Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1903-12-11

the true heir? vas mott
Il y
Captain Grant was an honored roes,
klchmond Terrace, and his word soon,
to be law. The servants all hoS SUI
orders to obey him as promntlv tleir
did their master, and between tb@ eucS
old man and the whimsical sold;a. very
were kept pretty busy. 'ney
Lawrence Richmond had hoo.
moody than ever. He watched Conts1s
Grant from under his shaggy Whit =
brows with almost Il glare in his "
and once in a while there mipbt ,,eS'
been seen upon his face an on;a lave
scowl. '"'noas
The secret that lay between tbes,
men dealt with the past. and il HIM ."o
the head of Lawrence Richmond liia ' ,S'
knife of the guillotine. Every dav h tus
passed served to increase the feol;,. WA.
mingled dread and hatred which N. "
bore toward the other, and Lau.0uD'
Richmond was fast becoming desna.,.'
A demand on the part of the so,S;.'
for his daughter served to can tha y,
max. In spite of his terrible tempe, ,nS
his strange actions at times which wo,,ia
seem to belle the fact, this man sincOr"
ly loved his child.
Alone in his library the master of IN.
Terrace paced to and fro like = co.aS
tiger. He did not notice the press.
in the Of the Captain until tb0 ,0.
ter gave utterance to a low, metallic
laugh. ~
The old man looked up quickly and
the keen-eyed soldier noticed A wild h.l,
eager look upon his face that ba sol
never seen there before.
HE has settled upon something. 7 coo
see 1t by the glitter of his eyes and tho
way he shuts his teeth. Have a csr
my old gentleman, or you will find Won,
claws nipped still Closer"
Thus he muttered as he waited for N,
Richmond to speak.
You hereT" said the other, AZ last.
what a wonder l knew 1t not, for ,on.
orally L feel the evil influence OF Won,
presence like a deadly vapor."
You are disposed to be sarcastic. v,
Richmond, but under the peculiar circru.
stances L can forgive you. / am come 10
ask a little temporary loan of you-a mat.
ter of a mere thousand or two"
Curses on you and your loans. yOa
will drive me to distraction yet. What II
l should go mad? Why, man. | would
tear you limb from limb, l hate you 80.
Do you not eve think of the risk Won
are running in prosecuting me thusm
Il have done nothing so terrible, nv
dear old gentleman. The case lies in A
nutshell. You had your choice between
providing for me with a small portion Of
your immense worldly goods, or else los.
ing the whole of them, your liberty. and.
perhaps, your life. That you have chos.
EN- the former only proves your wisdom
There was conscious power in the voice
of the Captain that was peculiarly az.
.gravating to the old man, but he calmed
himself as well as he was able. though
his eyes still glittered with that strange.
metallic CLEAN that BODIED no good to the
object Of his anger.
II hate you," he, said, mot so much
for what you are doing, man, but because
you know l I'M perfectly innocent Of
crime. and yet, knowing this, you still
blackmail me-"
THAT is a very nice statement for you
to make, dear sir, but how are you 20.
ing to prove it in any way?'
"Ha! schemer, there more Of your
cunning crops out. The papers that
would exonerate me you have stolen and
hold over my head. To save them from
being destroyed and myself from future
trouble, 1 have been buying your silence
the past, but now your demands are
growing too preposterous. For the LIST
time l ask for your mercy. l would not
your blood upon my hands, but |
feel like a man hunted by a human
and who must, unless the dog
gives up the chase, either fall himself
or destroy the hound. Plainly. Captain
is 1t your life, or miner
"Then hear me, old man. I utterly
all compromise. l have no other
means of living at present except on you,
and. as, for reasons of my own. l expect
make America my home in the future,
| may as well provide against a rainy
day. 1t is but fair, then, that there
should be ar equitable division; SO make
up your mind to that"
Lawrence Richmond's face whitened,
and the skin seemed drawn like parch'
ment over the bones. His teeth were
clinched as if set in agony, and the via
CLEAN deepened in his eyes.
He reached out his hand and it fell
upon a peculiar nail in the wainscotins'
As his finger pressed against this, a pOi'
ton of the oiled floor of the library sno'
denly yawned open, leaving an aperture
of perhaps a width of four feet, down
which the Captain would have been hurI
like a cannon ball, but for the iH
that he gave an agile spring just as 'H'
trap fell, that landed him beyond the daR
ger line. Quickly he whipped out Ut
tie silver-mounted revolver.
Fooled again, old man. You see ~
useless to fight against fate. am reao!
for any such emergency" and, turrin''
ne left the room.
Curses on him." muttered the old mup'
lnnDly tnnyaI ..hn hnnre a charmed llts