak Kidneys and a general inactive state of the system. The refuse matter instead of passing off through, nature's avenues is left to sour and form uric acid, and other acrid, poisons which are absorbed into the blood. Rheumatism does not affect tui nunc, in some cases it lanes a wandering form ; it may be in the arms or legs one day and in the Bhoulders, feet, hands, back or other parts of the body the next. Others suffer more seriously, and are never free from pain. The uric acid and other irritating substances find odge - ment in the muscles and joints and as these deposits increase the mo. eta 'become stiff and the joints locked and immovable. It matters faot m what form the disease may be' tne Cause is always the same a sour, acid condition of the blood. This vital stream lias lost its purity and freshness, and instead of nourish ing and feeding the different parts with health-giving properties, it fills them with the acids and salts of this painful and far-reaching disease. The cold and dampness of Winter always intensify the pains of Rheumatism, and the sufferer to get relief from the agony, rubs the affected parts with liniments, oils, lotions, etc., or uses Plasters and other home remedies. These are desirable because they give temporary ease and comfort but have no effect on the real trouble which is in me Diooa ana Deyona we reacn ot such PURELY VEGETABLE. ro 1 M excited tierves, reduces the inflammation, dissolves the deposits in the joints relieves all pain and completely cures this distressing disease. S. S. S. is a certain cure for Rheumatism in any form ; Muscular, Inflammatory, Articu. lar or Sciatic. Special book on the disease and any medical advice without charge, to all who write. JjJ SWIFT SPECIFIC CO.. ATLANTA. GaI Itouirht lias borne the sitrna- Signature of Over 30 Years. MUMMY THirr, NtWVOKII OITV. Past ncaaacltaUon. In the days of the first settlers In the) Chickasaw country, when Davy Crock ett still frequented the IJIjr II a toll I e, "Old Man Glddlns" was a prosperous citizen of the Forked leer settlement. One day be started on a trip to Ar kansas, and thenceforth for several years Forked iJeer knew hjra no more. As travel In Arkansas was danger ous, and ns nothing was heard of Gld dlns, be was officially declared dead by the court, and bis estate divided among his heirs. A year or so later, however, he turned up, and tried t get possession of bis property again. He was promptly seized and taken Into court. "What do you mean by coming round here, trying to take this proper ty?" roared the court at him. "It's my property," asserted Old dins. "Everybody knows It's mine." "Not at all!" replied the Judge. "I'll admit your case seems a hard one, but It can't be helped now. This court has decided that you are extinetus de functus, which Is Latin for dead. Thla court cannot err. Dead you are. If you want any property round here you must take another name and set to work to earn It. Mr. Sheriff, adjoura this court, and we will all go and see that wrestling match you spoke of." Mara More to the Point. "Ef yer real Interested," said Deacea Skinner, "I'll tell ye what I want fur thet horse." "Oh, I wouldn't be interested In know in' thet," replied Farmer Shrnde, "but I wouldn't mind knowiii' what ye'd take." Philadelphia Ledger. A Vnfc AM..- -r i a attack of Rheumatism end could not work with any satisfaction. My legs were badly swollen and drawn so I could soaroely walk. J tried many rem. edies but could ret no reliet. I was fin ally recommended to try S. S. S. and it soon cured me sound and well. I am now 74 years old and have never had ' " " " ' , Box 10JSEPH rE0ME HAAWLE Box 104- Auror' I1L and between my shoulders was so in- u"A.?oul2 1 IS! or. "p. d everything' but nothing: did me any srood till I heard of and took S. S. S. This moaicine ourea me sound and well, It purified my blood and made me feel Ilka . a new man. CONRAD LOHB, Anderson, Ind. 123 E. 19th St. treatment. S. S. S. is the best rem edy for Rheumatism, It goes into the blood and attacks the disease at its head,' and by neutralizing and driving out the acids and building-up the thin, sour blood it cures the disease permanently. While cleansing the blood S. S. S. tones up the stomach, digestion and every other part of the svstpm cnnttia v,i M X