Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1900-11-14

WV
were alone. At DIR. Grey's earnest
solicitation Margaret had left the
apartment with the younger children.
"Tom," said, putting my hand on
his shoulder, ''the secret of that manu-
script is written on these sheets. Two
men in the wide world are entitled to
know it. Will you first let me break
the seal in my own study?'
Certainly" replied Tom brokenly.
"Your heart and hand have been my
fathers comfort these many years. 1
trust you fully, as he did"
s'Then let me notify the proper per-
sons of the death, while you stay and
comfort Margaret. I'll look in later"
And with this went out.
When the day was done and had
put members Of DR.. Tetlow's parish In
charge Of affairs, calling once more at
the house, as l had promised ! sank
into my library chair, weary and SOM
Der, and opened and read the last mes
sage of Justin Tetlow to his old time
friend. In the swift, hurried lines Of
mortal illness Of mind and body, here
is the story, unique, believe, in the
annals of theft, that does not deserve
the stigma Of crime:
Ny Ever Dear Ned Flint:
When your keen eyes rest upon these pages,
shall have rendered up my account to God What
shall reveal to you Of my motives and purpose
in taking from Alice Edmunds her monograph
must be Judged by your own clear knowledge Of
the intensity Of my religious convictions and not
by the conventional standards Of right and wrong
This evening (Thursday) all hope is gone, and
| three days hence shall be hypocrite-yes. my
Godl hypocrite in the eyes Of my fellow men,
Your skill will avail nothing. 1t will be vocifer.
ated even in the house Of worship that ] am
| thief which, as men weigh actions, Is stabbing
truth. cannot take my own life. nor can face
the bitter obloquy. My resolution fails me at the
| final hour.
cut short my career, and that quickly. II my
pulse continues to beat by Saturday and thu
awful shadow Of exposure does not lift, may, II
it be physically possible, abandon all and hee
But even then shall save others; myself will
not save. should have burned this document
| when first it came into my possession, but l
| could not summon resolution. Only the approach
Of death will force my will in this direction. No
eye shall behold its frightful blasphemy; no
wrecked souls shall go down to ruin on the breath
Of its consuming herecy. This manuscript-if y
| could but know it's an assault on the cfedibil
ity Of Bible narrative, powerful, SO direct, SC
speeious and SO charged with learning that Il
| published it will work incalculablc harm. HI
doeth Gods service, whatever the world may ray
| Of him, who destroys this monograph. 1t Is bet
| ter far that one should suffer martyrdom rathei
| than uncounted thousands perish in the ruin Of
their faith. Against Alice Edmunds personally
| have no case. But her work is OF satan. The
nobility OF her life weighs not in the scale OF hei
| purpose.
But you are curious to know how gained pos
session. The explanation is simple. told you
| woman took 1t. That woman is my daughter
| Margaret! On the afternoon Of the loss, Just a.
| night closed in, Margaret fastened homeward-
| the day you left the mountains-with q thick
| package under her arm. 1t wrapped in foldi
| Of stiff paper and securely tied. She came into
! my study, with merry laugh, exclaimins: "see
bapa, what have found in the street. picked
| little hole in the bundle Just enough to sec
| that I've got some blank sheets Of writing paper
] hadn't time to open it, was in such hurry
to get back and help Nellie about dinner Give
me half the reward, papa" and the dear cir
tripped away lightly.
| Slowly united the package. Luckily for mt
Margarct's fingers exposed only the blank side o.
the typewriter pages. What read brought duty
and inclination into awful conflict. Duty won
you know at what fearful cost to my peace %
mind. And when Margaret asked me in her prett,
| heaven gave me strength to reply playfully
Eyes, dear. the package is worth three dimes
and here they are in advance"
The weeks OF awful wrestling that followed
I brought my malady to Its climax. The night
sent for you precipitated the ercest battle Of IN,
storm driven soul. nearly confessed all. hat
:. strength to reEst, Although ! ltssWsEd feared