The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1897-12-25
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CHAPTER V,

toms gamekeepers. Bail was refused for
him, but at the trial he was acquitted for
want Of evidence. Every one knew ne
was guilty. He made no great effort TO
conceal it. But he defed the whole Legal
power of England to prove him guilty.
| He employed clever counsel, and the re-
suit was his acguittal. He was free; but
the prison brand was on him. and his wife
| felt that she could not endure the dls-
grace.
81 shall go from bad to worse now, Mag
gie," he said to her. Il do not lind prison
SO bad, nor yet difficult to bear; If ever l
see by any lucky hit | can make myself
a rich man, | shall not mind few years
! in Jail as the price. A forgery, or some
thing Of that kind, or the robbery OF a
welstocked bank, will be hencefor"ard
my highest aim in life"
She placed her hand on his lips ana
prayed him for heavens sake to be silent.
He only laughed.
Mature never intended me to work
she did not indeed, Maggie. My Fellow
men must keep me; they keep others far
/ less deserving.
From that moment she knew no peace
or rest. He would keep his word; he
would look upon crime as source OF
] pTOut, ne WOulu Wdtcn MS tppoi luliitS u
wrong doing, and seize it when it came.
She decided on leaving Ashwood. An
other and perhaps even stronger motive
that influenced her was her passionate
love for the child: that was her ore hope
| in life her one sheet-anchor. the one thing
that preserved her from the utter madness
Of desolation.
1t was easy to manage her husband.
! She had said but little to him at the time
she undertook the charge Of little Magda-
! line and he had been too Indifferent to
make Inquiries She told him now, what
was in some measure quite true. that
with the doctors death her income had
/ ceased aud that she herself not only was
perfectly ignorant Of the child's real
I name but did not even know to whom TO
write. 1t was true, but she knew at the
same time that, if she would only open the
| box of papers, she would not be ignorant
/ OF any one point; for those papers she had
| firmly resolved never to touch, so that
| in saying she knew nothing of the Child's
! identity she would be speaking the bare
! truth.
At first Henry Dornham was indignant
/ The child should not be left a burden and
/ drag on his hands, he declared it must
/ go to the wOrkhUuse. But patient Mar
| garet clasped her arms round his neck
and whispered to him that the child was
| SO clever, so pretty, she would be a gold
mine to them in the future-only let them
get away from Ashwood, and go to Lon
| don, where she could be we'll trained and
| taught. He laughed a sneering laugh.
| for which, had he been any other than her
| husband, she would have hated him.
Not Il bad plan, Maggie he said ;
then she can work to keep us. |, myself,
do not care where we go or what we do,
SO that no one asks me TO work.
A few weeks later the new Earl Of
Mountdean arrived in search of his little
girl. This time the visitor did not take
any pains to conceal his title. He drove
to the Castle Arms" and from there
went at once to the doctors house He
found it closed and empty. The first per-
son he asked told him that the doctor had
been for some weeks dead and buried
The young earl was terribly shocked
Dead and bured-the kindly man who
had befriended him in the hour of need !,
1t seemed almost incredible. And why
had no one written TO him? Still he re
membered the address of his cbild's fos-
ter mother. 1t was Ashwood Cottage;
and he went thther at once When he
found that, too. closed and deserted, it
seemed to him that fortune was playing
him a trick
He was Disconnected; and then, hcliey-
Ing that this at least was but a case of
removal. he decided upon going to the
rector of the parish, whom he well re-
membered. He surely would be able to
! give him all information. Mr.. Darnley
looked up in wonder at the announcement
{ Of ici+ or. h.,
dean. What could the earl possibly want
Of him? His wonder decpened as he rec
| ognized in the earl the stranger at the
burial of whose fair young wife he had
| assisted three years before
| The rector cOntrivcd to say something
about his surprise, but Lord Mountdean
interrupted him hastily:
Yes, | understand. / was travelling as
Mr.. Charlewood when my terrible m;sfor-
tune overlook me here. | have returned
from Italy, where | have been spending
the last three years. My father has lust
died, and am here in search of my child.
| My child continued the earl, seeing the
rector blank faCe-"where is she? | find
my poor friend the doctor is dead. and the
house where my little ones foster mother
! lived is empty. Can you tell me what it
means? Can it be that she. too. is dead? ~
NO. she is not dead replied the rec
Tor. Il saw her two months since. and
she was then living-well, beautiful, and
happy. No. the little one is not dead"
Then tell me, for PHYS sake, where
she is" cried the earl. in an agony Of
| Impotence.
Il cannot. Two months since | was Mt
Ashwood Cottage. Margaret Doruham's
worthless husband was in some crea t
trouble. | went TO console his wife: and
then | saw the little one. Then | saw no
more Of her; and my wonder was aroused
! on hearing some of the tradeSpeople saw
| that Mrs. Dornham had not been in town
| for some weeks. | believed she was ILL.,.
| and went to see. Ny wonder was as great
as your own ut finding the house closed
/ Husband. wife and child had disappeared
/ as though by magic from the place, leav-
| ing no clew or trace behind them"
/ The rector was almost alarmed at the
| effect of his words. The young earl fell
| back in his chair. looking as though the
! shadow Of death had fallen over him.
/ II was but a child, the rector thought
! to himself. whom its father had seen but
! a few times. He did not understand tina I
! To Lord Mountdean this chld-his dying
rvife's legacy-was the one object in life.
hat she was all that remained 10 him Of
! 4 love that had been dearer than life
+ itself Commonplace words of comfort
/ rose TO his lips. but the earl did not even
/ hear them. From that moment on the no.
I bleman devoted himself 10 one object-the
! finding of his child.
! The papers were filed with appeals to
/ Margaret Doruham to return to Castle
! lene. Of to give some intelligence of her
/ foster child. The events of the stor.7 were
talked about everywhere: but. in spite
! Of all that was done and said, Lord
( Norntdean's heiress remained undiscov-
I cred. Months grew into years, and the
+ same mystery prevailed. The earl was
I desperate at tirst-his anguish and sorrow
we're pitiful 10 witness; but after 4 time
he grew passive in his despair. He never
relaxed in his efforts. Every six months
/ the advertisements with the offers OF re-
/ ward were renewed; every six months the
r.+.,Hi ~, - hal