Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-03-14

master work out his own fate. After
all, he was nothing to me, and he prob
ably cared less for me than l did for
him.
But the next moment I would have q
revulsion of feelings. I would fall to
plying and sympathizing with both
my master and Miss Stetson. Her
love for him was genuine, and 1t must
be terrific blow to receive such intel
Hgence. Was she not to be pided more
than Mr.. Goddard? On the other hand
he was conscious of the terrible doom
that awaited him and was buoyed up
only by the thought that possibly DR..
Sauires could cure him. But now he
could never gain his prize. Would
she marry him even though pronounced
cured?
What would be the result? Mr.. God
dard would 60 away to some foreign
country, and after grieving over him
for q time Miss Stetson would yield
to the opportunities Of DR.. Squires
and marry him. saw the climax OF
the tragedy. which, after all, would
prove a tragedy only to my master,
and it made me more faithful in my de-
votion to the unfortunate man. This
decided me to stay by him until the
time should come when my expecta-
tions would be fulfilled. Then would
return to my old ways. Meanwhile l
was leading an honest life and making
the money which I spent.
I had become quite efficient in my
duties, and was trusted in many ways
that never fell to the lot Of my pred
ecessor. was more than butler-r
was my masters confidential secretary
in many respects. But there were some
secrets that he would not reveal to me.
and one was the dread disease which
brought him SO much care and sorrow.
After hearing the truth from DR..
Squires' own lips my attention was
drawn more closely to Mr.. Goddard's
appearance. watched his languid
manners, his pale face and all the
symptoms of disease that he showed
during his periodical fits Of sickness.
More than this, read up all the med
ical books about leprosy and then
watched for the signs. To an excited
Imagination these were readily visi-
BILE.
About this time Miss Stetson and
the doctor took lunch at the house
again, and my attention was called to
the matter by an incident that greatly
affected all of us. had not seen Miss
Stetson since that afternoon when l
watched her from my hiding place at
the wayside brook. She was paler
than usual. and her manner was lerv-
GUS and excited. especially when
Charles was near her.
During the progress Of the lunch l
caught her studying the hands and
face of her host on every occasion
when his eyes were turned away from
her. could not at first understand
the reason for this secret scrutiny, but
it suddenly dawned upon me that she.
too, had been reading on the subject
and was looking for symptoms Of the
disease.
The doctor, as usual, was the life Of
the party and kept the conversation
flowing freely from one to the other,
never being at loss for words. New
ertheless there was an uneasiness In
his manner which seemed very unnat-
ural. My master alone appeared to be
perfectly at his ease and normal.
When the conversation Jagged a mo-
ment, he suddenly rubbed the back Of
one Of his hands with the palm Of the
other and said:
Doctor. l think | must have run up
against some poison ivy or sumac in
the woods. for I'm sure that my hands
and face are poisoned"
"very likely. very likely" the doc
tor replied quickly, but with a little
tremor in his voice. ''There is great
deal Of it around. and one Of your ma
ture would be very susceptible to It,"
my hands and face itch terribly.
and blotches are breaking out on my
face and forehead" Mr.. Goddard con-
tinued.
looked at Miss Stetson. She was
staring at my master with horror writ
ten all over her face. The hand that
held her fork trembled so that she had
to put it down.
My master displayed his hands and
added:
"See these red spots on the back Of
my hand. Are they not the result of
poison? And over my eyes and fore
head. They seem to be breaking out
all over"
"Probably, Charles. l will investi-
ate after lunch" the doctor said hur-
riedly. glancing toward Miss Stetson.
For the first time Mr.. Goddard turned
bis eyes toward her. Feeling that she
was attracting attention, her over
wrought nerves could stand the strain
no longer. She had been thinking as
/ had-that the brown spots were the
first and earliest symptoms Of leprosy.
We both knew just enough to be car
ried away by any symptoms that re-
sembled those which indicate the be-
ginning Of the dread disease.
"Belle, what is the matter? Are you
illY
Mr.. Goddard had hardly spoken these
words before she dropped her hands