The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1872-07-04
Established July 1850.

MT. Jardlng has Just been called
home suddenly to Ohio, on account
of his fathers illness-' -..
'Good! That's fortune. You
must recommend Hawley for the va
cant place to your owners, aud get
them to engage him. The thing can
be done p. T.... ..
without the least doubt. 1t was
un 'erstood, you know, as | just now
remarked, that was to help Haw-
ley at the first opportunity. Wen
accordingly suppose that he sails
with me as first mate the next voy-
age. What then? &c.. ......
'You must leave him-not dead,
but prisoner-on some deserted Is
land between here and Australia p
Pedder looked his astonishment.
sIf it can be DONE he said, after a
pause, what next?' ... . .......
you must come back and report
that he is dead, furnish full details
and good proofs. Those details
and proofs will not be hard to manu-
facture. 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
ooh, if this thing were possible 7
sighed Pedder, beginning to look re-
heved.
Possible &? It's as possible as kiss
ing And the moment you are mar
rled to Clara, Twill take to Australia
for my health, and naturally enough,
stumble upon the very island where
you left Hawley; effect his rescue !;
tell him his wife is dead; condole
and sympathize with him like an an
gel; and conclude the whole comedy
by becoming his wife and settling in
Australia. You'll thus have your
Clara on this side of the ocean, and
l shall be happy with Hawley on the
other .. y .....
She was smiling now, with every
sign of anticipated 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 deserted island without his
suspecting anything ..
1T can be DONE and the lips of
Miss Pedder came together like the
jaws of vice. There's no difficulty
about finding a suitable island p
Not the least. / saw the island
in my minds eye the momeut you
uttered the word, and a glorious one
it is for our purpose
1T will be easy for you to get
Hawley upon it, suggested Miss
Pedder thoughttuily. IF it's near
your roate you can call there for wa
ter. fits out of your way, you can
be blown there by adverse winds, or
be drifted there by unknown cur
rents, or fetch up there by 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 pretence, such as looking
for a deserter from the ship or from
a ship wrecked sailor, and then sail
away without him
Say no more interrupted Pedder,
with wild emulation. Il see how
to manage the affair from the begin
ming to its end
And you now see that we Car
undo that hateful marriage?'
'Perfectly-perfectly The affair
will require little time and patience,
of course, and little expenditure of
money, but we are sure to triumph.
Capital ! glorious! What load you
have taken from my soul, Ruth
what a genius you are!'
He leaped to his feet and began
pacing to and fro rapidly, with the
most extravagant signs and exela,
nations 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 final.
ly for-you and me to be happy, you
in your way and l in mine-you with
Clara in New York, and l with Will
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 one?'
"A refusal On Hawley's part to &C
cept the post offered him-a refusal
based upon his marriage
Miss Pedder turned pale at the
thought. .
But he won't refuse she soon de,
clared, recovering her equanimity.
He has long been wanting just such
a place. Married or single he cam,
neglect his bread and butter -
well said, Ruth. / think we car
count on him. The post he came
here to ask me for is now vacant, and
I will accordingly have it offered to
him, just as if nothing had hap
pened.' '... .....1.
Exactly. You needn't speak O
his marriage, or seem to know any
thing about it. You can simply of
fer the post in question, in accord
ance with the old understanding
And he will acceptit. He can't pos
sibly have any suspicion of anything
wrong. Outwardly and apparently
we are all on good terms with one
another, and will remain so. Lei
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 by
GESTURE of Impotence. He was all
eagerness now-all determination.
That next voyage after this one
will not answer he declared. 'Haw
ley shall accomp any me on my very
next trip. To make all sure on this
point, will have him engaged this
very day. In fact, l will ee to this
aaoso.' #.... SIS ....
He seized his hat and gloves, ad
dressed a. few words to his sister
and quietly took his departure dowr
town. The last chances the two ex
changed at the door was full of ju,
bilant wickedness.
The next three or four hours
passed slowly to Miss Pedder. She
was beginning to fear that the whole
project had mlscarried at its very
commencement, and was fretting
herself into fever, when Ped
der suddenly made his appearance.
One glance at his vivid hushes, at