Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-06-19
80 wish you joy!' said Raven, az he

40 wish you joy!' said Raven, as he
rose to 60 into the C~hancellor;s Court,
where he had a brief that morning.
81 had then no idea that he also
loved Mary Bagster, and that he had
determined, V at that late hour, if
not to wrench her from me for himself,
at least to prevent my marrying her.
His conduct toward me remained, so
far as 1 could see, exactly what it had
been previous to my engagement. He
was genial and friendly, appeared to
take an absorbing interest in all my
plans tor the future, and actually ac-
companicd me to Brunswick Square to
look owe a house which was to be let.
and which l thought of taking and fur
nishing. 1 found that the place would
be rather beyond my means, and re-
gretfully told him so.
Never mind, jack he said; you
will find something better, perhaps.
But | certainly should like you to have
the house,
THAT evening we were sitting to-
gether over the fire. 'Jack!' he said,
suddenly, we are old friends, and I
want to give you a handsome wedding
"He had, l should explain, recently
succeeded to the baronetcy and the es-
tates. and was now rich man.
"'You are very good 1 answered.
Anything that you may give us will
be valued, not merely for itself, but for
the sake Of the giver.' Y
"'We have been in chambers togeth-
~ ' ho yn>,,v,,l &C., ~.~-a Ill., ----
years. 1 shan't like losing your COM
pany; for of course I shall be robbed OF
a good deal of it now. Be plain with
me, Jack. Would not money be more
useful to you than a mere present? 1t
usually is acceptable, 1 believe, in these
cases.
Il thanked him feelingly for his fore.
thought. 1T would be particularly
welcome I said.
without another word, he drew his
chair to the table, took his check-book
from a drawer, and filled in q draft,
which, after he had carefully examined,
he handed to me.
II took it, and gazed at it with as
tonishment-it was for a thousand
pounds! My dear Raven I gasped,
for l was overcome by this act of APP
parent and totally unexpected generos-
ity, it is too much; it is too good OF
you. l can not think of accepting it.
"'You know that I can we'll afford
it, he said, curtly. L insist upon
your taking it. If you refuse, we can
no longer remain on terms of friend
ship
":Nay, Raven I cried. while my
heart seemed to rise to my throat. DO
not misunderstood me. This is noble
of you. l thank you with all my heart;
but | can not accept such a large sum-
':He would not listen, however. to my
refusal; and finally | pocketed both my
pride and the draft
''Mary Bagster was at the time pay
ing a short visit to her friends in the
country; and thus it happened that [
did not mention the fact Of my having
received Ravens handsome present
either to her or to any one else. I
looked forward to surprising her with
the news upon her return to town; and
in the meantime | sent the draft to nv
bankers, a well-known private firm,
! with which l had but recently opened
al account.
ga few mornings afterward 1 was
sitting at breakfast in my bachelor
lodgings in Chapel street, Bedford
Row, when, without warning, q police
officer entered my room, and, showing
me q warrant which authorized him to
arrest me on a charge of forgery, took
me into custody.
"As you may expect, l was thunder
struck. Forgery! Forgery of what?'
l exclaimed, half maddened by the mon
streus charge.
ButIsoonlearned, alittle and guessed
the rest. Raven, in order to dispose of
NE, and to etfectually put a stop to my
marriage, had written out the draft in
an unusual manner, and had appended
his name in a wayw which had caused his
banker to decline to cash the check,
and to endorse it with the words: ..Sig-
nature differs
"The draft had been returned in this
condition to Raven, who without hest
tation had pronounced it to be a
forgery. According to his story, which
was only too plausible, Ialone could be
the criminal. The check was payable
to me; I had access to the drawer in
which he kept the book from which the
hoS vi oO1A, oAu tAC S11AAoJ
signature had been written much as l
might have written it.
"You a guess the sequel, doctor.
I was tried; and although 1 was very
ably defended by a leading counsel,
who was a personal friend Of mine, l
was convicted and sentenced to trans
portation. How shall I describeto you
the agony of those days! In due course
l was sent out here with a ship-load of
| c%ut-throats and felons. In a few years,
doubtless. l vas nearly forgotten at
home, for my conviction killed my
father; and who else was there to re-
member me save Raven and Mary Bag
ster, whom he, to add to my wrotched-
ness, soon afterward married."
At this po;nt Sir James vas seized
with spasmod:c pains, brought on by
his excitement; and l was obliged to
temporarily forbid his continuing the
painful narrative. An hour or two
later, however, finding him calmer, !
permitted him to go on.
II served my time" he continued;
''and then, having no friends in En-