The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1889-10-27


with my father"
DO. Norma! You look awfully pale
and done up. l wish i could save you
this ordeall If / can ever repay you'll
4 One day perhaps julia Freke viii help
me to prove
"Good-by for the present, VAL" inter
ruptingqhim. Have a long talk with
my father to-night--he will not fail his
word-then go, get some appointment,
and distinguish yourselfg' She waved
her hand to him and vanished among the
trees
1 Three months after. Scene: the pri-
vate room of Mr.. James Orpen. in the
office of Messrs. Orpen & Son, solicitors,
Lincoln's Inn Fields, on dull, chill,
rainy autumnal afternoon.
Mr.. Orpen. stout, elderly, shrewd
looking man with iron gray hair and still
grayer whiskers, is writing at his knee
hole table; presently he speaks down one
of bunch of tubes which hang beside
his table, and clerk appears.
Show Capt. Hastings up here directly
he comes, and do not let us be disturbed
! by any one, said Orpen peremptorily
very well, sir"
Stay, Jones. Stir the fire and put ON
more Goals, will you? It's horrid day
for an invalid to come out" The clerk
obeyed and retreated, only to return in a
few minutes followed by Hastings, for
whom he placed chair.
very glad to see youl Come near
the fire. 1t is not fit for you to be out.
l should have been very happy to call
on you'll How have you stood the voyage
homer"
Better than expected" in hollow
voice, 'but am not up to much yet.
Hastings looked like the ghost of his
former self-gaunt, thin and pallid,
with sunken eyes and hollow cheeks
/ the hand he laid on the back of chair,
as if to steady himself while he gave the
other to Orpen, was bony and shrunken
He slipped off loose overcoat lined
with fur as he spoke, which Orpen took
| from him, and accepted seat by the
fire. II don't seem able to get warm"
he said, rubbing his hands slowly; ''still
prefer coming to you, and am awfully
impatient to hear all particulars of poor
Clavering's death. Ny brains were too
inuddled with the fever when was at
last allowed to read your letters
ut is a curious storyl Let me FIRST
however, congratulate you on your ex-
ploits. There were descriptions in all
the papers of your leading the naval
brigade and capturing the fort! Got
your step for it, SUPPOSE"
Eyes, and a bullet into my shoulder
into the bargain. The wound was nothing,
but what between heat and my own neg
lect, fever set in, and the doctors had
hard tussle with the grim king for my
unworthy self. But though l look some
thing of a scarecrow, think I'll do. Now
for your story. can't understand what
you mean by saying / am poor Claver-
ing's sole heir. Norina"--
"I'll soon make matters clear. When
you went to Egypt Mr.. Clavering -who
was always very friendly and confden-.
tial with me-expressed a wish to alter
his will. He had bequeathed everything
to his daughter, except, of course, the
Somersetshire estate, to which, of course,
you would succeed. He told me of his
earnest wish that you should marry his
daughter; for although you had not been
the steadiest of men there was good stuff
in you. Unfortunately, Miss Clavering
did not share her fathers views and the
proposed marriage fell through. Mr..
| Clavering was therefore DESTROYS that
you should not suffer for what was not
your fault, and directed me to draw up
a will bestowing third of his personal
property on you in addition to the landed
estate, which is but small, and two
thirds to his daughter. i want to be
just he said, and my previous disposi-
| ton of the property was not just. He
then proceeded to tell me the story of his
marriage. The late Mrs. Clavering was,
when he first met her. widow, still in
mourning for her first husband, who
seems to have been q mauvais suiet-
| drank hard and occasionally beat his wife.
/ fancy he was not exactly gentleman
by birth. Strange as it appears to US who
knew the man, John Clavering fell
desperately in love with the Canadian
beauty and married her."
II always knew there was some story
| about his marriage" said Hastings "He
was mighty hunter in his day, and was
some time in Canada shooting elk, i
| think"
| Eyes: and his wife's first husband was
a hunter and sportsman, too. He was
lost when shooting some rapids with an
Indian boats crew. Now comes the
tragic part of the story. The original
! husband-after being to all appearances
| dead for more than three years-having
kept out of the way, God knows why,
suddenly reappeared, and wrote a brutal
letter to his unfortunate wife demand
| ing black mail
Great heavensr calculated Hastings
leaning forward towards the speaker in
eager interest.
This reached her." continued Orpen,
"a week or two after Miss Clavering's
birth-a severe nervous fever ensued,
and the poor young mother died Do
you see the consequences? Miss Claver-
ing is illegitimate, and can inherit moth
ing. This was the reason of her fathers
great anxiety for her marriage with you
1t would have put everything right.
| AS it is-but / must finish my narrative.
We had, as you can imagine, many dis
- a. mr. G