The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1899-12-08

|
| Chapter lon the night of Decemher K
1857, John Olmstead and his nephew, Rob
| ert Stanton, were in the formers library
IN brooklyn. The old gentleman is at.
| tackled by a stroke of apoplexy and diec
| of heart failure at two minutes pa st twelve
| on the morning of December g. Before
| dying Olmstead made a will leaving his
| fortune to his nephew If he married within
ten years, with the exception of $4,000
| which was to go to an unnamed heir
| Chapter II.-After five years Stanton be.
comes engaged to young lady. He meets
man from the west, Richard Raymond
| and is induced to try glass of wine. Stan.
| ton aWakenS next morning at his home
ard finds. a letter breaking his engag agement
before. and visited her home. The wine
| was drugged by Raymond. Five years
Later Raymond turns up as the unnamed
s, 1892. The death certificate had said that
| Olmstead died on December instead OF
December g.
the date of his uncle's death Stanton de-
| termtnes to marry, if possible, before mid
| night OF December 6, SO as to beat Ray
mond NOR out Of the property for the. trick he
| he had given him and then sending him In
a carriage to his fiancee's house.
| Chapter IV.-Stanton advertises for a
| wife ard his advertisement is answered
| by woman who agrees to send him a
woman, Esther Thorndike, to marry him
| that night.
Chapter V.--Esther Thopndike meets hin,
| as arranged, and they seek Rev. DIR. Bor-
den to perform the Ceremony. They find
him onNthe Brooklyn ferry few minutes
before twelve.
Chaptes6 y1ie ere marrsa on sgs
wishes her to become hia wife in reality,
but she refuses and asks him not to try
to communicate with her. She refuses to
accept money for her assistance to him,
and announces that she Is going 10 Europe.
The other, claimant for tho property sees
ton starts on trip around the world
Chapter VII.-The young woman whom
Stanton married is the niece and adopted
daughter of wealthy New York banker
tons mother. She had visited Stanton
to seek legal advice and was mistaken for
| some one to answer his advertisement and
she impersonated such person until she
had heard his story and then decided to
act for him. Her stepfather had long de-
sired that the two should marry, but they
had never met before.
CHAPTER VII.-Continued.
BY this time Braddon was paying the
utmost possible attention.
He cared no more for matrimonial
advertisements than he did for John
Olmstead's millions. 1t was John Ohm
stead's nephew he was thinking of. The
moment there was pause he said:
"See here, Esther; the idea is all
right, but 1t is risky business for the
shrewdest man to try and handle Grim
inals. You want the best lawyer you
can secure, and you want him at the
start. Otherwise you'll drag your club
into no end of trouble; for even GRIM
inals have certain rights, which they
understand better than you, and which
1t is dangerous to meddle with or ig-
more. Now, the first thing you do, you
go to John Olmstead's nephew. 1 be-
lleye he's the best lawyer of his age in
the state. He'll tell you he's too busy
to give the matter attention, but don't
let him slip. Ten minutes of his brain
work is better than an hour from most.
Take him on philanthropy. I under
stand it's something of hobby with
him. Don't you offer to pay him, or he
won't look at you. He can earn ten
times all that your club will pay with
half the work you will require, but he's
forever throwing away good business
to give his time in charity. Call it
charity. See? And if that DON'T work,
try moral reform. HE'S head and front
in q dozen moral reforms. And once
you've secured him you're all right.n
Following this advice Esther cut
from the next mornings papers all
the obnoxious advertisements she
could lind. She read them over with a
shudder of horror that men and women
could be so base and depraved. One
in particular, signed Malcolm" fas-
tened itself upon her mind. Thus
armed, she started, early, to consult
that prodigy of genius and brilliant
leader in philanthropy, charity and
morality, John Olmstead's nephew.
She knew him well enough by sight,
and doubtless Stanton had frequently
heard her name and even seen her DUR
ing the brief period when he was NEST
In society. He might almost have seen
her yesterday, and forgotten. There
was strong similarity among women
as he saw them. He never tried to re-
member unless they were in the wit
ness-stand.
AS Miss Braddon stepped into the ele-
vator the operator was showing another
boy an item in the Morning Herald
which intensely amused them both,
Always interested in what interested
the young, she glanced over their shoui-
ders, to find them absorbed in the ad-
yertisement signed Malcolm" She re-
membered it well, and a new horror
chilled her to find that even boys found
entertainment ip the pernicious matter
and from It formed their notions of
what real life would be for them too,
when they were old enough to enter in.
As she crossed the hall to Stanton's
door, she whispered, Indignantly:
Malcolm. Herald. Uptown"
She paused timidly upon the thresh-
old, fully aware of the Importance of
the man she was about to approach,
when the office boy came forward, re-
marking: '''.''''''''
"Good mofnin', um; Yer loolip' fur
dc Mr., Malcolm as addetised In de
Mornin' Herald, umP He's right in
here, um."
Before she could collect her thoughts,
the door of the private office had been
opened, she had entered, and it had
closed again behind her. 1t was all in
an instant, and Esther Thorndike Brad
don was face TO face with John Ohm
| stead's immaculate nephew-otherwfse