The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1889-12-13
CHATTER V.

CHATTER V
TIE Owls B.cKoNISG
The presence of Mr.. Belmont in this
house, and the few words he had said.
had raised torment in Tom Hryson's
breast that effcctually banished sleep.
lie sat before the fire deeply wrapped
in thought; but his thoughts moved
about in ccasclcss circle, and moth
ing came of them. Mr.. belmont and
his former friends should he!p him
and he never would accept of their
hoip Ee would return to the city
with Jesslca and he was no longer fit
Tor the comranionship Of bis old
friends. His child should be rescued
from this poverty and obscurity, and
placed Ill the station to which her
birth. her beauty, and her mind en-
titled her-and sooner than accom-
plish 1t by aims OF those of whom he
was once an equal, she should share
his fate, bitter as it was.
An hour passed with these thoughts.
and tho clock struck twelve. The fire.
led by light, dry branches, had ell.
tirely died out; the candle in the
further end of the room shed no light
here; and so it WAS that CLEAN of
light coming through the chink in tho
wall near where lie sat now attracted
his attention. He understood at once
what it meant, an with the knowledge
came suggestions from the tempter!
The room usually occupied by Bry-
son for sleeping apartment, and into
which he had conducted the traveller,
wa! next ad dining this one. To reach
1T the two had entered hall, passed
back twenty feet. and entered the
L
house had been substantially built, with
thick partitions; but the wall between
these rooms had shared the misuse of
tho whole house, and in places great
patches of plas.ering were gone. In
one spot, about four feet from the floor,
a small piece of lathing was gone; and
it was through wide crack here that
the light came.
Bryson's curiosity was Instantly
aroused. Mr.: Belmont had said he was
tired. His candle was still burning.
What was he about?
He might look and find out. The
sitting-room was dark at this end there
was no danger of detection.
The Newland Wendell of other days
would have scorned the act that Tom
Bryson now committed. Ho was, in
decd, changed man.
He stopped and put his eye to the
crack.
Removing only his GOAT md boots
when his churlish host had left him,
Mr.. Belmont placed his sachel under
the pillow and threw himself upon the
bed.
But he could not sleep.
He was not superst;tious; he had not
Ak@ l..
nature; but there was something in tho
rapid succession and the strangeness
of the events of the last five hours that
to the coach, the storm, the fall
ing in with Edgar Van Wyck, were
the links in the chain that had drawn
him to this out-of- the way place, and
to most disagreeablo meeting. He
thought of the morrow, and grolne I.
No remorse troubled him; it was SIM
| ply the fear that if this man should
continue to reproach him for his ruin,
he could not escape Offering him
money.
"Hang the fellowi" he muttered
"Why does he bother me2 only tooh
my own. [ don't owe him q cent"
He could satisfy his own coarse sou
by such reasoning as this, but he cou,t
not shake off the sub oct.
| "lt was hard on the poor devil, h,
reflected; "but he'd ruined himself be
fore 1 took him in hand"
Then came a thought that startled
him from the bed, as if with q shock.
! "a pretty place this is for me to b,
in all night, with what I've got alonf
with me! Can that crazy fellow sus
pect it? Hardly. I've been careful
not to drop hint about it. Wha
might he not do if no did find it ont
off in this lonely place? 1t makes m,
tremble to think of it! I cant sleel
now, sure, till I've seen that it's al
right"
A match from q pocket-case relit tn,
candle. He went to the door and sho
the rusty bolt. Sitting upon the side
OF the bed, he took the sachel ant
opened it with key from his pocket.
AS the beginning of our narrative ha
found Mason Belmont, he was onl,
midway upon his journey. lis object
known only to few confidential friend
at his home, was 10 attend large land
sale at the capital of one of the new
States which was at that day considered
the Far West. His business shrewd
ness had foreseen chances for enormou
gains by liberal investment in that 10
cality; but ready money was requisite
and bank paper at that sale would no
answer.
So he secretly, carefully carried
small fortune with him. The sache
contained twenty-five Thousand dollars
One after another he pulled out from
IL bundles of notes.. arm-thick, securel,
tied with tapes. He examined the fig
ures penc;led on the back of each, AM
one Of the bundles he anfastened an,