The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1889-12-27

hare coMmattsd aa irfrmediebie sgTue
What nsoed stroke this Hudson mskes. nj
Iapst hASe wrattea With thestump ofa quill, !
Wyns received this last observation With
. look ofcontempt for the mind that could
put 20 trivial y question In 70 great an snsr
gency.
Arc You quite sure poor Hudson 10 dead7'
asked Wardlaw, In o low vOica.
Dead! Don'tI tell you saw him dis!'
said Wylie, trembling all Of o sudden.
Hetook glass Of brandy, and cent II ny.
ing down his throat. ..,55
Leave the paper with me-" said Arthur
lansuidly, land tell Penfoid ri crawl to th.
otRce tomorrow. You con meet me there;
shall wee nobody else"
Wylie called the next day at the once, end
was received BY Penfold, who had now learned
the cause Of Arthur's grief, and nshersd the
visitor in to him with looks Of benevolent
concern. Arthur was seated like u lunatic
pale and motionless; on the table before him
was roast fowl aud a salad. which he had
forgotten to eat. His mind appeared to al
ternate between love and fraud; for, as soon
es he saw Wylie; he gave himse!f sort O
papers. -,
each other now"
Wylie examined the log, and started with
surprise and superstitious terror: why:
Hiram'a ghost has been here ut work." said
/
"Hush!" said Wardlaw; mot so loud
Will it do?"
1.-THE writing will do first.rate; but any
one can see this log has never been to sea"
Inspired by the Others ingenuity, he then
aftera moments reflection, emptied thesalt
over it. He wetted the leaves Of the log with
this salt water, and dog 'seared tho whole
book.
Wardlaw sighed. "see what expediente
weare driven to. sud he He then took q
little SCOT from the chimney. and mixed II
mixture to the parchment cover. rubbed II
of, and by sncll manipulation gave it Ger
tain mellow look, as il 1t had been used by
working hands.
| Wyle was armed with these materials, and
furnished with money, to keep his sailors to
their tale, in case of their being examined.
Arthur begged, in his present affection, to
he excused from going personally into the
matter of the Iroserpine: nnd said that Pen,
fold had the ships log, and the declarations
Of the survivors,, which the insurers could in.
spect previously to their being deposited al
Lloyd's.
The whole thing wore an excellent face
and nobody found o peg to hang suspicion
on so fur.
After this preliminary. and the deposit o.
the papers, nothing was hurried; the mer
chant, absorbedin his grief, seemed to he for
getting to ask for his money. Wylie remons
trated, hut Arthur convinced him they vert
without exciting suspicion.
And SO passed two weary months, during
| which Wylie fell out of Nancy Rouse's good
graccs, for idling about doing nothing.
"Be you q waiting for the plum to tnll into
your mouth, young man" said she.
At Inst WyIie lost all patience, and began
to show his teeth; and then Arthur Wnrdinw
paid him his two thousand pounds in forty
crisp notes.
He crammed them into q side pocket. and
went down triumphant to Nancy Rouse
| Through her parlor window he saw the be
nign countenance Of Michuel Penlold. He
| then remembered that Penfoli had told him
| some time before that he WIS going to lodge
with her as soon us the presentlodger should
| go.
This, however, rather interrupted Wylic'e
design of walking in and chucking two thou
sand pounds into Nancy's lap. On
aown tn lis he po seted them seyed
to see the old gentleman o bed. and then pro
duce his pelf and fx the weddng-day with
Nancy
He came in and found her crying, and Pen
fold making weak efforts to console her. The
tea.things are on the table. and Nancy's cup
| half emptied.
Wylie came in, and said, "Why, what is the
matter now?.'
He said this mighty cl,eerfully, Us one who
carried the panacea Tor all ills in his poe
ket, and medicine peculiar suited to Nancy
Rouse constitution. But he had not quite
fathomed her yet.
| As soon as ever she saw him she wiped he,
eyes, and asked him, grimly, what he wanted
There. Wylie stared at the reception; but re-
piled stOutly, that it was pretty well known
| by this time vhut he wanted in that quarter
well, then," enid Nancy, "want will be
your muster. Why did you never tell me
Miss Helen was in that ship? my sweet, dea,
You lett her to drown, and saved your own
great useless carcass, and drowned she 10
poor dear. Get out o. my sight, do"
"It wasn't my fault, Nancy" said Wylie
earnestly. II didn't know who she was, and
advised her to come with us; but she would
VIII that na1!o% cap S9" &hot or Won
She is Nartllaw's sweetheart. and don't cart
for no parsons. If you didn't know you wnt
TO blame, why didn't you tell me a word o
your own accord? You KEEP dark. Do you
lady to shift for HERSELF"
"S!c hnd as good u chance to live as
had. said Wyle, sullenly.
mo, she hadn't; you took care o'yourself
Well. since you are 80 fond Of yourself, keep
| yourself to yourself, and don't come here nc
more. After this, hate the sight on We
You are like the black dog in my eyes, and
always will be. Poor, dear Miss Helen! All
! cried when she leftImy mind m;sgaye me
but little thought she would perish in thu
salt sens, nnd oil for want ofa man in the shiF
If you had gone out again after in the steala
boat-Mr Pentold have told me all aboutit-
I'd believe you weren't SO much to blame. But
no; lolloping and looking about oil day fol
months. There's my door, Joe Wylie: Ican't
. Try comfortable bet, before you az had hand il
forever. Ill die rs am, or I'llmarry man
which you amt one, nor nothing like one I,
lie whiting for you to hold the door opcm
Mr.. Pentold? or don't speak plain enough.
Them as give the sack to aforc you didn',
want so much telling"
then, with considerable feeling, "This is hare
| lines"
But Nancy was inexorable, and turned hin
out, with the ~, 900 in his pocket.
He took the notes out of his pocket, ant
flung them furiously down in the dirt
Then no did what everybody does unde
similar circumstances, no picked them VI
again, and pocketed them, along with tn
other dirt they had gathered.
docks, and looked rSa out 'G for a - chip
he soon got one. and signed as second mate
She was to sail in q fortnight.
told so h.
game to go to sea. But the captain he hat
signed with was Tartar, and not to b.
trihed with. He consulted q knowing friend
and that friend advised him to disguise linn
self till the ship Ind sailed, Accordingly h
rugged himself out with long coat, and
beard. aud spectacles. and hid his sen. sloutl
us well us lie could. and changed his lodgings
Finding he succeeded so well, he thought h,
might as we'll have the pleasure of lookin.
Mt Nancy Rouse. The could not talk to her
So he actually had tho har,lihood to TAX
parlor next door; and by this means lie hear.
her move about IN her room, and caught
sight Of her work on her little green; md IL
was shrewd enough to observe she did no
sing aud whistle as she used to do The dos
chuckled at that.
His bank-notes worried him night and day
He was afruid to put them in u bank; afrait
to take them about with linn int o his haunts
a'raid to leave them Mt home; and out of thi
perplexity arose some incidents worth rclat
ing in their proper order.
Arthur Wardlnw returned to business bu
he was changed man. All zest in the thin,
was gone. His fraud set him above til
world; and that was now enough for him, il
whom ambition was dcud and, indeed, moth
ing lett alive in HIM but deep regrets.
He drew in the horns Of speculation, an,
went on in the old safe routne and to til
restless activity that hal jeoparjized til
firm succeeded strange torpidity. He wor
black for Helen, and sorrowed without hope
He felt he had offended Heaven. and had me
his punishment in Hclen's death. Wardlui
senior retired to Elm trees, and seldom 80,
his son. When they did meet, the old ma
sometimes whispered hope but the whispe
was faint and unheeded.
One day Wardlaw senior came up express
Tn communicate n Arthur n tforfr