Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1906-10-16

Z I[><-S
Brand andsh:s wife, he said. with a
tighter tone dld more cheerful manners
than he would have deemed possible
five minutes earlier.
Pyne followed his example
..Say, uncle.' he cried there's 81
queer item. When | first met Con-
stance | spoke OF Mrs Vansittart. and
| called her my prospective step-aunt." "
..A very silly name too"
ssCons4ance seemed to think that, or
its feminine equivalent. She corrected
me. You mean your fiancee's aunt
she said
.'Oh. did sae?''
"Yes, and here's to her being my
fiancee's mother"
With the morning came doubt. A
maid who was given charge of the two
children: told Pyne that Mrs. Vansit-
tart had been greatly upset. the pre-
yious evening. The girl was Sure that
the, lady had passed nearly an hour in
tears kneeling by the side of the bed.
Then. having regained control of her
self to some extent. she rang for the
maid and asked at what time the first
train left for London next day. She
ordered her breakfast at an hour which
seemed to indicate her intention to de-
part by that train. said that she would
leave nss 4 lctions with Mr.. Pyne con-
cerning tie children, and gave the maid
two letters which she had written.
These we're to be delivered at o o'clock.
What, was to be done with the letters?
AS they were addressed to Pyne and
his uncle respectively, he soon. settled
that point.
His letter read:
Dear Mr. Pyne-I am leaving for Lon
don quite early, SO 1 will not see YOU
again in Penzance. I have supplied the
little girls with all the garments they will
need during the next few days. II, on IN
quiry, you ascertain that they have no
relatives anxious, not merely willing, to
take charge of them, l shall be- most
pleased to assume that responsibility. In
that event, kindly write me, care of my
E. VANsITTART
The communication to his uncle was
equally brief. Mr.. Trail read it to
him. It ran:
Dear Mr.. Traill-I cannot marry you.
Please forgive me. did not realize when
hOnOred me Win your pFOpoSdi tAetl
an inSuperable obstacle existed. Ihat is all
"a lame explanation, but complete so far
as it goes A woman who has wrecked
her life finds it hard to choose her words.
Your sincere friend, E. VANSITTART.@
They discussed these curt notes dur
ing breakfast.
81 do not like their tone," said Mr..
Traill gravely. ''They impress me as
the hurried resolutions of woman
driven to extremeties. We're it not for
her request about the children should
think what you thought last night,
Charlie. when that policeman turned
up."
''I must have telephoned my ideas to
you mighty quick was the retort.
"My dear boy, even at this moment
we don't know what she intended to
do. Why did she go out? What is the
nature of her sudden illness? How
comes it that she is at Brands houseg
81 may be mistaken, but I think we
will be given answers to all your ques.
tions in due time. Nothing really sert
Gus can be amiss or we should have
heard of it from Brand himself. Now
will you remain on guard here while
20 Out WIFI GlSiO anu LIN
one thing that matters in their little
Hives this morning is that shall hurry
: up and go doll hunting with them."
Il will hold the fort until you return
You will not be long!
, sperhaps half an hour. While an
, out l will make some inquiries as t.
i the condition of our other friends o.
{ the ChiEook.'
{ "By the way, many of them must b'
] destitute. 1t is my desire, Charlie, t
pay the expenses Of any such to thei
t destination and equip them properl.
:, for the Journey"
s.You are first ratar, uncle, but It'll
make your arm tired if you O. K. tn
bill all the time. NOW, here's fai
/. offer. Let me go halves"
t "Be off, you rascal! You are keepin
! two ladies waiting"
With seeming anxiety to atone TO
the excesses of the week, the Weathe
that morning justified the claim Q
/ Cornwall to. he Me sf.-.;7o1r land c
e England. The sun shone from blu
sly fecked with white clouds. Th
e waters of Mounts bay sparkled an
e danced in miniature wavelets. The a.
r ~
4 was so mild, the temperature so equs
:. b!e. that it was hard to credit sea an
y. wind with the havoc of the precedin
)? days.
i The Gulf Rock disaster Gid not stan
alone in the records o. the hursican
d Even tie days papers contained b
!, lated accounts c. casualties on Il
4 COASTS cf Normandy. iceland ard ia
OF Denmark. But nowhere eisa ha
,d there been sue, loss OF life, while r
g. newed interest was evoked by the I'm
relief c. all tie survivors.
bit Pyne's appearance outside the s.
ting room was hailed with yell. Nc
ur withstanding her own perplexiti
| falr ernod %