The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-19
c0PTRlGNT l90@ RM lRYlM NING AlG RaGfTS RE0ERNEn.

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 had been expecting match between him and Miss Nancy Lammeter, the beautiful daughter of another of the great men of Raveloe. But lately MT. Godfrey had taken to mysterious absences from home. He did not look so fresh-oolored or so | open as he used to. There was something wrong. Miss Lammeter saw 1t as plain ly as did the village, though she did not shake her head over 1t so openly or dis cuss 1t in the Rainbow Tavern. 1 It would be a thousand pities. said the villagers. if MT. Godfrey was to go along | the same road as his brother Dunstan. a spiteful. jeering, drunken, gaming fel- ! low. And how MT. Godfrey could bear him and seem to give in to him was more than any one could imagine-at least any one of the dignitaries in the tap room of the Rainbow, among whom were such undoubted authorities as the village 1 clerk, the butcher and the farrier. Their subjects for conversation would have been vastly enlarged could they have suspected the true reason for MT. Godfrey's indulgence of his younger brother, whom he hated as cordially as MT. Dunstan hated him. The admirable elder.
 A foolish. brief, youthful passion had involved Godfrey with a woman. In com junction and passion mixed he had mar ried her. only to discover that he was tied to creature who was not only de- prayed by instinct but further degraded by being a victim to the opium habit
 She had kept him poor ever since un- der the threat that she would reveal their marriage to his father. Godfrey knew that the result of that would be disn heritance, the estates not being entailed and Squire Cass being a hard drinking hard-swearing and hard-hearted fine old country gentleman.
 Dunstan had discovered the secret and used it to good advantage-to such good | advantage, indeed, that he had drained Godfrey dry just when he needed hun dred pounds very badly.
 "Pll take your hunter Wildhre to the hunt tomorrow said he to Godfrey. ''There'n be Bryce and Heating there. and you know my luck at 'ticing people into bargains. I'll get e12O for him, if l get penny"
 Godfrey was silent for few minutes He wanted to leap on Dunstan with his riding whip and fog him to within the edge of death. But Godfrey, though without trace of physical fear was coward in the fear of disclosure He dared not face the world. He could not bring himself to think of risking his in- heritance. His whole mental attitude was that of man struggling blindly for time.
 Therefore when he spoke 1t was in | half-conciliating way. ''Very we'll" said he. You'll sell him all fair, will you? And take care to keep sober, else you might get pitched on your head going and Wildf1re might be the worse for it." Make your tender heart easy" said Dunstan, striding out with a laugh He rode away in the rawness of the early morning, chuckling to himself as 1 he thought of his brother. As he passed | by the stone pits he heard the weaver's loom rattling even at that early hour. It made him think of the stories that Silas | Marner had great deal of money. The happy thought struck him that he might force Godfrey to borrow some from the weaver. It should be easy enough to bully the man if he could not be per- l suaded. Very much cheered by this idea, which promised him a new opening for his blackmailing operations, he rode on | whistling.
 Dunstan had not overrated his own | ability as a horse trader Although no one in the whole countryside believed him, or would have believed him in any conceivable circumstances, he could drive bargains just the same, and he sold Wild fire for the price he had promised to get, to be paid on delivery of the horse, safe and sound, at the purchasers stable.
 Dunstan's prudence suggested that he ride the horse there at once and return home on borrowed one. But he could not resist the temptation of the hunt, es- pecially after few drinks to celebrate the sale. He decided to make the run and put Wildhre at the fences with the best of them.
 A disarrangement of his stirrup threw him behind and he rode on with double | speed to catch up, cursing at his ill-luck I which threatened to rob him of the glory of being in at the death. He put Wild fire desperately at fence with stakes on it and a ditch in front of it. The horse struck heavily, 'staked' himself and rolled from the bank Into the ditch. dead MT. Dunstans own unuma rketabfe per son escaped without scratch.
 He looked at his horse, swore briefly emptied his pocket flask into himself and turned to trudge home preferring to suf- fer tho indignity of walking rather than to face any of the company after his ill luck.
 It was dark before he reached the out skirts of Raveloe. Heavy mist had closed in. He had to feel his way with his heavy riding whip. Cautiously he wen on till he found the break in the hedge row which told him that he was neal the opening at the stone pits Entering there, he perceived a gleam of ligh
 which he knew must come from Silai Marner's cottage,
 The weaver and his hoard had beer in his mind continually during his walk