The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1875-12-22
CHAPTER VII.
OLD CoRKsCPEW PAYS A VISIT.


wore! recorded i. o,,r last chapter was 80
sudden and violent, that Daddy Tabarets
ousekeeper started sc if she had been gal
var ized and, hastily 'e'r'atirg TO III" door,
wai'"l with 9 pal'; a'Hg heart, for the
frr'hor development of he! masters sud-
,!er + of madhess.
EYES," llp confirmed, am certain there's
n chile n;re,l up IN it,"
"a cl,G m;xe1 mp in It! Good heavens"
tknu:'k' Mare "is hr allud:ng to the soup"
An,,, fearful Of the con sequences, should it
lie made public, of his extraordinary de-
lnsion, she advanced quickly towards him
for an explanation.
"a child sir! What do yon mean, sir7"
Her voice recalled Old Cork to HIM
self, and he perceived, for tn" first time,
that he WAS being watched by Marie.
"What do you want?" he cried, in voice
of thunder; chow dare yon stand there.
prying into my privat" ln<inpss, and pick
ing mp the words that fall from my lr1, to
rrIeat them again 10 your gosslpln@
fricnds2 Retire TO your kitchen, and don't
come ont of it till call yon"
"Th" fits on him." thought the poor wo-
man. "He's lrcnming ra'id 'idr'-and, slam
lately 10 the kitchen.
Daddy Talaret resented himself, and
commenced swallowing. with extraordinary
rapi'lity, spoonful after spoonful If he
soup. which was now rnmrinf"ly cold
allow WAS it l never tholjght of that be-
fore? Poor humanity! I'm not worth
much, after all! I'm getting old, and my
ideas ure not 90 fresh ~ they wore; yet its
al as clear and pliah" as the day. A
fool might have guessed it!'
As he spoke he struck Il bell that stood
upon the tahlr, and Marie reappeared.
"lhr joint" he said; "bring in the joint,
and '.en leave me; want to be alone.
"YrS." he went on, digging his knife with
flrons energy into Il small leg of mutton,
-"yes, there's Il child mixed up in tim
positive of it; and these are the crrrm-
stances. The Widow Lcrouge was Il SER
want in the scrvic" of Il very rich lady The
husband, probably in the navy. leaves on a
long journey. 'Fralty, thy name is wo.
mani az the Englis'l poet has said So the
wife, during his al,-"nre, is false 10 h"r
marriage VOW. 10 hiAc the very natural
consequences of h" gull, she con!i'l"' h'r
secre, TO the Will " 7. ."nrl.cr. aud. with her
assistance, lid+ H.. .>i-'"n''" nf her rhill
from the kno l.. l.r Of ihn w"r,i"
Here Old Co.i>srcw rang The bell vlo-
lrnt;y.
"Aiarie! the dessert - and leave the
rOOm!'
Certainly our old friend hardly deserved
the skill in cookery tha: Marie displayed on
his behalf He would have found it diff
cult, if called upon. 20 mention what hr had
eaten for dinner. Nay, he would have
found it equally difficult, so much was he
preoccupied, to ray what he was eating
now.
"Bnt the childr' he murmured, slowly,
masticating a spoonful Of stewed pears.
"rhe child! what has become of it9 Did
they kill it. No Because then the Widow
Lerouge would have been an accOmplire to
the nfanticiGr, and therefore not to he
feared as to betrayal. The father of the
child must have wished it to live, and en-
trusted it 10 the care of the widow who
nursed and brought it up. 1t was easy
enough TO take the child from her; but not
quite so easy to destroy the proofs of its
birth and existence. There was the diff
Guilty. The father WAS the man who came
in the handsome carriage, and the mother
was no other than :he person who called
once or twice with the aristocratic youth
men tened by the village gos.ips. No won.
der that ii!n dear cid la,ly wanted for moth.
inr. There ar, SON. sccrrts !hh! are worth
~ ll,lch a. good :ip'.e Of 'ani.ri property
10 get hiisI.-,nu..''v trn!n two I"nplr At
on;'r ~as a H. ks strike nr hr>in"ss tor 'er
-: s!.r i"ri!t sno hrarily upnl Ia prop u
H.: G"clnlilg y"alS. and il broke. Poor,