Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1920-12-15
A
Strange Wedding
BY RALPH HAMILTON

How 10 live on Ehtee7 hunufeu uOt-
lars a year pension and the sparse prod
zee raised on small area surround
ing the house ne had the free use OF
during his lifetime. was problem
Morris veh0n had solved, although at
o cost of close plnehing. Ii was
lonely spot al the edge Of quiet little
village. and iife for The old man and
his motherless daughter, Eulalie. was
round OF dGt monotony.
They had been now FIVE years at
RosecreSl and Eulalle had grown into
lovely. graceful girlof twenty. From
the wreck of former fortune her
father had saved quite library,
piano and some choice pictures. and
these graced the humble little home
and surrounded Ii with something of
the refinements Of intelligence and cul-
ture. The girl had always done her
fun duty as helper and daughter.
Often in fit of melancholy Mr.. vehon
would upbraid himself for caging her
bright spirit away from the Joys Of
life
dlu Ntt nhpps aad 'tohtChaNo as
ii is, dear father" Eulalie would insist.
81 must inherit from dear dead mother
love for the charms Of nature amid
which she was brought up, and I find
no false friends among the flowers and
the birds"
They we're seated one evening on the
porch. both dreamy and iufled to
sweet serenity by the balmy air and
the soothing perfume Of many flowers.
The pale starlight showed the rose
hung gate with the stretch Of purple
frs beyond. A lurking moon on the
far horizon had just begun to tinge the
landscape with a delicate siivery
glow. The distant chugi chug! Of an
automobile aroused them. 1t seemed
coming down the road passing the
house, but the sounds became less dis
tinct finally. as though the machine
had turned off at some side road, and
at this Mr.. Vehon wondered. for even
the one main thoroughfare was rutty.
uneven highway.
Perhaps half an hour passed by
when down the latter came a madly
rushing auto. 1t halted directly In
front of the house and one of three
men 1t held sprang from the ma
chine and unceremoniously rushed up
to the porch.
Limousine" he spoke rapidly, "red
and black. two men aboard. Has 1t
passed here within the past two
hours?"
None such, none at ALL" replied
| Mr.. vehon. Not many of any kind
| do" and the man FASTENED back to the
road, and the machine. turning. re-
traced its course amid an excited con-
fab among its passengers.
The incident somewhat disturbed
| the serenity of Eulalie and her father
| Within half an hour the latter made
! movement as If intent on going into
| the house and Euialie Joined him.
| an take the lantern and see if ev-
| erything is all right in the barn. IA
| ther." she said, and few minutes
later crossed the rear yard for the
purpose stated. She drew back as
4 upt pItutn VI tNiut tilt
| open door of the structure. Then the
lantern CLEAN fell upon the front of
an automobile. Eulalle lifted the Ian
tern. Its rays showed man in chauf-
feur attire standing at~the step, and.
half reclining on the rear seat. a pale
young man. suggesting an invalid.
I'VE ran in here because we were in
trouble" hastily spoke the chauffeur.
ut there a man about the house?"
| my father. yes" said the bewil-
! dered Eulalie. 81 viii send him at
once"
Mr.. Vehon went to the barn. Soon
| he and the chauffeur came carrying
| the young man between them. He
! was borne to a room upstairs. The
chauffeur, an hour later, left the house.
| Mr. Vehon came down to Eulalie with
a serious face.
/ "We have become unwillingly a part
of tragedy" he said. The young
man is Burton Gray. and he is seek
| ing to evade relatives who are after
| his fortune They have been giving
| him a slow poison, and his chauffeur
| was trying TO get him beyond their
| reach. The automobile which we saw
| earlier in the evening held the pur-
suing plotters. The chauffeur thinks
his young master is dying. He has
! left him in our care while he goes
away. striving to throw their enemies
off the trail We must get a doctor
! for this Burton Gray and nurse him
until 1t is safe for him to be removed"
! And that was why the house was
/ turned into hospital for a week. The
| physician made secret daily visits ard
| expressed the belief that his patient
| would not survive, but Burton Gray
| seemed to be content and relieved at
the kind ministration of Morris We
hon and his daughter
81 am a doomed man." he said one
! day to the former. "The relatives af-