Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1881-08-31
allsye you spoken to Nary"

expect you to come to me quite 10
soon"
n am willing to wait, sir, till l ava
thoroughly established ! only ask per
mission to speak TO Mary"
"And I give II yon, Harold, with all
my heart, Here, shake hands with me,
my hoy, GOd bless you, God bless yon
both | believe you will make her u
good husband, iknow she will make
you u good wife"
The old man fairly broke into tears,
When he had recovered himself he
Aidi--
~ have some business In the city, to,
day will call At tho office, fou need
not 10 back Stay and spend tho day
here"
Aud so II was arranged, And this en-
plains why Harold Spencer did not re'
turn to tho office, and why Peter Forbes
was out when Mr., Chatterton arrived.
Harold lost no time IN seeing Mary,
They walked up aud down the garden
patti several times, and then turned into
tho summer house, ile told his love In
sincere and noble fashion, and Mary
listened, her heart overilowing with
happiness. lle lad taken her in his
arms, aud she had lot him, unrobukcd,
bestow the first kiss upon her face,
They were hotl mpromely happy, She
had told him that she knew he loved
hor, and hc felt equally assured that her
heart was given TO him,
As ho pressed her TO him, u shadow
darkcned the doorway Of the summer
house, and an angry voice exclaimed =
"liarold Spencer, what are You doing
hcreY"
They turned, and saw Hugh Chatter.
ton standing before them, his face liyid
with passion, his hands tightly clenchcd,
and his gray eyes cleaning with intense
hate.
"Nlr. Forbes knows / nm here Ilar'
old calmly replied "hc has gone to the
city 10 explain my absence
"IIas he gone, also, to explain the
forged check which you cashed ut the
bank yesterday"
Harolds face chang 4 from scarlet to
CHASTITY white.
"What what - do you sayy' he
gasped.
"You know we'll what say, you ms.
cal-you iorger-you thief And You
dare to pollute this pure girls ears with
your evil words, you villa;n|
NIa.,, lan1n1 ~, apnavnl Sln anpl1
not speak. Her Harold villain--a forg'
er! No, il could not be true! What
did il all mean?
Mr.. Chatterton approached her. and
took hold hold OF her arm to draw her
away.
Harold had sunk upon the seat, and
had buried his face in his hands.
"Harold, what does all this mean?"
Mary asked, timidly.
"it means," said Mr.. Chatterton,
"that this man, Harold Spencer, is n
forger; he has robbed your father and
myself OF tour hundred and sixty
pounds"
at is n lie p cried Harold, suddenly
starting up,
"Ha! ha | you may say that but the
evidence is clear. Go into the house,
Miss Forbes, and send Philip to me !;
he shall fetch policeman, and we will
hand the rascal over to justice"
When they reached the library, they
found Peter Forbes had returned and the
old man tried to persuade Harold to
confess all he knew about the matter,
but he persisted in his refusal. All he
did was to ask them what motive he
could have had for taking the money,
considering it was only yesterday his
father had promised him much larger
sum and he produced his fathers let
ter.
"a man who can forge check can
forge letter." said Mr., Chatterton.
Mr.. Forbes took his check-book from
his escritoire drawer, and discovered
that three checks were missing.
"And this" said he, "comes of trust
ing you in my rooms"
Mary had taken up q letter that lay
on the table which the others had not
observed.
"Why, papa," she said, "here'sa a letter
for you from Graham"
wants some more money, | suppose.
Give it me, child
He tore it open, read for few mo-
ments, and then sank back in his chair.
with low moan.
"H;s poor father his poor father" !"
rang in Harold's ears.
"My boy my boy" sobbed the old
He handed the letter to Mr.. Chatter
ton.
"Come here" and he beckoned to
Harold "You are brave hoy. You
have allowed me to condemn you IN
order that you might shield my son.
He gave you the check to get cashed,
and you gave him the money this morn
ing"
Harold was silent.
"There is no need for you to speak.
He has confessed all. Read that letter,
Chatterton. Let us all hear it."
Mr.. Chatterton read the young mans
confession. How he had got deeply
into debt aud disgrace; how he was
ashamed to ask his father for more
money how he had forged three checks,
one of which he had given to Spencer
to get cashed and now, with the money
he had thus raised, he had left home,
never to return again.
"I have done you an injustice, Spenc-
er," said the junior partner, when he
had finished. "Will you shake handsy'
81 knew you were innocent, Harold.
1 never doubted you for one moment
said Mary; aud she let him put his arm
around her waist.
II have lost one son." said the old
man slowly; "but I have found another.
Harold, take her, and may you both be
happier than am"
1t is needless, perhaps, to say that
Mr.. Chatterton did not make his intenl-
ed proposal. He became Harold Spenc-
er's stanch friend, and was, 1 am told,
best man at his wedding.
The title of the firm in Mincing-lane
is now, according to tho Post-office Di-
rectory, "Forbes, Chatterton K Spenc-
er."
The average growth in twelve years of
a numher of yaluable varieties of timber