The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-02-28

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away inside me like steam hammer.
Here very natural woman's voice ex-
| claimed:
Dead Oh, is he dead, my moor old fathers
| frIend?"
looked round the curtains at her; she was
| bending over him with tears of interest i'll her
blue eyes. She had put little hand upon his
! cold, hard forehead She was so uneommonly
unlike ghost that / could not believe in I'M
! Gle Samuel's story any more. His brain had
! given way i'll his old age, and that was the eX-
| PLANTATION of it. An odd coincidence or two
| life is all coincdenceS-had helped to make
! the yarn remarkable, and that was ALL
Glow long has he been dead?" she asked, in
a Whisper and as if afraid she might wake
him.
"Just minute
| 81 heard in Deal that he was very i'll, and 1
came to you at once. 1 could not make any
body hear in the shop, so ! thought L would
not run away again. but come up stairs to where
! the footsteps were. | guessed what was hap
| pening," she said sorrowfully, "and / had
! hoped to see him once before his death; to give
! him POOR fathers message-fathers thanks"
"Yon-you have never seen him before
then?"
| s'Nevor"
"You have never been in England before
| this year," l asked.
| "Never."
"And you are Bertha Keefoland- Casper
Keeieland's .daughter"'
"Poor old Uncle Nanglc." murmured, look
ing at him. chow your mind wandered at the
last, to be sure"
'Did he speak of me?" she asked,
YES, ! should rather think he did"
my coming to England distressed him q
deal, reminding him, dare say, 80 much of
father"
'fIum! perhaps it did"
Don't tell him everything too suddenly
he's old, like me-, said my father, before he
died" she continued; give him plenty of
time to think matters oyer-say you'll call
again, or anything And when, q fortnight
ago, heard him shrek out after you had Ia
ken in my message TO him, felt l had been
too hasty and crept away at once, giving him
more time MS father wished"
ooh! | see"
''See what?"
| 'That your father was wonderfully consid-
crate man. And yet"
"And yet?'' she repeated
"My uncle never seemed exactly tho man
for anybody to be considerate about" / con
| cluded.
"My father liked him very much always.
don't think you could have understood your
uncle" she said, thonghtfully, almost re-
proachfully.
"Well suppose / didn't" confessed.
al have little more to say--but." she added,
| with shiyer, sis there any reason / should
say it here? ANY reason we should stop here
| longer?"
"No. Please come downstairs - answered.
! I've vert tothe bur parlor, where she sat
CORN ID fSy NIeles Jlair, and locked hasd at
me. She was very pretty German girl, i
thought.
! "Now, about the box - she said, 81 don't
wish to trouble You concerning itt till after your
uncle's funeral. / will simply ask you to take
extra care of it, now that 1t is In your sole
! custody, and not In the good mans upstairs,
who has held it in faithful trust for me so long
| ] may tell you even there are jewels of con-
siderable value i'll it, and | am worry poor That
may interest you, perhaps-for my sake" she
added, with a faint little smile.
ITO be sure" / answered, heartily, "and
that it does. But"
She waited for me to proceed, looking at me
! anxiously.
"But before his death my uncle spoke of
those jewels, and said-whether in his sober
| senses or out Of them, the Lord knows, Miss
Keefeland-that-that, / stamnered forth,
"he had turned the jewels into money"
| why should he have done that?"
AS kind OF loan, perhaps" suggested.
ellis statement was not very clear, and, as
| there was ghost mixed up with it, could not
make it out exactly but the long and the short
of it is, he has LETT all his money, every scrap
of it to you"
"To mel"
ITO the next-of-kin of Casper Keefeland.
That is you, / hope?" asked, nervousIy, cor
| the poor old boy has made a pretty mess of
! it,"
eyes; it is T."
"That's all right. I'm glad"
''But you are his nephew-should be his
heir" she exclaimed. "What has he left
| you?"
ole has not thought of me in any way"
| ooh, that is wrong!'
ono; think il Is right" answered.
| Chow can ii be?'
GLOW can anything be?" said, in my des-
perate bewildcrment. Don't try to make out
anything just yet, Miss Keefeland, please. If
forel' ' 0''' 'S'0-' ''''-' ''''N ''''' ~
81 was taking care Of father, and be only
spoke OF the box few, months ago, and just
before he died. 1t had passed out of his
memory completely, he said. lie was n very
forgetful man and" she added, thoughtiully,
las. he had many troubles, 1t was just as
we'll"
eyes" assented ~ should say So"
81 should not have been surprised If the box
had been missing altogether" she remarked.
81 was prepared to hear you tell me that when
| first called here"
"Why?" / asked, cautiously.
"TheIo was some one who knew the box was
hore-my fathers second wife and Bertha
Keefeland too. My father had told her Of it
once. lie remembered that he had spoken OF
| it to her"
felt creeping mp my back now
"Your fathers second wife," ! repeated in
! husky whisper.
! "Yes. lie married her year or two after
! he had come back from Deal for the last time.
! Married her for nurse and 90 take care of
| me, left motberless. And sho was too wild
! and passionate and-and wicked. She desert
| ed HIM"
| 'What-what has become Of ber"'
~ don't know. She left letter on tie
table one night stating that She could bear her
! life no longer and must 80 away from him and
me. She was then about the ago / am"
Bertha added. thoughfully. "Shc was much
too young for father. lie was very fond Of
her though after size had left him no made
! her dress like her and wear ornaments like
me, too. 1t WAS a strange fancy"
| Yes. raw the story now, thought, from
its shadowy beginning 70 its end. The young
wife OF Casper Keefelsnd, after deserving her
! husband, had come 20 the Flying Fish for the
sandal-wood box, had come with lying mes
sage from Casper, and met her death in
coming.
Uncle Nangle's confession was true after
| all. Bit by bit / siftcd IL out. The old man
! had killed the wrong Bertha Keefeland, and
/ year after year IL became moro and more plain
! to me--nore and more Of n terrible tale OF
/ temptation and cupidity. Let me turn away
from IL for good--it win DO known only to
Bertha and me until this hand Is still which
puts the record on paper
Bertha Is my wife. She came into my
uncle's money, and, as she insisted upon slar-
| ing II with me, We mado up our minds Just to
share our lives together as well, and 80 round