The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-02-04

lie tore hitlsrN away ht i"ANSt ~"
seil 10 So upstairs, following The ~
ahieh al every moment gfsN louder, \
the top he easl q final glance below, III
al woman siood al the sialTloal, shad
ing the candle lTom the draash, With
hani that shook with something mon
than age, She MAS gazing after hlm u
agir siiishl. and With ihe shsd.s "
| this fear tlafkening her Arabrh iare
formed a picture from which be aas slas
10 sseaie,
plnngins 0n. he found himself hrleIr
ain.loW whose small Ian-s drippoi an.
| gi,,sns.i under a rain that WAS last b.
| coming a torrent, Chillsd by the sisht
d. lurnssl toward the door family out
iinrsi hrslde il, aud IN the semi,iaIkncsa
seiftd az ailfashionri latch failllhs u
the Wind that permeaied every passage
Nay, and soillY raised q
Instantly the door fell back, and Tvs
.yes blazing with fever and that lire a
lih. soul oi which fever l. the mere phy
siral symbol sIrcte,l him from The midsl
! II a huge hed drawn M against the oppe
! site wall Then tMn arms Iusr, and tbs
meaning rtN II Thomas, Thomas
changed "a a shout, aud hr knew himself
to lie ia the presence Of his father
Falling on his knees IA slecrhle.s emo
ton h. giasped the wasted hands hel,l
out "a him. Such face, rugged though u
Was aud lar from iulhlling the pfomiss
held cut To him Ia his dreams, conld NOT
hut move any man, " lac eahed inin =
and pressed the hands ~ which the HE
blood only srVmed 10 llnger lar the las''
this only embrace, al his iilial instinct
were aroused aud hr forgot the common
surroundings, the depressing rain, his own
fatigue and hitter disappointment, IN his
life long craving for love and iamill Tee
oguition. =,
but IA. old man on whose breast he tell
showed other emotions than those by
which he was himself actnaicd, u vac
NO, an embrace be- crayrd hut an opl'or
tuniiy To satisfy an almost irrnsird cniar
osi,y ~ To the appearance and attribute
Of the ION who had grown 10 manhood
under other eyes, Pushing him gently
back, he babe him stand IN the light 81
| the lamp burning an a small pine table
and surveyed him. ~ Il were, from the
yerr. of his own fat failing life. with
means Of mingled pain and wcarnes-,
amid which Thomas thought he heard the
accents Of supreme satisfaction,
Meanwhile in Thomas himself, ~ lc
stood there, the sense oi complete desola'
ton filled hi breast almost 90 bursting.
To have come home for this 10 IND
father only To be weighed in the scales ui
that fathers Judgment To he admired,
instead OF loved!
As he realized his position aud listened
To the shrieking Of the wind and ram, 10"
felt that the wall OF the element, bat
echoed the cry of his own affections. lhus
stranglcd in their birth. Indeed the sen
cations of that moment made - deep an
impression upon HIM that he was never
aftcrward able to hear furious gust ri
AL hnn l.a
before him OF this great hollow room,
with the trembling hgure Of hls father
struggling in the grasp oi death and hold
ing il at bay, while he gagged with world. /
ly wisdom the physical. mental, AMI moral
advantages of the son 50 long banishcd and
80 lately restored to his arms,
4 rush Of impetuous words followed 10y |
the collapse OF his father form upon the |
pillow showed that the examination was
over. Rushing forward, he grasped again |
that fathers hands, but soon shrank back, |
stunned by what he heard and the pros
poet il opened before him. \ few OF his |
fathers words will interpret the rest.
They came in flood, and among others
Thomas caught these:
THE grace of God be thanked Our I
efforts have not failed. Handsome, strong,
noble in look and character, we could ask
nothing more, hope for nothing more. My |,
revenge will succeed! John Poindexter
will find that he has a heart and that
hat heart can be wrung. ] do not need
10 live to see it. For me it exists now; 1t
Exists here" And he struck his breast
with hands that seemed to have reserved
heir last strength for this supreme ges-
ure.
John Pondexter! Who was he! 1t was
/ new name to Thomas. NenturIng to say ,
Ia ra.l.l no he =
rom his fathers eyes.
you do not know who John PoindeNter !
: and what he has done to me and mine: ,
They have kept their promise well, too
veil, but God will accord me strength to :
ell YOU what has been lett unSaid 10y {
hem Heswould not bring me up to this !,
lour to let me perish before You have +
ieard the story destined to make you the /
venger of innocence upon that enemy OF
our race. Listen, Thomas. With the
and of death encrcling my heart, | speak, I
nd if the story find you cold-but it will II
OF. Your name is Cadwalader and it Will d
ot. u
Constrained by passions such n he had Z
ever imagined even in dreams, Thomas D
I'll uron his knees. lie could not listen G.
thorwise His father, gaspng for breath, a
Xed him with his hollow eyes, in which II
he last Pickering flames of life tlared mp s
! titful brightness. la
Thomas the pause was brief-'you
re not my only child Il
Il know it, fell from Thomas's white g
Fl Elk, ! have "A brother his name Is "
The father shool, his head with a look n
digestive of impatience, o.
'Not him! Not him" he cried "A W
ster! sirter, who died before you were as
Dn-beautful, good, with a voice like an ?!
lgel's and a heart--she should be stand p
g by my side today and she would have 81
zen Tiff he-but none of that | have y
} breath to waste. Facts, facts, Just I'll
cts Afterward may come emotions, Oh
tired, denunciation, not now. This is al
Y story, Thomas. u
John Poindexter and | were friends. be
rom boyhood we shared each others bed,
cd, and pleasures, and when he came to or
elk his fortune in America | accompan- uo
/ him. He was an able man, but cold. TN
was of am affectionate nature, but with on
it any business capacity. As proof of pc
is, in fifteen years he was rich, esteemed, pu
e master of fine house, and the owner M
half a dozen horses; while | was the
me nobody ! had been at first, or would re
We been had not Providence given me |
% beautiful children and blessed, or pa
Their cursed, me with the friendship of M
is prosperous man. When Felix was Sis
nrteen and Evelyn three years older, ;.
cir mother died. Soon after. the little rs
oney | had vanished in an unfortunate VS.
terprise, and life began to promise III, en-
tn for myself and for my growing chill ne
en- John Poindexter, who was honest a :
ough then, or let me hope, so, and who wi
d no children of his own, though he had !
en- long married, offered to take one of WI
ne to educate. But did not consent to Nv
is fill the war of the rebellion broke hat