Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1894-01-04

StTditEs uuu, illu uiNC QudlItltA Will
the servants about some tribe; he dis
missed them all at n minutes notice.
So the coachman told me when he re-
turned from driving Sir Arthur to
Barnstaple."
THANK you,' / said, with assumed
Indifference, as i saIntered slowly
away.
A desperate purpose suddenly took
possession of my mind. 4 coud not re-
sist it. ''The next time l am charged
with breaking into Waterbrook Hall,
I will not be convicted innocently,'
/ said to myself, yielding to the tempta-
ton that assailed Inc.
Thus l was stepping into the meshes
Of crime at length. But remember that
for over four years i had been associat-
ed with the most confirmed criminals;
RI member also that ! vas pennilcss,
and that the pangs Of hunger Were
goading me on; and-wal, then con-
denim me-.
When the moon had gone down in the
darkness which wrapped the night,
l emerged from my concealment, and
cautiously approached Waterbrook Hall.
Quietly removing n pane of glass from
a back window on the ground floor,
i easily entered the house, and by the
u. VI al ~ itlIttlu, III oily puu
glarious accessory that l possessed, l
began my examination of the interior.
/ made my way into the library,
where l found a large safe. Here a
surprise met me. The keys had actu-
ally been left in the safe. So without
conjunction / opened it and began
an inspection Of the contents. / may
at once say that it contained neither
money nor silver-plate; but 1t held n
number of official-looking documents,
which curiosity led me TO examine.
The first half dozen or so which !
looked into referred to matters of which
i had no knowledge, and they did not
interest me. But in drawing a bulky
package from the top recess a faded let
ter dropped from it and fell on the floor.
/ picked up the missive and read 1t.
This is the letter:
"Waterbrook Eall, Feb. 6, 49,.
Dear Stainton,-The specialist has
been here, and pronounced my case
hopeless. In a month | may be dead.
l feel that l am rapidly succumbing
TO the fatal malady. You know my de-
sire for life is not great, for l long
TO join my dear departed wife in heav-
en-. But my poor boy, Felix! What
will become of Felix without a parents
eye to watch him? Stanton, i leave
him to your care. / know you are my
best frieLd. l have left Waterbrook
Hall, the Mexican bonds, my shares
in the London and North-W Western rail-
way; and indeed all / possess, amount
ing in current yalne to about forty
thousand pounds, [ my boy Felix when
he attains his majority. l have appoint
ed you sole trustee and executor.
Ever Yours,
walter Bancroft"
l opened the package from which the
letter had dropped, and the e thing
which came into my hands was the
following letter, in the handwriting Of
an uneducated person:
ID, Peel Street, Manchester,
3rd September, IS.
"Sir,-Your boy Felix has run away
from home though both me and the
missus be very kind to him. And we
cannot find him nowhere. We think he
have slipped away to sea. Thank you
for your checque. Felix never knew
who paid for him.
Your obedient servant,
John Holmes"
Guess my surprise when | read these
letters. By n vile fraud this nan Stain
ton had betrayed my dying fathers
trust and swindled me out of my in
heritance, ut least so / concluded.
Among other papers which the packet
contained was my fathers will, and L
was busy perusing it when n footstep
on the stairs startled me-.
My first thought was that the house
was haunted, and my first impulse was
to darken my lantern.
Banishing the thought and restraining
| INV imnnlSn sinnIV cpt nc If riVntn6
to the seat. and waited.
The handle of tile door was turned,
and a man, bedding a candle in his
hand, entered.
At sight of ne the candle dropped
from his hand. and he started back as
if he had seen a ghost. "
i knew him in n moment. 1t was the
chairman Of the quarter sessions who
sent me to penal servitude. +.
"Sir Arthur ~Stainton," l said; II told
you we should meet again. Do you
know me?"
Know You? No. / don't know you:
hut I'll arrest You for burglary; yon
are a scoundrcl.' and he surveyed me
from head to foot. as If debating with
himself whether it would be safe to
seize lie. Evidently he thought there
was danger in the course, and he SEEM
ed about to retreat TO summon the
coachman to his aid, when | sprang en-
him like a tiger.
Listen 10 me, / said, as l twisted
him into n chair. You sent me to
penal servitude, and you have been rob-
bing me OF my fathers property"
"I-what do You mean, sir?' he de-
manded.
II mean that my name is Felix Ban
croft; Sergeant Holmes will prove that.
This Is my house. Restore Inc what
you have / did not finish the SEN
tepce; as l spoke, Sir Arthur suddenly
rceled from his seat TO the floor and
never breatlled again.
The doctor said it was heart disease,
and an inquest was avoided.
had some difficulty in explaining my
presence in Waterbrook Hall that night,
but II came out all right, and in the end
l found myself 4 rich man.-Tit-Bits.
How an Infant School Was Founded.
1t Is well known that the Society Of
Friends object to all war. This con
scientious feeling has sometimes