The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-06-27 00:00:00

SATURDAY, JUNE 274 1885._

. LALL MOIITS RESERVED. j
STRIVE AND THRIVE.

__•___
CHAPTER xxvm.

'ls ika A CEASE.
be r. Belmont's attentions to Miss Mink had not
t„en,sufneiently marked to justify the inference which
bala *Cann in common with many other people,
• shafdrawn, they certainly did not fall much short of
, Poiat. His intimacy with the family had gradu-
Qv:l:eased, and step by step he had become in-
in so many semi-confidential relations with
'hTaada, that he probably would not have felt at
ertY to recede from the delicate " entanglement "
Which he had been drawn, even if he had desired
10/I°3 to do. Having gone so far, there was an implied
B.tion upon him to go further, and the momentous
ta,P Which he was thus forced to contemplate he cer-
• I,IIIY did not regard with repugnance.
• e well knew that he had no strong attachment for
hlink, and lie believed that the only being
Is
11° could have aroused his torpid heart to its full
teity for deep and passionate love, was lost to him
, h°: ever, through his own folly and blindness. But
ap"s interested in Miranda ; she seemed to him
lie amiable, amiable, and affectionate; and he believed
fitted to adorn the station which, as his wife, she
°aid be called to fill.
U
lafortunately, when Miss SibbaAd's messenger,
16,,gh Al`Cann, who was no Mercury in his move-
set out in search of his master, that gentleman
4:04s absent from his hotel, nor had they left any clue
,this whereabouts.
'hen Hugh had learned thus much, and had re-
liVed that-it was too early in the day for him to be
iolonel Mink's, he started forth to look for him,
BPent nearly an hour in the search, before he
•em` impressed im ressed with a sense of its utter useless-
,a.
‘ehlale then returned to the hotel, where, to his
kagri _n, he learnt that Mr. Belmont had been in,
I ' nad again gone out, during his fruitless search
Ll4' ugh now did what he ought in the first place to
done—he remained in Howard's room, and
Veatly awaited his return, watching for him at the
„.tae time from one of the windows. He believed lie
o"°ald not be long absent, for his writing desk was
,ten and covered with papers, and Carl was lying
:s7,leeP beside it.
If the dumb brute could only spa,ke, now !" said
s Oh, whose anxiety became intense as he saw that
17e clo
ck indicated nearly half-past eleven. "Where
' the rnasther, Carl, eh?"
tilliat the dog replied only by beating a "tattoo" on
. e floor with his tail, and the Irishman began
r,
,
t d'lls'Y contemplating running down to the ship,
lail„La'sking the captain to "hould on" for another
0„-',• He might leave the "bit o' paper," he thought,
teoeLlmont's desk, and he did not doubt that it would
fro ne whole story. But a little reflection saved Hugh
tl,zialh this second blunder, and after another quarter of
suspense, he heard the welcome step of his
on the stairs. He rushed out to meet him,
elit., thrusting Miss Sibbald's card into his hands, lie
Read it quick, now, or yell be too late."
t ‘‘;Why, what's this, Hugh! This is nothing that I
41,0terested in. This is the card of Miss Grace
h 'aid, a very pretty name; but one that I never
eard before."
urn. it over, then. It's on the other side."
:40Ward complied and read—
lsesteamship Bolivar, foot of Chambers-street,
kilo River—twelve o'clock to-day.' Here is some
s'yke• This is not meant for me.'
4 ssa't Miss Wallyworth in it?"
qtaliss Walworth ! no! What do you mean? Speak
you stupid fellow!"
riot .e. now disconcerted Hugh replied quickly, but
With increased precision_
tha4tlt's herself that's in it, sure, and the little brother
Was drownded with her. They're both on that
there, and they'll be afther bein' in the East
tares while ye're standing her. It sails in ten
:lutes?,
opLRI,III for a hack, then! you'll find them just
Itta`:'Stte:' said Howard, and he himself ran down-
teirs
s., ahead of his servant, and did not abate his
e„rcq, until, side by side with Hugh, he reached the
riage stand.
sal‘;4llY of them !" he said. "Here, this!" him-
thagh°l3le,a, ing one, and springing in. "Jump in,
4:ls it inside I'll git ?" asked Hugh, hesitating.
be; 17e-3—yes—quick now! To the foot of Cham-
Bovs-street, driver! The steamship Bolivar! and a
ae,iel'eign for you if you get us there in time. The
4 11t.,„el 'may not be punctual," he continued to Hugh,
tail ~.7gh I believe these steamships usually are. Now,,
Ilrh,,Te all about it, Hugh. Where did you meet her?
la4",' message did she send, and was her—her
tfuand with her ? "
by ?Ward's air, although betraying some agitation,
rearh° means evinced a joyous excitement. He was
ore
It ..7 anxious, indeed, to see the beautiful girl once
,
tlths Wnose image had so long haunted his memory,
paihs;agh he did not doubt the interview must be a
/VII one to him.
ter tiligh told his brief story as lucidly as was possible
againul'',,,and at the close of it Belmont asked him
Of It-ill- 4 "as her husband with her? And what kind
111
to the ,asn, t with her at all. Perhaps he'd gone on
a if: till) ahead iv 'em."
'n't possible that he is going with her to
~ if he is a man of business; but I should
the'"'e ne would at least see her embark. What did
Jitter ladies call her? Mrs, what?"
atiBshst Edy, sir; nothin' else, barrin' I called her
that I.VlValYworth myself siveral times, s'een I forgot
e
a L , Was married."
a Zna didn't she correct you ?"
)3 •";ot at aim,
Ntelraont thought he had never seen the streets so
lisi6l.lll eted before. Every conceivable variety of
la ciei„,,l.e seemed to be in his way, and he looked out
Arev:Pair upon the wedged and slow mass which
eress'llted his hackman from reaching even the nearest
el,Do street, and getting out of "the jam." The two
Aoliesing curients came to a dead lock, which the
totAlllea, who flitted busily about amidst it, vainly
wi.t for many minutes to disentangle.
Wen the mass began again slowly to move, the
tho6er,lll,tY was still extreme, and but for a lucky
ilta-but of Hugh, several additional minutes would
, e been lost.
rts‘64 You've ary a dollar for him now," said the Irish-
caw' Pointing to the policeman who stood nearest the
drivlearg'..e, and who was beckoning to the docile s and stage-
indicating their several courses, "he'll
.4 ns through."
ha ag on this hint, Belmont called the man to
ttiet-le, and slipping some silver into his hand, he
14,,PraY, my friend, make a passage for me into
laY-street without delay! My business is most
teat,'
111
th, e man closed his hand upon the money without
kV, and stepped in front of the carriage, making a
111 ~'lgns to the watchful drivers, yet scarcely utter-
Word of command to any. Difficulties vanished
(llte'rallY now, and the beleaguered carriage, thus
githoally piloted, soon emerged into the cross street,
Daaj llgh not until the clock on the City Hall had
Ited the hour of twelve.
Are, W,as, of course, a few minutes later when it ap-
Ve44_,,ed the river, and Howard's forebodings were
kgez.e bY the answers which he received to his first
t, 1:-riquiries for the Bolivar.
s t/oe'a off, Sir!"
'S l? long has she been gone?"
I, 44, a ,e s been lying off in the stream these two hours,
' toe, till`:1 her 'wheels are just beginning to move. There
Ttlier Parting gun, now."
4144 11: enough; Howard saw the smoke and flash,
b 114 t .started at the reverberating roar.
3' s aspired with sudden resolution, and impelled
tia °ale ,ers, t uch energy as that which, in this very
liras W° years before, had made him a hero, he
laa,:sg f
-.re r°ol his carriage and ran to the end of the
Nlri St pier'
where
t clegtl
i' rb he, N:
te. watermen, who had been
t I IO :ia
thei a fewshpand shore, were yet lingering
-11 e. eg! to the Bolivar," he said, springing into
tti4 It's t,,,
late," said the gaping man; "she's
Iv:4
oh 4t to inatter--we'll try! Be active, now, if you
1 0al;';1r11 a day's wages in ten minutes. I'll take
110'4 the
h. Del, two men bent earnestly to their seemingly
1,14„ It 4 sssilalk, Iluab, who having followed closely on
t'ate(rts heels, now stood amazed on the dock,
ort , 'Veal •
4, aer t git carried off, masther, as sure as ye set fut
411 e p (ape her off, I tell yeas, or ye'll have to go
- N._ :st. inaees.”
'etttie V r tear, Hugh," Belmont called back.
I> 101,tae,k with the pilot outside the Hook." . =
b1t1,4 taitisde the hook? It's outside his sinses he is,
Egie,,a4ll,:tl'," muttered Hugh. " Ali, may the saints
i.„ - 'am from ever gittin' on board, at all, at
14 ''' titre cr
_.,
the , i" not seem much danger of Howard's reach-
'et e,ssel, for although she mbved but slowly at
was nearly in the middle of the wide
SP the each revolution of the wheels seemed faster
th,lago6 P, receding one. Of course the oarsmen took
sajao44 direction down the river, and by dint of
easea laborious efforts (in which the waterman
L67)desi I`:.hianself outdone by his passenger), they suc-
getting a good offing before the puffing
lagals avealae abreast of them.
t,,,,, ha,4,„as their only chanc'e, and Howard, who had
15 id „ic`ilerellief ready tied to the handle of his oar,
t54,(1,1d so.Wllng it high in the air, shouting loudly as
ht atm hi.,,,, Some commotion about the pilot-house
ltee ae,',`" With hope that he was observed, and he
taetteased'onbled his cries, and waved his signal with
St tsWheeriaPiditY, when, to his unspeakable joy, the
'itti,,'gain ;,...ceased to revolve, and, dropping to his
a;.sliast'J'aned the boatman in urging forward their
13$1-411;,a.t.het an impudent thing to do,"she "said,
toas'aaa sasooand no doubt they think they are hailed
fbr,,,,,t,,BB4lgeerr of the law, or perhaps by some dila-
, __,,d
eilf;,:uesci
no .. e the captain is. a good-natured
hi 'tic)t I shall
tilsihgiost_safileelliv:eoPriabbeoaabride, to pacify chiafvyinhgim:
succeeded
l'eace with the incensed pilot (the cap-
, al h, propitiation), he at once proceeded to
~.
1 6, t
''''' search of Eda.

66 1,1.1

CHAPTER XXIX.
EXPLANATIONS.

EDA had of course entirely abandoned the hope of
seeing Howard, and she had come sadly to the con-
clusion that it was better for her peace of mind that
they should not meet. Yet she would have been glad
for her father's sake, to see him, for she knew that it
would gratify him to hear from so valued a friend.
The Misses Sibbald had left her about half an hour
prior to the sailing of the ship, having gone ashore in
a tug which had brought off a number of the
passengers, and she had soon afterwards gone below,
not a little depressed in spirit, despite the prospect of
a speedy reunion with her beloved parent.
As the weather was fine, and nearly- all of the few
passengers were on deck, Miss Walworth had no
difficulty in finding the quietude and retirement which
she longed for, without confining herself to her narrow
state-room.
She and Frank were quite alone in one end of the
principal cabin when Belmont approached them, and
so little did she imagine the possibility of such a
visitor now, that she did not look up at the new-
comer until he almost stood at her side and his voice
sounded in her ears—
" Eda !11
Mr. Belmont!"

Astonished beyond measure, yet more delighted
than astonished, and more embarrassed than either,
the beautiful girl, with fast mantling blushes, ex-
tended her hand to meet that of her friend. Nor
was Howard quite self-possessed. Absorbed in ad-
miration, and stung by regrets, he hesitated in what
terms to address the lady, whose charms, one glance
sufficed to tell him, had even more than fulfilled the
bright promises of her girlhood, when Eda herself
took the initiative, and said—
"I am ashamed to have sent for you, Mr. Belmont,
though I was assured that I ought to do so, and I
thought it would give papa so great pleasure."
"I should never have forgiven you if you had not,"
replied Howard, interrupting her; "I have sought
long and diligently for your father and you."
"But I fear I have put you to very great incon-
venience. I know it must be so," she added, with
an anxious look; "and besides, how are you to get
off again, since the ship has already started on its
voyage ? "
"Oh, I shall go off with the pilot some two hours
hence," replied Howard, gaily. "Never fear for me;
and now, before I say more, will you please to tell me
by what name I am to address you, for although I
have heard, it has escaped my memory."
"Is it possible that you have forgotten? Eda
Walworth."

" Oh, I had not forgotten that, but it is your new
name I ask for, Ma."
Edo, looked bewildered for a moment, and then
said—
"I have no other name."

6, Are you not married, then?"
Colouring deeply, Miss Walworth replied in the
negative; and Howard, with a surprised and pleased
look, added—
"I really beg your pardon, but I thought my in-
formation quite authentic on this point. I may still
call you Miss, then, without fear of offence."
Belmont at once proceeded to inquire particularly
about Mr. Walworth's health, and an animated con-
versation of many minutes ensued, during which each
party had many questions to ask and answer; while
Frank, who had gradually edged nearer to the
stranger, with some vague sense of recognition, soon
engaged a share of his attention.
In response to Howard's earnest yet delicately-
worded inquiries, Miss Walworth was led to relate
most of the important events of her life, during the
two preceding years; and if she had been disposed
to disguise the poverty to which her father had been
reduced, there was one circumstance which forbade
its concealment.

She wore neither watch nor jewellery, and it was
certainly due to the friend who had bestowed these
costly presents upon her, to explain their absence
from her person.
"I know," she said, when she had spoken of the
necessity which had compelled them to accept a home
with their relations in the country, "I know that you
will give me credit for not having parted with your
gifts, excepting in a real emergency. There were no
other available means to enable papa to go south, and
—and we only pledged—we did not sell them."
Although Eda tried to touch lightly on these
topics, her eyes moistened as she spoke of them, and
she turned her head aside.

"But may I ask why it was, since you are going to
join your father in Jamaica, that you did not rather
accompany him there? It can scarcely be two
months since he went."
" Franky and I did not go with him, because all
the money that we raised was .barely sufficient for
him alone, and he was able to leave us only a few
dollars. Why we are going now I will tell you and
in doing so I come to the most wonderful, indeed the
only truly wonderful part of my story. First, how-
ever, I must tell you why I left my uncle's and came
to New York, and some of the incidents which befell
me by the way."
Succinctly, yet graphically, did Eda narrate the
various facts with which the reader is already fami-
liar, pausing at times to choke down the emotion
which impeded her utterance, and brought the now
unheeded tears into her eyes.
"Poor dear child!" exclaimed Howard, involun-
tarily, as she paused at that part of her narrative
where, after having suffered so many wrongs and
cruelties, she stood alone in the streets of the great
city, not daring to look at or accost a fellow-being,
lest she should draw some fresh indignity upon her.
"Poor dear child! Surely Heaven must have
some blessings in store for thee, in compensation for
such sufferings as these!"
Eda soon subdued her emotion, and resumed her
narrative.
It grew brighter-coloured now; and, as she painted
the cordial reception which she met with from the
Misses Sibbald, and their prompt and generous aid,
Belmont found himself sympathising as fully with
her joys as he had with her distress, and inwardly
blessing the hospitable friends who had given her
shelter and relief.
"Let me remind you here," resumed Eda, "that
my father must be kept ignorant of what I have
undergone, for I know how deeply a knowledge of it
would pain him. If, therefore, you should write to
him, please not to allude to these things."
Howard's schooled yet sensitive heart had felt the
fascination of Eda's charms even in that season of
her comparative childhood when they had first met,
and during his years of absence, as we have seen,
pleasant memories of her had often regaled his soli-
tary hours; but never had she seemed so lovely to him
as at this moment, when not only the full light of her
beauty, but all the purity and sweetness of her cha-
racter were revealed to him.
Such a picture of filial and sisterly love, constant
to its unselfish purposes, through trials which might
have shaken the sternest heart, and sedulous now
only to prevent the knowledge of those sufferings
from reaching the loved parent in whose behalf they
had been endured, seemed to him something far
above and beyond all ordinary attainments in human
excellence.