Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1894-08-11
A PHANTOM BRIDE.

the throes of alternating hopes and
fears? Still less have suspected that
during those long uneventful years
whilst he had lived the life of q recluse,
shut up in the dreary splendor CT Bleak
House, he had in truth been a prey to
remorse. and the victim Of a sorrow too
deeply rooted to find alienation In the
ordinary cares and joys of sociability,
or the sympathy of his kindl
"Well. four years after new OF Gre
ta's death had reached me, / so far re-
Tented as to institute enquiries respect
ing the fate of her hapless child-una-
vailingly. however. / could only learn
that upon the mothers death she had
passed into the keeping OF the so-called
landlady' beneath whose roof Margue-
rite closed her eyes, with whom she had
In due course migrated from Manches-
ter to London, where all clue TO the
fate of these insignificant units became
effectually merged in the universal
human whirlpool. Since then / Lave
made no further effort in this direction,
and so ends my story, Dick. Have you
any notion why | have thus tardily TAX
ell you into my confidence, boyp" he
questioned abruptly. turning for the
first time and confronting the young
man with something almost Of menace
I'm his tone and glance. docs it not
appear ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS one
who has hitherto kept you at an unap-
proachable distance should thus sud-
denly enfOld you, as il were, in his en-
brace, and bid you look down into his
heart and read the secrets buried be-
meath the dust and weight Of years
within his breastI Answer me without
reservation. Dick
NO, sir. That is. am proud and
grateful for your confidence, however
tardily vouchsafed. The motive cause
concerns me not at all. Moreover
"Ah, but ii does, Dick-more nearly
than you, perhaps, conceive possible.
I require a service at your hands-a
service which. it seems to me, none
other is SO well calculated to render as
yourself"
"Assuredly no mar breathing could
show equal readiness in your cause,
sir, " returned the young fellow warm
". But protestations on my part, |
hope and trust. are needless. You have
but to state your wishes. My part is
simply TO accord unquestioning obe-
dience."
The old man vouchsafed no direct
reply; only, after a brief pause, began
huskily:
Dick, did you-did you chance to
notice anything singular in my demean-
or, N evidence of-Of emotion or my
part whilst we listened before dinner
to-day to DR.. Hollingshead $ account
of-of the death at st. Georges Hos
pital of-of some wretched organ
grinderl"
Dick shook his head, and the baronet
nrnnan1a1 thnttnh NOT N.ithnnf NiGIhla
effort:
1T is impossible to analyze or define
the subtle force of instinct, which
sometimes, with one lightning flash.
Unexpectedly reveals far more than
long years of logical arguments are. per
haps, capable of conveying. Thus it
proved in my w cas- no later than to-
Day. | listened attentively from the
first, for, alas! from the day | knew my
own child destitute and a wanderer
upon the face of the earth, the misera-
bic fat of the lowest outcast, the mer-
est vagrant, has had for me a terrible
significance, an a~ll-absorbing interest,
for a still small voice seemed whisper
ing ever: Even To this complexion
may she - Marguerite's child - have
come at LAST But from the moment,
Dick, that Hollingshead mentioned a
a child-a child bearing the surely un-
common appellation OF 'Greta,' my
heart gave a wild tumultuous bound,
Instinct did its instantaneous work,
and IL was with difficulty | ~refrained
from springing TO my feet crying wild
": Found. foundl My Marguerite's
child!' Dick"-and now indeed the
baronet rose up from his chair and with
a somewhat unsteady gait approached
the bed-stead-''it is she! | cannot
doubt it. For a moment thought that
In the first instance | might have beer
misinformed respecting my daughters
death and that the-the miserable or
~gan-grinder the doctor described might
have been in truth my own lost and de-
graded girl. But, happily, this lowest
depth of humiliation | was not called
upon to gauge. Later, | perceived my
fears were grOundless. Yet, the child
the missing child-who played the tara
BOURNE! Great Heavenl Greta is
can be none o~ther-than my own flesh
and blood, Greta's babe my Margue-
rites grandchild! Oh, my boy, my boy,
thank God you cannot even family es-
innate the ~unspeakable anguish or a
like confessionl'
The baronet bowed his head on his
folded arms upon the footboard OF the
bed, and for some moments the silence
remained unbroken, save for the deep
stertorous breathing which all too elo-
quently betrayed the proud mans ago
ny Of spirit.
AS for Dick, the mingled emotions
with which he listened to these words
may be more readily imagined than de-
scribed.
Whilst mentally revolving the course
1t now behooved him to pursue. the par
onet recommended in calmer tones:
ITO you. Dick. it will no doubt seem
strange, vet. let me admit at once that
no shadow of doubt remains in my own
mind as to the identity of that missing
child. The strength of this mysterious
conviction amounts to absolute certain
ty. There can be but one vagrant Gre
Ia. and henceforth she must be my
care, for Norman blood runs in hel
veins. She is MargiIerite'S grandchlld
Dick, she must forthwith be found, if
spend the last coin in my Golfers, the
remnant of my declining years-aye
every lingering breath in this worn-ou,
frame. Greta's child must be rescued
from restitution and the infamy Of The
streets. But l am old, boy-old, weak
and ailing. Moreover, l would fain
out Of regard for the girls future, thai
my direct agency might, for the pres
ent, remain unsupported in this matter
Dick, will you help me? Will you ait
me? viii you seek, find and rescue
from the mire of the London streets TIT
hapless little one whose rightful plac,
is-aye. and yet shall be!-here, by m!
side, at Bleak ~iIouseT / place my
cheque-book in your hands. Go to thu
head of the detective police, take what
soever steps they may deem advisable
and, whether she may be alive or dead
entreat you, as you hope for earthl.
happiness and eternal peace, find m.
Greta's child"
Il will, at any rate, do my best!" re
turned the young man slowly, for II
truth he was i'm his turn well-nigh over
powered by emotion, and only by din
Of the utmost self-control had he sue
ceeded in listening thus far apparent,
unmoyed. And in the first instance
tomorrow morning we must despatch
\ telegram to my h~ousekeeper 1 n Picca
dilly, bidding her come down at once D
the lO:l5 train. bringing with her you
lost treasure-the missing child! 70
) Greta-Greta herself, none other-Fat
led to my doorstep the night before last
and, Heaven DO thanked! when / foun
her asleep outside l insisted on housln
the poor little mortal over night, In
stead Of handing her over then an
there to the police. You stare, sill
You are mystiied! But now listen {
q succinct history of-factsl'
Then Dick In his turn told his stor