Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-11-06


But he forgot that the packet has besalying
FOR eighteen years in the safe, and that this
notspapsr was made hs day before yester-
day"
'HoW do you know thatF
"You can tell by tho look and feel Of the
paper; they did not make paper like this
twenty years ago; besides, look atthe water
marks he held IL to the light, and Iris read
the mystic words ''That is the fashion Of
to-day. One house issues a new kind Of
paper, with a fancy name, and another
initiates them. Tomorrow / will ascertain
exactly when this paper was made"
'sBut who would steal it, Arnold2 Who
could steal itF'
at would not probably be of the least use
to anyone. But it might be stolen in order
to sell it back. We may sea an advertise
ment carefully worded, guarded, or per-
haps- Iris, who had access to the place
when your grandfather was outF
"No one but james, the shopman. He has
been here ive-and-twenty years He would
not, surely, rob his old master. No one else
comes here except the customers and Cousin
joe"
"Joe is not, / believe, quite"
''Joe is a very bad man. He has done
dreadful things. But then, even it Joe were
bad enough to rob the safe, how could he
get at itG My grandfather never leaves it
unlocked. Oh, Arnold, Arnold, that all
this should fall upon US on the very day"
'My dear, is it not better that it should
fall upon you when | am here, one more
added to your advisers II you have lost a
fortune l have found one. Think that you
have given it to me-"
ooh, the fortune may 60" she said. "The
future is ours, and we are young. But who
shall console my grandfather in his old age
for his bankruptcyW
Gas the stream" said Lala Roy, (which
passeth from the mountains to the ocean,
kisseth every meadow on its way, yet tarries
not in any place, so Fortune visits the sons
Of men; she is unstable as the wind; who
shall hold her? Let not adversely tear of the
wings Of hope"
They could do nothing more. Arnold re-
placed the paper in the packet and gave it
to Iris; they put back the ledgers and &C
count books in the safe and locked it up, and
then they went upstairs.
"You shall 90 to bed, Iris" said Arnold,
land you, too, Lala Roy. Ishall stay here
in case Mr.. Emblem should-should want
anything"
He was, in reality, afraid that Something
would happen to the old man. His sudden
loss of memory, his loss of s~elf-control when
he spoke of his bankruptcy, the confusion of
his words, told clearly Of a mind unhinged.
He could not go away and leave Iris with no
better protection than one other weak old
man.
He remained, but Iris sat with him, and
in the silent watches Of the night they talked
about the future.
Under every roof are those who talk about
the future, and those who think about the
past; 80 the shadow Of death is always with
us and the sunshine of life. Not without
reason in the Roman Catholic altar incom-
plete without a bone Of some dead man. As
for the thing which had been stolen, that
affected them but little. What does it
matter-the loss Of what was promised but
five minutes since3
1t was one o'clock in the morning when
Lala Roy left them. They sat at the win
dow, hand-in-hand, and talked. The street
below them was very quiet; now and then
a late cab broke the silence, or the tramp of
a policeman. but there were no other sounds.
They sat in darkness because they wanted no
light. The hours sped too swiftly for them.
At five the day began to dawn.
"lris," said Arnold, 'leave me now, and
try to sleep q little. Shall we ever forget
this night Of sweet and tender talkp
When she was gone he began to be aware
of footsteps overhead in the old mans room.
What was he going to do9 Arnorld waited
at the door. Presently the door opened,
and he heard careful steps upon the stairs.
They were the steps of Mr.. Emblem himself.
He was fully dressed, with his usual care
and neatness, his black silk stock buckled
behind, and his white hair brushed.
="Ah, Mr.. Arbuthnot," he said, cheer
fully, 'you are early this morningr" as if
it was quite a usual thing for his friends to
look in at six in the morning.
"You are going down to the shop, Mr..
EmblemP
eyes, certainly-to the shop. Pray come
with me.n
Arnold followed him.
II have just remembered, said the old
man, ''that last night we did not look on
the floor. will lave one more search for
the letter, and then, il l cannot find it, 1
will write it all out-every word. There is
not much, to be sure. but the story is told
without the names"
TELL me the story, Mr.. Emblem, while
you remember it."
"All in good time, young man. Youth is
inpatient
He drew up the blind and let in the
morning light; then he began his search
for the letter on the floor, going on his
hands and knees, and peering under the
table and chairs with a candle. At length
he desisted.
~ tied 1t up" he said, "with the parcel
with red tape. Very well-we must do with
out It. Now, Mr.. Arbuthnot, my plan is
this. First, l will dictate the letter. This
will give you the outlines Of the story. Next,
l will send you toto my old customer, who
can tell you my son-in-law's real name.
And then l will describe his coat OF arms.
NY memory wal never So clear and good as
l feel it to-day. Strange that last night
seemed, for the moment, to forget every
thingl Ha, hal Ridiculous, wasn't it9 |
suppose But there is no accounting for
these queer things. Perhaps l was disap
pointed to e od nothing in the packet. Do
you think, Nr. Arbuthnot, that i" Here
he began to tremble. "Do you think that
l dreamed it ala Old men think strange
things. Perhaps"
"Let us try to remember ithe letter, Mr..
Emblem"
eyes, yes-certainly-the letter. Why it
went-aheml-as follows"
Arnold laid down the pen IN despair. The
moor old man was mad. He had poured out