Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1902-01-02
CHAPTER Vim. lContinued.)

E DIV. NOW, yOu 0iAdit uCdi I'LL tfdt 4 SoiA
tell about myself. In this matter l am
absolutely alone, and ! am beset by
such troubles as fall to the lot of few
men. Look at me; take these hands OF
flesh irto your own, If you will. hear
the voice In which I speak to you; and
then hear me say that I am dead and
buried. Yes. it's true. / stand tonight
In the house In which / was born--the
house in which my mother died; yet I
stand as the very ghost of myself
without a name-without the right to
any name on earth. Look at me. and
tell me If any nan ever had such a fate
az miner"
George Reeks was quite unequal to
the situation. he opened his mouth
feebly once or twice, as If to speak, but
said nothing. At last, finding his mouth
open, and deeming 1t better to take ad-
vantage OF the circumstances. he ap-
systematically, put the neck OF the
flask into 1t and took another pull.
II want to trust you. Mr.. Reeks; !
believe I can. l might, 1t is true, 50
out into the world tonight, decl1re
who l am, and expose the scoundrei
who has brought this misery upon me;
but i cannot do that. In caing that IL
would involve the name of one VINO is
very, very dear to income who Is heip-
less, and who a say nothing In her
| own defense or In mine"
.'The-the young grill should say
the young lady?" broke in Mr.. Reeks.
1.-THE young lady of whom you have
already heard. and of whom mention
was made in the diary you have a
bur for her, 1 should not be in hiding
here an hour longer; ! would tear this
man-this Nugent Leathwood-out into
the sight Of all men, and show him for
what I believe him to be. Listen; you
shall near everything I have to tell
Mr.. Reeks, in the most abs~ent-nlinded
fashion, took another pull at the flask,
but still kept his eyes fixed on Gilbert
Rickerby. Gilbert, for his part, con-
tinued to pace about the floor in his ex-
citement, although he spoke always in
subdued voice.
II needn't tell you anything about
my early life: suffice 1t to say that |
was BORN here, the only child of a most
unhappy marriage. In all my early
years 1 remember, after my mothers
death, but one bright thing in them-a
girl. God knows / needed some bright
ness, something to lift away from me
the appalling silence and somberness
OF this place. I found II In her. We
were little more than children: but we
chung to each other, as people OF ripper
years might have done; trusted each
other: were all in all to each other.
Then, four year, agO my father discov-
cred our secret meetings, drove me
from the house, and sent her away"
That was hard. very hard" muir
INJURED Mr.. Reeks, In deep sympathy.
Il went abroad continued Gilbert,
moving about the room in a restless
fashion, and speaking almost as though
ne had no listener. al saw nothing
more OF her. But we corresponded reg
ularly, through q medium known only
TO ourselves. Then. quite suddenly, !
had q letter concerning her from a
cousin OF mine--this man. Nugent
Leathwood. whom you have seen to-
night. After I left home this man had
been high In my fathers favor, and
was supposed to exercise a sort of
guardianship 0ver the property, which
my father, in his dying hour, had left
to me. Well, this man wrote me that
he had seen my girlish sweetheart, Oft
en- and often; that a love-story had
begun to be spelled out between them:
that she repented the promise she had
emade to me: and that, now that she
was OF an age to know her own mind.
she had turned to him-Leathwood-as
TO tho one love of her life."
And you believed him.
What else could I do? i suppose /
ought to have written to the girl and
asked for her version Of the matter.
nss< - ~x1xxuk ra~,a,1Ia~ Az DroL~
that I was a soured IND disappointed
man: that my childhood and my young
manhood had been most unhappy; that
] had wandered the earth alone, and
had learned to distrust almost every
one / met. / chung to this girl alone of
all the world. Now. it seemed, wen
h ri to disappoint me-to turn from
me In the hour when most I needed
her"
sWell-and may I ask what happened
Them asked Mr.. Reeks.
II believed his story. and for c tine /
did nothing. Wavering about the mat
ter. / determined, at last, after nearly
two years had passed. to 90 h~ome-back
to England. I must tell you that, inn
mediately before receiving the letter
from Leathwood. I had written to him,
telling him hat I was coming to Eng
land to see my promised wife; on that,
his letter followed. Then I changed my
plans; and. after wandering aimlessly
for q long time. made UP my mind to
SO back. Perhaps I hungered fors q
sight Of the old place where / had
known her. ard where we had whis-
pered together: perhaps / had doubts
OF he real truth OF the story. AT all
events. I came back to England"
And came to No. Q. Little Pond
street. Camden TOWN." said MI. Reeks,
feeling that he bad got the matter
straight at last.
Yes: I came to your house with my
servant, James Holden. and took your
vacant rooms. I had a reason for taxi
ing an obscIre lodging like that's rea-
SON for hiding myself. I had deter
mined that my stay in England should
be = short one. / had really come to
perform q Quixotic action, but one
which I regarded as q matter of just
Ice"
I remember you said something about
that In the diary I took the liberty Of
reading last night" said Mr.. Reeks.
ncdding slowly.
Yes; Z remember / wrote something