St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-09-30

could not help SuSpectlng tllat IL Wy oNli
chance the widow should meet
the heiress, his letters might be
maliciously used against him, even II
Mrs. Thorp. on hearing of his new ell
gagement, did not dispatch them TO
Miss Romans without waiting for an
introduction TO her. Kilvington had no
reason for believing the widow capable
of mean and cOwardly act of revenge,
but he was guiltily conscious OF having
treated her badly. and his own nature
was not too lofty to prevent MIN from
Suspecting baseneSs in others.
Miss Romans seemed to be i'll no par
ticular hurry to enter into the bonds OF
matrimOny, and KilvingtOn could not
! prevail upon her to name an early date
for their wedding. He found: in fact;
that the heiress was both caprlclous ana
eXacting, and he trembled TO thlnk OF
what would result from the Widows IN
reference. The longer his engage
ment lasted the greater the chance of
Mrs. ThOrp doing mischief, and this re-
Election caused him to resolve to take
some desperate step to obtain posses
sion of the discriminating evidence OF
his fickleneSS.
KilvingJOn was tOlerably we'll off. lie
resided in comfortable chambers III
fashionable quarter, ana kept a couple
of horses and man servant. The lat
ter was a brisk young fellow, who. to
the establishment of KilvingtOn's
friends, had been several years in his
service. KilvingtOn'S reputation for
parsimOni0usnesS and rigid economy
in money matters was such that 1t sur
prised every one that this man should
have remained in his employment.
Probably the truth was that kilvington,
no
easily robbed by those who knew his
weaknesses, and certainly the young
man Bates grew sleek and prosperous
| in mysterious way, in spite of low
wages and lack of perquisites. He had,
however. completely gained his mas
| ter's confidence, and, having made up
| his mind to take some action about the
| letters, KilVingtOn uDheSitatiDgly con-
suited him on the subject.
do YOU know any of Mrs. ThOrp's
servants. Bates?" he inquired of the
man, having cautiously preached the
matter to him.
"Well, sir, l can't say as ] dO,' re-
| piled the man rubbing his chin.
Il suppose, though, it would be pos
sible to scrape acquaintance with one OF
them-the lady's maid. for instanceT"
suggested his master, knowingly.
"Yes, sir, suppose l could. PHI try,
! sir"
'You might find out whether Mrs.
| ThOrp has kept those letters was speak
| ing to you about. Very likely she has
| burnt them,'' said KilYingtOn with as
! Sumed careleSSneSS.
But suppose she amt, sir?" sug-
! gested Bates.
"Why. then-mind, Bates. l don't
wish to suggest anything wrong, but
| the letters are my property, remember.
Possibly you might cOntriye to get pos
| session of them"
Through one of the servants? Yes,
SIR
| ..At all events. go and make in
| quiries,'' said KilvingtOn, diSmissing
! him. "And if-If you think that by Of
fering reward of a sovereign, or even
one pound ten"
"Ill see about it. sir" said Bates.
with glimmer of a smile on his eX-
| presSiOnless cOuntenance.
! KilVington looked anXiOns aud de-
pressed for a few moments after the
! man had left the room. The thought of
the reward he had offered made him
miserable; but he cheered up when he
| reflected that Bates had asked no awk-
ward questions, and was evidently quite
unsuSpicious of his reasons for desiring
! to get back his letters. He cOngratu-
lated himself on having a servant who
| was not too clever, but was yet clever
enough to obey orders with alacrlty and
intelligence.
| Bates verified his masters good
opinion by appearing two days after
| ward, with a confident air and manner
which denoted success,
I've made acquaintance with Mrs.
| Tborp's maid, sir. Miss Perkins," said
the man.
Yes" said Kilvington, anxiously.
Mrs. ThOrp amt burnt 'em. sir, )"
said Bates, stOlidly.
''Oh. she keeps them, does She?'' in
CURED Kilvingt0n, with uneasiness.
Very careful. sir. Carries 'em about
with her, sir, wherever she goes"
KilvingtOn could not repreSS a start
of dismay at this OminOus intelligence.
Bates impaired in a quiet, matter-of-
fact tone which showed that he attached
no significance to this singular proceed
ing on the part of the widow. But Kill
yington appreciated her motive. Evil
IDENTIFY Mrs ThOrp carried the letters
about with her in the hope of meeting
Miss Romans!
II must get those letters, Bates" he
said, desperately.
"Miss Perkins can't get 'em, sir" re-
piled Bates. ''She says it would be as
much as her place is worth to touch 'em.
They would be missed directly, sir"
But. surely, Bates, it can be man.
aged" said his master, testify.
Yes, sir, it can be managed, at least,
/ think can manage it with Miss Per-
kins' assistance" SAID the faithful re-
tainer. "But the young woman opens
her mouth rather wide, sir. A SoYer-
eign won't do. sir. nor nothing like it.
You see, sir, it'll have to be a burg
larry"
with start.
"Well. sir, it's this way. When she
is at home Mrs. Thorpe keeps the letters
locked up in her wardrobe. Now, it
wouldn't be difficult job to get into
the room from the outside. | could
manage it, sir-with Miss Perkins as
sistance. But she do open her mouth"
added Bates, emphatically.
"A burglaryi Aheml | see! You
mean sham burglary. But-but you
mustn't get caught, Bates" said Kill
vington, uneasily. at seems a risky
and Objectionable PLAN"
at amt to be done no other W ay
SIR said Bates, quietly; land if it's to
be done at all it had better be done
quickly"
Every well, Bates. Unjust know moth
ing about it. leave it to you,' SAID
Kilvington, after considerable hesita-
ton. But take care. For heavens
sake, don't get caught"
Trust me, SIR" said the man. with
quiet confidence. 1T won't be nothing
worse than going up a ladder in the
dark. I've planned it all with Miss
Perkins. By the bye, sir"
'Yes?" inquired KilyingtOn. as Bates
: paused.
What about that money, sir?" said
the man, lowering his voice. 1.-The
| | Young woman insists upon being paid
, down beforehand, sir. She do open her
! mouth, sir, but it can't be helped"
What does she ask?' said his mas
} ter, family.
Either Bates acted upon the principle
l of asking twice as much as was re-
uuired in order to meet his masters
{ propensity for haggling, or else the
t young woman rated her services at a
} very high figure. AT all events, he