The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1886-08-21

4,
ceeding Over he would go, however, am
, over Mrs, Cargill must go with him; when
, man Is in n trance he is very unreasonable
how Mrs. Cargill stood it | cannot tell, saw
that she herself was, perhaps, n little affected
We were helping them quietly over whel
the professor got into II most unaccountah
hurry, and, had we not both devoted our at
tention to Mrs Cargil, she and her leader
must have fallen and the train of thought
been probably broken, We had been askc,
10 maintain a discreet silence, but | could al
most have sworn caught "A smothercd eX
clamation from Harold =, Mrs. Carsills foot
was brought smartly round upon the side OF
his head, owing to the professors unreasona-
bic haste
Once over the paling the scent seemed 70
have grown weaker. OF course there was ne
hesitation in the avenue, and very evident
absence Of such feeling when pallngs had u
be surmOuntcd; but once on the dewy grass
things might be taken more easily. wont
back 10 the palmgs 10 JOIN Harold, and we
left thu pair to themselves till they got fairly
aclo,5 Ia" field. Then thcprofcSsor seemed to
recognize the proximity Of another palinS,
and we had 10 run TO be- IN time To help them
over. We were getting more used to 1t now,
and Mrs. CargIll was barring ny wonderfully.
We handed them over without any mishar,
save that the professors foot got twisted IN
the fence, aud his boot one of those elastic
sided moustro,itics ana very Old came oil IN
the struggle 10 cXtricatc HIM.
IL was by this time thoroughly light, W
must have been out for nearly halt an hour
| and as yet had done nothing but climb palingS
and got our feet very wet. still, IL certainly
seemed that there might be some method IN
thi, madness, and 50 ON We went, more slowly
now, owing 10 tine bruehwuud. which happily
va, not very thick. Suddenly the professor
stoned, in SO decided q manner that ! could
not bat think it possible that wc were near the
object of our search He was at the moment
int opposite a thick laurel bush. | looked
hastily al Harold, who appeared rs confident
as myself that we must have come to some
thing to cause such decided and prolonged
stop few minutes Of silence and su,pcuse
,a,,ol Ike hours; then, step forward, and
the professor commenced to stoop slowly
downward. when wc heard "A rustius amouE
the laurel leaves, and fox skunk ont fromth
other side Of the bush and made or through
the wool This distracted my attention fora
moment, and when looked round the pro
f.,,or bad resumed his usual stiIl-backcd atu
uIe We waited for full five minutes
What had gone wrong, Where was the pro
f-sor, promise: Was there nothing IN the
bush after ALI
He slowly relaxed Mrs. Cargill, hand; Il,
i, no use, gentlemen; can do nothing moro
Just now,' But why, What was the rea-
son. Why stop himself just as discovery AZ
prlrol certain. The professor could under
stand it no more than SO. Il came here, he
said, guided 10y Mrs CurIills thought. !
don't know whore am. | had the diamond
OK the Glow to it, five minutes ago. now 1t |,
lost. Whether Mrs Cargill had ceased 90 As
s.,t mo or not | cannot tell But know
can do nothing more just now
Il seemed best. if we wished to preserve any
secrecy in the matter, to make our way home
a, quick rs We could gave the professor
hi, boot, and Mrs. Carg.l who was some
thing exhausted my arm, and we returned,
gioJmiy, almost as we had come, that is to
say. by the shortest and most direct way
We were all too Disguised with the professor
t. be able 20 discuss she mattcrumicahiy with
him at the moment, 80 We parted quietly and
like guilty creatures in tic hail to court the
s..yU which We all began to feel wuu.l b.
beneficial,
III, explanations later in the day made the
mu't.rup clearer. Hc was certain that ho
haI been on the track and it certainly had
looked Ike IL, but the reason for the sudden
stop he could not tell Still, ia the end he
managed TO tax Us over, and Mrs. CargiI
was induced to 20 through the experiment
again. but TINS time We were to start where
We had left oil one thing alone the pro
f,,,ur would swear to; the diamond could not
be- in Tie house, else he would never have gone
out,id. Also he informed us that his foot,
notwithstanding his thick stocking, was con
sidarably the worse for wear.
The hour at length came again. Harold
and had decided TO dispense with sleep Mrs. .
CargilI ard the professor turned up very pune |
tualiy within fow seconds of one another
The morning was clear and frosty We /
walked 10 the laurel BUSH where, having /
bimdfoldod the professor rs before Mrs. Car |
giil tool, his hand He soon started Off, TAX !
ipr no notice of the laurel bush, but away |,
through the wood. We must have been walk !
ing for several minutes, and NJ n pretty quick !
pace, when, like an evil omen, fox prOba- I
bly, the ono we had seen on the prev iouS night /
Sprang out Of Clump OF underwood and van .
l-h',l among the trees
II was the same story over again Our |
leaders pace sackcned, then hc stopped |
Could it be that n fox was, as it were, Il non |
conducting agent | put the question To the |
professor; nay, | further limited that, perhaps, !
when in u mcsmcric state the scnse of smell /
mi Int he SO heightened that he had been fol. /
lowing like fDXhuund, for wonghtS i'll sue
c,S,on, this evil deni2cn Of the woods lie .
put the suggestion aside with scOrn but the .
more | thought the more felt there might bc
something in it, and Harold So far agreed .
with me as to question the learned professor
next day as TO whether lie had ever been fond |
of hunting
We had gone home as before nonpuSsed;
we had retired to our rooms, slumbered lat,
and met for fresh discussion, all to no pur-
pose Mrs. Cargill wished to give up the Mt
tempt and call III the detectives Harold AM
were inclined somewhat ignominously to
agree But we had forgotten the professor;
his blood was up; our taunts on the subject
of fox hunting had aggravated him moro
than we had fauCicd. Prove himself right he
would; his honor, he insisted, was at stake, h.
must be successful in the end He appealed
to Mrs Cargill to stand 10y him, and the long
and the short of 1t was that she agreed to
make u third and last trial, the professor
on hiS side promising that it should be the
very last.