Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1895-07-04

MAREElENF EAd2kN,,

Aio,eeo' tne dates OF the distractions.
ana much concerning the habits and ac-
lions OF Ralph Prescott for a month
past.
ruttlhg together what he knew and
what she revealed, old Geoffrey Forsy tha
amazed Ruth by denouncing Ralph Pres
colt as the real thief.
he said that of late he had heard con-
siderable about the schemer's gambling
proclivities. He had employed a man
70 watch hin. He knew of almost ev-
cry money deaf of the young man. He
now knew that certain amounts he had
PAID correspondent exactly with the
sums John Elliott had lost; in fact. he
proved Ralph Prescott to be the thief.
beyond dispute.
mad begun to suspect that he was
a hypocritical time-server," he had told
huth. My eyes were just beginning to
open to the sacrifice / was demanding of
you In wedding u man who has no claim
upon me, except for a sentimental re-
gard on my part for his dead mother.
Ruth, you will stay here. Disguised.
you will be my nurse until I can explore
still more deeply into this knave's de-
cePtion. Your happiness is everything
In life to me. A woman's heart cannot
usually be wrong in estimating the char
acter OF the man she loves. / have
faith In Paul Dalton, in a man who
stood ready to be ~adiudged a criminal,
rather than anger your father against
you with a revelation of your mutual
love. We will await his return. and IL
ne disproves the charge that he is a
convict, your father shall be made to
40 you both justice, and Ralph Prescott
shall be unmasked in his true %colors."
but sickness came sooner than old
Geoffrey thought. His hours were num-
bered, and he knew it.
Afraid of the willy cunning of Elliott.
II he left Ruth his fortune, he divided it
as known to the reader, and left the bulk
OF it to her husband ut her suggestion.
All this Ruth wrote to Paul Dalton;
all this, sick at heart, the enraged,
baflled, INSCRIPTIONS Ralph read.
Now she babe her husband return.
he was wealthy now, and what might
not money do to untangle the knotted
skein of his mysterious life.
Ralph Prescott stole from that room
with a pale, perturbed face.
he reclosed the window as he found
1.-THE left no trace of his %felonious visit.
lie knew all now, and that informa-
ton was weighty. vital.
TO Ruth his true character was fully
revealed, and if he dared openly to per-
secute her she possessed the means Of
proving him to be the thief of Maple
Leaf Farm. Furthermore, for love of
the man she had welded, she would use
that knowledge if he tried to annoy her
again.
Paul Dalton had captured the double
prize-bride and fortune.
What should he do? His natural i'm
pulse was to seize on all the ready cash
he could get his hands on, and, like the
craven he was, sneak out of the lives
and memories of those he had wronged.
A thought Of revenge, however, a
subtle suggestion Of thought, a hopeful
belief that there a yet one weak point
in the armor of his foes, awoke q last
desperate combativeness in Ralph Pres
colts wicked heart.
III Paul Dalton should die" he glow
cred in a sinister hiss Of hate, then all
the fortune would revert to Ruth. Who
knows what may happen? The tramp
told me much. Paul Dalton is a con-
Wet, let him say what he likes. l will
anticipate Ruth. l will go at one to
Ferndale. l will dig up this mans past,
that l may effectively blight his future.
Oh, there Is some way out OF this laby-
rinth of mystery. there must be some
compensation for all he has made me
lose!"
And, hiding the fact that his own evil
plottings had been the cause Of his mis-
fortunes alone, Ralph Prescott, at early
dawn, started on horseback on the trail
of the man who had SO mysteriously
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