Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1890-01-17

of us, said |.
"And yet cannot face him." said she.
"Tsu," said l, 'you can return to Mr..
Henry; will see my lord"
As we walked back, bearing the candle
sticks, she the sword-a strange burden for
that woman-she had another thought.
"Should we tell Henry" she asked.
"Let my lord decide" said l.
Ny lord was nearly dressed when came to
his chamber. He heard me with frown.
1.-THE free Traders said he. "But whether
dead or alive"
II thought HIM said I, and paused,
ashamed of the word.
81 know; but you may very well have been
in error. Why should they remove him il
not livingn he asked. ooh, here is o great
door of hope. 1t must be given out that he
departed-as he came-without any note Of
preparation. We must save all scandal"
/ saw he had fallen, like the rest of u.s. to
think mainly of tho house. Now that all the
living members of the family were plunged
in rremedial sorrow, it was strange how we
turned to that conjoint abstraction Of the
family itself, and sought to bolster up the
airy nothing Of its reputation; not the Duries
only, but the hired steward himself.
Are we to tell Mr.. Henryw asked him.
visit him, then go forth with you to view
the shrubbery and consider"
We went down stairs into the hall. Mr.
Henry sat by the table with his head upon
his hand, like a man of stone. His wife stood
little back from him, her hand at her
mouth; it was plain she could not move him.
My old lord walked very steadily to where
his son was sitting; he had steady counte-
nance too, but methought little cold when
he was come quite up, he held out both his
hands and said: my SOM"
With broken, strangled cry, Mr.. Henry
leaped up and fell on his fathers neck, cry
ing and weeping, the most pitiful sight that
ever man witnessed. "Oh, father" he
cried, "you know l loved him. you know
loved him in the beginning; | could have
died for him-you know that! l would have
given my life for him and you. Oh, say you
know that! Oh, say you can forgive mel
| Oh, father, father, what have l done, what
| have done? and we used to be BARNS to-
| getherl" and wept and sobbed, and fonded
the old man. and clutched him about the
neck, with the passion Of a child in terror.
And then he caught sight Of his wife, you
would have thought for the first time, where
she stood weeping to hear him; and in a mo-
ment had fallen at her knees. "And, oh, my
lass" he cried, ''you must forgive me, too
| Not your husband-I have only been the ruin
of your life. But you knew me when | was
a lad; there was no harm in Henry Durie
| then; he meant aye to be a friend to you
| It's limits the old BARN that played with
| you-oh, can we never, never forgive himN
| Throughout all this my lord was like &
| cold. kind spectator with his wits about him
| At the first cry which was indeed enough to
| a. Oh, l,l s.,,fI
over his shoulder: "Close the door, AND
now he nodded to himself
I'VE may leave him to his wife now" say!
be- Bring light, Mr.. Mackellar."
Upon my going forth again with my lord
l was aware of a strange phenomenon; for
though it was quite dark and the night no
yet old, methought l smeled the morning
At the same time there went a tossing
through the branches of the evergreenS, 81
that they sounded like quiet sea, and tht
air pulled Mt times against our faces and TIN
flame Of the candle shook. We made thu
more speed, | believe, being surrounded b,
this hustle; visited the scene of the duel
where my lord looked upon the blood will
stoicism, and, passing further on toward thu
landing place. came at last upon some evi
dences of the truth For first of all, wher
there was pool across the path, the ice hat
been trodden in, plainly by moro than ont
mans weight; next, and but q little further
young tree was broken, and down by th
landing place, where the traders boats wcr
usually beached, another stain Of bloc.
marked where the body must have been in
fallibly set down to rest the bearers
This stain we set ourselves to wash ava
with the sea water, carrying it in my lord
hat; and as We were thus engaged, there cam
up sudden. moaning gust and left us il
stantly benighloI.
at will come to snow" says my lord
land the best thing that we could hope Lie
us go back now; we can do nothing in tn
dark"
AS we went houseward, the wind bein
again subsidized, we were aware of a stron
pattering noise about us in the night; an
when we issued from the shelter of the tree
we found it raining smartly.
Throughout the whole of this, my lord
clearness of mind, no less than his activity {
body, had not ceased to minister to my amaz,
ment. He set the crown upon it in the coul
Gil we held on our return. The free trader
had certainly secured the master, though
whether dead or alive, we were still left
our conjectures The rain would, long b,
fore day, wipe out all marks of the transa,
ton. By this we must profit. The mastt
had Unexpectedly come after the fall of nigh
1t must now be given out he had as suddenl
departed before the break of day, and I
make all this plausible it now only RENAME
for me to mount into the mans chamber an
pack and conceal his baggage True, we sti
lay at the discretion Of the traders; but thu
was the incurable weakness of our guilt.
heard him. as / said, with wonder, an
fastened to obey. Mr. and MIS-. Henry wei
gone from the hall; my lord, for warmth
sake, hurried to his bed there was still L
= sign of stir among the servants, and as | wei
up the tower stair and entered the dead man
- room horror of solitude weighed upon N
mind, To my extreme surprise, it was all
the disorder of departure OF his three pOr
manteaus two were ready locked, the thin
lay open and near full. At once there tiasht
: upon me some suspicion of the truth. II
. man had been going after all; he had bI
= waited upon Grail as Grail waited upon Il
wind; early in the night tho seamen had pc
ceived the weather changing; the boat ha
= come to give notice of the change and ca
the passenger aboard, and the boats ere
y, had stumbled on him lying in his blood. Ma
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