The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-09-04
nean2 what made anal man ATTACK

1t wasn't the square thing, and you're
all right with the crowd now, whatever
he might have had agin you"
But" protested the unhappy Flint,
81 never laid eyes on that man before,
and my name isn't Fowler"
Flynn halted, and dragged him in a
doorway, "Who are you?' he asked
roughly. Briefly, passionately, almost
hyeterically, Flint told his scant story.
An odd expression came over the gam
bler's face.
Look here" he said abruptly, 81
have passed the word to the crowd yon-
der that you are a dead-broke miner
called Fowler. I allowed that you might
| have had some row with the Sydney
duck. Australian Pete, in the mines.
That satisfied them. If 60 back now
and say it's a lie, that your name amt
Fowler, and you never knew who Pete
was, they'll just pass you over to to the
police to deal with, and wash their hands
of it altogether. You may prove to the
police who you are, and how that clerk
mistook you, but it will give you trouble.
And who is there who knows who you
really are?"
mo one," said Flint, with sudden
hopelessness.
"And you say you're an orphan, and
amt got any relations Twin that you're
beholden TOP"
mo one."
Then take my advice and be Fowler,
and stick to it. Be Fowler until Fowler
turns up and thanks you for it; for
you've saved Fowler's life, as Pete would
never have funked and lost his grit over
Fowler as he did with you; and you've
right to his name"
He stopped, and the same old super
stitious look came into his dark eyes.
Don't you see what all that meansY
Well, I'll tell you. You're in the biggest
streak Of luck q man ever had. Good
night and good luck, Mr.. Fowler"
The next mornings journal contained
an account of the justitiable killing OF
the notorious desperate and eX-convict,
Australian Pete, by courageous young
miner by the name Fowler. IAN act OF
firmness and daring" said the Pioneer,
(which will go far to counterfeit the ter
roism produced by those lawless rutti-
ans" In his new suit of clothes, and with
this paper in bis hand, Flint sought the
dry-go0ds proprietor; the latter was sat
isfied and convinced. That morning
Harry Flint began his career as a sales
man and as shelby Fowler"
From that day Shelby FOwler's career
was one of uninterrupted prosperity.
Within the year he became partner.
The same miraculous fortune followed
other ventures later. He was mill owner,
mine owner, bank director, a millionaire!
He was popular, the reputation of his
brief achievement over the desperate
kept him secure from the attack of envy
and rivalry. He never was confronted
by the real Fowler. There was no dan
ger of exposure by others-the one Gus
todian of his secret, Tom Flynn, died in
Nevada the year following. He had
quietly forgotten his youthful past, and
even the more recent lucky portmanteau;
remembered nothing, perhaps, but the
pretty face of the daguerreotype that
had fascinated him. There seemed to
be no reason why he should not live and
die as Shelby Fowler. His business
year later took him to Europe. He was
entering a train at one of the great rail-
way stations of London, when the porter,
who had just deposited his pOrtmanteau
in compartment, reappeared at the
window followed by young lady in
mourning.
''Beg pardon, sir, but l handed you
the wrong portmanteau. That belongs
to this young lady. This is yours"
Flint glanced at the portmanteau on
the seat before him. 1t certainly was
not his, although it bore the initials
IS. F." He was mechanically handing
it back to the porter, when his eyes fell
on the young lady's face. For an instant
he stood petrlfied. 1t was the face OF
the daguerreotype. 81 beg pardon" he
stammered, but are these your initialsy"
She hesitated; perhaps it was the
abrubtness of the question, but he saw
she was confused. mo. A friends"
She disappeared into another carriage,
but from that moment Harry Flint knew
that he had no other aim in life than to
follow this clew and the beautiful girl
who had dropped it. He bribed the
guard at the next station, and discovered
that she was going to York. On their
arrival he was ready on the platform to
respectfully assist her. A few words dis
closed the fact that she was a fellow
countrywoman, although residing in
England, and at present on her way to
join some friends at HarrOgate. Her
name was West! At the mention of this
he again fancied she looked disturbed.
They met again and again. The in
formality of his introduction was over
looked by her friends, as hfs assumed
name was already respectfully and re-
sponsibly known beyond California. He
thought no more of his future. He was
in love. He even dared to think it
might be returned; but he felt he had no
right to seek that knowledge until he
had told her his real name and how he
came to assume another He did so
alone-scarcely a month after their first
meeting. To his alarm, she burst into a
flood of tears, and showed an agitation
that seemed far beyond any apparent
cause. When she had partly recovered,
she said, in low, frightened voice:
"You are bearing my brothers. name.
But 1t was name that the unhappy boy
had so shamefully disgraced in Australia
that he abandoned it, and, as he lay upon
his deathbed, the last act of his wasted
life was to write an imploring letter
begging me to change mine too. For
the Infamous companion of his crime,
who had first tempted, then betrayed
him, had possession of all his papers and
letters, many of them from me, and was
threatening to bring them to our Vir-
ginia home and to expose him to our
neighbors. Maddened by desperation,
the miserable boy twice attempted the
life of the scoundrel and might have
added that blood outlines to his other
sins had he lived. I did change my name
to my mothers maiden one, left the
country, and have lived here to escape
the revelations of that desperate should
he fulfill his threat" .
In flash of recollectiod Flint remem-
bered the startled look that had come
into his assailant's eye after they had
clinched. 1t was the same man who had
too late realized that his antagonist was
not Fowler. "Thank God! you are for
ever safe from any exposure from that
man." he said gravely, land the name