Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-08-30
Norris touched Mr.. Everleign upon the


sen. That little sister of his was to be mar
ried this morning, was she notl Well,
well; there'n be no wedding now, Of course,
and hope no worse win come Of this than
putting OF the ceremony. What did you
say, sirl" to the officer who had been ex-
aiming the premises.
81 suggested that you should look into
your safe. It does not seem to me to have
been tempered with at all''
An examination proved this conclusion to
be correct. No attempt had been made to-
| ward forcing the safe. TIE assassin had
evidently been frightened away before he
| was able to carry out his burglarious de-
signs.
"Probably he was surprised at finding
the young man here, fired his shot and fed
without waiting to see its effect. What
puzzles me is that he should have left his
| revolver behind him. Do you suppose it
likely that your partner was armedl"
"Not at all likely. Men do not, as rule,
carry firearms in this day, and Lyman was
neither of a reckless nor a trmid nature"
The detectives next question was put in
o lowered voice, meant for the bankers ear
alone.
"Are you quite sure that his accounts
were all stralghtf'
"Quite sure. 1t is only month since he
put in the money which saved me from
bankruptcy"
"Then there was no motive for suicide.
The fellow who did the job was a bungler,
that's all I can say now. There was moth
ing to prevent his making a clean sweep II
he'd been professional, since nobody seems
to have heard the shot. You are to be con-
graduated on getting of without loss, SIR
Mr.. Everleigh's heart was too heavy for
reply. He felt that any loss would be light
compared to that which he feared might
come-for he could not but realize that
Lyman's life was in fearful jeopardy, and
his own obligation to the latter weighed
upon him heavily.
While they were thus engaged in survey
ing the situation, the physician had been
experimenting the removal Of the wounded
man. Meanwhile, the messenger who had
been dispatched to break the evil tidings,
finding himself in an unfamiliar locality,
had managed to miss his way, and the shock
of seeing her brother borne in apparently
lifeless came upon Carol without warning.
She was stunned by it.
She listened mutely to the explanations
which the banker hurried forward to give,
and to his plying words, but her only
thought was of her brothers danger.
at is terrible blow for her, poor child!
She needs some one to help her through
this trouble. / will send Althea to keep
her company" volunteered Mr.. Everleigh
as he took his leave.
Pray do not" Ingot fastened to re-
spond. sit is not necessary. will remain
for the present, and know Carol so well, 1
am sure she would rather be left alone"
"She will be better for woman's SYM
pathy.n
"But there was something's GOODNESS OF
some kind-between them"
"A trifle, daresay, which will not be re-
membered at a time like this" and the
| banker left, fixed in his resolve.
Ingot summoned the servant and gave
his directions as soon as the other was fair
| ly out Of hearing.
"Sarah, if Miss Everleigh calls, tell her
| that your young mistress refuses to see her
refuses to see any one. / depend upon
you to get rid Of every one who comes
| without troubling Miss Carol with mes
sages The doctor has ordered perfect
| quiet for his patient, and we can not follow
| his instructions too faithfully. You under.
| standf'
ayes, sir; certainly" acquiesced Sarah,
and Mr.. Ingot fingered to see Althea denied
admittance. The clergyman who was to
have oficiated at the marriage, meantime,
| had taken his departure after offering some
earnest words of sympathy and consolation
to the stricken girl.
| She had taken her place by her brothers
bedside, white and motionless, seeing moth
ing but his CHASTITY looks, hearing nothing
but the faint, labored breathing which
crossed his lips. Ingot passed in and out
unnoticed by her, and when he disappeared
| for a couple of hours later in the day, she
| did not miss him.
| He came back with a new expression
on his face which BODIED no good. The as
pect Of the siek-room had not changed.
| Carol had not noticed his leaving, she did
| not notice his entrance until he spoke her
| name.
"Come with me. / have something to
say to you. Lyman will do as well with
Sarah to watch HIM. By the way" leading
her out, "she tells me she has a brother
| who understands nursing, and / have en-
gagged him to take charge of the case. ]
don't intend to let you wear yourself out,
my dear, now that youbelong to me-or soon
that have been very bitterly disappointed
to-day, Carol! 1t is hard to be so near my
happiness, and yet be cheated out of it.''
She lifted her heavy eyes to his face, and
parted her lips as if about to speak, then
her glance fell away. What could she sayl
How could she tell him that she no longer
recognized his claim, that she never had
recognized it, while Lyman, who was her
strength, lay helplessl
81 don't intend to be cheated out Of il
long," Ingot went on, with q logged stub
bornness underlying his gentler tones.
Lyman may lay there in that state for
days; it will be weeks before he will get
around if he ever does, and haven't got
| the patience Of job / want you to marry
me right off, just the same as if nothing had
happened, and I'll help you take care OF
him, swear will, as if he was my own
| brother"
"Oh, moi" exclaimed Carol, with a nerv-
| Gus clasping of her hands, a catch in her
breath. "Not now-not ever-until''-
Until whati" he asked, regarding her
with darkening looks.
"Until he is better and tells me that
must" with a burst Of hysterical weeping,
which relieved her over-burdened heart
She pressed back the tears presently, and
looked at him piteously.
81 must go back to him. ] can not stay
away"
"You will listen to me first" he said,
slowly, with cruel emphasis. "You think,
no doubt, that Lyman would never make
you marry me; you believe the promises he
gave you, that he would step in and save
you at the last; but tell you that was my
plan from the start knew you would not
give in easily, and ! did not want to be
cruel to you. thought if i could fool you
into marrying me, that you would make the
best of it afterward. Lyman never meant
to stop the ceremony. 1t was all q put-ur
Job between him and me to make you
seem willing. We fixed it that he was te
keep out Of the way until the last moment
OF course, there was the chance that you
might say mo- when the preacher put the
business over before you could gather
L x-o,,r xx,,ta ornnoh In Ennyv that v0nI