The state republican. (Jefferson City, Mo.) 1871-1896, 1894-12-27


no better result, and ono NOR,
Pierce Vaughan walked round to tn,
back door.
This time, however, it was shut
He looked through the kitchen win.
dow, on the sill of which he hat
found Clements note. There was nc
fire or other symptom of habitation,
in fact the whole place seemed
utterly deserted. He turned back
and as he reached the front gate al
elderly woman, tersely described by
the word "hag," was coming in.
"What has become of the Glendin
nings. Icannot make any IL hear?''
said Pierce Vaughn.
Lord bless yerseGf, Josh Glendin
ming has been dead these six week,
u more He is in his grave dow,
yonder.n
".And his pretty granddaughter"
The old woman's eye twinkled
and she looked at him as if to ask
Are you a lover by chance?'
He shook his head in response tc
her unspoken words, and then she
said
"She left these we're parts within a
fortnight of old Josh's death"
"And where has she gone?'
THAT | dunno. 1t was a sort of
midnight fitting. She said as how
she was goin' o see an aunt in Lon
don, but no one saw her go, and she
has left no address behind. One day
she was there and the next she
wasn't-that's all we know. But Lis
beth GI-ndinning always was a
strange, uncanny sort OF girl. The
bit of a drab as used to do errands
for her sometimes says as she
packed up most of the things as was
worth anything afore she left, but
the doors is all locked, and no one
can get in to see what she's done
with them"
'Did she go off with a lover, do
you think?'
shouldn't think it." said the old
woman, ''she was always stand.otf
with the boys in the town. The man
has to be created as would please
Li,beth's fancy. l thought perhaps
a big swell like you, now, had done
the trick"
"Not l., | scarcely knew her. l
had a message from my cousin, Mr..
Clement Dunraven."
"What, he as is going to marry
Lady Gertrude Nerschoyle? What's
a gentleman rs is going to make a
marriage like that to do with "a girl
ike Lisbeth Glendinning?"
CHATS exactly it,. Under the cir
cumstances he cannot come himself,
SO he was obliged to depute me-"
Pierce Vaughan was disappointed
not to find Lisbeth and discover for
himself something of the relations
which existed or had existed between
her and Clement. The next best
thing to further discovery was, he
considered, to automatically calum-
Mate Clement and set the Coleshill
people talking so that the scandal
might at last reach the ears of Lady
Gertrude.
every little helps to make a big
whole,'' Pierce Vaughan thought,
and he was still as resolved as ever
to stop this marriage if it were pos
sible, Only he was beginning to be
afraid that he had somewhat over
rated the intrigue between his cousin
and this Lisbeth Glendinning. "If
Coleshill town knew naught about it.,
there couldn't be much to know" he
argued, yet the girls sudden disap-
pearance at this junction was
strange.
The old woman made no reply to
his statement about the message
from Clement, of which he was the
bearer, but she looked SO bewildered
and aghast at the statement that the
subtle Vaughan saw that his shaft
had struck home, and that innuep-
does about Clement and Lisbeth
Glendinning would soon be in full
circulation without it being necessary
for him to commit himself any far
Their.
He asked the old woman a little
sternly what she was doing there
since the house was locked up, and
being told that she had only come
for a few sticks to light her fire,
which he did not believe, he pro-
ceeded in search of a new combina-
ton whereby to attain his object.
He found it in a form for which he
was scarcely prepared, even in a
meeting with Clement Dunraven
himself, who was smoking a cigar
and wandering in the little wood in a
mood scarcely less detected than
that which had over-powered him
on the day of his proposal to Lady
Gertrude.
The two cousins were always out
wardly on the very best of terms,
but they eve conided their indi-
vidual affairs in the very least, to
each other.
They met now with much apparent
cordially.
"Hullo, Glenn, you look as love-