Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-07-28

riverside towns OF Berkshire. His proposal to
me was .har could undertake to make thor
ough search among the parish registers, MT
Bruce paying all the expenses and compensat-
ing me for my labor az the rate OF guinea
and half day.
While he was talking Mr.. Bruce had invol-
unfairly taken up an old woolen glove which
kept on the top of the coal box by the fireside,
to put on when shoyeling out Goals for the tre
ne plus ultra of honest dirt-and before 1
noticed what he was about. his fingers were as
soiled as those of finance agent.
''Oh, what nuisance" exclaimed MI. Bruce.
.sDear mel PI just step into your bedroom
and wash" He rose and approached the door.
mo, nor' said hurriedly, and laboring out OF
nv chair, under the influence of abJect terror.
.sNo-here-let me fetch the basin in here for
your .,,,. -
1 know my way" he answered amicaoly
while he opened the door with the other; and
before could say or do anything further to
prevent him, Mr.. Bruce had entered the bed
room. -
If a benevolent earthquake would kindly
have made a meal of me at that moment, hoN
grateful should have been. In state of
mind which do not care to analyze, waited
the inevitable explosion. A long second passed
away-an everlasting minute-and there was no
sign. What had happened? Could Mary have
contrived to hide herself anywhere? tried to
reflect There was large. deep cupboard in
the room that served as a wardrobe. Surely
Mary had not had the presence OF mind to
conceal herself theref Yet 1t was the only
place could think of INTO which she could
have retired; there was no other solution of the
mystery. In few minutes Mr.. Bruce returned
with clean hands and unruft1ed deueanor.
Manifestly he had seen nothing and suspected
nothing. He resumed the conversation where
we had left 1t of, and after some further talk
it was agreed that should start for Berkshire
as soon as the doctor would authorize me to
leave the house; first however. calling on MI.
Bruce to receive his written instructions and q
cheque on account for whatever L thought L
should need. Then. at last, my peneIactoT
should that of the gout l fastened to the bed
room.
No answer. i searched the cupboard.
She was not there.
Hooked behind the curtain. in forlorn hope
that she might have hidden herself there. No
Mary. By what magic had she disappeared? I
went down on my hands and knees and peered
under the bed. Two overland trunks and a
bootjack, but still no Mary.
summoned Mrs. Swatman-
"Miss Bruce-where is sher' demanded
"Do you mean the lady. sirf"
"Yes-the lady-Miss BruceT
''She's gone, sir"
"I see she's gone, but how did she gor'
~ let her through MI. Burnett's chambers,
Through Mr. Burnett,s chambersr' re-
peated in amazement "How did you manage
that2"
"Why, sir, through the door"
what door," interrupted impatently.
THE door that leads from your bedroom into
his sitting room. SIR
There was a door by my bedside which was
always locked, and for the key of which had
been going to ask, thinking 1t was another cup
board. Through this doorway Mary had es-
capped How thankful was now, that it had
not been a cupboard 1t turned out that Mrs.
Swatman occasionally used the door when Bur-
nett was away M and was enEagea, % ana thaS H.. In
Swatman had gone in that way, and had hap
ply been in time to release the terrified Mary
from her embarrassing predicament
i blessed Mrs. Swatman, and did not, as had
fully intended, give her good blowing up for
admitting Mr.. Bruce when she knew that was
engaged. She did not know, by the way, that
was engaged" in the common acceptance Of
that term. / blessed her, therefore, and fur
thermore presented her with a sovereign which
made her happy for the rest of the week
honest old descendant Of Cinderella that she
wasi
Next morning by the first post had letter
from Mary. She had been terribly fright
ened," poor darling. She had not fully re-
allied the impIoprety of coming to my cham
bers until her father had come upon the scene
and she had felt the dread of discovery. I
must never again ask her to be so foolish and
wicked" she said. In my answer promised
not to be selfish any more. acquainted her with
her fathers plans and pointed out that If
were successful we might perhaps hope to ap-
In about a fortnight received my instruc.
tions and proceeded to hunt up the Berkshire
registers; and a more wearisome task never
were
well enough kept and were easy Of access; in
some they had been sold as waste paper, or
were altogether imperfect; while in few in
stances they were were SO ii;cared for that they had
q decayed old box in o loft over the wears
COW shed. At Abingdon, and more especially
at st. Nicholas, the registers had been admira-
bly, preserved, and 1t was here that spent the
longest time; but failed to find the least trace
of what 1 wanted.-and not a word either of
Dalrymple Bruce or Of Tryphena Maddams.
nnno or Prav nd a. o1l1 fnrd
thought was upon the track; while at Cook
ham a whole colony of Maddams appeared TO
have been born, married and buried; but not a
Tryphena among them all. AT St Lawrence.
Realing, there was a record of the marriage in
1888 of a certain Theodosia Maddams to David
Bruce; and this bothered me good deal until
one Hezekiah Maddams. butcher of this
towne." After a laborious and painstaking
search came to the conclusion that was on
the wrong scent, and returned TO London in a
gloomy and detected mood.
But Mr.. Bruce was very kind, and not only
thanked me heartily for the trouble had been
at, but marked the genuineness of his salts
faction by presenting me with a check consid-
erably larger than was entitled to or expected.
Mary, who had taken the deepest interest in
the investigation, told me one evening when I
was dining at their house that she felt certain
she could not tell why-that should yet,
somehow-she could not tell how-unravel this
Gordian knot; nay, that it was to be the means
whereby we should attain the fulfillment of our
hopes. 1 hoped with all my heart she might be
right but conferred to some skepticism on the
point; for which unbelief received the most
delightful scoldng from Mary; and you are
atr' (Oh, the way che emphasized that 'notr')
ut is very rude Of you to laugh at me, and you
shall do penance."
Seeing that Mr.. Bruce was nodding over his
book did penanee, though perhaps not Just
in the way that Mary had anticipated. 1t was
very rash act on my part; but the temptation
was irresistible You have never seen Mary, or
you would understand Mary blushed horribly,
and was both scared and indignant; but I
pleaded eloquently for absolution, and finally
appeased her. At parting she said:
"You will see. Charlie, you will find the
thing out. Depend upon it. Women know
things you know, that men don't know. Well
know, don't know how know, but do
know that you will discover this Dalrympe
Bruce's marriage. I'm as certain of it as am
that we-well, as of anything. So good night.
and be good boy and don't contradicr. Nof
The first news that greeted me on my return
to my city chambers was that Mrs. Swatman's
mummitied assistant. Mrs. Crump, was seri
ously ill. Of course I lost no time in seeing
that she had proper attendance, and any little
comfort that the doctor might think good for
her. The doctor gave poor account of her.
Few men in chambers ever knew anything of
the inner life of their .1aundresses," and from
what learned of Mrs. Crump's surroundings
should say their ignorance was bliss.
=, In = wretched room ,i in a disrsppsable look
the poor old creature had her home. Homei
A room not much larger than an old-fashioned
cupboard; a crazy tumble-down old wooden
bedstead, with quite unmentionable bedclorE-
ing; two rickety chairs with a table to match; o
deal washstand with a broken basin; a triangu-
lar bit of looking glass. scratched and smeared:
four or five moldy books on the top of paint
ed deal chest of drawers. from which the draw
ers were missing; these, together with a few
household goods-a kettle and saucepan and
torn and discolored fragment of drugget
formed the furniture of the place. Three of
the panes of glass in the solitary window were
smashed, and the hole filled up with what ap-
peared to be fragments of old stuff petticoats
In this delectable apartment Mrs. Crump lay.