The record-union., 1892-12-31

JHe Ody -tuC eNSr-L O-De-Feffl6nlD ereu uay
at Sydney--on which he betook himself
to the agents office of the ship by which
he had travelled.
he was in no hurry; had all the long,
bright day before him; could revel in the
glorious sunshine and the sweet, exhila-
rating air; and-finding another man in
possession of the Inquiry" window
could wait with kind Of pleased patience
Tor his turn.
What was half an hour or so more or
less TO him? Time might be money, but,
on the other hand, was not money time?
de could afford to stand aside and look
on, as he did now, at the poor fellow who
seemed so full of a half-suppressed
anxiety; could feel quite a pleasurable
interest in-but what was that the clerk
was saying?
am really very sorry, Mr.. -"
NarIey-Gabriel Varley," answered
the man weakly, and the words were fol-
lowed by cough, quite as weak.
Yes, yours does appear a very hard
case, Mr.. Marley; but then, if we took
an the hard cases in-or allowed them to
take US ln-whyr we should have no end
OF passengers, and that's a fact.'
But could pay you my passage twice
over at the other end" urged the petit
toner. but hopelessly, as having lost
heart.
so you have said; but it really won't
do. 1t may be quite as you say, but we
nave been done so often. If you had
anything to show now, by way Of
proof"
81 have shown you this letter, calling
me home"
but what does a letter prove, even if
it were dated yesterday, instead of being
ever so old? We don't know how you
came by it, or-but there, your illness
| looks genuine enough, and 1 don't want
to be hard--though what you ask cannot
possibly be done.''
Whereat the man turned despairingly
away, and as Guy mechanically took his
place, the clerk grumbled on:
lit does seem a cruelty hard case-but
what can l do? We've no end of such
all genuine and all with friends on the
other side. If only his tale be true, once
landed in London and he would be in
clover; but how do we know?''
"What-did he-say-his name was"
asked Guy heavily, a strange toreboding
Of coming i'll knocking with hideous in
Sistence at his heart-the heart that of LATE
had been so jubilant.
Narley-Gabriel Marley. Not a COM
mon name, is it? Nor is he common
fellow, one can see, spite of his rough
clothes; but, bless you! we've all sorts
over here. And the better the class the
worse the individual, nine times out of
ten."
mo, 1t is not common NAME" an
swered Guy. what was his story?r he
asked, ignoring the rest.
"Oh! the usual thing, [ believe. Left
home under cloud. Been up country
and did well until he was sick, when his
manager robbed him of his pile; and,
weak and low as he was, he had to tramp
down here, where he finds this letter
five years old-waiting to tell him the
cloud had burst and to come home"
But Guy had CROPPED his way blindly to
the door, feeling suddenly sick and faint
for want of air.
No need to bolster up his sinking cour-
age with fallacious hopes. He knew as
by sudden intuition who the man was;
and how, spite of his long absence and
reported death, the real owner of old
Jacob Varley's money had, as it WERE
risen from the dead to GUST him from his
new-found wealth.
1t was hard-cruelly hard. Never again
could he settle down to the old life. And
| it turned him cold and sick to realize how
deep and strong hold the money had
upon him.
But how did he know, he demurred
| feebly, that this was indeed-and then he
had not patience to follow out the
thought.
How did he know? Why. was not the
hideous conviction borne in upon him
their derisive message in his ears? How
| did he know. Was it not just the situa-
ton and the hour that a malignant fate
would choose to play him such a trick?
| How did he know-and he woke up
startled by deep and hollow groan, to
! find himself outside and facing the man
| whose return to life or falsely reported
death, was the cause of all his present
misery.
Could it have been he, poor wretch,
| who groaned, he wondered, as he stared
at the hollow-cheeked needy looking
man. Apparently not, for the stranger
had been startled in his turn.
sis anything the matter?'' he asked
sympathetically. Are you i'll, too? Can
l do anything for your"
Guy shook his head, but made no at
tempt at reply.
So then it was he himself who had
groaned, he concluded, after all; and he
turned aside, casting about hopelessly as
to what he had better do, and haunted
disagreeably and persistently by the
mans pallor and terribly forlorn air,
together with the darker suggestions that
SO inevitably followed.
Looks tearfully weak and low. Not
much of a life TO stand between me
and" He broke off with a shudder to
| find where he was being carried; then
quite as suddenly came the suggestion,
WHY AOL bSIIlp OIlZ6t w ny nOU gam
time to think over the situation?
"You-you are anxious to get back to
to England, so they tell me?" he began
| tentatively, and formulating his plan as
he went along.
"Yes, want sadly to go back" But
the speaker did not turn, so hopeless did
he seem.
Are you-tied as toto timer"
II have no money, so cannot wait, if
| that is what you mean; while for the
same reason, it appears, l cannot 90.
| am not strong enough to work. have
| been ILL.,"
"Yes, you look it, even now" assented
Guy, compassion struggling with his
more active selfish fears. "You have
friends perhaps, on the other side?"
Il think so, to judge by this" And
the man looked doubtfully at the letter
he held in his hands.
"Who are they ?" asked GUY,
The man handed him the letter and
waited quietly while he read it.
1t was from the father, Jacob Varlev.
telling of the mothers death, the discov-
cry OF the truth: and begging him to re-
turn.
The letter is five years DID," he re-
marked, as he passed it back.
Yes, it has lain here unclaimed and
unanswered all that time They NAV
have thought me dead" the wanderer
added, wistfully; Il should like to see
them once before II
''Supposing that L undertook to find
you the money. | shall be going back
myself shortly, and in the meantime you
can act as my secretary. We shall travel
| about for time, and you can write, can
tell them" But he could not 60 on.
the implied deception was too great.
| All he wanted was time-time to face
| the situation and to make up his mind.
| That hn frlfiInp with ,tat La
knew. 1t was merely putting off the
evil day. That the surrender would
grow no easier he recognized gloomily
enough, even while he spoke. But what