Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-04-13

| him and closed in more nearly on US, leay-
| ing his pale grim face to confront me-his
face which seemed the paler and grin,=ner,
| the mere saturnine and all mastering, FOR
| the dark frame which set it off.
He did this he continued slowly,
w hich came to light and blasted him
he asked as the price of his service in be-
| traying me his brothers estate
'Impossible,'' l stammered. "Why, Sir
Anthony
What Of Sir Anthony, you would ask:''
the chancellor replied. interrupting me,
with savage irony. ''Oh, he was papist,
an obstinate papist! He might 60 hang
or to Warwick jail!''
Nay, but this at least, my lord, is
faise!'' l cried. - PalpaJiy false, If my
| father had so betrayed his own flesh and
| blood, should l be here? Should lie at
Cotton End: You say this happened eight
years ago. Seven years ago l came here.
! Would Sir Anthony
There are fools everywhere" the old
man sneercd. when my Lord Hartford
| refused your fathers suit, Ferdinand be-
| CAN'T Is his naturc-to plot against him.
| He was found out and execrated by all,
| ,or he had been false to all. He fled for his
| life He left you behind, and a servant
brought you TO Cotton End, where Sir An
thony took you in
l covered my face. Alas, believed
him, i. who had always been so proud of
my lineage, SO proud Of the brave ira
| Gitions of the house and its honor,
so proud of Cotton End and all that be
longed to il! Now, if this were true,
could never again take pleasure in one
or the other. was the son of n man
branded as turncoat and an informer, of
1 on -lsax tss,x
down on the settle behind me and hid my
face. Another might have thought less of
the blow, or, with greater knowledge of
the world, might have made light of I. rs
a thing not touching himself. But on
me, young as was, and proud, and as yet
tender, and having dome nothing myself, it
| fell with crushing force.
| 1t was years since | had seen my father
| and l could not stand forth LOCALLY and
| fight his la:tle rs Il son his fathers friend
| anu familiar for years might have fought
it. On the contrary, there was so much
| which seemed mysterious in my past life,
so much that bore out the chancellor's ac-
| cusation, that l felt a dread of its truth
| even before l had proof Yet l would have
| proof. show me the letters"' / said
Larsbly. ":Show me the letters, my lordr'
| You know your father handwriting"
| Il do
| knew it, not from any correspondence
| my father had held with me- but because
l had more than once examined with nat
ural curiosity the wrappers of the dis
patches which at intervals of many
months, sometimes Of year, came from
him to Sir Anthony. / had never known
anything of the contents of the letters, all
that fell to my share being certain formal
i IL,
me generally with clouded brow and a
testy manner that grew genial again only
with the lapse of time.
Gardiner handed me the letters, and 1
took them and read one. One was enough
That my father! Alas, alasl No wonder
that turned my face to the wall, SILVER
ing as with the aguc, and that all about
me, except the red glow of the fire, which
burned into my brain, seemed darkness!
l had lost the thing l valued most. l had
lost at blow everything of which was
proud The treachery that could flush
that worn face opposite to me, lined as it
was with statccraft, and betray the willy
tongue into passion seemed to me, young
and impulsive, thing so vile as to brand
mans children through generations.
Therefore hid my face in the corner of
the settle, while the chancellor gazed at
me awhile in silence, as one who had
made an experiment might watch the re-
suit.
You sec now, my friend" he said at
last, almost gently, that you may be base
born in more ways than one But be of
good cheer. You arc young. and what l
have ,ione you may do. Think of Thomas
Cromwcll-his father was naught. Think
of the old cardinal-my master. Think of
the Duke of Suffolk-Charles Brandon, /
mean. He was plain gentleman, yet he
married a queen. More, the door which
they had to open for themselves 1 will
open for you--only, when you are inside,
play the man and be faithful"
, What would you have me Go?" whis-
! pered hoarsely.
Il would have you do this" he an
swcred. There are great things brew.
! ing in the Netherlands, boy-great
changes, unless 1 an mistaken. j have
need OF an agent there, man, stout,
trusty, and, in particular, unknown, who
will Keep me informed OF events. II you
will be that agent. can procure for You
and not appear in the matter myself-a