The Red Cloud chief., 1880-11-04

features OF the room at a single glance;
perhaps I should say that nv nose also
aided in the inquisitive operation. What
I saw and smell was, briefly, q great
disorder Il books and chemical in
Uttered about the floor. and
an exceedingly pungent, d~isagreeable
odor.
The gaunt figure turned toward me a
pale. wrinkled face. lit up with q pair
OF dark and singularly brilliant eyes.
"Who are you, and what do you want
II am Miss Sarah Kingsland." I an
swercd, boldly enough; .'the lady who
occupies the room above this; and |
have come, sir ="
But l am not going to relate in ezten-
so what 1 said To the old man. / told
him that his daughter had that evening
sought refuge in my apartment, and
that / had come TO inquire whether her
statement about being turned from
home was a correct one; her face, her
manner and her language had deeply
Interested me. l continued. and he
must pardon the curiosity which
prompted my present visit. All this in
a voice hat became gradually less
snappish and more respectful as 1 pro-
ceeded; for there was something about
the old mans appearance that i'm
pressed me forcibly, and took away my
boldness as l continued To address
him.
When / had finished, he remained
staring at me for several minutes with
out uttering . word Of reply. At last
his answer came, in slow, measured
tones, and in a voice that was marked
by nothing hasty or passionate:
81 have turned away my daughter,
Esther Dillon. wish never to see her
again. Her conduct toward me has
been Infamous wholly infamous and
shameful. Icannot forgive her, and l
will not"
There WAS q certain majesty, il /
may so speak, abont the old mans way
of ~pronouncing these words, that made
me feel rs IL | had trcspassed rudely
upon the ~sanctity Of some great sor-
row. Curiosity-that wOmanly trait Of
mine-hung its head for a moment,
quite abashed; but only for a moment.
answer followed oon enough, de-
livered in an intcrrogative form. and
with low-voiccd eagcrness.
"Do you care, sir, about telling me
in what way your daughter Esther has
offended you? OF course, | have no
right to inquire. but rs she has sought
refuge in my apartment upstairs, be-
inc in too agitated a condition To afford
me more than the plain statement of
your having turned her from these
lodgings, perhaps my question may. on
this account, strike you as less unwar-
ranted than it might otherwise seem"
The old mans reply was promptly
and decisivc,y uttered:
..s5he has, of course, told you moth
ing of the truth. Guilt is seldom will
ing to accuse itself. | do not, how
ever, object TO doing SO. AS long as
you allow Esther Dillon TO remain in
your room. young lady, you will be
harboring a thief there!"
"A thief" l murmurcd, aghast with
amazement. "You cannot mean,
sir
81 mean that she has deliberately
stolen from me, during the past five
years, no less a sum han fifty thousand
dollars in gold. You do not believe
me. Draw neal and examine the o n
tents of this small basin"
He held out toward me a small earth
enware vessel. l came forward and
saw what was beyond all doubt a mass
of pure, shining gold in a half-molten
condition.
.'Heayensr" | exclaimed, starting
back; this is gold! How did you
come by it? You cannot possibly have
made it i'm yonder crucible!"
Every day, for the past five years,
| hare made this exact amount. Since
| first discovered the remarkable secret
that has so puzzled and thwarted and
bafled man for centuries, | contided to
my daughter Esther's keeping a lump
of gold ike the one which you now see,
regularly each day. My aim has been
to accumulate the sum of fifty thousand
dollars. Tonight | asked her for the
gold, knowing, by calculation, that |
had 1t least made the desired amount.
Her reply was, that it had been dis
posed of in a manner such rs she could
not explain to me. DO you understand
now why I have turned this deceitful
thief from my doors2"
"She may have lost it." l faltered;'
"or perhaps it may have been stolen
by others from her Keeping"
81 forced her to acknowledge that
neither such cause was the real one.
She has disposed, of the money-so
much 1 compelled her to tell me, and
more l do not care to learn. The pur-
pose with which | have labored SO un-
tiringly during the past five years has
been utterly thwarted and nullihed by
one whom l trusted with the sincerest
faithn'
at is all very strange and bewilder-
ing" 1 said; 1.-THE fact of your having
made this gold seems almost like some
incident of a fairy tale. l think, sir,
Crowded you do not object) l will
again visit this apartment after hav-
ing spoken with your daughter. There
may be some means of recovering this
money!"
"It is irrecoverable-sO, ut least, she
told me-" A ring Of intense sadness
accompanied the old mans words. He
bent over the great crucible from which
a faint, blush smoke vas rising, and re-
NAMED id this STOPPING posture for
several moments. Then, suddenly
turning toward me, he spoke again with
a countenance that expressed the fierc-
est determination-the strongest power
of will in every one of its shriveled
lineaments:
but / will collect the gold once
more-the fifty thousand dollars-be-
fore l die! l am not to be baffied thus
by a miserable, thieving girl. l will
work night and day. as l have begun
now to work, until my lost fortune is
restored. You may tell her this; and
tell her. also, never to darken these
doors with her presence again.
A fierceness sounded in his tones that
1 now heard for the first time. Sad
dened and bewilcered, 1 slowly turned
and left the apartment. On going up
stairs to my own, l found Esther Dillon
awake, seated in an attitude of extreme
detection upon the lounge.
q have been visiting your father"
I said. simply, and with q touch OF
sternness in my voice. "He has told
me his reason for behaving toward you
as he has done"
She started at my words, and her ex-
quisite, truthful eyes sought my face
eagerly.
"Physiognomy is all alie.nI mental