Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1908-08-06
CHAPTER tx .-(cont,nued.,

Who told you?"
"a telegram came for you the day
& you left. II opened 1t when got back
home!
Mr.. Pinder did not tell me. He
said he had returned fathers letter"
That came the day following. /
4 have brought it with me. n
~ should have written for it when
y 1 had got some settled address"
You must let Mawgan Chase be
your address for the present
She looked at him for moment
and her eyes filed. you are very
good to me-" she said; but oh, I
wish ! had gone down with the
! Nebraska"
You must not say that" he re-
I piled. earnestly Nothing will give
me greater happiness than to be al
lowed; to be your friend"
You may think so at this moment"
she said. quickly, "but you do not
/ know,
81 But do know he Interrupted,
warmly Would / have come all the
way to Exeter If Ididn't know"
She; looked at him for a moment
with q puzzled expression There
\ was something in his tone as wen as
/ his words, something in the look Of
B his eyes, which almost startled her
4 She had never seen him in this mood
{ before, and she did not know exactly
what is meant
am glad you came" she said,
after a pause. wanted to see you
very much. = q u s
You should have returned at once
1 to Mawgan Chase he interrupted Il.
* could not do that very we'll. /
have been trying to find out things.
q You may be able to help me find out
other things"
What other things?"
Things about Mr.. MAYHEM, and
about others Your sister told me
that your father was swindled. out of
& nearly all his fortune years. ago.
We'll, what has that to do with the
matter? 2"
Not much perhaps; but is 1t
true ~
sIt's true enough, but don't Sec
Won't you tell me all about it?"
{ she interrupted. II am curious. and
for reasons will tell you LATER
''Oh. there ism much to tell" he
said. indi fferetnly. You see. father
was seized with mania for specula-
ton, and! SO fell an easy prey to
sharks. There was one man particu-
larly he trnsteda clever, persuasive
rascal. by all accountswho managed
\ somehow to get my father to believe
In him.
wi hat was the mans name 2"
oh. we'll. as it happens you bear
4s tie same name, Z he replied, with a
4 laugh Not an unco1nmon name, of
B course
w nat WAS mis- Christina n ami o'' - =
Richard, I believe: but he gem
erally went BY the name Of Dick
West. sf
And whta became of him after he
swindled your father r.
oh, he cleared out of the country.
q IN fact. they all disappeared before
3 the bubble burst
Then there were more than o1le?''
Well, West was the principal
mover. I believe there was a lawyer
4 In collision with him. who shared the
money Dung Lord Groyely who
was chairman Of the bogus company
and mere figure head most people
think was innocent enough: but
Technically he was party to the fraud,
and he had to- leave. the country Also
6 And what became of thema''
10 one knows 1t was reported
that young Lord Groyely died few
years later. Perhaps the members OF
his family know, but naturally it is a
Il subject they Will not discuss. 2
And was your father the only suf-
ferar? II
Oh, no ]; though 4 believe he specu.
lated the rgest amount. He mad I'M
bounded faith In Vests ability, and
for some reason never suspected his
honesty they were such close
friends. IL n
How you must loathe the name 81
West! sss
OF. no. TO mother, OF course, the
sn&ine Id suggestive Of a good deal. W. 5sis
ss that the reason why N she
n shFank from me n
I'D she shrink from you? / don't
think she did really At first per.
ll,aps old memories troubled her.
y think they did You see. Vests name
kss been the synon d, of all that is
fAtefnl and treache rous, false and
cruel Tor q generation. Mother can
sneyer forge t. 4 sss
1 And you g an neyer forget either J:
a sense. perha ps, but 1t all hap.
pened before I was old enough to I'M
q dlerstand. course 81 feel resentful
SHat times ~ hen 4 think Of our straight
ened means. &
Hat would you do. ~ you could
IA get hold III him or hi s9
Don speak of desoen dants, please.
be hoped the pa will die
he hi ave chill ren ~ ~
Ssss zlllss shall ever see
Il scredi 81 tile
nd e1uIe peopl H ough to be stran.
ss! ~ s,.