The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-04-23

| sion Tor him, and, although, with the good
sense of man of the world, he did not al
low it to obtrude itself, still Jasper was
aware of it, and resented it deeply
He may; but think 1 safely say I'm
not wrong" Talbot answered, looking coldly
! at him.
Him. what was he doing in the rckyard,
then?"
We'll, here is Mrs Woodville," as that
lady approached to say that the bedroom
was prepared. I'VE shall have to wait until
said the doctor, dryly. I'm the meantime,
give him the benefit of the doubt, Mr.. Good
Wln-gve him the benefit of the doubt
But three weeks passed before the stranger
became sufficiently we'll to be questioned.
1t was in vain that they sought for some
card or letter in his pockets by which to
identity him, for there nothing which
gave them any clue to his name or his rela-
tons, if a handkerchief marked r. Adair
be excepted-a handkerchief which Good
win, with his usual thoughtfulness, sug-
gested might have been stolen.
His clothes, worn threadbare now, and
soiled and scorched by the fire, had once been
of good cloth, and were well CUT and seemed
a proof of happier former circumstances
than Goodwin was disposed to allow him.
For the rest they were obliged to wait until
the stranger could himself inform them as
to his antecedents, and they did so with I'M
troubled minds for the Woodvilles we're ac-
customed to perform acts of genuine ben
evidence simply a matter of course.
They had found no clue to the origin Of the
fire either, and, in spite of Goodwins insin-
uations, and the suspicious circumstances,
they were beginning to think it must have
been the result of an accident.
The squire had no enemies, for he was just
| and generous master, and a kindly neighbOr,
and, as Woodsde did not lie in a direct line
to any town, that part of the country was
not much infested with tramps, through
whom the mischief might have arisen.
strange shyness kept Nan from men
tioning her meeting with the stranger in the
Stackyard and as no one thought of queS-
toning her-thinking that she had seen the
red glare from her bedroom window, and so
had been warned of the fire-she had been
spared the necessity of explaining her super
stitous experiment, which, indeed, was al
most forgotten through the sequence of more
absorbing events which had followed it.
CHAPTER ".
1t was the morning of the day on which
the stranger was to come downstairs for the
first time, and Nan felt shy about seeing
him again, so she put on her walking dress
and started for long walk.
He had made mention of his first en-
counter with her, for which delicacy she in
wardly thanked him, since she had grown
rather ashamed of her chool-girlish prank
They had learned his history some days
before, when he had recovered sufficiently to
give an account of himsef-an account which
was quite satisfactory even to Jasper Good
win.
Ills name was Richard Adair: his father
and mother were both dead and he had been
educated as his heir by his fathers brother
a misogynst
Six months ago breach had occurred
between them, and the young man had left
home in a penniless condition.
Since then he had earned a precarious liv-
ing ty literature, when small appointment
as clerk in q shippers Office in Glasgow had
been offered to him. and he had been on his
way thither, making his journey a walking
IIr,f1
OF England when, coming past Wood
side, and endeavoring to find a right of way
in the dark, he had lost his path and found
himself at the rickyard where he saw man
moving about in a suspicious manner and
afterwards discovered that the stacks were
fired.
This information made them think that the
act was due, after ALL to some tramp who
had done it out of sheer malice; but there
was little hope of tracing him from the de-
scription which Adair was able to give of
tall, dark figure, with a round head and no
hat.
The squire apathetic with his weight of
trouble, did not feel that any satisfaction
would ensue to him even if the criminal were
caught, for he could not be made to refund
the money his wicked deed had lost and the
police, finding him SO lethargic, were not dis
posed to trouble themselves by over action in
slipping out of popular thought, though the
consequences remained with the squire and
very heavy he felt them.
It a lovely day; the snow had started
early to show that winter was on it's way
and the ground was covered with thin white
mantle.
The leafless boughs glittered with icicles.
shining like jewels in the bright sunlight: a
fresh sharpness made the air exhilarating
and Nan walked on further than she intend
ed. tempted by the beauty of the country un-
der its wintry aspect. until, on looking at her
watch she found that she must hurry home
TO preVent Mrs. WuodVille being uneasy on