The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1895-01-24

terminel to accomplish O. set task with
in given time The ladies waited,
each composed in outward lnien, for his
recital. $ &3 3t5 s4s
It was in Baltimore, you recollcct.
Mrs. Maynard" he began, addressing
himself directly to that lady. that
Hamilton ID upont's death occurred. He
was perfect stranger in that city,
having gone thither in search Of en- en- ::
ploymcnt. leaving his wife and child in
Charleston. This latter FAT, by the
way. corrccts q mistaken impression OF
mine. had always supposed that Mrs.
Dupont SO died III Baltimarc, n-ld that
in or Ter II Discover. any TRACE Of Annie
|. the c2ar> i.i:lsG commence = tilat ely.
Til; same idea was dcsl3s less what
| bal4led Mrs. Dunkit,l's detectives. They
persistcnily sought "a Baltimore ion tic
child. following III, o:lc ii.-se iesv after
/ another, on the theory thai i 1...a were
living at al that was the plae.. 20 find
her. As a matter Of fact, neither Mrs.
Dupont nor the child was il Baltimore
at the time Of Hamilton Duportt's death.
although the Published accounts Of the
affair gave the impression that they
were there.
':As YOU yourself told me, Mrs. May
nard. the poor young wife died soon
after of a broken heart; and little An
ME, thus cast upon the cold charities OF
the world. found refuge and loving care
in an orphan asylum in that city. She
was received ana registered there in
| her own name. as / discovered few
r.
the institution. The date of this regis
| try do not recall it at the moment,
but have memorandum of it some
! where-corresponds exactly with the
| date furnished me through another
source; and thus it affords most salts
factory confederation of my chief docu-
mentary evidence. ~. r.
Snow, before the child had been in
the asylum three weeks, a lady who
was then transient visitor in Charles
ton presented herself at the institution,
inquiring for Annie Dupont. She soon be-
came convinced that the child who was
entered by that name upon the books
was the Annie Dupont whom sh;. was
| seeking; and that question settled, she
proceeded todeclare her reasons for max
ing this inquiry. She had known Hamil
ton Dupont and his wife intimately. and
was greatly attached to them both; and
for their sal1es she felt an unusual in
terest in their infant daughter, who
! was, am told, at that time a rernarka-
bly, beautiful clild-which ! can very
easily believe. having seen for myself
what charming woman she has be-
GOMEZ ~ 49, .
As he spoke these last words with the
same air of simple good faith that had
characterized all his previous state
ments. Mr.. Maynard glanced involun-
tarily at Miss Hilary, as if putting his
verdict to the critical test of her own
dispassionate Judgment. Miss Hilary.
with eyes lowncast, was unconscious Of
the swift scrutiny, Smiling a little as
he observed it, North continued:
:: S's.Thls lady furthermore stated that
she was slightly acquainted with Mrs.
Dunkirk, Hamilton Dupont's sister.
| sNow'-t this is in effect what she said
/ to the authorities at the asylum =,
! Mrs, Durkirk is wealthy widow,
and Annie. as her only living relative.
| has a claim upon her which no one
, can dispute But Mrs. Dunl1irll is a
cold, stern woman, utterly unfit to be
the guardian of tender child like
Annie. Let me adopt this little one and
rear her lovingly for her own and her.
parents sakes Lest Mrs. Dnnkirll
should discover her and try to take her
from me. T will conceal her real name
and call her by my own: not even the
child herself Shall ever know that am
not her own true mother until l shall
deem that the proper time has come to
disclose the secret. | will have all
necessary proofs of her identity at hand.
so that if her aunt should die leaving
her fortune to the next of kin, Annies
; claim can easily be established. All this
promise and will fulfill; only let me
have the child to care for and love as
my own g.. M ~ J.
swell, to be brief about it. the lady
carried her point. The adoption papers
were duly made out, and before. an
other day had elapsed Annie Dupont
had left the orphan asylum, never to
enter. it again. She was taken to the
home of her new mother and given the
name of that lady-the name by which:
she was ever after called: and she has
never known to this day, though shall
marvel very greatly if she doesn't be-
gin to suspect it soon, that she ever was
Annie Dupont"
Again Mrs. Maynard's glance sought
Miss Hilary, this time to encounter
Myra's eyes, full of eager speculation.
If each had spoken the thought in her
own mind in that instant, the denoue-
mcnt of North's story would have been
materially fastened. But they both
held their peace and waited for him to
unfold the mystery in his own way. =
Beyond this point" he, went on,
catching up the narrative again after a
meditative little pause, II cannot in this
necessarily brief outline follow her his
tory step by step for the next fifteen or.
twenty wears. 1t is essential, however,
to note that the lady soon after en-
barked fof Europe, where her husband
held some official position under our
government-consu in some remote
foreign part. may as well add in
( Al. nj