The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-10-10

ONSSAN ASS4 "a LILY AOOSO * NOSO44UI OAN
I want you to occupy it. When your
sister is well enough to remove we will
take her there, and you shall be more
comfortable"
Alice's only answer was to burst into
tears. The tender hearted doctor sat
down beside her and took her hand.
won't you consider me your friend,
Miss Carnold," he said earnestly, land
accept this offer"
She raised her lovely tear stained
face and their ayes met.
DIR. Banks" she exclaimed, ''your
kindness quite overpowers me. Per
haps I ought to doubt you and spurn
your proposal, but I am going to accept,
for it seems to me that Providence has
sent you to u.s."
II trust that 1 shall prove a true
emissary of Providence, he answered.
Two weeks passed. The invalid,
thanks to her improved circumstances
and the doctors care, was so much i'm
proved as to be able to sit up. The
doctor spent his evenings with the
ladies when not professionally engaged,
and charming companions he found
them. One evening, while they were
engaged in an animated conversation,
the doctors bell rang, and, excusing
himself, he went below. AS he opened
the door a tall, fine looking man stepped
into the hall. He stood there a mo
ment, and then said in a low voice:
"James!'
Harry" exclaimed the other,
springing forward and dragging him
into the light. sit is you, my dear
boy! Where have you been these three
years? Come in and get warmed up"
When they were seated before the
cheerful CRATE fire, James said:
Hal, tell me; why did you desert
your iancee in her hour Of need9"
Good heavens! man, who told you
that? I did not desert her. My story
is a strange one, and but for the most
substantial proofs I could never con
vince you of it's veracity. But how
did you hear of this9"
'From your fancee. The Misses
Carnold r living upstairs in the ut
most poverty"
The other sprang to his feet. "Oh,
let me go to her!" he cried. DO not
detain mel"
GENo.uO,7 ~ ,,,+ u7o;+ uooi5 bic boo+bov
quietly. ut would kill her to see you
suddenly in her weak state. l will
prepare her for the meeting. But first
tell me about your disappearance. You
wrote to Miss Carnold, saying that you
had decided to start anew, and that she
would never see you again. That sounds
like %desertion, doesn't it,"
Hal uttered an exclamation of sur
prise. 'It was a forgery y he cried in
dignantly; 81 never wrote such a let
ter. AS I intimated to you, mine is a
strange story, and this I suppose is but
another chapter.
"Mr. Carnold, Mary's father, the day
before he died, intrusted to my care a
mortgage which he held on a gold mine
claim in Southern California, and
and which he had intended to foreclose
in three weeks. He wished me to take
possession of the claim and run it for
his daughters benefit, as this would be
their sole support. I consented, and
as soon as left him placed the precious
document in a safe, deposit vault.
"Mr. Carnold died the next day, and
in the confusion and sorrow l forgot to
mention the mortgage to the girls.
That evening, sitting in my room, I
fell asleep. 1 woke to find myself
securely bound and gagged. To make
a long story short, I was carried to- a
cab, conveyed long way from the city
to a lonely spot, and there kept pris-
oner, being guarded day and night by
two of my four armed attendants.
'After two years Of this sort of life,
I succeeded in making my escape while
my guards were in a drunken stuper
after a day Of debauch. I reached San
Francisco in safety, f~oreclosed the
mortgage, and caused the arrest of all
concerned in my detention. Their
cases came up in the November term.
The mine was now the property of the
girls, but no trace Of them could I find !;
they had disappeared. then came on
and sought you. Like a fairy story,
isn't it?"
"It c. rtainly is, my dear Hail." an
swered James, when his brother had
finished the recital of his adventures.
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