Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-08-16
A FAMILY AFFAIR,
BY HUGH CONWAY
-
Author Of "Caiiei Back and "Duk Days.
CHAPTER XVII.
M man CON war


licvc Such was at least the experience of
two men, who. from dir rent motives were
equally anxious 10 find the fugitive. The
first Maurice ilaryoy, the second Frank Car
ruthcrs.
Hervcy, who, having pnid second visit to
Oakbury, h1d In some way managed to learn
that Beatrice, the boy AMI thc nurs" had gone
to London lnac "A hasty adj u to Black own
and returlud tO the capital Tho moro he
studied the siuuntion. tine more apparent IL
ecamc tnat 10 Us his own worl,, he was
in clcit stick. So long as Beatrice could
conceal her whereabouts from him. 40 long
was h, utterly helpless lie could, of course,
compass IA certain amount Of revenge
but the cost would be too terrific. However
sweet II { ing may lc, IL may be bought too
dearly. He could walk boldly up to Sir
Ma angny t.au'on and proclaim himself his
SON II law. lie Cuu.d go to these TnibcTts
and how them that he married their niece
when she was little more than a schoolgirl.
But what good wolll tns do, Ills bolt
would be shot, AMI his qn,vcr held no other.
II mi ght bring down Beatrice LIt not her
mon v. lie would have to deal with men of
the world instead of "a woman over who n he
held the terror of exposure. He had one
article to s,ll silence There was one Gus
TONER for it, his wife, With her he could
traic to advantage, but the moment he
broke luck for another market his com
modify became al but valuelcss
Again, there was chat cursed clause in old
Talbcrt's will. Hcrvcy could easily prove
that Beatrice was his wife, but in doing so
he also proved that she had married, when
under age, without her trustees consent,
and the said trustees could do almost cx-
actly as they liked with her fortune! Prob
ably they would throw him two hundred a
year so long aS hc L pt out of the way
What was two hundred n year when we
know that had he not insisted on bringing
some ones head down TO tuc dust, he might
have had ten times the amount Why had
he not taken the money aud forcgone his re-
vengei
In fact, Bcatrice's flight, although not
effected Tor strategcal reasons. was mas
terpiece; a move which bound her enemy
hand and foot. Savagey he locke forward
u the time when circumstances would force
HIM to take the best Off ~ made him well he
knew that tn, moment Beatrice ucrved her
self to reveal the truth to her friends, the
moment she elected TO confess her girliSh
folly, and face what shame and blame might
he due to he, every shred of power he ncli
woull he gone. 1t was. therefore, inn era.
tive he should fni Beat and reopen no
her. Reflection and the risk he now ran of
losing everything made him inclined to lower
his demands. He would take fifteen hun
dred, even n hal of his wife, income, nnd If
she wished it would enter INTO a regular
deed of Judicial separation. He would be
silent so long Us the money was paid or SO
long ms it pad him better to be silent.
What if he gave out that he was dead and
waited until she had married again. Then
his sway would be supreme. But to gain
this advantage he must lie silent. it might
he for years. and in the meantime must
somehow make a living. Perhaps, after hc-
former experience, she would not marry
again. Any way the state of his exchcquer
put veto ON the waiting scheme.
He expected no uneXtortod help from her
He looked for no mercy. He ha showed
none He had blasted her life; robbed her
years of early wOmanhOOd of their sweet
ness; he had traded on the romance which
lies in the heart of every young girl then,
for mclscnary purposes, hal turned and
crushed it out. lie had shown her, nay,
had. in brutal words. told her that he had
married her to raise money in order to save
himself from the penalty due to his crime.
He well knew what he had done. and know
ing this he had not even vcuturcd at at
tempting to caiolo her when they measured
strength al Biacktown. HaoAr teen needed
the stern set of her fcaturcs-thr srurn of
her manner would have told him tuat he
had no mercy to expect, that 1t was a ducl
between the two.
He mus find her! As the months went on
the necessity of finding her became more and
more uDvluu>. He had, after the gIanncr of
n gambler, who feels chat anJ hour may
bring the great stroke Oi luck, lived iuxuri-
ously. His money had by now so diminished
tnat ne saw ne must shortly do one OF three
things, find Beatrice, earn money or starvc.
The frs, the most desirable Cours" in
every way, seemed impossible. He had
made, both in person aud vicnrousy. such
inquiries at Sir ManIay's house as could h,
male without exciting Comnart and sus-
pic on He hal even been down once more to
Oak ury. seen the Ia barts, but had learned
no,hiIg to his advantage. 80 course mum
ber one could not bJ counted upon to meet
tie emergency.
Cou,ss number three, If the simplest,
was the most unpleasant, so hc was con-
strained to adopt number two; at least, pro-
visionallv.
Before his disgrace HeTyey had OCCASION
ally done some work for illustrated period
icals As this branch of his late prOfe ssion
seemed to offer him the best chance of sup
plying his needs, he called upon two OF three
people whom he had known IN former days,
and who, moreover, knew what had caused
his protracted absence. He simply said he
was anxious to redeem thu past, and begged
for helping hand. Self h as the world is
supposed 10 be, there are many willing to
help fallen man ON to his lcg,. ilcrvey
received ON, or two promises, which might
or might not lead TO rcmunarative work.
The months passed very d.smally and
dreariy for the second seeker, Frank Car
ruthers. lie knew not whore to turn, where
10 look for Beatrice However, he was bet
ter OFF than Hcrycy, for he had direct intel
Il sence from her Once II month she had
written to her uncles, but hor letters gave no
clew that could bc followed. They bore no
address; they were posted in London; they
mentioned no places, not even II country.
She said she was living an exceedingly quiet,
calm life She longei to see dear old Oak
bury again, and wondered If it would ever
be her lot to do so. In each letter she re
GREETED the necessity FOR the step she had
taken and hoped that if ever her unclcs knew
her true reason Tor it they would forgive her.
She trusted, nevertheless, that they would
never learn IT, The only hints at locality in
any one of her letters were that she meu-
toned that tho weather was bitterly cold,
and also that she spent much time studying
art; was, indeed, learning to paint in oils.
These letters Herbert, who felt sympathy
for his cousin, sent on 20 Frank, and Frank
perused them again and again, endeavoring
by the light he hal gained to read between
the lines And the more he read the more
mystifed he became. If Mrs Rawlings tale
was true, there was something which Her
bert and Horace never could, never would
forgive: yet Beatrice wrote as il forgiveness
was not an impo'sibili'y. Moreover, 1t
struck Frank that her words expressed Il
doubt az to whether her unclns had lcarnc I!