The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1897-01-27

n,nddened her. and she had % hide her
aversion TO him and listen evening after
! evcufng to hts dull talk And Ina another
week che would DO his vito.
The tree beneath which she and Will
! had parted became her fnvorite resort.
Here she could indulge In the luxury of "a
I good cry" unrebuked. and, grown desper-
ate with the nearer approach Of the wed
] ding day, sitting on the gnarled roots one
afternoon. she burst into very passionate
grief.
A -wiii's-appeared above the
wall.
"Ahoyi whativer's the matter, Miss
TregonS" he gravely inquired. "Shall
fetch Mr.. Hocken TO ees'
"I hate himl hate him. she sobbed
Historically.
That's bad f" said Will sympathetically.
Whats he been up tor"
Cup tot Isn't he old, Isn't he uglyf
Isn't he Stupid And-and-I hate him.
Mother may storm, but don't care F"
| will vaulted over the wall.
On the day appointed for James Hook
ems nuptials the whole village fiOcked be-
times to the church. But neither bride
groom nor bride put in an appearance, and
by and by IL was known that Will Carter
and Bertha Tregon were missing and that
there would be no wedding at Pengelly
that day
Weeks and months rolled by, and no IT,
dings could be CLEANED Of the graceless cou-
ple They had clean vanished, leaving nc
clew to their whereabouts. Mrs. Tregon's
tongue sharpened to double edged sword.
ready to slay friend and foe alike who al
luded to her daughter. And the dumb
misery In Jim's plain face was pitiful to
see Old Isaac's heart ached for his son.
II he had only prepared him for the blow
to have been so imposed on-and with
his experience Of womankind.
Curiosity was ut length appeased. An
acquaintance of the runaways visited Lon.
don and returned with woeful story. She
had seen Bertha, who Ind confided TO her
that after being married at "A registry
office Will and she had decided To go to
America, but while looking I'm at n shop
window he had been robbed of his savings,
and that subsequently they were reduced
20 great straits. Then he had brought her
tho welcome news that he had obtained
berth on steam launch, and the next
morning babe her goodby To go aboard,
since when she had never clapped her eyes
on him. Mrs. Pegg also said that Bertha
had refused to give her her address. But
jim ascertained that she had met her at
Rotherhithe, and that was enough for him.
I'm off to London" he announced
when he came down stairs after pacing the
floor the livelong night. Il shall never
rest until Carter and me are face to face"
Thee he a fule. Jim, his father, who
had been disturbed by his monotonous
sh
must stir in this business find Bertha. It'd
be charity For all her sharp temper,
her mothers frettin herself into her grave
Take what money you want out o. my old
leather bag. Only promise, Lad, +" noting
the sullen fire In his deep set eyes, mot to
meddle wi Will.
Trust me to find Bertha. But she
would be destitute" he said hoarsely
"And she may have become shame to
her kith and kin. And i'm that case no
promise would bind me, father. I'd have
his life If swung for it.
But Pengelly was convinced that Will
had betaken himself tn foreign parts. "
And recalling this old Isaac was encourag
ed 10 hope that Jim would be denied the
opportunity of vengeance.
Jim had been in London three months.
His quest had been unsuccessful. yet no
continued To haunt the principal thorough
fares, tramping north, south, cast and
west In turn.
Big Ben bad struck one He was re-
crossing Westminster bridge to his lodg-
ings when a woman crouching by a lamp
post ahead of him fell forward In a heap.
and fastening his steps he eudeavored to
raise her But, with the light falling on
the pallid, hunger pinched face. groan
escaped him. His quest for Bertha Carter
had ended
At that moment policeman came up.
Poor SOUL She's dead, lac said at a
glance. Better so than the leap into the
water she was bent on. I've had my eye
on her since o'clock She seemed dazcd. -
The body was conveyed tn the mortuary,
and the verdict at the inquest was in ac-
cordance with the medical testimony-that
death was due 20 starvation.
Outwardly calm, his sole thought to
avengc Bertha, Jim staggered out of the
court
Ills inquiries for the man who had rob
bed him of the one jewel he coveted. to
cast 1t from him, at length elected that a
seaman answering TO his description of
Carter was homeward bound from Singa-
pore. Thenceforth, knowing neither hun
ger uOr WeaTlueSS, ne was WAJCntul OF new
arrivals at the docks
His desire for revenge was by now a
monomania. And today he had strange
prescience that Will and he were soon to
meet. Self absorbed, In crossing the street
he was knocked down by dray, and
stunned, conveyed to the hospital
On recovering consciousness his first re-
quest was for his discharge.
mot yet awhile" said the nurse. but
you won't he dull. That poor chap yon-
der, indicating bandaged object In a dis.
tant bed, has been asking for you. You
don't recognize himf No wonder! He
was brought IN months ago-after the fire
In st. Thomas street He was looking on
and woman and some children appeared
at a top window. The flremen were beat
! on back by the blaze below. But poor Will
! he won't tell US his surname--couldn't
withstand theiS cries, and he climbed up
the water spout on To the roof with a rope,
and threw one end to them, and had ac-
tually lowered two of the children in safe
ty when the walls collapsed He was
picked up so terribly injured that we had
little hope of him. But he has done splen-
didly. IL you
But Jim was midway across the wartl
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