The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1893-03-18

gate q clew which they hope may lead
to the discovery of Annie Dupont, the
sole heir at law; and behold, am mis-
taken by the claimant for her own
lawyerI Could such a combination OF
circumstances occur more than once in
hundred years."
Once more he took up the telegram
and read it. In his first hasty perusal
second and more careful reading now
brought out with startling prominence.
"'We look to yourself and Mrs
Maynard" read the sentence aloud
in puzzled way for explanations. ;
What does this mean? Can it be pos
sible that they suspect Good
heavens 1t all flashes upon me now
| Why was SO blind as not to see it be-
fore?
Dashing the telegram down on the
desk, he rose to his feet with his face
grown suddenly white, and commenced
to pace rapidly to and fro.
/ Mrs. Maynard, the claimant, Ollin
| North, her confidential legal adviser.
What had been his own previous suspi-
cion concerning these two2 Only too well
| did he remember it now; and he saw it
| plainly reflected in that message of
| Hopkins & Shepherd In swift rush
| of thought Allan North reviewed all
! the incidents of the case that had first
| led to his suspicion; he took up one by
one the various links which, though
slight and insignificant in themselves
| yet when slrillfully united formed a
| complete chain of damaging evidence;
and by the time this swift review was
luctantly to the belief that seemed to
be irresistibly forced upon him.
"Can it be possible" he asked him
self, still in a maze of bewildercd
thought, of unwilling conviction, chat
Noll has so far forgotten his personal
and professional honor as to descend to
such deed as this? There is only one
hypothesis upon which / can explain it
at all. He must have been mad-in-
fatuated A beautiful face has lured
many man to his ruin, and Noll has
doubtless been the victim of the artful
wiles that were practiced upon me to-
day. So be it, Fate has most strange
ly put it within my power to visit a
Jll5J ICbIIOuOlOA upon llCI. iuQ L Will |
exercise that power without mercy |
will deliberately keep up the deception
in which have thus far acquiesced for
my own idle amusement, and in the as
sumed character of my brother ascer-
tain how far Mrs Maynard has know
ledge and completely in this forgery.
And if l find that she is responsible for
the wretched conspiracy, let her be-
warei'
There was pitiless anger in Nor5h's
heart as he spoke these words in
audible soliloquy, and pitiless ex-
preston on his stern, set face. He did
not for one moment question the cor
rectness of his suspicious, the justice of
his conclusions; he felt an inward con-
viction of their truth which was to his
mind confirmation strong as proofs of
holy writ" The thought of the crime to
which he believed that his brother had
been lured, the exposure and disgrace
that threatened him, the stigma that
would thenceforth rest upon the fami-
ly name, was maddening to him And
thus his resolution was formed; he
would take advantage of the peculiar
in which an exceptional !
turn of fortune had placed him, to learn
the whole truth concerning the forgery,
and if possible divert public suspicion
and discovery from his brother, for the ,
sake of the innocent ones who would
suffer if his crime became known. /,
This resolution probably was not ,
taken on the loftiest of moral grounds; 7
but Allan North was not in a position :
just then to view the case from any =
elevated moral or ethical standpoint. y
If he had blamed his brother more
severely he might possibly have been +
ess inclined to shield him; but for .
'ome reason he had distinct feeling q
hat Ollin was more to be pitied than +
planned All his righteous indignation
vas visited upon the beautiful woman
whom he believed to have been the n
ause of his brothers temptation and
tumbling. -
Sand now" he reflected, having m
definitely determined upon his course, al
can l so perfectly assume the charac- hi
er of my brother that not even his in W
innate friends and daily associates shall &C
Inspect the deception? My success thus
ar has been very encouraging; the
My thing that staggers me is my til
liter ignorance of his private affairs tie
Iere in x, his social, political and OF
connections. Then there lsr
5 the uncertainty about how long Noll
viii remain away. If he should return co
efore have succeeded in gaining any on
violence from Mrs. Maynard, My labor
ill be wasted. But, by Jove!-No, no,
hat is a wild suppositionl Noll would d,
ever do anything so cowardly as to
IN away when he discovered that he
as suspected. And yet, his leaving SO m
lddenly as he did after receiving that lSl
lessage from Hopkins and Shepherd m
as a rather significant look. / must ay
ear that in mind We'll ] shall have 10 sn