Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1896-09-03

shall be mine, The letter shall be ne-
iivered TO this young Hartrey. n l
myself will be the bearer
Then. with the water II a clorll, he
set himself TO work carefully 10 re-
move the tell-tale stain from the cover
of the letter.
This done. he refolaed it; ana then;
by the means OF the bread, sea- anu
and the candle, he was able to reiasten
it in a way that would have preveh'eu
the most suspicious from imagining ~
had ever been opened.
This done. lie unlocked the door. nav
ing first carefully placed the ietleI ~
his pocket: and then. heaylnS IL aeep
sigh of relief, he set himself 10 th.hh
out his plan of action.
For the whole of the day he re-
maired inactive. ~postponlng the actihs
till he had had time more fuliy TO ar
range his plans.
His sleep thai night was the sleep o.
n guilty soul. ReStleSSly he tOSseu
from side to side, in vain seeking re-
pose.
In every corner of the room MS eA-
cited imagination pictured a phantom;
and If he closed his eyes. it was only
for the events of the preceding night l o
crowd rapidly through his brain, IN
fiicting upon him dreadful torture.
Il did not intend to kill him. he
rroaned, between sleeping and waking.
1T was the letter | wanted. anu not
his life'''
And. 10 give him his due, ne spoke
tbe truth. When John Gridley left
Annadale he had no thought OF such Il
Na.x-- ty fnts hrs MR.
pose that he should obtain possession
of the letter May had written 10 Ernest
Hartrey: and he thought 1t would DE
an easy matter to brighten the poor
idiot into giving 1t up; bur. as we nave
already seen, he was mistaken. Inc
two struggled, and John Grluley re-
ccived blows. which reused his ire, ana
led him. when his foe lay helpless ut
his feet, TO infict those dreadful blows
which had cost Amos his lie.
The maltstCr's clerk had never been
a good man. He had. throughout ms
life. sought nothing but his personal
welfare. AMI had cared little what
means he used TO bring about the de-
sired end.
Sin itself presented no terror to him,
but the dread of punishment did; ana IL
the truth be told. 1t was more regret AT
having TO run so much risk for Il crime
which i'm no way advanced his pros
pects. than sorrow for the deed itself,
that made him repent the blows
showered upon the seuselesS body OF
the half-witted lad.
Still that dreadful, upturned face
would oft-time cause him to cry aloud
with horror. as he recalled the last look
upon that countenance.
John Gridley rose in the morning,
after a night OF titful, uneasy slumber,
in which his dreams had taken the
most dreadful forms, still tired ana I'M
refreshed; but he had to carry on the
action of the plot his fertile brain had
suggested. and he struggled against all
sense of fear and WEAKNESS: and after
breakfast. having satisfied the claim Of
his landlord. he left the inn 10 walk TO
Hartrey Park.
He passed the lodge gates, and
walked quickly up the broad avenue
leading to the house.
A loud. s0norous bell sent forth a
clam0rous clang as he pulled the
handle vigorously. and in a few mo
ments a liyeried servant opened the
door.
Il want to speak to Mr.. Ernest H1r-
trey" said he; L have news of a most
important nature to communicate"
step in here and | will tell him.
said the servant: and John Gridley
entered a small apartment where hats,
powder TASKS, guns. whips, dog cellars
lay scattered about in hopeless con
fusion.
..v~ls, ,,,. ,,ill ns.l.,. 49,, l-n 80. y, , Il.
my fortune mutJered the maltster's
clerk. as he seated himself TO await
the arrival OF May Rivers lover, and
his rival.
1t was, indeed, a desperate game
which John Gridley was playing. and
it was with painfully throbbing heart
that he listened for the footsteps OF
Ernest Hartrey approaching the door.
The maltster's clerk was n fatalist;
Or, in other words, he determined to
leave his future actions to chance,
binding himself down to no fixed
plans. and only resolved on one sub
iect. and that was, that even though
he might have to move heaven and
earth TO accomplish his purpose, May
Rivers should one day be his wife.
1t was strange that one whose ex.
istence was little more than Il dream
OF worldly prosperity should be SO en-,
amored Of a poor village girl; but II
was true. He was possessed by q
fierce. passionate, unholy love, which
was the more singular in n Of his
temperament; for his calm, sedate, so.
Der n would have prevented any
one from imagining that any love be.
ycnd that of a mild liking for .
wealthy widow could force In entranc,
into his heart
you say said his father, hurriedly
"See here-I hold in my hand a lettei
from Lord Dorchester, asking you TO &c
over and stay ut the castle. You viii
make preparations for your visit; and
on your return. / trust to hear that al
the pr~eliminaries are settled"
II must repeat what l have already
said-I cannot marry the lady you have
chosen for me; and under those cir
cumstances you will see that my visi
to Lord Dorchester had better not TAX
place.
The baronet's fs ce Redeemed as his
son spoke firmly and distinctly, and his
countenance betrayed anger. He was
not accustomed to be contradicted OF
thwarted, and any opposition to his
wishes had always the effect of rous
ing his ire.
ssNNnll rt~ said f%