Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-18

saw fit to take him. The servant joined in
| to praise his master. and .O'Brien's OBJ
servant eve rook in the inquiry cards that
com pletelv covered the hall table. All
| these tokens of respect ana solicitude awoke
anew the devil in his breast, and be more
than half. regretted the resolution he had
come to, which was to relinquish his venge-
ance and leave the murderer to fate. A
variety of motives had brought him to this
principally perhaps the strange affection
he felt for the man who had so injured
him.
Scott. looking up at his visitor with depre-
cation, did not venture to offer his hand.
SIT is very kind OF you to come and see
me-" he said.
III have come to tell you I am going
avay back to America. You are safe. I
have broken my vow."- O'Brien refused a
chair, and stood gazing moodily into the
empty garden.
"Why do you spare me?" asked Scott
humbly..
because I'm fool, suppose, and a
coward"
"But why do you go" said Scott; "I
shall not be here long; for do not think I
shall escape punishment. The hand
of God is upon me. 1t is hard to
| leave my poor Catherine all alone. And
i death itself is hard"
| O'Brien looked about the room. There
| Law GATHERINGS little embroidered handker-
| chief on the open book, from which she had
] probably been reading aloud; here on the
table by Scott's elbow was a glorious bunch
of purple grapes; the pillows behind his
head, the shawl over his knees had oeen ar
ranged by loving hands. O'Brien called to
nina the sympathy Of the minister, the
eulogy of the servant the cards from ac-
| quaintances and friends. He was filled
with bitterness.
"Some deaths are harder than others, +"
said he; "you find it hard to die here among
your own people, waited on by those who
| love you, with every alleviation that money
and science can give. You are attended by
\ the first doctor in London, who, though he
| cannot cure you, can relieve your pain.
| Your clergyman comes and talks to you of
| God and of His forgiveness, and all who
| know yau speak of you with respect and re-
gret. Ali day long your daughter Catherine
| is by your side to soothe you with her
caresses; you will pass away in her arms,
death will lose half its terrors with your
head reposing in her tender breast. And
you call that expiation? Let me remind
you how Michael died. Suddenly in the
midst of life and strength be found himself
face to face with death. And it was to a
cruel and lingering death to which he was
condemned. For the fall crippled him,
but did not kill him outright. Who can
say how many hours he fingered there on
those lonely wind-swept rocks? At first,
| stunned bv the fall, weakened by loss of
blood, the time went by unconsciously; then
he would collect his thoughts, remembered
how you thrust him down over the preci-
picein moment of passion, and he would
| feel sure of Tour repentance and assistance.
Did YOU heaI no voice calling up to you?"
"The wind drowned every cry," said the
sick man, and drops of sweat stood upon his
| forehead and trickled down his face
but can1ot you imagine how he kept
expecting you?-expecting that you would
seek help, lot down ropes, come down your
self to seek the friend you had loved? or
that you would hasten into Hardsmouth,
get boat, come around by the coast?"
"It was night of storm" said Scott, ''no
boat could have lived in such sea-"
But Michael lived through the night.
He must have crawled up to the spot where
I found the corpse, otherwise he would have
been washed away. Think OF the lonely
| and awful day succeeding that night, as he
lay there dying ofexposure. of loss OF blood,
| OF want of aid. Picture the pain of that
utter abandonment. Too weak to call for
help, too weak at last to move, and the
| crows gathering around him to stare into
his glazing eyes. But he could think,
and mis- thoughts could not have
been such as to solace him.
What mad he to think OF? The treachery of
a friend-a friend, who, having murdered
him, was not likely to stick at blasting his
| good name. He must have foreseeu the
| specious tale you would get carried to the
| girl he loved; that she would believe he bad
deserted her, and so give her hand to his
rival. Perhaps he foresaw you in just such
a life as you have led. honored and happy,
while he, cut off in the hey-dsy Of youth,
went down to an unknown grave. II he
| cursed God then in the agonies of his
| abandonment, who can blame him? Yet
according to you and people Of your creed,
| he thereby lost his soul, and so will suffer
eternally; while you, in spite of your crime,
because you have had time and opportunity
| TO repent and obtain forgiveness, will die
and go straight to life eternal. You may
please yourself by calling this an expiation.
l can only see in it an aggravation of the
uniairness of your lot and his.''
O'Brien watched the anguish in his vic
TINS face with keen pleasure at his
heart; but down deeper still was a more
keen pain for he had come to love David
| Scott as much as one man can love another,
| and yet felt bound to conceal his love and
show hatred because OF the oath he had
| sworn. Bitter words were all that remained
to him now he had abandoned bitter ven-
| geance; yet he despised himself for bending
to handle such woman's weapons.
| Scott leaned his head upon his hand.
ITO die alone. :. yes, it must be hard, I"
| he murmered; human sympathy in that
last hour is what the whole soul longs for
Aud Michael had none. No, have not
exp;ated."
An idea struck him. His mind wa so
unhinged he believed it came from God.
| But he must be alone to carry it out.
! Twill you leave me little
while ?" he asked "the pain
here''-he pressed his side-'is SO terrible E.
there is u remedy,I must try. Perhaps
| in the garden you may find Catherine, you
will wish to bid her goodbye =. :. but
then return to me here -. alone. 4"
In moody silence O'Bren opened the
| French window and stepped out; then Scott,
unlocking drawer in the table beside him,
produced a small pistol, and laid it on the
| desk. ......-
CHAPTER VIII.
At the same moment gentle knock came
| to the door, and Scott knew it was Catherine s
| touch. He drew q newspaper over the
pistol, leaned back among the pillows, and
making a strenuous effort to compose his
,,o;oo ,,lIad her in