Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1908-04-17

justice. When I die there will not be
more than five hundred pounds left, after
my debts are paid, and neither Of you
have finished your education. | had hoped
to live until Lionel was a then l.
would nave told him the story OF his
and / would have asked him to
%renounce land, gold, title, for her sake
"''1itler cried Lionel, starting to his
feet. oh, father, who are your
Then papa struck the gold-headed
stick vigorously against the iron CRATE.
Strength seemed TO come into his feeble
hands, fire seemed to fash out Of his
sunkcn eyes.
"'Ah.' he said. shaking his head and
looking sarcastieally at Lionel i would
not trust you. A title, thirty thousand a
year, an English mansion, a deer park. a
house in Mayfair. a seat in the Upper
House. Lionel-Lionel, could you re-
nounce all these because your father is a
Republican at heart, and w0hld fam have
You despise them? No, lad-Do. ! will
tell you nothing now. | may not die yet
a while. Before / 90, you may be wiser
you may value other things before these
worlds gauds?'
And weeks passed, during which the
subject was not resumed. Winter came
on, and papa seemed better. We drove
out once or twice. AT last the To- fell
in silent. swift fashion for two days and
nights, and all the park and country was
one wide white sheet. 1t was piercing
cold. Gavotte made UP great fires in the
hall. One evening / went and lay on
n rug. full in the blaze and warmth, and
! fell asleep. When | awoise the hour
was late the fire had dwindied to a few
red embers the cold was piercing. My
father was pacing the hall length from
end to end, and with him was another per-
son. / was superstitious. As a girl of
fifteen / had read German legends until
/ was half afraid to go to bed n now,
while ! watched my father come into the
faint light of the dying embers, | was
thrilled at the sight Of a tall man-an ut
ter stranger, who wore a long cloak and
close skull cap. / could not see much
of his face; but his voice was the sweet
est, the %strangest, the saddest 1 have ever
heard in my life. 1t was not a young
voice; the man in the cloak was not a
young man. He and my father stood
close to me without perceiving me where
/ lay, covered with an old black shawl,
~ n u Dlol VI oAoaN" ia - HOoAf
81 must not wrong my children said
papa but / do not wish Lionel to have
the box or the parchments till he is
twenty-one. At the same time, you must
tell them-tell them both when l am gone
that there is a title, and that there are
You know everything, and you
explain
Where is the box?' said the sweet,
voice.
Without answering anything, my faith
err began to move away toward the other
end of the huge hall. The tall man in
the cloak went with him. / watched
them without stirring. l saw them pace
down the length of the vast apartment I'M
til their figures cleaned in the faint light
streamed through the painted win
dow, like ghosts or the shadows of men.
Ny heart beat fast. A title-estates It
was true, then, this vision Of splendor
which had shone out for a momen from
the thick clouds of an eventless
All papa's teachings had not quelled
the natural petty ambitions in our young,
warm, human hearts. / had fancied that
It would be my fate, when my education
be complete, to teach in a school,
Or 90 into a private family as a gov
erness but now another career opened be-
fore me. / should wear diamonds and go
to court. Lionel would make wonderful
speeches in the English Parliament.
.sWho was that odd man in the cloak,
who seemed to know SO much, and in
whom my father confided so completely?
I waited a%nxiously for their return. Slow
along the vast hall, with measured
cam my father and the mysterious
man, and presently they stood once more
ii the red glow of the dying embers, close
TO where / lay under the black shawl.
Then the box containing the certiG-
Gates Of your marriage and of the births
Of your son and daughter is in that large
black chest close to your beds head?'
said the man in the cloak.
"sIt is there, mad ] feel very i'll; /
not long to live. | will give you the
key Of the chest. When you hear Of my
death, come here and unlock it, and you
will find an oblong silver casket and an
Maltese cross of yellow to-
paz set in gold, with a portrait Of Leila,
bride, painted very small on ivory in
The center. There is a necklace OF gold
Give that and the cross to
Leila
After that they paced off once more
o the end of the hall. Presently I saw
hem returning; but they did not stand
The third time close to the fire. They
passed it, and as soon as their backs were
.urned toward me, I rose noiselessly and
,sea ped at the other end of the hall. The
text day I looked for the stranger at the
breakfast table, but he was o there. +
lid not dare to question papa. I never
,aw nor heard a word Of the stranger
from that day to this.
when Lionel returned I .old him my
ale. He said he thought I must have had
i dream before the hearth in the great
aall but the result proved that to be i'm
possible. Let me hurry over the recital
# the most unfortunate event of my life
n as few words as possible. One morn
ng, in early spring, when the primroses
n the park Of Moreauville We're blooming
n knots of pale gold, under the shadow
# the great laurels, when blue FOCUSES
md violets glowed along the terrace walk
the morning breeze was brisk, and
he sun was bright, papa was found dead
n his bed ut Chateau Moreauville. We
bought not Of the black chest. nor of
tiles and estates then we nourne for
i'm.
1--WE lave never ceased to mourn for
him. He was buried in the little ceme-
cry at st. Pierre des MontagEes. Then
sc opened the black chest. We never
cum the key !; but Lionel forced the lock.
Ne found my fathers will, stating where
he few hundreds were deposited which he
lad gained by literary effort and giving
for the money to ne used for