The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-02-11
GOLDEN
IDOL. %
by EERGUS HUME.-

Again. continued Gaskell, imperturb-
ably. 'Piker saw Leonard-we may pre-
sumo 1t was Leonard-talking to some
one in the Fletmouth road. Is it not
just possible that it may have been your
unhappy brother?'
Yes; it is just possible, as you say
assented Norah, with vehemence. But
when you add that Philip decoyed my
Leonard into the boat and tried to MUIR
der him, you lie
''Norah, / did not say that Philip tried
70 murder him. But he may have de-
coyed hing 1t is not for me to conceive
why-nCt for me to conjecture the mo-
tVes of a mind such as your brother 5.
l merely throw out the suggestion, be-
cause it seems to me incredible that
Jayne should have gone into Dinch' 8
at at that hour of the night with a
man who was a total stranger to him.
No doubt; but the man was not my
brother. Philip drinks, he CANDLES, he
wastes money, but he is not so wicked as
you would make him out"
He is wicked, Norah; but l don't
say he is a criminal. I only fancied
that he might have to do with this
matter; and I tell yo~, because, if my
sLpposition should prove correct, we must
save him.
From what?"
Gaskell was silent You had better
not ask me that he said.
Il see what you mean, but 1 refusr
to believe 1t. don't; 1 won't. When
can [ see Philip"
How can l say?' said Rowland IT
don't know where he is now. l wish
l did. I would question him myself
And you would find how false is your
charge-false and cruel!' cried No-ah,
Vehemently. Never will 1 believe that
Philip lent himself to crime. Yes, a
crime, for, kidnapping or murder, 1t is a
crime"
Under pressure of want, men do
strange things said the other gloomily;
land Philip has degenerated 1 will bring
him to you, if 1 can, Norah; but the
best thing will be to give him some
money, and get him out of the way Of
course, 1 may be wrong-I sincerely trust
l am-but the circumstances, to me, are
most suspicious. He held out his
hand. "Good-day my dear girl, good-day
Try and bear up under your affliction
1t has been sent for your good
Norah, much as she respected Rowland,
hated cant. And there was a strong
favor of it, to her mind, about this
last speech. She shook hands with her
cousin coldly. When he had left sh J
sat down near the fire. Here great
trouble was ever on her mind She
SOoiO VI HOlAlDs 0lS0. WO weeks
before the sky had been so fair; now
1t was 50 terribly overcast. Leonard
was gone, and there was no one to say
if he were dead or alive. Would they ever
fathom the mystery which surrounded
his disappearance? And now Philip-the
thorn In the family f1esh-was in the
neighborhood! She was certain he had
come down to give trouble It would
be best to get him away, but that could
be done only by bribery, Which seemed
impracticabie for the Wharton family
were not only poor, but in debt No one
knew how pressed they were for money
save Norah. And although her mother
put brave face on their poverty. and
kept her own counsel, their embarrass-
ment was none the less for that.
An application to Teddy would, of
course have mended the situation since
he was rich and his own mas
ter; but Norah and Mrs. Whar-
ton could not contemplate seek
ing aid at the hands of SO
young lad. People would come to
know of 1t, and, after the manner of the
world, would not spare them. Leonard,
in possession of his fathers money,
might have done much But he had
vanished, and even had he not, he would