The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-10-27

do.N
80 you have come to say good-by. Mer-
vyn-tor, Of course, you are Mervyn to u.s."
M Armstrong said as he entered the room.
Wen, my lad, it's bad business my little
girl was telling me about last night. and
has Knocked over my castles very effect
uaiiy, for | own to you that l have been
building. knew you were fold of my
girl You never would have done for her
what you did unless you had been, and
was quite sure that she was fond of you;
how could she help it2 Aud had been
fancying as soon as this war was over-for,
or course, you could NOT leave now-you
would be coming home, and l should be
having you both with me in some snug
little place. However, lad, that's over for
the present; but not for always, hope. All
this has not changed my opinion of the
affair. The fact that you have suffered
horribly and unjustly is nothing against
YOU personally, and, indeed, you viii make
mary better husband for having gone
through such trial than you wo Id have
done had not this come upon you."
II am sure should, Ronald said quietly;
Il think l could make her happy, but
fe n shall never have chance. She has
told you what said last night. have
been awake all the night thinking it over,
and lam sure have decided rightly. Ny
disgrace is hard enough to bear alone; l
will never share it with herr
II think your are right, Mervyn-at
least, for the present. If, say in five years
hence, you are both of the same mind to-
wards each other, as / do not doubt you
will be" he added, in reply to the look of
perfect confidence that passed between his
daughter and Ronald. 1--WE will talk the
matter over again. Five years is long
time, aud old stories fade out of peoples re-
memorance. In five years, then, one may
discuss it again; but don't mean Mary to
wait five years If l can help it, and she has
no inclination to wait five years either,
have you childP Mary shook her head.
80 will tell you what we have resolved
upon. We have made up our minds. In
the first place somebody murdered this
cousin of yours; that's quite clear. isn't
itp
That is quite clear" Ronald replied
'It is absolutely certain that it was not a
suicide"
I'm the next place from what she says it
is quite clear also that this was not done by
an ordinary burglar. The circumstances
of her death and the discovery that her
private jewels were hastily thrust into the
ground and left there to spoil, pretty well
shows that"
81 think So" Ronald said 81 am con-
| WINGED that whoever did it, the murder was
a deliberate one, and not the work of
| thievesn
'Then it is evident that it was the work
OF someone in the neighborhood. of some
one who either had personal hatred of
your cousin, or who wished to injure you. y
ITO injure me-" Ronald repeated in sur
prise. 81 never thought of it in that way.
Why to injure me!"
II should say to injure you, because it
seems to me that there was deliberate at
tempt to fix the guilt upon you. Some one
must have put your glove whore it was
found, for it seems from what you told
Mary that you certainly could not have
dropped it there"
at might seem So" Rouald said thought
fully, land yet cannot believe it in fact.
l had, so far as l know, no quarrel with
any one in the neighborhood. / had
been away on service for years and had
nothing to do with the working of the es-
tate. and had never had an angry word
with any man there
Never discharged any grooms, or any
one of that sortT'
"Well, l did discharge the groom after l
got back" Ronald replied, land the coach
man too, for found upon looking into the
accounts that they had been swindlng my
mother right and left, but that can surely
have nothing to do with it. The glove
alone could have been nothing. had it not
been for my previous quarrel with my
| cousin, which no one outside the house
can have known of, and that unfortunate
ride of mine.
"Well, that may or may not be-" Mr..
Armstrong said; anyhow, we have it that
some one in the neighborhood who had a
grudge against your cousin or against
yourself. Now, the detective that you
have had down there. my daughter tells me
has, altogether failed in finding the clew
but after all that shows that he is fool
rather than that there is no clew to be
found. Now, what Mary and 1 have set
tied upon is this; directly we get back we
shall take pretty little cottage, if we can
get one, down at the village"
What, at Carnesfordp'
"Yes, CarneSford; we shall be two sim ple
colonists, who have made enough money to
live upon, and have fixed upon the place
accidentally. And then we shall set to
work to get to the bottom of this affair.
We know it is to be done if we can but get
hold of the right way, and Mary and fat
ter ourselves that between us we shall do
it. Now that's our plan. It's no use your
saying yes or no, because that's what we
have fixed upon"
Its very good of you, sir-"Mervyn
began.
"It's not good at ALL" Mr.. Armstrong
Interrupted. MARY wants to get married,
and want her to get married, and so we
nave uOIulIB W lO OuO 10 SCI ABOUT Une
right way of bringing this about. And,
now, my boy, l know we must not keep
you. God bless you, and bring you safely
through this war, aud tell you it will be
a more troublesome one than your people
think. You will write often, and Mary
will let you know regularly how we are
getting on"
He held out his hand to Mervyn, who
grasped it silently, then held Mary to him
in close embrace for a minute, and then
galloped away to take his place in the ranks
of his corps,
The troop to which Ronald belonged was
not, it was found, intended to start at once
to the front, but was to serve as an escort
to Col Somerset, who had now been ap-
pointed as brigadier general to command
a column that was to start from Grahams-
town. At 8 o'clock they started, and ar
rived late in the afternoon at toat place,
where they found the Sew Jnty-fourth
Highlanders, who had Just marched up
from Port EliZabsth. They had prepared
for active service by laying aside their bon
nets and plaids, adopting a short dark can
vas blouse and fixing broad leather peaks to
their forage caps. On the folio wing morn
ing the Seventy-fourth, troop of Colonial
Horse, the Cape Rifles. and some native
levies, marched to attack the Hottentots on
the station Of the London Missionary So
ciety. Joined by a body Of Kaffirs they
had murdered in cold blood the Fingoes
at the station and were now holding IL.
After a march of twenty miles across
the plain, the troops reached the edge of