Mower County transcript., 1892-05-18

{ dScu4nuAat1OAs " ayes. "A lovely young
lady with dark hair, who blushed when
| took my cue and praised Biddulph, she
also lionized me. "A thoroughbred Ameri-
can finds English life charming, especial
~ if he is agreeably lionne; a scrubby
American considers England a region Of
cold shoulder, too effete to appreciate
impertinence.
Lady Biddulph gave me further facts
of the history of the Clitheroes.
''Our dear Ellen!" she concluded. ''It
she had known how much loved her she
would have disregarded her natural scru.
ples" she glanced at her son-''and
let me befriend and protect her. It goes
to my heart to see Mr.. Brent SO worn and
sad. He, too, has become very dear tc
us all. I have adopted him as my son as
long as he pleases, and try to give him a
mothers sympathy"
Brent walked back with me to Smor.
ley's.
''How different we are!' he said as we
parted. II am all impulse; you are all
steadiness."
''Suffering might throw me off my bal.
ance. Remember that I have had trial
and experience, but no torture"
s'Terture-that is the word, and it has
unnamed me like a wearing disease
Your coming makes man of me again. y
'.Give me day or two for Shorts
Cutoff and the mechanical Nineteenth
century, and we will take our knight
errantry upon US again. We are dis.
mounted cavaliers now, to be sure-no
Pumps or Fulano to help us-but we
shall find, will not doubt, some other
trusty aid against the demon forces"
Brent bade me good night with a re-
vival of his. old self. We were to meet
again tomorrow.
l sat down to gladden. Short with the
story of my success today, and wrote hard
and fast to catch tomorrow's steamer.
The dwarf, I knew, would be man
after Shorts own heart-these men of
iron and steel are full of magnetism for
each other. gave Short minute de-
scription of Padiham's shop.
AS described found that my obser-
vation had been much keener than |
supposed.
All the objects in Padiham's shop, one
after another, caught my look as re-
viewed the whole in memory. Sudden
ly I found myself gazing intently at my
image of those two water color draw
ings in neat gilt frames hanging in !.
dusky corner by the chimney-those
two drawings which had revived in my
mind the sentiment of the bright,
healthy roses in the upper windows.
Suddenly these drawings required tc
me. They stared at me like an old friend
neglected. They insisted upon my recog-
milton. There was personality in them
which gazed at me with shy and sad
reproach, that had given them only q
careless glance and So passed them by.
The drawings stared at me and I al
them.
An ancient, many gabled brick mano,
house on fair lawn, dotted with state,
ly oaks-that was the first.
Had not already seen drawing, the
fellow of this? Yes. In Biddulph't
hands at Fort Laramie. The same ga
bles, the same sweet slope of lawn, the
same broad oaks, and one the monarch
of them mall-perhaps the very one Words
worth had rounded into sonnet.
And the companion drawing that
hardly deciphered in the dimness-
group of figures and a horse bending
over them?
How blind was!
Fulano!
F'ulano surely. He and no other.
And that group?
Ourselves at the Luggernel springs.
Brent lying wounded, while I gave him
water, and lady bound up his wounds.
Can this be SO? Am I not the victim
of fancy? Is this indeed my noble
horse? Is he again coming forward to
bear US along the trail of our lost friend.
I stared again at my mental image of
the two drawings. Irecalled again every
word of my interview with Padiham.
The more I looked the more confident
I became. Shorts Cutoff had held such
entire possession of me in the afternoon
that could only observe with eyes, not
with volition; could not value tho treas
ure was grasping ignorantly. But !
had grasped it. This is Fulano! Except
for him might doubt. Except for his
presence the other drawing of an old
brick manor house would be common
place circumstance
my facts are slender basis for conclu-
sion, so avowed to myself on this re-
view.
but I would rather have hope than
no hope. The flmiest clew is kinder
than no clew.
81 will finish my letter to old Short,
dear boy, inventor of a we'll omened cut
off; will sleep like top, with no mys-
terious disappearances to disturb me; /
will be with the dwarf by seven. If that
is Fulano in the drawing he shall carry
double again. He shall conduct the lover
and friend to the lady"
CHAPTER XXI. r>
PAD1HAM's STORY.
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