The Penn's Grove record., 1888-02-18

lcCelV6u no tlulDSf9 VI ulu lTOu1 IIb uhy
he went away. Row, it is fair to pre-
sumo that this Iyoung man has, by
some means, discovered his sister, and
she may be ashamed Of him and keeps
him at a distancet by bribing him. How
does it strike youf?"
"a very plausible theory" remarked
I.
"Very we'll, then" rejolned he, in
an earnest tone; l"weW take that for
granted. Now You have q possible
ground to work Upon. When she asks
me for money aEain I'll put her of
until the following day, and send you
a note in the mealnwhile to hover about
the vicinity Of MY house and avail. her
coming forth, THEN you'll have your
task before you."
"But suppose Ihe sends the money
in a letter?n obseEved 1. "Her object
Of charity may n4t reside here"
"In that case you must try and see
that letter and to whom it Is ad-
dressed" said he& ~
81 said l woulH do all that could be
done in this serious matter and he left
me.
"a week passed. before l received a
note from him. Ebe had received fifty
dollars from hinp five hours after he
had dispatched the note to me and l
was at my post when she came out of
the house, Mr.. Melmbold watched for
me from an upper window, but l 90 not
suppose he recognized me, for l was
deeply disguised.
II followed her to the postofice,
where she dropped a letter in the box.
Che .-no J,o.I, r,ltlaI m a. oi,a IiI not
wish to be recognized by any one.
"By a quick movement l was at the
box when she dropped the letter and
could see that There was but one letter
in the basket-helr letter.
81 beckoned To the clerk inside and
by some speciou# story and a golden
bride he permitted me to see the ad-
dress on tile envelope. 1 was deeply
surprised when l read this superscrip.
ton, MIR, Walter Corney'-one OF the
most notorious gamblers in the city.
"Was it possible that she was On
friendly terms with this rascal
thought I; or, worse, was she addicted
to gambling and was she, In this man
ner. paying her debts Of honor"
"Eitber case did not reject to her
credit, since 1t Was done without her
husbands knowledge. Islowly walked
away, undecided whether to tell MI.
Uelmooid what il had discovered or
wait for further Developments.
II suddenly came Il a decision and
instantly re-enterfd the p0st.ofice. l
would see Corney call for the letter,
then follow him and find out what l
could.
s'TIe came for the letter half an hour
after it was deposited and eagerly
opened IT.. A mpttered curse escaped
his lips when h@ counted the notes;
there were three Of them-twO twenties
and a ten.
"OnIy fifty, my ladyl" 1 heard him
say, VERY well; II think l can fetch
the other one hundred and fifty before
this month is a week olderl' With these
words he hastene}l away.
81 did not follow him. I had no
desire to do so no w,.for as he carelesSly
thrust the letter. in his pocket, after
taking the money from it and reading
its contents. he accidentally drew it
out again when be withdrew his hand
and it huttered ut my feet.
Il placed my foot upon it. l was
determined to possess that letter, W
should he miss ID on the instant and
return to look for it.
81 felt relieved when he disappeared.
I picked up the letter and hurriedly
left the post Office. Half an hour later
| was sitting in MIR. Helmbold's private
room, while he was perusing the letter.
/ had first told him all I had discovered.
1 did not read the letter, and so in
formed him, hence l knew not how it
would affect him.
~ felt greatly relieved when 1 saw
merely a perpIexed look on his face
after he had read the letter. 1t augured
well, l thought, for, presumably, there
can be nothing criminal in her CORE
%spondence or connection with this dis
reputable fellow; possibly the letter ex-
plains itself.
"You lave not read this letter, you
say?" said he, abruptly.
"I did not"
"Then read it now, and see what you
can make of it. The mystery only
deepens 10 me after reading it."
81 took it and read these ambiguous
words:
"sIR: Enclosed you will find fifty
dollars. More | cannot give you now.
Have some mercy. at least il ever you
expect mercy from your God. If you
go too far you may kill the goose
that lays the golden eggs. for at times
1 am sOreIy tempted to reveal all to my
poor, deceived husband. l think he
will he less cruel than you and that
woman, for in the sight OF heaven l am
innocent of any Intentional wrong save
that by force OF cruel circumstances, ]
am obliged to deceive him in order to
spare bis feelings. In a mouth from
now you may bear from me again, not
before"
"There was no signature, but Mr..
Helmbold knew his wife wrote the let
ter.
"WelI, what does II reveal to your"
he asked, after l had laid it on the
table.
"Nothing very definite. ~ answered l,
''only il is quite evident by the tone
of it that your Innocent wife, from
some cause, has fallen into the tolls of
a pair of INSCRIPTIONS schemers-this
rascal, Walter Corney. and some
equally vile woman. Now take my
advice - added !, seriously, ''opeD the
letter this villain will probably send to
your wife, and we may get at the root
of this deyilish conspiracy, for such !
believe it TO be, and our course will be
plain. l can procure you the hand.
writing of the fellow before night, and
that will enable sou TO tell which letter
to open."
"He promised TO do as | suggested,
and by -four that afternoon ] placed IN
| HE bnn1. N Fow ltrlu urrftFan Inv IVnltar
Corney.
Next day Mr.. Helmbold sent for me.
When / reached the house the servant
conducted me to his masters private
apartment, but he was not alone as ]
had expected; his wife was with him.
"He introduced me, but did net men,
ton my calling. She apparently did not
have the slightest suspicion Of what
was to come.
"My DEAR" said be. in a pleasant
| tz.o ,Idraac,n0 hfrnoayR fA har slAr