Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-03-28
young face bent over her mothers bed.

pOOT llllle SlFl-lO luluh SuOuio uafC
fallen so dead asleep that she could
leave the house without my knowing
1t! / begin to suspect that she has
been deceiving me for q long time.
You know the in-people In her fix are
dreadfuIly sly. did not know she had
been out of the house for years. can't
beg your pardon often enough for let
ting her worry Mr.. Matthews. l knew
she had q sort Of unreasoning grudge
against him. Sometimes, you know,
dear, they-I might as we'll out with
It," she added in sort Of desperation,
"insane folks often pick out their best
friends to vllify."
II know, know. More than once
has she left you asleep and wandered
out into the night. heard her tell
about 1t last night. Oh, If she had only
lived long enough to tell me some
thing more about those papers! Why
cannot I get her dreadful words out Of
my head"
Miss Malvina turned her tear dim
med eyes away from the dead old face
to the pallid young one with startling
suddenness.
Papers! What papers"
Olivia stopped and kissed the plain
face impulsively.
"Oh, 1t seems such monstrous thing
to come here and accuse her Of cruelty
when she cannot say word In self de-
fense! But, then, no more could ia
ther last night. She said that some
body had brought her some papers that
she meant to keep until Tom came
back, but that she had lost them. She
said that she could not look for them
in the daytime because you watched
her so closely" Here the poor child
dropped on her knees and clasped her
trembling hands upon Miss Malvina's
lap. "Oh, what dreadful things she
said to papa about those papers! Find
them for me, Malvina. Help me to
find them before 1t is too late"
Miss Malvina gathered her into a
motherly embrace. "Too late for what,
my poor little Ollie"
Before father-goes-and cannot tell
me what to-do-with them"
"My child. Olivia. there are no pa
pers. Believe me, it was all the fancy
Of a disordered brain. Mother was
queer for a long time back. ] have
known it for q year or two. How
could there be any papers Of impor-
tance to any one in this little cabin and
l not know about them? Forget what
you heard her say, my child. Let 1t 60
for naught. AS you say. she knows
better now."
Olivia got up on her feet, and, fold
ing her hands tightly upon her breast,
she looked down on Miss Malvina with
an inexorable purpose in her sad eyes.
81 wish | could let it 60 for naught,
but cannot. | know there were some
papers lost. because distinctly re-
member father asking you II you had
seen any the night Of Colonel Brox-
toms death. know he could not wrong
any one purposely. but losing those
papers may have put him in a wrong
position. Help me to find them, Miss
Malvina."
Miss Malvina fell back upon her only
line Of defense. Mother was queer,
Ollie. That was the reason l have
shut our door to all the neighbors OF
late. She did not know what she was
talking about. There are"-
Olivia interrupted her impatiently.
"But did you never hear her speak
of those lost papers-of her finding
them, mean%
"Never."
"Nor any one else2 Father? Don't
you remember that morning after Colo
mel Broxton died"
A subtle change swept over Miss
Malvina's plain face. A frightened
look came into her eyes.
'Think. Miss Malvina. Try to re-
member. And-ah. do tell me the
truth. the whole truth, no matter how
sorry you may feel for me. can stand
more than you think | can. But /
shall never know what peace Is until
my mind is relieved about those pa
pers."
Thus adjured. Miss Malvina made
reluctant confession.
81 will relieve your mind as far as
lies in my power. Ollie. If you will only
try to stop worrying over what can't
be cured was standing at our front
gate the night the colonel died. hoping
somebody would happen by that l
could question about him. When l
heard q horseman coming, ! rushed
out into the road with very inconsider-
ate speed. frightened your fathers
horse, and he dropped his bag. |
picked it up myself and handed it back
to him."
"He told me the next day-you re-
member. 1t was when you brought him
in your phaeton-that he missed some
papers and thought they might have
dropped out when he let his bag fall"
"All Of which," said Olivia stonily,
"goes to prove that some papers were
lost"
"Yes. but Of course he found them
again. He said that morning that he
presumed he must have left them in
the study at the Hall, but it did not
matter much. They could not have
been very important"
"But Mrs. Spillman-where does she
come into your story"
81 told her when | went back into the
house all about 1t. Poor mother! |
got into the way Of repeating every
thing to her. 1t interested her, you
know, and. being queer already. she
got q twist in her head about those
papers. | SUPPOSE, which there Is no