Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-12-13
Mr.. NELSON'S WILL.
BY a, RIDER HAGGARD.


May evening he was rejecting sadly
enough Of all that he had lost through
that cruel shipwreck He had lost Au-
gusta, and, what was more, he had lost
his uncle and his upcle's vast fortune
For he, too, had seen the report of the APP
plication re Meeson in the Times, and
though he knew that he was disinherited,
1t was little crushing. He had lost the
fortune for Augustus sake, and now he
had lost Augusta also; and he reflected,
not without diSmay, on the long, dreary
existence that stretched away before him,
filled up as it were with prospective piles
of Latin proofs. With a sigh he halted at
the Wellington street crossiBgin the
Strand, which, owing to the constant
stream Of traffic at this point, is one OF the
worst in London. There was u block at
the moment, as there generally is, and he
stood for some minutes watching the
frantic dashes Of an old woman, who al
ways tried TO cross at the wrong time, not
without some amusement. Presently,
however a boy with bundle Of unfolded
Globes under his arm came rushing along,
making the place hideous with his bowls.
Wonderful escape Of a lady and han
hinfantr' he roared. Account of the sur
vivors of the Kangaroo-wonderful escape
desert island-arrival Of the Magnolia
with the criminals"
Eustaco jumped, and instantly bought
copy of the paper, stepping into the door
way of shop where they sold Masonic
jewels of every size and hue in order to
read it. The very first thing that his eye
fell on was an editorial paragraph.
IN another column, u ran the paragraph,
will be found a short account, tele-
graphed to US from Southampton Just as
we are going to press, of the most remark
able tale of the sea that we are acquainted
with. The escape of Miss Augusta Smith
ers and Of the little Lord HOlmhurst--s.s
we suppose that we must now call him
from the ill-fatcd Kangaroo, and their
subsequent resoUe, on KergueleR Land, by
the American Whaler, will certainly take
rank as the most romantic incident OF It's
kind in the recent annals of shipwveck
Miss Smithers, who viii be better known
TO the public as the authoress ct the.charm-
ing book, Terminals Vow," which took
the town by storm about year ago, will
arrive at Waterloo Station by the 500
train, and we shall then"
EuStace read no more. Sick and faint
with an extraordinary reyUision OF feeling
he leant against the door of the Masonic
hospitable manner, depositing him upon
his back on the floor of the establishments
In second he was up, and had bounded
out of the~shop with such energy that the
shopman was on the point OF holioaing
stop, tfi4fp' 1t was exactly tive O'Clock,
and he was not more than q quarter of a
mile or so from Waterloo Station. A han
som was,sauntering along in front of him
he spr9ng into it, Waterloo, mainline. :"
he shouted, las hard as you can do,'' and
in another moment he was rolling racross
the bridge. Five or six minutes drive
brought him to the station, to which an
enormous number of people Were hurry
ing, collected together partly by q rumOr
Of wh1t was going on and partly by that
magnetic contagion of excitement which
runs & rough Il London mob like fire
through dry grass.
He dismissed the hans0m, throwing the
driver half d crown which, considering
that half crowns were MORO too plentiful
with him, was a rash thing TODD, and Wig
orously shouldered his way through the
crush till he reached the spot where the
carriage and pair were standing The car
riage was just beginning to move,on.
Stop" he shouted at the top of his voice
% the. eoachman, who pulled up again. In
another moment he was alongside, and
there, syveeter and mere beautiful than
ever, De once more saw his lowe
She started at his voice, which she
seemed to know, and their eyes met,
and great light of happiness shot into
her sweet face and shone there till il
was covered up and lost in the warm blush
that followed
lie tried to speak, but could not. Twice
he tried and twice he failed, ard mean
while tho mob shouted like anything. AT
last, however, he got it out-"Thank
God?" he sstammered, Thank God, you
are safer'
For answer, she stretched cut &er hand
and gave him one sweet look He took it,
and once more the carriage began TO move
9n.
'Whereare you to be found?" he had the
presence of mind to ask.
AT Lady UohnhurSts. COrne to-mor
row morning; l have something to tell
YOU" She answered, and in another min
ute the carriage was gone, leaving him
standing there in u condition of mind
which really can be better imagined than
described
CHAPTER Z2Ev.-AT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
I4uSb1NS CtsIlNl never QuAib IGItA6luBeI
how he got Though the evening of that
eventful day. Everything connected with
it seemed hazy to him. As however, for
tunately for the reader of this history, we
are not altogether dependent on the MEM
DRY of 4 young man in love, which as al
ways u treacherous thing to deal with,
having other and exclusive sources Gf in
formation. we n1ay as well ill the gap.
First OF all he went TO his club and seized
a Red Book in which he discovered that
Lord HolmhUrSt}s, or, rather Lady Helm
lurst'S. London house was in Hanover
Square. Then he walked to his rooms in
one of the little side streets opening out of
the Strand, and Went through the form Sf
eating some dinner, after which terrible
fit of restlessness got possession Of him,
md he started out walking. For three
id hours did that young man walk,
..hich was, no doubt, q good thing for
6im, for one never gets enough exercise
sn London; and at the end OF that time,
asTing already been to Hammersmith and
back he found himself graTitating toward
Hanover Square. OGce more he had little
difficulty in finding the number There
was light in the DRAWN -reom floor and
the night being warm, enc Of the windows
was open, so that the lamplight shone
softly through the lace curtains. Eustace
crossed over to the other side OF the street
and, leaning against the iron ratings of
the square, looked up. He was rewarded
for his pains, for, through the f1lmy cur
tain he could make out the forms Of two
ladies seated side by side upon an ottoman
with their faces toward the window. and
an. Of ithaca no !, or no diffoultr