The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-01-06
CHAPTER ~.

My duty to you compels it."
+ looked at her, and believed I reac
one salient point in her character at once
-shewas q weak women whose creates,
desire was to appear strong.
Not until I know what you are going
to say to MI. Dudley. Not until I an
sure you will not insult him for having
dared to speak-to me-" Miss Hargreav.
exclaimed, impetuously.
IF I were sure you had met by accident
If you were merely exchanging common
courtesies, but"
Mother! you are insulting him now by
s%upposing snything else possible. Oh
this never-ending suspicion!" she cried
her face ablaze with passion. You make
a p~retense Of going to church, only to re-
turn and pry upon me. You drive me te
desperation, and will regret it some day.
Your religion is but another hypocrisy,
while-oh, my God, this life is becoming
unendurable!"
Then, with one piteous, appealing
glance at me, Miss Hargreave fun g her.
self upon the bench, and laying her face
down on her outstretched arms, gave vent
to a paroxysm Of convulsive sobbing.
MY daughter has been Ill; she is sui.
fering from an attack Of nerves. Doyou
not see, sir, that you ought to go?" cried
Mrs. Hargreave, e1citedly.
Of course I ought to go. There was
no doubt about it! And as I passed out
she entered.
turned and watched her sit down be.
side the weeping girl. I saw her place
her arms around her and draw the tear.
stained face with apparent tenderness
upon her breast. I saw that Mrs. Har-
greave's eyes also were wet, her lips
trembling, and I walked away profoundly
puzzled how to reconcile the scene 7 had
Just witnessed with the tale of wrong
had only the moment before been told.
lam neither learned in phrenology mol
physiognomy; but in the same degree
that the finely proportional head of DR..
Gascoigne impressed me in his favor, so,
I must confess, did the weak face, but,
above all, the white brows and eyelashes
Of Mrs. Hargreave warn me that she was
rot q woman to be trusted.
I left Glendale House by the last train
that night and, as it CHANGED, without
again seeing the Doctor.
Late as it was when I arrived at Coal.
town my one thought on entering my
lodgings was to devise some plan for OBJ.
tanning a copy of Mr.. Lester H~argreave's
will. I wrote to an old friend-the son
of my fathers solicitor-whom I had not
seen since my prospects darkened, and
asked him to use his best endeavors in
procuring me the fullest information.
I had some misgivings about applying
to Charlie Hawks for these reasons: He
was inclined 20 be wild when I knew him;
since then it had come to my knowledge
that he added unscrupulousness to dissi-
patton. However, it was the only means
that occurred to me Of obtaining the de-
sired information. I wrote the letter to
Charlie and posted it myself next morn
ing on my way to the bank.
Ny employers received me cordially
and expressed their satisfaction OF seeing
me restored to health. I took my seat on
the high stool before my desk and re-
sumed my work, to all appearance as
though I had never been away from it.
I say advisedly ito all appearance" be-
cause in point Of fact everything was
changed to me. I seemed to have began
q new era in my existence. Much as. ]
had disliked my life as a bank clerk
hitherto, : regarded it now with positive
loathing. and felt convinced that Dr..
Gascoigne was right when he asserted J
was untitled.
Having no desire to prolong my story,
it were needless to enter into env de-.
tailed account either Of my life or feel.
ings during the next few days.
It was not until Saturday morning thai
the impatiently expected letter from Lon.
don came.
A large blue envelope Iav conspicuous
on the white breakfast cloth, and, had il
contained q letter from the beautiful
Miss Hargreave herself, I could scarcely
have experienced deeper emotion than
that with which I broke the seal.
Throwing to one side q note written in
Charlie Hawks hand, I spread out before
me the sheet of paper on which the SUBJ
stance of the will had apparently been
hastily jotted down. I read slowly,
thoughtfully, weighing each item, and
before quite reaching the end, paused.
Was I fated to be forever recalling some
chance words Of DR.. Gascoigne? "You
should marry an heiress, my dear boy"
he had said.
Ismiled as I repeated the words aloud
Il laughed-I broke out in o few bars Of
a light song. Here was the most charm
ing girl in the world, with-now that she
was Of age.-a country seat in Leicester
shire. ESQ, 900 in funds, and all her fathe,
died possessed of absolutely her own,
with the exception Of a paltry annuity,
not worth mentioning, left to the widow
and the last words this lovely heirea
had spoken to me- were:
ASK what you will, and I" Ths
sentence, owing to circumstances, had
remained unfinished, but how easy to in
terpret it in the way I wishedl
Is there a devil? If there zig, most
surely at that moment he whispered in
my ear that gratitude alone should
prompt her to listen f~avorablyto my suit.
Was l not now in q position to unmask
the perfdy of her step-mother?
I got up and paced the room in my in
dignation when I thought of the girls
words: II am not allowed to have sven
the smallest coin you would fling to the
poorest beggar!" And yet all was hers
all hers by law.
Presently, recollecting there were
still a few lines Of writing on the paper,
I took it up and read, with feelings more
easily imagined than described, the fol-
lowing:
I. Lester Hargreave. etc.. etc., being OF
sound mind. but at the point OF death. do
everything l die possessed of to Martha
hargreave. my wife: and 7 appoint the said
Martha Hargreave sole eXecutrix OF this my
will. 30 that she. knowing my wishes-and
having absolute control over my estate
may be enabled to carry them out to the
best Of her ability. 10 this end. 30 help
her Godl
This codicil bore date Dec. 30, 1878,
and the names Of two witnesses were