The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-03-22
c0PURDGETs 1908. @ uRVnFSG KR. ALI HBGNrC REcEHYEm

once to his aid.
 The jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to penal servitude. He gave one frightful cry and then permitted himself to be led away without word.
 For one long year he was herded with miscreants of every type in convict hulk. His associates could not affect his brilliant mind or degrade his strong nature, but the wrong that had been done him made him doubt even his Bible. and when he was sent at last to the penal colony of New South Wales he was bitter against all the world and hopeless of justice from his selfish. ignoble human kind.
 This bitterness of thought and soul was fast robb.ng him of all incentive and sinking him into condition where he was unable to hope for better things, unable to do aught but brood on the black past, when he was lifted from 1t by obtaining a ticket of leave and be- ing appointed gardener for the Govern or of the colony. General Rolieston.
 Amid the flowers and the plants that he loved. something of the old Robert Penfold awoke in him. He spent his days, from dawn till night, in simple. indefatigable labor. He took up his reading again. He applied to the Gen. eral for leave to change his name to James Seaton and completed the change from his hated past by growing a won- derful silky beard that changed him utterly.
 Soon a new interest was added to his life--a hopeless one. but sweet despite the pain. He fell in love with the Gen. erals daughter, Helen, although she was quite unconscious of the existence of such q humble creature as James Seaton. tfcket-of-leave man He gazed at her day after day from a distance! He cut the choicest flowers for her. It was madness. as he well knew. but it was heavenly madness. and his nature was like all strong natures--when they yield, they do so like giants. The flood gates break and there Is no compro- mise.
 one night he discovered that a gang of convicts were plotting to rob the house. Thereafter he slept in the gar- den with a pistol. His vigil was re- warded. He beat off the attack. He shot one of the gang and wounded two others. but he himself was so badly hurt that he lay in the hospital for weeks.
 Each day HeIen's maid arrived with flowers and delicacies for him. One morning when he was almost we'll the young woman told him that her mis- tress's hance had arrived from England for a visit, and she mentioned his name.
 On learning that Helen was engaged to be married the unfortunate man could not resist groan, though his own was so hopeless. but when he heard the name of the man the knowl- edge became insupportable to him and he felt as if he would so mad. The man was Arthur Wardlaw.
 Tn his two years of breeding Pen- fold gradually had gained the convic- ton that Wardlaw had been guilty of some deep though unimaginable treach- cry toward him. The conviction had grown till he hated his former pupil with the concentrated hatred that had that had overwhelmed him.
 He disappeared from the hospital and kept himself out of sight till the hated man had again returned to England. Then he was found by detective who gave him a little note from Helen. in which she informed him that in re- turn for his services she had obtained for him the ofice of shipping clerk with the great Sidney firm of White 6 Co. That firm soon felt that 1t had ob- tained a treasure in James Seaton. He had nothing left but work, and he threw himself into 1t with all his great en- ergy and intelligence. Before long he was in almost full charge of great part of the business.
 One day White & Go. were employed to ship an enormously valuable cargo on two vessels that belonged to Ward law & Son. On one vessel. the Pros erpine eighteen immense cases of gold dust and ingots insured for 160,000 pounds. were to be carried to the Lon don house The other. the Shannon, was to carry forty cases of exactly equal dimensions. containing ingots of lead and copper. This cargo was in- sured for only 5000 pounds. The chief reason for Wardlaw's visit to Sydney had been to arrange for this shipment and to provide elaborate safeguards to insure the safety of the metal. Penfold, or Seaton, had charge of the shipment. Knowing the valuable na- ture of the cargo of the Proserpine, he watched over the cases while they were in the custody of White & Co. and even took pains to see them safe aboard the vessel There was something about the actions of the mate. Wylie. that he did not like. The man had loitered suspiciously about the warehouses, and he more than suspected the sailor of having attempted to tamper with the cases.
 He breathed more freely when they were safe aboard the Proserpine, and returned to the office to find that Miss RoIlestin had presented a letter from
 
 cabin on the shannon be placed at her disposal.
 Seaton had discovered that the shan non would need overhauling. and the firm wrote this to Miss Rolleston. That young woman had promised her nance implicitly to sail on the shan non. To keep her word she decided to sail on the Proserpine.
 Penfold's passion now began to overpower him. On the night before the day of sailing he found himself on the wharf staring with wild and bioodshot eyes at the ship that was to bear her away He groaned. He felt himself going insane That Arthur Wardlaw, the traitor should be married to the beautiful, worshipped girl was more than he could bear. Suddenly he came to a desperate, unreasonable. crszed resolution.
 The next day, just as the Proser- pine was weighing anchor. tall. smooth -shaven clergyman came along side and presented an order for pass age made out in the name of the Rev. John Hazel
 It was inevitable that the two, be- ing the only passengers on the ship, should be thrown together more or less; but the clergyman took great pains to maintain rigidly the position of one who shows a fellow passenger such courtesies as are her due. In their conversations, however, he be- trayed so wide and great a knowl- edge on almost all subjects that Helen Rolleston soon became exceedingly in- Al N.- A-N.