The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-11-10

II always feared there would be diff
Guilty." said Ellen, TREMENDOUSLY; "but oh, to
think of Boobies having discovered itp'
"We must send for Smith at once; the
carriage shall 60 in and fetch him." said Miss
Hammond, ringing the bell.
MI. Smith of Ggglesham, was the family
solicitor, and the carriage was sent off to
bring him up at once for consultation, But
Smith brought little encouragement. He had
heard from his father that there were curious
circumstances attending Major Hammond's
marriage, and if Boobies had put his finger
on the flaw-Smith shrugged his shoulders
for want of words to express the awkward
ness of the case.
"But search must be made everywhere;
the evidence of the marriage must be found;
the children must not suffer, poor things, and
always brought up to look upon the property
as their ownw
"Why, they could never marry" cried
Miss Ellen; ''they could never live on Rslph's
pay"
'It's altogether dreadful; and not getting
married is the very lightest part of the ca
lamity," said Miss Hammond.
Smith undertook that every possible search
should be made, and went away, promising
to set to work at once. But his inquiries had
no result. He had traced out the family of
the reputed wife who had been the daughter
but they had now fallen to the rank of labor
ers, and had no papers belonging to them,
hardly any family traditions. He had searched
all the regstries of the neighboring parishes;
no record of such marriage could be dis
covered. He had issued advertisements offer
ing a reward for the production of evidence;
all of no avail. What could he do? To be
be sure there was presumption in favor of
the marriage; but then if Boobies had docu-
,fe aI,,rtf finn nh -,
M. SMITH shrugged his shoulders, In hope
lessness of finding fitting words to represent
| the gravity of the crisis. Sand them" he
went on to say, "the very fact that Boobies
| is spending money over The case shows that
he thinks he has strong one."
Boobies did not let the grass grow under
his feet. He instituted proceedings at once,
and cited all interested to appear. The thing
could no longer be kept secret; and Maggie
and Ralph were told of the cloud that had
come over their fortunes,
81 don't care if the property does go away"
said Maggie bravely- sit will make no differ
ence. l shall 60 to India with Ralph, that's
all. will be soldiers wife, and go on the
baggage-wagons."
Ralph shook his head. Ho had never been
| able to manage on his pay when there was
| only himself, and there were ever so many
lieutenants on the list before him, so that he
/ SOulu AOb AOpC w NC CdpLdlu lOT Luduy YEARS.
There was no use in sitting brooding over
coming msfortunes: and Ralph took the dog
| cart and drove over to Ggglesham, to see
| about the family vault at st. Crspin's. 1t
| was an occupation that agreed well with his
| temper; the weather, too, seemed all in keep
| ing-a dull drilling day.
Don't forget the ring" Maggie said to him
| at parting; THAT is ours, you know Ralph, if
you find it; and perhaps it may be worth lot
Ralph shook his head incredulously. And
| yet it was possible. The ring might be there,
and it might be of great value. In misfor-
| tunes, the mind grasps at the smallest allevia-
| tions, and Ralph consoled himself in his de-
| preston by picturing the finding of splendid
ruby worth say ten thousand pounds. No
more artillery work then-no more India.
Gigglesham boasts of several churches,
and st. Crispin's lies in hollow by the river,
close to the bridge. A low squat tower and
| plain ugly nave. But in its nook there-the
dark river flowing by, the sail CT barge
showing now aud then, the tall piles of deals
| in the Undergrad beyond, the castle-keep
frowning from the heights, and the big water
mill with its weirs and rapids, the noise of
which and of the great churning wheel
sounded slumbrously all day long allied
with these things, the old church had some
thing homely and pleasant about it. hardly
1 " W AOPlnSCO Wy ILC uucob luOuGIu OOGuICs
Workmen were sWarming about it now.
The roof was nearly off. There were great
| piles OF sand and mortar in the graveyard.
Mr.. Martin, the plumber and glazier who
took the most lively interest in the under
ground work, even to the neglect of the more
profitable business, wss on the lookout for
Lieutenant Grant, and cheated him cheerily.
"We've got 'em all laid out in the vestry,
Cap'n Grant, all the whole family; and now
hn ion 10 hat L
done with them? Would you like to have
'em put up in the vaults below, where they'll
all be done up in lime and plaster? or would
you like 'em moved somewhere else-more in
the open air, like?"
'The least expensive way, should say"
replied Ralph, grimly. Somehow or other
his appreciation of his ancestors was dead
ened by this last stroke of fate in cutting him
adrift from his succession. ssBut look here,
Martin he went on, taking the plummer
aside; "there is one of the collins, Major
Hammond's, I should like to have opened.
1t can be done?"
'Easy enough, sir" cried Martin, who, to
say the truth, was delighted at the prospect
of little charnel-house work. 'tHe's lead
un. he is. pllhave the top off in NO time"
Ralph looked gravely down at the last re-
mains OF the Hammonds. The wife, if it
had been wife, ON whom their inheritance
hung, was not here; she had died in India.
But there was the Majors coffin, the wood
work decayed, but the leaden envelope as
sound as ever.
Martin was quickly at work with his to OILS.
The cover was stripped of, and for moment
the Majors features were to be seen much as
they had been in life: then all dissolved into
dust.
There was no ruby ring-that must have
been afable; but there was something glitter
ing among the remains, and on taking it out,
it proved to be plain gold hoop.
"Well, that's worth pound. that is"
cried the practical Martin, carefully polishing
up the treasure-trove. 1t had probably been
hung round the neck of the departed-a tall
bony man-fOr the ring was small one, and
there were traces of black ribbon attached
to it.
IL was disappointment, no doubt; and
yet somehow the sight of the ring had given
Ralph little hope. 1t was the wedding
ring. he said to himself his great grand
mothers wedding ring. The Major must
have been fond of her to have had her ring
always about him; and it had been buried
with him. That had given rise to the story
about the ruby. He drove home, after giving
directions about the disposal of the coffin,
feeling less sore at heart, He was now con-
WINGED that they had right on their side, and
there was some comfort in that.
"When he reached home he showed the
ring to Maggie, who agreed with his conclu.
siOns.
"But there is something inside some let
tiers, think" she cried
sit is only the Hallmark said Ralph,
having looked in his turn. "But stop.
That tells us something; it will give us
Chow can that be? asked Maggie.
because there is different mark every
year. See! you can make it out with mag
nifying glass. King George in pigtail."
The silversmith at Ggglesham turned up
his tabulated list of Hall-marks and told them
at once the date of the ring-1760.
'But it might have been long time be-
fore it was first used" suggested Maggie.
"True; but it could not have been used be.
fore it was made,' replied Ralph. SIT gives
us date approximately, at all events"
At first the knowledge of this date did not
seem likely to be of much use to them. But
it gave them the heart to 60 and make fur
ther inquiries. Ralph threw himself into the
task with fervor. He obtained leave TO
search the records of the Horse Guards; and
ascertained at last where had been stationed
the regiment that Rich ard Hammond then
belonged to in the same year.
mae Of p+ar Lrrpr, T. L, H.