The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1891-12-20

toll him more thar That thav ,vsra ve,i. ana
anxions to benr from, him. and pinnev really
know nothing mora about them. He had NOT
been asked to Hntboro, 70 acc them before he
started. md with nil tbo will ba had 70 invent
comfortable md attractive ACKNOWLEDGEMENT for
them. he WAS NJ a disoavnntane for want Of
material The most that he could conjecture
was that Mr.. Hilnrv,s family had not broken
| of their friendly relntions with tsom. He had
heard old Hilary criticized for Il, and he told
| Nortl,wick so
81 pucss he's been stapdinp by Won. Mr..
Northwick, as far as he consistently could" he
| said and Northwiok yentured TO reply that he
| expected thnt 1T was young Hilary who
brought mo the letter and talked the whole
| thing up with me-" Pinney added.
Northwick had apparently not expected this
| but he let no more than the fact appear. He
kept silent for a time: then he said. And you
don't know ANYTHING about the way they're
livingp"
"But should soy they were living along there
about as usual. Mr.. Hilary didn't say but
what they we're. guess you haven't got ony
cause to DO uneasy on that score. My idea is,
| Mr.. Northwick, that thcy wanted to leave you
| lust ma free ms they could about them
selves. They wanted to find out your where
| abouts in the land OF the living FIRST OF all,
You know that till TINT letter of yours came
| out, there were a good many that thought YOU
we're killed. in tho accident at Wellwater. the
day you left homo"
Northwick started "what nccident7 What
do YOU m can 2" he demanded.
"Why didn't you know about IT. Didn't you
sec the accounts? They had q name like
yours among the missing, and people who
thought you were not in IL. said it was a little
lob YOU had nut IN There was a despatch en-.
gazing q Pullman seat signed T. W. North.
wick"
"Ah! I knew Il r. said Northwick. 1T
knew that must have signed my real name |"
"Well. OF course" said Pinney. soothinely.
"a man Is ant to do that when he first takes
another. It's natural"
"Inever heard OF the accident I saw no
papers for months I wouldn't; and then 7
was sick. They must have believed I was
deadv
well. sir" said Pinney. " don't know that
that follows My wife and myself talked that
up a good deal at the time, and we concluded
that it was about an even thing. You see it's
pretty hard to believe that friend is dead,
even when you've seen him die; and I don't
understand how people that lose friends at q
distance can ever quite realize that they're
gone. guess that even II the ladies' went
upon the theory of the accident, there was al
ways a kind of a merciful uncertainty about
Il, and that was my wife's notion, too. But
that's neither here nor there, now, Mr.. North
wick. Here YOU are. alive and we'll. in spite OF
all theories to the contrary-though they must
have been pretty well exploded BY your letter
to the Erets-and the question is what answer
are you going to let me take back to your fam
ily? You want to send some word don't you
NV instructions were not to urge you at all.
and I won't But II was in your place, know
what I should do"
Northwick did not ask him what It was he
would do He fell into deep silence. which It
seemed to Pnney he would never break: and
his face became such blank that all Pinney's
subtlety was at fault. It is doubtful. indeed.
II there was anything definite or directed in
the M ute misery of Northwick's soul It was
not n sharp anguish, such as a finer souls
might have been, but it was q real misery. Of
a measure and a quality that he had not felt
before. Now he realized how much he must
have made his children suffer. Perhaps It
wrune him the more keeply because It
seemed to be an expression of tho
divine displessure, which he fiattered
himself he had appeased. and was
4 fatal consequence Of his guilt. It was a ter
rible suggestion of the possibility that, after
all, Providence might hot have been party to
the understa ndng between them. and that his
good will toward those he had wronged had
gone for nothing. He had blamed himself for
not having tried to retrieve himself and mako
their losses good. It was no small part Of his
misery now to perceive that anything he might
have done would have gone for nothing In this
one-sided understanding. He fetched long
unconscious sigh.
"Why. It's all over. now. Mr. Northwick."
said Pinney. with certain amusement at the
simpleheartedness of this sigh. whose cause
he did not misinterpret. THE question is
now about your getting back to them"
Getting back? You know can't 60 back"
said Northwick. with bitter despair. and an
openness that he had not shown before
Far beneath and within the senses that
apprehend the obvious things Pinney felt the
unhappy man beginning to cling to him. He
returned. joyously: don't about that.
Now. see here. Mr.. Northwick. you believe that
I'm here as your friend. don't your That l
want to deal In good faith with your North
wick hesitated. and lfnney pursued. Your
daughter'6 letter ought to be o guarantee OF