Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-02-07

himself it seemed as though some one else
were speaking and he listening, looking on
from q distance.
The doctor assented. "a terrible ending,
to an autumn holiday" he murmured half
aloud.
To Latham it appeared as though week
at leas. had passed since he and his friend
had broken all ties of friendship beneath
those trees, when he again stood there with
the simple Scotchman, whose restrained
matter-of-fact manner and lack of all but
the shortest comment was such a boon to
him at this moment
"Of course the matter will be looked into
by the Procurator-fiscal," Macleod said, at
tacking, in kindly consideration of Latham's
racked mind, the practical details OF the
matter. Leave the notification to me; 1
will attend to all that. You will go over to
Ardmuir? First thing tomorrow morning;
Mr.. Bruce will come back with you for the
inquest Exactly. 1 will send word to
MacDougall and the others. In this place
it will be very quiet and-as little painful
to you as possible"
Latham WINGED somewhat, but looked DR..
Macleod straight in the face. Some mo-
ments before he had given an outline of the
circumstances of the quarrel, SO the doctor
was in possession of the facts, and might be
asked for an opinion.
"Then YOU are assured" he began
slowly. experiencing some difficulty in the
phrasing of his question.
There can't be q question as to who be-
gan the fight" Macleod said firmly, but in
i cool, unaffected voice. "You knocked him
down. Well, man doesn't strike out
when he's knocked down; and as you've got
the bruises to show for it, it stands to reason
he beCani Clear as daVI'
Latham breathed heavily once or twice,
but said nothing; inwardly he was grateful
to his shrewd, keen-sighted companion, but
no method of saying so occurred to him.
They walked back to the high-road, and
Macleod said few more words about next
day and the precise form Scottish formali-
ties took; then they parted; and Latham
went to Pennygowan Lodge and stood again
beside his dead friend before he lay down to
think through the long night hours.
The early drive to Ardmuir would, under
other mental conditions, have been pleasant,
for the morning was as perfect as only
Scottish October morning can be; and John
Latham was forced to reflect, as sooner or
later everyone must do, how nothing but his
own misfortunes can take the smile out of
the world, and how completely these can do
It'll
He saw Mrs Bruce only; Robert was on
the hill. After half an hour she left him in
the hall and entered morning room, where,
before the door was shut, he heard the words
Maggie, darling, have some dreadful"
And then, moment later, 4 scream which
tore his heart like rough steel. Margaret
had loved her cousin, and he, Latham, had
been the cause OF his death.
After that he left the house and drove
back to Pennygowan. By IL o'clock Young
Bruce had Joined him, and grave and
silent company assembled in the bare dining
room. Latham was pale, but composed; the
bruise on his eve showed family blue, and
attracted in turn the eve of every one, being,
us it was a yoiceless testimony TO that hap
less quarrel. His seli-control stood him in
good stead as he answered many questions
and listened to the doctors statement, brief
and conclusive as 1t proved. Then the Pro-
curator entered upon some long speech,
which went past Latham as though 1t had
never been; he only saw Robert Bruce's
outstretched hand, and grasped it closely
where they two stood in the bow-window.
After that, there was nothing more to say.
He waited on alphabetically almost till
Sinclair was buried in a quiet hillside
graveyard, and he exchanged a few grave
but cordial words with young Bruce of Ard
muir, then he passed out of their lives, as
he told himself, forever The vainest
phrase that any mortal can use, surely; ;or
are we not blown against one another like
feathers or light thistle down, by the gusts
OF fate, and have we any more will in the
matter than these?
So Margaret, who made a confdant of no
one, was left TO weep her bitter silver tears
over the dried moonwort and the half sheet
of notepaper, whose halt-dozen words, in the
handwriting of the man she loved-who had
pl-an ho hod m oh
A dozen years later, Pennygowan Lodge
looked much the same; to the eye of an ac-
curate observer it seemed only to have
taken on a deeper, hamper tone of grecnish
gray as the moisture of successive winters
trickled down the rough-casting which cov-
cred it. "Gowan flood" was gone! Mr.
Malcolm had had it drained, and the land
thus recovered, richly clad with cotton
grass, yellow asphodel, ard the shyly-folded
gentian among the pink heath plants, was
valuable for peat-cutting purposes, and
boon to the crofters round about.
Otherwise, nothing was changed; these
change. The hills lifted their lean
shoulders as gauntly as ever: and now
that the heather was over, red-brown deer
grass waved over their upper slopes, and
gray sheep sprinkled them. Ben Arie
looked down from its nobler height upon
the same sweep of untractable arabic land
at its base. and the deep assures in its steep
sides ran over with the faded wealth OF !.
glorious autumn time. Majestic clumps OF
fern starred the banks of the streams, rising
green and glistening from ruin of ruddy
leaves; ripe haws the size of plums cleaned
on the barred briers, and the hawthorns bent
under clusters OF crimson fruit-nowhere
save in the Highland is there this mad
luIurlance OF natures wild jewel