The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1882-03-25

this Verne5u,s,- pagn. - he it, and -
T. t. Amen aud suira New kiss the
stone
The trembling boy repeated the words.
aud Kissed the Stone a desired
The duke ls,I him % By the hand
That night the Junior shepherd slept in
Ncrna,ante Towers. and the next day be
was sni away Eor ,aiiie6 to rsmotc yil-
la-c Thence be vsui to a preparatory -
tahlishnont, au1 in due course 20 public
school
FOURTH NIGHT.
90 winter evening. msny ycarS sub=e-
,ucni "a the above mentioned occurrences,
the ei-.lcsaaf shepherd sat in a well-far-
pished ofFce II, tho north wing Of NeEn.
esanbs, Towers. nv the guise Il an ordinary
edueated a,an Of business HE appeared
a. this time a. : person of sis or seven
aRdsl,iFty. though as=-==.=ll.Jy ne was several
wears ySauseF A woFn aad restless .,lancc
81 the exc n1w sni then when he hfted
his head for SONS Ic;ier or paper which had
bccn nlislaid. seemed To lcnnte that bis wss
u,s ! mind 80 tharraghly Al ease a. his
surroundings might have led an observer
u expect lIis pailor. too, was remarks
be for eysnnsrymzu He was pFofcsse1ly
engaged IN writing, bus he shaped not a
woFd He hsd al there foT only few
minutes when, laying down biz Psn and
pushing back his chair be rested hand
nnssasily an earh II the rhaiT-aTms, and
booked On The aooT
Sa1n b. afs@o and len the room. His
coursc vas along passage which ended IN
a Ccntn,l sctagonal hall erVssing this he
knocked at a door A faint, though deep
voice told him 20 seine ia The nom he
entered was the library. and !, mas teuan,ed
By a single person oaly-his patron, the
F duke
During this long interval Of years the
duke had lost all his heayincss Of build.
I He was. indeed, almost a skeleton; his
white hair was thin. and biz hands were
{ nearly Transparent. .-Oh, Wills? he muir
INJURED Isl, down What j. it
Nothing new, yoar Grace, Nobody To
speak Of has written, and nobody has called.
Ah-whsi then2 You look concerned.
+ ~Old times haze eoRle 10 life, as they
Sometime. viii
/ -old times be cursed which old times
are they p
That Christmas week nineteen years
aso. when the hate duchess cousin Frede-
rick implored her 60 NEE; him on Nern-
/ combe Down. saw the meeting-it was
I Just such a night As this--and | saw more.
She me, him once. but not the second
time
wills, shall | recall some words TO You
the words of an oath taken ON that hill
/ BY shepherd boy
/ 1t Is unnecessary He has strenuously
kept that oath and promise. Since that
night no sound Of his shepherd life has
/ crossed his hps-eyen to yourself But
you wish 10 hear more. or do YOU not, your
Grace p
Il wish to hear no more. said the duke
sullenly
VERY we'll; let it be so But time
seems eoming--may be quite near at hand
when in spite Of my lips that episode
/ will allow itself to 20 undivulged no longer.
/ Il wish to hear no more repeated the
duke
You need be under no fear of treach-
ery from me, said the steward, somewhat
4 bitterly. II am man to whom you have
been kind-no patron could have been
+ kinder You have clothed and educated
me have installed me here; and am not
unmindful. But what of it-has your
Grace gained much by my stanehness |
think not. There was great excitement
about Captain Pentridge's disappearance,
but spoke not word And his body
/ has never been found For nineteen years
| | have wondered what you did with him.
I Now | know A circumstance that occur
red this afternoon recalled the time to me
most forcibly. To make it certain to myself
4 that was not a dream, went up there with
spade; searched, and saw enough to
know that skeleton lies there in closed
badgers hole.
Wills, do you think the duchess
guessed p
SHE never did, | am sure, to the day of
her death.
did you leave all as you found it on
the hill r
Il did
What made you think of going up
there this particular afternoon :?
"What your Grace says You don't wish
to be told
The duke was silent and the stiffness
of the evening was so marked that there
reached their ears from the outer air the
! sound of tolling bell,