The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-01-17
CHAPTER VIII.

"God bless my soul, Hawkins"
The morning paper dropped from the
%colonel's nerveless grasp.
"What is it?'
He's gone-the bright, the young, the
gifted, the noblest of his illustrious race
gone. Gone up in flames and ~unimaginable
glory"
"Who?''
my precious, precious young kinsman-
Kirkcudbright Hanover Majoribanks Sell
lers, Viscount Berkeley, son and heir of
usurping Rossmore."
mo" - | =s-.. .At. G=L- e
TITS true-too true.''
"When?"
last night"
''Where?"
Right here in Washington, where he
arrived from England last night, the papers
say" .
"Hotel burned down."
"What hotel?"
''The new G%ndsby."
"Oh, my goodness! And have We lost
both of them?"
Both who2' =
"One-arm Pete"
"Oh, great guns, 1 forgot all about him.
Oh. L hope not"
"Hope? Well. l should say. Oh, we
can't spare him. We can better afford to
lose q million yiscounts than our only sup
port and stay"
They searched the paper diligently, and
were appalled, to find that a one-armed
man had been seen flying along one of the
halls of the hotel in his underclothing and
apparently out of his head with fright, and
as he would listen to no one and persisted
in making for a stairway which would carry
him to certain death, his case was given
over as a hopeless one.
Poor fellow sighed Hawkins; "and he
had friends SO near. ] wish we hadn't come
away from there-maybe we could have
saved him."
The earl looked up and said calmly:
His being dead doesn't matter. He was
uncertain before. We've got him sure this
time" a E r.
Got him? How?" II,
II will materialize him.
#"Rossmore, don't-don't trifle with me.
Do you mean that? Can you do it?"
II can do it. just as sure as you are sit
ting thsre. And will"
GIVE me your hand and let me have the
comfort of shaking it. | was psrishing.
and you have put new life into me. Get at
it, oh, get at it right away"
ut will take q little time, Hawkins, but
there's no hurry, none in the world-in the
circumstances. And of course certain
duties have devolved on me now which
necessarily claim my first attention. This
poor young nobleman-"
why, yes, l am sorry for my heartless-
ness, and YOU, smitten with this new family
affection. OF course POI must materialize
him irst-I quite understand that
'I-I-well, l y wasn't meaning just that,
but-why, what am ] thinking of! %Of
course must matsrialize him. Oh, Haw-
kins. seltishness is the bottom trait in human
natures; l was only thinking that now, with
Ak, ,,r,, hats .~k - k1sr ,r~ ll.A ..-,.N1
forgive that momentary weakness and for
get it. Don't ever remember it against me,
hat Mulberry Sellers was once mean
enough to think the thought that ! was
thinking, I'll matsrialize hint will. on my
I'd do it were he a thousand
heirs jammed into one, and stretching in a
solid rank from here to the stolen estates
to the rightful EARL"
''Ihere spoke the real Sellers-the other
had q false ring, old friend"
Hawkins. my boy, it just occurs to me-
n thing | keep forgetting to mentions
matter that we've got to be mighty careful
"What is that?"
I'VE must keep absolutely still about
theos materializations. Mind, not Il hint of
them must esoSpe--not II hint. To say
nothing of how my wife IL daughter
gh-strunR sensitive organizations--might
feel about them, the negroes wouldn't stay
on tho place a minute"
THAT'S true. they wouldn't. It's we'll
You spoke. for Pm not naturally discreet
with my tongue when I'm not warned
Sellers reached out and touched a bell
in the wall. set his eye upon the
rear door and waited: touched it again and
and just MS Hawkins was remark
ing admiringly that the colonel was the
most progressive and most alert man he had
aver seen, in the matter of impressing into
his service every modern convenience the
moment it WAS invented. and always keep
ing breast to breast with the drum major in
The great work of material civilization, he
rorsook the button (Which hadn't any wire
to it), rang a vast dinner bell
stood on the table, and remarked