Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1905-02-28
CHAPTER vI.-fcontinued.,

cold-dead and cold-without no coffin.
nor a winding sheet-the purity crature,
the purity crature-thee, what l fool
ber'
Master Grips, at the picture himself
had drawn, was taken with short fit of
sobs, and turned away Mr. Oglander
slowly laid down the pen, which he had
taken for notes of a case and standing
az trm as his own great oak tree, gave
no sign of the shock except in the color
OF his face, and the brightness of his
gaze.
Go on, Grips. as soon as you can"
ne SAID In calm and gentle voice. Try
not to keep me waiting. Grips"
be trying; be trying all | knows.
The blessed angel be dead and buried,
close to Tickuss' tatie crop. in the cor
ner OF Bramble Quarry. At least, 1 mean
ilckuss's taties was there; but he dug
them fortnight, come Monday, he did.
The corner of the Gypsy Grave as
they call it. Who found it? How do
you know itY'
Esther was there. She seed the whole
OF 1t. Before the snow come-last Tues
day night"
Tuesday night! All, Tuesday nightw
for the moment, the old man had lost
day night was Wednesday, when 1
rode down to my sisters. Grips, your
sister must have dreamed it. My darling
was then at her aunt's, quite safe. You
have frightened me for aothing, Grips"
Il am glad with all my heart" cried
Zachary; Il am quite sure il were Tues
day night, because of Mrs. Exile. And
your Worship knows best of the days,
no doubt. Thank The Lord for all His
mercies! Well, seeing now, it were some
body else, in no ways particular, and
perhaps one of them gypsy girls, as took
the fever to Cowley, if your Worship
VIII take your pen again, l will tell you
all as Esther seed. Two men with
pickax working, where the stone over
hangeth so, and the corpse of a nice
young woman laid for the stone to bury
1t natural. No harm at all in the world
when you come to think, being nought of
Christian body. And they let go the
rock, and it come down over, to save all
infection. What 9 turn that Etty gived
me, all about trihe." The carrier
wiped his forehead, and smiled. "And
won't | give it we'll to her."
Poor girl! 1t is no trife Cripps,
whoever it my have been. But stop
am all abroad. 1t was Tuesday after
noon when my poor darling left Mrs.
hermitage. And to the Quarry. across
the fields, from the way she would come
Is not half nile-half a mile of fields
end hedgerows-Oh, Cripps, it was my
daughterr'
Her might a been, sure enough" said
Grips, in whom the reflective vein, for
the moment, had crossed the sentimental
sure enough, her maight a been. A
pasture meadow, and a field and Gibbs
turnips, and then a fallow, and then into
Iickuss' taties-half an hour maight a
done the carrying-and consuming of
the rest-your Worship, now when did
she leave the lady? Can you count the
time of it?'
Zachary, now the will of the Lord
be done, without calculation My grave
is all L care TO count on, if my Grace
lies buried so. But before 1 go to it,
please God, l will find out who has
done it."
''Now, do e put on a muller, sir"
cried Mary, running out with her arms
full, as Mr.. Oglander set forth in the
bitter air, without overcoat but ready
to meet everything. At the door was his
old Whitechapel cart, with fresh young
colt between the shafts, paving the
snow, and snorting. The floor of the cart
was jingling with iron tools as the
young horse shook himself; and the
SQuire's groom, and two gardeners, were
ready to jump in, when called for
$50 plaize your Worship, let me
drive" said Crlpps, who was going to sit
In front. "A young horse, and you at
your time of life, and all this trouble
over your
Give me the reins, my friend" cried
his Worship; and Grips, in some dread
for his neck, obeyed.
The men jumped in, and the young
horse started ut a rather dangerous pace.
Many time had Miss Grace fed him.
and he used to follow her like a lamb.
He will take us safe enough" said
the Squire; The seems to know what he
is going for"
Not another word was spoken until
they came to the gap at the verge of the
Quarry, where the frosty moon shone
through it. Tie him here" said the
master shortly, as the groom produced
his ring rope; "and throw the big cloth
over him. Now all of you come; and
Grips 90 first"
Scared as they were, they could not In
shame decline the old ma rs orders: and
the sturdy Grips, with spade on his
shoulder, led through the drifted thicket.
Behind him plodded the Squire with an
unlit lantern in one hand. and a stout
oak staff in the other; the moonlight
glistening In his long white hair. and
sparkling frost in his hoary beard The
snow before them showed no print larger
than the pad of an old dog fox pursuing
the spluttering track of a phea SAINTS
spurs; and it crunched beneath their
boots with the crusty impact of crisn
severance. All around was white All
waste with depth of unknown loneliness.
and Master Grips said for the rest of
his life that he could not tell what he
was about, TO do il!
After many founderings in and out of
hollow places. they came TO the corner of
the quarry dingls and found il entirely
choked with snow. The driving of the
nor lheast wind had gathered as into
funnel there. and had stacked the snow
Of many acres in a hollow of less than
half rood. Over the whole. the cold
moon shone, and made the depth look
deeper The men stopped short and
looked at their shovels, and looked at
one another. All powers of evil were
banded against them, and they saw no
turn TO take; still it was not their own
wish to so back. without having struck
a blow for it.
"Iou can do nothing" said the Squire.
with perhaps the first bitter feeling he
had yet displayed. "Al things are dead
against me; l must grin, as you say, and
bear it. 1t would take whole corps
of sappers and miners a week to clear
this place out, We cannot even be sure
of the spot; we cannot tel where the
corner is; all is smothered up so. III
luck always rides i'll luck. This proves
beyond doubt that my child lies here"
The men were good men, as men so,
and they all felt love and pity for the lost
young lady, and the poor old master. Still
their fingers were so blue, and their frog
en- feet so hard 70 feel, and the deep,
white gulf before them surged so palpa-
LIZ irrir,chLn tknt .hcr- c-,,.lA ~ .-s..s...