The St. Cloud journal., 1873-07-03

He polluted to tho stool wb,eh I; had
vacated : little while before, and I
obsyed the gesture, subsiding into my
familiar corner, and looking ! curiously
from one 70 tho other Of tho faces be-
tore me. What different faces th,v
were, as the freight aiekered over
them, bringing out clearly tho promi-
mont traits of both! AT this moment I
seem to see tho strange, fevered eager.
ness that lit up the sharpened, hsggard
features Of tho elder man, and the
grave, quiet, bronzed face of the young.
81, with its keen, bright, kind, dark
eyes. So ,~...
|; Somehow my entrance seemed to
have created a little embarrassment.
They were both silent for some minutes !;
.then Uncle Kendall spoke again.
~ told you little while ago, Ross"
he said, in bis dry, measured way,
"that I would wait until Beryl came in
before I let you know what business I
had 10 view when sent for you. I
heard that you had cot back from
Ohina'-Unole Kendall was old.fash-
ioned, and he pronounced this Chiny
-''without having bettered yourself
much and, since I always had = liking
for. your father-hs Was the only ono Of
oil the kin 7 ever could besr-I thought
I weuld take . look at you. You are
like him." he went on, taking a very
hard lock indeed :; "but I think you
may do better than be did. You've cot
. frmer jaw. Firmness il the great
thing in this world, lad. You'll know
that when you are Is old as I am" :
~ know it now" said Ross Kenball,
very grimly. ! - q ~ =
"The sooner you learn it, the better"
said the other. "1f you have that, you
won't let woman make fool Of you,
Is your htheFs wife did Of him; you
| won't marry her. for her pretty face, as
he did, without caring it her heart is Is
black as Gehenna; and, above Ill, you
won't be wheeled into leaving your
property to her, SO that she can marry
again, and despoil your own son Of
every penny, as you have been despoiled.
By - boy p'-I had never seen Un.
ole Kendall 50 excited as wher he
brought his hand down on the arm Of
his chair with that vehement oath
F"I have thought Of your wrongs some.
times till I would have given every
dollar I am worth to prosecute that
woman, rs she deserves, for robbery
and plumber; but she is too clever to
give rs d chance for that"
"Let us rather say that my father
trusted her too implicitly" said the
other ooldly: "Let it pass, sir. I thin K
of it as little % possible. In fact''
shrugging bis shoulders-t'I have no,
had time 70 think Of muoh besides my
business during the last ton years.y,
"Aase you made; any money ont
there in China?' 80, s..i
! "a little,' was the reserved reply. {
"Enough to keep you from going
back ?-tor you told me = while ago
you had: no liking for the place."
$50 far from that, I suppose my
employers will send me back next
month" -.
"For how long?'
"Another ton years, probably"
."Rumph y said Uncle Kendall.
For minute nothing further occur.
red. The clock tioked the fire burn
ed obtrusively; Uncle Kendall looked
at the leaping blaze; and I looked at
the man who had come from China,
and was thinking Of going back again,
until the eyes of this wonderful travel.
or turned on mo, whereupou my own
Immediately sought the floor. After
that I contented~ myself with looking
at the drugget-feeling, the while, ex.
ceedingly hot and uncomfortable
til the voice which I knew so we'll, and
(God forgive meD disliked 80 intense.
y, spoke again, very slowly:
'.l'm an old man, Ross, as you see;
and I'm not strong man; as the doc.
tor tells me every time I meet him 80,
Of late, I've been thinking who's to
have this old place after I'm dead. 1t
ought: to 60 to some one Of the name !;
! but ] don't know one that isn'ta mer.
cenary, !unprincipled sooundrel-unlesss
it be yourself. Root and branch, they
havelbeen the pest Of my life for years,
until I have sworn thst I will le.ve
Kendall and every dollar I own to the
country sooner than to any Of Fem.
You are the only one that has never
tried to make any thing ont Of me, lid.
and | have thought more than once of
leaving it all to you; but, then, you
were in China, and I couldn't tell what
you might have grown into. Now that
I've seen you, however, I am willing
enough to make you my heir-only.
there's one obstacle in the way.''
"What obstacle :" asked Ross. He
spoke quietly, but I, who was locking
at him, saw : sudden flush come 70 his
cheek, and . sudden light to his eye.
It was evident that the prospect ofhb.
erty and fortune was very pleasant to :
man aal expecting TO 60 back to China for
another ten years. s"What obstacle p
he repeated, after 4 minute. u: