The sun., 1892-01-03

hand gently on Northwick's shoulder. III
have to wake You here" he said. We'll be
in. now. In a minute
Northwick tumbled forward at his touch. and
Pinney caught him round the neck and lifted
his face.
oh. my God! He's dend!'
The loosened handouts fell on the floor.
CHAPTER NJ.
After they were married. Suzette and Matt
went to live on his farm; and II was then that
she accomplished a purpose she had never
really given up. She surrendered the whole
place at Hatboro' to the company her father
had defrauded. She had no sentiment about
the place. such as had made tho act impossible
to Adeline. and must have prevented the sacri-
fee on Suzette's part as long as her sister
lived. But suffering from that and from oil
other earthly troubles was past for Adellne:
she was dead: and Suzetto felt 1t no wrong TO
her memory to put out Of her own hands the
property which something higher than tho
logic Of the case forbade her to keep. As far Rs
her father was concerned. she took his
last act as a sign that he wished to
make atonement for the wrong he had com.
mitted: and she felt that the surrender OF this
property to his creditors was in the line OF his
endeavor. She had strengthened herself to
bear his conviction and punishment, II he
came back: and since he was dead. this sur
render OF possessions tainted for her with tho
dishonesty in which the unhappy man had
lived was nothing Ike loss: 1t was rather q
joyful relief.
Yet 1t was real sacrifice. and she was des.
tined to feel 1t in the narrowed conditions Of
her life. But she had become used to narrow
conditions: she had learned how little people
could live with when they had apparently
nothing to live for: and now that in Matt she
had everything to live for. the surrender OF all
she had in the world left her incalculably rich.
Matt reioiced with her in her decision.
though he had carefully Kept himself from in
fluencing it. He was poor. too except for the
comfortable certainty that his father could not
let him want: but SO far as he had been able
he had renounced his expectations from his
fathers estate In order that he might seem to
be paying Northwick's indebtedness to the
company Doubtless it was only an appear
ance: in the end the money his father left
would come equally to himself and Louise:
but in the mean time the restitution for North
wick did cramp Eben Hilary more for the mo-
ment than he let his son know. 50 he thought
1t well to allow Matt to 60 seriously to work on
account OF II. and to test his economic theories
in the attempt to make his farm yield him O
living. 1t must be said that the prospect dis
mayed neither Matt nor Suzette: there was
thattn her life which enabled her to dispense
With the world and its pleasures and iavors:
and he had long ceased to desire them.
The Ponkwasset directors had no hesitation
In accepting the assignment Of property mado
them by Northwick's daughter As a cor
porate body they had nothing to do with the
finer question Of right involved. They looked
at the plain fact that they had been heavily
deirauded by the former owner OF the prop-
erty. who had internally put it out OF his hands
in view Of some such contingency as he had
finally reached: and as 1t had remained In the
possession Of his family ever since they took
no account OF the length Of time that had
elapsed since he was actually the owner. They
recognized the propriety OF his daughters 8
action In surrendering It, and no member OF
the Board was Quixotic enough to suggest
that the mpany had no more claim upon the
property she conveyed to them than upon any
other piece Of real estate in the Common
wealth.
They considered" said Putney. who had
completed the affair on the part OF suzette.
and was atterward talking It over with his
crony. DR.. Morrel in something OF the bitter
ness Of defeat. that their first duty was to
care for the interests Of their stockholders.
who seemed to turn out all widows and or
phans, as nearly as could understand. 1t ap-
pears as IL nobody but innocents OF that kind
live on the Ponkwasset dividends. and it
would have been inhuman not to look after
their interests. Well" he went on. breaking
from this grievance. there's this satisfactory
thing about 1t: somebody has done something
at last that he intended to do; and. OF course.
the he in question Is a she. She that was
Miss suzette is the only person connect
ed with tho whole affair that's had her
way. Everybody else's way has come to
nothing. beginning with my own. can look
back to the time when I meant to have the
late ]. Milton Northwcks blood: I was lying
low for years. waiting for him to do Just what
he did do at last. and expected somehow. by
the blessing Of God. to help run him down. or
bring him to justice. as we say. The first
thing l knew. l turned up his daughters g
counsel. and was devoting myself to the inter-
ests OF pair Of grass orphans with the high
and holy zeal OF Board OF Directors All I
wanted was to have J. Milton brought to trial.
not so could help send him to State prison Will,
band OF music but so could get him of on
the plea Of insanity. But wasn't allowed to
have my way. even in a little thing like that:
and OF all the things that were planned
for and against. round and about Northwick,
just one has been accomplished. The directors
failed to be In at the DEATH and old Hilary has
had to resign from the Board and pay the de-
faulters debts. Plnney. understand. consid-
ers himself ruined man: he's left of detect
ing for living and gone back to interviewing.
Poor old Adeline lived in the pious hope OF
making NorthwicE's old age comfortable in
their beautiful homo on the money he had
stolen and now that she's dead 1t goes to his
creditors. Why. even Billy Gerrish-a high.
minded. public.spirited man like William
b. Gerrish-couldn't have his way about
Northwick. No. sir: Northwick himself
couldn't! Look how he fooled away
his time there In Canada. after he
got of with money enough to start him on the
high road to fortune again. He couldn't bulge
OF his own motion. and the only thing he really
tried to do he failed In disgracefully. Adeline
wouldn't let him stay when he came back to
buy himself off. and that killed her. Then.
when lie started home again. to take his pun
ishment. the first thing he did was to drop
dead. Justice herself couldn't have her way
with Eorthwick. I'm not sorry he slipped
~.