Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1904-04-29
CHAPTER XII.

father inyeigh against the audaclty that
sought to compel him to supplcate III
person for his sons release; but WIN
the exception of q start and suppressed
exclamation when he repeated Lestelles
words, Tell him the daughter OF Esther
lWayerill," etc, he sat with his face
shaded by his hand, listening patiently
eill the recital was ended.
Then he began to question Darcy
closely, keenly, concerning Lestelle's sur
.onndngs; and now it was that the
young man mentioned his recognition of
che valet Wyett, and how he had found
Bliss Hall acting as duenna or compan-
5oa to the actress
You have confirmed me in my ssupl-
1Sons," he said, ut last. This precious
trio aim at something more than mesh
dang my foolish boy! You have thrown a
nght upon much that surprised me, and L
ohan be able to fight them with their
0wR weapons. l tell you, Darcy, he
added, TO his astonished nephew, they
think to make their own terms with me;
Aua they deceive themselves. They can
aoa-nay, shall not-do it,
Il am in a maze, sir. | really do not
comprehend your meaning at all.
LET me, then, explain to you as con-
usseIy, yet as fully as l can, what l
conceive to be their plan of action, and
che circumstances which have induced
Alaem to adopt it"
He cleared his throat, took a turn
across the room, and then, drawing his
chair a little farther from the lamp, as
iY its glare distressed his eyes, he be-
igan: You must bear in mind that L
speak without dates; but 1t must be near
HS four~andtwenty years since foolish,
ihnpetuous youth, a relative Of my own,
went into Hampshire on a pedestrian
iAour. Some one had been eloquent re-
specting the beautiful scenery surround
@ng Haesby, and thither he went. There
was q young girl there, the daughter of
,2he curate whose rustic prettineSs had
swDa for her many admirers, and my too
susceptible kinsman was soon included
IA the list. OF course it would not in
'aerest you to hear the tale Of their loves;
Il would be sufficient to say that he
'&houghtlessly prevailed upon her to leave
,aome with him,a step which he bitterly
,Nepented when he found that the cOnnec-
Zion so hastily formed was likely to
blight his prospects, and that the girl
was not happy; her thoughts constantly
l2everting to the home she had left. Even
raually they quarreled and parted, Esther
going back to her own people; but my
iainsman's remorse for his share in her
TROUBLES was so great that it brought on
"A dangerous illness, and when his ply
,siclans pronounced his recovery impossi-
BE, it consoled him to hear me promise
10 do what / could for the unfortunate
IEsther."
Then he died? Poor Lesteles must
anVe been a stormy childhood" Darcy
commented.
II am ashamed TO say" the General
went on. that being drawn soon after
wards into the vortex of a political life,
my pledge to assist Esther Waverill was
forgotten: but when your accident de-
sained ME in the neighborhood of Hales-
by. l made inquiries, by which learned
shat she was dead, and only her young
est child survived her. l commissioned
Wyett TO place her ut some decent
scaool, where 1 would charge myself
with her maintenance and education.
Ths willy rascal promised obedience, but
wrote to me soon after, stating that the
girl was we'll cared for by her mothers
relations, and that he had therefore tax
sn no steps in the matter. Satisfied
Mat all was WELL. l thought no more
= OF Esther or ESther's child, till the sum-
xneY of the Exhibition, to which, among
other gapers, came Mrs. Price. You
remember her, | dare say, hard grasp
ing woman. She took advantage of her
visit to press upon me some fancied claim
FOR the wear and tear of her furniture
during the time we occupied part of her
house; and at the same time l learned
from Mrs Price that instead of the girl
~, . Hnr oofl, nI.'S
relations, she had unaccountably disap
eeared soon after my own departure, and
Shat her subsequent fate was a mystery.
Now do you begin to comprehend Mr..
Wyett's tactics? Do you not see that
Nsther's child and this young actress are
She same?'
"Iestele the dwarfed untaught, elf
Ssh girl, who stole from her bed to listen
Beneath my window? 1t seems impossi-
ole, and yet it is-it must be so! All,
gir, Wyett may be a knave; but he has
effected a miracle. Lestelle is a beauti-
Enl graceful and intelligent woman"
But an actress, and the pupil Of a
crafty couple the General retorted.
However, it is not of that young per
sous present appearance that we are
speaking. but of her motives for abet-
Aing the annoyance which is being in
aScted on ME. Wyett. misled by the in
Serest l expressed in her welfare, thinks
that In obtaining possession Of the girl
Ae has secured hold upon my purse"
IL cannot follow you here" said Oar
ex candidly. 1T seems to me more
probable that ESTES voice appeared to
hin worth cultivation; and he seized the
opportunity for entering upon what must
aAve proved an excellent speculation.
a'If that were all,' the General began.
A.But, no, he must have had a motive
Sor eoucealing her existence. He has
evidently palmed some plausible tale on
che girl, which has led her to suppose
Shat she has claims upon me. 1t must
hare been for the purpose of prying into
my secret nffairS tint the visits of Percy