The state republican. (Jefferson City, Mo.) 1871-1896, 1895-05-16

VI NouiSe ohere Were
odds against Mr.. Singleton ever
meeting anyone who knew Clement
Dunraven, and that he would fall in
with Pierce Vaughan, the very man
of all others whom the marriage
most concerned, seemed next to
impossible.
Yet, in these strange Maynard
freaks does life abound.
TO return to the postman and the
snow-clad moor. Old Ben knew
full well how precious the letters
and parcels and books he carried
were to the invalid, and that the
vicar frequently gave him a "tip"
for bringing them so carefully.
Both these considerations doubt
less weighed with him when he
started or what was positively q
perilous expedition.
Ben thought as the vicar also did,
that he knew every inch of the
moorland that lay between the
vicarage and the town, yet for three
long hours he wandered about ere
he arrived at q destination which he
usually reached in a quarter of the
time, and the probability i, that he
would have lost his way altogether
and been buried in the snow had
not the smoke curling from the
vicarage chimneys been, so TO speak,
a landmark. In truth it was the
only one, for in the vast white arena
that lay before ~trudging Ben, there
was not a single break.
But Ben persevered, though more
than once he thought of turning
back; but dangerous though this
~traversing the moor in a heavy
snow storm %assuredly was, Ben's
last hour had not yet arrived and he
managed to surmount all obstacles,
nor did he lose the letters and par
GELS which we're to him as a precious
freight, though ne little guessed
what a difference in the course of
events it made whether the contents
of this strong leather bag were
delivered at the vicarage or lost in
an overwhelming snow-drift. BY
the time Ben reached the back door
of the vicarage, the snow had
ceased. and the midday sun was
emitting chilly rays from between
two parted clouds.
The savoury smell of a steamine
oniOn-laden stew met his nostrils as
the door opened, and he felt glad he
had come, especially as he heard the
wears voice in the yard, and knew
he would be expected to partake o.
the appetising repast.
"Hullo, Ben? So you have got
here at last? Horrible weather, my
man Come in, come in, and bt
warm and cosy by the kitchen fire
You have brought a heavy mail
My poor wife has been pining fol
news, and now she shall have i
galore"
And the burly, red faced vical
trOttcd off with an armful of parer.
and parcels into the tropical climate
which reigned behind a thick baiz,
door. He did not oven stop Il
change his boots or his coat, thougl
he knew out-of-door garments OF al
so"ts were an determination to Mimi
lie did not, however, imagine tina.
Gnc would notice. them now in heI
| pleasure at the arrival of the post
man, and he was right.
lie even took Off his hat and 81.
himself down to read, without any
protest being offered about thicl
boots.
And 80 while Ben was being re,
naled with Il savory stew in the
kitchen, the vicar and his wife wer,
enjoying an equally savory repast Of
a gossippy, though scarcely of AZ
intellectual character in the drawing
room. SO absorbed were they il
what they were reading, that fol
more than half an hour not a WORD
was spoken, even by the usually
garrulous vicar.
A loud exclamation, however, al
last SO shocked Mrs. Singleton, that
she started up from her sofa.
"Abel, my poor nerves! You
know | cannot bear this rough be-
havior."
"Dear love, forgive me. Surprise
made me forget | was in your room"
"What is it, Abel?"
Mimi, like all invalids, was keenly
alive to a little gossip.
at is a trial for murder, dear.
The murder of a poor fellow whom
] did not know was dead!"
"An acquaintance"
eyes, Pierce Vaughan, the lawyer
who was SO civil about those titles,
and to whom l sent the certificate
of that strange marriage which took
place here about two years age. Do
you remember?n
"Of course l do. Who has MUIR
dered him and what forH"
The vicar did not reply at once
he was so astounded at what he
read that words failed him.
Was it a mere coincidence that the
name of the supposed murderer