Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1897-01-07

the pain he was suffering was fntons,
He could feel the warm blood trickiiM,.
over his hand, dyeing the bosom Of h;s
shirt vivid red. "'s
His eyes fell upon his trembling INN,
which still cluthced the pistol, II w.u
not smoking, and suddenly there ccho"S
In Wyndam's ear the dull fall of NV.
hammer. He realized that he was NV.
shot, that the pistol had been unloadnI'
The mirror, which he faced, unmrr;
fully reflected him. The color had fnn
from his face, his eyes were fixed nn%
distended, his lips were twitchiny. III"
gave some contemptuous commisnrn
ton to the abject figure, failing to rs
alize Immediately that it was himsrlf
The weapon dropped from his nerve.
less fingers, and he buried his face in
his hanas. He continued to sit in his
huddled position for some time, thcn
after several fruitless attempts, rot +"
his feet. He CROPPED his way blindly to
the cartridges, and when he at last h,I
the box in his hand, slowly retraccd his
steps to the pistol, which lay upon thu
floor. He lowered his hand for it. but
he could not pick it up; he had lost con.
troll of his fingers. He drew himself
erect, and wiped away the cold pcrsp.
ration which had broken out on h;v
brow.
Great Cod" he whispered, sharply
what q coward I ami"
He carefully smoothed the anguish
from his face, and once again bent for
the revolver. This time he was able to
convey it to the table He endeavorM
to reload it, but could not
II shall rest for q time" he mcli.
tated, dragging himself to a chair "It
is true 1 told him I should end it NIL
within the hour, but there is no press.
ing hurry, and my worst enemy would
not wish to shorten these extra mo.
mentS."
His eyes wandered aimlessly about
the room, but finally rested unon a long
envelope which lay upon his desk. It
was directed to him in an unfamiliar
hand. In one corner was the name and
address of il prominent firm of lawyers
He had noticed it previously, but had
not opened it. Now, wishing to divert
his mind, he incuriously broke the seal.
1t was a lengthy communications; but
from his brief glance he CLEANED that,
through the death Of his mothers only
brother, he and his brother were joint
heirs to an enormous fortune. He re-
stored the letter to it's envelope; the in.
telligence seemed an unnecessarily
cruel taunt of fate. His riches or his
poverty could not now concern him.
"And to think Of it all reverting to
Howard he muttered. "Hc will not
know how to use it; he will be more
uncomfortable than pleased. He be.
comes heir to ten times what should
originally have been his through one
mans perfidy, and because I am that
mans son. and because it is a just law
that the sins of the father shall be Wis.
tied on the children, I must suffer.
There is but one consolation. no one
knows. or ever can know, the depth
Of our fathers baseness, but ourselves
1t suddenly flashed upon him that
the knowledge had now narrowed down
to himself. He turned the envelope
over caressingly, repeating softly. NO
one on earth knows but myself
He seemed to derive certain satisfac-
ton from the words.
Were we right in so summarily de-
Gliding that only through our death
could restitution be made?" he demand
ed. Howard would be far more con-
tent if left with his books and a mod
est competency. The control of vast
wealth would be nothing but Il burden
to him. OF course he could not be
given what is rightfully his without
creating suspicion, and that must be
avoided, but we can"
He went no further, for he was again
confronted by his brothers death. He
once more extended his hand to the
revolver. and all his lately acquired re-
pose vanished. His face hardened. a
look of subtle cunning crept about bis
lips.
Perhaps it is as WE'LL" he urged.
"He would never have been at peace.
for he had an exaggerated idea OF
honor. If I determine to live he
pursued, Il shall resolutely thrust from
me the remembrance Of what we dis
covered. There will be nobody, nothing
to remind me of it, and even to myself
I shall appear as much man of honor
as before VIC happened upon those
papers"
With logged firmness he replaced
the cartridges and revolver in Their
compartment. No sign of the conflict
which had ragged remained.
1t had grown late, and he care1ull!
dressed for dinner. Once OF twice his
thoughts lowered over the motioness
form lying in his brothers room. IL
would be necessary for him to felsh
surprise when the servants found the
body; but he impressed upon hinsen
the fact that he must be cautions not
to overact his role.
He had dressed without his Wallets
help; but, as he was about to lea'o
the room. he heard him in the corridor.
He advanced toward the door, SMILING
a little, as if pleased at having got along
without the mans assistance.
He opened the door, then retreateu
a step, as did also the man on 'ne
threshold
The two brothers, both carc1uh!
dressed, stood face to face.
Alice S. Wolf, in the Argonau''
The Trans-African Telegraph
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