The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1872-07-12
Fodder opened his ewes widely


on the other hand. it wouldn't do me any good
II you were TO kill Clara Aymar.'
But there IL way, Luke. of undoing that
marriage
Pedder started toward his sister, as if cleo
trifed
DO you mean it p he demanded.
mean 1t, and swear it I'll never con-
sent to that girls having Hawley! I'll dig a
gulf between them AZ broad as the ocean !
III undo that marriage, or die 2
Softly Where is Kate?'
He referred to their single servant.
She's out for the day, answered Miss Ped
der, arising and planting herself in chair
expect you home until dinner
Then no one will hear u.s..
He drew chair nearer to that of his sister
and sat down beside her.
WHAT'S your idea 2 he asked in a whisper.
My idea is TO separate them; to turn their
love 10 hate To dig pit beneath their feet
that Will remain open forever
But how p
Will. Hawley is poor, isn't he ?
Certainly; there is no mistake about that.
His mother was a helpless invalid for the last
ten years of her life. and Will. insisted on her
using for her comfort every penny he earned
Ii hasn't been Six months since he was relieved
of that burden. He's poor, therefore, as you
say-poor as Jobs turkey!
Then hell have TO leave his darling Clara,
sneered Miss Pedder venemously. He'll
have to absent himself from his deary in order
to earn their mutual bread and butter. In
short. he'll have TO go to sea again I?
Wen, yes l suppose he will, assented
Pedder. He can get better wages at sea
than elsewhere. He'll sail again soon, no
doubt
thought as much. And the sea is full of
terrible dangers When do you sail again for
Australian
In about two weeks-possibly in ten days,
as the ship & filling up rapidly
Hawley is thoroughly competent to be your
first mate?'
Pedder looked wonderingly at his sister a
moment, and then answered
OF course. know Of no better man for the
post
He must be your first mate, then. You have
influence enough with your owners, hope, to
turn out the present incumbent 2
Why, the post is already vacant. MIR. Jar
ding-you have seen him-Mr. Jarding has
just been called home suddenly to Ohio, on
account of his fathers illness
Good! That's fortunate. You must rec
ommend Hawley for the vacant place to your
owners and get them to engage him. The
thing can be done?
Without the least doubt. 1t was under
stood, you know, az l just now remarked,
that l was to help Hawey at the first oppor
tunity. Well accordingly suppose that he
What them
You must leave him-not dead, but pris-
oner-on some desert island between here and
Australia =
Pedder looked his establishment.
If it can be done, he said, after pause,
what next
You must come back and report that he is
dead, furnishing full details and good proofs.
Those details and proofs will not be difficult
to manufacture. Then you must be all kind
ness and sympathy to the young widow, as she
will suppose herself to be, and in less than
year thereafter she will be your wife,
Oh, if this thing were possible y sighed
Pedder beginning TO look relieved.
Possible? It's as simple a. kissing. And
the moment YOU are married to Clara. will
take a trip to Australia for my health, and
naturally enough, stumble upon the very ISL
and where you have left Hawley effect his
rescue: tell him his wife is dead condole and
sympathiZe with him like an angel and con-
clude the whole comedy by becoming Lis wife
and settling in Australia You'll thus have
your Clara, on this side Of the ocean, and |
shall be happy with Hawlev on the other.
She was smiling now, with every sign of an
ticipated triumph.
As to Pedder. he twisted nervously in his
chair. scarcely venturing to breathe.
There's just one difficulty, he muttered-
that of getting Hawley on the desert island
without his suspecting anything.
1t can be done, and the lips Of Miss Ped
der came together like the Jaws of a wise.
There's no difficulty about finding suitable
island z?
Not the least. l saw the island in my minds
eye the moment you uttered the word, and
glorious one II lis for our purpose.
1t Will be easy for you to get Hawley upon
it, suggested Miss Pedder thoughtfully. : If
it's near your route, you can call there for
water. If it's out OF your way, YOU can be
hlOVVn there nv or he cd
there by unknown currents, or fetch up there
by a mistake in your reckoning or a fault In
your chronometer. And once there, you can
have Hawley seized by some trusty agent,
while he Is ashore upon business, or you can
send HIM ashore under some pretense such az
looking for deserter from the ship or for a
shipwrecked sailor, and then sail away without
him
Say no more, interrupted Pedder, with wild
eXultation. / see how to manage the affair
from its beginning to its end.
And you now see that we can undo that
hateful marriage?
Perfectly-perfectly The air will require
little time and patience, OF course, and
little expenditure of money. but we are sure 10
triumph. Capital! gloriousl What load you
have taken from my soul, Ruth What genius
you are!
He leaped to his feet and began pacing to and
fro rapidly, with the most extravagant signs
ana ORGANIZATIONS OF Joy.
First TO get Hawley on his island resumed
Miss Pedder musingly. Next for you to marry
the pretended widow. Then for me to rescue
the prisoner and marry him. And finally for
you and me TO be happy, you in your way and
/ in mine-you with Clara in New York, and l
with viii. in Australia. You comprehend the
whole project clearly;
From the first step to the last. There's only
just one possibility of failure
And that onei'
A refusal on Hawley's part to accept the
post offered him-a refusal based upon his
marriage
Miss Pedder turned pale at the thought.
But he won't refuse she soon declared, re-
covering her equanimty. He has long been
wanting just such place. Married or single,
lac can't neglect his bread and butter
Well said, Ruth. l think we can count
upon him. The post he came here to ask me
for Is now vacant, and will accordingly have
il offered to him, just at if nothing had hap
pened.
Exactly. You needn't speak of his mar
riage, or seem to know anything about it, You
can simply offer him the post in question, in
accordance with the old understanding. And
he will accept 1t. He can't possibly have any
suspicion OF anything wrong. Outwardly and
apparently we are all on good terms with one
another, and will remain SO. Let the wages
offered him be liberal. Possibly he may OBJECT
to leaving his young bride so soon, but the
next voyage after this one
Pedder interrupted the remark 10y a gesture
of frtaN.u 4