The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1894-11-01

come here to X as the representa-
tive Of Hunter and Ketchum, to invests
gate 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
lawyer! Could such q combination of
circumstances occur more than once in
a hundred years?"
Once more he took up the telegram
and read it. In his first hasty perusal
he had overlooked one point which a
second and more careful reading now
brought out with startling prominence.
'ssWe look to yourself and Mrs.
Maynard he 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 sect be-
fore?" A s Ssf s5
Dashing the telegram down On the
desk, he rose to his feet with his face
grown suddenly white, and commenced
!. to pace rapid to and fro. .. NJ
n Mrs. Maynard, the claimant, Ollin
North, her confidential legal adviser.
What had been his own previous suspi-
cion concerning these two? Only too well
did he rememb Der it now; and he saw it
plainly reflected in that message Of
Hopkins & Shepherd. In swift rush;
, of thought Allan North reviewed all
\ theincidents 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,
vet when skillfully united formed a
complete chain of damaging evidence;
and by the time this swift review was
finished he had surrendered most re-
luctantl y to the belief that seemed to
be irresistibly forced upon him.. E
r "Can it be possible" he asked him
self, still in a maze of bewildered
thought, of unwilling conviction, shat
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
just retribution upon her, and /, will
exercise that power without mercy. I
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 find that she is responsible for
the wretched conspiracy, let her, be-
ware!'' es,.#S z's4v- l=55,-T &.I.
! There was a pitiless anger in North's
heart as he spoke these words in
audible soliloquy, and a 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 thenceforths rest upon the fami-
~ name, was maddening to him. And
thus his resolution was formed; he
would take advantage of the peculiar
circumstances 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 mot
taken on the loftiest of moral grounds;
but Allan North was not in a position
just then to view the case from any
elevated moral or ethical standpoint.
If he had blamed his brother more
severely he might possibly have been
less inclined to shield him; but for
some reason he had distinct feeling
that Ollin was more to be pitied than
blamed. All his righteous indignation
was visited upon the beautiful woman
whom he believed to have been. the
cause of his brothers temptation and
stumbling.
=. "And now," he reflected, having
definitely determined upon his course,
''can SO perfectly assume the charac-
ter of my brother that not even his in
innate friends and daily associates shall
suspect the deception? My success thus
far has been very encouraging; the
only thing that staggers me is my
utter ignorance of his private affairs
here in Y, his social, political and
professional connections. Then there
is the uncertainty about how long Noll
will remain away. If he should return
before 1 have succeeded in gaining any
evidence from Mrs. Maynard. my labor
will be wasted. But, by Jove!-No, no,
that is wild superstition! Noll would
never do anything so cowardly as to
run away when he discovered that he
was suspected. And yet, his leaving so
suddenly as he did after receiving that
message from Hopkins and Shepherd
has rather significant look must
bear that in mind Well. shall have to
trust largely to fortune, and make the
most of the time that have for devel-
5oping and accomplishing my purpose.
In the meantime, of course, must not