Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1888-06-29

i Esther ano@Elrs. LlathTOp vTeRs sean
coming toward them.
They approached slowly until With
I 40 g few feet Of where BanCrOtt lay, and
then Mr.. moncrieL taking a look ct
| ths deethly white face before him.
/ gave a despairing scream and fen pros.
! 5rats beside the dying man. exclaim.
ing:
'Aiy sOnl my long lost scnl"
Ny tatherl" gasped James Ban.
croft.
''Then-then-He
''0h. my darling brother, (" cried
] Helene, throwing herself down by the
side Of Bancroft, and putting his head
IN her lap; why didn't you tell meP''
/ Because teebly- 81 Il didn't
know it!''
ooh, my bOyl my boyl'' moaned
] Mr.. MOncrief, how comes this?''
''GOd forgive me,'' answered Ban.
croft. 'fOr I did not know, "but-I-
! Was-in-love-With -my-sisterl'' he
/ gave one last convulsiVe gasp and
turned over In his sister Helene's lap.
/ a corpse.
"But do not understand" said
/ Hamp, chow Helene Moncrief can be
/ your daughter, while James Bancroft
Is your sOn?'
al will explain. Directly after nv
! son Left me, fifteen years ago, I mar.
/ rlrd again, my second wife living only
six weeks. Her maiden name was
/ MOnCrlef. She became greatly at
/ tached to little Helene, and on her
/ dying bed requested that L let Helene
/ take the name OF MOnCrief in lieu Of
/ Bancroft, and consented. At three
! years OF age put her in Mrs. Lath-
/ rOp's charge. under the name of Hell.
/ enc MOncrief, aud from that day IN.
! til this moment Helene and myself
! have been known to her by the name
! OF MOncrief"
James Bancroft was buried the
next day at L., q large crowd at.
/ tending, and among the chief mourn.
/ ers at the grave was Hamp Harper.
] His grief was genuine and the sym.
/ pathy OF the whole village seemed to
/ go out to him.
Six months after the events record.
/ ed above, Hamp Harper and Helene
! Bancroft were taking what was
/ understood to be their last walk
! together for the next day Helene was
| to accompany her father to his old
home, where they hoped to forget the
! terrible ending of their son and
! brother. Though secretly, the young
! lovers were as deeply attached one to
| never had the COuraga to mention
! his love for Helene since that terrible
! duel. Neither had spoken for several
! moments. both doubtless thinking OF
/ the parting on the morrow, an event
| to which Hamp could hardly look
with anything like cOmpOsure.
/ Finally, as they turned to retrace
/ their steps hOmeward, Hamp said:
You leave Tomorrow Hell
ene?"
yes. tomorrow" turning deathiy
pale.
Il am very sorry" said Hamp, a
great lump rising in his throat.
To this Helene replied by turning
her lace in the opposite direction, and
Hamp could not help noticing that a
deathly pallOr Overspread her cOun-
tenance, and taking courage from this,
he suddenly broke out:
Helene, can you, is it possible for
you to look upon me IN the future as
anything but the brute that ] am?
God knows what have suffered with.
In the last six mOnthsl Had known,
had I ever suspicioned the truth. the
whole world could not have induced
me to meet Mr.-yOur brOther-as I
would rather a thousand times
over to have gone to the grave in his
stead Oh, it is horrible, hor-''
'I-am-gla d-it- Was-not-youl''
she sobbed, turning full upon him.
Amid her weeping she continued: "Of
course, it Is horrible, Hamp, but in
my heart know that my poor dead
brother was to blame. aud, alter all,
Helene still loves you"
''Oh, heaven, do deserve this?''
and Hamp Harper looked to heaven
for his answer.
Helene was silent, and seemed lost
In deep study. Suddenly Hamp stop
ped, took her little hand In his and
asked, eagerly:
''AIy precious Helene, do you love
me, then, as we'll as beforO?''
Eyes, as have always loved you!'
'"Then you viii be my little
Helene?''
'Yes-if you want me-"
Mr.. Bancroft was very stern in his
objections at first, but the pleadings
Of two bleeding hearts soon OVercame
them, and he finally yielded. then and
there Offering his benedictiOns upon
them,
A few days before the wedding Of
Hamp and Helene, Mr.. Bancroft sur
pr1sed them one morning by saying:
"Wel children, Mrs Lathrop and
myself have decided that I will be too
lonesome after Helene's marriage to
live by myself, and the upshot Of the
decision is that we will keep you COM
pany on that day, provided there are
no objections raised by you. for we
decided TO leave that with you two"
OF course there were no objections,
and so the little village was treated
to a double wedding d lew DAYS after
ward which was unanimously voted
to be a very strange but happy termi-