The Irish standard., 1896-07-04

] STA lTI1A II Il. 1tlvA
-
cuIa3sd q thes ddaY al her deat would
nothare subieel = RI tho outstasd ing
claims agsinst her. As it il. hosvevor,
e find that thsre will l,e = bslancesof
about 500, which will be at Miss Grays
disposal. ft Il xery little for 8 youhg
woman reared % abe has been, but, nla-55
fortunately, il Is oil that she can hope to
receive from her amt" Is Il .l5
she must iuhe then, for al,stherh
carele seas u Deid &. 8 y
..Atoaemcnt for elesmess 81 toos
often .vkcsriops,' = aid the man Of 1aw. [,
'.It hardly Lessons her misfortasne TO
realize that il is . colnmon one. Doyou
know whether she has anything ia her
own right" ID .s ,.s. z5s
''Next to nothing. As I have said, DR..
Morris, the Gaze is 3 distressing one. and
I regret exceedingly that / must be the
bearer Of such bad news TO the young
lady. She Is very likely 20 come, for adj,
vice to you, and II IL to put you in pos.
session Of the facts that have spoken.
A check for your services to my hate
client will be mailed to you Immediately.
upon my return to the city" &
Thereupon the lawyer went his way.
leaving me by no means SO dsheartened
by his remarks as might have been tina
case with a man whose regard for
Dorothy Gray was entirely platonic.:
He was as good a. his word in settling
Mrs. Loring's affairs, and in a few days
my check arrived. Another valuable bit
of paper reached me about this time
from very diakerent source, one from
which it was decidedly unexpected
Jones, the mysterious farmland. Inc
trusted it to the mails not long after
had seen him safely on train south-
bound from BASKERVILLE. In parting
he had thanked me with a good deal Of
heartiness for my attendance upon him,
but had maintained his old reticenco
as to the character Of the business which
had brought him to Rodneytown with
results SO disastrous to himself. The:
size of the check; though, was sufficient
to prove that when he entered Mrs.
Weston's employ he was in position
to care little for the pittance she paid
him. Banks, too, received a substantial
token Of the mans gratitude, but he
was even less able than to guess what
Jones' mission had been.
These reinforcements to my financial
strength helped me to arrive at decis-
ion, though it was decision burdened
with conditions. In the matter of for
tune, Dorothy Gray and were not very
far apart; and surely her position was
such as to encourage the most timid Of
wooers. So far, found clear sailing.
But, once this point had been attained
in my calculations, there arose rem
nant of the old perplexities. Lamar was
still the disturbing factor, for. in spite
of the deadly malAdy which had him in
its unrelenting clutches, I could not be
certain Of his plans, 30 long as strength
remained in him to leave his present
quarters should he desire to do so. It.
could hardly be supposed that he would
survive more than year; at least that
was the limit had fixed, after allowing
him what believed to be wide margin.
a second examination had shown that
the disease was advancing steadily.
His precarious condition had in no way
decreased ny aversion for him, but it
had the effect of ending any idea I
might have entertained of resigning my
post To desert him now was out Of tho
question. Yet to remain with him
meant postponement of the inevitable
struggle for q professional foothold in
some city, or even Of q partnership with
Banks. SO long as was in the hermit's
employ must he free to follow him
II need arose. It was my duty, strive
as might to disguise the fact. :
Dorothy and I;did not continue quite.
the old friendship. There was subtle,
difference in our relations. We were
together often, though she seldom drove
with me and there were no more boat
ing excursions, but there was some
thing of our former comradeship lack-
ing. She was graver, quieter, more alb
stracted. The mourning she wore was
no meaningless badge of sorrow. She
was grieving over her aunt's loss, and. I
feared, causelessly reproaehing herself
for the accident. It was not a time for
me to speak; twas better to wait until
her thoughts should be less with the
dead and more with the living. I had
determined, when my opportunity
came, to lay my doubts and difficulties
fairly before her, and to ask her aid in
seeking q way out Of them.
But many days wore away before tho
opportunity was mine. had asked her
toaocompany me to BASKERVILLE, and wa
were riding homeward from that town,
with the horse fallen into his LATEST
Jog trot For some little time neither IF
us had spoken. She was preoccupied, + /
thought, but j. did not occur to me tog
suspect that any unusual cause existed
for. her abstraction. As for myself
well, inasmuch as she was by my side,
! was fairly content. 81
''May.I ask your advice p she said, It
last, breaking the silence.
Surely, in anything answered. Il
SIT seems to be best, but am not
quite satisfied with my own Judgment,
This she said as if more in explanation
to herself than to her hearer. II am GO
ing away
'Why?'' I demanded. .'Why, and
when, and whither?" !,
''1t must be soon; i've realized 1t ever
since my'aunt's death. she said, with q
brave effort at composure- u am poor
II think you know that. I must tinda
way to support myself. have thought
that perhaps I could be most useful aa