The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1870-04-08
Lost in The Post-0ffice,
BY uEsBA sTRETToN.
ICOntinued.l

III IL cOulu Only 10 louuu o"o'
over and over again, to myself. AS soon
as the solicitor was gone, went up
stairs to my mothers usual sitting-room.
NV father had that morning been pro-
nouced we'll eHough to leave his room
for few heurs, and he was sitting in an
easy.c chair near the fire, with o faint
smile upon his sunken face, which grew
stronger when he saw me. 1t was a
little brightness in the deepening gloom
closing around me, and / forced smile
to my own lips.
"AIl going on we'll down Stairs, Har-
ryp He said.
'"Why not 7" l answered evasively,
"why mott The work is simple enough
He was easily satisfied about that, but
not SO easily ABOUT myself What had
/ been over to Mr.. Talbot about What
made me look so pale and anxious
Was there any GOODNESS between Katie
and mel
"She is a girl of my own heart" said
my father, warmly, perfect treasure.
Don't you let her slip through your
fingers, Harry. By the by, now we are
alone, tell ME how poor Lawrence made
his will, and what he has done for Katie,
something handsome, hope! Your
mother would not let me speak about it.,
for fear of excitement"
Ihesitated for moment but so briefly
that he did not notice it.
"The will cannot be found" j said.
Not found ~ he repeated.
eyes" i continued, hurriedly. "but
every search is being made for it.
Shape is positive that there was will
executed few months ago, but all he
knows of its contents is, that you and
Mr.. Grey are the executors"
'Poor Lawrence sighed my father.
fDo YOU think they have searched his
laboratory wellf 1t is not unlikely lie
would deposit it there, III his cabinet:
Tell them to leave no corner uusearchod
IN the laboratory"
promised to do so, and made haste to
get away. In the drawing-room l
found Katie, in her mourning dress and
bonnet, come in to 60 walk with my
sisters, who luckily had just started off
before her arrival. She advanced to
meet me with both her hands stretc he'd
ont, and with her usual frank, pleasant,
calm smile upon her face. There was
no one there, and l stopped down to kiss
her, feeling myself an unhappy guilty
wretch, as if were the culprit, and I'M
worthy to lay my lips upon her smooth
fair forehead, which grew rosy with my
kiss.
"Harrym she murmured in tone of
IemonstraRce.
81 am so miserable, Katie" said Il;
and on the instant resolved to lay be-
fore her my position, to exaggerate it
even, to paint in the BLACKLIST colors;
and then to make it plain to her that,
could the will be found, all might yet be
explained away, and smoothed over,
without any public exposure. did my
best, and acquitted myself so we'll that
she shed torrents OF tears, her head
resting upon my shoulder; but not q
syllable did she utter which in the
slightest degree limited or betrayed that
she had any knowledge of the missing
will.
katie" I said, when l had exhaust
ed all my eloquence, "you understand
that no one now will come into posses
sion of your uncle's propertyp
"No one % she cried, lifting up her
head, and lookiBg earnestly in my face.
al thought, there was no viii, my
father would have everything. You
said be was heir-at-law, and should be
s great heiress. 1t will not signify if you
do lose your situation, Harry; shall
have enough for US both; and, if every
one in the world thought you guilty, l
should know you were innocent"
"But it will be thrown into Chancery
instead of coming to any body" / said, a
cold, hard feeling towards her creeping
over me.
"But Chancery could do nothing. af-
ter all, but give the landed property to
my father" she persisted; "there can be
no nearer heir, aud if the will is lost, il
Is the same as there being no will,-if
Chancery has any seuse," she added,
. half gayIy.
Very heavily indeed grew my heart.
attempted again to impress upon her
the position in which her father, her
self, and all the relatives stood; but she
either could not understand it, or would
not believe it. Ii it came to the worst,
she answered, they would all agree TO
some arrangement for the division of
the property, and her father, being the
eldest, and tho heir-at-law, would re-
ceive the largest share. She would be
an hsiress, and why need l fret my
self about q paltry place in the POST
Office
could not, for the very life of me,
look her in the face and say, "Katie, is
1t possible that you were over-tempted,
and took the willf Yet l could not
shake off the growing conviction that
this was the truth. l despair of con-
veying to you the hundredth part of
the maddening conflict of my feelings
during the next few weeks,-my love
for Kate Lawrence, my disappointment,
my strong desire to believe her limo.