The weekly standard., 1870-08-17

AS inc last ecno dleQ away, Slauceo
again at the will. In the act of doing SO,
and STOPPING my head for the purpose, 1
suddenly fell heavily forward, with crash
ing sound in my ears. A blow had been
dealt from behind, by an unseen hand, and
under the force of it dropped, bleeding
and senseless.
More than week had elapsed before the
sense of life returned 10 me-. was in my
own bed, and Bridget's kindly face was
bending over me. Pain rackcd my brow,
and was conscious OF having suffered in
tensely. It was some before | was permit.
ted to ask questions, or to receive informa-
ton as 70 what had happened At length
Briget gratifcd my curiosity to SOM *
tent
She informed me that my patron, Rodney
Gauntlet, had died on the night To which l
have alluded, at three minutes TO two, us
nearly as Bridget could calculate, she being
then the only person in the house except
myself. Her reason for fixing the hour was
that at three minutes to two-thc time ut
which the house clock gave warning she,
being startled by strange nois'', had got
into his room only to find him dead in his
chair While there a sound overhead APP
prised her cf my fall, at the same moment
St. Paul's struck two. On rushing up stairs
she found me on the floor where | had fal-
len, as she supposed, in hurryiny to the
sick mans aid, and with tine back of my
kthead bleeding.
2sAt this stage interrupted her with two
questions of the utmost nomcnt g me.
son in the house besides oursclvrsH She was
quite certain. Did she observe anything
peculiar about the Japencsc cabinet or see
any paper on the floor! No.
Three answers startled me-. 1t Was hard
to believe that had been dreaming, and
vet was it not more probable than That all
of which seemed to have a remembrance
should really have happened? The nppa
rition, the will, the enormous fortune, the
| disclosure of my relationship to Gauntlet,
| the brutal attack by which was ovcrp"w
ered-who would believe in the rality OF
these things? How could believe IN the
reality of them myself9 1t was well nigh
| impossible yet it had all been So real, 50
terribly real, to me that l could not f"reso
belief in it withouta struggle.
However, l kept my own counsel. said
| nothing TO Bridget, nothing to the doctor
| when he came. In time l formed this further
resolution-I would say nothing unless my
| impression received confirmation through
| subsequent events On such confirmation
| did they receivc-it was very startling
! one. When Rodney Gauntletts will came
| to be read, il was found that his fortune eX-
ceeded all belief. He had been money grub
bing and speculating all his life, bui no one
suspected that he had died worth three
millions of money His will disclosed that
fact for the first time When l heard tht
words tainted Here was coyroboratior
of what had discovered in my dream, ol
whatever it was, so strong that It utterl!
oyerpowerei me- Unless had read it il
the paper took from the Japanese cabinet
how could | have thought of that sum
Such thing was beyond coincidcncc ane
when came to myself | eagerly demanded
sight of the WILL 1t was handed To me
and one glance dispelled my illusions. L
was not written on the paper had seen
and it contained no mention Of my relation
shin to the tcstator. My name was there
but only ior an annuity Of three hundred
pounds Tor life. The bulk OF the vast for
rune was left in other ways, very larg
slice falling to the share of the man detes
ted and rejected, Hugh Dinsdale.
Time passed on l had quilted the OLE
house. All l had related had become /
thing of memory Bridget was dead. Hugl
Dinsdale had gone, | knew not where, t.
the Indies, had heard, but neither knew
nor cared. l was receiving my annuity, an,
enioying a simple country life, over whicl
the shadows of the past fell lightly. In tn
process of time had almost persuaded my
self out of the reality of what ! had lon!
TO me. ,,,,,, ,r,iL
T;red and anxious to reach my cottage Ut
fore dark. took short cut through nei
aJ;o;ninG a farm. In that field were seVefa
stacks of hay and corn, and as l passed 'heI
saw that group OF persons, eVldehti
from the farm itself, were bending over sou
object living upon the ground. MY cnriosi
vs. nronscd As they moved aside, on n
drawing near, I saw that 1t was a man W, WI
was the object OF their attention; d squai
; man in the rags Of a hegsar. lie was
! haggard starving. yet l cou'o no' iii's'"'
< sHuah Dinsdale ~ exclaimed aloud:
!. He shuddered as he lay, then looked
i feebly shading his eyes with tremulo
n hand Too weak to speak aloud, 1t "
S only bv drawing my car toward MS mou
= that he could make me understand what
had to say. 1t took this form:
y "Ju.ia Gauntlet, for that Is your II
g rirht name, l robbed you of all. ana II
c, Yes yes. 10 need to hide it now. L HI
cnnntlctt'sla last will was hidden III that c
a :aa. i,nn,. il from the past knew its p
mort and strovc to make you mine IN {
spouence Had you consented, VIC Slio
have shared the old mans millions, you
le You rejected me and l had recours
nn n,bor means TO get the latter will destro.
lie, so that might benefit by former VIII,
,m der hich l was entitled. was IN .,iI ~. Nv
lie when he died, his life was shortened py
ed means. passed from his. room 10 y.
lat when l had made sure OF the ola WIN
so left me 50 much came upon you as
ch. read the will you had found, the true
in wI,jch he had acknowledged you as
ing child. and left you all. 1t was VINO ST
Won down and secured that paper. s
as 70 Won that this is the truth"
ed. "But tell me- cried, what do you
yes, of nv fathers motive in disowning me,
gle of my mother
ern Nothing
lin "And this other will Z" a.
"Destroyed. Consumed in the liam
der The fortune can never bey yours" :.
These were the last words, spoken WIZ
ace. stiffenng lips, and they were true.
row out the will it was impossible tor me !, tt
Ind. one penny more of my fathers prlncGl
is 2" tune than now enjoy. The wealth n
the designed recompcnse for the wrong = J
va done me. Heaven knows why, had u
away into other channels and coula
the be recovered. had held the rignt 70
tim three minutes only, from the molneh.
Bch7 deald. thatin which he had apPearea
and ui1til the Williams hand had snatched II
Ida Only for three minutes out OF wnol' @
pur- time: but during that space my ihcoi
sked ceeded that of any potentate In the VIC
IS in Itwos at the rate of million m'nut
F the
ped. rboro are urofc,
';nc1 destroycrs of vcrmln who contract
month or quarter to remove rats, mi