Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1878-03-07

West spoke with sudden clearness
and even musical distinctness of ut
terance that made his words yet more
appalling in their solemn despair; /;
''Old man, ain desperate ;Iamriii-
ed. 1t is but a few months since my
father died, leaving me not only PEN
niless, but encircIed by petty obtga-
tons which have cramped every move
ment / would have made. I had no
time, no quiet, to make IN effort such
as my position requires. This day I
have spent my last shilling. Ii am
too proud to beg, and to borrow islto
beg when n men is known to be- in
real distress. Within one hour from
this time 1 shall be beyond all stor-
lures of life which for my own sakel
II care bat little to preserve! and
yeti haye spent my youth in -aeen-
mulating treasures, which but brief
apaee might hive been rendered pro-,
l1luctive of benefit to man, and of
profit to himself. My fathers little
means and my own have vanished in
the pursuit of science, and in the gulf
Of suffering more immediate than our
cwn. If die, also with me perish
the results Of his experiments, his
studies and his saerifdes5 There are
moments when ali ordinary calcula-
tons and prudence are empty baubles,
! Life is the only real possession we
have and death the only certainty.
Listen! Twill make one last proposal
- you. Lend me but ten pounds
that is but ten weeks of life-and |
swear to YOU for eachpcnnd lent not
ten or twenty, hut ote 'hnndred-in
all one thousand pounds! Gran, that
1T be but chance upon the one hand,
, vet, upon the other, how small is the
risk and then, 10 save human life
is that not something i'll the scale !!
And the stranger laughed at these
last words with a bitter eayety that
caused strange thrill TO creep along
the nerves oftEe usurer.
However, the lender fgoid shrug-
ged his shoulders without relaxing
his habitual inpossihility of manner.
He did not speak. Possibly the idea
occurred 10 him that his strange cient
meditated Some act of violence Upon
, himself or his. strong box. But this
idea speedily vanished, IS the stran-
Eger, reIapsiug suddenly into silence
and conventional behavior, removed
his hand from the usurer's shoulder
and strobe rapidly and calmly from
| the apartment. -...
! The door closed behind the ruined
man, and the usuer drew . long
+'bfeath, while his lyushy' syfows were
contracted in sort of agony of doubt
and iresolute purpose.
Meanwhile Bernard West paused
! for an instant on the threshold OF the
outer door, as If undecided which
road to take. In truth, all roads
we're much alike 10 him ats that mo-
ment. Some cause, too subtle. to he
seized by the mental analyst, deter
minedihis course. lie turned to the
right and strode rapidly onward.
He felt already like one of the
dead, to join whom he was irmrying
hcadlong. lie looked neither to the
right nor to the left; and before him
was n mist in which the phantoms of
his imagination disported themselves
to the exclusion Of all other visible
objects. Nothing earthly had any
further interest for him. He didrnot
even hear the steps of some one rum
ming behind him, nor hear the voice
which called after him to stop, but
his course was soon more efectually
arrested by the firm grasp Of mans
hand, which seized him by the arm
with the force and tcnacity Of vice.
He turned Gerecly round. He was
in no llnmop l'or the converse of casu-
al acquaintances. Nor was it any
gay coaviialist OF happier days whose
face now greeted him it was the old
money-lendel, who in voice husky
with loss Of breath, or possible emo
ton, said, thrusting n couple Of twen-
ty pound bank notes into Vests
hands:
"Here, take these notes. Take
them, say he repeated as the
young man, with amazemcnt, STAN
mered out:
"You accept then, my terms" z"
"No," growled the usurcr; 81
give them to You. Do you under
stand me. say give them to you.
l am an old man. never gave away
a shilling before in my life. Repay
me if you will when and how it pleas-
es you. | have no security; / ask no
acknowledgement; / want none. i
do not count upon it. 1t Is gone y
and the usurtr pronounced the last
words with an effort which was heroic
from the evident self mastery which
it cost him. ''There! Go! go!"
he resumed "and take an old mans
advice. Make money at all hazards,
and never lend except on good securi-
ty. Remember that" The old
man gently pushed West away, and,
all hatless and slippered as he was,
ran back muttering to his den, lcav-