Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1905-05-30

'Quibbles, my boy, this shall make no
difference between you and me, mind
Il am sure that he meant it when he
said it; but that artful woman so led
him he made the will he did"
well. as soon as ever l felt quite sure
of my ground about the codicil, l began
to east about for the most effectual mode
of working it. 1t was clear in a moment
that the right course was to make a
match between Grace, now the legal
heiress, and Kit the legitimate heir. Of
course. l might have cut the matter
short by walking the girl off, and allow
ing her no food until she consented to
marry Kit and probably If l could only
have foreseen my sad anxieties and heavy
outlay. l should havo acted in that way.
But | have a natu dislike to measures
that wear an appearance of harshness,
and | could not tell how Kit might take
il. or even you, Miranda dear. In this
sad puzzle, some good inspiration brought
TO my mind Hannah Patch, then living
by herself in London. In a sort of a
manner she is my sister, although she
is so many years my elder"
Mrs. Sharp nodded; she knew all about
ii.
Every well, you are aware that Han
nah looked very coldly upon me, until J
was enabled to marry you, my dear,
through your disinterested affection,
which is my choicest treasure. Having
won that, and another more lucrative
partnership, | was immc diately allowed
the privilege of doing all her legal bust
ness gratis. You have often grumbled
at that, but l had some knowledge of
what | was about, my dear, and l soon
obtained that due influence over her.
which all women ought to have some
man WELD. Setting aside her present use,
Hannah Patch has 2O0l. a year of her
own. which might be much better in
vested, and shall be, as soon as it comes
to us; but it would not do to have her
too set up herself
''Oh. Luke, what a large-minded dear
YOU arev' whispered Mrs. Sharp, with
much enthusiasm; Il do believe nothing
escapes you, and nothing that gets into
your hands ever does get out again.
Il allowed her TO perceive that If
things went on, without our interfer-
euce, Grace Oglander would be married
and her enormous fortune sacrificed
Hannah Patch also had 4 special grudge
against old Squire Oglander He had nc
love At all for the Patch connection
the patch on the family, as he called it
and the marriage of his step-mother with
the Captains promising air towards him
II word, Miranda, he hated them
all.
However, when Hannah was in trou.
bic once or twice. and without roof to
shelter her, old Oglander had her down,
and was very good. and tried to like her.
He put his child under her care to learn
theology as she called it, and he paid
her well for teaching her the psalms,
and the other denunciations. They went
away together TO some very lonely place.
while the Squire was a week or two
away from home. And now it occurred
to me that this experience might be re-
peated. and prolonged if needful. Og-
lander had been nervous, as / knew, and
as his daughter also knew, about some
form of black fever or something. which
had been killing some gypsy people, and
was likely to come into the villages. |
made use of this fact. with Hannah
Patch 10 help me, and quietly took my
Young heiress off to q snug little home, in
the thick If the woods. where | should
no sorry to reside myself. She was I'M
der the holy wing Of Miss Patch; and
there she abides TO this present day; and
I feed them very well, l assure you.
They cost me four pounds ten a week;
for the evangelical Hannah believes il
TO be the eIsar~st .rrGS 81 the beast
10 eat 1.leat reN sac.a twice day; and
Leviticus Grips, who supplies all the vic
tuals. is making a fortune out of me. No
bigger rogue ever lived than thai fellow.
He is under my thumb so entirely that if
] told him to roll in the mud he would