The Penn's Grove record., 1886-04-10

wedding day must be indefinitely pots
poned, and Max must begin again at
the foot Of the ladder. AS a climax to
their misery the vine grower who had
employed Max seemed to have lost con-
fdence in the young fellow since the
affair Of the loan, and gave to another
man the place Max had been hoping to
Gil. L would have given worlds to be
able to help the young couple in their
trouble; but / had no ready money to
advance, and 1 was powerless.
Greta's sad eyes and pale cheeks
haunted me, and, if she had been my
own child, 1 could not have felt for her
more keenly.
About this time l caught a seyer
cold, which weakened me visibly, and |
decided to try change of air and scene
for a time, where possibly some lnspi-
ration to aid Greta might come to me.
1 went away with the poor girls grief
stricken face engraved sharply upon
my memory.
'cA11 WiedcrSehenl Bring me COM
fort when you come agaln!" she had
sobbed at parting, covering my hands
with kisses. Next to Heaven, thrust
in you, to help me in my trouble. You
will come back before our wedding
day."
The poor child had such ~unwavering
faith in her lovers being righted in
the eyes of all her little world
~"IIeaven helping rae, l will bring
you good neWslo L answered feryently,
for an inward conviction seemed to
assure me that the girls trust would
be rewarded.
My destination was a rustic inn in a
valley farther north, where, with the
united advantages Of a whey cure and
a bracing pine scented air, a new lease
of strength was predicted for me. AT
the end Of five weeks he found himself
much better, and decided to return to
Interthal, though L had no good Jews
to take. l chose q much more circuit
Gus route for the home journey than |
had taken in leaying-one that kept
me several days on the way. Our dL
igence stopped for the night at Il lonely
little GdStbduS 50 high up IN the noun
tain that the village below looked like
focks4 of grazing sheep.
l had foolishly drunk strong coffee,
and could not sleep in the most tran
quIl surroundings; therefore q noisy
party of fellows in the next room did
not add much to my discomfort. They
seemed to be playing cards and drink
ing heavily, judging from the frequent
cllnking OF glasses. The walls were
like paper, and were ventilated with
frequent knot-holes, so that l could
hear plainly every word that was said,
though for a long time the converse
ton was anything but entertaining.
One of the party, dignided by the
name OF Tigermaul, seemed far more
tipsy than the rest, and was honored
with the joint compliments of the party
on his condition, Suddenly these words
in a voice which l guessed to be Tiger
maul's, electrified me-
"I'l do lt-give you my word for it
and sign the bonds as | signed for
that Sleeps head Ulrich-ha. hal"
"Who is Ulrich and how did you
sign his bond?" asked some one. How
f~eryently / blessed the unknown rogue
for his question:
"Why, a fellow below in Interthal,
the other side of the Gemsthall He
lent me some money, and brought Inc
his note to sign-give me another swal-
low, Michel; my throat is dry asa bone.
There was a glass Of water on the table
zeal the ink-he, hel L dipped my pen
in the water, and sprinkled the sand
oven it. The blockhead put the paper
in his pocket and never noticed the diff
ference. L didn't pay, of course, when
the time was up"
l climbed upon Is chest of drawers
in my room and peeped through one Of
the k~not-hOles. l was prepared to see
Adolf Harteck; and there the villain
sat, among his d%isreputable companions
with an imbecile look on his flushed
face, Sober, he would never have be-
trayed his disgraceful secret; and for
once IN my life | was thankful for the
besotting influence of bad whiSkey.
My course of action must be swift
and stealthy, or this rogue would
escape me, after all. AT the first sound
of movement downstairs l made my
way to the stables, and learned that the
party VINO had spent the night in the
room next to mine were OF their way
to Naples, where they had engaged pas
sages on one of the Florino line steam
ers going to'Amerlca, and they must be
on their ship within six days. Here
already was a stroke of luck for me;
delay would ruin Harteck's plans, and
he might be ready to pay his just debts
rather than be detained. He must
have money about him too, or he would
not undertake so long a journey. |
was very ignorant of the intrlcacies OF
the law, and was not sure if my COM
plant would suffice to cause the mans
arrest; but l was determined to exert
all my powers of persuasion.
Sudthal was the nearest place Of any
in Importance through which Harteck
and his companions would pass on their
way south ward, and thither | followed
them. 1 was prepared to risk much to
see this gaol-bird Gagged. With a gold
piece to each, l engaged the services of
two stout-llmbed stable-boys, who
locked Harteck in a warn embrace as
he saunteTed out after his supper that
evening, He was secured in one Of the
ou%tbuildings, through the window Of
which / had an interview with my prls-
oner. l shall not attempt to repeat the
vile language with which he assailed
me when / made my demand for Max
Ulrick's money. l listened calmly to
his raving, and told him that, If he con-
tinued to refuse, the affair should pass
into the hands of the police, who at
their leisure would inquire into the
Justice of my claim. At last, maddened
by the thought of losing ship, Harteck
pulled out a leather wallet hidden IN
his breast, and counted out the sum |
required, which he thrust toward me
with an oath l could ~scaaeely believe
my eyes at actually having the money
In my possession SO soon; | hoped only
for part payment, with a valid promise
for the remainder IN cattle, or some
fa~rm.produce. The fellow dreaded the
prolonged disgrace of a trial. My heart
fairly bounded with delight at the
thought of the Joy | could bring to
Greta and Max, and l set off on my
homeward journey without delay, leav-
ing orders that my prisoner was to be
released an hour after my departure.
III -