Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1898-05-12

IF You continue to interrupt me III
not tell another word" he said. Il IN
derstand now why he Went on Ike
that-it was a put-up Job from the first,
You'll discover that for yourself IL
you'll only listen"
Il am all attention.; but so far, l
only see that the man acted in the most
straightforward and natural way. Go
on"
You are very provoking Packen-
ham rejoined.
My dear fellow, | have a judicial
mind. and weigh both sides of the ques-
ton
IRIS not very judicial to form an
opinion before you have heard all the
evid nee"
Then let me hear it. l am waiting
~anxiously."
Mr.. Packenham paced the room for n
moment or two.
'HartI'igg told me. early In the bust
ness, that tine old lady's death had
been rather n facer for him, because
there wasn't IA soul left in the wirld to
ia9is after his sister. If anything should
happen to him. He used TO get maud
lin over il. when he had been working
in the mine all day. and had come
back tired. He would take out her
photos. and sit looking at them. They
weren't bad likenesseS: and-she-l
thought the face interesting. you
know. | wanted him to bring her
home, like the fool he was making OF
me. We used 10 talk about her-at
least he used-and | listened. He
would say sometimes that she would
be left alone in the ~world-his dear lit
tie sister, his bright, pretty Afra.-un-
less she met some good man to marry
her. ! was told afterwards that it was
a put-up job from the first. 1t appears
that | was marked down as the girls
prey. properly stalked and run to
earth. | might have seen that they
wanted my money for the mine and
myself for the girl
But, If | did not misunderstood you.
Dereck, the fellow-Hartrigg, did you
call himl-lost everything he possessed
by that speculation. 1t seems rather a
big price TO pay for the chances of "a
put-up job"
II tell you as the fellows at Cape
Town told me-. They saw through IL,
and SO will you when you hear every
thing. if you will only give me "A pa
tient hearing"
The men at Cape Town were wise
after the event. evidently"
I'VE had been many months on the
veldt, and Hartrigg, to get ne alto
gether into his clutches, l suppose, let
me have my fling. / had a splendid
time; | confess | never had anything
like IL before. l got those lions skins.
the big tusker, whose worries are i'm the
hall at Mount Sorrel. and the hippo's
head. Worth going through a bit OF
hardship TO obtain, Ell? Independent
of that. | shot the larder; but Hartrigg
kept the whole mining business to him
SELF
did you understand anything about
it?''
Not a ha'pworth! But couldn't /
have learned? l suppose l have h
brain? He took precious care / didn't
get the chance. While the fancy last
ed, | threw myself heart and soul nto
the shooting. Never had such a time
in all my life, and never may again.
SO he led me on. l was fairly in it,
you see-trapped hard and fast-be-
fore Hartrigg began TO let out that he
had been mistaken. and that the mine
was not turning. out as he expected.
In fact, before the cloven hoof showed.
| was idiot enough to believe all that
ne said was gospel. SO things went
on. One day | took n run down 10
Cape Town for n spell OF such civiliza-
ticn as they have there. 1t was poor
of the sort: but when a fellow can get
nothing else, you know, he's glad OF
that. In the city | met n lot of chaps
who knew Hartrigg. They all seemed
to be friends of his. and evidently be-
lieved in his mine and everything he
had told them. Not II of them gave
me a note of warning.
Il wen back; and then the fat was
in the fire. Hartrigg had met with a
bad accident-been crushed in the
mine and his chest stove in. Bless
you. mott wasn't so bad; ii was all n
scheme. His sister was there nursing
him, and n parson man from some
High Church station where she had
been staying. He met me with q face
almost a yard long. and told me that
Hartrigg was injured for life. He was
doctor as we'll as parson, you know.
The mine had come to grief, and ev.
erything was lost. The trap had been
properly set, and properly baited, too.
The girl? oh, she wasn't bad-loOking
sort OF w%ild-thing expression in her
eyes that misunderstanding. She
was clever, and neat-handei, too.
| Well, the parson said that Hartrigg
| was SO bad that he could o possibly
recover. and that he was dying with
the consciousness that his sister
| through his mistake-would be left
penniless in a lonely wild. I'm an inn
pulsive chap. Adolphus was alive. and
l knew that If | chose to live in Africa
l had enough and to spare. The girl
looked the ideal of a settlers wife, and
the parson being h~andy-there, now
YOU have the whole story
You married herg'
Went through the service; and the
next day n telegram came to say that
my half brother had been accidentally
shot; also, that old Juggins was dead
and had left me a cool half million
And what did your wife sayl'
WIFE" the other repeated. wife!
Does going through a mere ceremonial
form OF words make a girl. of whom
you scarcely. know anything, your
wife,"
II suppose so. You did it of your
own free will"
II deny that. / did it from impulse
did it because | was a coafounded
idiotw W.