Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-07-23

Hlrasn Jones, tramp. farm labore~-
busybody, detective. or whatever he
might be, furnished for a month nv
| principal cause for anxiety. Lamar's
! indifference to the mans dojnps WA.
more than ] could explain to NV OWE
satisfaction; for, if the owner of the
house on the knoll had reason to fear
any great peril, how was it tiiat he
could bear so calmly tidings which in
| dictated at least that he was under sur
Vigilance? 1t was as if a willy old fox,
after long run from the hunter,
should sit contentedly wa tching a stray
| hound circling about him, instead of
retreating post-haste out OF danger.
There was certainly the argument that
lamar should know very well the par
ticular point from which he was mem
aced, and the character of the agents
likely to be employed against him;
but / could not find it convincing.
Greatly as | disliked him, his apathy
fretted me. Even enemies, when fate
makes them partners, can generally
be counted upon to cooperate 10 win
the game. Now, here was ], quite
ready to do my best to beat our mys-
terious opponents, yet hampered, or
at least discouraged, by the indiffer-
ence of the player whose stakes were
hazarded upon the result. The situa~
ton seemed to be entirely false.
If Jones was a spy, in turn diligent-
ly played the spy upon him. No time
was lost in confirming his identity with
that of the man who had aroused Car
penter's suspicious, q result easily ac-
complished by bringing the horse-deal-
er on a pretended errand to Rodney
town and having Jones at work near
the house as he drove by. After this
preliminary, ! devoted many hours TO
watching Mrs. Weston's retainer, with
out getting much reward for my palms.
The man went about his various tasks
in the most matter-of-fact fashion, APP
parently concerned in nothing beyond
them. / lad expected that as soon
as he learned of my daily visits to the
house on the knoll he would attempt
to question me about it's occupant; but
not once did he display interest in my
hermit patient. In short, the only new
81 ound given for my suspicious was
furnished by a habit he developed of
solitary strolls about the neighborhood
when evening put an end to his work
on the farm. A little IF his gruffness
had worn off. and, barring this liking
for lonely rambles, there was nothing
to distinguish him from the other la
borers of the vicinity Lamar listened
patiently to the reports of my observa-
tions, which appeared to increase his
belief that there was no cause for inn
mediate alarm, though he stiH neglect
ed to give the reasons for his convic-
ton. 1t may be that, undisturbed as
he was in his own mind. he was salts
fled to have me maintain vigilance
After all, it was not to be denied that
standing guard was part of the business
for which he paid me.
But the month was n pleasant one,
except for Jones and the worries he
created. Mrs. Loring was doing sur
prisingly well. Nobody could have ex-
pected her to regard herself as any
thing but a confirmed invalid, but with
increasing frequency she was enjoying
intervals of Oblivion to the fact that
she supposed herself to be sufferer
She took her harmless doses with clock
work regularity, and there was not one
of the directions given her which was
not carried out with scientific accuracy.
Simple food, good air, undisturbed
sleep, and trifles enough to keep her
interested were doing for her what
they viii do for most of the race. Two
or three additions had been made to her
code of directions, with not altogether
unseliish motives on the part of her
medical adviser. For one thing, she
now kept diary, in which she wrote
her observations of her symptoms. Os-
tensibly, this was to secure. Tor sci
entitic purposes, record of the prog
ress of most notable case; actually,
il was to save her doctor from a daily
flood of talk. Then, too, she had been
persuaded that it was not wise TO have
her niece constantly with her, the the
DRY followed being that Miss Gray had
been so long her nurse that their con-
tinual association could not but remind
her of her impaired health This bit
of sophistry was far more convincing
to the elder woman than to the Young
er, who, though She acquieseed in the
arrangement, left me no doubt that
she regarded the argument as falla-
Cious. lnasmuch, however. as through
it l secured a great deal more of her
society, was content, my object thus
accomplished Moreover, to this day
it seems clear to me that in forcing
Mrs. Loring to throw off somewhat
OF her acquired feeling of helplessness,
and To learn that she was not entirely
dependent on her companions minis
trations, did her great service. So
far as the girl was concerned, there
could be no question of the benefit she
received from the leSsening OF her
hours of attendance upon her aunt.
No calling. rs we all know. is more no.
bic. more self-sacriicing. than that of
the nurse: in none is there greater need
! of reasonable relaxation from the de-