Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1900-02-02

calculated Mason.
Then he WAS frightened. and gran
ny AMI Tom and all ~ u, Tor We knew
you would never get away aliN" tu
bring the pol'cs hack here with y'u.'
WHAT You were 80 sure 81 itg'
cried Mason. with a shudder.
The girl bowed her head.
Il did what I could 60 warn you, 20
save you"
Indeed you did. shall never cease
10 hc grateful
But all the time ] was torn 10y two
/ feelingS-th,. wish tu save you. tu spare
/ him this one more crime, aud the wish
| To save him. too. FOR. remember low
/ ed him. We all loved him. In spite OF
I all we knew AMI all We guessed We
/ loved him and would have shielded
! him. for hc was always ru"d to ~, ~
good that We could not hcliry" il when
/ we first suspected him of-"f-
And when was that: That you first
suspected him."
1T was nearly five years ago, In the
winter We were very. very badly oil,
had scarcely anything To eat AMI
/ traveller came 10y and rested here ami
talked of his dealings and of the mon
ey he had made. lie was cattle deal
or and carried long leather purse
/ with gold"
She paused, overcome 10y the horror
Of her recullectiuns.
And when he went on Uhe way was
| pretty open that winter. and he knew
the roads, my father went cut after
him. And when he came back hc seem
eel just the same aS ever, only h" SAID
. that he had got paid some money that
one Of the farmers near had owed linn
for some years. And we were aS mrr-
~ as could Ice over this piece of luck
till-til we heard Of Traveller having
been found dead in Il stream some
weeks after with part of his clothes
washed away Nobody thought of foul
play till Tom found out that it was the
cattle dealer and that there WAS II"
money found And then We all feared,
secretly, not telling each other what
we thought granny and Tom ana
Merrick and myself"
She shuddrrrd and paused again.
When she Went on. IL was in Il more
rapid pace ~ if she was anxious To get
the dismal tale ended.
But all the while father seemed
just the same, and We didn't dare To
speak to him. He seemed SO uncon
ccrued that now and then we would
laugh at our fears and think We had
done him a cruel injustice 1t wasn't
till the second and the third accident
that We felt sure, sure. And meantime
I'd had to persuade poor Merrtck t.
stay on. Father made me. And the
feeling that he hated to stay and that
he WAS only staying just for me wa~
bitter and hard and dreadful"
Mason began to understand. This
then was the secret Of her strange cold
hess toward the man who wurshlped
her
and then to see you suspect the
poor fellow, when | knew who it WAS
that WAS in fault, that was dreadful
too. But yet couldn't put you right.
for 1t would have been putting my IA.
ther in danger
But" said Mason. III you thought
1
you could 90 Oh caring for him
You see" said Gwyn. earnestly.
that all we had to 20 upon was su>-
picion. for although we knew that
those three Travellers
"Thrpc?"
Eyes, yes. While we knew that they
had died mvsteriouslv, and we con
nected his absence from home with
their deaths. vet there was never any
difference in his manner to rs. and no.
body else ever SUSPECTED that they had
mot with fnul ploy Ynu know vo;ly.
self how dangerous these hills are
Look at NV own fathers death this
morning"
"Was il YOU who sent Coch Tai to
warn me not to 90 to Trecopd this
mornlngT'
watch " whisnered the girl "AnL
, granny knew il and she went down 10
watch him. She followed him when he
went ont with his gun And il WAS
/ she who tried to stop him when he
fired And-and you know the rest"
, There was long silence.
/ II cannot vet understand It," said
, Mason at last. You have all acted
} almost as if you were in league with
! YOUR father"
"Don't-dont say that" pleaded the
! girl. Poor Tom only obeyed him
. when he could not help himself"
+ Your grandmother. who could have
warned me- kent silence"
How could she have warned you
against the son she loved? She would
have done snythinp for him although