The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1908-11-19
CHAPTER xxiI-continued.

Il nOpe sol nope SO, ne an
swered, meditatively: "but 1t is i'm
possible to say yet what is the extent
of the damage"
do you know who he isl" Amos in
CURED.
"Oh, yes. Did he not tell your"
Amos shook his head.
He's the Rev. Tom Grayton, curate-
4 -charge of st. Chloe, and n of the
best fellows living
Amos stared aghast. "a parson!"
he calculated. Then what in the
name o. Moses was he a-doin'?"
THAT has TO be inquired inte," the
doctor interrupted. He left st. Chloe
yesterday afternoon on the tracks of
another man."
The next moment Billy's voice was
heard outside calling in a loud whis-
per-"Amos! Amos!"
"Aye--what is it?" Amos asked,
pushing out his head.
There's THOUSANDS o people crossin'
Penny Downs an comm this way" he
said, excitedly.
Thousands o. people, Billy?" Amos
questioned, hobbling to the door.
well, 'undreds and scores, any
how"
Or. Bell followed Amos into the
open, and a few minutes later he and
| z. G.. Blight were in earnest confabu-
latiCn. All the stragglers on the
| downs gathered up after a few min
utes, and the news was quickly passed
/ FUN, ,y, o.. tho Athnr An hour latnr
not only St. Chloe, but the whole
country side was ringing with the It'd
ings.
Eliza, the Mawgans' housemaid, who
had been sent into st. chloe to make
Inquiries, ran nearly all the way back
10 Mawgan Chase, and was so com
~Tlstely cut of breath in consequence
that several minutes elapsed before
she was able to gasp out what had
Happened.
Esther grew pale to the very lips.
The thing she most feared had hap
pened. All the afternoon she had been
n a condition of painful excitement.
he had tried her best to keep her
ceilings under control, but az b
ilSA ilbSh WHY ava Az IN 'NiiS
times she would scream, so great had
become the tension.
In a measure she was prepared for
the news. She had been suspicious of
Nevins from the very first moment she
looked into his eyes, and when h
learned that Nevins had disappeared
md that Grayton had zone after him
II IT, IS Fa.1 .1a,,r fortNnnl ttcnlf
upon her brain like a leech, and would
not be shaken off. Grayton, by nature,
was unsuspicious. He would not
dream of personal harm. and that fact
alone would constitute a real danger.
All the afternoon she had been pic
turing TO herself a meeting between
the two men in some lonely spot. She
knew G%rayton's straightforward man
ner. He would accuse Nevins of
falls ehood-there would be high words
perhaps a pistol shot-aud-
She put her hands before her eyes
more than nee to shut III the pic
ture her brain had conjured up.
Yet hope lived in spite of her fears.
He might have gone off somewhere
TO see some one who was i'll,
or suddenly taken into his head
to 60 to Truro Dr. Plymouth, or
perhaps he had slipped somewhere
and sprained his ankle or broken his
ie5. a dozen things might have hap
rercd, none of them serious. To-mor-
row he might occupy the pulpit of the
old parish church as usual.
So hope and fear struggled for the
mastery hour after hour, and then
came the certainty. She uttered nj
cry. She felt as though she had been
suddenly turned to stone. AS soon as
possible she stole away to her
room and holted the door.
She never fully realized till then
how much Tom Grayton had become
To her. She had admired him always.
He was the one man of her acquaint.
ance she could implicitly trust. She
had a feeling that was never put into
| words, that il he made love to her,
| her W heart would respond in a mo-
ment. But hitherto she had kept her.
| self well in hand. Her pride had come
| to her rescue. 1t was not seemly for
a woman to think of love until it was
solicited. and as yet ne word had
| passed Grayton's lips that could be
construed into more than friendship.
But now everything was forgotten
| save the fact that he lay wounded
perhaps dying, and there was no
hand of love to minister him, and only
| strangers about his bed. She wanted
10 hurry TO his side. She would have
| Given ell she possessed for the privi-
lege of nursing him.
When the gong sounded for dinner
| she went downstairs ~outwardly calm
to eat, but every mouthful threatened
to choke her.
II wonder who will preach tc-mor-
row." Mrs. Mawgan said, refiectively:
really 1t is the most unfortunate.
This Is what comes Of meddling In
other peoples affairs"
wedding, mother?" Esther ques-
toned. lifting her eyes slowly from
her plate.
Il call it meddling," was the an
swer. IF that>girl was not sufficient
ly interested in her wi possessions
to look after them, l don't see why
other people should worry themselves
over the matter"
Is not that rather hard, mother7