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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fd86d08 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50909 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50909) diff --git a/old/50909-0.txt b/old/50909-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f8cf7a3..0000000 --- a/old/50909-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8436 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Key, by Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Golden Key - A Heart's Silent Worship - -Author: Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - -Release Date: January 13, 2016 [EBook #50909] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN KEY *** - - - - -Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - The Golden Key - - OR - - A HEART’S SILENT WORSHIP - - - _By_ MRS. GEORGIE SHELDON - - AUTHOR OF - - “Thrice Wedded,” “Little Miss Whirlwind,” - “The Magic Cameo,” “A Hoiden’s - Conquest,” “Mona,” etc. - - [Illustration] - - - A. L. BURT COMPANY - - PUBLISHERS NEW YORK - - - - -POPULAR BOOKS - -By MRS. GEORGIE SHELDON - -In Handsome Cloth Binding - -Price per Volume, 60 Cents - - Audrey’s Recompense - Brownie’s Triumph - Churchyard Betrothal, The - Dorothy Arnold’s Escape - Dorothy’s Jewels - Earl Wayne’s Nobility - Edrie’s Legacy - Esther, the Fright - Faithful Shirley - False and The True, The - For Love and Honor - Sequel to Geoffrey’s Victory - Forsaken Bride, The - Geoffrey’s Victory - Girl in a Thousand, A - Golden Key, The - Grazia’s Mistake - Heatherford Fortune, The - Sequel to The Magic Cameo - He Loves Me For Myself - Sequel to the Lily of Mordaunt - Helen’s Victory - Her Faith Rewarded - Sequel to Faithful Shirley - Her Heart’s Victory - Sequel to Max - Heritage of Love, A - Sequel to The Golden Key - His Heart’s Queen - Hoiden’s Conquest, A - How Will It End - Sequel to Marguerite’s Heritage - Lily of Mordaunt, The - Little Marplot, The - Little Miss Whirlwind - Lost, A Pearle - Love’s Conquest - Sequel to Helen’s Victory - Love Victorious, A - Magic Cameo, The - Marguerite’s Heritage - Masked Bridal, The - Max, A Cradle Mystery - Mona - Mysterious Wedding Ring, A - Nameless Dell - Nora - Queen Bess - Ruby’s Reward - Shadowed Happiness, A - Sequel to Wild Oats - Sibyl’s Influence - Stella Roosevelt - That Dowdy - Thorn Among Roses, A - Sequel to a Girl in a Thousand - Threads Gathered Up - Sequel to Virgie’s Inheritance - Thrice Wedded - Tina - Trixy - True Aristocrat, A - True Love Endures - Sequel to Dorothy Arnold’s Escape - True Love’s Reward - Sequel to Mona - True to Herself - Sequel to Witch Hazel - Two Keys - Virgie’s Inheritance - Wedded By Fate - Welfleet Mystery, The - Wild Oats - Winifred’s Sacrifice - Witch Hazel - With Heart so True - Sequel to His Heart’s Queen - Woman’s Faith, A - Sequel to Nameless Dell - - -For Sale by all Booksellers or will be sent postpaid on receipt of price - - A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS - 52 Duane Street New York - - - Copyright 1896, 1897, 1905 - BY STREET & SMITH - - THE GOLDEN KEY - - - - -THE GOLDEN KEY. - - - - -PROLOGUE. - -A RESPONSIVE HEART. - - -“Nannie, I cannot bear it!” - -“Hush, Alice; you must not give way to such wild grief--the -excitement will be very bad for you.” - -“But what will Adam say? It will be a terrible blow; his heart was -so set upon the fulfilment of his hopes, and now----” - -A heart-broken wail completed the sentence as the pale, beautiful -woman, resting upon the snowy pillows of an old-fashioned canopied -bed, covered her face with her delicate hands and fell to sobbing -with a wild sorrow which shook her slight frame from head to foot. - -“Alice! Alice! don’t! Adam will come home to find that he has lost -both wife and child if you do not try to control yourself.” - -The latter speaker, a tall, muscular woman, with a kindly but -resolute face, which bespoke a strong character as well as a -tender heart, knelt beside the bed, and laid her cheek against -the colorless one upon the pillow with motherly tenderness and -sympathy. But her appealing words only seemed to increase the -violence of the invalid’s grief, and, with a look of anxiety -sweeping over her countenance, the woman arose, after a moment, -when, pouring a few drops from a bottle into a spoon, she briefly -informed her charge that it was time for her medicine. - -The younger woman meekly swallowed the potion, although her bosom -continued to heave with sobs, and tears still rained over her -hueless cheeks. - -Her companion sat down near her, an expression of patient endurance -on her face, and in the course of fifteen or twenty minutes she was -rewarded by seeing the invalid fall into a profound slumber. - -“Thank Heaven!” she muttered at last, with a sigh of relief, “there -will be an interval of rest, but I dread the awakening.” - -Miss Nancy Porter was a spinster, upward of forty, and one of those -stanch, reliable women who always seem like a bulwark of strength, -and equal to any emergency. - -She was, by profession, a trained nurse, having, many years -previous, served her time in the Massachusetts General Hospital, -of Boston, after which her experience was wide and varied, winning -for herself encomiums from both surgeons and physicians, and the -unbounded confidence of those who were fortunate enough to secure -her services in the sick-room. - -She had her own home in one of the suburban towns of Boston, where -she lived with her one trusty maid in a quiet, restful way, when -her services were not in demand elsewhere. - -It was into this peaceful home that her only sister had come, -about a month previous, to remain until the return of her husband, -who had been called abroad upon urgent business. - -Adam Brewster was a wealthy banker of New York City. - -He was several years older than sweet Alice Porter, whom he had met -and fallen in love with some two years previous, and who had been -his idolized wife for little more than twelve months. - -It had been a great trial that he could not take his dear one to -Europe with him; but her physician utterly prohibited such a trip -for the young wife, and thus she had gone to spend the interval -of her husband’s absence with her sister, in the home of her -childhood, and where a tiny little girl was born into the world, -only to breathe faintly for a few moments, and them slip away into -the great unknown. - -For hours after the birth and death of her little one, Alice -Brewster had lain in a state of unconsciousness, which caused the -heart of her faithful nurse and sister to quake with fear. - -But, when consciousness returned, and the youthful mother called -for her little one, and she was obliged to tell her that she was -childless, her heart almost failed her again, in view of the bitter -disappointment and violent sorrow which once more threatened to -snap the slender thread of life. - -She could only temporarily quell these outbursts of grief by -administering powerful narcotics to induce sleep and oblivion, with -the hope that calmness and resignation would come with returning -strength. - -On the afternoon of the third day the storm, which had prevented -the sending of a doctor, cleared, and about five o’clock Miss -Porter went down-stairs into the kitchen, where her servant was -quietly engaged with her domestic duties. - -“Sarah, I’m going to town to see Doctor Bowman,” she remarked, in -grave, subdued tones, an anxious expression in her mild, gray eyes. -“Mrs. Brewster is sleeping, but I want you to go up and sit by her -until I return, which won’t be very long, and if she wakes, give -her two teaspoonfuls of the medicine in the glass that is on the -mantel.” - -“Yes, marm,” responded Sarah, as she changed her calico apron for a -white one, preparatory to going up-stairs. - -“And--if any one comes in,” pursued Miss Porter thoughtfully, -“tell them nothing! you can simply say I am out, and Mrs. Brewster -is lying down. I don’t want any gossip started. I’ll tell my own -story.” - -“Yes, marm,” said Sarah again, and her mistress hurried away. - -She was just in time to catch the five-twenty express for town, -where she arrived just on the stroke of six, when she proceeded -directly to the waiting-room to leave her waterproof and umbrella -with the woman in charge, while she made a visit to her physician. - -She did not find her in the outer room, and so went on into the -ladies’ private siting-room, which she found to be empty, quite an -unusual occurrence, although doubtless the recent tempest was the -reason why so few people were abroad. - -At least Miss Porter thought the place was empty, until a faint -sound greeted her ear, when she started forward and peeped around -a corner, to find only an animated bundle wrapped in a gray shawl -lying upon the great square table standing there. - -“It’s a baby!” muttered Miss Porter in astonishment, “but where on -earth is the mother?” - -Prompted by both curiosity and interest, she went to the child, -and, parting the shawl, which was closely wrapped about it, -discovered an infant, which her practised eye told her could not be -over a week old, if, indeed, it had seen as many days as that. - -Her first thought was that the mother, or whoever had the child in -charge, had left it just for the moment sleeping upon the table; -then, suddenly, a terrible shock, which set every nerve in her body -quivering with a painful thrill, went through her as she caught -sight of a note that had been pinned to the fine flannel blanket -that was wrapped about the infant under the shawl. - -“Good heavens! it is an abandoned baby!” she breathed, as she -mechanically but tenderly gathered it into her strong arms and -tried to hush it upon her breast. - -Evidently, the child had been drugged, for it dropped off to sleep -almost immediately, and then Miss Porter, with trembling fingers -and two scarlet spots upon her cheeks, denoting great mental -excitement, detached the note from the blanket, and, opening it, -read: - - “Will some kind woman take this child, or see that it finds - a good home where it will be well reared? Nothing but direst - necessity compels her abandonment. She is well and honorably - born, and yet relentless fate makes her an outcast from her own - kindred. A peculiar-shaped golden key, in the form of a pin, is - fastened to her clothing--it is her only heritage. Will whoever - responds to this appeal insert in an early issue of the Boston - _Transcript_ under the head of personals, the following: ‘X. Y. - Z.--The golden key has unlocked a responsive heart,’ and relieve - the writer of this of a heavy burden?” - -“H’m!” ejaculated Miss Porter, as she refolded the note, and began -to look for the golden key. - -She found it pinned to the yoke of the child’s dainty dress--an -oddly fashioned trinket, the thumb-piece ornamented with a small -pansy, in the heart of which there flashed a tiny but flawless -diamond. - -“Well! for once I have had a genuine adventure in my plodding, -practical life!” the woman muttered to herself. “Everything about -this child shows that she was born of a wealthy mother--some rich -girl, maybe, whose good name was more to her than the life and -welfare of her own flesh and blood. Oh, dear, what a world it is! -Those who yearn for these little ones are deprived of them, while -there is no place, no love for others. It is a beautiful babe, -too,” she continued, bending over the little sleeper and noting -the soft, curling rings of glossy brown hair on the small head, -the delicate, regular features of the little face, and the dainty, -perfect hands that were folded on the gently heaving breast. “Poor -little waif! what shall I do with you?” she concluded, with a -long-drawn, regretful sigh. - -Then she sat suddenly erect, her face becoming almost as rigid as -that of a statue, while she scarcely seemed to breathe, so absorbed -had she become in her own startled reflections. - -“Nancy Porter, I wonder if you could manage it?--I wonder if you -dare do it?” she breathed at last, with lips in which there was not -an atom of color. “Alice would never survive another such tax upon -her delicate constitution; Adam Brewster would never be content -without an heir to his great fortune. Well, I’m going to try it, -and save her heart from breaking.” - -With a resolute gleam in her gray eyes, a settled purpose in every -line of her strong, honest face, she began to wrap the child in -the soft, warm shawl which she had partially removed, paying no -attention to the woman in charge--who at that moment came into the -room and began to busily brandish a great feather duster--although -she was uncomfortably conscious that she was being regarded with a -curious, questioning glance. - -But Miss Nancy Porter had run many a difficult gauntlet, and faced -many emergencies, during her checkered life, and her stanch heart -and brave front did not fail her now. - -Having arranged everything about her charge to her satisfaction, -she arose and deliberately walked from the room, passed out of the -nearest door of the one beyond, and, joining the hurrying crowd -that surging toward the outward-bound trains, without giving -another thought to the errand which had brought her to town, found -herself just in season to board a return local. - -She did not see in the car a person whom she knew; yet, knowing -that there might be acquaintances on the train, she decided to -leave it at a station two miles below her own town, and about a -mile and a half from her home, which was located between the two -villages. - -It was dark when she alighted, and it was with a deep sigh of -satisfaction that she slipped away in the gloom. - -She did not meet a single person on the way--it was a lonely road, -with only a few scattered farmhouses to be passed--and arrived -at her own door just as the old-fashioned clock of a previous -generation standing in the hall solemnly tolled off the hour of -eight. - -A glance in at the kitchen window as she passed had told her that -Sarah was still upstairs with her patient, and, passing softly -around to the front door, which she noiselessly opened with a -latchkey, she walked through the “best room” to the “parlor -bedroom,” where she laid her charge upon the bed, thankful for the -potency of the drug which still held its senses locked in slumber, -and glad to have her aching arms relieved of their burden. - -Then, closing both doors after her, she passed up-stairs to the -sick-room, removing her bonnet and wrap as she went, when she -dismissed Sarah to her interrupted work in the kitchen below, and -then sat down to rest and await the awakening of the frail sleeper -upon the bed. - -An hour later, Miss Porter suddenly appeared in her bright, -cheerful kitchen, bearing a beautiful babe in her arms, while a -tender expression seemed to have softened and illumined her usually -grave, almost austere face. - -“Goodness sakes, alive!” exclaimed Sarah, springing to her feet, -with a startled air, her wild eyes fastened upon the infant. - -“Hush!” said Miss Porter authoritatively. “Has any one been here -since I left home?” - -“Not a soul,” said the girl, but with still gaping eyes and mouth. - -“Good!” returned the mistress in a satisfied tone; “and now, Sarah, -you are to remember that a baby girl was born here on Monday night, -October 2. No one save you and I and Mrs. Brewster know of the fact -as yet; but I shall have it recorded to-morrow morning, when a -letter will also be mailed to Mr. Brewster, announcing that he has -a fine little daughter.” - -“But----” began Sarah, looking dazed and troubled. - -“There are no ‘buts,’ Sarah,” curtly interposed Miss Porter; -“the last forty-eight hours must become a blank; you are to know -nothing, except that on the second of this month my sister gave -birth to a beautiful little girl, and that both mother and child -are doing well. I am sure I can trust you,” concluded the woman, -looking the girl squarely in the eyes. - -“Yes, marm,” was the meek response, and Miss Porter knew that -torture would never elicit the wilful betrayal of her secret after -that promise was given. - -“That is right,” she said briskly, the stern lines of her face -relaxing again; “and now you may take the baby while I prepare some -milk for her.” - -The next day but one there appeared in the Boston _Transcript_ the -following paragraph: - - “X. Y. Z.--The golden key has unlocked a responsive heart.” - -Three weeks later a fair, sweet woman might have been seen driving -through the street of F---- in an elegant carriage, which, with -coachman and footman, had been ordered from New York, while by her -side there sat a buxom, good-natured nurse, with a thriving baby on -her lap. - -“What a lovely child!” was the tribute of every one who saw the -dainty, blue-eyed little girl, who now bore the name of Allison -Porter Brewster, and then wondered to see the grave, yearning look -that involuntarily came into the young mother’s eyes, even while -her lips smiled at the praise bestowed upon her darling. - -Meantime, messages of love and gratitude, together with costly -gifts, had come across the ocean from the happy father, who was all -impatience to return to his treasures. - -Another month passed, and the Brewsters were once more settled in -their elegant city home, where each succeeding week only served to -develop the charms of the little heiress and to endear her to the -hearts of her parents. - -Early the following spring Miss Nancy Porter’s faithful Sarah was -stricken with fever, which proved to be a long and tedious illness, -during which she raved continually about stolen children and some -dreadful secret which oppressed her. - -Miss Porter was unremitting in her care of the trusty girl; she -allowed no one to share her care of her, and when she died, in -spite of the best of nursing and medical attendance, the woman shed -sincere, regretful tears over her. - -“I suppose it had to be,” she said sorrowfully, on her return to -her lonely home after the burial. “Sarah was a good girl, and I’m -sorry to lose her; but”--with suddenly whitening lips--“there’s one -less in the world who knows that secret.” - -The number was again reduced when, a few months later, Nancy Porter -herself was laid to rest in the “Porter lot,” and the wife of Adam -Brewster was left to bear her burden alone. - -That it was an insupportable burden was revealed some three years -afterward, when, following a gradual decline, she laid it down, -after having written out a full confession of the deception of -which she had been guilty, and humbly begged her husband’s pardon -for having yielded to a temptation that had proved stronger than -her principles. - -This revelation Adam Brewster did not find until after she had -been in her grave many weeks, when he finally gathered courage to -examine a box which she had told him, with almost her last breath, -contained something of great importance. - -It came upon him with the force of a thunderbolt--he was almost -paralyzed with grief and dismay when he read his wife’s letter, -and found the proof of its contents in the articles of infant’s -clothing which she had preserved--in the note which she had pinned -upon the dress of the abandoned child, and the golden key, which -was her only heritage. - -It was a terrible blow! His darling--his idol, in whom all his -fondest hopes were centered--not his own child! It could not be -possible, for no father could so worship the offspring of another. - -The struggle between love, grief, disappointment, and indignation -was long and bitter; but love finally triumphed over all. - -“No one need ever know it,” he told himself, but with a twinge of -keenest pain in view of his own knowledge. “She is mine--I claim -her as my very own by the love I bear her; no one shall ever -suspect the truth--she shall never learn it, and thus I shall never -be in danger of losing her. I will destroy every evidence of the -fact, and then the secret will be buried in my own heart. And, ah, -me! forgive my dear lost wife for her deception I must, in view of -that other secret which I have withheld from her.” - -The man fully intended to destroy all evidence that Allison Porter -was not his own child, but, thinking that he might wish to examine -the contents of the box more carefully in a few days--after he had -recovered somewhat from the shock he had received--he put it away, -with some jewels belonging to his wife, in a secret compartment in -the vault in his bank, where, amid the press of business and of -many cares, it was forgotten; or, if not forgotten, neglected for -many years. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -SIXTEEN YEARS AFTER. - - -“Papa! papa! Where is my father?” - -The speaker was a charming young girl, of about sixteen years, who -came one morning tripping into the cool, private office of Adam -Brewster. - -Without, the day was hot and sultry, but Miss Allison Brewster -might have just emerged from some shady sylvan retreat, to judge -from her fresh, dainty appearance as she paused in an exquisite -pose, upon the threshold of the doorway, which made her seem, for -the moment, a beautiful picture painted by a master hand. - -She was clad in a fine, crisp lawn, sprigged with forget-me-nots, -and trimmed with delicate lace and fetching knots of blue ribbon, -all of which was just suited to her flawless pink-and-white -complexion, her sapphire eyes, and the gleaming gold of her -abundant hair. Her pretty head was crowned with a broad-brimmed -hat of white chip, whereon nodded and swayed, with every graceful -movement of the little lady, three costly white ostrich-plumes, -which were fastened in place by the same number of pale, pink roses -and a broad band of rich satin ribbon. - -But Adam Brewster was not in. The only occupant of the place was -the office boy--Gerald Winchester--who was seated behind a tall -desk, engaged in copying some letters for his employer. - -He was, perhaps, nineteen years of age, and rather boyish in -appearance, but with a face “to swear by,” with its clear, -steadfast, honest eyes, its clean-cut features, its frank, genial -smile, and yet possessing certain lines and characteristics which -bespoke high moral principles and great strength of purpose. - -He sprang to his feet at the sound of that eager voice calling -“papa,” a quick flush leaping into his cheeks, an intense, peculiar -light into his eyes, and, approaching the young girl, with a -courteous bow, observed in a quiet tone of respect: - -“Mr. Brewster went out a few moments ago. Can I do anything for -you, Al--Miss Brewster?” - -A look of astonishment swept over the fair maiden’s face, and for -an instant she made no reply. Then her ruby lips parted and a peal -of silvery laughter rang through the room, while her vivacious face -dimpled and gleamed with irrepressible merriment. - -“‘Miss Brewster!’” she repeated, with a saucy toss of her head, -that set every spotless plume upon her hat nodding a playful -reproof at her companion for his unprecedented formality; for they -had known each other for years, and, hitherto, had always addressed -each other by their Christian names. “Why, Gerald; how formal! -Since when have you become so strictly ceremonious?” - -“Since Mr. Brewster announced a day or two ago, when some one spoke -of you by your given name, that hereafter you were to be addressed -as Miss Brewster,” the young man responded, flushing slightly, -although a smile of sympathetic amusement curled his own expressive -lips. - -“Did papa say that?” questioned Allison, with a shrug of her -graceful shoulders. “What nonsense! Why, I have been running in and -out of the bank ever since I was able to walk, and it seems absurd -putting on such airs, when everybody knows me so well.” - -“Still, you are a young lady now, and it does seem a trifle -familiar to address you as if you were only a child,” Gerald -thoughtfully observed. - -Allison stood considering the matter for a moment; then she gravely -remarked: - -“I say, Gerald, I shall not mind the change very much from the -others; but,” with an independent toss of her pretty head, “I won’t -be ‘Miss Brewster’ to you.” - -Gerald shot a quick, bright glance at the speaker. - -“Thank you--I am sure I appreciate this mark of your esteem,” he -said, in tones that were a trifle tremulous, “but,” a roguish -twinkle in his fine, dark eyes, “how about obeying orders from -one’s chief?” - -“Well, perhaps you’ll have to do as papa wishes, when you are -here with the other clerks; but, Gerald”--appealingly, yet -half-defiantly--“when--when we are by ourselves, I--just won’t -stand it; it will spoil all our nice times, and make us too stiff -and prim for anything. Do you want me to call you Mr. Winchester?” - -“I am sure I do not,” he answered, laughing at her injured air. - -“Well, but I shall--if you go to playing at formality with -me”--this with a charming little pout as she threw herself into a -chair, seized a fan from the desk near her, and began to sway it -back and forth with piquant grace, while her companion watched her -with admiring interest. - -“I am sorry papa is out,” she resumed, after a minute, and -apparently regarding the other topic as settled, “for I want some -money. I suppose I can have everything charged, but I do so enjoy -having a lot of nice, fresh, crisp bills in my own hands to pay for -what I buy. Will he be in soon, do you think?” - -“I am sure I cannot tell,” replied the young man, glancing at the -clock, then back, with an expression of yearning tenderness, to the -graceful figure in the chair opposite him. - -His color came and went, and his heart was beating heavily with an -emotion which he was striving to conceal, for he feared that it -would never do to betray to his proud employer’s daughter that he -had dared to love her with all the strength of his intensely strong -nature. - -At least, he would not presume to betray his secret for a long -while yet; perhaps, if fortune’s wheel should some time turn in -his favor, he might dare to confess his affection for the lovely -heiress, provided she remained the sweet and unaffected girl she -had always hitherto been. - -Gerald Winchester was no ordinary young man. - -Confided to the care of an aunt, Miss Honor Winchester--almost from -the hour of his birth, shortly after which his mother had died--he -had been reared in very limited circumstances, although Miss -Winchester was a well-educated and cultivated woman, and had given -him careful training, both morally and intellectually. - -She had a small annuity, which, as the boy grew older, she found -insufficient for their mutual needs, and, desirous of doing her -utmost for her charge, she resolved to leave the small town in -Rhode Island, which for many years had been her home, and go to -New York, where she hoped to get something to do to increase her -slender income. - -The move was made, and Miss Winchester, being an attractive, -sensible woman, found plenty of work as seamstress in wealthy -families; thus she was enabled to send Gerald to school until he -was fourteen years of age, and had entered the second year of the -high-school course. - -But, one morning, the lad had found his best, and almost only -friend, lying cold and still in her bed. She had died of -heart-disease during the night, and thus he was left alone and -destitute in the world, for the woman’s annuity ceased with her -life. - -The boy broke up their home, where they had been so quietly happy -and comfortable for several years, selling off all their furniture, -with the exception of an old-fashioned cricket, which his aunt had, -upon one or two occasions, charged him never to part with, since it -was a precious heirloom, having been brought from England during -the reign of Queen Elizabeth by a remote ancestor. - -It was a queer-looking, rather clumsy affair, of solid mahogany, -having claw feet tipped with brass, its surface upholstered with -some bright, silk patchwork, which Miss Winchester had made to -replace a former defaced covering. - -Gerald had almost a mind to let the thing go with the other -household goods, in spite of his aunt’s wish, for he felt that it -would never be anything but a burden to him; but he finally stowed -it away in the bottom of a trunk, which contained all he possessed -in the world, and removing to a small, cheap room, started forth to -seek a situation where he could earn his own living. - -At first he was cash-boy in one of the large stores of the city; -later he was office boy for an eminent physician, and finally -drifted into Adam Brewster’s banking-house, where he had remained -until now, working slowly and steadily upward, gaining his -employer’s confidence and favor, until he had proved himself so -capable, trustworthy, and faithful that the man regarded him almost -in the light of a confidential clerk. - -From time to time the banker, pitying his homeless and friendless -condition, had invited him to his own home, where he had spent many -a delightful hour with Allison, who, from the first, had conceived -a strong friendship for the handsome, manly fellow. - -For a long time Mr. Brewster did not once think that any serious -result would be likely to follow this “boy-and-girl acquaintance.” -Allison, his idolized daughter, was happy to have Gerald come to -tea; to drive with her in the park on Saturday afternoons or -holidays; to have him to dinner with them now and then on Sundays, -and he was ever indulgent to her lightest wish. - -But of late--during the last five or six months--he had suddenly -awakened to the fear that there might be danger ahead if these -relations were continued. - -He had become very fond of Gerald--he knew him to be a noble, -whole-hearted, high-principled fellow; but he was not to be -considered, for a moment, as a possible son-in-law. No struggling, -plodding clerk who had his fortune to make by his own unaided -efforts would be a suitable mate for the banker’s heiress, whose -million, or more, in prospect, must be matched by at least an equal -amount and a position as enviable and secure as her own. - -So, during the last half-year, Gerald had received no invitations -to the banker’s princely home--there was always some excuse of -extra office work or special and important errands whenever Allison -proposed his coming, and thus she saw him only when, occasionally, -she slipped into the bank upon some pretense. This was the first -time for months that they had been alone in each other’s presence, -and Allison, making the most of her opportunity, gave herself up to -the pleasure of the moment, and chatted, girllike, of anything and -everything that came into her pretty head. - -Gerald, also, thawing out beneath her sunny influence, dropped the -formality which he had assumed upon her entrance, and, during the -half-hour that followed, feasted his heart upon her beauty and the -charm of her companionship. - -Into this little banquet of love there suddenly intruded a man of -perhaps thirty-five years--a tall, gaunt figure, with a slight -stoop in his shoulders, but faultlessly attired. His face was thin, -and absolutely colorless, save for the faint tinge of red in his -lips and the cold blue of his eyes, which contrasted strangely with -the intense black of his hair and mustache. - -His eyes lighted with sudden fire as they fell upon the dainty -figure and bright beauty of Allison Brewster. - -“Ah, good morning, Miss Allison,” he remarked, in bland, oily -tones, his thin lips relaxing into a smile that revealed a ghastly -row of dead-white teeth beneath the black mustache. “This is an -unexpected pleasure. I do not need to inquire if you are well--your -blooming appearance speaks for itself.” - -“Yes, thank you, I am well,” the girl quietly replied, but without -bestowing a second glance upon him. - -The man then turned to Gerald, a vicious smile just curling the -corners of his mouth. - -“Ahem! Winchester, here is a message that must go immediately to -the Second National Bank.” - -“Is it imperative?” Gerald questioned. - -“Yes; it must go at once.” - -“I am sorry, Mr. Hubbard, but Mr. Brewster is out, and, as you -know, I am not allowed to leave the office during his absence,” the -young man replied. - -Mr. Hubbard frowned, and then his gaze wandered again to Allison, -with an eager look. - -“Yes, I know that is the rule,” he said, “but you will have -to break it for once. The bank closes at twelve to-day, being -Saturday, and the message must be delivered before that. Miss -Brewster will doubtless excuse you,” he added, with the suspicion -of a sneer, “and I will entertain her during your absence, or until -Mr. Brewster returns.” - -Gerald glanced at the clock, and a troubled expression flitted over -his face, but after another moment of thought, he said quietly but -firmly: - -“I would like to oblige you, Mr. Hubbard, but Mr. Brewster’s orders -to me are imperative. I can, under no circumstances, leave the -office during his absence.” - -“But I tell you this is an unusual case,” said the man impatiently; -“there is no messenger in just now--we are very busy to-day, and -you will have to go.” - -“It is impossible--I cannot leave my post without orders direct -from Mr. Brewster,” Gerald responded, an unmistakable note of -determination in his tones; “you will have to ask one of the clerks -in the other room to take the message.” - -John Hubbard turned sharply upon his heel, muttering something -under his breath, and abruptly left the room. - -Allison suddenly threw down her fan and shrugged her shapely -shoulders. - -“Ugh!” she said, shivering slightly. “I don’t need that any -more--I always get a chill whenever that man comes near me.” - -Gerald smiled, yet he looked somewhat disconcerted, for, of late, -he had been conscious of a growing barrier between himself and this -strangely clever man, who was an expert accountant, a talented -lawyer, a director of the bank, and one at whose touch everything -seemed to turn into gold. - -“But Mr. Hubbard is very valuable to Mr. Brewster and the bank,” -he said, in reply to Allison’s remark; “he inspects all accounts, -manages all law business, and has recently been made one of the -directors of the bank.” - -“Is that so?” queried the young girl, with some surprise. - -“Yes; he owns quite a good deal of stock.” - -But Allison Brewster was not much interested to know who owned -stock in the bank; business had little attraction for her beyond -its results, which, of course, were a necessary factor in her life, -while John Hubbard and his affairs were of no moment whatever to -her. - -“Gerald!” she exclaimed, after a moment, and abruptly changing the -subject, “I almost forgot a part of my errand here. Papa is going -to let me give a lawn-party before we go to Newport--and I am going -to send out my invitations for two weeks from to-day--I set it for -Saturday because you are at liberty so much earlier on that day. -Will you come?” - -Gerald’s eyes glowed, and the color mounted to his temples at this -evidence of her thought for him. His voice thrilled with repressed -emotion as he replied: - -“That was certainly very kind of you, Al--Miss----” - -“Take care, Gerald!” suddenly interposed the fair girl, as she -raised a finger menacingly at him. “I will not be ‘missed’ by -you--at least”--with a gleam of roguishness in her dancing -eyes--“until I am gone for the summer, and then you may miss me as -much as you like. See?” - -And, detaching one of the three beautiful pink rosebuds from her -corsage, she playfully tossed it at him, and with such unerring aim -that it brushed his cheek with its fragrant petals, and then lodged -upon his shoulder. Gerald captured it with a hand that tingled in -every nerve. - -“Yes, Allison, I see,” he said, smiling into the piquant face. -“Thanks for this souvenir--I never saw anything more lovely.” - -But he was not looking at the rose as he spoke--he was gazing -straight into the blue eyes of beautiful Allison Brewster. - -“Now will you promise to come to my party?” she asked, rising to go. - -“Yes, if----” - -“‘If!’” she repeated sharply, a quick flush mantling her face. - -“If there is no extra work to be done and I can get off,” he -explained. - -“Of course you can get off on Saturday afternoon,” said the -girl impatiently; then added appealingly: “Gerald, you must -come--it will just spoil the whole thing for me if you do not. -Now, good-by--tell papa I could not wait any longer. I have an -appointment with my dressmaker at one, and I have a lot of shopping -to do before that.” - -And nodding a smiling adieu to Gerald, she tripped away, while -the young man turned to a window and watched her out of sight, a -tremulous smile upon his lips, a tender gleam in his handsome brown -eyes. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -“WHATEVER STANDS IN MY PATH!” - - -“Did she really mean it, I wonder? Would it spoil her party for -her if I should not go?” mused Gerald Winchester, as the daintily -ruffled skirts of Allison Brewster disappeared around a corner and -his glance shifted to the lovely rosebud which he still held, “or -is it just her sweet, impulsive way of saying pleasant things to -make one feel comfortable and happy?” - -As he concluded this soliloquy, he raised the bud to his lips and -bestowed a light caress upon it. - -At the same instant a step behind him caused him to turn suddenly, -to find himself again confronted by the sneering face of Mr. John -Hubbard. - -“Very pretty! very interesting, truly; but rather a dangerous -sentiment, and presumptuous, as well, for a boy to indulge in, with -only fifteen dollars a week,” the man sarcastically observed. - -Then without giving Gerald time to reply, had he been so disposed, -he added sharply: - -“Have you copied those papers relating to the Wynn estate?” - -“Yes, I have just finished them,” the young man returned, as he -took a package from his desk and passed it to his companion, who -observed that his hand was trembling and that he had grown very -white about the mouth, while there was a gleam of fire in his eyes -which betrayed that he was not lacking in spirit, although he was -able to hold it under perfect control. - -As John Hubbard took the papers he managed to brush to the floor -the rosebud which Gerald had laid upon the desk. - -“Take care, please,” said the young man, and stooping eagerly to -recover his treasure. - -But he was not quick enough, for the other ruthlessly set his foot -upon it, crushing it flat and destroying all its beauty. - -For a minute the boy and the man stood looking straight into each -other’s eyes, their faces as colorless as the collars about their -necks. - -“That is typical of what happens to everything that stands in my -way; so beware! young beggar, that you do not covet what is beyond -your reach,” said John Hubbard menacingly. - -Gerald Winchester’s hands were clenched so fiercely that the nail -of every finger turned purple; but his bearing was that of a hero -who could face a cannon’s mouth and never flinch. - -Presently he drew in a long, deep breath, his hands relaxed; then -he said, as quietly as if he were making the most commonplace -observation imaginable: - -“Nothing is unattainable, Mr. Hubbard, to him who is determined to -win.” - -“Aha! say you so? You speak with the impulse and inexperience of -youth; but, look there, and--be warned,” sneered his companion, as, -lifting his foot he made a gesture indicating the mutilated bud. - -Then turning abruptly, he left the office, while Gerald, with a -ghastly face and trembling hands, stooped to recover the ruined -flower. - -He tenderly gathered up every discolored leaf and petal, arranging -them neatly upon a sheet of blank paper, which he carefully folded -and placed within an envelope. - -“It shall be my mascot,” he muttered, with a determined gleam in -his eyes, as he put it in an inside pocket of his vest, “and as -sure as I live, Mr. John Hubbard, you will find me no mean rival. I -will yet stand where I can ask for what I want and not be accused -of being a fortune-hunter, either.” - -Mr. Brewster came in, a few minutes later, and Gerald’s thoughts -were turned into other channels, although throughout the day he was -never for a moment unconscious of that bruised and discolored bud -which lay so near his heart. - -Two weeks slipped rapidly by, and the day set for Allison -Brewster’s lawn-party dawned clear and beautiful. - -Gerald had, meantime, received by mail a formal card of invitation -with the words “Come early” delicately penciled in one corner, and -he had been looking eagerly forward to the occasion, although he -said nothing to any one of his intention to be present. - -In his heart he knew that Mr. Brewster, in spite of his own -fondness for him, would not approve of the existence of any -tender relations between him and his peerless daughter, and he -greatly feared, should he intimate that he had been bidden to the -approaching festival, that some extra work would be forthcoming to -keep him away. - -While he would not wilfully betray the confidence of his employer, -he, at the same time, believed that he had a perfect right to love -Allison, since, morally and intellectually, he was her equal, if -not her superior; while he felt sure, so sanguine is youth, that -he would eventually work his way up to a position no less enviable -than hers--both socially and financially. - -“I will take no unfair advantage,” he said to himself, “but I will -make the most of my opportunities; and, if by and by, Allison -should respond to my affection, I will claim her right to act for -herself, and my right to abide by her choice, and”--with a flash of -fire in his dark eyes--“I am no fragile bud to be crushed by the -heel of any man’s boot.” - -Having settled matters thus in his own mind, Gerald looked eagerly -forward to the fulfilment of his promise to Allison. - -On Saturday morning, however, John Hubbard presented himself before -Mr. Brewster--Gerald being out on some errand--and stated that a -matter of importance in Jersey City needed prompt attention, and it -would be necessary to despatch some trustworthy person to deliver -certain valuable documents into the hands of the party whom they -most concerned. - -“I would go myself,” said the wily expert and confidential lawyer, -“but I have to prepare for that case that is coming off on Monday, -and I cannot attend to both matters.” - -“Very well, send whom you like to Jersey,” said the banker briefly. - -“I think perhaps that Winchester might go--that is, if you can -spare him; he is reliable and as prompt as the clock,” said the -crafty schemer, who, for two weeks, had borne this thing in mind -for the very purpose of keeping Gerald from the lawn-party. - -“Yes, I can spare him,” replied Mr. Brewster, “and you are -right--Gerald is as true as steel, and can be trusted with any -commission.” - -John Hubbard’s white teeth gleamed for a moment beneath his -mustache in a sinister smile at this high tribute to the young man; -then remarking that he would make up the package, he disappeared -from the room, chuckling to himself as he went. - -A half hour later he took the parcel to Gerald, who with difficulty -concealed his disappointment when he was told what was required of -him, for he knew that it would be utterly impossible for him to go -to Jersey City to perform his errand and return in season to keep -his promise to Allison; at least, it would be evening before he -could reach Yonkers, where Mr. Brewster’s country home was located, -and the party would be over by that time. - -He felt very sure from the mocking gleam in his eye as he handed -the paper to him, that John Hubbard had cunningly contrived this -strategy for the express purpose of making him miss the pleasure he -was anticipating. But he must obey orders, and he departed upon his -mission without a word of protest. - -He first made his way to a florist’s, however, to order a dainty -basket of forget-me-nots sent by express to Allison, inserting in -the box with them a card upon which he hastily wrote the following: - - “New York, 11 A. M.--I am at this moment unexpectedly sent out - of town upon important business, and so cannot go to Y., as I - promised. Am very sorry, but my offering will prove that I am not - unmindful of the occasion. G. W.” - -Having seen his tribute despatched, Gerald went on his way with -what grace he could muster, although a feeling of bitterness -against the marplot of his pleasure rankled sorely in his heart. - -“What can it matter to him whether I am fond of Allison or not?” he -mused, as he boarded a car for the ferry. “He is a man twice her -age, and he cannot be so deluded as to think that she would ever -marry him. It would be monstrous,” and a mocking laugh broke from -him at the thought and the remembrance of what Allison had said -about “getting a chill,” whenever John Hubbard came near her. - -Nevertheless, at that very moment John Hubbard was seated in the -private office of Adam Brewster, making a formal proposal for the -hand of the banker’s daughter. - -“You know I am a man of few words,” he remarked, coming to the -point at once, as he took the chair his employer indicated, “and -so I am here to confess to you, Mr. Brewster, that I love your -daughter and to ask your permission to win her for my wife.” - -The banker regarded the man in speechless astonishment as he -paused, after making the above startling declaration. It was a full -minute before he could recover himself sufficiently to reply. - -“You want to marry _my_ daughter!” he at last burst forth, with -unconscious emphasis upon the pronoun. “Good Heaven! she is only a -child!” - -“I know that she is very young, sir, and, of course, I do not -expect your sanction to a union under two or three years,” John -Hubbard returned, shooting a searching look at his companion -from his crafty eyes. “I simply want your consent to such an -arrangement, and your influence in my favor with Miss Allison----” - -“But----” began Mr. Brewster, with white lips and an evident effort -at self-control. - -“Believe me,” interposed his companion. “I appreciate your -affectionate desires for her, and realize that you aspire to an -assured position for her; but I believe I can realize even your -most extravagant wishes for her in that respect. You know something -of my circumstances, Mr. Brewster, but I have to tell you that -my interest in this bank, my estates in New Jersey and Virginia -are but a small part of my wealth. Let me ask you to examine this -memoranda, and then possibly you will realize that my offer is not -one to be despised,” said John Hubbard, as he took a small book -from his pocket and passed it to his companion. - -Mr. Brewster took it mechanically and silently examined the pages -for several minutes, his face growing strangely grave and rigid as -he did so. - -Finally he lifted his glance to the expert’s face. - -“John, I had no idea you were so rich a man,” he observed. - -“Will I do for a son-in-law?” queried the man flippantly, and with -a little smile of triumph. - -“That is a difficult question to answer,” said Mr. Brewster, -flushing a deep crimson with the effort he made to restrain his -impulse to kick the man from his presence for his vulgarity and -presumption, for, clever as he had become as a business man, he was -possessed of no natural refinement, and the banker would far rather -have seen Allison immured in a convent than the wife of such a man, -useful as he was in certain ways. - -“Why is it a difficult question?” sharply demanded the would-be -suitor. - -“Well, first and foremost, Allison is far too young to have any -matrimonial ideas instilled into her mind; she has two years yet to -go to school----” - -“I told you I would wait--I expected to wait,” interposed John -Hubbard impatiently, and with a fiery gleam in his eyes. “I have -already waited and toiled years, with this one hope in view--for -I have loved the child ever since she was a little girl--strange -as it may seem--and a few years more will not matter so very much, -provided I have your consent and influence to back me. Meantime, -I shall be growing richer,” he concluded, as if that were the one -inducement to be considered. - -“But Allison’s wishes must be considered,” said the banker, a -trifle nervously. He could not bind himself to sell his darling, -and yet he knew that this man would make a dangerous foe; there -were certain reasons why he did not wish to excite his enmity. “At -least,” he added, “I cannot force her affections--she must choose -her own husband.” - -“Ah! do you intend to allow her to do that? Suppose she should love -and choose a poor man--a common clerk, for instance, with a mere -pittance?” and the expert’s eyes gleamed maliciously. - -“Humph! Ah! well--I don’t think I could quite agree to that,” -coldly responded the banker. “The man who marries Allison must at -least be able to match her fortune dollar for dollar.” - -“I can very nearly do that now.” - -“I see you can, John, and I own that you have been very clever--far -more clever than I gave you credit for being. I cannot quite -understand it. I am greatly surprised and--and, of course, -am--ahem!--honored by your proposal----” - -“Then be kind enough to give me some definite answer,” bluntly -interposed Mr. Hubbard. - -“Really, John, you must give me time--this has come upon me so -unexpectedly, I am wholly unprepared to pledge myself to anything,” -Mr. Brewster replied thoughtfully, and beginning to recover -something of his habitual dignity. - -“Very well, take time; but, meantime, give me a chance. By the way, -I believe you have a lawn-party, or something of the kind, out at -Lakeview to-day, do you not?” - -Again Adam Brewster flushed, and he longed to show his companion -the door and tell him never to come into his presence again; but, -as previously intimated, there were reasons why he dared not offend -him. - -So, restraining his anger, he called a smile to his lips and -blandly responded: - -“Yes, my daughter is going to entertain some of her friends this -afternoon; it will be rather a juvenile affair; but perhaps you -would enjoy seeing the young folks amuse themselves; if so, come -home with me and look on for a while.” - -“Thank you, I shall be happy to do so,” promptly returned John -Hubbard, with a vicious gleam of his ghastly teeth. - -And thus it happened that just as Allison Brewster came downstairs -to receive her first guests she was confronted by “the man who -always gave her a chill,” and who now drove all the brightness from -her face, and made her feel that her party was doubly spoiled by -his presence and Gerald’s absence. - -“Why couldn’t papa have sent him, instead of Gerald, on that errand -rather than bring him here, where he isn’t wanted?” she said to -herself, with a feeling of resentment. - -But she was a well-bred little lady, and, bowing courteously to -her self-invited guest, she thanked him politely for the bouquet -of magnificent roses with which he presented her, but which she -quietly handed to a servant, charging her to put them in water, -and--never thought of them again. - -But upon her breast--nestling among the cascade of filmy lace that -trimmed her spotless dress of India lawn--there was a lovely -cluster of forget-me-nots, which, with a thrill of delight--in -spite of her disappointment at his enforced absence--she had culled -from Gerald’s dainty basket, which was now standing upon the -dressing-case in her room, to gladden no eyes but her own. - -Almost unconsciously her hand fluttered caressingly among the -delicate blossoms, even while she stood talking with John Hubbard; -then, all at once, glancing out upon the lawn, she gave a little -cry of joyous surprise and sprang forward to meet--Gerald himself! - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -LOVE SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. - - -The fair girl was as unaffected and as ingenuous as nature itself. -She was heartily glad to see Gerald, she knew of no reason why -she should not give free expression to her joy, and the flush of -delighted surprise that overspread her lovely face, the welcoming -light which shone in her beautiful eyes, sent a thrill of ecstasy -through Gerald’s heart, while they at the same time caused a frown -of annoyance and hate to settle upon John Hubbard’s brow. - -Mr. Brewster was also an interested observer of Allison’s greeting -of his young clerk, and he congratulated himself that they were -so soon going to Newport, where the gaieties of the season, the -mingling with companions in her own sphere of life, would crowd -this “handsome young beggar” out of her mind. - -“I am so glad that you could manage to come, after all,” Allison -said, with earnest sincerity. “I was so disappointed when I -received your note saying you had to go out of town. And now I want -you to act as captain of the swanboat on the lake; you understand -it perfectly, and I shall feel safer with you at the helm than with -any one else.” - -But before Gerald could reply, John Hubbard stepped forward and -inquired, in a sharp, curt tone: - -“How is this, young man? You surely have not had time to attend to -the business upon which you were sent, and it was far too important -to be entrusted to a common messenger.” - -Gerald flushed hotly, more at the man’s tone and insolent bearing -than at his words, but he had learned to hold himself well in hand. - -“I was about to explain to Mr. Brewster,” he quietly remarked, -as he turned to that gentleman without replying to the expert’s -inquiry. “The package is perfectly safe, sir,” he continued, -addressing his employer; “I delivered it into Mr. Bartlett’s own -hands, according to your instructions. I had just reached the ferry -when I met him coming off the boat, and so was not obliged to cross -to Jersey City. Here is a message, acknowledging the safe delivery -of the papers.” - -As he concluded, he passed to Mr. Brewster a slip of paper, which -was evidently a leaf that had been torn from a note-book, and upon -which there had been penciled a few lines. - -“It is all right, Gerald,” Mr. Brewster responded, as he read them, -“and you were fortunate to meet Mr. Bartlett. If you had gone to -Jersey City, you would have missed him and might have had to wait -many hours before you could have obeyed the charge to deliver the -papers into his own hands. And now I think, as Al--Miss Brewster -suggests, you will be just the one to manage the boat for the -company,” the banker concluded, in a tone that brought a quick -flush to the young man’s cheek; for it seemed to imply that he was -not regarded as an invited guest, but, rather, as a part of the -machinery necessary to contribute to the pleasure of the company in -general. - -John Hubbard’s lips curled in an aggravating sneer, showing that he -thoroughly appreciated the situation, and this did not tend to make -Gerald’s mortification any the easier to bear. - -But Allison came bravely to the rescue, and her blue eyes flashed -angry defiance upon both gentlemen, while she tossed back her -golden head with an independent air that spoke volumes. - -“But, Gerald,” she said eagerly, as she moved nearer to him, “the -boat is not to be used at present, there is to be an archery -contest first, and the guests are already getting ready to dance -under the pavilion. Here is my card. I want you to put your name -down for the waltz-galop, and the military schottische; yes, and -the minuet, too--you always do them so nicely with me. That’s -it. Now, come, I want to introduce you to Annie, Cousin Charlie -Manning’s wife, who is here to matronize the affair, and she has -just the dearest little girl you ever saw--one of those Dresden -china children that sets everybody wild. Good-by,” she added -carelessly, and nodding over her shoulder at the two gentlemen as -she slipped her hand within Gerald’s arm to lead him away. “I hope -you will enjoy looking on at the fun.” - -And with that she hurried her companion forward to a tall, -graceful lady, who stood under a neighboring tree, and to whom she -introduced him with as much ceremony as if he had been the son of -a millionaire. - -“Humph! your daughter appears to be exceedingly fond of your office -boy, and vice versa,” John Hubbard observed, with an ugly frown, as -he glowered after the youthful pair; “it might be wise for you to -nip such a tendency in the bud.” - -“Pooh! it is only a boy-and-girl fancy that doesn’t amount to -anything,” the banker responded lightly, but with an uneasy gleam -in his eyes. - -“These boy-and-girl fancies sometimes prove to be the most lasting -and dangerous,” his companion retorted, with a sullen air, as he -turned to a rustic seat, where he could command a view of all that -was occurring upon the lawn. - -Meantime Allison was trying to obliterate the remembrance of the -wound which her lover had received from her father. - -“Oh, Gerald! I was so disappointed when your note came,” she -exclaimed, with a heartiness which betrayed her sincerity, “but it -was just lovely of you to send these,” with a shy glance at the -bouquet pinned to her corsage, “and, you see, since I thought I -could not have you here, I tried to console myself by wearing your -flowers.” - -“You honor me, Allison,” said the young man, his tones thrilling -with emotion. - -“Ah! but there was an element of selfishness about it,” she -replied, with a saucy smile, “for I am very, very fond of these -dear little forget-me-nots.” - -“Yes, I know you are,” said her companion, looking fondly into the -lovely, uplifted eyes, and wondering which were the bluer--they or -the flowers. - -“How fortunate it was that you met that Mr. Bartlett,” Allison -continued, in a satisfied tone; “you were in luck, and now we will -have just as good a time as we can. Oh, dear, I wish we were not -going to Newport on Monday,” she concluded, with a regretful sigh. - -“Why! I have always supposed that you have very gay times at -Newport,” Gerald observed, with surprise. - -“Yes, we do--too gay, and that is just the reason I don’t like it. -Everything is so forced--everybody trying to outdo everybody else, -just to gratify their vanity and be conspicuous. There isn’t any -heart in it--it is all a sort of ‘Vanity Fair’ parade; no matter -where you go, you are scrutinized to see if your sleeves are of -the latest cut; if your skirts have the right number of gores and -measure the correct number of yards; if the crown of your hat is -too high or too low, or if you carry the same parasols you had -last year. I do like new and pretty things, but I don’t like to be -measured and dissected wherever I go, and the probable condition of -Adam Brewster’s finances judged accordingly.” - -Gerald laughed. - -“I think it must be only women who are so well versed in such -analytical processes. I am sure the other sex are always impressed -by the general effect--the tout ensemble,” he said, as he ran an -admiring eye over the dainty figure beside him, and thinking he had -never seen Allison more lovely than she appeared at that moment. - -She was clad in the finest of India lawn, trimmed with yards -and yards of beautiful Valenciennes lace. A rich, white, satin -ribbon girdled her waist and floated to the hem of her dress, and -costly white kid boots incased her small, shapely feet. The only -dash of color about her was the gleaming gold of her hair and the -forget-me-nots upon her bosom. - -“I reckon you are right, Gerald,” she gravely replied, “the men -are more kind and sensible in their judgment. If one is tastefully -dressed, and looks pretty, the cost and style do not matter so -much. Ah! here is Gladys,” she interposed, as a lovely child came -running to meet her. “Now, isn’t she sweet?” - -Gerald paused to talk to the little one for a few moments, and then -the young couple hurried away to the pavilion, where they were soon -whirling among the gay dancers and conscious only of the joy of -being in each other’s presence. - -It was an ideal afternoon to them both, although it meant a great -deal more to Gerald than to Allison, for she was just at an age to -enjoy a good time for the good time’s sake; she was standing where - - “The brook and river meet,” - -and had not yet awakened to the fact of a line of demarcation. - -She was conscious of being very fond of her young friend, of -realizing that he was more congenial to her than other gentlemen of -her acquaintance, but had never paused to ask the reason why. The -sacred depths of her woman’s nature had never yet been sounded, as -her ingenuous manner betrayed. - -The two men who watched the girl from a distance, noting her every -look and gesture, realized that it would need but a word or a -breath to arouse the latent fire of a deep and absorbing love, and -settle her fate for all time. - -Both saw the danger and secretly vowed that it must and should -be avoided in the future. Adam Brewster told himself that, after -to-day, Allison and Gerald should not meet again, at least, until -the former was the promised wife of another; while John Hubbard -swore far more radical measures--swore that Gerald Winchester -should be crushed--ruined; that he should be so compromised as -to character and reputation that he would never dare to declare -his love for Allison Brewster, or that, in the event of such a -betrayal, she would spurn him from her with contempt. - -The lawn-party appeared to be a grand success. Everybody seemed to -enter into the spirit of the occasion with a zest and heartiness -that bespoke real enjoyment. Allison had taken pains to introduce -Gerald very generally to her friends, to whom he was so attentive -and kind that he soon became an acknowledged favorite, a coveted -partner and cavalier, and the fair little hostess was secretly very -proud of him. - -After a bounteous repast had been served in another pavilion, -erected for that purpose, a party was formed for a row upon the -lake, Gerald heading the company as “captain.” - -The boat was a handsome and commodious affair shaped like a swan, -and gaily canopied with red-and-white bunting. A couple of men had -been hired to do the rowing, while Gerald managed the rudder. - -Everything went well until the last party were returning. A short -way out in the lake an artificial island had been made. Upon this -there was a charming little grotto and fountain, and an arched -rustic bridge spanned the water between this pretty spot and the -mainland. - -Just as the boat, with its merry company, was about to pass beneath -the bridge, a sweet little voice from above called out gaily: - -“Hurrah! Allison, hurrah! See! I’ve got a pretty flag!” - -Allison, who was seated in the stern of the boat, beside Gerald, -glanced up at the sound, to see little Gladys Manning leaning far -out through one of the spaces of the bridge above. For once she had -escaped the watchful eyes of her mother, and had run out upon the -bridge “to see the pretty bird swim on the water.” Some one had -given her a little silken flag, and this she was now waving merrily -at Allison. - -“Take care, Gladys! Back! back!” cried Allison, almost breathless -from fear as the boat shot under the arch, and the child leaned out -farther to watch it. - -But she spoke too late, for already the little one had lost her -balance, and, with a shriek of fear, fell headlong into the water -and disappeared from sight. - -Cries and screams now filled the air, and for a moment a panic in -the boat seemed inevitable. - -“Sit still, everybody, and be quiet!” cried Gerald, in ringing, -authoritative tones, while at the same moment he whisked off his -coat and vest and slipped off his shoes. The next instant he sprang -upon the seat, then dived out of sight. - -Allison sat still in her place, her hands convulsively clasped upon -her breast, her face as white as her dress. She scarcely seemed to -breathe, and her agonized glance was fastened upon the spot where -Gerald had disappeared. - -The child had not risen to the surface, and it seemed an age before -the young man reappeared. - -But a great sigh, that seemed like a single moan, went up from -every heart when he at length came up alone, gasping for breath. - -The next moment he went down again, and, after what seemed an -interminable age, although barely two minutes had elapsed, he came -up, and now the limp form of little Gladys was seen in his arms. - -The child’s clothing had caught upon a spike in one of the supports -of the bridge, and thus she had been held at the bottom of the lake. - -Gerald made straight for the boat with his lifeless burden. - -“Can you help me, Allison?” he questioned, as he laid hold upon the -stern. - -She put forth her arms, grasped the child, and with his help soon -had her in her lap. - -“Now, you----” she gasped, looking anxiously into his white face. - -“No--row! row with all your might,” Gerald shouted to the men, -“never mind me, but the child must have help.” - -They needed no second bidding, and two minutes later they were at -the landing, where willing hands were extended to take Allison’s -lifeless burden from her. - -“Stop!” cried Gerald, as they were about to bear her away to the -house. - -He seized the child, laid her upon the greensward, fell upon his -knees, and began to work upon her as he had once seen a physician -try to resuscitate a man who had nearly drowned. - -“Go for a doctor, somebody, and then bring blankets,” he continued, -without suspending his efforts. - -For fifteen minutes or more he worked for dear life, assisted by -others; then a physician appearing upon the scene, he was only too -glad to relinquish his patient to him, for suspense and excitement, -together with the strength he had expended in the water, had nearly -exhausted him, and he willingly obeyed Mr. Brewster, who ordered -him to “come to his rooms, have a bath, and get into dry clothing.” - -The child soon recovered under the physician’s treatment, and -appeared as bright and well as ever. - -Gerald, who was about the size of Mr. Manning, was provided with -necessary apparel from that gentleman’s wardrobe, and ere long -reappeared among the company, looking a trifle pale, perhaps, but -very handsome and attractive after his act of heroism. - -Allison also came down in a fresh toilet in season to receive the -adieus of her friends, who declared they had had a delightful time -in spite of their recent fright. - -No one would acquiesce in Gerald’s going back to the city that -night. Mr. Brewster, with an unusual thrill of feeling in his -voice, told him to “stay and make himself at home.” - -An hour later the gentleman left his niece, Mrs. Manning, with -Allison and Gerald, sitting upon the broad balcony overlooking the -lake, where a glorious full moon shed its silver light all around -them, and went to the library. - -Fifteen minutes afterward Gladys called “mama” from above, and Mrs. -Manning went up to see what was wanted, when, finding the child -restless and nervous, she lay down beside her, where they both soon -fell asleep. - -Allison and Gerald, thus left alone, had a long, cozy chat -together, until the great clock in the hall struck ten, when the -former sprang to her feet. - -“That means bedtime for me,” she said, laughing, “and papa is so -ridiculously particular about it I suppose I must say good night. -What a day this has been!” she added, with a deep sigh; “it is a -long, long while since I have had such a lovely time. But for the -accident there would have been nothing to mar it--at least after -you came.” - -Gerald’s pulses leaped at those last words, but he dared not betray -how they had moved him, and so he replied with what composure he -could: - -“But that--the accident--only interrupted things for a little -while.” - -“Yes, thanks to you,” said Allison, as she laid her hand upon the -back of his chair, and bent to look into his upturned face. “Oh, -Gerald! what should we have done if you had not been there? I shall -never forget how you seemed to know just what to do--never! You -dear, brave, splendid hero!” - -Actuated by the impulse of the moment, and the gratitude of her -tender heart, she leaned forward and lightly touched his brow with -her sweet, red lips. - -Then, frightened at what she had done, she would have fled, but -Gerald, every nerve in his body thrilling with ecstasy from that -soft caress, sprang to his feet, seized her hands, and drew her -gently toward him, looking eagerly down into her blushing face. - -“Allison! Allison!” he whispered, all the mighty love within him -breaking every barrier down and asserting its God-given right to -speak for itself. - -There was no mistaking the emotion that vibrated through every -syllable of that tenderly uttered name, and, like a flash, -it revealed to the beautiful girl what she was to Gerald -Winchester--what he was to her, and would be for all time. She -lifted one startled, comprehending look to him. - -“Gerald!” she breathed softly; then their lips met in a mute caress. - -The next instant the young lover found himself alone. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -“I WOULD STAKE MY FORTUNE.” - - -When Gerald and Allison met at the breakfast-table the next morning -the fond glances of the one and the shy blushes of the other -warned Mr. Brewster that Cupid was surely in ambush, and it would -behoove him to be keenly on the alert. It was his custom to attend -church every Sabbath morning, and Allison always accompanied him; -accordingly, this morning, notwithstanding the excitement of the -previous day, was no exception to his rule. - -He courteously invited Gerald to accompany him, but the young man -excused himself, as he wished to get back to the city by the next -train. - -Mr. Brewster offered to drop him at the station, as it lay on their -way to church, and he experienced a sense of intense relief when -the young man sprang from the carriage, just in season to board the -train. - -Not that he was not fond of Gerald for his faithfulness to him and -his many noble qualities, while his heroism of the previous day had -aroused his deepest gratitude, and increased his admiration for -him a hundredfold. Had he been his own son, he would have gloried -in him, or had he been the son of a man in his own sphere of life, -he would have eagerly welcomed him as a suitor for his daughter’s -hand. But pride, that relentless tyrant of the human heart, would -never swerve out of the beaten track for a struggling clerk, even -though he were of irreproachable morals or noblest aspirations. - -One day, shortly after the departure of his family for Newport, Mr. -Brewster, on entering his office, laid a tiny package upon Gerald’s -desk. - -“Something that Mrs. Manning commissioned me to hand to you,” he -remarked. - -It proved to be a small box, which, upon opening, Gerald found to -contain a modest--as to size--but flawless diamond, in the form of -a stud. - -On an accompanying card were written these words: - - “With grateful remembrance and kindest regards. - “CHARLES AND ANNIE MANNING.” - -Gerald was deeply touched by the testimonial, and greatly delighted -with the beautiful gift. - -He did not once see or hear from Allison throughout the summer, -although, for years, he had never failed to receive an invitation -to spend a day or two at Newport with the family, but the memory -of those few last moments on that never-to-be-forgotten night at -Lakeview--that lingering, betraying caress, and the trustful, -loving look in the sweet, startled eyes uplifted to his, was a -source of never-failing joy to him. - -“I will yet be worthy to claim her, morally, intellectually, -and--financially,” he often said to himself, with that same look of -determination with which he had once told John Hubbard that nothing -was unattainable to him who is bound to win. - -The Brewsters remained at the fashionable watering-place until the -middle of September, when Mr. and Mrs. Manning went abroad for an -extended tour. Allison returned to Smith College, at Northampton, -where she had two years more of study before her, and the banker -settled himself in his winter home on Madison Avenue. - -Thus another twelve months passed. John Hubbard still continued, -apparently, to prosper in his worldly affairs, while he seemed to -have utterly forgotten his enmity against Gerald. - -But from time to time Gerald observed that his employer seemed -preoccupied, and wore an anxious look. He was often taciturn, and -occasionally harshly impatient, while, upon two or three occasions, -he made strenuous efforts to tide over the meeting of certain -obligations, which both surprised and troubled his confidential -clerk. - -Then there came a day, just after the close of Allison’s school -year, that carried dismay to the hearts of all of the banker’s -friends. He dropped senseless in his office just before the closing -of the bank, and was borne to his home paralyzed and speechless. -Eminent physicians were summoned, and every known remedy employed -for his relief. His debility was purely physical, however--his -mental faculties appearing to be as keen as ever. - -Meantime, John Hubbard assumed the control of affairs at the bank, -though, of course, under the authority of Mr. Brewster, and now -Gerald began to realize that the tentacles of this human octopus -were beginning to close around both himself and his employer. - -From time to time the expert would call his attention to the fact -that there were mistakes in his work. He could never account for -these errors--he could have sworn that his work had been correctly -done; but upon reviewing it, he was forced to confess that -appearances were against him. - -“You’ll have to be more careful, Winchester,” Mr. Hubbard sternly -remarked to him one day in December, when, for the third time, he -pointed out to him some discrepancies; “this kind of thing has been -going on too long altogether; I have been looking back over some -of Mr. Brewster’s private accounts, and I find numerous errors -covering more than a year. If the man were well, I should disclose -the fact to him and have you instantly discharged.” - -Gerald flushed crimson. He could have taken his oath that he had -never made an error in his work--at least, an uncorrected one. - -“Mr. Brewster has never complained,” he began, when his companion -curtly interrupted him with the trite remark: - -“Figures don’t lie, young man.” - -“Figures have been made to lie,” was on the tip of Gerald’s tongue -as he darted a suspicious look at his companion; but he resolutely -closed his lips and made no response. - -But a little later, while John Hubbard was at luncheon and he was -left alone in the office, he proceeded to examine some of these -criticized accounts, and was almost paralyzed upon discovering how -his books appeared to compromise him. - -There were evidences that some one had been critically examining -them, for there were frequent marginal notes, while the balance -seemed to show that he had been cleverly and systematically robbing -his employer for a long time. - -With a very white face and sternly compressed lips, Gerald took a -powerful magnifying-glass and brought it to bear along the various -columns of figures. - -“I thought so!” he hoarsely muttered, at last, “they have been -tampered with! Some of my threes and sixes have been changed to -eights; my ones, in numberless instances, have been made into twos, -fours, and sevens, but so skilfully that no one would believe me -if I should assert it--I could never prove that he did it. Great -Heaven! and it has been going on for many months. This was what he -had in mind when he crushed my rose and warned me to beware of a -similar fate.” - -Gerald was sick at heart as he realized that he was standing -upon the brink of a fearful precipice and was powerless to help -himself--how he had become entangled in a skilfully contrived net -from which there seemed to be no possible way of escape. - -If Mr. Brewster had been well he would have appealed at once to -him, stated his suspicions, and tried to point out the changes he -had discovered in the figures, but in the man’s present precarious -condition he dared not trouble him with the matter, even if he were -allowed an interview with him. - -A week passed, and then, to his great joy, he received a note from -Mr. Brewster asking him to call upon him at a certain hour the -following Saturday, as he had a special commission for him. - -He presented himself at the Brewster mansion promptly at the hour -mentioned in the note, and was at once conducted to his employer’s -presence. - -He was greatly shocked at the change in the man--not having seen -him since his attack--for he had grown very thin, and seemed to -have aged many years. Mr. Brewster greeted him very kindly, and -seemed heartily glad to see him, but almost immediately broached -the business concerning which he had desired to see him. - -“Gerald, I have a secret commission with which I wish to entrust -you,” he began, a grave look settling over his face. “I know that -I can trust you absolutely, and that is why I have chosen you in -preference to any one else.” - -“Thank you, sir,” Gerald replied, with a glowing face, his sorely -wounded heart greatly comforted by this assurance. - -“You have been inside the bank vault?” - -“Yes, sir, often; you have frequently sent me to the drawer which -contains your private documents.” - -“Yes--yes, I know, and ---- But before I go on I want you to give -me your word of honor that no one shall ever learn from you the -secret I am about to commit to you,” said the banker. - -“Certainly, sir, I will promise that I will never betray any -confidence that you repose in me,” Gerald responded. - -“That is enough,” he said. “Now, behind that drawer, which contains -those private papers, there is a small, secret vault, which I had -built there to store certain valuables during my absence from town. -No one save the man who made it, and I, know that it is there; no -one would suspect it, for, on removing the drawer, there seems to -be nothing but the brick wall behind it. On the contrary, there -is an iron plate, or panel, painted to resemble bricks. At the -bottom of this panel there is a small slot. You will insert in this -a tiny key which I shall give you; turn it half-around, and the -panel will spring outward. You can then swing it upward, when you -will discover behind it two boxes, take them out, being careful to -relock the panel, and bring them to me.” - -“Yes, sir; I shall be very glad to do as you wish,” Gerald -remarked. “But how will I be able to get into the vault and remove -the boxes without the knowledge of others?” - -“I have keys that will admit you to it, and you must go to the bank -when no one else is there,” said the banker, with a slight frown, -as if he did not exactly relish this part of the commission. -“To-morrow will be Sunday, and you had best go as soon after you -have had your breakfast as you can; then come directly to me. Be -careful not to excite the suspicion of any one whom you may meet, -for one of the boxes contains valuable jewels that belonged to -Mrs. Brewster. I want them for Allison; the other holds nothing of -special value to any one except myself.” - -Mr. Brewster had become very white during this last statement, and -Gerald feared he was talking too much for his strength. - -“Here are my keys,” he continued, after a moment, and, taking a -bunch from a drawer in the table beside him, “this one unlocks the -outer door, this the inner; the brass one opens the gate of the -iron fence; the heavy one will admit you to the vault; this unlocks -my private drawer, and the little, flat one the panel that conceals -the secret vault. Quite a lesson to learn, isn’t it?” he added, -with a slight smile; “but I think you will have no difficulty in -remembering how to use them.” - -“No, sir; four of them I know already, so that leaves only those -belonging to your drawer and the secret vault to be distinguished, -and that is easily done,” Gerald replied, as he examined each key -attentively. - -“Very well, then, I shall look for you here again some time -to-morrow forenoon. I want to get those boxes into my possession -as soon as possible,” Mr. Brewster observed, with a faint but -impatient sigh. - -“I will try to be here some time between ten and eleven o’clock,” -Gerald returned, then added, losing some of his color: “And now, -Mr. Brewster, if you are not too tired, I have something to tell -you about my work.” - -“I am not too tired, go ahead,” said the man; whereupon Gerald gave -him a brief account of the conversation that had recently passed -between himself and John Hubbard, and what he had discovered -afterward in connection with his work. - -Mr. Brewster listened to him with growing astonishment, never once -removing his eyes from the young man’s face during his recital. - -“These are very strange statements, Gerald--very grave statements,” -he remarked, with some sternness, as he concluded. - -“They are, indeed, sir, and they involve my honor, my reputation, -and, unless my past dealings with you and my assurance are -sufficient guarantee to you of my integrity, the evidence is there -to prove that I have been doing very crooked business in your -office. The balances are all right, apparently, but the entries, if -examined, would seem to be conclusive testimony that I have been -systematically robbing you. Mr. Brewster, I firmly believe that -those figures have been skilfully changed for the sole purpose of -ruining me.” - -“By whom?” - -“That, of course, I cannot say positively, but I have long known -that Mr. Hubbard dislikes me,” was the somewhat reluctant reply. - -“Do you mean to imply that John Hubbard would doctor the accounts -to injure you?” exclaimed Mr. Brewster, with a start. - -“I have no right to assert that he would, for I cannot prove -it; but some one has done it, and he is the only one who, to my -knowledge, has had access to the books. I can only say I know he -hates me, and--I also say, Mr. Brewster”--and the honest fellow -here straightened himself with conscious integrity, and lifted an -unfaltering look to his employer--“that I have never made a false -entry upon one of your books.” - -Neither was conscious of the presence of a third person in the room -as the banker heartily responded: - -“I am sure you have not, Gerald; I would stake my fortune upon your -integrity and upon your unswerving faithfulness to my interests. I -will look into this matter just as soon as I am able. Ah! Allison, -I did not hear you come in. What is it, dear?” he concluded, -turning, as he caught the sound of her step behind him. - -She came forward, blushing and smiling a welcome to Gerald. - -“It is time for your beef broth, papa,” she said, as she placed a -small salver containing a cup before him. - -Then she turned to our hero with outstretched hand. - -“What an age it is since I saw you last, Gerald,” she remarked, and -then flushed again as she recalled her last interview with him. - -He returned her greeting with what warmth he dared in Mr. -Brewster’s presence, but with a hand-clasp that spoke volumes. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE BANK ON SUNDAY MORNING. - - -Allison had come into the room where Gerald and her father were -conversing so earnestly just in season to catch the words of -commendation uttered by the latter. - -“I am sure you have not, Gerald,” he had said; “I would stake my -fortune upon your integrity and upon your unswerving faithfulness -to my interests.” - -She had noted, with the keen perception of a loving heart, the -troubled look in Gerald’s eyes, the anxious expression upon his -brow, and she instantly knew that something had gone amiss with -him, in spite of the fact that he seemed in perfect health, and was -handsomer and more manly than ever. - -But in the excitement of greeting him--when she saw his face light -up with joy in her presence, when she felt the warm, lingering -clasp of his hand, and detected the old-time thrill in his -voice--she forgot all about it, for the time, and thought only of -the pleasures of this unexpected meeting. - -When Gerald finally left the house it was with a very much lighter -heart than when he entered. His employer’s hearty and unqualified -assurance of confidence was like balm to his wounded spirit; while -his little interview with Allison had set all his pulses vibrating -afresh with his deep and abiding love for her. - -He had not seen her for many months, and she seemed to have grown a -hundredfold more lovely than when he had bidden her adieu on that -bright Sunday morning so long ago. - -He wondered if she had forgotten the evening previous--their -interview upon the veranda, where, with the moonlight streaming -upon them in its soft effulgence, they had been conscious only of -each other’s presence and the happiness that had thrilled every -fiber of their being. Did she remember their parting when the -clock struck ten? That blissful moment when their lips met in -that involuntary caress? That look into each other’s eyes, that -low-breathed “Allison!” “Gerald!” which had expressed so much? - -She seemed a trifle more mature; she had acquired a little air of -dignity which, on the whole, he decided only added to her charms, -although at first it had chilled him slightly--at least, until he -found himself looking down into the expressive eyes. - -He hoped he should see her again on the morrow, when he returned -with the boxes which Mr. Brewster had commissioned him to get from -the secret vault. - -He smiled and uttered a sigh of content, as he passed his hand over -the pocket which held the keys the banker had given to him, and -realized that he never would have been entrusted with them if he -had not possessed the entire confidence of the man. - -He hurried back to his lodging, where, in this happy frame of mind, -he settled down to the preparation of some lessons which were to be -recited that evening to a certain professor with whom he had been -studying for three years. - -As we know, Gerald, at the time of his aunt’s death, had been in -the second year of the high school, but for a time after that his -studies were interrupted, as he found that his daily duties taxed -his strength to the utmost. - -But as he became accustomed to his work, he began to get hungry for -his books again, and for a while attended evening school, although -his progress was thus necessarily slow. - -Then he made the acquaintance of a professor by the name of -Emerson, who, becoming interested in the bright, ambitious lad, -offered to help him perfect his education and arranged for Gerald -to recite three times a week to him. - -He was now in his twenty-first year, and expected by the coming -June to complete the studies of the second year of a regular -college course. - -After partaking of a light supper, he repaired to the house of -his friend, Professor Emerson, where he acquitted himself most -creditably in his recitations. - -The gentleman had become quite fond of his enterprising pupil, and -it was a great delight to him to teach one who was so eager for -knowledge and so quick to comprehend. - -“By the way, Gerald, what do you intend to make of yourself when -you get through with your course?” he inquired to-night, as he -closed his book after the last recitation, and bent an inquiring -look on the handsome face before him. - -“I think--since I am so well started in the banking business, I -shall stick to it, learn it thoroughly, and, if fortune favors -me, perhaps become a banker myself, by and by,” he replied, but -with a smile at his egotism in aspiring to a position such as Adam -Brewster occupied. - -Professor Emerson eyed him curiously for a moment, then remarked: - -“You’ll achieve it, if you undertake it, and, rightly conducted, -banking is a good business; still, I wish you might go a little -higher, intellectually--you would make a fine lawyer, your mental -grasp is so keen and accurate.” - -“Thank you,” said Gerald, flushing at the compliment, “but it would -take me several years to prepare for the bar, after completing my -college course, and, since I have my own canoe to paddle, I think -I will adhere to what I have begun. I wish, though,” he added -gravely, as his mind suddenly reverted to John Hubbard, “I have -time to become thoroughly posted in law, and could combine the two, -for then I should always be sure of the faithfulness of my legal -adviser.” - -“Why, Winchester! I did not suppose you possessed so suspicious a -nature!” said his friend, smiling, but with a note of surprise in -his tones. “If every one was governed by such distrust I fear the -lawyers would fare hard.” - -“I am not naturally suspicious,” replied Gerald, reddening, “and -my remark must seem narrow and intolerant to you; it was prompted -by the fact that one lawyer whom I know is anything but an honest -and conscientious man.” - -“But, ‘one swallow does not make a summer,’ my boy,” retorted his -friend, laughing. - -“I know it, sir, and I have no business to be suspicious of all men -because of one man’s failings. I will try to be more charitable -toward lawyers in the future,” said the young man, as he rose to -leave. - -He felt half-ashamed of having allowed himself to be so swayed by -his antipathy against John Hubbard, but all the way back to his -lodgings he was haunted by the face of the man and the malignant -scowl which had distorted it when he accused him of unfaithfulness -and dishonesty in his work. - -Even in his sleep during the night he could not divest himself of -the consciousness of his vicious individuality--he seemed to be -continually pursuing and persecuting him until his visions became -so real that they finally drove him from his bed long before his -usual hour for rising on Sunday morning. - -It was not yet dawn when he arose on Sunday morning, and, upon -looking from his window, Gerald saw that it was snowing. - -He dressed himself with unusual care, for he hoped to see Allison -again, and, loverlike, desired to make as good an appearance in -her sight as possible. Then he hurried out for his morning meal, -after which he wended his way to the bank, where he arrived about -half-past eight. - -The steps leading up to the door were covered with snow, and, -strangely enough, as he mounted them, leaving a footprint upon -every one, an uncomfortable sensation which was akin to guilt, -began to creep over him, causing his errand to become suddenly -repulsive to him, and making him long to go back to his room and -remain there. - -But, throwing back his head with an air of conscious rectitude--for -was he not there at his employer’s command?--he quickly let himself -into the building, removing the key and relocking the door on the -inside to make sure that no one would follow him. - -Passing through the inner door, he carefully wiped his feet upon -the mat, and removed his overshoes lest they should leave tracks -upon the floor--that same uncanny feeling which he had experienced -outside still pursuing him. - -The bank was so still every footfall echoed noisily through it, and -sent a nervous shiver creeping down his spine. - -“Good gracious!” he exclaimed, with an impatient shrug of his -shoulders, “I am no thief stealing in here to rob the place! Why on -earth should I feel like one? It is positively absurd!” - -Proceeding directly to the vault, he drew the heavy bolts, unlocked -and swung open the massive iron-plated door. The place was cold -and gloomy, and again Gerald shivered with a nervous chill as he -stepped within those solid walls which so securely guarded their -hoarded treasure. - -Proceeding directly to Mr. Brewster’s private drawer, the number of -which he had long known, he unlocked and drew it out, setting it -upon the floor. - -It contained several packages of papers. But these held no interest -for him; he merely gave them a passing glance, then began to look -for the slot in the iron panel at the back of the aperture. - -It required close searching to find it, but his efforts were -finally rewarded, whereupon he inserted the last of his keys, -turned it half-around, when the panel sprang outward, as Mr. -Brewster had described. - -It appeared to be swung upon hinges, and, lifting it up, Gerald -could distinguish within the little vault thus disclosed a box of -some description. - -He drew it from its place of concealment. - -It proved to be a beautiful Japanese affair, inlaid with gold and -mother-of-pearl in an intricate pattern. There was a tiny key in -its lock, and for fear that it might drop out and be lost, Gerald -removed it and transferred it to a pocket in his vest, without once -thinking that he had it in his power to inspect the contents of the -casket, if he chose to do so. - -Putting it carefully down upon the floor, he looked for the -other. He found it shoved away back in the secret vault. It was -much larger than the other--a common, though strong, wooden -receptacle--and it was also locked, while there was no key with it. - -Gerald felt quite sure that the Japanese casket must contain the -jewels of which Mr. Brewster had spoken, and which were to be given -to Allison. Doubtless they were very valuable, and would be doubly -precious to her because they had once belonged to and been worn by -her mother. - -He would probably see them upon her person some day; but, strange -to say, he did not feel half so curious about them as he did -regarding the contents of the larger box, for he had been -impressed by Mr. Brewster’s manner and expression when he had said -that it contained “nothing of special value to any one--except -myself.” - -However, he felt that it was no business of his what either held; -his duty lay simply in conveying them safely to his employer. - -Putting the drawer back in its place, he relocked it, when, -gathering the boxes from the floor, he turned to leave the vault. -At that instant a shadow obscured the light admitted by the open -door. - -Gerald started forward with a sudden and terrible heart-throb. -His face flushed hotly, then paled to the hue of marble as he was -confronted by John Hubbard, who was standing upon the threshold, a -sardonic grin distorting his sinister countenance. - -“Aha! my young burglar,” the man exclaimed, in a tone of fiendish -triumph, “is this the way you are in the habit of spending your -Sundays?” - -The sound of the expert’s voice at once restored Gerald’s -composure, although every nerve in his body was tingling with anger -at his manner of addressing him. - -“I am no burglar, Mr. Hubbard, and you know it,” he coldly -returned. “I am not in the habit of coming here--I have never been -in the bank on Sunday before this; but----” - -“What have you there?” sternly interposed his companion, and -indicating by a gesture the boxes in Gerald’s hands. - -“Some things belonging to Mr. Brewster.” - -“So I judged. How came you here?” - -“By his orders,” the young man briefly replied, and then wondered -at the almost satanic leer which swept over the features of the man -before him. - -“Indeed! but how did you pass all these barriers?” with a nod -backward over his shoulder. - -“Why, by means of these keys, which Mr. Brewster himself gave to -me, when he asked me to perform this errand for him,” the young -man responded, as he held up the bunch by the ring, and which Mr. -Hubbard instantly recognized as belonging to the banker. - -“When did you see Mr. Brewster?” he questioned, a look of -perplexity flashing over his face. - -“Yesterday afternoon--he sent for me to go to him,” Gerald -explained. - -“H’m!” ejaculated the expert, with a frown. Then, after a moment of -thought, he added: “What is in those boxes?” - -Again Gerald flushed. Then he threw back his handsome head -haughtily. - -“Excuse me,” he said freezingly, “but that is a question which Mr. -Brewster alone is qualified to answer.” - -“Ha! ha!” laughed his companion, but with so weird a note in the -sound, which echoed and re-echoed mockingly through the vault, that -Gerald’s blood almost seemed to congeal in his veins. “You are very -non-committal, my fine fellow,” he continued, with a snarl, “but do -you dare to tell me that you don’t know what either of those boxes -contains?” - -“I must decline to discuss the matter with you, Mr. Hubbard,” was -the terse reply. - -“Indeed!” sneered his companion. Then he observed, served, -authoritatively, as he went a step nearer Gerald. “Very well, we -won’t discuss it; but since I am Mr. Brewster’s attorney, I will -relieve you of all further care of them. Give them to me.” - -“No, sir!” said Gerald resolutely, and retreating from him. - -“Give them to me, I tell you!” commanded the man angrily. - -“I cannot do that, Mr. Hubbard,” Gerald calmly returned. “Mr. -Brewster requested me to come here for them, and then bring them -directly to him. I shall deliver them to no other hands.” - -Once more that strange laugh echoed through the dismal vault. - -“You will have to go a long journey to do that, young man,” said -John Hubbard, showing his white teeth in a horrible grin. - -“How so?” queried Gerald, in surprise, but with a strange numbness -stealing over him, “I--I do not understand you.” - -“Adam Brewster is dead!” said John Hubbard. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -GERALD SUFFERS AN INDIGNITY. - - -There was a dead silence in that gloomy place for the space of a -full minute after John Hubbard’s terrible announcement. - -“It cannot be possible!” Gerald finally gasped, as he staggered -back against the side of the vault, almost paralyzed from horror. -As he did so, the topmost box in his hands slipped from his grasp, -and fell with a crash to the floor. - -The lock was either broken or forced from its socket by the -concussion, and the lid flew back, thus disclosing to the curious -eyes of John Hubbard various articles of valuable jewelry. - -“Aha! diamonds! pearls! rubies and emeralds!” he exclaimed, as -he stooped to examine them more closely. “Truly, young man, you -were taking time by the forelock to feather your nest before an -inventory could be taken of your employer’s effects.” - -“What do you mean, sir?” he exclaimed, starting forward, a -dangerous gleam in his eyes. “Do you dare assert that I knew that -Mr. Brewster was not living, and stole here to rob him?” - -“I am forced to admit that it looks very much like it,” was the -deliberate and cruel response. - -A terrible shock went quivering through Gerald at these words, for -he realized but too well that the man would do his utmost to injure -him by putting the worst possible construction upon the situation. - -“You know better!” he cried, hot indignation and resentment flaming -up within him; “you know I would not touch a penny that did not -belong to me.” - -“Ahem! that all sounds very well, my would-be paragon of honor,” -sneered the expert, “but you will have to prove it, you know.” - -“Prove it! Why, of course, I can prove it,” replied Gerald, a -little smile of scorn for his recent fear curling his lips, and a -consciousness of rectitude and security supplanting it, “I have Mr. -Brewster’s note of yesterday, asking me to come to him, as he had a -special commission for me, and then the very fact of my having his -keys proves that I am here under orders,” and again he held them up -to his companion’s view. - -“H’m! so he wrote you to come to him, did he?” queried John Hubbard -thoughtfully. “Where is the note? I should like to see it.” - -Gerald put his hand into his coat-pocket; then suddenly remembered -that he had put on his best suit that morning. - -“Ah!” he said, “it is in the pocket of my other coat.” - -John Hubbard’s eyes gleamed with a cunning light at this -information. - -“Well, you will doubtless need all the proof you can bring to -get you out of this scrape,” he gruffly observed. “Maybe you can -produce such a note, but I doubt it. Did any one see Mr. Brewster -give you those keys?” - -Gerald’s heart sank at the question, as he remembered that he and -his employer had been utterly alone throughout their interview, -except for the few minutes that Allison was in the room, and he was -sure she had heard nothing that would prove the truth of what he -had asserted. At least he knew she was not there when the keys were -given to him. - -“You have no right to question me like this, or to doubt my word, -and I will have no further conversation with you about the matter,” -he responded, after a moment of thought. - -But he was deathly pale as he stooped to recover the box that had -fallen. He found that it was not broken; the lock had only been -forced by the fall. He carefully arranged the jewels which had been -somewhat displaced, although, fortunately, none had been spilled; -then, shutting the box, he relocked it with the key which he took -from his vest-pocket. - -John Hubbard watched him warily while he was thus engaged. “I will -take charge of those things,” he sternly observed, as Gerald was -about to replace the key in his pocket. - -“Excuse me; but I do not think you will,” the young man coldly -returned. - -“I am Mr. Brewster’s attorney, and it will be my duty to settle his -estate; consequently all his property will pass through my hands. -Give me those boxes!” the man concluded authoritatively. - -“No, sir. Mr. Brewster authorized me to take them to his house; I -shall do as he ordered, and since you say he is no longer living, -give them to Miss Brewster; he stated that he wanted the jewels for -her.” - -And he started to leave the vault as he concluded. - -“You will do no such thing, you young upstart!” snarled John -Hubbard, at the same time making an agile spring backward out of -the vault, when he swung to the ponderous door almost before Gerald -comprehended his intention. - -“Now, you beggarly upstart, I have you just where I want you,” -he cried, in a cruel, exultant tone, and putting his lips to the -keyhole, “I once gave you an object-lesson regarding your fate if -you continued to stand in my way.” - -Gerald did not deign to reply to these taunts and presently he -knew, by the closing of the outer door of the bank, that he was -alone. - -His heart was very heavy, for he began to realize that his case was -desperate. Fate and his evil-minded foe had conspired to so involve -him in a network of compromising circumstances, it seemed likely -that he was destined to be proved a graceless scamp and a daring -robber. - -His employer, the only one who had it in his power to exonerate him -from blame and prove his innocence, was dead. - -He felt almost sure that John Hubbard intended to bring an officer -there to arrest him, with the evidences of his guilt around him. - -With this thought there came the temptation to restore those boxes -to the secret vault from which he had taken them. - -Mr. Brewster had said that no one, save himself and the man who -constructed it, knew of its existence. If he should conceal those -jewels and the other box, there would be no evidence, beyond John -Hubbard’s word, to prove that he had attempted to take them from -the bank. His word would be just as good as that of his enemy, upon -whom the burden of proving his own accusations would have to rest. - -“But I should have to deny all knowledge of them. I should be -obliged to lie, and that I will not do, even to save my--myself -from prison,” he said to himself, with an air of proud resolution. -“No, I will tell the truth and take my chance; I have Mr. -Brewster’s note telling me to come to him; I have also his keys, -and the two taken together ought to be strong points in my defense.” - -Nevertheless, these arguments were small consolation in view of his -unfortunate situation. - -Then his thoughts reverted to Mr. Brewster, and hot tears rushed -into his eyes as he realized that the man was lying still in -death, and they would never meet in this life again. He was still -weak from the shock he had experienced upon learning the fact so -suddenly, and he wondered what could have caused the unlooked-for -attack. - -He had appeared to be very comfortable, and hopeful of soon getting -out again, when he had seen him the previous day, and it seemed -awful to him that he should have been so ruthlessly cut down, just -in the prime of life, and in the height of prosperity. - -He was wild with impatience to learn the particulars, and chafed -restively against his confinement in that tomb-like place. - -“Poor Allison! It will be a terrible blow to her,” he mused; “she -will be all alone in the world now; but she is fortunate to be left -an heiress, and thus shielded from the hardships of life.” - -Alas! he little thought that the fortune which would fall to the -girl was destined to bring upon her dangers and trials from which -he would have shrunk appalled could he have foreseen them. - -He sprang to his feet and began to pace the vault restlessly, -for a feeling of faintness and sickness came over him; he also -experienced a difficulty in breathing, as the air in the place -began to be vitiated. - -Suppose John Hubbard should not return in season to release him -before suffocation overtook him, he thought, a nervous chill -creeping over him; but he discarded it with a bitter smile. - -He well knew that the man would not dare to let him die there--that -he was planning for him a worse fate than death, out of a cruel -spirit of revenge, because he had dared to love the girl whom he, -for some strange reason, coveted. He believed that he meant to so -crush and humiliate him that he would never want to seek Allison -Brewster again, or meet the gaze of her pure, clear eyes. - -“He shall not do it! by Heaven! he shall not succeed in his -atrocious designs!” he cried out, in a sudden anguish, as those -torturing thoughts flitted through his brain. “I am an honest man, -and I swear I will yet prove it to the world, in spite of the worst -that he can do.” - -A little later he heard the outer door of the bank open and close -again, then the sound of steps and voices drawing near him, until -presently, the bolt which fastened the door of the vault was shot -back, and the next moment John Hubbard, accompanied by a policeman, -stood in his presence. - -“Here, Mr. Officer, is your prisoner, and that,” pointing to the -two boxes upon the floor, “is the booty with which he was about to -make off when I caught him,” the man explained, as he shot a look -of malignant triumph at his victim. - -“Humph!” ejaculated the officer, as he darted a comprehensive -glance around the place, and at the same time taking the measure of -Gerald. - -“It is very fortunate that I happen here just as I did,” Mr. -Hubbard went on. “I seldom come to the bank on Sunday, but there -were some papers here which I was obliged to have to-day, and thus -I came upon him in the midst of his depredations.” - -“H’m! you look rather young and green to be a bank-robber,” the -policeman remarked, not unkindly, as he searched the pale, handsome -face of his prisoner; “you don’t seem like the sort, either, that -would be up to such business.” - -“I am no bank-robber,” said Gerald, with quiet dignity, and meeting -the man’s searching look unflinchingly, “I am here under orders.” - -“Whose orders?” - -“My employer’s, Mr. Brewster’s,” and Gerald proceeded to give him -a brief account of the facts of the case, though he said nothing -about the secret vault. - -“That sounds all straight and right,” said the policeman, as he -gravely turned to Mr. Hubbard. - -“Yes; he tells a very plausible story,” was the sneering response, -“but it is perfectly absurd, when you come to think of it, that -Mr. Brewster should intrust such a commission to a mere boy, when -I have been his attorney, and have conducted his affairs for -years; and on Sunday, with so much secrecy, too! That was not Adam -Brewster’s way of doing business; it is far more likely that he -would have sent for what he wanted, openly and aboveboard, and on -some day during regular banking hours. No, sir; he can’t pull the -wool over my eyes; and as I feel bound to protect the interests of -my late client, I shall expect you to do your duty, and take the -fellow in charge,” he concluded authoritatively. - -“Well, I suppose I must,” the man responded, with evident -reluctance, adding, as he drew from a capacious pocket a pair of -steel bracelets, “hold out your hands, my young man.” - -Gerald shrank back a step. - -“Oh! not that!” he said, with pale lips; “I beg you will not -handcuff me. I will go with you peaceably.” - -“Well, maybe you would. I’m inclined to believe you; but it’s my -rule to make sure of my birds, and I don’t make any exceptions,” -said the man, as he dexterously slipped the shackles upon the -wrists of his prisoner; but with an air that betrayed he did not -very much relish the business in hand. - -“The keys, Mr. Officer; I must have the keys,” John Hubbard -interposed, as they were about to leave the vault. - -“Where are they, youngster?” demanded the man. “Hand them over.” - -“They are in the left pocket of my coat,” said Gerald, with -difficulty repressing a groan over his ignominious and utter -failure to execute his employer’s commission. - -He was impressed that the larger box contained some secret which -Mr. Brewster would not, on any account, have made known to the -world, and he could not bear the thought that John Hubbard would -now learn it, and perhaps put it to an ignoble use. - -The expert plunged his hand into the pocket designated, and drew -forth the keys, after which he stooped to secure the boxes, and -left the vault, followed by the officer and his prisoner. - -“Now you may go and cage your bird,” he remarked to the former. “I -will let you out of the bank, but I have some business here, and -shall remain a while longer.” - -He unlocked the outer door, and the two men passed out into the -storm. John Hubbard stood looking after them for a few moments, a -fiendish expression on his thin face. - -“Gad! what luck!” he muttered. “If ever I made a shrewd move, it -was in coming here this morning to get those papers.” - -He returned to the vault, which he securely locked, also the gate -to the iron inclosure. - -Then, taking the two boxes, he went inside the banker’s private -office, and deposited them upon the table there. - -“Humph!” he observed, as he fastened a keen, curious glance upon -the larger, “there is no key to that, but I’m going to know what it -contains, all the same.” - -Whereupon he sat down, drew it to him, and deliberately began to -pick the lock. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -MR. BREWSTER’S WILL. - - -After Gerald left Mr. Brewster, on Saturday afternoon, the -banker--Allison also having retired--sat for a long time in deep -thought, an anxious look on his thin face, a stern expression in -his shrewd, gray eyes. - -“It certainly looks bad,” he muttered; “somebody has evidently been -meddling with my private accounts; but Gerald is not the rogue--he -is true to the core. I never knew any one possessing a finer sense -of honor. If I thought that Hubbard was up to any rascality--and I -am sometimes inclined to think he is too sharp--I’d cut him loose -without ceremony; and yet”--with a scowl of annoyance--“that might -not be so easily done, for some of our transactions have become -strangely mixed. Somehow, I have never had quite so much confidence -in him since that day when he proposed for Allison. I--I really -would like to break away from him before she gets through school -next summer, for, of course, she will never want to marry him, and -I am very sure I do not want him for a son-in-law.” - -Again he dropped into profound thought, which was finally -interrupted by the entrance of his attendant, with the light repast -which constituted his supper. - -A little later, Allison came again, to read the evening paper to -him, after which they chatted socially for a while, when the -banker said he felt weary, and would retire. - -His attendant was assisting him to prepare for bed when he suddenly -put his hand to his head and made an exclamation as if he were in -pain. - -“It is nothing,” he said, as the nurse glanced at him in surprise, -“merely a neuralgic twinge in my head; but--what is this?” he added -thickly, and beginning to rub his face, which was twitching and had -a strangely drawn look. - -The next moment he fell forward upon the bed, unconscious. - -A physician was summoned, and everything done that medical skill -could suggest; but the man never rallied; he remained in a stupor -throughout the night, until an early hour of the morning, when he -sank away like the sudden going out of a candle. - -Knowing that John Hubbard was her father’s attorney, and otherwise -connected with him in business, and having no relatives upon whom -to call in this emergency, Allison had sent for the lawyer, when it -was found that the banker could not live, and he had remained at -the house until the end. - -He assumed the care of everything, made all arrangements for the -burial, subject, of course, to Allison’s wishes and preferences, -and when these duties were over, he repaired immediately to the -bank, as there were certain papers which he wished to secure, and -certain accounts to be balanced, before Mr. Brewster’s death should -become known to the employees of the institution. - -It required some time for Hubbard to pick the lock of the box, for -it was strangely constructed, and, not having been disturbed for -many years, the lock was considerably rusted. - -But patience and perseverance at length accomplished his purpose, -when, throwing open the cover, an exclamation of disappointment and -disgust escaped him when he found within only a few neatly folded -articles of infant’s clothing. - -Upon the garment uppermost there was a small pin, in the form of a -key, with a tiny diamond in the thumb-piece, which attracted his -interest for a moment. - -“Pshaw!” the man impatiently ejaculated. “I might have saved my -time and trouble; this trumpery doesn’t amount to anything. The -things are doubtless some of Allison’s baby-clothes, which her -mother wished to preserve for her. Bah!” - -He was upon the point of closing the box, when a second thought -prompted him to turn it upside down, whereupon, as the clothing -slipped out, two sealed envelopes rattled out upon the table. - -“Aha! this begins to be more interesting!” exclaimed the man -eagerly, a curious look leaping into his shrewd eyes. He tore open -the envelopes, one of which contained quite a bulky enclosure; the -other but a single half-sheet of paper, with some careless writing -on one side. - -This latter John Hubbard read first, and a look of astonishment -overspread his face while doing so. - -“Well! well! here is romance worth reading!” he muttered, in a -wondering tone, as he dropped the paper and took up the closely -written sheets of the other missive and began to puruse them. - -He seemed turned to stone as he read. - - “My Dear Husband,” the communication began, “I have a confession - to make to you, and I am wondering if you will ever forgive - me when you learn the nature of it. I am dying, or I fear - that I should not have the courage to make it even now; but I - dare not go out of the world weighed down with this, the only - secret I have ever kept from you, and with a living lie upon my - conscience. It is an awful secret, Adam, and you will be shocked - to your soul when you read it. Allison is not our own child, my - husband; I do not even know whose child she is. There the truth - is out at last, and, oh! my dear, my dear, I am trying to imagine - how you will receive this dreadful revelation. Why did I deceive - you so? How does it happen that our darling is not our very own? - you will ask. Ah! it is a long, sad story, but you shall have - every detail, and then judge me as you will. You remember that - when you sailed for Europe, before our own little one came, I - went to F---- to remain with my sister Nannie. Adam, that little - one died at its birth; but no one knew it save Nannie, Sarah--her - servant--and I. I had no physician, for baby came unexpectedly - in the midst of a terrible tempest, and Nannie took care of me; - but, oh! I was heartbroken when my darling died, and I grieved so - knowing how terribly you also would be disappointed, my sister - feared that you would lose me also. And now I will tell you how - strangely Allison was sent to take the place of the child we - lost. How dreadful it seems that hearts who so yearn for these - darlings are ruthlessly deprived of them, while other children - are remorselessly deserted, and left to the doubtful charity of a - cold world.” - -Then there followed a full account of the incidents which have -already been related in the prologue to our story, and which it -would be wearisome to the reader to have repeated here. - -Nothing was withheld, neither was the deception defended; a -concise, simple statement of facts was made; but when the story was -all told the fond, yet timid, wife and mother poured out a wealth -of love for the child of her adoption, and pleaded with a pathetic -earnestness that would melt the coldest heart that her sin might -not be visited upon the innocent little daughter whom they both -so dearly loved, but that her husband, even though he had been -secretly wronged and deceived, would still continue to tenderly -cherish her and never allow her to know the story of her desertion, -or that she was not their own flesh and blood. - -“Humph! My wealthy and aristocratic banker, you were smart in -certain directions, but you were inclined to neglect the burning of -your bridges behind you,” sneered Hubbard, as he finished reading. -“Doubtless that was what he meant to do, and that was why he sent -Winchester here to get the things to-day? Gad! but it is a queer -complication of circumstances--his dying so suddenly just at this -time, these papers falling into my hands, and the sweeping of that -young upstart from my path--that has conspired to throw the power -for which I have been scheming for so many years directly into my -hands in a way I least expected.” - -He sat for a long time absorbed in thought, his sinister face -changing in expression with the working of his mind, and plainly -betraying that he was plotting some deep and villainous scheme. - -“If she can be persuaded to marry me as soon as she finishes her -education everything can be quietly settled just to my liking; and -then, John Hubbard, you may play the high-toned gentleman to your -heart’s content for the remainder of your life. But if she should -be obstinate and refuse me----” - -An ugly scowl contracted his brow as he abruptly paused at this -point, while his eyes fastened themselves with an ugly glitter -in their depths upon the box whose sacred secrets he had just -fathomed. Then once more he fell into a fit of musing, which lasted -a long while. - -Finally he arose, and, making his way again to the vault--which he -reopened with Mr. Brewster’s key--he sought the banker’s private -drawer, removing it, and taking it, with its contents, back to the -office, when he reseated himself and began to examine the papers -within it. - -He finally found what he was in search of--a legal document, -which he drew from its envelope, unfolded, and began to study -attentively. After he had read it through he went back to the -first page, which he deliberately detached from the others; then, -procuring another sheet of paper exactly like it, he proceeded to -copy it, with a fountain-pen, which he always carried with him in a -hand which showed that the entire document had been written by him, -but making certain changes in the phraseology to suit himself. - -“There!” he observed, with an air of satisfaction as he finished -his work; “that will fix things just as I want them--for the -present.” - -He then refolded the paper, inclosed it in a fresh envelope, sealed -it with red wax, and wrote across the top of it in a bold, clear -hand, “Last will and testament of Adam Brewster.” - -This he replaced in the drawer, which he carried back to its place -in the vault; then, making everything secure inside the bank, he -left the building, taking with him the two boxes which he had -previously wrapped in strong brown paper. - -Three days later all that was mortal of Adam Brewster was laid away -in the family vault in Greenwood Cemetery. - -In the foremost carriage of the many which followed him to his last -resting-place sat Allison, the once petted and idolized daughter, -but now a lonely orphan, clad in deepest mourning, her fair face -pale and tear-stained from heart-breaking grief and much weeping. - -The faithful housekeeper, Mrs. Polard, who had been in the family -for years, occupied the seat beside her, and John Hubbard the one -opposite. He seemed in deep thought, and he scarcely took his eyes -from the bereaved girl during the melancholy drive. - -Immediately upon the return from this last tribute of respect to -the late banker a few persons gathered in the elegant library, -which would henceforth know his presence no more, to listen to the -reading of his last will and testament. - -Mr. Hubbard broke the seals in the presence of the gentleman’s -pastor, two of the older officers of the bank, Allison and Mrs. -Pollard. - -The document was rather brief, considering the magnitude of the -testator’s fortune, and to the point, and was dated some eight -years previous. - -It bequeathed all that he might die possessed of to his only and -beloved child, Allison Porter Brewster, excepting certain bequests. -“And I hereby appoint John L. Hubbard, my trusted attorney, to be -her sole guardian--if he be living at the time of my demise--until -she shall attain her twenty-fifth year, when she shall come into -the unrestricted possession of her whole fortune,” read the will. - -Allison listened attentively to the reading of the will, although -she had flushed hotly upon learning that she was to be under the -guardianship of John Hubbard during the next six or seven years. - -She had never liked her father’s attorney, although he had always -treated her with the utmost kindness and respect. But she knew that -her father had long trusted him in business, and therefore, she -tried to think that he must have considered him the most competent -and trustworthy person to manage her property, or he would not have -given him so much power. - -Still, she would have preferred almost any one else; she felt that -he might, at least, have consulted her, since she had grown old -enough to think for herself, and not condemned her to such a long -and wearisome bondage to one who was so uncongenial to her in every -way. - -Of course, she did not once dream that her father’s will had been -tampered with since his death. - -After the reading of the will, those who had been invited to be -present during that formality took their leave, and Allison found -herself alone with the man to whom, for the next six or seven -years, she was to look for the management of her affairs. - -He now remained with her for a half-hour or more, consulting her -wishes with a gentle deference which disarmed her, and made her -feel that perhaps, after all, he might be a very agreeable sort of -person to have for a guardian. - -He came again the next day and every day throughout the -week--always upon some business which he contrived to make so -interesting that Allison really began to look forward to his coming -and to greet him with a growing cordiality and frankness that -made the man’s heart burn with eager hope and the belief that he -was destined to win the great stakes which for years he had been -playing. - -One morning, after an unusually entertaining call he arose to -leave, remarking, in a laughing way: - -“Well, Allison, I begin to think you would make quite a business -woman with the right coaching; you have been quite an apt pupil -during the last few days.” - -She glanced up at him with a smile, and then a sob burst -involuntarily from her. - -The man started, and bent a tender look upon her. - -“Dear child, what is it?” he questioned, earnestly. - -“Oh, I am so alone!” she moaned, tears raining over her face. -“This great house seems so desolate, so empty! I feel as if I could -not live here another day,” she concluded, glancing around the -spacious, elegant room, and shivering nervously. - -“I know you must be lonely, dear,” he said, trembling himself, as -he leaned eagerly toward her, “and it pains me deeply to see you so -sorrowful. I would that I might shield you from every pang, from -every ill in life. Allison, may I?” - -His voice was husky from mingled emotion and tenderness; he was -very pale from the intensity of passion that throbbed in every -pulse of his being; and Allison, looking up at him with a sudden -shock, read in his burning eyes the story that he was yearning to -tell her. - -A hot flush instantly suffused her own face; then she shrank from -him with a gesture of unmistakable repugnance. - -But he had no intention of losing the vantage-ground that he had -gained, and, bending still nearer her, he captured one of her hands. - -“I perceive that you have fathomed my secret, my darling,” he said, -in a tremulous tone. “Yes, I love you, sweet. I have loved you ever -since you were a little girl, and have lived for years with the one -hope in view of some day winning your love in return. Now let me -become your guardian in more senses than one, Allison. Become my -wife and give me the right to smooth every rough place in life for -you; let me shield you from every rude wind and storm----” - -“Oh, don’t! don’t!” suddenly interposed the girl, and snatching her -hand from his grasp. “Oh, why do you say such things to me? You -have no right to take advantage of my sorrow and loneliness. I will -not listen to you!” - -“Hush, my child!” said her companion gently, but growing very white -about the mouth. “My declaration may seem somewhat premature, but -I have waited many years for the time to come when I might tell -you that all the hopes of my life were centered in you. I can wait -still longer, Allison--I can even be as patient as Jacob of old if -you will give me a crumb of comfort--if you will tell me that I may -hope to win you at last----” - -“No! no! I never could marry you,” Alison cried wildly, and with -such significant emphasis there was no mistaking her attitude -toward her would-be lover, and which stung him like a lash. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -EVIDENCE BY MR. PLUM. - - -“Very well; we will drop the subject for the present,” John Hubbard -remarked, with compressed lips, and making a visible effort for -self-control, “but I want you to think over what I have said, and -be prepared to give me a different answer later on.” - -Allison started, and something in his tone stirred her anger and -instantly restored all her self-possession. - -“No,” she said decidedly, as she lifted her beautiful eyes, and -steadily met his, “I do not need to think it over, and I could -not give you any different answer later on. I know now that I do -not love you well enough to marry you, and never shall; so, Mr. -Hubbard, please never speak of this again to me.” - -Her manner was so resolute, her tone so calmly authoritative he -knew that she meant every word she uttered, and a terrible though -silent rage took possession of him. - -But he had far too much at stake to betray it, and thus incur -her enmity. He meant to move heaven and earth to win her and her -magnificent fortune. He meant to have both, if he could; but if she -proved obstinate, and would not marry him, he had other plans--he -would ruthlessly crush her, and so eventually win her money. Still, -a young and pretty wife was worth temporizing for; and so, with a -forced smile, he said: - -“My child, I love you far too well to bring even a cloud to your -dear face, so we will drop the subject for the present, and some -time, perhaps, you will realize the value of a true and faithful -heart.” - -When he went away, Alison, with a troubled face, watched him from a -window, as he passed down the street. - -“Ugh!” she cried, shrugging her shoulders impatiently. “I could -never marry him--never! Why, he is years and years older than I! -Then he has such horrid eyes, and, when he smiles, his teeth look -just like those of an ugly dog through that mustache of his, and -make my flesh creep. I don’t believe that any man so repulsive can -be really good, and I wonder how papa could have trusted him as he -seemed to. I suppose, though, he must be a good business man; but -marry him! I’d rather go into a convent and live out the rest of my -life as a nun,” she concluded, with a shiver of disgust. - -Then, suddenly, her thoughts reverted to Gerald, and a little color -came back to her pale cheeks. - -“I wonder where he can be,” she mused. “I think it is so strange -that he has not been here--that he did not come to papa’s funeral, -and has not even sent me a note to tell me that he is sorry for my -trouble--he might, at least, have done as much as that.” - -Her lips quivered, and hot tears rushed to her eyes, in view of -this seeming neglect. - -Many times during those days of loneliness and sorrow she had -thought that if she could see Gerald, if only for a few minutes, -his presence would be an inexpressible comfort to her; but she had -told herself that it was his duty to either come to her, or send -her a note of condolence, and she had been too proud to write and -ask him to come. - -But now, after her disagreeable interview with her guardian, the -longing for him became so intense that, after struggling for a few -moments with her emotions, she bowed her face upon her hands, and -burst into violent weeping. - -But poor Gerald was still a prisoner, awaiting his trial, which, -for some inexplicable reason, had been deferred, from day to day, -until he was now very impatient and miserable. - -On Monday, after his arrest, he had sent a note to Professor -Emerson, who, after listening to the young man’s story, looked -grave and perplexed. The case seemed difficult, and he at once -procured a lawyer, Mr. Arnold, for the prisoner. The latter at -Gerald’s request, went to his room to procure the note that Mr. -Brewster had written to him, but it was nowhere to be found. - -The landlady was interviewed to ascertain, if possible, if any one -outside the house had been in his room during his absence; but both -she and the chambermaid asserted that there had not. - -It was, nevertheless, a fact that John Hubbard had himself been -there. As it happened, he knew another lodger in the same house, -and on Monday evening following Gerald’s arrest, he called upon -him, making a plausible errand of some kind. In this way he -learned that Gerald’s room was located upon the same floor, and -upon taking his leave, he shyly slipped into our hero’s apartment, -and in less than two minutes reappeared with Mr. Brewster’s note in -his possession, thus depriving his victim of an important piece of -evidence. - -Gerald, in laying his case before his lawyer, did not mention -Allison, or the fact that she had been present in the room during -any portion of his interview with her father. - -He really believed that she had not entered in season to overhear -anything that had been said about the “doctored” accounts, and -even if he had known that such was the case, it is doubtful if -he could have brought himself to call upon her as a witness for -him. The thought of dragging her into a criminal court, to have -her name bandied about by newspaper reporters, was very repugnant -to him. Besides, she had not shown the slightest interest in him, -or sympathy for him in his trouble. He reasoned that she could -not fail to know of it, since it had been widely chronicled in -the papers, and her apparent indifference cut him to the quick, -wounding his pride as well as his love, and thus a certain -obstinacy took possession of him, and made him secretly vow that he -would not appeal to her, even if he knew that her evidence would -save him from serving a sentence in State prison. - -The real facts of the case were, that during the first few days -after her father’s death, Allison had been so prostrated with grief -that it had been comparatively easy for John Hubbard to keep all -newspapers from her, which he had taken special pains to do, as he -did not care to have her know anything of Gerald’s trouble until -it was too late for her to interest herself for him. He believed -that he had played his cards so cleverly that his conviction was -inevitable, and, once behind prison-bars, he believed the fair girl -would never give him another thought. - -The case was finally called on the Tuesday following Mr. Brewster’s -burial. John Hubbard appeared against Gerald armed and equipped -with the falsified books, the casket of jewels, and the other box, -which had been carefully relocked, for the wily plotter had no -intention of having its secrets disclosed at present--those he was -reserving for later schemes in connection with Allison. - -The evidence for the prosecution was presented, with all the -eloquence and cunning of which the expert was master, and to every -listener in the room the fate of Gerald appeared settled before he -concluded. - -There were very few witnesses for the prisoner. The servant who -had admitted him to the Brewster mansion on the Saturday previous -to his master’s death, swore to the fact, thus proving that he -had been there, and Professor Emerson, on taking the stand, spoke -eloquently and in the highest terms of his pupil, and emphatically -asserted that he believed him to be above doing a mean or dishonest -act. But, of course, all this proved nothing. - -Gerald was then allowed to go upon the stand, and tell his own -story, and the moment that he turned his frank, handsome face -to the audience, when he met those critical, searching glances -with his clear, honest eyes, and manly bearing, it was evident -that he made a favorable impression upon every person in the -room--excepting his sworn enemy. When he finally concluded, Hubbard -demanded the production of the note from Mr. Brewster relating to -“a special commission.” - -“It cannot be found,” Mr. Arnold gravely responded. “Mr. Winchester -left it in a pocket of his business-suit on Sunday, when he went -to the bank to execute his employer’s commission. He has not been -in his room since; but when I was authorized to go to his room to -secure this note, it had mysteriously disappeared. Nevertheless, -the fact that he went to Mr. Brewster’s residence on the date -stated, and was admitted to the man’s presence, proves conclusively -that he was sent for.” - -“Not at all,” retorted the prosecuting-attorney, “any one might -have called at the banker’s residence, requested an audience, and -been admitted to his presence without a previous appointment. We -are not asking opinions, your honor, we want evidence. You assert,” -he added, turning to Gerald, “that Mr. Brewster gave you the keys -to the bank and his private drawer in the vault. Will you state -where he took them from before handing them to you?” - -“From a drawer in the table beside him.” - -“Exactly. Where any one could easily have secured them in the -event of Mr. Brewster’s back being turned for a moment,” retorted -the expert laconically. “Now, with reference to these falsified -accounts,” said Hubbard, touching the books before him, his white -teeth gleaming viciously for a moment beneath his mustache, “you -claim, I believe, that they are none of your work--that some -one else has changed your figures. We would like to have your -statements proven, young man.” - -“I never knowingly made a false entry in my life,” Gerald proudly -returned, but flushing hotly beneath the man’s insolent manner; “my -own figures were all correct when entered, but my ‘ones’ have been -made over into fours, nines, sevens, zeros, and so forth----” - -“But the proof, young man--the proof!” interposed his tormentor. - -“If any one will add the columns, calling such figures as I should -point out, ‘ones,’ the balance would be found correct in every -instance,” Gerald replied. - -“Possibly, but we want evidence to prove that those ‘ones’ have -been changed.” - -“You can have it, sir,” said Mr. Arnold, in a brisk, businesslike -tone, that made John Hubbard prick up his ears, and, at a signal, -another witness now came forward. - -He was a small, olive-complexioned man, with straight black hair, -small, sharp features, with a pair of keen, black eyes, which were -shaded by steel-bowed spectacles. - -His manner was abrupt, and there was a decisive air about him which -indicated strong personality, while he rejoiced in the sobriquet of -Plum--Mr. Thomas Plum. - -“Mr. Plum,” courteously observed Mr. Arnold, “will you tell the -court what you have discovered with reference to those ‘doctored -accounts’?” - -“Yes, sir, yes, sir,” responded the brisk little man, taking out -some tablets, “I find no less than eighty instances where the -figure ‘one’ has been skilfully changed to some other figure, -in those accounts, and covering a period of from sixteen, to -eighteen months. If the figures were added as ones, which they -were originally, the balance would, in every instance, be correct; -but, according to the changes made, there seems to be a deficit of -several hundreds of dollars.” - -John Hubbard suddenly sat erect, an alert spark glittering in his -cold, gray eyes. - -“So you assert, under oath, Mr. Plum, that those figures have -all been changed since the original balances were made up?” he -observed, in a metallic tone. - -“Yes, sir,” briefly but positively. - -“You are willing to swear that the work was all square and right -when the clerk left it under the dates there recorded?” - -“Exactly, sir.” - -“Prove it, if you please.” - -“That I am prepared to do,” said the expert cheerfully, but -flashing a look at his questioner which sent a sudden chill through -him. “In the first place, Mr. Winchester’s figures were all entered -with the same ink, and with a fine-pointed steel pen. The figures -that have been tampered with show a different ink, and were -evidently changed with a gold, and, probably, a fountain-pen.” - -“How can you detect between the work of a gold and a steel pen?” -queried Hubbard, with a skeptical smile. - -An answering smile curved the lips of Mr. Plum. - -“With the utmost ease, sir, as you would soon discover were you -to study the subject with the aid of a powerful microscope. The -ink flows very differently from a gold and from a steel pen. My -examination has proved to me that Mr. Winchester was not guilty of -any of the changes referred to--his figures all being very decided, -especially in their angles, while the work of the real culprit, -although very cleverly done, shows a certain individuality of -roundness about the angles that appears nowhere in Mr. Winchester’s -figures. Your honor will observe by the aid of this powerful glass -the peculiarities of which I have spoken,” Mr. Plum concluded, -as he passed a small case up to the judge, who, after making a -careful examination of certain figures, pointed out to him, gravely -observed: - -“I do so observe; it is evident that the changes were not made by -the prisoner.” - -Gerald’s face lighted with pleasure at this remark, but his joy was -short-lived, for the matter of the doctored accounts was dropped -then and the charge of theft taken up. - -There followed a long, sharp contest, during which his counsel -fought nobly every inch of ground for him; but the burden of proof -was all against him, and when the case was finally summed up the -outlook was certainly very discouraging. - -The judge had been strongly attracted toward Gerald by his frank, -honest face, his manly bearing, and his straightforward story; -but he was reluctantly compelled to admit that the evidence was -decidedly against the prisoner, and he rose to address the jury -and summarize the testimony, but before he could utter a word the -door of the court-room was thrown open, and a slender, black-robed -figure darted inside, and walked, with a quick, firm tread directly -toward him. - -The intruder was Allison Brewster. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -AN IMPORTANT WITNESS. - - -The fair girl looked wan, thin, and sad, her recent bereavement -having worn heavily upon her. But there was a spot of scarlet upon -each cheek, called there by the excitement of the moment, while -there was also a gleam of mingled indignation and determination in -her beautiful blue eyes, which bespoke some high purpose in view. - -Gerald half-started from his seat as he saw her enter the -court-room, then a swift, hot flush mounted to his forehead, and -he sank back with averted face and painfully compressed lips. As -Allison went swiftly across the room her eyes met those of John -Hubbard, who sprang to his feet, repressing an oath, and hurried -forward to meet her, while the judge paused in surprise at the -strange interruption. - -“Are you Gerald’s counsel?” Allison questioned excitedly, as her -guardian came to her side. - -“No,” he said briefly, then added, in a tone of displeasure, “but -why are you here? This is no place for you.” - -“Who is his lawyer, then?” she demanded, without heeding his -objection to her presence. - -“No one whom you know; but the case is almost concluded--the judge -is about to address the jury. Come, let me take you out.” - -“Will Gerald be acquitted?” queried Allison, anxiously. - -“I--I cannot say,” the man faltered, his glance wavering before -her. “But, come now.” - -“No, not until I know how this case is going,” said Allison -sharply. “Oh, why did you not tell me about it? I never knew a word -of it until an hour ago, when I went to the bank to get something -that belonged to papa, which I wanted very much, and Mr. Whipple -told me what was going on here.” - -The truth was that Allison so yearned to see Gerald that she had -made an errand to the bank for that very purpose, when, upon -inquiring for him, she had learned the truth, and then, nearly wild -with grief, hastened to the courthouse with the hope of being able -to help him in some way. - -“Order!” some one now called out, for the judge was still waiting -for the prosecuting-attorney to return to his seat. - -“Who brought this charge against Gerald?” Allison questioned -eagerly, but lowering her voice. - -“I did,” returned her companion, now white with anger, as he -realized that she would not yield to him, and had some definite -purpose in view. - -“You? Why did you do it?” Allison demanded, with blazing eyes. - -“Because I caught him in the act of stealing from the vault of the -bank.” - -“Never! Gerald could not be guilty of theft,” whispered the girl -hoarsely. - -“Unfortunately, his guilt has been proven. Now will you come?” And -the man laid an authoritative hand upon her arm. - -She drew herself haughtily away from him, and, turning, bent her -gaze upon Gerald, who was responding to some question just put to -him by his counsel. - -“Order!” again called the voice; but Allison, all unmindful of the -fact that she was becoming conspicuous, glided straight to the side -of Albert Arnold. - -“Are you Mr. Winchester’s lawyer?” she inquired, at the same time -bestowing a tremulous smile upon Gerald. - -“Yes,” he replied, smiling encouragement upon her, for he began to -see a gleam of hope for his client, as Gerald had just told him who -she was. - -“Then I have something to tell you,” she said, eagerly; “I would -have come before, but I did not know anything about this--this -trouble until within an hour. Am I too late to help Gerald?” - -“I hope not, my dear young lady, although, to use a slang -expression, it is a pretty close shave. Your honor,” turning to the -judge, with fresh energy, “this young lady is Miss Brewster, and -she informs me that she has some evidence to give in favor of my -client.” - -“Do you know the nature of it?” inquired his honor. - -“I do not; had I known that she was qualified to testify, I should -have called her as a witness long before this.” - -“She may take the stand,” said the judge, resuming his seat with a -feeling of secret satisfaction. - -“I object, your honor,” John Hubbard here interposed. “Miss -Brewster is my ward--she can know nothing of the affair, and this -is no place for her. The case is almost concluded--the evidence has -been submitted, and----” - -“Mr. Hubbard, the young lady has voluntarily come here to give -evidence for the prisoner, and her testimony will be received,” -interposed the judge, with considerable sternness, adding, -peremptorily: “Officer, swear the witness.” - -After Allison was sworn, he courteously remarked: - -“Now, Miss Brewster, you may proceed.” - -“I am told,” the fair witness began, but now very pale, “that Mr. -Winchester is being tried for the crime of robbery. I know that he -is guiltless, for I have heard my father say, many times, that he -was the most trustworthy young man he ever met. I have heard him -say that he was ‘almost morbidly honest.’ I have learned today that -this supposed robbery was committed on Sunday, the--the morning -after my father died.” Allison’s voice wavered slightly here. “But -I am sure there was no theft--no intent to steal; I believe that he -was sent to the bank to get the articles found in his possession. -I know he came to see papa on Saturday--the day before--for I went -into the room while he was there. I am sure, too, that he must have -come by appointment, for my father denied himself to all visitors, -and seldom saw any one outside the family except on necessary -business. If Mr. Winchester says that he gave him the keys to the -bank to enable him to perform this errand, I know he must have done -so, for he is incapable of falsehood.” - -The court-room might have been empty, it was so still. There was -not a sound save that sweet, young voice, which was like music -to at least one pair of eager ears, as it bravely rehearsed the -sterling qualities of her persecuted lover. - -The audience listened spellbound--even the judge betrayed, by his -eager attitude, how intensely interested he was, while John Hubbard -was as white as the handkerchief with which, from time to time, he -wiped the moisture from his forehead. - -“Neither my father nor Mr. Winchester was aware of my presence in -the room until a minute or two after I entered,” Allison resumed, -after a momentary pause, “and as I stepped inside the portiéres I -heard Gerald say, ‘I have never made a false entry in one of your -books.’ ‘I am sure you have not, Gerald,’ papa replied. ‘I would -stake my fortune upon your integrity, and your faithfulness to my -interests. I will look into this matter as soon as I am able.’ Then -I made it known that I was in the room, and, a few minutes later, -Mr. Winchester went away.” - -Allison heaved a sigh of relief as she concluded, although she -would have been willing to talk on indefinitely if she could have -given conclusive proof of Gerald’s innocence. But the little -that she had told tallied so exactly with his own account of his -conversation with Mr. Brewster that it proved a great deal for him. - -“Do you think it would have been possible for Mr. Winchester to get -possession of your father’s keys without his knowledge?” Gerald’s -counsel inquired, a ring of triumph in his tones. - -“Certainly not,” Allison replied confidently; “papa always kept -them in a small drawer of a table in his room. He was sitting close -beside it when I entered the room, and Mr. Winchester was on the -opposite side of the table, and there is no drawer on that side.” - -There was a little burst of applause at this latter statement, -which plainly betrayed the sympathy of those who had listened to -the evidence. - -Mr. Arnold said he had no further questions to ask, and John -Hubbard refusing, with frigid dignity, to catechise his ward, -Allison was allowed to leave the stand. - -The judge then remarked that, in view of the evidence just given, -the aspect of the whole case was reversed, and it was self-evident -that the prisoner was innocent of all wrong. The jury announced a -verdict of acquittal without leaving their seats. - -The moment the court was adjourned, and before her guardian could -intercept her, she darted to Gerald’s side and cordially shook -hands with him, after which he formally introduced her to his -lawyer, who commended her most heartily for the step she had taken, -and the timely aid she had given his client. - -“Gerald,” she asked, with a look of reproach, “why didn’t you call -upon me as a witness?” - -He flushed at the question. - -“I could not,” he replied, with evident embarrassment; “I could -not endure the thought of your coming to such a place, and, -besides, I did not know how much or how little you had heard of my -conversation with Mr. Brewster.” - -“But, at least, you might have let me know that you were in -trouble,” Allison returned, with a flash of resentment, while hot -tears of wounded feeling rushed to her eyes. - -“I supposed, of course, you knew,” he faltered, flushing -sensitively, “the newspapers were full of the affair.” - -“But I didn’t see the papers.” Then, with a searching look into his -face, she added: “If you believed I was aware of your trouble, you -must have thought me very--very unfriendly and indifferent--not to -send you some word of sympathy, nor come near you.” - -Again Gerald flushed. - -“I am afraid I haven’t been quite just to you,” he confessed. - -“Well?” questioned the girl, somewhat sharply, as a hand was at -that moment laid upon her arm, and she turned to find her guardian -at her side. - -“I have come to take you home,” he briefly remarked. - -“Thank you, Mr. Hubbard,” she coldly returned, “but I am not going -home at present, and I will not detain you. The carriage is waiting -for me, and I have several errands to attend to before dinner.” - -“Very well, then, I will escort you to your carriage before I go,” -the man responded, white in his lips with inward rage over his -defeat. - -She gave her head a little independent toss, but she did not quite -dare to defy him further, for his tone had been authoritative, and -she knew she must go. But first she turned to Gerald and extended -her hand. - -“Good-by, Gerald,” she said. “I am so glad that all has ended well -for you.” Then she added, in a hurried whisper, “Come and tell me -about it--come to-morrow afternoon.” - -Gerald thanked her, and telegraphed his assent to her request by a -nod and a significant pressure of the hand he held. - -Then, after bidding Mr. Arnold good-by, she signified to Mr. -Hubbard her readiness to go, and so passed out of the court-room -with him, but with a frigid manner and haughty bearing which warned -him that it might not be to his advantage to presume too much -upon his office as guardian of this spirited young lady; that the -employment of tact might be more effectual. - -Upon reaching the carriage, Allison sprang in, before he could put -forth a hand to assist her, and she did not even offer to take him -along, and drop him at the bank on her way up-town. - -She was inwardly boiling with rage and resentment toward him, -because he had been instrumental in bringing Gerald into such -trouble and disgrace, and she told herself that she should hate him -for it as long as she lived. - -He was secretly chafed by her attitude, and yet there was something -of amusement and admiration, as well as of anger, in the look with -which he regarded her, as he closed the door of the vehicle. - -She was very pretty--“deucedly pretty,” as he mentally expressed -it--with that spirited air, that defiant flash in her beautiful -eyes, and the angry scarlet in her cheeks. - -He had never seen her in such a mood before, but it only added to -her charms, and he thought he rather liked it--unless it should -become too emphatic--unless she should defy all curbing by “taking -the bit in those dainty white teeth of hers.” - -He bent forward through the open window and intercepted her glance -with a smiling, indulgent look. - -“I seem to have incurred your displeasure in some way, Miss -Allison,” he remarked, in a friendly tone. “Don’t you think you -are a trifle unjust to me? I am certainly ignorant of any wilful -offense against you.” - -“But you said you caused Gerald’s arrest,” Allison began, excitedly. - -“And so I did,” he quietly interposed. - -“How could you? how could you?” she burst forth angrily; “it was an -outrage, for there isn’t a more honest fellow living than Gerald -Winchester, and papa----” - -“Softly, Allison, softly!” her companion interrupted, a cruel -spark leaping into his eyes. “Don’t allow your personal regard for -the young man to run away with your judgment. My fidelity to my -employer’s interests demands that if I find a burglar in the act of -robbing his bank I must guard them to the extent of the law, even -though its clutch falls upon a confidential clerk.” - -“But you might have given Gerald the benefit of the doubt, when he -had the keys--when you knew he had never been guilty of a mean or -dishonorable act since he came into papa’s employ,” the fair girl -persisted, adding tremulously. “Oh, it would have been too dreadful -if I had not found out about it!” - -“Yes, doubtless Winchester would have had a three years’ sentence -to serve,” John Hubbard returned, indifferently. “But,” he added, -assuming a blandness he was far from feeling, “I will not keep you -here discussing the matter further, even though I should be glad to -convince you of my fidelity to your father, and to assure you that -I shall continue to labor as faithfully for your interests.” - -Allison gave a little shrug of impatience at this latter remark, -thus plainly indicating that it would have pleased her better if -she could have had some one more congenial to guard her interests. - -The lawyer’s white teeth gleamed at her for an instant from beneath -his mustache; then he remarked, in a matter-of-fact tone: - -“By the way, you said you had some errands to attend to. Have you -plenty of money for your purpose?” - -“I have my check-book, thank you, and do not need any money,” -Allison coldly returned, drawing her coat more closely about her as -a hint that she did not care to be detained longer. - -The man looked a trifle surprised at her reply. - -“Very well, good-day,” he said, as he lifted his hat and stepped -back, whereupon Allison was driven away. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -A THRILLING ADVENTURE. - - -“Humph! So the little minx has her check-book!” mused John Hubbard, -as he bent his steps toward the bank after Allison’s departure, an -ugly gleam in his cold blue eyes. “That old dotard, her father, -must have had considerable confidence in her financial ability to -trust her to that extent! However, the game is pretty well in my -hands, and I haven’t much anxiety about the result. I’ll win her if -I can; I’ll drive her if need be--but I’ll crush her if she defies -me!” - -Musing thus, the wily schemer proceeded on his way; but, always -intolerant of opposition, he was in no amiable frame of mind when -he finally reached his office, and settled down to a pile of -accumulated work that had been neglected for the outside demands -upon his time during the week just passed. - -As he sat down to his desk he opened one of the books which he had -produced in court to show that Gerald had been guilty of falsifying -his accounts, and began to study it intently. - -“Humph!” he ejaculated. “I could have sworn that there is not a -man living who could detect any change in those figures! That glass -must have been wonderfully powerful, and that expert a keen hand at -his business. He has made a study of chirography to some purpose! I -wonder where they found him? I never heard of him before, although -Judge Haight seemed to recognize him. A man needs to have his wits -about him nowadays, if he intends to do crooked work.” With which -sage reflection Mr. Hubbard closed the book with an impatient bang, -and, turning to his papers, was soon absorbed in his work. - -An hour later Gerald walked into the bank, when he was most -cordially greeted and congratulated by his fellow clerks, with whom -he had worked so long. He then went directly to Mr. Brewster’s -private office, where he found John Hubbard occupying the late -banker’s chair and desk. - -The man looked up with a scowl as he entered. - -“Well,” he remarked frigidly, “did you think you could come back to -your old place?” - -“Certainly not, Mr. Hubbard. There is no Mr. Brewster to require a -confidential clerk,” Gerald gravely returned. “I have simply come -to take away what few things belong to me.” - -“Very well; be as expeditious as possible about it,” was the -caustic rejoinder, as the man turned his back upon him. - -Gerald quietly gathered up his personal belongings and made them -into a neat package, put the desk where he had labored so long in -perfect order, then left the room and the bank, nodding a friendly -adieu to the other clerks as he went, but with a very heavy heart, -for without a position and with no influential friends to back him, -the outlook was very dark for him. - -That evening he called upon Professor Emerson, with whom he had a -long talk relative to his prospects. - -“There is nothing like a good education to begin life with,” he -said. “You are still young, and two years at Harvard are just what -you need. Have you anything ahead, Gerald?” - -“Yes, sir; I have managed to save five or six hundred dollars since -I have been with Mr. Brewster.” - -“Have you? Well, that is pretty well for a young man in your -position,” said his friend, in a gratified tone; “and now I’m sure -I do not see what is to hinder you from going to Harvard.” - -“Why to Harvard? Why not to Yale?” questioned Gerald, who would -have preferred the latter college, because he would be nearer to -New York and Allison. - -“Well, Yale is all right; but I have a friend who has a Harvard -scholarship to give away, and I am very sure I could get it for -you.” - -“You are very kind, sir,” the young man replied, flushing with -emotion, “and I want a thorough education more than I can tell you; -but, really, I do not feel as if I could spare the time to spend -two years in college, and then study for a profession afterward. I -would like to be working myself up in some business, and keep on -with you as I have been doing.” - -“I take it that you are ambitious to get rich, my young friend,” -said Professor Emerson, with a smile. - -“Yes, sir, I am,” Gerald frankly admitted, flushing consciously as -he realized why he was so eager to acquire a competence. - -“Well, of course, you must judge for yourself; but I should be -sorry to have you let so fine an opportunity slip away from you. I -advise you to take a little time to think it over before deciding -definitely,” said his friend earnestly. - -“I will--thank you,” Gerald responded; adding heartily: “But I -trust, whether I accept your offer or not, you will feel that I am -truly grateful for all your kindness and interest--both past and -present.” - -It was after ten o’clock when he left the house, and there were -indications of a storm. Gerald buttoned his coat close up to his -chin, and started briskly on his way. - -After passing three or four blocks he turned into a small park, and -observed, as he did so, a gentleman some distance in advance of -him. He paid no especial attention to the individual until he was -on the point of passing out at the opposite gate, when he caught -sight of another figure shadowing the first by skulking behind the -trunks of trees to keep out of sight. - -Gerald felt sure that this latter person had some malicious design -against the other, and he quickened his own steps that he might be -on hand if assistance was needed; but both had passed out of the -gate before he had half-crossed the park. - -As he drew near the exit he heard voices in angry conversation, -and, peering around a post, he saw the two in conversation, and, -peering around a post, he saw the two men standing not a dozen -paces away. One was a tall, fine-looking man, handsomely clad. The -other was a disreputable-appearing fellow, wearing a rough ulster -and a slouch-hat, and Gerald also observed that there was not -another person in sight. - -“I have told you never to appeal to me again,” Gerald heard the -gentleman remark, in sternly resolute tones, “and I shall give you -no more money to spend upon drink and gambling.” - -“Oh, come, now don’t be hard on a fellow,” pleaded his companion, -as he moved a step or two nearer, while Gerald saw him slip his -right hand into the pocket of his ulster. “You’re just rolling in -wealth, and I am starving. Give me a ‘V.’” - -“Not a dime, you rascal! You have played no end of tricks upon me, -and I am done with you forever,” was the reply. - -“But I’m hungry, I tell you. I haven’t had a decent meal for a -week,” persisted the beggar; and now Gerald saw him cautiously -withdraw his hand from his pocket with an object in it that made -his heart leap into his throat. - -“Heavens! It is a sand-bag!” he breathed. - -“Well, if you are hungry, go to the nearest station-house, where -you will get a night’s lodging, with a supper and breakfast, and -to-morrow morning you can work to pay for it,” said the gentleman. - -“Work!” snarled the tramp. “Do you think I am going to dig ice from -the gutters? Not if I know myself!” - -“Very well, then, you may go hungry,” replied his companion, as he -turned to proceed on his way. - -With an angry oath the tramp raised his arm aloft, and, in a moment -more, would have accomplished his deadly work had not Gerald, quick -as a flash, sprung from his place of concealment, dashed upon the -would-be murderer, and, wrenched the weapon from his grasp. - -The wretch was so taken aback that he was utterly unable to -defend himself from this rear attack, and an instant later he lay -sprawling and stunned upon the pavement, Gerald having dexterously -tripped him. - -“Now, sir, lend a hand, if you please,” he said, glancing over his -shoulder at the astonished man whom he had probably saved from a -violent death. - -“Certainly, certainly,” he replied, quickly recovering himself, -and, darting forward, he planted a powerful knee upon the breast -of his fallen assailant. “I am sure I had not a suspicion that -he would dare do me any violence,” he added. “What was he up to, -anyway?” - -For answer Gerald held the sand-bag up before him. - -“Good heavens! what a wretch!” said the gentleman, in a startled -tone. “He is a distant relative--a worthless fellow--and has been -a leech upon me for years. But I reckon this business will settle -his fate for a while. Now, if you will go to the corner and call a -policeman I will manage him while you are gone. Take care, there!” -he added sternly, as the prostrate villain began to squirm and -struggle, and he enforced his command by a powerful grip upon his -throat. - -Gerald darted away, and five minutes later came hurrying back with -a guardian of the peace, who immediately took the highwayman into -custody. - -Then he learned that the name of the man whose life he had -doubtless saved was Richard Morgan Lyttleton, a noted lawyer, of -New York. - -The officer demanded his name and address also, telling him that -his presence would be required in court on the morrow to testify -against the culprit. - -Gerald smiled to himself as he thought of appearing so soon again -in a criminal-court, and he observed, when he gave his name, that -Mr. Lyttleton started slightly, and glanced keenly at him. - -Then the policeman marched his prisoner off, when Mr. Lyttleton -turned to our hero and cordially extended his hand. - -“My young friend, you have rendered me an inestimable service -to-night, and I am deeply grateful to you,” he said earnestly; -then added: “But, more of this when I see you again, as we shall -doubtless meet to-morrow. As it is late and cold, I will not keep -you longer. Good night.” - -Gerald responded to his adieu, and they separated, each going his -own way. - -Early the next morning Gerald received a summons to appear at the -court-house at eleven o’clock, and, upon arriving at the place, he -found his acquaintance of the previous night awaiting him, and who -regarded him with curious intentness as he greeted him. - -“Can it be possible that you are the Gerald Winchester whose case -was before the court yesterday?” he asked. - -“Yes, I am sorry to be obliged to confess that I am,” he replied -flushing, and a look of pain clouding his fine eyes. - -“It was rather a peculiar affair--I was quite interested in it,” -said the lawyer. - -“Indeed!” Gerald briefly observed. - -“Yes, it was really romantic, and you came off with flying colors,” -said his companion, smiling. “As I told you last night, I am a -lawyer myself, and I confess, up to the moment of the appearance -of that young lady upon the scene, I did not see a vestige of hope -for you. Young man, you are to be congratulated upon having had so -stanch a friend in the charming Miss Brewster. If I am not greatly -mistaken, that John Hubbard is a scamp.” - -Gerald lifted a glance of surprise to the gentleman’s face. - -“What makes you think that?” he questioned. - -“Well, I am something of a physiognomist, and, to me, he shows -treachery in every glance of his shifty eyes.” Mr. Lyttleton’s -expression plainly indicated a decided repugnance to the man under -discussion. - -“Lyttleton versus Ruggles,” was here shouted by the court-crier, -and the conversation of the two gentlemen was interrupted. It did -not take very long to settle the case, however, for, in the light -of the indisputable evidence brought to bear upon it, the prisoner -was found guilty of assault with intent to kill, and sentenced -to seven years at Sing Sing. As soon as they were released, Mr. -Lyttleton turned to Gerald. - -“Come,” he said; “you must come and have lunch with me; I want to -talk more with you.” - -In a neighboring restaurant they took a secluded table, and over -the coffee Mr. Lyttleton astonished Gerald by remarking: - -“Mr. Winchester, I happen, just at this time, to be very much in -need of a private-secretary. The poor fellow who has served me for -five years died last week, and I have, as yet, found no one to fill -his place. How would you like the position?” - -Gerald lifted a look of bland surprise at the speaker. - -“You think I am rather premature in making such a proposal to you -upon so short an acquaintance,” Mr. Lyttleton observed, smiling; -“but I have told you that I am pretty well versed in character -reading, and so, if you are willing to take the place on trial, I -am ready to give it to you. I like your looks--your manner; while -that girl’s testimony yesterday proved that Adam Brewster had the -most implicit confidence in you. That, of itself, is recommendation -enough for me. A week from to-morrow, I sail for Europe, to -investigate a complicated case which involves a large estate, -and which I hope to bring to trial within a couple of months. My -partner will manage the business here during my absence, which will -probably be six months or more, as I intend to combine pleasure -with duty, and see something of the old world before my return. -Your salary will be eight hundred and all expenses, for the first -year; more after that if we find ourselves mutually congenial. -There, you have my proposition--what do you say to it?” the lawyer -concluded, as he sat back in his chair and watched the expressive -face opposite him. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -“I DID NOT MEAN TO BETRAY MYSELF.” - - -Gerald’s breath was almost taken away by this unexpected proposal. -He had heard of the firm of “Lyttleton & Rand,” both members of -which were registered as eminent lawyers in New York. He instantly -recognized the fact that it would be a great thing for him to -become associated with them, while eight hundred dollars, over and -above all living expenses, would be quite a leap beyond fifteen -dollars a week, and finding himself. Then, too, the prospect of -travel and sightseeing was very alluring. - -He was dazzled, almost paralyzed, for a moment, by such unexpected -good fortune, coming to him just at this time, when he had seemed -to be under such a cloud; but he managed to inquire with a good -degree of outward composure: - -“What will my duties be?” - -“Well, I should say something like what they were with Mr. -Brewster,” Mr. Lyttleton responded; “the writing of letters, both -confidential and ordinary; the keeping of my private accounts; -in fact, whatever of a clerical nature would naturally fall to a -lawyer’s secretary, and--perfect loyalty and integrity. I warn you, -also, that I shall have plenty of work for you to do.” - -“I do not mind work,” said Gerald eagerly. “In fact, I like to -be a little crowded. I think it keeps up one’s enthusiasm. The -position is very tempting, Mr. Lyttleton, but----” - -“But what?” demanded the gentleman, eying him sharply. - -“I am wondering if it would be quite honest in me to accept it when -you really know nothing of me or my qualifications; and going out -of the country, too, it might be quite awkward for you if I should -not fill the bill.” - -Mr. Lyttleton gave vent to a little laugh. - -“Now I begin to understand what Adam Brewster meant when he said -you were ‘morbidly honest,’” he replied. “But, in case you do not -fill the bill, as you express it, I suppose I could ship you back -home again. However, if you are willing to come with me, upon so -short an acquaintance, I will assume the responsibility of your -ability, and we’ll settle the matter here and now. Is it a bargain?” - -“Yes, sir, and thank you very much,” Gerald heartily replied. - -“Oh, you needn’t feel under any obligation, for I am going to -make you earn your money,” retorted his companion, with a roguish -twinkle in his eyes, but in a very satisfied tone. “Will you have a -glass of wine with your dessert?” - -“Thank you--no; I never take wine--just a cup of coffee, if you -please.” - -“Coffee for two,” briefly ordered the lawyer; but the look which he -bestowed upon his new clerk was one of unqualified approbation. - -“Do you disapprove of wines?” he questioned, as the waiter -disappeared. - -“I disapprove of the abuse of them,” said Gerald, flushing; “and if -one does not use them at all one can never be guilty of excess.” - -“That is a self-evident fact, surely,” said his companion. “How -about smoking?” - -“I do not smoke.” - -“H’m! you are what might be termed a ‘model young man,’” his -employer dryly observed. - -“I am nothing of the kind, if, by that, you mean to imply that I -assume to have no faults,” Gerald retorted, with a little flash in -his eyes, for he began to suspect that he was being quizzed; “but I -have always claimed that I would never become a slave to any habit.” - -“And you are right, Winchester--I wish there were more young men -in the world who possessed just that spirit of independence,” said -Mr. Lyttleton, in a friendly tone. “Wines and liquors I shun, but -I smoke--my cigar I cannot do without; I wish I could. Now,” he -added, as he pushed back his chair, “I have an engagement, and -must hurry away; but I would like to have you come to my office -to-morrow morning at nine, sharp, when I shall want to talk with -you further about your duties.” - -“Very well, sir. I will be on time,” Gerald returned, and then the -two shook hands cordially, and separated. - -It was a little after two when they left the restaurant, and Gerald -thought he might as well go directly up-town to call upon Allison, -and inform her of his flattering prospects. - -But he sighed when he remembered that the ocean would soon roll -between them, and it would be many months before he could see her -again. - -A servant admitted him, and conducted him to the drawing-room, and -a few moments later, Allison came running down-stairs, with an -eager elasticity in her steps that set her lover’s pulses leaping -with secret joy. - -As she entered the room, she sprang to meet him with outstretched -hands and smiling lips, although the brilliant flush upon her -cheeks and the shy drooping of her golden-fringed lids betrayed -that she was not quite at ease. - -“I am glad to see you, Gerald,” she said, cordially; “it is so long -since you were here; and, oh! I can hardly realize all that has -happened since that day,” she went on, with starting tears. “It -breaks my heart, too, to think how you have been shut up in that -dreadful place. Why didn’t you send me word, you bad, bad boy?” - -“I did not like to trouble you, Allison--I thought you had enough -to bear without adding to your burdens.” - -“But it would have helped me to bear mine--it would have given me -something else to think of,” said the fair girl; “and then I could -have told what I knew, and you would have been set free.” - -“No, that could not have been accomplished, for there was no -one who would become my bondsman, and the affair had to come to -trial; and, besides, Allison, I really did not think that you had -overheard anything of importance that would make your testimony of -any value,” Gerald explained. - -“Well, you might at least have allowed me to prove my friendship -for you, and show a little sympathy. I think it was just dreadful, -Gerald, and I nearly cried my eyes out yesterday after I came home -and had time to realize what you must have suffered. Now do tell -me all about it, for I only heard a brief account of the case when -I went to the bank. Mr. Phillips said that you were arrested for -being found in the vault, with some valuables belonging to papa, -and some jewels that were mama’s, besides doing something that I do -not understand to some books. He said you were then on trial, and -so I hurried away--remembering what I had heard papa say about your -honesty--to see if I couldn’t help you.” - -“You saved me, Allison--I should have had to serve a term in -State’s prison but for you,” said the young man tremulously. - -“Well, I want you to begin at the beginning and tell me all,” -Allison commanded, as she seated herself upon the sofa beside her -guest, and prepared to listen to his story. - -Gerald began with the note which he had received from Mr. Brewster, -and related all that had occurred in connection with his trouble, -up to the time of the trial, while Allison hung almost breathless -upon his words. - -“And John Hubbard was the one who found you in the vault, and had -you arrested, in spite of the fact that you had papa’s keys, and -told him that he had sent you there to perform an errand for him?” -she exclaimed excitedly, when he concluded. - -“Yes.” - -“Why, he must have known that you had been sent there?” - -“He did know it, Allison; but he asserted, as you know, that I -stole the keys from the drawer in the table, while I was here that -Saturday afternoon.” - -“But I proved that you did not,” cried Allison exultantly, “and he -didn’t seem to be very well pleased about it, either.” - -“No,” said Gerald gravely; “he had reasons of his own for wanting -to ruin my reputation.” - -“What reasons?” - -“He has long hated me--he has been scheming for nearly two years -to get me discharged from the bank, and I am confident that it was -he who tampered with the books, to make them show that I had been -dishonest, although, of course, I cannot prove this.” - -“It was a bright idea of getting that expert,” said Allison. - -“Yes, that was Professor Emerson’s idea, and it worked well. The -professor returned from Washington only two days before the trial, -and, upon learning the charges, immediately said he knew a man who, -he thought, would help me. He looked him up, then the two demanded -the books for examination, and it did not take Mr. Plum very long -to decide that some very crooked work had been done by somebody -whose name was not Winchester,” Gerald explained. “I watched -Hubbard while he was making his statements,” he added, “and I knew -by the look in his eyes that he had been balked in a game which he -had felt pretty sure of winning.” - -“And yet papa trusted him,” said Allison musingly. - -“Surely, Allison, you do not think I doctored those books? You -cannot believe that I would be guilty of defrauding your father -after all his kindness to me?” he cried, in a wounded tone. - -“Oh, no! I did not mean to imply that, Gerald,” she returned -earnestly. “I would not have hurt you like that for all the world! -No, indeed, Gerald, if all the world said you were guilty, I would -never have believed it.” - -“Could you have trusted me to such an extent, Allison?” he -breathed, bending to look into her eyes, his face lighting with -sudden joy. - -“You know I could--nothing could ever make me lose faith in you. -What I did mean, when I said that papa trusted Mr. Hubbard, was, it -seemed strange to me that so shrewd a business man as my father was -should have been so deceived in any one.” - -“Allison, I do not believe that he was deceived; I imagine he knew -he was not to be trusted implicitly,” said Gerald thoughtfully. “I -used to fear, sometimes, that John Hubbard had managed to draw Mr. -Brewster into some transactions that were beginning to complicate -his business, and so made it necessary for him to retain the man.” - -“Oh, I hate him with all my heart!” Allison suddenly burst forth, -with startling vehemence; “and, Gerald, I am going to tell you -something--I must tell somebody: that man asked me the other day -to--don’t look at me so, please,” she interposed, averting her -scarlet face--“he asked me to marry him.” - -“Allison!” exclaimed Gerald, in breathless astonishment, and -turning deathly pale; “has he dared--has he presumed upon the -position he occupies toward you to do such a thing? Oh, he is a -bigger rascal than I thought him. Allison, you will not let him -either coax or force you to ruin your life in that way.” - -“Why, of course not--I told him I couldn’t marry him; you know I -could not, Gerald,” the ingenuous girl replied, and involuntarily -moving a little nearer his companion, with a confiding air that -thrilled him with joy, and yet what she had told him made him very -uneasy. - -“I cannot understand why papa should have given him authority over -me for so many years,” she said. - -“I cannot, either--it seems very strange to me,” Gerald observed -thoughtfully. He then told her of Mr. Lyttleton’s proposition, and -his contemplated tour abroad; but before he was through Allison -dropped her face upon her hands and burst into tears. - -“Oh, Gerald, don’t go!--I cannot spare you!” she sobbed. - -A shock of joy went quivering through the young man at her words, -although his own heart was almost rent in twain in view of the -approaching separation. Yet he felt that he had no right to betray -the great love he entertained for her. She was young--she was alone -in the world, and he felt that it would not be quite honorable to -take advantage of either her youth or loneliness to make her commit -herself. But, oh! he longed, mightily, to gather her in his arms, -tell her all, and ask her to wait until he could win a position -worthy of her acceptance, when he would lay himself and all he -possessed at her feet. - -He was silent so long, thinking of this, and trying to control his -yearning, that she finally lifted a wondering glance to him, and -thus caught him unawares--reading all that was in his heart through -the loving eyes which but too plainly told its story. - -The next moment her golden head lay upon his breast, and his -trembling arms enfolded her. - -“My darling! my darling! I did not mean to betray myself; but you -caught me napping,” he breathed, laying his cheek against her -shining hair. - -Allison lifted her head and flashed him a roguish look through her -tears. - -“You betrayed yourself a long time ago,” she whispered, a happy -smile wreathing her red lips; “have you forgotten that night at -Lakeview?” - -“No, dear, but I half-hoped that you had, and I have had many a -guilty twinge since, recalling it. I really had no right to betray -my love for you, nor abuse the confidence and hospitality of your -father in any such way; but it was done before I was hardly aware -of it. But, Allison, now that the veil has been entirely rent -asunder, I must tell you that I began to love you when I first came -to your father, and every year has only served to strengthen my -affection. But I am not going to ask you to bind yourself to me by -any promise, even now. I feel it would not be fair to you. You are -not yet through school, and after you graduate you will want to see -something of the world; so I am going to leave you free to choose -for yourself, in case you should ever meet any one else whom you -might love more than you love me; I could better bear to lose you -than to have you make a lifelong mistake.” - -Allison here sat up and looked her lover full in the eye. - -“Gerald, do you think it could be possible that you have made a -mistake in what you have just told me?” she questioned. - -“No, I am sure it would not be possible for me ever to love any one -but you,” he earnestly returned. - -“And do you think man capable of greater fidelity than woman?” - -“N-o, perhaps not; still I will not exact any promise from you -at present, Allison,” he gravely replied; “by and by, when you -have completed your studies--when you have been out in society a -while--when I have won my spurs, as the knights of old used to -say--if you are then free, and of the same mind, I shall feel that -I have a right to ask you to give yourself to me.” - -“Oh, what a complicated and indefinite proposition!” said Allison, -laughing, but with an impatient shrug of her graceful shoulders; -“but what do you mean by ‘when you have won your spurs?’” - -“Why, when I have made money enough to raise me above the suspicion -of being a fortune-hunter,” was the smiling response. - -“But suppose you do not achieve success by the time you have -indicated?” queried Allison demurely. - -“Then I suppose I must wait until I do,” with a sigh. - -“Ah! I thought so,” she retorted saucily; “you are far too proud, -my Gerald. Perhaps I am lacking in that quality, and I am very sure -that I am not ‘morbidly conscientious,’ so I am going to make you -promise me something, here and now.” - -He smiled fondly down at her. She was so sweet and lovable, so -charmingly frank, to let him see how dear he was to her, and yet -not in the least unmaidenly about it. - -“Very well; I will promise anything you ask,” he said tenderly; -“but first, since I have confessed so much, let me hear you say -that you love me.” - -She leaned toward him with parted lips and gleaming eyes; she -clasped her small, white hands, and laid them upon his breast. - -“Gerald,” she breathed softly, “you know that I love you with all -my heart.” - -Again he folded her close, his face luminous with happiness. - -“Bless you, my darling!” he said, with passionate earnestness. -“Now you may ask me whatever you will.” - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -ALLISON AND HER GUARDIAN. - - -“Well, then, Gerald,” said Allison, regarding her lover earnestly, -“you know, of course, that papa left me a lot of money.” - -“Yes, I know that Mr. Brewster was supposed to be a very rich man,” -the young man responded, with a regretful sigh. - -“And one little body, like me, couldn’t begin to spend it -all--especially when she is cooped up in a boarding school, and -has an ogre of a guardian to hold her in check,” the young girl -continued, with a mock, injured air. - -“Well?” said Gerald, smiling at her mood, yet not suspecting toward -what it was tending. - -“You say that you--love me very much, Gerald?” - -“Ah, my darling, I have no words to tell you all there is in my -heart.” - -“And you know that I--I am every bit as fond of you?” This with a -shy look and blush that were almost bewildering. - -“I trust so, dearest.” - -“Then nothing should ever be allowed to come between us as a -barrier.” - -“No, indeed! Nothing ever shall come between us--at least, if I can -prevent it,” rashly asserted this unsuspicious wooer. - -A happy little laugh rippled over Allison’s scarlet lips at this -assurance, and, laying her hands upon his shoulders, she looked -straight into his eyes, while a gleam of triumph shone in her own. - -“There!” she said, drawing a long breath; “now I have you just -where I want you, and you must promise me that, when I have -completed my studies, and you get back from Europe and are nicely -established in your position--whether you have made a lot of money -or not--you will take me just as I am. I shall have plenty, and -there will be no reason why we should not share it together.” - -“But, Allison----” Gerald began, looking flushed and embarrassed -as, at least, he comprehended her meaning. - -She playfully laid her slender fingers upon his lips; but he -captured her hand, though with a very tender look into the lovely -eyes upraised to his. - -“You must let me finish what I was going to say, dear,” he said -resolutely. “You must know that no man could respect himself to ask -a woman to marry him if he could not give her a comfortable home -and feel that he was, in every sense of the word, her protector. I -never could be dependent upon your fortune, Allison,” he concluded, -with an air of pride and decision which convinced her that there -would be no use in discussing that point further. - -She secretly admired him for the stand he had taken; but, -womanlike, she wanted the last word. - -“You said you would promise me anything I asked,” she said, with a -pretty pout. - -“But I did not think you would be guilty of taking such an unfair -advantage of me,” Gerald retorted, laughing. “I cannot swear away -my self-respect, to please even you,” and bending, he softly kissed -the white brow that was resting against his shoulder. - -“Well, but what has passed between us to-day makes you belong to -me, does it not?” Allison questioned. - -“Forever.” - -“I don’t see, then, but that you have sworn yourself away,” she -retorted slyly. - -“Yes, I believe I have. What a lawyer you would have made, -sweetheart!” Gerald responded, laughing again. - -“Very well; it is a poor rule that will not work both ways,” -Allison gravely observed; “I will not receive more than I am -willing to give, and so, Gerald, our mutual watchword shall be -‘forever.’” - -“My darling!” whispered the young lover, tears of emotion springing -to his eyes, “surely such a spirit of loyalty should nerve my heart -to any endeavor.” - -“How can I let you go away across the ocean!” Allison broke forth, -after a moment of silence, and in a voice of keen regret. - -“Yes, it does seem a little hard that I must go,” Gerald returned; -“but I am hoping a great deal from this coming year of experience -with Mr. Lyttleton--I am impressed that it will be a stepping-stone -toward the goal I wish to reach. Besides, I should not see much of -you during the next six months, as, of course, you will soon return -to school.” - -“Yes; I am to go back on Saturday; but we will write to each other -often.” - -“Yes, I am sure there is no reason why we should not,” Gerald -assented; “but, perhaps, it will be just as well that Mr. Hubbard -should not know of our correspondence.” - -“He will never learn of it from me,” said Allison spiritedly, and -adding, with a sigh: - -“Oh, I wish papa had not made him my guardian.” - -“I can echo that wish most heartily,” her companion responded -fervently; “and I cannot understand his doing so--allowing him -such unlimited power over you, and making him sole executor of his -will also; it does not seem at all like Mr. Brewster’s habitual -shrewdness. By the way, has he given you your jewels, and the other -box?” - -“What other box? I have mama’s jewels--at least, they are in the -safe in the library; Mr. Hubbard brought them directly here after -the trial; but I know nothing about any other box.” - -“Well, there were two boxes which I was to bring to your father; -but possibly one of them contained things which do not concern you, -papers, perhaps, relating to Mr. Brewster’s business. Still, I am -impressed that he did not wish any one to know anything of it or -its contents, and that was why he enjoined me to secrecy regarding -my errand that Sunday.” - -“I will ask Mr. Hubbard about it,” said Allison thoughtfully. - -“Yes, I think I would,” her lover replied, “although I do not -believe you will get any satisfaction from him; but it will at -least let him know that you are aware of its existence and have -some curiosity regarding the matter. But I must go now, dear,” he -added, rising. “I have a good many things to do for myself during -the week, and doubtless Mr. Lyttleton will require me at his office -some of the time.” - -“But you will come often between now and Saturday?” Allison -pleaded, as she clasped both hands about his arms, as if loath to -let him go. - -“I will come as often as you like,” he answered, smiling. - -“Then I shall look for you every evening; only I hope that Mr. -Hubbard will not pop in upon us, and spoil everything.” - -“Then every evening I will come,” Gerald replied, as he took a fond -farewell of her, and went away with a very happy heart. - -The remaining few days passed very swiftly to these young lovers, -who spent their evenings together, without exciting the suspicions -of John Hubbard, who, however, made some errand to call upon -Allison almost every day. - -Upon one occasion she questioned him about the box of which Gerald -had spoken, asking what it contained. - -“It is locked, and, as yet, I have found no key to it,” the man -told her evasively, but with a quickly averted glance, which did -not escape the fair girl’s watchful eyes. “Indeed, I have been too -busy to think much about it,” he added; “but I imagine there is -nothing in it but business papers.” - -So Allison was none the wiser, as Gerald had prophesied, and on -Saturday returned to her school, where, becoming absorbed in her -studies, she soon forgot all about it for the time. - -Gerald sailed for Europe the following Monday, and John Hubbard, -upon learning of the fact, experienced a feeling of intense relief. - -“Good riddance to him,” he muttered. “Now I need have no fear, for -I shall have a clear field to myself.” - -After Allison’s departure, Mr. Hubbard decided that it would -be useless expense to keep the Brewster establishment running; -consequently, he advertised it for rental, furnished, and it was -taken almost immediately by a Philadelphia family, who, bringing -their own servants with them, did not require any of the help who -had served there so long; and thus, all the servants, with Mrs. -Pollard, who had become exceedingly fond of Allison, and who felt -that she was being driven from her home, were obliged to find -situations elsewhere. - -The house at Yonkers was disposed of in the same way; consequently, -at the end of six months, when Allison had completed her education, -she found herself practically homeless, until she could arrange to -go to Newport for the summer, and so was obliged to take up her -residence with her guardian, whose family consisted of only himself -and his mother, with their servants. - -They were not to go to Newport until the middle of July, as Mr. -Hubbard had been so busy he had been unable to attend to the -opening of the cottage; but he managed to make his own home so -pleasant, and Allison so heartily welcome, while she found Mrs. -Hubbard such a dear old lady, she was wholly content to remain with -them. - -He did not once refer to his previous proposal of marriage; he -continued her the same liberal allowance which her father had made -her, and gratified her every wish, making himself so agreeable and -entertaining that all would probably have gone well but for an -incident that occurred during the second week after her return. - -Gerald returned about that time, and, feeling that Mr. Hubbard -would not favor his calling upon her, she arranged to meet him -at a certain point on Broadway, one day, when they were to go to -Delmonico’s for lunch, and to talk over their experiences of the -last half-year. - -They had hardly met and greeted each other when, they were suddenly -confronted by John Hubbard. - -“Well, Allison, whither are you bound?” he inquired, stepping -directly in her path, but without deigning Gerald even a glance of -recognition. - -The young girl paused aghast and flushed with mingled embarrassment -and astonishment. - -Then, recovering herself, her beautiful eyes began to blaze with -indignation at the slight in her companion. - -“Mr. Hubbard,” she said, glancing from him to Gerald, “do you not -recognize Mr. Winchester?” - -“I have no acquaintance with Mr. Winchester,” the man frigidly, but -very unwisely, responded. “I was, however, just on my way home to -get you to go with me to see that new painting at the Academy of -Design.” - -“I thank you, Mr. Hubbard,” Allison retorted, just as icily, “but -I was on my way to lunch at Delmonico’s with Mr. Winchester. Come, -Gerald.” - -Whereupon Miss Brewster haughtily passed her guardian, and -proceeded on her way, attended by her lover, who, although he bowed -coldly to the man, found it difficult to restrain his anger at his -insolence. - -“But, Allison----” authoritatively began John Hubbard, looking back -after the graceful, but proudly erect figure of his ward. - -He might as well have addressed the paving-stones, for the -independent little lady paid not the slightest heed to him. - -“Gerald, I could almost strangle him for being so rude to you,” she -remarked, when they were beyond hearing of the man. - -“Never mind me, dear,” he replied, smiling, but regarding her with -an admiring look. “I believe it would be worth while being snubbed -occasionally for the sake of seeing you look so pretty in your -righteous indignation over it.” - -“He has been very good to me of late, and I had begun to like -them--almost,” Allison explained; “but I believe this has made -him more hateful to me than ever. However,” tossing her shining -head defiantly, “I am not going to let it spoil our little visit -together.” - -They had their lunch, and a quietly jolly time over it, and then -Allison insisted that Gerald himself should take her to see the -painting of which Mr. Hubbard had spoken. They passed a couple of -hours thus very pleasant, and then reluctantly separated. - -But they decided that, in future, they would have to be more -wary about their meetings; and, as Gerald was very busy, it was -doubtful about their seeing much of each other before Allison went -to Newport, and now the fair girl began to chafe sorely over the -fact that her fate was so closely allied with the man who was so -obnoxious to her. - -When she reached home on this afternoon, she found John Hubbard -there before her, and wearing a very injured air. - -But she paid very little attention to him until, galled by her -coolness toward him, he opened fire upon her. - -“I was very sorry to meet you with that disreputable fellow today,” -he began, when the indignant girl whirled around upon him like a -small tornado. - -“Mr. John Hubbard, you will be kind enough never to speak of my -friend, Mr. Winchester, in that way again,” she cried, with flaming -cheeks and blazing eyes; “and I will further say that I regard your -rudeness to him to-day as a personal insult to me, also.” - -The man gazed at her in astonishment. He was dumfounded by such -an exhibition of temper. Her manner was usually characterized by -a sweetness and quietness that gave one the impression that she -could not be aroused to an exhibition of passion, although the -determination and obstinacy which she had shown at Gerald’s trial -had betrayed a strong will. - -“Really, Allison,” he began, after a moment, and realizing that it -would not be wise to antagonize her still further, “I meant no -disrespect to you--you know that I have only the tenderest regard -for you; but I was so taken aback upon seeing you upon the street -with that--with young Winchester, I was hardly responsible for what -I did or said. I have never changed my opinion regarding the young -man, however, and it hurt me deeply to meet you with him.” - -Allison opened her lips as if about to retort sharply to him again; -but she suddenly checked herself, and turning from him, left the -room without deigning him any reply. - -But the man’s suspicions having been aroused, he resolved to watch -his ward closely. - -The result of his prying was the discovery of Gerald’s photograph, -which he found in a box in one of Allison’s bureau-drawers, and -with it his last letter from Europe, together with a couple of -recent notes which told him a great deal regarding their relations -to each other--enough to drive him into a white heat of rage, and -arouse all his native villainy and cunning. - -He had observed that Gerald had improved greatly during his absence -abroad; he had grown more manly, while there was a prosperous look -about him which betokened success and progression. - -This was true, for Gerald had proved himself so congenial to his -employer, and so thoroughly in earnest and determined to do his -very best, that the two had at once become the best of friends, and -at the end of three months Mr. Lyttleton raised his salary to a -thousand a year. More than this, he had found his mental grasp so -keen and forceful, that he had persuaded him to begin the study of -law, under his supervision, and thus the young man found himself -working out the very plan which his friend, Professor Emerson, had -once suggested to him. - -John Hubbard congratulated himself that he was so soon to get -Allison away from New York, and he hurried his own work in order to -prevent any delay in his plans. - -But the afternoon previous to her departure the lovers had an -enjoyable drive in Central Park, and on her return from this -excursion, Allison met with an adventure which, although, at the -time, it seemed unimportant in itself, was destined to result in -great things later on. - -As she had a few errands to attend to before going home, Gerald -left her at one of the large stores on Broadway, after bidding her -a reluctant farewell. She had completed her purchase, and had just -left a fashionable millinery establishment, where she had bought “a -love of a hat,” that was destined to do duty at the seaside, and -was standing upon the curbing, waiting for an uptown car, when she -observed a young girl, about fourteen years of age, leaning against -a lamp-post, and crying bitterly. - -She was poorly clad, was very pale, and wore a dejected, suffering -air, which at once appealed to the tender heart of the young -heiress, who also observed that a heavy bundle lay upon the -sidewalk at her feet. - -Stepping quietly to her side, Allison gently laid her hand upon her -arm to attract her attention. - -“Why are you crying?” she questioned in an earnest tone; “has -anything happened to you?” - -The girl turned her tear-stained face upon the speaker, and Allison -saw that it was almost convulsed with pain. - -With her right hand she pointed to her left arm, which, her -companion now saw, hung limp and useless--broken--by her side. - -The next moment the sufferer dropped senseless at her feet. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -“BREAD CAST UPON THE WATERS.” - - -Allison’s first impulse was to scream for help. But she quickly -conquered it, for she had a horror of becoming the center of a -curious, gaping crowd upon a public thoroughfare. - -Almost at the same moment she espied a policeman across the street, -and beckoned him to come to her assistance; then, stooping over -the senseless girl at her feet, tried to move her into a more -comfortable position. - -“What has happened?” queried the officer, as he appeared upon the -spot. “A drunk, I reckon--eh?” - -“No,” said Allison, flushing with indignation at his indifferent -tone; “the girl’s arm is broken, and she has fainted.” - -“Humph! then it’s a case for the hospital. I’ll ring up an -ambulance,” was the perfunctory response. - -Allison caught her breath sharply, for, like many others who are -ignorant regarding such institutions, she had a perfect horror of a -hospital. - -“No,” she said quickly and decidedly, while she glanced up at a -sign over a window in the next block, “Doctor Ashmore’s office is -quite near--take her there.” - -“She doesn’t look as if she could afford to pay a swell surgeon -like Doctor Ashmore--she’s a better subject for the hospital, -miss,” said the man slightingly. - -“Well, but I am not going to allow her to be put into an ambulance -and driven a long way over these rough pavements to any hospital,” -Allison asserted decidedly. “I know Doctor Ashmore--he is a -first-class surgeon, and I will be responsible for his charge. -Now, pray do as I ask you, and do not let this poor thing lie here -upon the hard sidewalk a moment longer” she concluded, somewhat -impatiently, for people were beginning to gather about them. - -“All right, miss; if you choose to look out for her, it’s no affair -of mine,” said the policeman, and, calling another man to his aid, -the two lifted the still unconscious girl and bore her into the -noted surgeon’s office, Allison swiftly leading the way thither. - -“I have brought you a patient, Doctor Ashmore,” she observed, as he -entered, and the gentleman came forward to greet her, whereupon he -ordered the men to deposit their burden upon a couch, and at once -proceeded to make an examination of the case. - -“The arm is broken above the elbow,” he observed, after ripping up -the sleeve of the girl’s dress. “Who is this protégée of yours, -Miss Brewster?” - -“I do not know,” Allison replied; “I found her leaning against a -lamp-post crying, and asked her what the trouble was, when she -merely pointed to her arm, and then fainted away.” - -“Well, we will soon have her comfortably fixed. Perhaps you would -like to go into another room while I set the bone,” said Doctor -Ashmore, after calling his assistant, and ordering him to bring -splints, bandages, and other necessary appliances. - -“No, thank you; the poor thing will perhaps feel better if she -comes to herself and finds me here, and I will try not to mind the -operation,” replied Allison, in a spirit of true self-abnegation, -yet not feeling nearly so brave as her words had sounded. - -Nothing more was said, and the surgeon proceeded at once about -his task, without attempting to revive his patient, who was still -unconscious. - -But as his skilful fingers put the fractured bone into position, a -low, shuddering moan plainly told that the shock and pain of the -setting had resulted in restoring suspended animation. - -But the girl made no other sound, no resistance; she lay white -and motionless while the splints were adjusted, and the bandages -arranged, and when all was over she raised herself to a sitting -posture, and looked curiously about her. - -“Where am I?” she inquired of Allison, as another patient entered, -and claimed the surgeon’s attention. - -“In the office of Doctor Ashmore. I asked a policeman to bring -you here, so that your injury could be attended to immediately,” -Allison explained; “and,” she added, smiling encouragingly into the -pale, pinched face before her, “I am sure the worst is over.” - -“Perhaps you think so--but that is all you know about it,” returned -the girl grimly. - -“But I have always heard that after a broken bone is once set, -there is very little discomfort experienced while the fracture is -mending.” - -“Oh, the arm will do well enough,” said the girl, glancing at the -bandaged member indifferently; “I wasn’t thinking about that at -all.” - -“What were you thinking about?” inquired Allison, with surprise. - -“Of the money I’ve lost and the scoldings and abuse I shall get -because I sha’n’t be able to do any work for the next few weeks,” -returned the patient, with an anxious frown. “But where’s my -bundle?” she questioned, with a sudden start, and glancing around -the room with a troubled air. - -“Over there behind that chair,” said Allison, pointing it out. Then -she asked: “Now will you tell me your name, and how you happened to -get hurt?” - -“My name is Ellen Carson,” the girl replied; “I had been to Cohen -& Isaacs, to carry back a lot of work, and get some more, and the -pay for the last. I live with my aunt, or my uncle’s wife, and I do -the housework, while she and Anna--my cousin--make boys’ jackets -for a living. I help on them, too, after the drudgery is done, and -I always have to fetch and carry the bundles. I had the pay for the -last lot--three dollars--in one hand, and was hurrying home, when -an ugly-looking fellow gave me a rough push, knocking me against -that lamp-post, then snatched the purse, and made off with it, -before I hardly knew what had happened. At first I was so wild over -losing the money, and what I should catch when I got home, I didn’t -know that I was hurt; but, after a minute or two, the pain got so -sharp it took my breath away, and then I found my arm was broken. -Oh, dear! Aunt Lu will just about kill me for letting that money be -stolen,” Ellen concluded, with a sob, great tears chasing over her -hollow cheeks. - -“Hush! Do not cry! I will make the money part of it all right,” -said Allison kindly, a great pity for the unfortunate girl surging -through her heart. “I am sure your aunt cannot be very kind to you -if she will mind the loss of three dollars more than your accident.” - -“Kind! huh!” exclaimed Ellen, with a mirthless laugh, “and she’ll -mind the broken arm enough, too, but not in the way you mean; she -and Anna will have to do the housework now for a while, and I shall -get plenty of kicks and cuffs for being in the way and ‘not earning -my salt.’ I sha’n’t get much but salt, either, I imagine, to pay -for losing that money.” - -“Oh, I cannot imagine any one being so cruel,” said Allison, -looking deeply troubled. “Your aunt must be very poor, as well as -unkind.” - -“You bet she is; but it wasn’t always so bad as it is now,” -Ellen observed, and, growing confidential. “When Uncle Alan--he -was my mother’s brother, and his name was Brown--was alive, I -used to go to school, and we lived in a better part of the city. -Anna graduated from the high school more’n four years ago; she’s -handsome, too--or would be if she could have pretty clothes like -yours”--this with an appreciative glance at Allison’s dainty -costume. “After Uncle Alan died, Aunt Lu at first threatened to -send me to an orphans’ home; but when she found how handy I was in -the kitchen, and to run on errands, she got over that, though she -doesn’t mind twitting me about being a beggar every day of my life.” - -“But does she not pay you something for doing the work and helping -upon the jackets?” questioned Allison, with almost a sense of guilt -as she compared the ideal life which she had always led with the -miserable existence of this poor, abused child. - -“Pay me! Good land! Uncle Alan has been dead going on four years, -and I haven’t had a dime of my own to spend at one time since. -Sometimes I’ve got so desperate I’ve thought I’d run away and leave -Aunt Lu and Anna to shift for themselves, and become a cash-girl in -some store, but I haven’t a decent dress or a whole pair of shoes -or stockings to my name, and nobody’d hire me looking like this,” -the girl concluded, as she glanced ruefully down at her faded -dress, and the clumsy, defaced shoes upon her feet. - -Tears involuntarily rushed to Allison’s eyes, as they fell upon -her costly, well-filled purse, and she realized for the first -time in her life that she had never known the meaning of the word -“poverty.” Again a sense of guilt swept over her as she thought of -the dainty ten-dollar boots and the silken stockings that encased -her feet--of the expensive hat upon her head, and the many other -accessories of her toilet, the price of one of which would have -seemed like a small fortune to this destitute girl. - -“I suppose you thought you were doing a good thing when you had me -brought in here?” Ellen resumed, after a moment of silence, and -glancing around the luxurious room they were in; “but Aunt Lu -will never pay Doctor Ashmore for setting my arm--he’s one of your -swell, high-priced doctors; you would have done better if you’d -sent me to some hospital.” - -“I couldn’t,” said Allison; “somehow, I have a prejudice against a -hospital; but you need not worry about Doctor Ashmore’s fee--I am -going to pay him myself.” - -“H’m! that’s very good of you, and you must have lots of spare -cash to be able to sling it about in that way,” Ellen observed, -with a wistful glance at the silver-tipped pocketbook in Allison’s -daintily gloved hand. “But,” starting to her feet, “I must be -getting along home, though goodness knows how I am going to carry -that bundle with only one hand, and--and my knees have a queer, -shaky feeling in them, too,” she concluded, growing pale and -sinking back upon the couch again. - -“Where do you live?” Allison questioned, in a voice that was -somewhat husky. - -“Down on Greenwich Street.” - -“Oh!” breathed the petted child of fortune, with a shiver of -repulsion; and then she abruptly crossed the room to speak to the -surgeon’s assistant. She asked him if he would call a carriage for -her, after which she went thoughtfully back to her protégée. - -“I am going to send you and your bundle home in a carriage,” she -said to her; “and now tell me, please, was it exactly three dollars -that was stolen from you this morning?” - -“Yes, just the price of a dozen jackets.” - -“What! you do not mean that you only get that amount for making a -dozen jackets?” exclaimed Allison, aghast. - -“That is all--just twenty-five cents apiece,” said the girl, with a -confirmative nod. - -Allison opened her purse, and took from it three dollars. - -“Ellen,” she said, in a very winning tone, “I am going to give you -that much to take to your aunt, so that she cannot blame you for -the loss.” - -“My! but ain’t you good!” breathed the girl, with a long, grateful -sigh, as she reached eagerly for the money. - -“Wait,” said Allison; “I will get an envelope from Doctor Ashmore -to put it in--it will be safer so,” and going to the surgeon, who -was now writing at his desk, she asked him to give her two. - -She placed the three dollars in one, then returned to Ellen, to -whom she gave it, and who hastily thrust it into the bosom of her -dress. - -“Now,” continued Allison, “I am sorry that I cannot know how you -will get on with your arm, for I am going to leave the city for the -summer to-morrow morning. But, of course, you will have to come -to Doctor Ashmore occasionally, and I shall learn from him how -you are, when I return, and perhaps then I can help you to find -something to do in a pleasanter home----” - -“Oh, would you?--will you?” cried the girl, with pathetic -eagerness. “I should love you with all my heart for it.” - -Allison was almost ready to weep as she met the wistful eyes -uplifted to hers. - -“I will try, if you will leave your address with Doctor Ashmore,” -she replied, as she quietly slipped a ten-dollar bill into the -other envelope; “and now I am going to give you this for your very -own,” she continued, as she tucked her gift into Ellen’s hand; “you -can do whatever you like with it.” - -“For me! Oh! do you mean that you have given me all that? Ten -dollars!” gasped the astonished girl, whose quick eyes had detected -the denomination of the bill. “Have you a right to give away so -much money? What will your father and mother say? Why, I can’t -believe it!” - -Her voice shook from intense excitement and the hand that held the -coveted sum trembled visibly. - -“Yes, Ellen, I have the right to give away what I like, and I have -no father nor mother, I regret to say, to question my pleasure -in that respect. You need not say anything about it to your aunt -unless you choose.” - -“I guess I sha’n’t tell either Aunt Lu or Anna a word about it,” -Ellen hastily interposed. “I shouldn’t have it long if I did. I -shall keep very mum, and when my arm gets well, I will make a good -use of it,” she added, with a gleam of triumph in her eyes that -Allison never forgot. Then, with something very like a sob, she -continued: “Why, miss, I think I must feel something like the slave -I read about not long ago, when his master gave him his liberty: ‘I -’clar to goodness,’ he said, ‘dis am a new world to me!’ This money -means freedom to me and a new world to live in. How I love you for -being so kind to me! I--I hope you do not mind my saying it”--in -an apologetic tone--“I know I’m of no account, but I haven’t had -anybody to love since my mother died, seven years ago.” - -Allison was deeply touched by the girl’s emotion, and the pathos of -this last remark. - -“Indeed, Ellen, you are of a great deal of account,” she returned, -with a winning smile; “and when I come back to the city, in the -fall, I will try to see you again, and I hope I shall find you well -and happier than you are to-day. Ah, I think the carriage has come -for you,” she concluded, as Doctor Ashmore’s attendant at that -moment returned, accompanied by the coachman, who had come for the -bundle. - -The surgeon then came forward, gave his patient some directions, -making an appointment for her to come to him again in a few days, -after which Allison bade her a kind good-by, paid the hackman his -fare, and charged him to “be sure and carry the bundle into the -house for Ellen when she reached home.” - -Then Allison turned to Doctor Ashmore and requested him to name his -charge for setting the broken arm. - -He smiled into her beautiful, earnest face. - -“Are you in the habit of picking up disabled protégées in the -streets of New York, Miss Allison?” he questioned. - -“No; I am ashamed to say that this is my first experience of -anything of the kind,” Allison gravely replied; “but it would have -been inhuman to have left her lying there upon the pavement, or to -have allowed her to be carried away to a hospital, when help was so -near. I knew, too, that she could not fall into better hands than -yours.” - -“Thank you for your tribute and confidence,” said the surgeon, in a -gratified tone, “but there will be no charge for what I have done.” - -“Oh, but I never should have presumed to bring her here if I had -not expected to be responsible for her fee,” Allison exclaimed, and -flushing sensitively. - -“I understand; but I think you have already done your share for -that poor, forsaken-looking child,” the man kindly responded. “I -like to do a good deed once in a while myself, so we will not talk -any more about the fee.” - -He had not been unmindful of what had occurred between the two -girls, notwithstanding he had appeared to be absorbed in other -things. - -Allison thanked him heartily for his personal interest in the case, -and then, after a few moments of friendly chatting, bade him good -afternoon, and went home, having received a vivid object lesson -upon human poverty and suffering which she felt she should never -forget, and little thinking how the “bread which had that day been -cast upon the waters” would be returned to her after many days. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -A TERRIBLE REVELATION. - - -The next morning after her adventure with Ellen Carson, Allison -left New York for Newport, where the Brewster villa was reopened, -with John Hubbard to play the part of proprietor and host, and -mature his plans for the capture of the beautiful heiress for whom -and whose money he had so long been scheming. - -To Allison the thought of spending the entire summer in the same -house with the man whom she so disliked seemed intolerable, and she -became very restless and rebellious in view of the prospect before -her ere a week had passed. - -“What shall I do with myself during all the years that will -intervene before his authority over me or my fortune will expire?” -she asked herself, with a feeling of excessive impatience, one day -during the second week of their sojourn at Newport. - -Yet the man was unwearied in his attentions, unvarying in his -kindness to her. He spared no trouble to give her pleasure, he -grumbled at no expense if he could but see her smiling and happy, -and be allowed to bask in her presence. - -“I cannot live an idle, aimless life,” she mused, “while I am -waiting for Gerald to make his fortune. Oh, what a proud, obstinate -boy! But why doesn’t he write to me? I have not heard from him once -since coming to Newport,” she sighed, with a troubled expression. -“I would like to teach,” she went on, after a moment of thought; -“but it hardly seems right for me, with my fortune, to apply for a -position which would otherwise be filled by a girl who must support -herself. But something I must do to break away from this bondage. -Oh, I know!” with an eager start. “It will be just the most -delightful plan! I will have a chaperon, and I will travel. It will -be such a blessed relief to get away from--him!” - -And, much elated with what she considered a very clever plan, she -sought her guardian and made known her wish to go abroad. - -The man glanced sharply at her the moment he comprehended her -purpose; then sat quietly listening to her until she concluded the -rehearsal of her plan, which was, in the main, that she wished to -have at least a couple of years of foreign travel before making her -début in New York society--which it would not be etiquette for her -to do until her season of mourning was over. - -When she was through he changed his seat to one beside her, and -remarked, with a confidential look and smile: - -“Really, Allison, I think it rather singular that you and I both -should have the same project in view.” - -She glanced up at him in surprise. - -“Why, have you been planning such a trip for me?” she questioned, -with a momentary twinge of conscience, lest she had been more -unjust toward him than he merited. - -“Yes,” he replied, in a tone which he could not make quite steady, -for the proposal he was about to make was a very momentous one to -him. “You are now through school, and it is but right that you -should see something of the world. I have had this in mind for -some time, and have been trying to arrange for it. I now have my -business in such shape that I can leave it indefinitely, and we -will have a long holiday, Allison; we will spare neither time nor -money, and you shall go wherever your sweet will inclines.” - -The girl shot one quick, startled look at her companion; then a -burning flush suffused her neck, cheek and brow, for his tone -had grown suspiciously tender and tremulous, and she dreaded -inexpressibly what she feared was to come. - -“Oh, but I did not once think of--of taking you from your business -to go with me,” she hastened to say. “I can have a chaperon, you -know; there is Miss Wilber, my teacher in history, who has often -attended young ladies abroad during summer vacations. She is out of -health, and will not teach the coming year, and I am sure she would -be glad to go with me; she would be a delightful companion, too, -for she is so well posted in history, and has been about so much -she is a perfect encyclopedia of facts, legends and traditions. I -should feel perfectly safe, and be very happy with her, also.” - -“Ah, yes; no doubt it would be a very good arrangement, both for -yourself and the lady,” rejoined John Hubbard, when Allison paused, -although a frown swept over his face at her evident eagerness -to substitute her own plan for his; “but, my dear child, I could -never consent to let you go away to Europe like that; I should -never know one moment of peace during your absence. Allison,” with -sudden and vehement earnestness, “do you remember what I told you -only a few months ago--that I have loved you ever since you were a -little girl, and that, during all those years, I have had only one -aim in life--that of eventually winning you for my wife? Think of -it, Allison! I have lived nearly eleven years with this one hope -to feed upon and cheer me. I know that I am somewhat older than -you, but my affection is none the less strong and true--indeed, -having nursed my hopes so long, my love is far more intense than it -could have been at the age when a man usually chooses his wife. My -darling, I adore you; my life is bound up in you; I must win you, -or the world will henceforth be a blank to me, and during the last -six months I have yearned for this moment more than I can express. -Allison, you will marry me; you will be my wife, and we will go -abroad for our honeymoon. I will live only to make you happy, and -you shall go where you like if you will but give me the right to go -with you.” - -He had spoken so rapidly that Allison could not have interrupted -him if she had wished; he had poured out his passionate avowal with -such resistless vehemence that she was stricken dumb, and sat with -averted face, an almost sickening sense of repugnance, even fear, -oppressing her. - -As he concluded he leaned forward, laying his hand upon hers, -which were tensely clasped upon her lap, and tried to look into her -downcast eyes. - -His touch broke the spell upon her. - -Almost involuntarily she shrank from him, snatching her hands from -his, a visible shiver creeping over her, and driving every particle -of color from her face. - -“Oh,” she gasped, as if oppressed by some terrible weight upon her -chest, “why will you say such things to me? No, no; it cannot be!” - -The man’s countenance changed, as if he had been smitten a sharp -and sudden blow. - -“Do not tell me that,” he breathed, in a hoarse, unnatural voice. -“I cannot bear it. I have lived too long with only this one hope to -sustain me, to have it ruthlessly wrested from me at this late day.” - -Something in the man’s tone--a sort of despairing, appealing -note--sent a wave of pity coursing through Allison’s heart. - -“I am sorry if I have pained you,” she faltered; “but--I cannot -love you, Mr. Hubbard, and so I must not marry you.” - -“I will make you love me, Allison,” he returned, with almost -pathetic earnestness. “Out of the superabundance of my own -affection I will nourish yours until your heart will turn to me as -naturally as a flower turns to the sun.” - -But Allison only shrank farther from him. - -“It is impossible; it can never be,” she said, so decidedly there -was no mistaking her determination to settle the matter for all -time. - -“Why?” he demanded, sharply, but with quivering lips. “Why can you -never love me? How is it that you are so positive?” - -“I do not know that I can tell you why; it is not easy to analyze -one’s feelings,” Allison responded constrainedly. “I only know that -I do not love you and that it would be a great sin to become your -wife without loving you.” - -“Then it must be because some one stands between us,” said John -Hubbard, with jealous bitterness. “Tell me! Is is so? Do you love -some one else?” - -There was now a note of impatient authority in his tone that -aroused Allison’s antagonism and a spirit of recklessness. Then, -too, his love-making was so repulsive to her she felt that she -could not endure it a moment longer. Perhaps, she thought, if she -should confess the truth to him it would put an end to his hopes -and emancipate her from all persecutions of this nature in the -future. - -“Yes,” she admitted, after a moment of hesitation, a vivid flush -suffusing her face, “that is the reason.” - -“Aha!” he breathed, hoarsely, the veins upon his temples standing -out hard and full. “So you confess it! Who is he? Who is he?” - -His tone was almost savage, his aspect so vindictive that Allison -was aroused in proportion. - -She turned upon him with a haughty air, and met his lowering eyes -with a clear, cold glance. - -“That is my own secret,” she frigidly returned. - -“Ha, ha! So you fondly believe it is a secret, do you?” he -mockingly retorted. “You imagine that no one has eyes or -perceptions to discern the signs of the times? My haughty little -lady, your ‘secret’ is no secret; I have read your heart, like an -open book, for many a long year.” - -“Very well, then; if you are so well versed in mind reading there -is no need of your asking information regarding what you already -know,” said the fair girl, with quiet sarcasm. - -“Perhaps not; but I wish to have my suspicions corroborated by -the testimony of your own lips. I want to be sure that my fate is -irrevocably sealed before I bow to it. So, tell me, is it Gerald -Winchester whom you love? Is he the rival upon whom you expect to -bestow your peerless self and your enviable fortune?” - -Again Allison flushed a deep and conscious crimson. The man’s -manner had grown so coarse and repulsive, while his mocking -reference to Gerald set all her pulses tingling with indignation -and defiance, and a desire to stand up in defense of her lover. - -“And suppose you are right in your surmise--what then?” she -demanded, proudly, a dangerous gleam in her eyes. - -“In that case, I tell you that you are doomed to be terribly -disappointed, for I swear that you shall never marry that upstart! -He shall never have the privilege of handling one dollar of Adam -Brewster’s fortune!” snarled the man, but so beside himself with -rage his voice was hardly audible. - -Allison was now thoroughly angry and disgusted. - -She sprang to her feet and confronted her companion with haughty -mien and blazing eyes. - -“You are exceedingly presuming,” she began scornfully. “You are -overstepping the bounds of your authority as my guardian, for I -certainly have and shall exercise the right to choose for myself -whom I will marry, and----” - -“And what, Allison?” questioned John Hubbard, growing very white as -she suddenly paused. “This is a matter that must be settled, here -and now, so you may as well express yourself freely.” - -“I was simply going to observe that my choice would certainly not -fall upon yourself, even were I heart-whole,” she retorted, with -startling candor, and driven to utter defiance by his arbitrary -tone and manner. - -The man flushed scarlet beneath the scathing words; then a lurid -light sprang into his eyes. - -“I am afraid you do not realize what you are doing, Miss Brewster, -by so scornfully rejecting my suit,” he said, with an evident -effort for self-control. - -“You have driven me to plain speaking, sir,” Allison replied more -calmly. “You would not accept my courteous rejection of your -proposals, and you have made me very angry by your slighting -remarks about Mr. Winchester, whom you have always appeared to -hate, and whom you have also shamefully persecuted.” - -“Yes, I have hated and do still hate him, the insufferable upstart, -with his assumption of high-toned airs, which are entirely at -variance with the beggardly position he has always occupied,” Mr. -Hubbard almost hissed, a cold glitter in his eyes, and with the old -vicious gleam of his white teeth beneath his mustache. “More than -that,” he resumed cruelly, “I swore long ago that he should never -marry you, as I plainly saw he was aiming to do by worming himself -into the confidence of your father and making love to you on the -sly----” - -“If you please, Mr. Hubbard, I think we have discussed this subject -sufficiently, and I would like to change it,” Allison here icily -interposed. “I have decided that I will spend the next two years -traveling; therefore, I shall write to Miss Wilber this evening -to----” - -“Not quite so fast, my young lady, if you please,” her guardian -rudely interrupted. “You appear to forget or ignore the fact that -you are under my authority, and are not free to arrange your -movements exactly as you like without my consent.” - -“I am more than eighteen years of age, Mr. Hubbard,” said Allison, -proudly, “and I am capable of thinking and acting for myself in -all ways except the management of my fortune. Business I do not -understand, and I bow to the decree of my father’s will that you -shall act as my agent financially; but I am no longer a child, to -be told that I cannot go here or there, provided I am properly -attended, and I shall arrange to go abroad immediately, with Miss -Wilber as my chaperon.” - -“Excuse me, Miss Brewster, but you will not go abroad this -summer, unless you go under my protection, and as my wife,” John -Hubbard observed, with a peculiar smile, that was exceedingly -exasperating, and which also sent a strange chill to the heart -of his listener. “You’d better be sensible and listen to reason, -Allison,” he continued more gently, after a moment of silence. “If -you will accede to my proposal, your future may be one long idyl -of happiness; your every wish shall be gratified; you shall be a -queen--I your slave. But,” sternly, as the girl made an impatient -gesture, “if you defy me, I----” - -“Well, what if I defy you?” she cried, turning upon him with the -air of a princess. - -“I have it in my power to crush you.” - -A light, scornful laugh rippled over Allison’s red lips. - -The idea of a man like John Hubbard, whom, all her life, she had -instinctively regarded as her inferior, being able to “crush” her, -Adam Brewster’s daughter, and heiress to a million or more, seemed -ludicrous in the extreme. - -“You appear to be skeptical regarding my powers, Miss Brewster,” -the man observed, with a crafty smile, but with a face that was -ghastly white from his intense anger. - -“Well, yes, I am,” she dryly responded, as she drew forth her watch -and glanced at the time. “Excuse me,” she added coldly, “but I have -an engagement to drive at four.” - -She was about to turn away and leave the room when her companion -seized her hand in a vise-like grip, and, bending before her, gazed -straight into her eyes with a look that sent a cold chill running -down her back. - -“Once more, and for the last time--and think well before you answer -me--will you marry me, Allison?” he questioned, through his tightly -locked teeth. - -“No! a thousand times, no!” she cried, in a ringing tone; “and if -you ever broach the subject again I will appeal to be set free from -your guardianship. I will not submit to such persecution.” - -“Ha, ha! You will not need to appeal to be freed from my -authority!” he retorted, with an almost fiendish leer. - -“Ah! you are going to resign your position, perhaps?” said Allison, -with an eagerness which but too plainly betrayed her delight at -such a prospect. - -“You would be glad to have me do so, no doubt,” he sneered. - -“Yes, I think I would,” the girl gravely returned, after a moment -of thought. “After what has occurred to-day I think it would be -unpleasant for both of us to continue our present relations.” - -“Very well; you shall be gratified, for it is my purpose to resign -all authority over you,” said John Hubbard, with peculiar emphasis. -Then he added, with something between a sigh and a groan, “I would -have spared you this, Allison, and it is not too late even now -to--to save you, if you will but reconsider your rejection of -me----” - -Allison checked him with an imperative gesture. - -“I will have no more of that,” she said, haughtily. “But what do -you mean? From what is it not too late to save me? Why are you -about to resign your guardianship of me?” - -“To answer your last question will be to reply to all--because I -was appointed as guardian to Adam Brewster’s daughter, but--you are -no child of the late banker!” - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -AN APPALLING SECRET. - - -Allison regarded her companion in silent astonishment for a full -minute after his astounding communication. - -“I do not understand you,” she said, at last, and she looked as if -she had not in the least comprehended his statement. - -“I have told you that you are not the daughter of Adam Brewster,” -John Hubbard stolidly reasserted. - -An incredulous expression swept over the girl’s beautiful face. - -“That is an assertion too absurd to be heeded,” she said, and -turning again, as if to leave the room. - -The man placed himself in her path, thus intercepting her. - -“I have told you only the truth,” he said, with cold -deliberateness. “There is not one drop of Adam Brewster’s blood -in your veins; you are of no kin to either him or the late Mrs. -Brewster--so called.” - -“Who--am--I--then?” came slowly from Allison’s white lips, for at -last the arrow had struck home, although she did not appear to have -heeded the last two ambiguous words which the man had uttered. - -“I do not know; no one knows,” he answered, with cruel -indifference. - -“I do not believe it--I will not believe it! You will have to prove -it!” the girl cried, tremulously. - -“I can prove it.” - -“Then I demand proof, here and now--this instant!” with an -imperative stamp of her foot. - -John Hubbard left the room without a word. In less than three -minutes he returned, carrying in his hands one of the boxes which -had been found in Gerald’s possession on that fatal Sunday morning -of the previous winter. - -He set it upon a table, placed a chair before it, and motioned for -Allison to be seated. - -“In that box you will find the proof of what I have told you,” he -said; then added, as if impelled by a twinge of remorse: “I would -have saved you this, Allison, had you been reasonable.” - -“Reasonableness! Do you call it unreasonable for a girl to -refuse to be coerced into an uncongenial marriage?” she cried, -passionately, her face flaming scarlet, although she was trembling -from head to foot with mingled suspense and apprehension. - -“Where is the key to this?” she demanded, sinking into the chair -before the table and without giving the man a chance to reply. - -He took a ring of keys from his pocket, detached one from it, and -passed it to her without speaking. - -Allison could not have been whiter if she had been carved from -marble as she inserted the tiny bit of brass in the lock, turned -it, and threw open the cover of the mysterious box. - -A low, inarticulate cry broke from her as she caught sight of the -infant’s clothing within, and instantly surmised the truth; yet, -even in her amazement and horror over the terrible revelation, she -noted how exquisitely fine was the material from which the garments -had been made--how rich the various trimmings--how pure the tiny -diamond that gleamed in the small golden key that was pinned upon -the yoke of the little dress. - -She removed the articles one by one, laying them upon the table, -until she emptied the box of all its contents save that brief note, -written by the unknown mother, and Mrs. Brewster’s confession to -her husband. - -Allison unfolded the letter first, and read it through to the end -without making a sign of the suffering that nearly cleft her heart -in twain, as she realized how, in an instant of time, as it were, -she had been cut adrift from every human tie that had bound her to -her supposed parents. - -Then she perused the other, studying every line and dot of the few -brief words which had doubtless been penned by the hand of her own -mother. - -“Well,” she said, at last, in a hollow voice, “is this the extent -of your revelations upon this subject?” - -“Is it not sufficient to prove that you are not Adam Brewster’s -child?” the man questioned. - -“Yes,” said Allison, chocking back a sob; “there can be no doubt -that I was only an adopted child----” - -“You were not even adopted,” John Hubbard interposed. “There was -no one living who knew the secret when Adam Brewster discovered it, -and he was far too shrewd a man to betray it by taking out papers -of adoption at that late day, and thus run the risk of having the -world learn the truth. Why he should have spoiled everything by -retaining these proofs is more than I can understand. If he had -burned them immediately after reading Mrs. Brewster’s confession no -one would ever have known that you were not his child.” - -“How came you to have this box?” Allison questioned, after a -thoughtful silence. - -“Why, having been Mr. Brewster’s attorney and your guardian, it -became my duty to examine everything connected with his affairs, -and this----” - -“Aha!” exclaimed Allison, with a start. “I believe this was one -of the two boxes which my father sent Gerald to get that Sunday -when you found him in the bank vault. I understand, now, why he -did this,” she went on, breathlessly. “He knew that he could trust -Gerald implicitly, never to speak of his errand to any one--never -to mention the existence of anything which he wished to conceal, -and he intended, without doubt, to destroy the contents of this -box, and so blot out of existence every vestige of this secret.” - -“Well, yes, I should say that you have analyzed the situation very -accurately,” her companion observed, as she paused, although he had -given an impatient shrug at her tribute to Gerald. - -“Then if you knew--if you realized this, you have been false to -your trust,” Allison indignantly continued. “You have not carried -out my father’s wishes. Why could you not have respected them? Why -have you revealed this secret to me?” - -“I have my reasons,” the man sullenly returned. - -“Well,” said the girl, tremulously, “if you have done this -simply to be revenged upon me because I rejected your proposal -of marriage, you have at least succeeded in giving me a terrible -shock; you have, in a sense, robbed me of my birthright; but you -can never rob me of the knowledge that Mr. and Mrs. Brewster both -loved and cherished me with all the tenderness which an own father -and mother could experience for their child. He certainly proved -this by every act of his life, and by making me the sole heir to -his wealth. The one thing I cannot understand is his making you my -guardian and investing you with so much power over me. I rebelled -against it at the outset; I am more than ever unreconciled to it -to-day, and I will submit to it no longer. I know that I have the -right to appeal for a change of guardian, and I intend to avail -myself of it,” she concluded, with considerable warmth. - -“Please allow me to remind you of what I have already stated--that -I am about to resign the honor which Mr. Brewster conferred upon -me,” John Hubbard returned, in a tone, and with a look so sinister -that Allison felt her flesh creep. - -“I am very glad,” she replied, coldly. “It will at least save me -considerable trouble and worry.” - -“Thank you,” he stiffly rejoined; “but possibly you may not feel -quite so elated when I tell you that the revelation which I have -just made was but to prepare you for another of a far more serious -nature.” - -“More trouble! Oh, I can bear no more!” moaned Allison to herself, -although she made no visible sign, except to grasp the arms of her -chair convulsively and try to brace herself for what was to come. - -She began to feel spent from the excitement which she had already -undergone, and it seemed as if she could not endure another blow -like that which had just fallen upon her. - -“Yes, I am afraid there is more trouble for you,” said John -Hubbard, with a smile of cruel triumph over her suffering. - -Now that he was convinced that he could never win her, he was -prepared to ruthlessly crush her, with all possible despatch, and -his plans had long been matured to this end. - -“But,” he returned, after a slight pause, “I want you to understand -that you have brought judgment upon your own head. I would have -been glad to shield you from every pang. You need never have -learned this secret, or have been shorn of a single luxury. As -it is, however, it becomes my duty to tell you that you are no -longer the heiress you have supposed yourself to be. The rich Miss -Brewster, the belle, the beauty, will be dethroned--hurled from her -high position in the world into poverty and obscurity by one blow -from the ax of fate.” - -The seeming absurdity of such a statement acted like an electric -shock to Allison. - -“What do you mean?” she demanded, whirling haughtily around upon -the speaker. “I may not be Adam Brewster’s own child--that is a -fact which I am forced to admit; but that it deprives me of the -fortune which he left me, by will, or of the position in society to -which he reared me, I do not admit. Your authority as my guardian -is not powerful enough for that, and you know, as well as I, that -my father spent his life accumulating his money with the hope and -the intention that I should inherit it.” - -“Your conclusions are well drawn, Miss Brewster, and I should not -presume, upon my own authority, to controvert them,” John Hubbard -returned, with an air of mock humility and a deprecatory glance; -“but, unfortunately, a power more potent than any which I possess -is at work against your interests.” - -“I do not understand you,” said Allison, coldly, but with a sinking -heart, for the man’s manner was very ominous. - -“Well, then, to bring the matter before you in a nutshell, a woman -calling herself Mrs. Adam Brewster has recently presented herself, -claiming to be the legal wife of your late father, so called, and -certain property rights. In fact, she proposes to dispute Mr. -Brewster’s will and your right of inheritance.” - -“It is false! I do not believe it!” cried Allison, starting wildly -to her feet. “Who is this woman? Where is she? I pronounce her an -impostor!” - -“Pray do not allow yourself to become excited, Miss Brewster,” said -her companion, with formal politeness. “I foresaw, of course, that -this would be a great trial to you, and I hoped that the matter -might be compromised quietly--to save scandal and your feelings, -you understand. It could have been so arranged if--if you had -consented to become my wife. You would then have retained your -proper position in life, and the loss of a part of your fortune -need never have been known. I would have paid Mrs. Brewster what -she demands, and the whole affair could have been hushed up, since -she cares more for money than for the notoriety of becoming known -as the late banker’s wife.” - -“I do not believe one word of it! She is an impostor!” Allison -reiterated. “My father never made a second marriage. He loved my -mother far too well ever to put another in her place.” - -“Ah, pardon me, Miss Brewster, but I fear that I have not even yet -made myself quite plain,” returned the villain, his white teeth -gleaming viciously under his mustache. “Mrs. Brewster does not -claim that she is the second wife; she asserts that she is the -first--the only wife----” - -“What!” almost shrieked Allison, as she sank back, pale and -breathless, upon her chair. “What is this that you dare tell me? -Oh, you do not know what you are saying! You are making my lovely -precious mother no wife at all!” - -“Exactly; that is just what the aspirant for the Brewster fortune -claims,” began the wily expert. - -“It is not true! There is not a word of truth in the dreadful -story!” interposed the unhappy girl, in heart-broken tones, a -shudder of repugnance shaking her from head to foot. - -“No doubt it seems hard, and there are a good many hard things in -the world. I have found it so in my own experience,” her companion -replied, with significant emphasis; “but, unfortunately for you, -the lady brings proofs which appear incontestible.” - -“I will not listen to them! I will have them refuted! I will engage -the best counsel in New York, and leave no stone unturned to defend -the reputation of my dear father and mother,” Allison wildly -declared. - -Her companion looked somewhat disconcerted in view of her threat; -but, after a moment, leaned toward her and said, in low, stern, -rapid tones: - -“All vehement denial and denunciation can do your cause no good. I -have seen this woman who claims to be Mrs. Brewster. I have seen -and read letters and documents which prove her statement that she -was married to Adam Brewster some three years prior to his marriage -to the lady whom you called mother. She says they only lived -together a very short time; a violent quarrel and the discovery -that they were not congenial resulted in a separation, she going -to a distant city in the West to reside, and where, out of motives -of revenge, she caused a notice of her death to be inserted in a -newspaper and sent to her husband. A few years afterward she saw -an announcement of Mr. Brewster’s marriage to a Miss Porter, of -Massachusetts.” - -“Horrible! But if all this is true, why did she not make her claim -upon him at that time? Why wait all these years before claiming her -rights?” Allison demanded, as Mr. Hubbard paused. - -“That is easily explained,” he returned. “Mr. Brewster took his -bride immediately abroad. She did not know when he returned, and -could learn nothing regarding him until after the death of the -second Mrs. Brewster. She says that later she did seek him, and -demanded recognition as his wife. Of course, it was a terrible blow -to him to learn how she had deceived him, but he would have nothing -to say to her; he repudiated her utterly. The only thing he would -agree to was to pay her a certain amount annually, as hush money, -for she threatened to expose the facts of the case unless he would -make some arrangement with her.” - -“I do not believe it,” Allison again stoutly affirmed. “It was not -like my father to pay ‘hush money’ to any one. He was always open -and aboveboard in all his dealings; besides, he never appeared to -have any trouble or burden upon his mind, as he must have had if he -had stood in constant fear of a public scandal.” - -“All the same, Miss Brewster, your father was married--it was a -secret marriage, too--three years previous to his union with Miss -Porter. It occurred during the last year of his college course in -New Haven. Mrs. Brewster can produce prima facie evidence of the -fact in the form of old letters and a certificate, and I have also -seen the record of the marriage license in the city archives.” - -“Why, then, did not this woman come forward at the time of papa’s -death, and contest his will? Why has she waited all these months?” -questioned Allison, with white, quivering lips. - -“Simply because I have not allowed her to do so; because I have -been striving to protect your interests--trying to temporize with -her,” said Mr. Hubbard, with a would-be effective sigh. “She would -have been content with half, and I could then have saved the other -half for you, if you had been reasonable and listened to my suit. -I could thus have protected you from every ill; indeed, I never -would have wounded you by allowing you to suspect anything of what -has been revealed to you to-day. You perceive what you have brought -upon yourself by defying me.” - -Allison lifted a death-white face to the speaker, but there was a -gleam in her eyes that made him quail before her. - -“Mr. John Hubbard, I would rather be a beggar in the streets--I -would rather be a street sweeper, earning a penny at a time, -than be the wife of such a man as you,” she said with deliberate -scorn. “You are cold, cruel, unprincipled, or you would never have -conducted yourself as you have to-day; you would never have sought -to be revenged upon one who was helplessly consigned to your power -because, not loving you, she refused to marry you.” - -“Very well. You have sealed your own doom. Henceforth I shall act -in the interests of Mr. Brewster’s legal wife and daughter.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -DO YOUR WORST. - - -“Daughter!” gasped Allison, a feeling of utter despair at her -heart, as John Hubbard gave utterance, in a tone of fiendish -triumph, to that last word. “Do you mean to tell me that papa has -an own daughter living?” - -“Yes--Miss Anna Brewster, who is a young lady a few years your -senior. A fine-looking girl she is, too--a brilliant brunette, -resembling her mother, who must also have been a handsome woman -when she was young,” John Hubbard responded, as he covertly watched -his companion. - -Allison sat silently thinking for several moments, but at last she -looked up at the man, meeting his eyes with a steadfast look. - -“In spite of all you say, I do not believe it,” she said, with a -quiet positiveness. “If that woman was his wife, there might have -been some good reason for his repudiation of her; but he never -would have denied the child that was his own flesh and blood. He -was too honorable not to wish to do what was right and honest, and -he would certainly have made generous provision for her. No, I will -not credit such a story.” - -“Suppose I should show you the certificate of his marriage to -this woman, also some letters which he wrote to her before their -marriage?” questioned her companion, a light of evil triumph in his -eyes. - -“If you have such proofs, of course you will show them to me,” -Allison haughtily returned. “You cannot suppose that I am going to -take all that you have told me for granted, and yield my position -and fortune without a struggle. Produce your evidence, if you have -it; it is my right to demand it.” - -“Very well; I will produce it,” said the man, with an ugly frown -upon his brow; and, slipping his hand inside the breast pocket of -his coat, he drew forth a large envelope and a small package of -time-yellowed letters that were tied together with a faded blue -ribbon. - -Drawing a paper from the envelope, he unfolded and spread it out -upon the table before Allison. - -It was a marriage-certificate, dated more than twenty-four years -previous. - -It certified that on the 10th of April, of 18--, Adam Brewster -had been united in marriage to Louisa M. Simpson, of New Haven, -Connecticut, by the Reverend Albert Ackerman. - -The document was faded and creased with time, and it had every -appearance of being a genuine certificate. Allison read it -carefully, then pushed it one side, and held out her hand for the -letters. - -As she untied the narrow ribbon that bound them, and the various -missives dropped apart, a low cry of pain escaped her, for she -instantly recognized her father’s handwriting upon their envelopes. - -Opening several of these, she saw that they were affectionately -addressed to “My Dearest,” “Sweetheart,” “_Ma Belle_,” etc., and -signed “Ever yours,” or “Your own Ad.” - -There could not be the slightest doubt that those letters had been -written by Adam Brewster, although Allison did not have the heart -to read any of them, and gradually the conviction was forced upon -her that the story which John Hubbard had told her must be true. - -What then, was to be her fate? - -Mrs. Brewster’s confession of her secret adoption had, at first, -cut her to the heart, for it had seemed to alienate her from the -dear ones whom, all her life, she had regarded as her parents; but, -in the light of this later revelation, she now felt a thrill of -thankfulness in knowing that she had not been their child, since -such a birth would seem to entail disgrace upon her; and, like a -drowning person clutching at a straw of hope, she now clung to that -assurance contained in the young mother’s note that the child whom -she had been forced to desert was “well and honorably born.” - -And yet she knew that Adam Brewster had loved her as he loved no -other being on earth; that all his hopes had been centered in her; -that he had constantly toiled and accumulated for her alone, and -gloried in the fact that she would be his sole heiress. - -She could not understand why, if he really had an own child, he -should have repudiated her; why he had not made handsome provision -for her. Possibly he had done so, unknown to any one save this -woman and her daughter; and they, now becoming greedy for more, -were taking this way to get possession of the heritage willed to -her. - -“Yes,” she sighed, at last, as she gathered up and retied the -letters together, “I am afraid it is all true.” - -A sinister, avaricious light sprang into the eyes of her companion -as she made this admission. - -“Still,” she thoughtfully resumed, “I do not see how it can very -materially affect my position. I was reared as my father’s own -child; all the world knows it; and the will which he made, naming -me as his heiress, must stand.” - -“Mrs. Brewster and her daughter will contest that will,” briefly -observed John Hubbard. - -“How can they? Was it not legally drawn? If it was not, then you -are responsible for its invalidity,” sharply retorted Allison. - -“Certainly it was legally drawn; there is no flaw in it,” was -the dignified response, although the man flushed guiltily as he -recalled that Sunday morning which he had spent in the bank the -previous winter. “But, according to certain laws, a man has no -right to make a will ignoring any of his heirs, and if, either -by oversight or design, he does so, the will can be broken. -Consequently, Mrs. Brewster has informed me that she should bring a -suit against her late husband’s estate, and demand recognition of -her position and rights.” - -“And, in view of that threat, have not you, as my guardian, done -anything to protect my interests?” demanded Allison, with some -warmth. - -“Certainly, Miss Brewster; I have done a great deal. I have staved -off proceedings, for one thing, hoping that we might compromise -matters, and so settle everything quietly, without a trial and a -scandal. This could have been done if--if my plans had worked,” -said the crafty man, with a reproachful look and sigh. “But now I -think Mrs. Brewster will press her claims. She will try to break -the will, asserting that you have no right to anything, while she, -being the legal wife, and her child, the only legitimate heir, are -justly entitled to everything.” - -“Oh, will poor, dear mama’s name have to be dragged before the -public? Will this claimant try to prove that mama was never legally -married to papa?” exclaimed Allison, in deep distress, her face -crimsoning with shame at the thought of having that lovely and -sainted woman’s reputation so trailed in the dust. - -“Yes, I fear she does not intend to spare her rival, unless we can -hit upon some plan of settling the matter quietly,” said the crafty -villain. - -“Can it be quietly settled?” eagerly questioned the distressed girl. - -“Possibly it might be,” the man admitted, with averted eyes. - -“How?” - -“Well, I suppose if you would resign everything----” - -“Everything! Do you tell me that I am expected to relinquish all -right and title to everything that my dear father left me?” cried -Allison, the hot color mounting to her forehead in indignant -protest against such wholesale robbery. - -“Ahem!” said John Hubbard, moving uneasily upon his chair. “I -think that will be the only way to get out of it quietly. You see, -you are not really entitled to a penny, since there is no Brewster -blood in your veins.” - -“But do not the love and wishes of my father, as expressed in his -will, count for anything?” - -“From a sentimental point of view, they might count for a great -deal; but there is no sentiment in law, Miss Brewster,” sneered the -attorney. - -“No, nor any other principle but greed!” sharply retorted Allison, -a ring of keen pain in her tones. - -It seemed as if she was an entirely different being from what she -had been two hours previous, as if some terrible metamorphosis -had taken place in her, destroying her identity and making her a -stranger to even herself. - -She was no longer Allison Brewster, the heiress to a vast fortune; -she had no longer any right to the position she had always -occupied. She did not know who she was, or--if this strange woman, -who called herself Adam Brewster’s widow, demanded the uttermost -farthing--how she was to live in the future, or find a home to -shelter her. - -“Oh, it is all a cruel mystery, and I do not know how to meet -it!” the perplexed girl sighed, almost unconsciously voicing her -thoughts. - -“Yes, the events connected with your association with the Brewster -family are mysterious, and it is doubtful if they will ever be -solved,” responded her companion, a gleam of cruel satisfaction in -his eyes in view of the evident suffering of his victim. “And,” -he added, pressing the thorn yet more deeply into the wound, “it -must seem hard to one reared as luxuriously as you have been to be -reduced from affluence to abject poverty by a single blow.” - -His cruelty stung her to the quick. - -“It shall not be! I will not be so robbed!” she exclaimed -excitedly. “I will claim that I have a right to at least some -portion of the fortune which my father willed me. Surely no judge -or jury would ever decree that that woman and her daughter are -entitled to the whole. And I cannot quite understand your attitude -in connection with their claims, Mr. Hubbard,” she added, with -sudden thought. “Considering your position as my guardian, one -would naturally suppose you would make a brave fight for me, rather -than advocate their cause so earnestly.” - -“I have already fought to the finish for you. I have spared no -effort to win,” the man retorted significantly: “but, as I have -already told you, you have sealed your own doom. I could have -braved everything for my wife, and I would have won the victory; -but when a girl tells a man that she loves a fellow he hates, and -that she would rather be a beggar or a street-sweeper than marry -him, her scorn has a tendency to produce a strong revulsion in -his feelings. And now, my proud little beggar--for such you will -be--you may go and starve, for all I care!” he concluded, with -intense bitterness. - -“I will not starve! I will defy you to the very end,” Allison -cried spiritedly, as she again sprang to her feet and confronted -her sworn foe with flashing eyes. “Oh, I am almost inclined to -believe that this is some deep-laid plot to ruin me--some vile -scheme of your own to drive me into a hateful marriage with you, -or into poverty and obscurity as my only alternative. I have never -trusted you, Mr. John Hubbard, and have wondered how papa could -have put faith in you. I have long believed you to be tricky and -capable of double-dealing. I have always felt that you had a hand -in bringing that trouble upon Gerald. But truth and the right -triumphed in his case, and you will be foiled in this. I am only a -lonely girl. I know nothing about the quirks and quibbles of law; -but I am inclined to doubt this story of yours regarding the woman -whom you call Mrs. Brewster, in spite of the ‘proofs’ which you -have shown me; and now I am going to prove to you that, even though -I may have no Brewster blood in my veins, I have a spirit of which -Adam Brewster need not be ashamed in the girl whom he reared as his -daughter. Now, do your worst, Mr. Hubbard, and I will seek the best -counsel in New York to fight against you!” - -She was gloriously beautiful as she stood proudly facing her enemy. -Her pose was proud and fearless, her cheeks were scarlet, and her -beautiful eyes blazed with a fire which bespoke dauntless courage. - -She seemed to have suddenly developed from a quiet, clinging, -dependent schoolgirl into a strong, self-reliant woman, who was -determined to do and dare all things to maintain her rights and -preserve her heritage. - -John Hubbard gazed upon her wonderingly. - -He had not dreamed of arousing such a sleeping lioness; he had -believed that she would be so overwhelmed by the proofs and the -power which he held in his hands that she would tamely submit to -the inevitable, and relinquish all right or title to the Brewster -estate, whereupon he would come without an effort into possession -of her fortune, which he had so long coveted. - -“And whom will you choose as your attorney to contest this case, -Miss Brewster?” he inquired, in a harsh, rasping voice, after -recovering a little from his surprise at the stand she had taken. - -“I do not know yet, and I should not tell you if I did,” she coldly -responded. Then she added thoughtlessly: “Gerald will advise me. -Perhaps Mr. Lyttleton----” - -A vicious, sibilant oath here interrupted her as she uttered these -names. - -“Neither is in New York. They sailed again for Europe a week ago -to-day,” John Hubbard added, in a tone of vindictive triumph. - -Allison started violently, then flushed a wounded crimson. -This explained why she had not heard from Gerald, she thought. -Doubtless his employer had been suddenly recalled to England upon -some business connected with “the complicated case” that he was -conducting there. - -And yet she felt, with a terrible sense of loss and pain, that -Gerald might at least have found time to drop her a line, telling -her of his unexpected flitting. It was very strange, and she was -deeply wounded, but she did not once suspect foul play--that John -Hubbard might have been tampering with her correspondence. - -Such was the case, however. No letter of hers had been allowed to -reach Gerald; while, at that very moment, two tender epistles from -her lover, one of them telling her that he and his employer had -been summoned abroad again, and giving her his London address, were -tucked snugly away in the villain’s wallet. - -“Very well,” she proudly returned, on recovering herself a little; -“there are other talented lawyers. I shall find some one to help -me.” - -“But where will you get the money necessary to conduct your case, -Miss Brewster?” sneeringly demanded Mr. Hubbard. “Litigation is -expensive business, and, in view of your present attitude, I shall -feel it my duty to cut off your allowance from this time on.” - -Allison’s heart sank within her, for she saw that she was powerless -in his hands; he had control of her property, and she could not -compel him to give her a single dollar if he chose to withhold it. - -“Well, at least I have my mother’s jewels. I can pledge them as -security for my counsel’s fee,” she wearily replied. - -“I beg leave to differ with you, my dear young lady,” was the -sarcastic retort. “Those jewels, as you are aware, are in my safe; -and since it has been proved that you are not Adam Brewster’s -daughter, they will be regarded as belonging to his estate, and so -retained for the true heirs, as the court shall decide.” - -“Mr. Hubbard, you know that they rightly belong to me,” Allison -indignantly exclaimed. “You know that papa intended them for me. He -told Mr. Winchester so when he sent him to get them, and I demand -them from you.” - -“Excuse me, but I shall be obliged to ignore your demand,” returned -the man, with a cruel smile. “Having been purchased with Mr. -Brewster’s money, they henceforth properly belong to Mr. Brewster’s -own daughter, and they will probably become the property of Miss -Anna Brewster.” - -Allison stood silently and gravely regarding him for a moment. - -“Have you no heart?” she at length inquired. “Have you no -principle, that you thus prove recreant to the trust my father -reposed in you?” - -“I was appointed guardian to Mr. Brewster’s daughter, and I fully -intend to see that the lady has her rights,” John Hubbard replied. - -“You know that you are not in the least carrying out the spirit -of my father’s will,” said Allison solemnly. “You, as well as I, -know that he would never have left his property as he did if he had -supposed there was any one living who would contest his wishes. You -are guilty of a great wrong.” - -“Miss Brewster, I am fulfilling the ‘letter of the law’. Ah, -Allison, you should never have made an enemy of me,” the villain -concluded mockingly. - -“Oh!” cried Allison passionately, and with a shiver of repugnance; -“I believe I would rather have your enmity than your friendship, -if it would free me forever from your hateful presence! From this -moment I repudiate you utterly, and all your authority over me. -Now, do your worst; but I warn you I will make a hot battle for -you!” - -John Hubbard felt a strange heart-sinking as he looked upon the -beautiful girl, read the scorn in her great blue eyes, and -realized how utterly despicable he was in her sight. - -Then he laughed out mockingly. - -“I am afraid you have undertaken more than you realize, Allison,” -he said, all his ghastly teeth gleaming at her from the shadow of -his inky mustache; “for let me tell you another precious little -secret.” And now he bent so that his own evil eyes came just on -a level with hers. “You have scornfully rejected the hand and -fortune which I offered you, but Miss Anna Brewster stands ready to -become Mrs. John Hubbard any day I choose to name for the wedding. -So, you perceive, you will have the united interests of Hubbard and -Brewster against you; and do you think I will let such a fortune -slip out of my hands?” - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -WRECK OF THE LIMITED. - - -As the man recklessly threw that last poisoned lance at Allison, -he turned and abruptly left the room, without waiting to note what -effect his words would have upon her. - -She was almost paralyzed for a moment, in view of the fiendish plan -which she now saw he was contemplating. - -Then she nervously sank into her chair again, too weak to -stand--too wretched to care much whether she lived or died. - -“Oh, I believe it is all a plot of his own making!” she sighed. “I -feel as if I had become entangled in some net, from which there is -no hope of escape, and I am sure I do not know to whom I can look -for help in this terrible emergency. Gerald has gone--how strange! -I cannot understand why he should not have confided the fact to me.” - -A bitter sob interrupted her at this point, for she was deeply -wounded by her lover’s apparent neglect of her. - -She was indeed in a trying position. She did not know what to -do or to whom to turn. Her cousin, Mrs. Manning, was, as she -supposed, still abroad; she could not tell her troubles to mere -acquaintances, and she felt utterly alone. - -“Can it be possible that I am no longer I--Allison Brewster? Am -I indeed only a poor little waif who was deserted almost at my -birth?” she sighed wearily, as she drew the box again toward her, -and examined, once more, the little garments it contained and the -golden key with the tiny diamond set in the heart of the pansy. - -“What does it unlock I wonder?” she murmured thoughtfully; “or is -it only an ornament? If so, it is a queer device, for it certainly -is a perfect key.” - -Then she reread the note supposed to have been penned by the hand -of her real mother, and after that the letter written by Mrs. -Brewster. - -“Poor, dear mama! How she must have suffered to have had such a -secret upon her mind! But both she and papa loved me as if I had -been their very own,” she mused, as she touched the closely written -pages to her lips. - -After that she sat a long time, thinking, and trying to decide what -she should do to wrest her heritage from the greedy clutch of John -Hubbard and his accomplices, as she regarded them. - -“I have no money, except what I have saved from my allowance, -and that, I fear, would not be a tempting retaining fee for any -reliable lawyer. Then I wonder if papa would want all that past -experience of his life raked over, to become subjects of discussion -for a scandal-loving public? If that woman’s story is true, it -proves that mama was never a lawful wife, even though papa may have -believed he was free when he married her. Ah! he was so fond of -her; it would certainly have deeply wounded him to have the truth -known, and I would not wish to do anything to bring reproach upon -the memory of either of them.” - -It was a trying position for the tender-hearted, conscientious -girl, and she was sorely perplexed. On the one hand, if she made -no effort to recover the fortune which her father had willed to -her, she would be reduced to abject poverty; on the other hand, it -seemed as if she would only be turning to sting the hearts that had -nourished her by entailing opprobrium upon their names. - -Finally she returned the clothing and letters to the box, carefully -locking it, and putting the key in her purse. Then she went wearily -up-stairs to her room. - -The next morning Allison purposely delayed going down to breakfast -until after John Hubbard had left the house for his usual trip to -New York. - -Thus she was alone at the table, and, while she went through the -form of breaking her fast, she took up the morning paper, which her -guardian had left lying beside her plate and began to glance over -its columns. - -Suddenly she started and uttered a joyful cry as her eye caught the -following paragraph: - - “We learn from a Boston correspondent that the talented - artist, Mr. Charles Manning, has recently returned from his - long sojourn in Rome, where he has been pursuing his chosen - profession under most favorable auspices, and established himself - with his charming family in Boston, where he has some important - commissions--one of which is the decoration of the ceiling of the - elegant banquet hall of the ---- House, a magnificent hotel which - has recently been erected in that city. It is probable that, - later, he will return to and locate in New York, where he will - be warmly welcomed back to the circle from which both he and his - cultivated wife have so long been missed. They are now stopping - at the Vendome.” - -“Oh, could! anything have happened more opportunely?” Allison -breathed, with a sob of thankfulness, as she laid down the paper to -wipe the blinding tears from her eyes. “Cousin Charlie will be just -the one to help me out of this dreadful trouble, and Annie will -gladly take me under the friendly shelter of her wing until I can -free myself from this hateful bondage to John Hubbard.” - -She sat absorbed in thought for some time; then, with an air of -decision, continued: - -“Yes, I believe I will go at once to Boston, without saying a word -to any one, and put myself under their protection. Ah, I feel like -a new creature, now that I know that friends and help are near!” - -Her appetite seemed to return to her, in view of this solution of -her difficulties, and, after eating a hearty meal, she was almost -gay as she arose from the table and ran up-stairs to prepare for -her journey. - -She thought it would hardly be kind to leave the house without some -explanation to Mrs. Hubbard, who had invariably been very good to -her; therefore, she would tell her that she was going to New York, -and might not be back that day. This would give her time to get -well on her way to Boston without the fear of being detained by the -authority of her guardian. - -She knew, of course, that considerable excitement would ensue upon -the discovery of her disappearance, but this did not trouble her, -for, once she was safe under Mr. Manning’s protection, she intended -to utterly repudiate Mr. Hubbard’s guardianship and appeal to the -court to appoint her cousin’s husband in his place. - -She packed her valuables and some necessary clothing in a -portmanteau, thinking that she could easily have her trunks -expressed to her later. - -She was careful, however, to take along with her the box which -contained the proofs that she was not Adam Brewster’s child; for, -although it had brought her only sorrow, it might become important -to her in the future. - -But a sudden thought came to her as she was about to pack it with -her other things; and, reopening it, she took out the little golden -key which had so excited her curiosity when she had previously -examined it. - -“I will always wear it, after this. I will play that it is my -mascot, and perhaps it will bring me good luck,” she said to -herself, with a queer little smile. - -She had a pretty gold chain among her jewelry, and, attaching -the key to this, she clasped it around her neck and concealed it -beneath her dress. - -Then, rapidly completing her packing, she rang for a servant to -order the carriage around to take her to the station, after which -she dressed herself in a plain dark-gray traveling-suit, and then -went to tell Mrs. Hubbard that she was going to run down to New -York for a day or so. - -This announcement did not trouble or surprise the old lady, for -Allison often made the trip alone to do shopping for herself, or -keep an appointment with her dressmaker. But she did look a trifle -startled when tears sprang into the eyes of the beautiful girl, as -she kissed her good-by, giving her a spasmodic little embrace, and -then hurriedly left the room. - -“I--I wonder what is the matter?” she mused, as she wiped one of -Allison’s tears from her cheek. “I’m afraid the dear child isn’t -quite happy with only John and me in the house. I’ll tell him that -we must ask some young folks here to make it more lively for her.” - -But the kind-hearted old lady never saw the fair girl again, for -two months later she “slept with her fathers.” It was a mercy, too, -that she did not live to have her heart broken by learning later, -as she must have learned, that her only son was an unmitigated -scoundrel. - -Meantime, Allison was speeding on her way to New York, where she -arrived just in season to purchase her ticket, recheck her baggage, -and board a fast express bound for Boston. - -The day was very warm, and the girl was almost worn out with the -grief and mental excitement of the last twenty-four hours, and it -was with a deep sigh of relief that she settled herself in her -section and knew that she would have a long rest. At New Haven she -alighted and procured a light lunch, then returned to her seat, -where, after the conductor had made his rounds, she lay back and -soon fell into a heavy sleep. She did not waken once until the -train stopped at Worcester, and then only long enough to show her -ticket again, a profound slumber that was almost lethargy once more -overpowering her senses. - -It was a blessed sleep for her--a merciful unconsciousness; for -thus she escaped the realization, even for a moment, of the fearful -fate toward which she was fast hastening. The train rushed on at -lightning speed--it was the limited express--forests, rivers, and -towns, like swift-flitting visions of dreamland appearing, then -vanishing in rapid succession, until a misplaced switch sent it -swerving off upon another track, when it went dashing and crashing -into a heavy, slow-going freight with a terrible shock, demolishing -the engine, throwing two cars from the track, and sending the one -in which Allison was a passenger rolling down an embankment, and -making a complete wreck of it. It was full of people, many of them -bound for summer-resorts along the New England coast or among the -mountains. - -Many were severely injured, several killed outright, five or six -taken from the wreck for dead; and Allison was among these--the -ghastly wound on top of her lovely golden head telling but too -plainly how she had come to such a fate. - -She was drawn out from under the débris of the shattered car by an -elderly gentleman, who had occupied the section opposite the one -she had taken, and who had been irresistibly attracted by the fair, -delicate girl who seemed to be traveling alone, and was so overcome -by excessive weariness. - -For hours he had watched her, strangely fascinated by her beauty -and the exquisite picture she made, with her refined face outlined -against, and her golden hair contrasting so effectively with, the -dark-blue cushion of her seat. His first thought was of her when, -after the first terrible shock of the accident, he recovered from -his own half-stunned condition to find that, except for some severe -bruises and one or two cuts, he was unharmed--a fact which seemed -almost a miracle, in view of the demolished condition of that -portion of the car. - -He drew her from under the seat--which had fallen over and -partially protected her--as carefully and tenderly as he was -able, and he felt sure, as he observed the peaceful expression on -the colorless face, that that cruel blow on her head had come so -suddenly that she had not even been aroused from her slumber. - -“She was too young and beautiful to die like this,” the man -muttered, with something very like a sob, as he gently deposited -his burden upon a plot of grass, straightened the graceful figure, -and clasped the slender hands upon the pulseless breast, covering -the lovely face with a spotless handkerchief of his own. - -Then he remembered that he had seen a hand-bag on the seat with -her, and he went back to the car to search for it. He finally -found it under the forward end of the wreck, which had been driven -backward several rods by the fatal shock that had demolished it -before it left the track. - -The receptacle was crushed, and the articles it had contained were -scattered about. - -He gathered up what he could find--a purse, a little package of -dainty handkerchiefs wrapped in tissue-paper, a golden vinaigrette, -and a comb of tortoise-shell. - -He then went back and sat down beside his charge, and opened the -purse, in the hope of finding some name or address by which he -could identify her. - -He found a roll of bills amounting to quite a generous sum, -some pieces of silver, a key, a gold glove-buttoner, and a -baggage-check, but there was no card, not even a scrap of paper, to -give him the slightest clue to the unfortunate girl’s identity. - -“The check may throw some light upon the subject, however,” he told -himself; and, with this thought in his mind, he made his way into -the baggage-car, where, he soon found Allison’s portmanteau, but -which, alas! had no name upon it. - -When the débris was removed from the track, the uninjured cars were -transferred to their proper pathway, where they were attached to -another ingoing train, while the injured were made as comfortable -as circumstances would permit, the dead being placed in a -baggage-car. - -All save Allison, the old gentleman who had constituted himself the -guardian of her lifeless form refusing to allow any one else to -touch her. - -He carried her in his arms to a stateroom of one of the -parlor-cars, where he laid her upon a berth and then sat down -beside her to keep guard over her until they should arrive in the -city, when he knew he would be obliged to yield the body up to the -proper authorities, to be retained for identification. - - * * * * * - -As we already know, Allison had informed no one of her intention of -going to Boston to put herself under the protection of the Mannings. - -She had simply told Mrs. Hubbard that she was going to New York, -and might not return that day. - -As she had sometimes remained overnight with one of her up-town -friends, John Hubbard did not experience any uneasiness when she -failed to make her appearance that evening. - -He knew that she was bitterly angry with him, and it was not -surprising that she should wish to get away from his presence -for a time. Possibly she had even gone to consult some lawyer -with reference to her affairs, but he only smiled viciously at -this thought, for he believed that his plans had been so cleverly -devised that there was not the ghost of a chance of their being -overthrown. - -But when the second day passed and his ward was still absent, he -began to be considerably exercised over her mysterious flitting, -for a mystery always angered him. - -He did not see a Boston paper that day, and the New York papers -only briefly described the accident that had occurred to the -limited express, without giving any names of the victims. - -But on the third morning after the strange disappearance of Allison -he was terribly shocked, after reading a full account of the -accident, to find the name of “Miss Brewster” among the list of -those who had been killed. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -A CRUSHING TROUBLE. - - -John Hubbard sat like one stunned, upon realizing the full import -of what he had read of Allison’s probable fate, and at once he -seemed to comprehend her object in going to Boston. - -He also had heard of the Mannings’ return from Rome, and, knowing -how fond of her cousins Allison had always been, he had not a doubt -that she had fled to them for protection and assistance. - -But the shock which he had at first experienced was almost -immediately followed by a thrill of exultation. - -“That settles everything,” he muttered; “I shall now have no fear -of her contesting Mrs. Adam Brewster’s claims, on the ground that a -will was made in her favor, and thus, perhaps, securing a division -of the property. Everything will now naturally go to the new -claimants, and the Brewster fortune is mine. I will marry the girl, -Anna, thus making their interests identical with mine, take her -abroad for a year or two, to polish her off, then I can come back -to take my place with the other millionaires of the city. There -need be no more scheming or plodding for you, John; your future is -an assured success; henceforth, you can rest upon your oars and -have a jolly good time,” he concluded, with a sigh of infinite -content. - -His once boasted affection for Allison--what had become of it? He -had been momentarily shocked, but he did not appear to experience -the slightest grief in view of her untimely end. “The high-spirited -little minx” had dared to defy him, thus arousing his anger and -malice, and since his greed for gold now bade fair to be fully -gratified, she was apparently no more to him than a worm that had -been crushed in his path. - -Still, there were certain duties devolving upon him, certain -observances to which he must conform, and he had no intention of -being criticized for neglect of them. Consequently, he started -directly for Boston, for the purpose of identifying his ward and -properly attending to everything that might be necessary. - -But when he went to the morgue, and made inquiries, he was appalled -upon being told that the body of the young lady had already been -identified and removed. - -“It cannot be possible,” he exclaimed. “Are you sure it was Miss -Brewster’s body which was taken away?” - -“Certainly,” the official replied; “a Russia-leather card-case, -containing cards bearing the name of Miss Brewster, had been found -upon the person of the young lady, thus proving her to be the -person the gentleman was inquiring for.” - -Mr. Hubbard thought possibly the Mannings might have identified -Allison and cared for her, and, with this idea in mind, he sought -Mr. Manning at the Vendome. - -But Mr. Manning was horrified upon being interviewed upon the -subject. He had read an account of the accident, and had seen the -name of Brewster among the list of killed, but had not once thought -of Allison in connection with the event, supposing the person to -belong to some other family of the same name. - -Mr. Hubbard found it somewhat embarrassing to explain how his ward -happened to be traveling to Boston alone; but, thinking that the -truth might as well come out first as last, he related something -of the circumstances connected with the appearance of Mrs. Adam -Brewster and her daughter; said that Allison had become very angry -upon learning the truth, and thus, he supposed, she had taken it -into her head to come to her cousins in Boston. - -A diligent search was instituted, and many inquiries made for the -body of the missing girl; but all to no purpose--some one had taken -care of it--every victim had been identified by friends and taken -away. - -The Mannings were overwhelmed with grief, and Mr. Hubbard was -finally forced to return to New York, also very much disturbed by -the mystery which seemed to shroud the fate of his late ward. - -Two months passed, during which the plans of the wily schemer--the -chief obstacles having been removed--progressed to his entire -satisfaction. - -His application to the courts for the recognition of Mrs. Adam -Brewster and Miss Anna Brewster, as the only lawful heirs of the -late banker, had been granted, and their claims established, -notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Charles Manning had come forward -to contest them, on behalf of his wife, who, he asserted, was the -niece of Mr. Brewster, and his only living relative. He utterly -repudiated the story regarding that gentleman’s early marriage and -subsequent separation from the woman in question. - -But his claim was overruled, in view of the preponderance -of evidence upon the other side. The old love-letters, the -marriage-certificate, the certified copy of the record of the -transaction, together with quite a sensational story regarding -the early married life of the couple, their occasional disputes, -which finally ended in a violent quarrel and separation, all having -been very cleverly arranged and sustained, were considered proof -positive that the widow and her daughter were the only legal heirs, -and the case was very shortly decided in their favor. - -Of course, it created a great deal of sensation and gossip, but, -like all other affairs of a similar nature, it had its “nine days’” -run, and was then forgotten in the excitement pertaining to some -newer scandal. - -A few days after the decision of the court was rendered, Miss -Anna Brewster became Mrs. John Hubbard. Mrs. Adam Brewster was -handsomely pensioned off, and luxuriously settled in an up-town -apartment, where she was to live at her ease, while the newly -wedded couple were traveling in Europe, and the “Brewster Case” was -supposed to be finally settled. - -Of all these happenings, however, Gerald, as yet, knew nothing, -for, shortly after Allison’s departure for Newport, Mr. Lyttleton -had been again suddenly summoned abroad, by his sister, to discuss -some new feature which had unexpectedly arisen in connection with -the lawsuit which he was conducting for her. - -Gerald and Allison had agreed to continue their correspondence as -heretofore, but he did not hear from her once before he left. This, -although a disappointment to him, did not trouble him, especially -as he attributed it to the confusion and many cares incident upon -opening the villa and getting settled for the summer. - -He had written to her once or twice, and, upon learning of his -plans, wrote again, telling her the date of his sailing, giving, -also, his London address, and begging her to write him immediately. - -But John Hubbard had already intercepted all letters written by -the lovers, and this shared the same fate as the others; and thus -Allison did not know of Gerald’s departure until her guardian -informed her of the fact. - -Thus as weeks passed, after his arrival in London, and Gerald -received no word from his betrothed, he began to grow very unhappy -and anxious about her. - -He sent letter after letter to her, only to have them fall into the -hands of that arch-plotter, who did not hesitate to open and read -them, then chuckle exultantly over the success of his scheme and -the misery of his hated rival. - -Finally, becoming almost distracted over this mysterious silence, -our hero began to suspect that his correspondence was intercepted, -and he realized that he must find some other way of communicating -with Allison. - -Accordingly, he wrote to one of the clerks in the New York office, -telling him something of his trouble, and asking him to find some -means of conveying the enclosed letter to Miss Brewster, and -secure a reply to it, if possible. - -But before he could get a response to this appeal, Mr. Lyttleton -was obliged to make a trip to Berlin, to obtain some important -data, and here they were detained two or three weeks. - -Thus Gerald’s wild grief may be imagined when, upon his return to -London, he found awaiting him a letter containing the announcement -of Allison’s tragic death, and which, together with accompanying -New York papers, gave a full account of the sad event, and of the -subsequent litigation in connection with the Brewster estate, the -result of which was the transfer of everything into the hands of -the acknowledged widow and daughter of the late banker. - -The latest paper announcing the marriage of John Hubbard to “the -beautiful Miss Anna Brewster,” had not been forwarded; thus Gerald -could not know that his old enemy was now virtually the possessor -of the great fortune that had been willed to Allison. - -Gerald was so prostrated by the terrible shock consequent upon this -blighting news that he lay ill for nearly a fortnight at his hotel, -and narrowly escaped having brain fever. When he was finally able -to resume his business, he looked like the ghost of his former -self; he seemed to be bereft of all courage and desire for life, -and it was only by the persistent exercise of all the will-power he -possessed that he was enabled to fulfill his duty to his employer. - -Mr. Lyttleton, to whom he freely confided his trouble, sympathized -deeply with him, and tried to induce him to take a rest--to go to -Paris, or even to Rome, for a change. But Gerald only shuddered at -this proposal. - -“Oh, I do not want to rest. I do not want a chance to think. I -shall lose my mind if I am left to myself!” he responded in a tone -of despair that keenly smote the kind heart of his friend. “Give me -work--piles of work,” he added nervously; “I do not care how hard -you crowd me, if it will serve to occupy my thoughts and keep me -from dwelling upon that railway horror and upon that knave who, I -firmly believe, drove my darling to her death.” - -So Mr. Lyttleton made work for him, realizing his need of -employment, but the white, drawn face of the bereaved lover haunted -him continually, until he began to feel as if he also had been -personally afflicted. - -Had it not been for the deep and absorbing interest which, previous -to this, Gerald had begun to take in the wonderful case upon which -his employer was engaged, it is doubtful if he would have been able -to bear up during these first dark days of his crushing trouble. - -Mr. Lyttleton’s sister had, when very young, married an Englishman, -and under very peculiar circumstances. - -The home of the lawyer, during his youth, had been in a small town -in Illinois; and, educational advantages being at that time very -meager in their vicinity, Mabel Lyttleton had been sent East to -pursue her studies, at a noted seminary in one of the suburbs of -Boston. - -While there she had become acquainted with Charles Bromley, an -Englishman, who was making a tour of this country, and just at that -time visiting some relatives who resided in the vicinity of the -above-mentioned seminary. - -The young man proceeded at once, upon their introduction, to fall -violently in love with pretty Miss Lyttleton. His affection was -most fervently reciprocated, and ere long both grew to feel that -life apart from the other would be unendurable. - -Mr. Bromley intended to remain in the United States some six months -longer, but, just on the eve of the holiday recess of the seminary, -he was suddenly recalled to England by the peremptory order of his -father. - -He was somewhat puzzled by this command, but, while discussing it -with his betrothed, and arranging to return to her by the time her -school-days were over, it suddenly struck him that it might have -some connection with an old project of his father to consummate -a union with a distant cousin, whose rent-roll amounted to some -thousands of pounds per annum. - -“I will fix things,” said this young man to himself; “I will marry -my little ‘prairie flower’ here and now, and then all the fathers -in creation cannot compel me to marry anybody else.” - -Whereupon, he broached the subject to Miss Mabel, who--though she -shrank from a secret marriage, as any pure-minded, conscientious -girl would do--found that her affection for her handsome lover was -stronger than her sense of filial duty, and she reluctantly yielded -to young Bromley’s persuasions. - -They were very quietly married on Christmas eve, and young Bromley -sailed for Europe the first day of January, but promised faithfully -that he would return in season to accompany his wife to her home, -upon her graduation from school, the following summer, when he -would bear all the responsibility of their union, and boldly claim -her of her father; her mother was not living. - -Letters passed between them every week, and they continued to be -very happy in the knowledge of the secret tie that united them. -Young Bromley found that ill health had prompted his father to -summon him home, for the cares pertaining to Sir Charles Bromley’s -estate had become too heavy for him, and he needed help. - -The marriage with the distant cousin was broached, for the baronet -earnestly wished to see his son settled in life, while, too, he -had an eye to the welding of two fortunes, which would result from -the union; but when he discovered his son’s opposition to such an -alliance, he did not urge it, for he was no tyrant, and believed a -man had the right to choose his own wife. - -The old gentleman became so much better as the summer drew on -apace, he consented to allow the young man to complete his -interrupted tour in America, and the little wife so patiently -awaiting him was finally made supremely happy by having the day -fixed for his sailing. - -But, alas! just the week previous to her graduation, there came a -letter stating that Sir Charles had been prostrated by a stroke of -paralysis, and the young husband could not leave until his father -was declared out of danger. - -This was a terrible blow, and at first it seemed as if she could -not bear it; but her friend and confidante, Helen Atwood, wrote -to Mr. Lyttleton, begging that Mabel might be allowed to remain -with her during the remainder of the summer, as her parents were -going abroad for three or four months, and she would be very lonely -during their absence. This petition was granted, greatly to the -delight of the two friends, who retired to Mr. Atwood’s country -home, a few miles out of the city, to rusticate and enjoy each -other’s companionship, and most earnestly hoping that Mr. Bromley -would put in an appearance before the visit should come to an end. - -The latter part of August there came a letter from Bromley Court, -announcing the death of the baronet, after a second attack of -paralysis; the next week the waiting wife received another letter, -saying that, at last, her husband was free to come to her, and -would sail five days later, and would be with her in a little more -than a week afterward. But the steamer on which he sailed was the -ill-fated _Catalonia_, which was wrecked the sixth day out, its few -survivors being picked up the following morning by another vessel. -But, alas! among the names of the passengers who were lost was that -of Sir Charles Bromley. - -The news of this terrible tragedy, coming, as it did, just at the -moment when her cup of joy seemed full, was more than the waiting -wife could bear. As her horrified glance fell upon the name of her -idolized husband in the list of the dead, a shriek of agony burst -from her lips, and she sank to the floor in strong convulsions, the -fatal paper clutched in her rigid hands. - -For several days she lay at the point of death, but mercifully -unconscious of her own suffering, and her apparently blighted -life. Then she slowly began to rally, coming back to life and -consciousness, but so broken-hearted that it was painful to be in -her presence. - -But, three weeks afterward, her mourning was turned into joy by -the sudden appearance of her husband, who, after various thrilling -experiences, had been rescued, with two or three others, by a -sailing-vessel which had arrived in port only that morning, when he -immediately hastened to his wife. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -GERALD MEETS HUBBARD. - - -The fair invalid’s convalescence was very rapid after that, and as -soon as she was able to travel, the happy couple started for the -home of the Lyttletons, in Illinois, where, upon their arrival, -the family were astounded to learn that Mabel had been a wife -for nearly a year, and would soon leave them again, to reside -permanently in England. - -The brothers, who worshiped their only sister--the baby and pet of -the household--at once accorded their new brother-in-law a hearty -welcome, and rather enjoyed the romance that had attended Mabel’s -marriage; but their father, a reserved, austere man, was inclined -to be very harsh with his daughter for having played them such a -trick. - -It was not, however, in the power of any one to long resist the -frank, manly young husband, who boldly asserted that he might have -been wrong in enticing his wife into a secret marriage, but that -“he would do it over again if it were necessary, rather than run -the risk of losing her.” - -Such a spirit rather staggered the old gentleman, but, on the -whole, he secretly admired the handsome sinner; while the fact of -being father-in-law to an English Baronet, to have one’s daughter -addressed as Lady Bromley, proved to be a salve to his wounded -dignity and love of authority; therefore, the erring little lady’s -indiscretion was finally condoned, and all was well. - -After a few weeks spent in her home, she departed for England with -her husband, where, with the exception of occasional visits to this -country, she had resided ever since, and led a very happy life. - -Her husband had died the year previous to Gerald’s connection with -Mr. Lyttleton, and the “complicated case,” which this gentleman -was conducting for his sister, was the settlement of the Bromley -estate, a distant relative having laid claim to it, upon the ground -of being nearest of kin, since Sir Charles had left no heir. - -The property had been largely augmented by the fortune of the -distant cousin, whom the elder baronet had wished his son to marry. -The lady had always cherished a secret affection for the young man, -and her love proving stronger and more enduring than her resentment -against him for choosing a younger and fairer bride, she had -bequeathed everything to him upon her death, which occurred some -ten years after the present Lady Bromley had come to Bromley Court, -and of whom also she became very fond. - -Thus the Bromley fortune was a magnificent inheritance, and -Richard Lyttleton was doing his utmost to save it for his sister. -Nevertheless, a court of chancery was an almost hopeless labyrinth -in which to become involved, and it might be years before the case -would be settled. - -Lady Bromley was a fair, sweet-faced woman of about thirty-eight -or forty years, and, from the moment of their meeting, Gerald had -been strongly attracted to her, and she to him. - -Therefore, upon learning of the terrible shock and sorrow that had -recently come to him, her sympathies were instantly enlisted in his -behalf, and she went to him often during his illness, to be sure he -had proper care and to cheer him as well as she could. - -When he was able to leave his room, she conceived a plan by which -she hoped to be of real benefit to him. She made him come to lunch -with her one day, and, after she had induced him to speak freely -of his bereavement and his love for the beautiful girl whom he had -hoped to marry, she confided to him something of her own story, as -related above. - -“Come and stay here with me for a while,” she pleaded during -this exchange of confidence; “I am almost alone in this great, -silent house”--glancing around the spacious, luxurious room with -a sigh--“and I should be glad to have some young life about me. -Richard, you know, is always so busy he can never spare me much -of his time, and my evenings are especially lonely. I want you to -tell me more of this lovely Allison Brewster; it will do you good -to talk of her, even though the story is so sad. Ah! I shall never -forget the dreadful day when I read that tragic account in the -newspaper and believed my husband to be lying in the depths of the -sea!” - -So, with her sweet sympathy and her plea for companionship, she -won her point, and almost every day after that, when his work was -done, Gerald might have been seen driving about or visiting some -place of interest with her. There was a gentle graciousness about -her--a sort of elder-sisterly manner toward him, that made her very -charming, and he soon grew to feel as if he must always have known -her, and he became devoted to her. - -This pleased Mr. Lyttleton, who was intensely relieved to see that -the face of his confidential clerk was beginning to lose its tense -look of pain, and that, when he came to his work in the morning, he -no longer appeared jaded and haggard, as if he had spent the whole -night in grieving. - -Thus time passed, and it was nearly the first of October when, -one day, Mr. Lyttleton announced that, for the fourth time, the -long-contested case had been put off until another term; and -accordingly they would return to New York at the end of another -week. - -“Then, Richard, I am going with you,” suddenly exclaimed Lady -Bromley, as she shot a wistful look at Gerald, who had grown very -pale at the thought of going home, where the loss of Allison would -seem like a fresh grief to him. “I will leave all business matters -in the hands of Mr. Cram, the steward, and make a little visit to -my native land, where I will stay until this dreadful lawsuit is -called again. I am almost ready to give up the battle. I am tired -out with it, and begin to think that the whole Bromley fortune is -not worth the wear and tear of all this worry.” - -“Nonsense, Mabel!” impatiently returned her brother, a dogged -expression settling over his face; “that is just what the other -side is working for--they want to tire you out, and I’m not going -to give up the fight, by any means. I know that Sir Charles wanted -you to be sole mistress of everything. I have often heard him say -that you were to have all, in case anything happened to him; and -how he ever allowed himself to be so negligent, and leave no will, -I cannot understand. I sometimes think he may have made one, and it -has slipped away somewhere.” - -“I’m afraid not, Richard; I have hunted the house over and over, -as you know, and I am sure no such document exists,” said her -ladyship, with a sigh. “However, I am going to run away from the -whole business, and try to forget it for a while. I’m going home -with you and Gerald,” she concluded, smiling. - -“Come, and welcome, dear,” said her brother cordially. - -The very next morning, as Gerald was walking down the Strand, -intent upon a matter of business for Mr. Lyttleton, he was suddenly -confronted by a man the sight of whom caused him to grow deathly -pale, and his heart to throb suffocatingly, from various emotions. - -This man was none other than John Hubbard. - -The expert, upon recognizing Gerald, lifted his upper lip, and -showed his gleaming teeth in a vicious grin. Then he attempted to -pass on without any other sign of recognition. But the young man -resolutely placed himself in his path. - -“Mr. Hubbard,” he remarked, with cold constraint, “you must excuse -me for delaying you, but I want to ask you a few questions. I wish -to inquire if any light has been thrown upon Miss Brewster’s fate -during the last few weeks?” - -“Not that I am aware of,” the man stiffly replied. - -“It was all true, then--the story of that railway accident, and -her--her burial by some parties unknown?” questioned Gerald, with -quivering lips. - -“I suppose it was, since every possible effort was made to find -her, but without avail,” the man returned, with a frown of -annoyance, for his own pillow was, by no means, free from thorns -in view of his agency in driving Allison from her home and to her -death. - -Often, during the night, he would start from his sleep, the -perspiration standing in cold beads all over him, his heart beating -wildly with fear, as if some demon had seemed to shout in his ear -the word “murderer!” and warn him that the wrongs which he had -perpetrated against her would yet be avenged. - -“It was a mysterious affair,” he continued, after a moment of -hesitation, and impelled almost against his will to make the -explanation. “I went to Boston as soon as I learned of the -accident, and saw her name in the paper, and made diligent inquiry -for the--the body.” - -Gerald gave utterance to a shuddering exclamation. - -“It seems strange to me,” he said, “that, since her cards were -found with her--at least, the paper so stated--any one should claim -her unless there happened to be another Miss Brewster upon the -train.” - -“It was strange.” - -“What can you tell me about this woman who claims to be Mrs. Adam -Brewster?” Gerald asked, and abruptly leaving the other subject. -“Where did she come from? Where has she been hiding all these -years?” - -“She has lived in various places in New York City during the last -few years,” responded the man, flushing hotly, for Gerald was now -probing a sensitive spot; but he seemed helpless to get away from -his inquiries. “She’s rather a fine-looking woman, though not -particularly well educated, or what one would have expected a man -like Mr. Brewster to choose for a wife. Her daughter, however, has -had far better advantages. She made her claims known to me not so -very long after her husband’s death; but I tried to stave them -off, for Allison’s sake, hoping that the matter could be quietly -settled. But after her--the accident, there was nothing to be done -but let the case come to trial.” - -“It seems to me the most improbable story in the world,” said -Gerald reflectively. “Mrs. Manning should have inherited that -property.” - -“She would have, but for the incontestable proofs which Mrs. -Brewster presented; even had Allison lived, she would have won the -suit,” returned John Hubbard, searching his companion’s pale, thin -face with his cruel eyes. He was secretly gloating over every stab -that he was giving him. - -“It is a mystery to me that she never put in an appearance while -Mr. Brewster was living,” the young man mused. “I suppose, however, -there must have been something questionable in her life or claim, -and she did not dare to. And you acted as her counsel?” - -“I did.” - -“That seems to me the strangest proceeding of all.” - -“Well, and what are you going to do about it?” was the sneering -demand; and for a moment the two men stood absolutely motionless, -gazing into each other’s eyes--one with a look of dogged defiance, -the other with a stern, searching, accusing expression. - -“I cannot understand your doing such a thing as that, Mr. Hubbard,” -Gerald remarked, his tone plainly indicating that he believed there -had been foul play. - -“Probably not,” was the curt, ironic retort, “and I do not know -that it is necessary that you should understand it. I was the -administrator of the Brewster estate, and when it was proved that -there wasn’t a drop of Brewster blood in Allison’s veins, there -is nothing so very remarkable about the fact that I conducted the -transfer of the property--especially after the death of Allison, -who might, perhaps, have contested the woman’s claim upon the -ground that a will had been made in her favor, though that would -easily have been broken.” - -“What were these proofs that Allison was not Mr. Brewster’s own -daughter?” - -“Oh, some clothing and some letters that were found in a box----” - -“What box--where was the box found?” queried Gerald, with -breathless interest, his mind instantly reverting to one of those -which he had taken from the secret vault at the banker’s command. - -“I see you suspect the truth,” said John Hubbard, with a malicious -grin. “Yes, it was one of those we caught you lugging off that -Sunday.” - -Gerald flushed at this fling, but he was too much absorbed in his -own thoughts, just then, to pay much heed to it. - -“Ah! I understand now!” he said; “that was why Mr. Brewster made -me promise that I would never speak of my errand to any person. He -wanted to get that box into his hands without having any one know -of its existence--he meant to destroy the contents, so that Allison -should never learn the truth.” - -“It certainly looks like it; you reason very well, young man. But -justice sometimes triumphs, as in this case,” sneered his companion. - -“Justice!” repeated Gerald, with infinite scorn; “that is yet to -be proved. But did no one question the genuineness of this woman’s -proofs?” - -“Oh, yes, there was some talk in that direction--there naturally -would be,” returned the attorney, with a contemptuous shrug of his -shoulders. “But it didn’t amount to anything; the evidence was so -conclusive it was promptly admitted by the court.” - -“Where did this alleged marriage take place?” demanded Gerald. - -“In New Haven, Connecticut.” - -“And were the records pertaining to this event thoroughly examined?” - -“Certainly; everything was conducted with all due regard to the -requirements of law, Mr. Winchester. Mr. Manning made a very -brave showing in the interests of his wife--he is no half-way -worker; while, as for myself, I seldom undertake anything which I -am not pretty sure of carrying to a successful end,” Mr. Hubbard -concluded, with significant emphasis. - -“All the same, I do not believe one word of that woman’s story,” -stoutly affirmed our hero, a frown of perplexity gathering upon -his brow. “Mr. Brewster certainly never appeared like a man who -had any such skeleton in his closet. I believe him to have been a -strictly honorable man in every act of his life, and----” - -“Yes, I believe there was a sort of mutual admiration society -between you,” sarcastically interposed John Hubbard. - -“And,” the young man continued, without appearing to heed the -interruption, “I am sure that if he had known that he had an own -child living he never would have allowed it to live in such poverty -as the papers have represented was the lot of this woman and -her daughter; he would, at least, have given them a comfortable -support.” - -“That is your idea of the matter, young man; but stranger things -than that are happening every day,” dryly observed his companion. -“It is rather difficult to judge just what kind of an existence -some of our aristocrats do lead; indeed, many of them have been -known to have been engaged in love-intrigues that would not bear -the light of day.” - -Gerald’s hand clenched involuntarily at this indirect slur upon his -former high-minded employer. - -“Mr. Brewster was never such a man,” he said sternly; “his life was -clean, through and through. Where are these women now?” - -“Ahem!” said Mr. Hubbard, shifting uneasily from one foot to the -other. “Mrs. Adam Brewster is at present in New York City; her -daughter, who is now Mrs. John Hubbard, is here, in London, and we -are stopping at the Langham.” - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE SECRET OF THE FOOT-REST. - - -For a moment Gerald was stricken dumb with astonishment by the -unexpected announcement that John Hubbard had married the heiress -to Adam Brewster’s fortune, and all that it implied. - -Then there arose with him a terrible indignation in view of what -he believed to be a foul wrong--the successful consummation of the -long and cunning plotting of a skilful knave. - -“Do I understand that you have married this so-called Miss Anna -Brewster?” he finally demanded in a strangely calm voice. - -“Exactly; that is just what I have done,” replied the man, showing -his teeth. “Miss Anna was a handsome girl, of whom almost any -man might feel proud--well educated and--ah--amiable. She is a -few years older than Allison. She was naturally grateful for the -interest which I manifested in her affairs; we found, upon a closer -acquaintance, that we were mutually congenial, and she consented to -honor me with her hand.” - -“And her fortune, also--it goes without saying, I suppose?” -scornfully interposed Gerald, who was fast losing command of -himself, as he realized what consummate villainy lay behind this -revelation. - -“Certainly; Miss Brewster being the only child of her father, of -course inherits the bulk of his property, although the widow has -her third; while the lady having become my wife, it naturally -devolves upon me to manage her interests,” the man responded, a -ghastly, malicious grin expressing his enjoyment of the situation. - -“You are a scoundrel, sir!” said Gerald, between his compressed -teeth. “I firmly believe that for years you have been scheming for -this very thing. I know that you wanted to marry Allison when you -believed her to be rich, and when you could not carry your point in -that direction, and get her money, you doubtless plotted to bring -the same result about in some other way.” - -“Well, you certainly did not succeed in getting any of Adam -Brewster’s gold!--you were rather balked in your efforts to win -the pretty heiress--eh!” sneered the wretch, but flushing guiltily -beneath the young man’s fiery, accusing glance. - -“I would scorn to marry any woman for her money,” said Gerald -proudly. - -“You did care, for the girl, though--you became very sweet on her, -if I remember rightly.” - -“That is a matter which does not concern you in the least, sir.” - -“Think so?” was the satirical rejoinder. “Possibly it does -not--now, but it did concern me very much at one time. Have you -forgotten the very significant little object-lesson which I gave -you over three years ago? I told you, when I crushed the bud which -she had given to you, that everything which stood in my path should -share the same fate.” - -“I remember,” said Gerald sternly, but with bloodless lips, as -he thought how that act had symbolized Allison’s fate as she lay -crushed and bleeding beneath that fatal wreck; “but,” he continued -in the same tone, “let me now, in turn, prophesy for you--your day -of triumph will be short, for if you have been guilty of fraud--and -I firmly believe you have--if you have been false to the trust -which Mr. Brewster reposed in you, you will ere long find yourself -doomed. I am studying law, Mr. Hubbard, under one of the shrewdest -attorneys of our day, and, when I complete my studies, if not -before, I shall make it my business to investigate this singular -case, which has so recently excited the gossip of New York society, -and given a million or more of money into your greedy hands; and, -if such a thing be possible, justice shall be meted out to you.” - -“Bah! you brag like a second David, aching to slay another Goliath; -but such valiant deeds are not achieved in this nineteenth century, -you insufferable boaster!” snarled John Hubbard, as he turned -resolutely aside to pursue his way. - -“Hold!” commanded Gerald authoritatively; “I have yet one more -word for you. Following out your simile, let me say that my sling -is a dauntless will, and a pebble may yet be found which will do -its work and hurl you from the heights, upon which you feel so -secure, into an ignominious abyss from which you will never arise.” - -Upon returning to Lady Bromley’s elegant residence in Portland -Square, Gerald informed Mr. Lyttleton of his encounter with John -Hubbard. The lawyer was deeply interested in the rehearsal of -the conversation which had taken place between the two, and when -the young man concluded, he remarked, with no little warmth and -conviction: - -“There certainly has been foul play in connection with the Brewster -property. I always felt that the man was a rascal, but he is a -very clever one, and you may be very sure that he has so covered -his tracks and burned his bridges behind him that, unless some -unforeseen evidence comes to light, it would be very difficult to -depose him from his position.” - -“I cannot credit that story regarding the woman who calls herself -Mrs. Brewster,” said Gerald reflectively. “I would give a good deal -to have our old friend, Plum, examine that certificate of hers, and -those old letters, which she claims were written by Mr. Brewster -before their marriage.” - -“I fear you will never be gratified, my boy,” said his friend; “the -case has been settled, and no one has any authority to rake it -over again, unless, as I said before, some new evidence should be -forthcoming, or some barefaced fraud detected which would implicate -the victors in the recent trial. If we had been in New York at the -time the case was in court, I should have followed it with a great -deal of interest.” - -Gerald said no more about the matter at that time. All the same, -he made a secret resolve that immediately upon his return he would -go to New Haven and examine the records of marriage-certificates, -to assure himself that matters were exactly as they had been -represented. - -He could not--he would not believe that there had ever been an -ignoble secret in his former employer’s life. He almost felt it a -personal injury, and resented it as such, that his fair name should -have been so smirched before the public. He felt, too, that Mrs. -Manning, as the nearest of kin, was being deeply wronged by having -Mr. Brewster’s large fortune so diverted from its proper channel. - -The week following found him, with Lady Bromley and Mr. Lyttleton, -on the broad Atlantic, and fast approaching the shores of their -native land. - -Upon their arrival in New York her ladyship took a suite of rooms -in a hotel, saying that she wanted a place of her own in the city, -where she could go and come, making visits here and there, as she -liked. She, however, persuaded Gerald to take a room in the same -house with her. - -“I shall want an escort,” she smilingly told him, “for I mean to -go about a good deal, and it will be so convenient to have you -near--that is, if you will not feel that I am imposing upon you.” - -Gerald assured her that it would give him great pleasure to attend -her wherever she might feel inclined to go; and he was thankful -to her for looking to him for companionship, for it seemed to him -that it would be almost more than he could bear to be left to -himself among the familiar scenes which reminded him so forcibly of -Allison. - -He did not have a suspicion that Lady Bromley had made all these -arrangements wholly on his account; that his sorrowful face and -heavy eyes so haunted her that she resolved to give him just as -little time as possible to dwell upon his trouble. - -Thus it came to pass that they breakfasted and dined together, -Gerald getting his luncheon down-town, near the office, while -in the evening they almost invariably went out to some concert, -lecture, or place of amusement, or had friends come to them. - -In this way they grew to be more and more fond of each other, -until the sweet, though lonely woman gradually came to regard the -high-minded fellow with almost as much affection as if he had -been her son; while he never failed to experience a feeling of -restfulness and content in her presence. - -One Sunday afternoon Gerald and his friend were sitting in Lady -Bromley’s charming little parlor. The young man had been reading -aloud from a new book that was just out, until, as the daylight -began to wane, Gerald had observed that her ladyship had seemed -somewhat restless, and several times had glanced rather wistfully -around the room. At last, realizing that he was watching her, she -broke forth with an apologetic little laugh: - -“Gerald, I really must have a hassock. I have acquired the habit -of using a foot-rest, and I shall not feel at home until I can get -into my natural position. I shall go out to-morrow morning and buy -three or four; then I can have one in every room.” - -“Why did you not speak of it before?” Gerald inquired. “I would -have supplied your needs with pleasure. Possibly I might find -one in the house to-night for you. I will go and ask the clerk. -Ah!”--with sudden thought--“I have the very thing for you; at -least, it will answer your purpose until you are better equipped.” - -With that he started up, and, going to his own room, took from his -trunk the old-fashioned cricket that had belonged to his aunt. - -With a smile of amusement over the antiquated appearance of the -thing, he returned with it to his friend. - -“It is as ‘old as the hills,’ and rather a shabby affair for a -modern boudoir,” he remarked as he placed it conveniently for Lady -Bromley, and then he told her the history of it, while she listened -with curious interest. - -“But for Aunt Honor’s wish that I would not part with it, because -it was an heirloom which she prized, I would have gotten rid of -it long ago,” he remarked, in conclusion. “It is a veritable -‘elephant’ upon my hands, for I usually carry it in my trunk -wherever I go.” - -“That must indeed be rather inconvenient for you,” Lady Bromley -observed, as she regarded the quaint old foot-rest critically. “It -is queer how tenacious of heirlooms some people are,” she added -reflectively; “I know of some attics and storerooms that are -full of just such things, and they are of no use to any one; but, -having been purchased and prized by some remote ancestor, they are -regarded as sacred, and it would be thought desecration to either -dispose of or destroy them. But, Gerald, this cricket is made of -solid mahogany! If it was repolished, the brass claw feet nicely -cleaned and laquered, and the top handsomely upholstered, it would -really be a very pretty thing.” - -Gerald laughed. - -“That involves a good deal of reconstruction, and I am afraid I -do not care enough for it to take all that trouble, especially as -I never use anything of the kind,” he smilingly responded, and -then they drifted to some other subject. A few days later, when he -returned at his usual hour for dinner, his friend lifted a doubtful -face to him. - -“Gerald,” she said plaintively. “I have ruined your cricket! -Look!” she continued, removing her feet from it, when he saw that -the bright, intricate patchwork, which had been the work of Miss -Winchester’s patient fingers, was all discolored. - -“I was trying, this afternoon, to remove some spots of iron-rust -from a couple of nice handkerchiefs, and I did not like to trust -the work to any one else,” her ladyship continued. “Suddenly the -bottle of acid slipped from my hands, the contents were spilled -upon the cricket, and the color all taken out of the cover, as you -see.” - -“Never mind; pray do not give it another thought,” replied the -young man indifferently, “that patchwork was years and years -old--it has served its day and generation.” - -“May I fix it over for you?” questioned his companion. “I will -have it done nicely, and then it will make a pretty ornament for my -room as long as we remain here.” - -“Certainly; do with it as you like,” heartily replied Gerald. “I -would like to give it to you, since it seems to interest you so -much, but I’m afraid Aunt Honor’s ghost would haunt me for being so -unmindful of her wishes.” - -“Oh, I do not want you to give it to me; but I would like to make -it a more presentable piece of furniture,” said her ladyship, and -there the matter rested. - -But the next day, when she was alone, she looked it over carefully, -to consider just how she would repair it. Taking her scissors, she -cut away a portion of the patchwork covering, and then laughed out -amusedly as another, faded and worn, was revealed to her. - -“There may be half a dozen, for aught I know,” she mused, “and -I have a curiosity to see what taste and texture represent the -previous generations of my Gerald’s family.” - -Clipping busily away, she cut the whole outer cover off, when a -piece of worsted work came to light. - -“Ah!” said Lady Bromley. “Miss Winchester’s ancestor, next removed, -was evidently fond of crewel embroidery! It is a very pretty -design--ferns and honeysuckles--and there are an endless number of -stitches in it; if it could only speak, what an interesting history -it might give me of the girl or woman who wrought it! - -“But this is strange!” she added, a moment after. “It has been -partially cut away on three sides, and”--lifting it--“so has the -next cover, which is a piece of ordinary tapestry, and the next, -also, which is of ordinary horsehair, and probably the original -covering. - -“Generation the fourth, and last,” she observed in a tone of -satisfaction, as she removed the ragged hair-cloth and threw it to -one side, for her occupation was becoming rather distasteful, on -account of the dust which arose from her efforts. - -This left only a layer of cotton to be disposed of, and, as she -gathered it up and laid it upon the heap of rags beside her, a low, -startled exclamation burst from her lips upon observing that there -was a lid in the top of the cricket, and that a leather loop had -been tacked upon one side of it, to enable it to be readily lifted -from its place. - -“Well! I am afraid I have stumbled upon some secret with which I -have no business!” rather nervously murmured her ladyship, as she -curiously eyed the ancient foot-rest. “What can it mean? Possibly -this heirloom, which he has so affected to despise, may prove, -after all, to be very precious to ‘my Gerald.’” - -She had almost unconsciously grown into the habit of calling him -“my Gerald,” her constantly increasing affection for him giving her -a certain sense of possession. - -“Perhaps we shall discover title-deeds to a great fortune--as we -read about in novels--in this dusty, musty little sepulcher which, -in all probability, has not been opened for many years,” she went -on, with a light, mocking laugh at her romantic suspicion. “And -yet”--with a slight start--“every cover except the last had been -partially cut away, so, of course, Miss Winchester must have known -the secret--possibly she also may have concealed something in here -for him to find, and that is why she made him promise never to part -with it.” - -With her thumb and finger she laid hold of the leather loop and -lifted the cover, just enough to ascertain whether the thing was -empty or not. - -The next instant she dropped it again, a quick, startled cry -breaking from her. - -The receptacle was packed full of papers! - -With a very grave face Lady Bromley arose from the floor, carefully -placed the cricket in one corner of the room, and dropped an afghan -over it. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -THE WINCHESTER HEIRLOOM. - - -“Gerald,” said her ladyship that same evening, upon coming up from -their dinner, “how far back do you know your family history?” - -Gerald turned to his friend with some surprise at this question, -and then his fine face clouded. - -“Not very far,” he gravely returned. “The most that I know -is that--a long time ago--some of my ancestors came to this -country from England. I have heard Aunt Honor speak of her -great-grandfather, on her mother’s side, being a Scotch -Presbyterian minister. Her grand-father was a blacksmith, her -father a physician, and----” - -“And your father--who and what was he, Gerald?” eagerly questioned -Lady Bromley, as he paused suddenly. - -Again the young man flashed a look of surprise at his companion, -and flushed slightly. - -“Pardon me if I seem unduly curious,” said her ladyship, laying -her hand fondly upon his shoulder as she caught the look. “I am, -perhaps, overstepping the bounds of etiquette in catechizing you -thus, but I have a reason for it which I will explain presently. -You have already told me that you do not remember either your -father or mother.” - -“No,” replied Gerald, “my father, who must have been considerably -younger than Aunt Honor, went to sea and never came back, and that -is about all that I know regarding him; for auntie never seemed to -like to talk about him. My mother died of quick consumption when I -was an infant only a few months old, and was buried in Ashton, a -small town in Rhode Island, where, later, I buried auntie. This is -about all that I know concerning my personal history, for my aunt -was always so busy trying to make a living for us, she never seemed -willing to stop to answer my boyish questions. So I finally grew -tired of having her say bruskly, though not unkindly, ‘Oh, go away, -child; I’m busy now, and can’t be bothered,’ and thus I gradually -came to look upon my birth and early life as a sort of vague dream, -and to realize that my chief concern was to improve my time, and -get what education I could to fit myself for the future that lay -before me. And yet, since I have grown older, I have sometimes -thought that Aunt Honor intentionally evaded me and kept back from -me facts regarding my parentage. But she was always very good to -me--she denied herself a great deal to keep me at school. I really -believe that she worked beyond her strength, and that was what -caused her to drop away so suddenly.” - -“Have you no relics--no keepsakes, that belonged to your mother? -Have you no record of her marriage, or her wedding-ring?” asked -Lady Bromley. - -“No; I was so intent upon my boyish pursuits I never thought to ask -for anything of the kind; indeed, I doubt if I even knew that such -things were requisite accompaniments to marriage while Aunt Honor -lived; you know, I was only fourteen years of age when she died,” -Gerald responded, with a sigh. - -“Yes, I suppose it is not strange that you did not think of such -things at that age,” said Lady Bromley, adding, as she smiled -kindly into his rather troubled face: “And now I am going to -tell you why I have been so exceedingly inquisitive--perhaps you -may have deemed me rudely so. I made a discovery this afternoon, -Gerald, which I am impressed will be of great interest to you, even -if it does not throw any light upon your own personal history. It -was to prepare you somewhat for this that I have questioned you. I -took a notion into my head that I would have that ancient cricket -of yours made over into something respectable, and, upon removing -various coverings, I found that the top of the thing is a kind of -box, with a cover which fits snugly into it.” - -“That is curious!” Gerald observed, with sudden interest. - -“It is; and what is still more so, is the fact that the receptacle -is packed with papers.” - -“Why, that is very remarkable! What kind of papers?” - -“That I cannot tell you, my dear boy,” replied her ladyship, -flushing slightly, “for, of course, I did not presume to touch -them. I am sure, however that your aunt, Miss Winchester, must have -known of this secret, and it is possible that she also may have -added something to its contents, for I found that every covering, -underneath the outer one, had been partially detached to admit of -the lid being lifted.” - -“Ah, this explains why she was so insistent that I should never -part with the cricket!” Gerald exclaimed. “But why all the secrecy? -Why did she not tell me that the thing contained important -documents?” he added wonderingly. - -“Possibly she may have intended to do so, later on, when you had -arrived at years of discretion--she may have regarded you, up to -the time of her death, as too young to be entrusted with important -information,” replied Lady Bromley. “But come,” she continued, -rising and speaking in a playful tone, “you must examine this -mysterious inheritance for yourself.” - -She went to the corner where she had placed the cricket, removed -the coverings she had thrown over it, and pointed to the ancient -heirloom, which, in its demolished condition, now appeared more -disreputable than ever. - -But, somehow, Gerald shrank from the thing. There was an oppressive -weight upon his heart--a sense of dread lest, upon investigating -the mystery, he should learn some secret which would make his life -unendurable. - -“Come, come, you indifferent boy; have you no curiosity?” lightly -queried her ladyship, who plainly read his thoughts upon his -expressive face. “I frankly confess to an element of ‘Mother Eve’ -in my nature; but I have some letters to write, so I am going to my -chamber while you examine the contents of your treasure-chest.” - -“I cannot bear to touch it,” he replied, regarding the inoffensive -chest with a moody brow; “I believe I am afraid of it.” - -“Fie! do not be superstitious,” laughingly reproved his companion. -“Who knows but that you may find yourself the descendant of some -‘lord of high degree’ over the water. In that case, I may have the -felicity of your continued friendship and presence in the country -of my adoption; that is, if my own case comes to a favorable issue, -and I ever get back to England.” - -Still Gerald did not move. - -He was superstitious in this instance; and if he could have -followed the promptings of his own inclinations, he would far -rather have burned this mysterious heirloom, without learning the -nature of its contents, than run the risk of discovering some story -of the past which would make his cheek burn with shame to rehearse -to this lovely woman, who had become so much to him during the last -year. - -Still assuming a lightness of manner, although her own heart was -strangely oppressed by the magnetism of his fear, Lady Bromley -herself lifted the foot-rest, and bore it to the table, where she -deposited it. - -Then, after placing a chair before it, she again went to Gerald’s -side, slipping her hand within his arm, and forcibly compelling him -to cross the room and be seated. - -“Now, my dear boy,” she said, laying her hand caressingly on his -head, and speaking with exceeding tenderness, “let not your -heart be troubled, no matter what the contents of this strange -treasure-chest reveals to you; all is wisely ordered by a good -Father. Nothing can harm you individually; Miss Winchester’s -judicious training and your own innate nobility of character have -made you a man whose friendship any man or woman might be proud to -win, and from whose real worth no mistake or shadow of a previous -generation could detract one iota.” - -Gerald lifted his face to the beautiful one bending above him, and -there was a suspicious moisture in his eyes. He gently took the -hand from his head, and, bringing it around to his lips, left a -reverent caress upon it. - -“Lady Bromley, how kind you are to me! How much you have become to -me during the short year of our acquaintance! I owe you more than -I can express--especially for your almost divine sympathy during -my recent trouble. I believe, but for you, I could not have lived -and kept my reason, after learning of Allison’s terrible fate, and -now----” - -Her ladyship laid her fingers upon his tremulous lips. She saw -that he was on the verge of a wild outburst of grief, in view of -the crushing sorrow of the past, and the dread of what might be in -store for him. - -“Hush!” she said softly, “do not look back. We all have our -troubles and losses. I have had mine, and no living soul, save -myself, knows how hard to bear some of them have been”--this with -visible emotion; “and if I should allow myself to dwell on them I -should be one of the most wretched women living. Now I am going to -run away,” she continued more brightly, “but when I come back, let -me find all these somber clouds dispersed.” - -She swept her hand lightly and caressingly across his brow as -she ceased speaking, then went quickly from the room. Gerald sat -moodily, thinking for a long time after she disappeared. His arms -were tightly folded across his breast, his head was bent, and his -whole attitude plainly indicated the great depression of mind which -held him enthralled. - -Mentally he went over the ground of his whole life, recalling many -incidents of his childhood which, at the time, had seemed of no -importance whatever, but which now, viewed in the light of later -events--of his aunt’s persistent evasion of his questions and of -Lady Bromley’s discovery of that day--appeared to be strongly -significant of some vital secret regarding his origin. - -Surely, Miss Winchester would never have made him promise so -sacredly never to part with her cricket if she had not known that -it contained something which might some day become of importance to -him. - -The partial cutting away of the various coverings also betrayed -that, at least, some individual, for four generations back, had -been cognizant of an important secret connected with the quaint -heirloom, and had probably added something to it. He recalled how -very vague his Aunt Honor had always been to him in reference to -his parents--particularly so regarding his father, who “went to sea -before he was born and never came back”--that was her invariable -reply to all questions which he asked, and he was usually switched -off upon some other subject when he became too persistent. - -He had a picture of his mother, taken when she was a fair, sweet -girl of seventeen or eighteen years, and all his life he had -loved to look at the lovely face, with its earnest, thoughtful -expression, and he often wondered if the sound of her voice would -have thrilled him as did those beautiful eyes into which he so -loved to gaze. - -He never remembered to have seen any relatives--he had had but few -playmates. He and his aunt had lived very quietly by themselves in -their country home, until they had come to New York, and become a -part of its bustling, hustling life. - -Miss Winchester had been kind and fond of him, in her way, and he -had loved her more because he had no one else to love, than because -of the bond of kinship which existed between them. - -He smiled now, a trifle bitterly, as he thought of this, and -remembered how few people there had ever been in the world who had -felt any real interest in him. - -Toward Mr. Brewster he had been strongly attracted from the first -hour spent in his office, when he had gone to him as a common -messenger-boy. He had been his ideal of a true and honorable -gentleman, and his regard for him had continued to increase until -it had grown into something that might have been called boyish -worship. - -Then Allison had come into his life, like a star of hope, only to -fall again suddenly from his firmament, and leave him in almost -rayless darkness. - -And yet he knew he should not say that, for there was Mr. -Lyttleton, whose kindness had been unvarying, while Lady Bromley -was, next to Allison, the dearest friend he had ever known. - -His had been rather a barren existence thus far, taking it all in -all; what would the future bring him? he wondered, with a weary -sigh. - -With a look of sudden determination, he straightened himself, put -forth his hand, and grasped the Winchester heirloom. - -The next moment he swung back the lid in the top, and found himself -gazing upon the mysterious documents which, for so long, had been -concealed there. - -Those on top were yellowed and creased with age. There was a -chronological tree of the Winchesters, dating back for ten -generations; but although Gerald examined it carefully, he could -find no trace of any “lord of high degree,” or anything which threw -the slightest light upon his own birth or parentage. - -Then there were records of marriages, births, and deaths, some -baptismal-certificates, and, among these latter, that of Miss Honor -Winchester herself. Also one of Martha Winchester which was pinned -to a marriage-certificate, showing her to have married, some fifty -years previous, a certain Arthur Harris. - -With these there was the record of the birth of a daughter, who had -been named Miriam, and who evidently had been the only child of -this couple. - -“H’m!” said Gerald thoughtfully, “I never heard Miss Honor speak -of having had a sister named Martha, and--and my mother’s name was -Miriam. This rather mixes things for me, and strikes me as being -very queer.” - -These papers were the only ones which, as yet, contained anything -of special interest to him, and he wondered why they had been -placed so near the bottom of the receptacle in the cricket. - -He laid them apart from the others, and then drew forth a bulky -envelope, which, with a sudden start and thrill, he discovered was -addressed to himself, in the familiar handwriting of Miss Honor -Winchester. - -Now every nerve in his body seemed alive with a sense of painful -expectation. - -He believed that a crisis in his life had come--that he was about -to pass the Rubicon which was perhaps to make or mar his whole -future. - -The envelope was sealed, but he broke it open impatiently--an -intolerance of all delay in learning his fate taking possession of -him--and drew out its contents, though with a hand that was far -from steady. - -There were a few letters bound together with a rubber band, and the -writing on their envelopes had a strangely familiar look to him. - -Next, there were several closely written sheets which, he saw -at once, had been written by his aunt, and doubtless to him, -although he could not stop to read them then. He was too anxious -to ascertain the contents of those two other papers which lay -underneath them. - -With a strange heart-sinking, he unfolded the uppermost one, and as -he glanced quickly over it, a look of blank astonishment overspread -his face. - -Laying it down, he opened the only remaining document. There was -a minute of utter silence, during which he scarcely seemed to -breathe, as he hastily perused its contents. - -Then, with a hoarse cry bursting from his colorless lips, he sprang -from his chair, the paper clutched in his rigid hands, while the -ancient heirloom of the Winchesters, which he had overturned with a -sweep of his elbow, went crashing noisily to the floor. - -An instant after that hoarse, startled cry rang through the -room--after that foot-rest went crashing to the floor, the door of -Lady Bromley’s chamber flew open, there was the sound of silken -garments trailing swiftly over the carpet, then a jeweled hand was -laid upon Gerald’s arm, and the anxious eyes of the beautiful woman -searched, with a frightened look, the rigid countenance of our hero. - -“Gerald! What is it?” she whispered. “What has excited you so? Tell -me!” - -“Good heavens! It cannot be true! I can never believe it!” the -young man muttered, a far-away look in his eyes, his face still set -and white as marble. - -“What is it that cannot be true? Have you made some wonderful -discovery?” questioned Lady Bromley, her hand still clinging to his -arm, her voice full of gentle persuasiveness. - -“Yes.” - -“Tell me!” - -“I am almost afraid to breathe it aloud.” - -“No, no! Gerald, surely not to me--your friend under all -circumstances; one who will never fail you,” the lovely woman -pleaded. “Is it as you surmised, some secret connected with your -origin?” - -“Yes, and it is wonderful! Incredible!” - -“Tell me!” again commanded his friend. - -The excited fellow drew in a deep breath that shook his stalwart -frame from head to foot. - -He straightened himself to his full height, throwing back his head -with an air of freedom and conscious pride, while an expression of -great joy illumined his eyes. - -Then he looked down and smiled into the face of the fair woman -beside him. - -“You will scarcely believe me,” he said, “but I am Adam Brewster’s -son!” - -Lady Bromley heard Gerald’s statement with amazement, although she -had felt that the papers might have a serious bearing on the life -of her young friend. Together they examined the documents so long -hidden in the old foot-stool, and when they had finished with the -last piece of evidence, so singularly produced, it was evident to -both that the mystery of Gerald’s birth had been cleared away, and -that, as the lawful son of the banker, he was the rightful heir -to the millions for which John Hubbard had seemingly successfully -plotted. - -How Gerald’s claim to the banker’s fortune was established to the -complete undoing of the scheming lawyer, and how the sunshine of -love and happiness once more entered into his life, will be found -in the sequel to this story, which is published under the title, -“A Heritage of Love,” and bound in handsome cloth binding, uniform -with this volume. - - -THE END. - - - - -Good Fiction Worth Reading. - - -=A series of romances containing several of the old favorites in the -field of historical fiction, replete with powerful romances of love -and diplomacy that excel in thrilling and absorbing interest.= - - -=DARNLEY.= A Romance of the times of Henry VIII. and Cardinal -Wolsey. By G. P. R. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by -J. Watson Davis, Price, $1.00. - - In point of publication, “Darnley” is that work by Mr. James which - follows “Richelieu,” and, if rumor can be credited, it was owing - to the advice and insistence of our own Washington Irving that we - are indebted primarily for the story, the young author questioning - whether he could properly paint the difference in the characters - of the two great cardinals. And it is not surprising that James - should have hesitated; he had been eminently successful in giving - to the world the portrait of Richelieu as a man, and by attempting - a similar task with Wolsey as the theme, was much like tempting - fortune. Irving insisted that “Darnley” came naturally in sequence, - and this opinion being supported by Sir Walter Scott, the author - set about the work. - - As a historical romance “Darnley” is a book that can be taken up - pleasurably again and again, for there is about it that subtle - charm which those who are strangers to the works of G. P. R. James - have claimed was only to be imparted by Dumas. - - If there was nothing more about the work to attract especial - attention, the account of the meeting of the kings on the historic - “field of the cloth of gold” would entitle the story to the most - favorable consideration of every reader. - - There is really but little pure romance in this story, for the - author has taken care to imagine love passages only between those - whom history has credited with having entertained the tender - passion one for another, and he succeeds in making such lovers as - all the world must love. - - -=CAPTAIN BRAND, OF THE SCHOONER CENTIPEDE.= By Lieut. Henry A. -Wise, U. S. N. (Harry Gringo). Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations -by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - The re-publication of this story will please those lovers of sea - yarns who delight in so much of the salty flavor of the ocean as - can come through the medium of a printed page, for never has a - story of the sea and those “who go down in ships” been written by - one more familiar with the scenes depicted. - - The one book of this gifted author which is best remembered, - and which will be read with pleasure for many years to come, is - “Captain Brand,” who, as the author states on his title page, was - a “pirate of eminence in the West Indies.” As a sea story pure and - simple, “Captain Brand” has never been excelled, and as a story of - piratical life, told without the usual embellishments of blood and - thunder, it has no equal. - - -=NICK OF THE WOODS.= A story of the Early Settlers of Kentucky. By -Robert Montgomery Bird. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. -Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - This most popular novel and thrilling story of early frontier - life in Kentucky was originally published in the year 1837. The - novel, long out of print, had in its day a phenomenal sale, for - its realistic presentation of Indian and frontier life in the - early days of settlement in the South, narrated in the tale with - all the art of a practiced writer. A very charming love romance - runs through the story. This new and tasteful edition of “Nick - of the Woods” will be certain to make many new admirers for this - enchanting story from Dr. Bird’s clever and versatile pen. - - -=WINDSOR CASTLE.= A Historical Romance of the Reign of Henry VIII., -Catharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. -Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, -$1.00. - - “Windsor Castle” is the story of Henry VIII., Catharine, and - Anne Boleyn. “Bluff King Hal,” although a well-loved monarch, - was none too good a one in many ways. Of all his selfishness and - unwarrantable acts, none was more discreditable than his divorce - from Catharine, and his marriage to the beautiful Anne Boleyn. - The King’s love was as brief as it was vehement. Jane Seymour, - waiting maid on the Queen, attracted him, and Anne Boleyn was - forced to the block to make room for her successor. This romance - is one of extreme interest to all readers. - - -=HORSESHOE ROBINSON.= A tale of the Tory Ascendency in South -Carolina in 1780. By John P. Kennedy. Cloth, 12mo. with four -illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - Among the old favorites in the field of what is known as - historical fiction, there are none which appeal to a larger - number of Americans than Horseshoe Robinson, and this because it - is the only story which depicts with fidelity to the facts the - heroic efforts of the colonists in South Carolina to defend their - homes against the brutal oppression of the British under such - leaders as Cornwallis and Tarleton. - - The reader is charmed with the story of love which forms the - thread of the tale, and then impressed with the wealth of detail - concerning those times. The picture of the manifold sufferings - of the people, is never overdrawn, but painted faithfully and - honestly by one who spared neither time nor labor in his efforts - to present in this charming love story all that price in blood - and tears which the Carolinians paid as their share in the - winning of the republic. - - Take it all in all, “Horseshoe Robinson” is a work which should - be found on every book-shelf, not only because it is a most - entertaining story, but because of the wealth of valuable - information concerning the colonists which it contains. That it - has been brought out once more, well illustrated, is something - which will give pleasure to thousands who have long desired an - opportunity to read the story again, and to the many who have - tried vainly in these latter days to procure a copy that they - might read it for the first time. - - -=THE PEARL OF ORR’S ISLAND.= A story of the Coast of Maine. By -Harriet Beecher Stowe. Cloth, 12mo. Illustrated. Price, $1.00. - - Written prior to 1862, the “Pearl of Orr’s Island” is ever new; - a book filled with delicate fancies, such as seemingly array - themselves anew each time one reads them. One sees the “sea like - an unbroken mirror all around the pine-girt, lonely shores of - Orr’s Island,” and straightway comes “the heavy, hollow moan of - the surf on the beach, like the wild angry howl of some savage - animal.” - - Who can read of the beginning of that sweet life, named Mara, - which came into this world under the very shadow of the Death - angel’s wings, without having an intense desire to know how the - premature bud blossomed? Again and again one lingers over the - descriptions of the character of that baby boy Moses, who came - through the tempest, amid the angry billows, pillowed on his dead - mother’s breast. - - There is no more faithful portrayal of New England life than that - which Mrs. Stowe gives in “The Pearl of Orr’s Island.” - - -=GUY FAWKES.= A Romance of the Gunpowder Treason. By Wm. Harrison -Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by George -Cruikshank. Price, $1.00. - - The “Gunpowder Plot” was a modest attempt to blow up Parliament, - the King and his Counsellors. James of Scotland, then King - of England, was weak-minded and extravagant. He hit upon the - efficient scheme of extorting money from the people by imposing - taxes on the Catholics. In their natural resentment to this - extortion, a handful of bold spirits concluded to overthrow the - government. Finally the plotters were arrested, and the King put - to torture Guy Fawkes and the other prisoners with royal vigor. A - very intense love story runs through the entire romance. - - -=THE SPIRIT OF THE BORDER.= A Romance of the Early Settlers in the -Ohio Valley. By Zane Grey. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by -J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - A book rather out of the ordinary is this “Spirit of the Border.” - The main thread of the story has to do with the work of the - Moravian missionaries in the Ohio Valley. Incidentally the reader - is given details of the frontier life of those hardy pioneers who - broke the wilderness for the planting of this great nation. Chief - among these, as a matter of course, is Lewis Wetzel, one of the - most peculiar, and at the same time the most admirable of all the - brave men who spent their lives battling with the savage foe, - that others might dwell in comparative security. - - Details of the establishment and destruction of the Moravian - “Village of Peace” are given at some length, and with minute - description. The efforts to Christianize the Indians are - described as they never have been before, and the author has - depicted the characters of the leaders of the several Indian - tribes with great care, which of itself will be of interest to - the student. - - By no means least among the charms of the story are the vivid - word-pictures of the thrilling adventures, and the intense - paintings of the beauties of nature, as seen in the almost - unbroken forests. - - It is the spirit of the frontier which is described, and one can - by it, perhaps, the better understand why men, and women, too, - willingly braved every privation and danger that the westward - progress of the star of empire might be the more certain and - rapid. A love story, simple and tender, runs through the book. - - -=RICHELIEU.= A tale of France in the reign of King Louis XIII. By -G. P. R. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson -Davis. Price, $1.00. - - In 1829 Mr. James published his first romance, “Richelieu,” and - was recognized at once as one of the masters of the craft. - - In this book he laid the story during those later days of the - great cardinal’s life, when his power was beginning to wane, but - while it was yet sufficiently strong to permit now and then of - volcanic outbursts which overwhelmed foes and carried friends - to the topmost wave of prosperity. One of the most striking - portions of the story is that of Cinq Mar’s conspiracy; the - method of conducting criminal cases, and the political trickery - resorted to by royal favorites, affording a better insight into - the state-craft of that day than can be had even by an exhaustive - study of history. It is a powerful romance of love and diplomacy, - and in point of thrilling and absorbing interest has never been - excelled. - - -=A COLONIAL FREE-LANCE.= A story of American Colonial Times. By -Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. -Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - A book that appeals to Americans as a vivid picture of - Revolutionary scenes. The story is a strong one, a thrilling one. - It causes the true American to flush with excitement, to devour - chapter after chapter, until the eyes smart, and it fairly smokes - with patriotism. The love story is a singularly charming idyl. - - -=THE TOWER OF LONDON.= A Historical Romance of the Times of Lady -Jane Grey and Mary Tudor. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. -with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00. - - This romance of the “Tower of London” depicts the Tower as - palace, prison and fortress, with many historical associations. - The era is the middle of the sixteenth century. - - The story is divided into two parts, one dealing with Lady Jane - Grey, and the other with Mary Tudor as Queen, introducing other - notable characters of the era. Throughout the story holds the - interest of the reader in the midst of intrigue and conspiracy, - extending considerably over a half a century. - - -=IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING.= A Romance of the American Revolution. By -Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. -Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - Mr. Hotchkiss has etched in burning words a story of Yankee - bravery, and true love that thrills from beginning to end, with - the spirit of the Revolution. The heart beats quickly, and we - feel ourselves taking a part in the exciting scenes described. - His whole story is so absorbing that you will sit up far into the - night to finish it. As a love romance it is charming. - - -=GARTHOWEN.= A story of a Welsh Homestead. By Allen Raine. Cloth, -12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - “This is a little idyl of humble life and enduring love, laid - bare before us, very real and pure, which in its telling shows - us some strong points of Welsh character--the pride, the - hasty temper, the quick dying out of wrath.... We call this a - well-written story, interesting alike through its romance and its - glimpses into another life than ours. A delightful and clever - picture of Welsh village life. The result is excellent.”--Detroit - Free Press. - - -=MIFANWY.= The story of a Welsh Singer. By Allan Raine. Cloth, -12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - “This is a love story, simple, tender and pretty as one would - care to read. The action throughout is brisk and pleasing; the - characters, it is apparent at once, are as true to life as though - the author had known them all personally. Simple in all its - situations, the story is worked up in that touching and quaint - strain which never grows wearisome, no matter how often the - lights and shadows of love are introduced. It rings true, and - does not tax the imagination.”--Boston Herald. - - -=ROB OF THE BOWL.= A Story of the Early Days of Maryland. By John -P. Kennedy. Cloth, 12mo. Four page illustrations by J. Watson -Davis. Price, $1.00. - - This story is an authentic exposition of the manners and customs - during Lord Baltimore’s rule. The greater portion of the action - takes place in St. Mary’s--the original capital of the State. - - The quaint character of Rob, the loss of whose legs was supplied - by a wooden bowl strapped to his thighs, his misfortunes and - mother wit, far outshine those fair to look upon. Pirates and - smugglers did Rob consort with for gain, and it was to him that - Blanche Werden owed her life and her happiness, as the author has - told us in such an enchanting manner. - - As a series of pictures of early colonial life in Maryland, “Rob - of the Bowl” has no equal. The story is full of splendid action, - with a charming love story, and a plot that never loosens the - grip of its interest to its last page. - - -=TICONDEROGA.= A Story of Early Frontier Life in the Mohawk Valley. -By G. P. R. James. Cloth, 12mo. Four page illustrations by J. -Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - The setting of the story is decidedly more picturesque than any - ever evolved by Cooper. The story is located on the frontier of - New York State. The principal characters in the story include an - English gentleman, his beautiful daughter, Lord Howe, and certain - Indian sachems belonging to the Five Nations, and the story ends - with the Battle of Ticonderoga. - - The character of Captain Brooks, who voluntarily decides - to sacrifice his own life in order to save the son of the - Englishman, is not among the least of the attractions of this - story, which holds the attention of the reader even to the last - page. - - Interwoven with the plot is the Indian “blood” law, which demands - a life for a life, whether it be that of the murderer or one of - his race. A more charming story of mingled love and adventure has - never been written than “Ticonderoga”. - - -=MARY DERWENT.= A tale of the Wyoming Valley in 1778. By Mrs. Ann -S. Stephens. Cloth, 12mo. Four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. -Price, $1.00. - - The scene of this fascinating story of early frontier life is - laid in the Valley of Wyoming. Aside from Mary Derwent, who is - of course the heroine, the story deals with Queen Esther’s son, - Giengwatah, the Butlers of notorious memory, and the adventures - of the Colonists with the Indians. - - Though much is made of the Massacre of Wyoming, a great portion - of the tale describes the love making between Mary Derwent’s - sister, Walter Butler, and one of the defenders of Forty Fort. - - This historical novel stands out bright and pleasing, because of - the mystery and notoriety of several of the actors, the tender - love scenes, descriptions of the different localities, and the - struggles of the settlers. It holds the attention of the reader - even to the last page. - - -=THE LAST TRAIL.= A story of early days in the Ohio Valley. By Zane -Grey. Cloth, 12mo. Four page illustrations by J. Watson Davis. -Price, $1.00. - - “The Last Trail” is a story of the border. The scene is laid at - Fort Henry, where Col. Ebenezer Zane with his family have built - up a village despite the attacks of savages and renegades. The - Colonel’s brother and Wetzel, known as Deathwind by the Indians, - are the bordermen who devote their lives to the welfare of the - white people. A splendid love story runs through the book. - - That Helen Sheppard, the heroine, should fall in love with such - a brave, skilful scout as Jonathan Zane seems only reasonable - after his years of association and defense of the people of the - settlement from savages and renegades. - - If one has a liking for stories of the trail, where the white - man matches brains against savage cunning, for tales of ambush - and constant striving for the mastery, “The Last Trail” will be - greatly to his liking. - - -=THE KNIGHTS OF THE HORSESHOE.= A traditionary tale of the Cocked -Hat Gentry in the Old Dominion. By Dr. Wm. A. Caruthers. Cloth, -12mo. Four page illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - Many will hail with delight the re-publication of this rare and - justly famous story of early American colonial life and old-time - Virginian hospitality. - - Much that is charmingly interesting will be found in this tale - that so faithfully depicts early American colonial life, and also - here is found all the details of the founding of the Tramontane - Order, around which has ever been such a delicious flavor of - romance. - - Early customs, much love making, plantation life, politics, - intrigues, and finally that wonderful march across the mountains - which resulted in the discovery and conquest of the fair Valley - of Virginia. A rare book filled with a delicious flavor of - romance. - - -=BY BERWEN BANKS.= A Romance of Welsh Life. By Allen Raine. Cloth, -12mo. Four page illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - It is a tender and beautiful romance of the idyllic. A charming - picture of life in a Welsh seaside village. It is something of a - prose-poem, true, tender and graceful. - - -For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price -by the publishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 52-58 Duane St., New York. - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes: - - -Obvious punctuation omissions and instances of extraneous -punctuation have been repaired. Inconsistent hyphenation was -retained as printed. Period and common alternate spellings were -also retained, but the following apparent printing errors were -corrected: - -On page 4, changed “enomiums” to “encomiums” (winning for herself -encomiums from both surgeons and physicians). - -On page 20, changed “smal” to “small” (She had a small annuity). - -On page 20, changed “founteen” to “fourteen” (fourteen years of -age). - -On page 22, changed “b” to “be” (to be a noble, whole-hearted, -high-principled fellow). - -On page 25, changed “everythink” to “everything” (at whose touch -everything seemed to turn into gold). - -On page 29, changed “quielty” to “quietly” (then he said, as -quietly as if). - -On page 38, changed “talkin” to “talking” (she stood talking with -John). - -On page 40, changed “Gearld” to “Gerald” (But before Gerald could -reply). - -On page 62, changed “bdden” to “bidden” (when he had bidden her -adieu). - -On page 83, extra “an” removed (an exclamation of disappointment). - -On page 85, changed “chirish” to “cherish” (to tenderly cherish -her). - -On page 89, changed “pupit” to “pupil” (quite an apt pupil). - -On page 91, changed “mary” to “marry” (I never could marry you). - -On page 94, added a missing “he” (and he at once procured a lawyer). - -On page 96, changed “stank” to “stand” (on taking the stand). - -On page 102, changed “CAPTER” to “CHAPTER” (CHAPTER IX.). - -On page 139, changed “shinning” to “shining” (tossing her shining -head). - -On page 152, changed “tne” to “tone” (in an apologetic tone). - -On page 154, changed “myelf” to “myself” (once in a while myself). - -On page 156, changed “wil” to “will” (It will be such a blessed -relief). - -On page 161, changed “as” to “was” (his voice was hardly audible). - -On page 164, changed “mary” to “marry” (will you marry me). - -On page 165, changed “shal” to “shall” (you shall be gratified). - -On page 165, changed “wil” to “will” (To answer your last question -will be to reply to all). - -On page 169, changed “secert” to “secret” (every vestige of this -secret). - -On page 195, changed “visons” to “visions” (swift-flitting visions -of dreamland appearing). - -On page 209, changed “paniful” to “painful” (it was painful to be -in her presence). - -On page 233, changed “realy” to “really” (I really believe). - -On page 251, changed “Coth” to “Cloth” (Cloth, 12mo.). - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Key, by Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN KEY *** - -***** This file should be named 50909-0.txt or 50909-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/9/0/50909/ - -Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Golden Key - A Heart's Silent Worship - -Author: Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - -Release Date: January 13, 2016 [EBook #50909] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN KEY *** - - - - -Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<table class="bbox"><tr><td> - <table class="smbox center"> - <tr><td class="xlarge">The Golden Key</td></tr> - <tr><td>OR</td></tr> - <tr><td>A HEART’S SILENT WORSHIP</td></tr> - </table> - <table class="smbox center" style="margin-top: 6px; margin-bottom: 6px;"> - <tr><td><i>By</i> MRS. GEORGIE SHELDON</td></tr> - <tr><td class="xsmall">AUTHOR OF</td></tr> - <tr><td class="small">“Thrice Wedded,” “Little Miss Whirlwind,”<br /> - “The Magic Cameo,” “A Hoiden’s<br /> - Conquest,” “Mona,” etc.</td></tr> - <tr class="figcenter" style="width: 200px;"> - <td><img src="images/lamp.jpg" width="100" height="74" alt="lamp" /></td> - </tr> - </table> - <table class="smbox"> - <tr><td class="center">A. L. BURT COMPANY</td></tr> - <tr><td> - <table class="center" style="width: 100%;"><tr> - <td style="width: 50%" class="tdl smcap">Publishers</td> - <td class="tdr smcap">New York</td> - </tr></table> - </td></tr> - </table> -</td></tr></table> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> - -<table class="bbox"> - <tr><td class="xxlarge center">POPULAR BOOKS</td></tr> - <tr><td class="center">By MRS. GEORGIE SHELDON</td></tr> - <tr><td class="small center">In Handsome Cloth Binding</td></tr> - <tr><td> - <table style="width: 100%;"><tr> - <td style="width: 50%;"><span class="smcap">Price per Volume,</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="smcap">60 Cents</span></td> - </tr></table> - </td></tr> - <tr><td><hr class="box" /></td></tr> - <tr><td style="padding-left: 0px;"> - <table style="margin: 6px;"><tr> - <td style="padding-right: 10px; width: 50%;"><ul> - <li>Audrey’s Recompense</li> - <li>Brownie’s Triumph</li> - <li>Churchyard Betrothal, The</li> - <li>Dorothy Arnold’s Escape</li> - <li>Dorothy’s Jewels</li> - <li>Earl Wayne’s Nobility</li> - <li>Edrie’s Legacy</li> - <li>Esther, the Fright</li> - <li>Faithful Shirley</li> - <li>False and The True, The</li> - <li>For Love and Honor</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to Geoffrey’s Victory</span></li> - <li>Forsaken Bride, The</li> - <li>Geoffrey’s Victory</li> - <li>Girl in a Thousand, A</li> - <li>Golden Key, The</li> - <li>Grazia’s Mistake</li> - <li>Heatherford Fortune, The</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to The Magic Cameo</span></li> - <li>He Loves Me For Myself</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to the Lily of Mordaunt</span></li> - <li>Helen’s Victory</li> - <li>Her Faith Rewarded</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to Faithful Shirley</span></li> - <li>Her Heart’s Victory</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to Max</span></li> - <li>Heritage of Love, A</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to The Golden Key</span></li> - <li>His Heart’s Queen</li> - <li>Hoiden’s Conquest, A</li> - <li>How Will It End</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to Marguerite’s Heritage</span></li> - <li>Lily of Mordaunt, The</li> - <li>Little Marplot, The</li> - <li>Little Miss Whirlwind</li> - <li>Lost, A Pearle</li> - <li>Love’s Conquest</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to Helen’s Victory</span></li> - <li>Love Victorious, A</li> - <li>Magic Cameo, The</li> - </ul></td> - <td style="padding-left: 10px; width: 50%;"><ul> - <li>Marguerite’s Heritage</li> - <li>Masked Bridal, The</li> - <li>Max, A Cradle Mystery</li> - <li>Mona</li> - <li>Mysterious Wedding Ring, A</li> - <li>Nameless Dell</li> - <li>Nora</li> - <li>Queen Bess</li> - <li>Ruby’s Reward</li> - <li>Shadowed Happiness, A</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to Wild Oats</span></li> - <li>Sibyl’s Influence</li> - <li>Stella Roosevelt</li> - <li>That Dowdy</li> - <li>Thorn Among Roses, A</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to a Girl in a Thousand</span></li> - <li>Threads Gathered Up</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to Virgie’s Inheritance</span></li> - <li>Thrice Wedded</li> - <li>Tina</li> - <li>Trixy</li> - <li>True Aristocrat, A</li> - <li>True Love Endures</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to Dorothy Arnold’s Escape</span></li> - <li>True Love’s Reward</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to Mona</span></li> - <li>True to Herself</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to Witch Hazel</span></li> - <li>Two Keys</li> - <li>Virgie’s Inheritance</li> - <li>Wedded By Fate</li> - <li>Welfleet Mystery, The</li> - <li>Wild Oats</li> - <li>Winifred’s Sacrifice</li> - <li>Witch Hazel</li> - <li>With Heart so True</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to His Heart’s Queen</span></li> - <li>Woman’s Faith, A</li> - <li><span class="sequel">Sequel to Nameless Dell</span></li> - </ul></td> - </tr></table> - <hr class="box" /> - </td></tr> - <tr><td class="center">For Sale by all Booksellers or will be sent postpaid on receipt of price</td></tr> - <tr><td class="center">A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS</td></tr> - <tr><td> - <table class="small" style="width: 100%;"><tr> - <td style="width: 50%;">52 Duane Street</td> - <td class="tdr">New York</td> - </tr></table> - </td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="center">Copyright 1896, 1897, 1905<br /> -<span class="smcap">By Street & Smith</span></p> -<hr class="tiny" /> -<h1><a name="THE_GOLDEN_KEY" id="THE_GOLDEN_KEY"></a>THE GOLDEN KEY</h1> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table> -<tr><td class="center xsmall">CHAPTER</td><td></td><td class="tdr xsmall">PAGE</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#PROLOGUE">PROLOGUE.</a></td><td>A RESPONSIVE HEART.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_3">3</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></td><td>SIXTEEN YEARS AFTER.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></td><td>“WHATEVER STANDS IN MY PATH!”</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_28">28</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></td><td>LOVE SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_39">39</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></td><td>“I WOULD STAKE MY FORTUNE.”</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></td><td>THE BANK ON SUNDAY MORNING.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></td><td>GERALD SUFFERS AN INDIGNITY.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></td><td>MR. BREWSTER’S WILL.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></td><td>EVIDENCE BY MR. PLUM.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_92">92</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></td><td>AN IMPORTANT WITNESS.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></td><td>A THRILLING ADVENTURE.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></td><td>“I DID NOT MEAN TO BETRAY MYSELF.”</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_121">121</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></td><td>ALLISON AND HER GUARDIAN.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></td><td>“BREAD CAST UPON THE WATERS.”</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></td><td>A TERRIBLE REVELATION.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a></td><td>AN APPALLING SECRET.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_166">166</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></td><td>DO YOUR WORST.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_177">177</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a></td><td>WRECK OF THE LIMITED.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></td><td>A CRUSHING TROUBLE.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_199">199</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a></td><td>GERALD MEETS HUBBARD.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_210">210</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.</a></td><td>THE SECRET OF THE FOOT-REST.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_221">221</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.</a></td><td>THE WINCHESTER HEIRLOOM.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_232">232</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> - -<p class="xlarge center">THE GOLDEN KEY.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="PROLOGUE" id="PROLOGUE"></a>PROLOGUE.</h2> - -<h3>A RESPONSIVE HEART.</h3> - - -<p>“Nannie, I cannot bear it!”</p> - -<p>“Hush, Alice; you must not give way to such wild grief—the -excitement will be very bad for you.”</p> - -<p>“But what will Adam say? It will be a terrible blow; his heart was -so set upon the fulfilment of his hopes, and now——”</p> - -<p>A heart-broken wail completed the sentence as the pale, beautiful -woman, resting upon the snowy pillows of an old-fashioned canopied -bed, covered her face with her delicate hands and fell to sobbing -with a wild sorrow which shook her slight frame from head to foot.</p> - -<p>“Alice! Alice! don’t! Adam will come home to find that he has lost -both wife and child if you do not try to control yourself.”</p> - -<p>The latter speaker, a tall, muscular woman, with a kindly but -resolute face, which bespoke a strong character as well as a -tender heart, knelt beside the bed, and laid her cheek against -the colorless one upon the pillow with motherly tenderness and -sympathy. But her appealing words only seemed to increase the -violence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> of the invalid’s grief, and, with a look of anxiety -sweeping over her countenance, the woman arose, after a moment, -when, pouring a few drops from a bottle into a spoon, she briefly -informed her charge that it was time for her medicine.</p> - -<p>The younger woman meekly swallowed the potion, although her bosom -continued to heave with sobs, and tears still rained over her -hueless cheeks.</p> - -<p>Her companion sat down near her, an expression of patient endurance -on her face, and in the course of fifteen or twenty minutes she was -rewarded by seeing the invalid fall into a profound slumber.</p> - -<p>“Thank Heaven!” she muttered at last, with a sigh of relief, “there -will be an interval of rest, but I dread the awakening.”</p> - -<p>Miss Nancy Porter was a spinster, upward of forty, and one of those -stanch, reliable women who always seem like a bulwark of strength, -and equal to any emergency.</p> - -<p>She was, by profession, a trained nurse, having, many years -previous, served her time in the Massachusetts General Hospital, -of Boston, after which her experience was wide and varied, <a name="Err1" id="Err1"></a>winning -for herself encomiums from both surgeons and physicians, and the -unbounded confidence of those who were fortunate enough to secure -her services in the sick-room.</p> - -<p>She had her own home in one of the suburban towns of Boston, where -she lived with her one trusty maid in a quiet, restful way, when -her services were not in demand elsewhere.</p> - -<p>It was into this peaceful home that her only sister<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> had come, -about a month previous, to remain until the return of her husband, -who had been called abroad upon urgent business.</p> - -<p>Adam Brewster was a wealthy banker of New York City.</p> - -<p>He was several years older than sweet Alice Porter, whom he had met -and fallen in love with some two years previous, and who had been -his idolized wife for little more than twelve months.</p> - -<p>It had been a great trial that he could not take his dear one to -Europe with him; but her physician utterly prohibited such a trip -for the young wife, and thus she had gone to spend the interval -of her husband’s absence with her sister, in the home of her -childhood, and where a tiny little girl was born into the world, -only to breathe faintly for a few moments, and them slip away into -the great unknown.</p> - -<p>For hours after the birth and death of her little one, Alice -Brewster had lain in a state of unconsciousness, which caused the -heart of her faithful nurse and sister to quake with fear.</p> - -<p>But, when consciousness returned, and the youthful mother called -for her little one, and she was obliged to tell her that she was -childless, her heart almost failed her again, in view of the bitter -disappointment and violent sorrow which once more threatened to -snap the slender thread of life.</p> - -<p>She could only temporarily quell these outbursts of grief by -administering powerful narcotics to induce sleep and oblivion, with -the hope that calmness and resignation would come with returning -strength.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p> - -<p>On the afternoon of the third day the storm, which had prevented -the sending of a doctor, cleared, and about five o’clock Miss -Porter went down-stairs into the kitchen, where her servant was -quietly engaged with her domestic duties.</p> - -<p>“Sarah, I’m going to town to see Doctor Bowman,” she remarked, in -grave, subdued tones, an anxious expression in her mild, gray eyes. -“Mrs. Brewster is sleeping, but I want you to go up and sit by her -until I return, which won’t be very long, and if she wakes, give -her two teaspoonfuls of the medicine in the glass that is on the -mantel.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, marm,” responded Sarah, as she changed her calico apron for a -white one, preparatory to going up-stairs.</p> - -<p>“And—if any one comes in,” pursued Miss Porter thoughtfully, -“tell them nothing! you can simply say I am out, and Mrs. Brewster -is lying down. I don’t want any gossip started. I’ll tell my own -story.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, marm,” said Sarah again, and her mistress hurried away.</p> - -<p>She was just in time to catch the five-twenty express for town, -where she arrived just on the stroke of six, when she proceeded -directly to the waiting-room to leave her waterproof and umbrella -with the woman in charge, while she made a visit to her physician.</p> - -<p>She did not find her in the outer room, and so went on into the -ladies’ private siting-room, which she found to be empty, quite an -unusual occurrence, although doubtless the recent tempest was the -reason why so few people were abroad.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p> - -<p>At least Miss Porter thought the place was empty, until a faint -sound greeted her ear, when she started forward and peeped around -a corner, to find only an animated bundle wrapped in a gray shawl -lying upon the great square table standing there.</p> - -<p>“It’s a baby!” muttered Miss Porter in astonishment, “but where on -earth is the mother?”</p> - -<p>Prompted by both curiosity and interest, she went to the child, -and, parting the shawl, which was closely wrapped about it, -discovered an infant, which her practised eye told her could not be -over a week old, if, indeed, it had seen as many days as that.</p> - -<p>Her first thought was that the mother, or whoever had the child in -charge, had left it just for the moment sleeping upon the table; -then, suddenly, a terrible shock, which set every nerve in her body -quivering with a painful thrill, went through her as she caught -sight of a note that had been pinned to the fine flannel blanket -that was wrapped about the infant under the shawl.</p> - -<p>“Good heavens! it is an abandoned baby!” she breathed, as she -mechanically but tenderly gathered it into her strong arms and -tried to hush it upon her breast.</p> - -<p>Evidently, the child had been drugged, for it dropped off to sleep -almost immediately, and then Miss Porter, with trembling fingers -and two scarlet spots upon her cheeks, denoting great mental -excitement, detached the note from the blanket, and, opening it, -read:</p> - - - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“Will some kind woman take this child, or see that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> it finds -a good home where it will be well reared? Nothing but direst -necessity compels her abandonment. She is well and honorably -born, and yet relentless fate makes her an outcast from her own -kindred. A peculiar-shaped golden key, in the form of a pin, is -fastened to her clothing—it is her only heritage. Will whoever -responds to this appeal insert in an early issue of the Boston -<cite>Transcript</cite> under the head of personals, the following: ‘X. Y. -Z.—The golden key has unlocked a responsive heart,’ and relieve -the writer of this of a heavy burden?”</p></div> - -<p>“H’m!” ejaculated Miss Porter, as she refolded the note, and began -to look for the golden key.</p> - -<p>She found it pinned to the yoke of the child’s dainty dress—an -oddly fashioned trinket, the thumb-piece ornamented with a small -pansy, in the heart of which there flashed a tiny but flawless -diamond.</p> - -<p>“Well! for once I have had a genuine adventure in my plodding, -practical life!” the woman muttered to herself. “Everything about -this child shows that she was born of a wealthy mother—some rich -girl, maybe, whose good name was more to her than the life and -welfare of her own flesh and blood. Oh, dear, what a world it is! -Those who yearn for these little ones are deprived of them, while -there is no place, no love for others. It is a beautiful babe, -too,” she continued, bending over the little sleeper and noting -the soft, curling rings of glossy brown hair on the small head, -the delicate, regular features of the little face, and the dainty, -perfect hands that were folded on the gently heaving breast.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> “Poor -little waif! what shall I do with you?” she concluded, with a -long-drawn, regretful sigh.</p> - -<p>Then she sat suddenly erect, her face becoming almost as rigid as -that of a statue, while she scarcely seemed to breathe, so absorbed -had she become in her own startled reflections.</p> - -<p>“Nancy Porter, I wonder if you could manage it?—I wonder if you -dare do it?” she breathed at last, with lips in which there was not -an atom of color. “Alice would never survive another such tax upon -her delicate constitution; Adam Brewster would never be content -without an heir to his great fortune. Well, I’m going to try it, -and save her heart from breaking.”</p> - -<p>With a resolute gleam in her gray eyes, a settled purpose in every -line of her strong, honest face, she began to wrap the child in -the soft, warm shawl which she had partially removed, paying no -attention to the woman in charge—who at that moment came into the -room and began to busily brandish a great feather duster—although -she was uncomfortably conscious that she was being regarded with a -curious, questioning glance.</p> - -<p>But Miss Nancy Porter had run many a difficult gauntlet, and faced -many emergencies, during her checkered life, and her stanch heart -and brave front did not fail her now.</p> - -<p>Having arranged everything about her charge to her satisfaction, -she arose and deliberately walked from the room, passed out of the -nearest door of the one beyond, and, joining the hurrying crowd -that surging toward the outward-bound trains, without<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> giving -another thought to the errand which had brought her to town, found -herself just in season to board a return local.</p> - -<p>She did not see in the car a person whom she knew; yet, knowing -that there might be acquaintances on the train, she decided to -leave it at a station two miles below her own town, and about a -mile and a half from her home, which was located between the two -villages.</p> - -<p>It was dark when she alighted, and it was with a deep sigh of -satisfaction that she slipped away in the gloom.</p> - -<p>She did not meet a single person on the way—it was a lonely road, -with only a few scattered farmhouses to be passed—and arrived -at her own door just as the old-fashioned clock of a previous -generation standing in the hall solemnly tolled off the hour of -eight.</p> - -<p>A glance in at the kitchen window as she passed had told her that -Sarah was still upstairs with her patient, and, passing softly -around to the front door, which she noiselessly opened with a -latchkey, she walked through the “best room” to the “parlor -bedroom,” where she laid her charge upon the bed, thankful for the -potency of the drug which still held its senses locked in slumber, -and glad to have her aching arms relieved of their burden.</p> - -<p>Then, closing both doors after her, she passed up-stairs to the -sick-room, removing her bonnet and wrap as she went, when she -dismissed Sarah to her interrupted work in the kitchen below, and -then sat down to rest and await the awakening of the frail sleeper -upon the bed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p> - -<p>An hour later, Miss Porter suddenly appeared in her bright, -cheerful kitchen, bearing a beautiful babe in her arms, while a -tender expression seemed to have softened and illumined her usually -grave, almost austere face.</p> - -<p>“Goodness sakes, alive!” exclaimed Sarah, springing to her feet, -with a startled air, her wild eyes fastened upon the infant.</p> - -<p>“Hush!” said Miss Porter authoritatively. “Has any one been here -since I left home?”</p> - -<p>“Not a soul,” said the girl, but with still gaping eyes and mouth.</p> - -<p>“Good!” returned the mistress in a satisfied tone; “and now, Sarah, -you are to remember that a baby girl was born here on Monday night, -October 2. No one save you and I and Mrs. Brewster know of the fact -as yet; but I shall have it recorded to-morrow morning, when a -letter will also be mailed to Mr. Brewster, announcing that he has -a fine little daughter.”</p> - -<p>“But——” began Sarah, looking dazed and troubled.</p> - -<p>“There are no ‘buts,’ Sarah,” curtly interposed Miss Porter; -“the last forty-eight hours must become a blank; you are to know -nothing, except that on the second of this month my sister gave -birth to a beautiful little girl, and that both mother and child -are doing well. I am sure I can trust you,” concluded the woman, -looking the girl squarely in the eyes.</p> - -<p>“Yes, marm,” was the meek response, and Miss<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> Porter knew that -torture would never elicit the wilful betrayal of her secret after -that promise was given.</p> - -<p>“That is right,” she said briskly, the stern lines of her face -relaxing again; “and now you may take the baby while I prepare some -milk for her.”</p> - -<p>The next day but one there appeared in the Boston <cite>Transcript</cite> the -following paragraph:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“X. Y. Z.—The golden key has unlocked a responsive heart.”</p></div> - -<p>Three weeks later a fair, sweet woman might have been seen driving -through the street of F—— in an elegant carriage, which, with -coachman and footman, had been ordered from New York, while by her -side there sat a buxom, good-natured nurse, with a thriving baby on -her lap.</p> - -<p>“What a lovely child!” was the tribute of every one who saw the -dainty, blue-eyed little girl, who now bore the name of Allison -Porter Brewster, and then wondered to see the grave, yearning look -that involuntarily came into the young mother’s eyes, even while -her lips smiled at the praise bestowed upon her darling.</p> - -<p>Meantime, messages of love and gratitude, together with costly -gifts, had come across the ocean from the happy father, who was all -impatience to return to his treasures.</p> - -<p>Another month passed, and the Brewsters were once more settled in -their elegant city home, where each succeeding week only served to -develop the charms of the little heiress and to endear her to the -hearts of her parents.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> - -<p>Early the following spring Miss Nancy Porter’s faithful Sarah was -stricken with fever, which proved to be a long and tedious illness, -during which she raved continually about stolen children and some -dreadful secret which oppressed her.</p> - -<p>Miss Porter was unremitting in her care of the trusty girl; she -allowed no one to share her care of her, and when she died, in -spite of the best of nursing and medical attendance, the woman shed -sincere, regretful tears over her.</p> - -<p>“I suppose it had to be,” she said sorrowfully, on her return to -her lonely home after the burial. “Sarah was a good girl, and I’m -sorry to lose her; but”—with suddenly whitening lips—“there’s one -less in the world who knows that secret.”</p> - -<p>The number was again reduced when, a few months later, Nancy Porter -herself was laid to rest in the “Porter lot,” and the wife of Adam -Brewster was left to bear her burden alone.</p> - -<p>That it was an insupportable burden was revealed some three years -afterward, when, following a gradual decline, she laid it down, -after having written out a full confession of the deception of -which she had been guilty, and humbly begged her husband’s pardon -for having yielded to a temptation that had proved stronger than -her principles.</p> - -<p>This revelation Adam Brewster did not find until after she had -been in her grave many weeks, when he finally gathered courage to -examine a box which she had told him, with almost her last breath, -contained something of great importance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span></p> - -<p>It came upon him with the force of a thunderbolt—he was almost -paralyzed with grief and dismay when he read his wife’s letter, -and found the proof of its contents in the articles of infant’s -clothing which she had preserved—in the note which she had pinned -upon the dress of the abandoned child, and the golden key, which -was her only heritage.</p> - -<p>It was a terrible blow! His darling—his idol, in whom all his -fondest hopes were centered—not his own child! It could not be -possible, for no father could so worship the offspring of another.</p> - -<p>The struggle between love, grief, disappointment, and indignation -was long and bitter; but love finally triumphed over all.</p> - -<p>“No one need ever know it,” he told himself, but with a twinge of -keenest pain in view of his own knowledge. “She is mine—I claim -her as my very own by the love I bear her; no one shall ever -suspect the truth—she shall never learn it, and thus I shall never -be in danger of losing her. I will destroy every evidence of the -fact, and then the secret will be buried in my own heart. And, ah, -me! forgive my dear lost wife for her deception I must, in view of -that other secret which I have withheld from her.”</p> - -<p>The man fully intended to destroy all evidence that Allison Porter -was not his own child, but, thinking that he might wish to examine -the contents of the box more carefully in a few days—after he had -recovered somewhat from the shock he had received—he put it away, -with some jewels belonging to his wife, in a secret compartment in -the vault in his bank, where,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> amid the press of business and of -many cares, it was forgotten; or, if not forgotten, neglected for -many years.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2> - -<h3>SIXTEEN YEARS AFTER.</h3> - - -<p>“Papa! papa! Where is my father?”</p> - -<p>The speaker was a charming young girl, of about sixteen years, who -came one morning tripping into the cool, private office of Adam -Brewster.</p> - -<p>Without, the day was hot and sultry, but Miss Allison Brewster -might have just emerged from some shady sylvan retreat, to judge -from her fresh, dainty appearance as she paused in an exquisite -pose, upon the threshold of the doorway, which made her seem, for -the moment, a beautiful picture painted by a master hand.</p> - -<p>She was clad in a fine, crisp lawn, sprigged with forget-me-nots, -and trimmed with delicate lace and fetching knots of blue ribbon, -all of which was just suited to her flawless pink-and-white -complexion, her sapphire eyes, and the gleaming gold of her -abundant hair. Her pretty head was crowned with a broad-brimmed -hat of white chip, whereon nodded and swayed, with every graceful -movement of the little lady, three costly white ostrich-plumes, -which were fastened in place by the same number of pale, pink roses -and a broad band of rich satin ribbon.</p> - -<p>But Adam Brewster was not in. The only occupant of the place was -the office boy—Gerald Winchester—who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> was seated behind a tall -desk, engaged in copying some letters for his employer.</p> - -<p>He was, perhaps, nineteen years of age, and rather boyish in -appearance, but with a face “to swear by,” with its clear, -steadfast, honest eyes, its clean-cut features, its frank, genial -smile, and yet possessing certain lines and characteristics which -bespoke high moral principles and great strength of purpose.</p> - -<p>He sprang to his feet at the sound of that eager voice calling -“papa,” a quick flush leaping into his cheeks, an intense, peculiar -light into his eyes, and, approaching the young girl, with a -courteous bow, observed in a quiet tone of respect:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Brewster went out a few moments ago. Can I do anything for -you, Al—Miss Brewster?”</p> - -<p>A look of astonishment swept over the fair maiden’s face, and for -an instant she made no reply. Then her ruby lips parted and a peal -of silvery laughter rang through the room, while her vivacious face -dimpled and gleamed with irrepressible merriment.</p> - -<p>“‘Miss Brewster!’” she repeated, with a saucy toss of her head, -that set every spotless plume upon her hat nodding a playful -reproof at her companion for his unprecedented formality; for they -had known each other for years, and, hitherto, had always addressed -each other by their Christian names. “Why, Gerald; how formal! -Since when have you become so strictly ceremonious?”</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p> -<p>“Since Mr. Brewster announced a day or two ago, when some one spoke -of you by your given name, that hereafter you were to be addressed -as Miss Brewster,” the young man responded, flushing slightly, -although a smile of sympathetic amusement curled his own expressive -lips.</p> - -<p>“Did papa say that?” questioned Allison, with a shrug of her -graceful shoulders. “What nonsense! Why, I have been running in and -out of the bank ever since I was able to walk, and it seems absurd -putting on such airs, when everybody knows me so well.”</p> - -<p>“Still, you are a young lady now, and it does seem a trifle -familiar to address you as if you were only a child,” Gerald -thoughtfully observed.</p> - -<p>Allison stood considering the matter for a moment; then she gravely -remarked:</p> - -<p>“I say, Gerald, I shall not mind the change very much from the -others; but,” with an independent toss of her pretty head, “I won’t -be ‘Miss Brewster’ to you.”</p> - -<p>Gerald shot a quick, bright glance at the speaker.</p> - -<p>“Thank you—I am sure I appreciate this mark of your esteem,” he -said, in tones that were a trifle tremulous, “but,” a roguish -twinkle in his fine, dark eyes, “how about obeying orders from -one’s chief?”</p> - -<p>“Well, perhaps you’ll have to do as papa wishes, when you are -here with the other clerks; but, Gerald”—appealingly, yet -half-defiantly—“when—when we are by ourselves, I—just won’t -stand it; it will spoil all our nice times, and make us too stiff -and prim for anything. Do you want me to call you Mr. Winchester?”</p> - -<p>“I am sure I do not,” he answered, laughing at her injured air.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Well, but I shall—if you go to playing at formality with -me”—this with a charming little pout as she threw herself into a -chair, seized a fan from the desk near her, and began to sway it -back and forth with piquant grace, while her companion watched her -with admiring interest.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry papa is out,” she resumed, after a minute, and -apparently regarding the other topic as settled, “for I want some -money. I suppose I can have everything charged, but I do so enjoy -having a lot of nice, fresh, crisp bills in my own hands to pay for -what I buy. Will he be in soon, do you think?”</p> - -<p>“I am sure I cannot tell,” replied the young man, glancing at the -clock, then back, with an expression of yearning tenderness, to the -graceful figure in the chair opposite him.</p> - -<p>His color came and went, and his heart was beating heavily with an -emotion which he was striving to conceal, for he feared that it -would never do to betray to his proud employer’s daughter that he -had dared to love her with all the strength of his intensely strong -nature.</p> - -<p>At least, he would not presume to betray his secret for a long -while yet; perhaps, if fortune’s wheel should some time turn in -his favor, he might dare to confess his affection for the lovely -heiress, provided she remained the sweet and unaffected girl she -had always hitherto been.</p> - -<p>Gerald Winchester was no ordinary young man.</p> - -<p>Confided to the care of an aunt, Miss Honor Winchester—almost from -the hour of his birth, shortly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> after which his mother had died—he -had been reared in very limited circumstances, although Miss -Winchester was a well-educated and cultivated woman, and had given -him careful training, both morally and intellectually.</p> - -<p><a name="Err2" id="Err2"></a>She had a small annuity, which, as the boy grew older, she found -insufficient for their mutual needs, and, desirous of doing her -utmost for her charge, she resolved to leave the small town in -Rhode Island, which for many years had been her home, and go to -New York, where she hoped to get something to do to increase her -slender income.</p> - -<p>The move was made, and Miss Winchester, being an attractive, -sensible woman, found plenty of work as seamstress in wealthy -families; thus she was enabled to send Gerald to school until he -was <a name="Err3" id="Err3"></a>fourteen years of age, and had entered the second year of the -high-school course.</p> - -<p>But, one morning, the lad had found his best, and almost only -friend, lying cold and still in her bed. She had died of -heart-disease during the night, and thus he was left alone and -destitute in the world, for the woman’s annuity ceased with her -life.</p> - -<p>The boy broke up their home, where they had been so quietly happy -and comfortable for several years, selling off all their furniture, -with the exception of an old-fashioned cricket, which his aunt had, -upon one or two occasions, charged him never to part with, since it -was a precious heirloom, having been brought from England during -the reign of Queen Elizabeth by a remote ancestor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was a queer-looking, rather clumsy affair, of solid mahogany, -having claw feet tipped with brass, its surface upholstered with -some bright, silk patchwork, which Miss Winchester had made to -replace a former defaced covering.</p> - -<p>Gerald had almost a mind to let the thing go with the other -household goods, in spite of his aunt’s wish, for he felt that it -would never be anything but a burden to him; but he finally stowed -it away in the bottom of a trunk, which contained all he possessed -in the world, and removing to a small, cheap room, started forth to -seek a situation where he could earn his own living.</p> - -<p>At first he was cash-boy in one of the large stores of the city; -later he was office boy for an eminent physician, and finally -drifted into Adam Brewster’s banking-house, where he had remained -until now, working slowly and steadily upward, gaining his -employer’s confidence and favor, until he had proved himself so -capable, trustworthy, and faithful that the man regarded him almost -in the light of a confidential clerk.</p> - -<p>From time to time the banker, pitying his homeless and friendless -condition, had invited him to his own home, where he had spent many -a delightful hour with Allison, who, from the first, had conceived -a strong friendship for the handsome, manly fellow.</p> - -<p>For a long time Mr. Brewster did not once think that any serious -result would be likely to follow this “boy-and-girl acquaintance.” -Allison, his idolized daughter, was happy to have Gerald come to -tea; to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> drive with her in the park on Saturday afternoons or -holidays; to have him to dinner with them now and then on Sundays, -and he was ever indulgent to her lightest wish.</p> - -<p>But of late—during the last five or six months—he had suddenly -awakened to the fear that there might be danger ahead if these -relations were continued.</p> - -<p>He had become very fond of Gerald—he knew him <a name="Err4" id="Err4"></a>to be a noble, -whole-hearted, high-principled fellow; but he was not to be -considered, for a moment, as a possible son-in-law. No struggling, -plodding clerk who had his fortune to make by his own unaided -efforts would be a suitable mate for the banker’s heiress, whose -million, or more, in prospect, must be matched by at least an equal -amount and a position as enviable and secure as her own.</p> - -<p>So, during the last half-year, Gerald had received no invitations -to the banker’s princely home—there was always some excuse of -extra office work or special and important errands whenever Allison -proposed his coming, and thus she saw him only when, occasionally, -she slipped into the bank upon some pretense. This was the first -time for months that they had been alone in each other’s presence, -and Allison, making the most of her opportunity, gave herself up to -the pleasure of the moment, and chatted, girllike, of anything and -everything that came into her pretty head.</p> - -<p>Gerald, also, thawing out beneath her sunny influence, dropped the -formality which he had assumed upon her entrance, and, during the -half-hour that followed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> feasted his heart upon her beauty and the -charm of her companionship.</p> - -<p>Into this little banquet of love there suddenly intruded a man of -perhaps thirty-five years—a tall, gaunt figure, with a slight -stoop in his shoulders, but faultlessly attired. His face was thin, -and absolutely colorless, save for the faint tinge of red in his -lips and the cold blue of his eyes, which contrasted strangely with -the intense black of his hair and mustache.</p> - -<p>His eyes lighted with sudden fire as they fell upon the dainty -figure and bright beauty of Allison Brewster.</p> - -<p>“Ah, good morning, Miss Allison,” he remarked, in bland, oily -tones, his thin lips relaxing into a smile that revealed a ghastly -row of dead-white teeth beneath the black mustache. “This is an -unexpected pleasure. I do not need to inquire if you are well—your -blooming appearance speaks for itself.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, thank you, I am well,” the girl quietly replied, but without -bestowing a second glance upon him.</p> - -<p>The man then turned to Gerald, a vicious smile just curling the -corners of his mouth.</p> - -<p>“Ahem! Winchester, here is a message that must go immediately to -the Second National Bank.”</p> - -<p>“Is it imperative?” Gerald questioned.</p> - -<p>“Yes; it must go at once.”</p> - -<p>“I am sorry, Mr. Hubbard, but Mr. Brewster is out, and, as you -know, I am not allowed to leave the office during his absence,” the -young man replied.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p> - -<p>Mr. Hubbard frowned, and then his gaze wandered again to Allison, -with an eager look.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I know that is the rule,” he said, “but you will have -to break it for once. The bank closes at twelve to-day, being -Saturday, and the message must be delivered before that. Miss -Brewster will doubtless excuse you,” he added, with the suspicion -of a sneer, “and I will entertain her during your absence, or until -Mr. Brewster returns.”</p> - -<p>Gerald glanced at the clock, and a troubled expression flitted over -his face, but after another moment of thought, he said quietly but -firmly:</p> - -<p>“I would like to oblige you, Mr. Hubbard, but Mr. Brewster’s orders -to me are imperative. I can, under no circumstances, leave the -office during his absence.”</p> - -<p>“But I tell you this is an unusual case,” said the man impatiently; -“there is no messenger in just now—we are very busy to-day, and -you will have to go.”</p> - -<p>“It is impossible—I cannot leave my post without orders direct -from Mr. Brewster,” Gerald responded, an unmistakable note of -determination in his tones; “you will have to ask one of the clerks -in the other room to take the message.”</p> - -<p>John Hubbard turned sharply upon his heel, muttering something -under his breath, and abruptly left the room.</p> - -<p>Allison suddenly threw down her fan and shrugged her shapely -shoulders.</p> - -<p>“Ugh!” she said, shivering slightly.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> “I don’t need that any more—I -always get a chill whenever that man comes near me.”</p> - -<p>Gerald smiled, yet he looked somewhat disconcerted, for, of late, -he had been conscious of a growing barrier between himself and this -strangely clever man, who was an expert accountant, a talented -lawyer, a director of the bank, and one <a name="Err5" id="Err5"></a>at whose touch everything -seemed to turn into gold.</p> - -<p>“But Mr. Hubbard is very valuable to Mr. Brewster and the bank,” -he said, in reply to Allison’s remark; “he inspects all accounts, -manages all law business, and has recently been made one of the -directors of the bank.”</p> - -<p>“Is that so?” queried the young girl, with some surprise.</p> - -<p>“Yes; he owns quite a good deal of stock.”</p> - -<p>But Allison Brewster was not much interested to know who owned -stock in the bank; business had little attraction for her beyond -its results, which, of course, were a necessary factor in her life, -while John Hubbard and his affairs were of no moment whatever to -her.</p> - -<p>“Gerald!” she exclaimed, after a moment, and abruptly changing the -subject, “I almost forgot a part of my errand here. Papa is going -to let me give a lawn-party before we go to Newport—and I am going -to send out my invitations for two weeks from to-day—I set it for -Saturday because you are at liberty so much earlier on that day. -Will you come?”</p> - -<p>Gerald’s eyes glowed, and the color mounted to his temples at this -evidence of her thought for him. His voice thrilled with repressed -emotion as he replied:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span></p> - -<p>“That was certainly very kind of you, Al—Miss——”</p> - -<p>“Take care, Gerald!” suddenly interposed the fair girl, as she -raised a finger menacingly at him. “I will not be ‘missed’ by -you—at least”—with a gleam of roguishness in her dancing -eyes—“until I am gone for the summer, and then you may miss me as -much as you like. See?”</p> - -<p>And, detaching one of the three beautiful pink rosebuds from her -corsage, she playfully tossed it at him, and with such unerring aim -that it brushed his cheek with its fragrant petals, and then lodged -upon his shoulder. Gerald captured it with a hand that tingled in -every nerve.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Allison, I see,” he said, smiling into the piquant face. -“Thanks for this souvenir—I never saw anything more lovely.”</p> - -<p>But he was not looking at the rose as he spoke—he was gazing -straight into the blue eyes of beautiful Allison Brewster.</p> - -<p>“Now will you promise to come to my party?” she asked, rising to go.</p> - -<p>“Yes, if——”</p> - -<p>“‘If!’” she repeated sharply, a quick flush mantling her face.</p> - -<p>“If there is no extra work to be done and I can get off,” he -explained.</p> - -<p>“Of course you can get off on Saturday afternoon,” said the -girl impatiently; then added appealingly:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> “Gerald, you must -come—it will just spoil the whole thing for me if you do not. -Now, good-by—tell papa I could not wait any longer. I have an -appointment with my dressmaker at one, and I have a lot of shopping -to do before that.”</p> - -<p>And nodding a smiling adieu to Gerald, she tripped away, while -the young man turned to a window and watched her out of sight, a -tremulous smile upon his lips, a tender gleam in his handsome brown -eyes.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2> - -<h3>“WHATEVER STANDS IN MY PATH!”</h3> - - -<p>“Did she really mean it, I wonder? Would it spoil her party for -her if I should not go?” mused Gerald Winchester, as the daintily -ruffled skirts of Allison Brewster disappeared around a corner and -his glance shifted to the lovely rosebud which he still held, “or -is it just her sweet, impulsive way of saying pleasant things to -make one feel comfortable and happy?”</p> - -<p>As he concluded this soliloquy, he raised the bud to his lips and -bestowed a light caress upon it.</p> - -<p>At the same instant a step behind him caused him to turn suddenly, -to find himself again confronted by the sneering face of Mr. John -Hubbard.</p> - -<p>“Very pretty! very interesting, truly; but rather a dangerous -sentiment, and presumptuous, as well, for a boy to indulge in, with -only fifteen dollars a week,” the man sarcastically observed.</p> - -<p>Then without giving Gerald time to reply, had he been so disposed, -he added sharply:</p> - -<p>“Have you copied those papers relating to the Wynn estate?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I have just finished them,” the young man returned, as he -took a package from his desk and passed it to his companion, who -observed that his hand was trembling and that he had grown very -white about the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> mouth, while there was a gleam of fire in his eyes -which betrayed that he was not lacking in spirit, although he was -able to hold it under perfect control.</p> - -<p>As John Hubbard took the papers he managed to brush to the floor -the rosebud which Gerald had laid upon the desk.</p> - -<p>“Take care, please,” said the young man, and stooping eagerly to -recover his treasure.</p> - -<p>But he was not quick enough, for the other ruthlessly set his foot -upon it, crushing it flat and destroying all its beauty.</p> - -<p>For a minute the boy and the man stood looking straight into each -other’s eyes, their faces as colorless as the collars about their -necks.</p> - -<p>“That is typical of what happens to everything that stands in my -way; so beware! young beggar, that you do not covet what is beyond -your reach,” said John Hubbard menacingly.</p> - -<p>Gerald Winchester’s hands were clenched so fiercely that the nail -of every finger turned purple; but his bearing was that of a hero -who could face a cannon’s mouth and never flinch.</p> - -<p>Presently he drew in a long, deep breath, his hands relaxed; <a name="Err6" id="Err6"></a>then -he said, as quietly as if he were making the most commonplace -observation imaginable:</p> - -<p>“Nothing is unattainable, Mr. Hubbard, to him who is determined to -win.”</p> - -<p>“Aha! say you so? You speak with the impulse and inexperience of -youth; but, look there, and—be warned,” sneered his companion, as, -lifting his foot he made a gesture indicating the mutilated bud.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span></p> - -<p>Then turning abruptly, he left the office, while Gerald, with a -ghastly face and trembling hands, stooped to recover the ruined -flower.</p> - -<p>He tenderly gathered up every discolored leaf and petal, arranging -them neatly upon a sheet of blank paper, which he carefully folded -and placed within an envelope.</p> - -<p>“It shall be my mascot,” he muttered, with a determined gleam in -his eyes, as he put it in an inside pocket of his vest, “and as -sure as I live, Mr. John Hubbard, you will find me no mean rival. I -will yet stand where I can ask for what I want and not be accused -of being a fortune-hunter, either.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Brewster came in, a few minutes later, and Gerald’s thoughts -were turned into other channels, although throughout the day he was -never for a moment unconscious of that bruised and discolored bud -which lay so near his heart.</p> - -<p>Two weeks slipped rapidly by, and the day set for Allison -Brewster’s lawn-party dawned clear and beautiful.</p> - -<p>Gerald had, meantime, received by mail a formal card of invitation -with the words “Come early” delicately penciled in one corner, and -he had been looking eagerly forward to the occasion, although he -said nothing to any one of his intention to be present.</p> - -<p>In his heart he knew that Mr. Brewster, in spite of his own -fondness for him, would not approve of the existence of any -tender relations between him and his peerless daughter, and he -greatly feared, should he intimate that he had been bidden to the -approaching<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> festival, that some extra work would be forthcoming to -keep him away.</p> - -<p>While he would not wilfully betray the confidence of his employer, -he, at the same time, believed that he had a perfect right to love -Allison, since, morally and intellectually, he was her equal, if -not her superior; while he felt sure, so sanguine is youth, that -he would eventually work his way up to a position no less enviable -than hers—both socially and financially.</p> - -<p>“I will take no unfair advantage,” he said to himself, “but I will -make the most of my opportunities; and, if by and by, Allison -should respond to my affection, I will claim her right to act for -herself, and my right to abide by her choice, and”—with a flash of -fire in his dark eyes—“I am no fragile bud to be crushed by the -heel of any man’s boot.”</p> - -<p>Having settled matters thus in his own mind, Gerald looked eagerly -forward to the fulfilment of his promise to Allison.</p> - -<p>On Saturday morning, however, John Hubbard presented himself before -Mr. Brewster—Gerald being out on some errand—and stated that a -matter of importance in Jersey City needed prompt attention, and it -would be necessary to despatch some trustworthy person to deliver -certain valuable documents into the hands of the party whom they -most concerned.</p> - -<p>“I would go myself,” said the wily expert and confidential lawyer,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -“but I have to prepare for that case that is coming off on Monday, -and I cannot attend to both matters.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, send whom you like to Jersey,” said the banker briefly.</p> - -<p>“I think perhaps that Winchester might go—that is, if you can -spare him; he is reliable and as prompt as the clock,” said the -crafty schemer, who, for two weeks, had borne this thing in mind -for the very purpose of keeping Gerald from the lawn-party.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I can spare him,” replied Mr. Brewster, “and you are -right—Gerald is as true as steel, and can be trusted with any -commission.”</p> - -<p>John Hubbard’s white teeth gleamed for a moment beneath his -mustache in a sinister smile at this high tribute to the young man; -then remarking that he would make up the package, he disappeared -from the room, chuckling to himself as he went.</p> - -<p>A half hour later he took the parcel to Gerald, who with difficulty -concealed his disappointment when he was told what was required of -him, for he knew that it would be utterly impossible for him to go -to Jersey City to perform his errand and return in season to keep -his promise to Allison; at least, it would be evening before he -could reach Yonkers, where Mr. Brewster’s country home was located, -and the party would be over by that time.</p> - -<p>He felt very sure from the mocking gleam in his eye as he handed -the paper to him, that John Hubbard had cunningly contrived this -strategy for the express purpose of making him miss the pleasure he -was anticipating. But he must obey orders, and he departed upon his -mission without a word of protest.</p> - -<p>He first made his way to a florist’s, however, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> order a dainty -basket of forget-me-nots sent by express to Allison, inserting in -the box with them a card upon which he hastily wrote the following:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“New York, 11 A. M.—I am at this moment unexpectedly sent out -of town upon important business, and so cannot go to Y., as I -promised. Am very sorry, but my offering will prove that I am not -unmindful of the occasion.<span style="float: right;">G. W.”</span></p> - -</div> -<div style="clear: both;"></div> - -<p>Having seen his tribute despatched, Gerald went on his way with -what grace he could muster, although a feeling of bitterness -against the marplot of his pleasure rankled sorely in his heart.</p> - -<p>“What can it matter to him whether I am fond of Allison or not?” he -mused, as he boarded a car for the ferry. “He is a man twice her -age, and he cannot be so deluded as to think that she would ever -marry him. It would be monstrous,” and a mocking laugh broke from -him at the thought and the remembrance of what Allison had said -about “getting a chill,” whenever John Hubbard came near her.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, at that very moment John Hubbard was seated in the -private office of Adam Brewster, making a formal proposal for the -hand of the banker’s daughter.</p> - -<p>“You know I am a man of few words,” he remarked, coming to the -point at once, as he took the chair his employer indicated, “and -so I am here to confess to you, Mr. Brewster, that I love your -daughter and to ask your permission to win her for my wife.”</p> - -<p>The banker regarded the man in speechless astonishment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> as he -paused, after making the above startling declaration. It was a full -minute before he could recover himself sufficiently to reply.</p> - -<p>“You want to marry <em>my</em> daughter!” he at last burst forth, with -unconscious emphasis upon the pronoun. “Good Heaven! she is only a -child!”</p> - -<p>“I know that she is very young, sir, and, of course, I do not -expect your sanction to a union under two or three years,” John -Hubbard returned, shooting a searching look at his companion -from his crafty eyes. “I simply want your consent to such an -arrangement, and your influence in my favor with Miss Allison——”</p> - -<p>“But——” began Mr. Brewster, with white lips and an evident effort -at self-control.</p> - -<p>“Believe me,” interposed his companion. “I appreciate your -affectionate desires for her, and realize that you aspire to an -assured position for her; but I believe I can realize even your -most extravagant wishes for her in that respect. You know something -of my circumstances, Mr. Brewster, but I have to tell you that -my interest in this bank, my estates in New Jersey and Virginia -are but a small part of my wealth. Let me ask you to examine this -memoranda, and then possibly you will realize that my offer is not -one to be despised,” said John Hubbard, as he took a small book -from his pocket and passed it to his companion.</p> - -<p>Mr. Brewster took it mechanically and silently examined the pages -for several minutes, his face growing strangely grave and rigid as -he did so.</p> - -<p>Finally he lifted his glance to the expert’s face.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p> - -<p>“John, I had no idea you were so rich a man,” he observed.</p> - -<p>“Will I do for a son-in-law?” queried the man flippantly, and with -a little smile of triumph.</p> - -<p>“That is a difficult question to answer,” said Mr. Brewster, -flushing a deep crimson with the effort he made to restrain his -impulse to kick the man from his presence for his vulgarity and -presumption, for, clever as he had become as a business man, he was -possessed of no natural refinement, and the banker would far rather -have seen Allison immured in a convent than the wife of such a man, -useful as he was in certain ways.</p> - -<p>“Why is it a difficult question?” sharply demanded the would-be -suitor.</p> - -<p>“Well, first and foremost, Allison is far too young to have any -matrimonial ideas instilled into her mind; she has two years yet to -go to school——”</p> - -<p>“I told you I would wait—I expected to wait,” interposed John -Hubbard impatiently, and with a fiery gleam in his eyes. “I have -already waited and toiled years, with this one hope in view—for -I have loved the child ever since she was a little girl—strange -as it may seem—and a few years more will not matter so very much, -provided I have your consent and influence to back me. Meantime, -I shall be growing richer,” he concluded, as if that were the one -inducement to be considered.</p> - -<p>“But Allison’s wishes must be considered,” said the banker, a -trifle nervously. He could not bind himself to sell his darling, -and yet he knew that this man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> would make a dangerous foe; there -were certain reasons why he did not wish to excite his enmity. “At -least,” he added, “I cannot force her affections—she must choose -her own husband.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! do you intend to allow her to do that? Suppose she should love -and choose a poor man—a common clerk, for instance, with a mere -pittance?” and the expert’s eyes gleamed maliciously.</p> - -<p>“Humph! Ah! well—I don’t think I could quite agree to that,” -coldly responded the banker. “The man who marries Allison must at -least be able to match her fortune dollar for dollar.”</p> - -<p>“I can very nearly do that now.”</p> - -<p>“I see you can, John, and I own that you have been very clever—far -more clever than I gave you credit for being. I cannot quite -understand it. I am greatly surprised and—and, of course, -am—ahem!—honored by your proposal——”</p> - -<p>“Then be kind enough to give me some definite answer,” bluntly -interposed Mr. Hubbard.</p> - -<p>“Really, John, you must give me time—this has come upon me so -unexpectedly, I am wholly unprepared to pledge myself to anything,” -Mr. Brewster replied thoughtfully, and beginning to recover -something of his habitual dignity.</p> - -<p>“Very well, take time; but, meantime, give me a chance. By the way, -I believe you have a lawn-party, or something of the kind, out at -Lakeview to-day, do you not?”</p> - -<p>Again Adam Brewster flushed, and he longed to show his companion -the door and tell him never to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> come into his presence again; but, -as previously intimated, there were reasons why he dared not offend -him.</p> - -<p>So, restraining his anger, he called a smile to his lips and -blandly responded:</p> - -<p>“Yes, my daughter is going to entertain some of her friends this -afternoon; it will be rather a juvenile affair; but perhaps you -would enjoy seeing the young folks amuse themselves; if so, come -home with me and look on for a while.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, I shall be happy to do so,” promptly returned John -Hubbard, with a vicious gleam of his ghastly teeth.</p> - -<p>And thus it happened that just as Allison Brewster came downstairs -to receive her first guests she was confronted by “the man who -always gave her a chill,” and who now drove all the brightness from -her face, and made her feel that her party was doubly spoiled by -his presence and Gerald’s absence.</p> - -<p>“Why couldn’t papa have sent him, instead of Gerald, on that errand -rather than bring him here, where he isn’t wanted?” she said to -herself, with a feeling of resentment.</p> - -<p>But she was a well-bred little lady, and, bowing courteously to -her self-invited guest, she thanked him politely for the bouquet -of magnificent roses with which he presented her, but which she -quietly handed to a servant, charging her to put them in water, -and—never thought of them again.</p> - -<p>But upon her breast—nestling among the cascade of filmy lace that -trimmed her spotless dress of India lawn—there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> was a lovely -cluster of forget-me-nots, which, with a thrill of delight—in -spite of her disappointment at his enforced absence—she had culled -from Gerald’s dainty basket, which was now standing upon the -dressing-case in her room, to gladden no eyes but her own.</p> - -<p>Almost unconsciously her hand fluttered caressingly among the -delicate blossoms, even while <a name="Err7" id="Err7"></a>she stood talking with John Hubbard; -then, all at once, glancing out upon the lawn, she gave a little -cry of joyous surprise and sprang forward to meet—Gerald himself!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2> - -<h3>LOVE SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.</h3> - - -<p>The fair girl was as unaffected and as ingenuous as nature itself. -She was heartily glad to see Gerald, she knew of no reason why -she should not give free expression to her joy, and the flush of -delighted surprise that overspread her lovely face, the welcoming -light which shone in her beautiful eyes, sent a thrill of ecstasy -through Gerald’s heart, while they at the same time caused a frown -of annoyance and hate to settle upon John Hubbard’s brow.</p> - -<p>Mr. Brewster was also an interested observer of Allison’s greeting -of his young clerk, and he congratulated himself that they were -so soon going to Newport, where the gaieties of the season, the -mingling with companions in her own sphere of life, would crowd -this “handsome young beggar” out of her mind.</p> - -<p>“I am so glad that you could manage to come, after all,” Allison -said, with earnest sincerity.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> “I was so disappointed when I -received your note saying you had to go out of town. And now I want -you to act as captain of the swanboat on the lake; you understand -it perfectly, and I shall feel safer with you at the helm than with -any one else.”</p> - -<p><a name="Err8" id="Err8"></a>But before Gerald could reply, John Hubbard stepped forward and -inquired, in a sharp, curt tone:</p> - -<p>“How is this, young man? You surely have not had time to attend to -the business upon which you were sent, and it was far too important -to be entrusted to a common messenger.”</p> - -<p>Gerald flushed hotly, more at the man’s tone and insolent bearing -than at his words, but he had learned to hold himself well in hand.</p> - -<p>“I was about to explain to Mr. Brewster,” he quietly remarked, -as he turned to that gentleman without replying to the expert’s -inquiry. “The package is perfectly safe, sir,” he continued, -addressing his employer; “I delivered it into Mr. Bartlett’s own -hands, according to your instructions. I had just reached the ferry -when I met him coming off the boat, and so was not obliged to cross -to Jersey City. Here is a message, acknowledging the safe delivery -of the papers.”</p> - -<p>As he concluded, he passed to Mr. Brewster a slip of paper, which -was evidently a leaf that had been torn from a note-book, and upon -which there had been penciled a few lines.</p> - -<p>“It is all right, Gerald,” Mr. Brewster responded, as he read them, -“and you were fortunate to meet Mr. Bartlett. If you had gone to -Jersey City, you would have missed him and might have had to wait -many hours before you could have obeyed the charge to deliver the -papers into his own hands. And now I think, as Al—Miss Brewster -suggests, you will be just the one to manage the boat for the -company,” the banker concluded, in a tone that brought a quick -flush to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> young man’s cheek; for it seemed to imply that he was -not regarded as an invited guest, but, rather, as a part of the -machinery necessary to contribute to the pleasure of the company in -general.</p> - -<p>John Hubbard’s lips curled in an aggravating sneer, showing that he -thoroughly appreciated the situation, and this did not tend to make -Gerald’s mortification any the easier to bear.</p> - -<p>But Allison came bravely to the rescue, and her blue eyes flashed -angry defiance upon both gentlemen, while she tossed back her -golden head with an independent air that spoke volumes.</p> - -<p>“But, Gerald,” she said eagerly, as she moved nearer to him, “the -boat is not to be used at present, there is to be an archery -contest first, and the guests are already getting ready to dance -under the pavilion. Here is my card. I want you to put your name -down for the waltz-galop, and the military schottische; yes, and -the minuet, too—you always do them so nicely with me. That’s -it. Now, come, I want to introduce you to Annie, Cousin Charlie -Manning’s wife, who is here to matronize the affair, and she has -just the dearest little girl you ever saw—one of those Dresden -china children that sets everybody wild. Good-by,” she added -carelessly, and nodding over her shoulder at the two gentlemen as -she slipped her hand within Gerald’s arm to lead him away. “I hope -you will enjoy looking on at the fun.”</p> - -<p>And with that she hurried her companion forward to a tall, -graceful lady, who stood under a neighboring tree, and to whom she -introduced him with as much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> ceremony as if he had been the son of -a millionaire.</p> - -<p>“Humph! your daughter appears to be exceedingly fond of your office -boy, and vice versa,” John Hubbard observed, with an ugly frown, as -he glowered after the youthful pair; “it might be wise for you to -nip such a tendency in the bud.”</p> - -<p>“Pooh! it is only a boy-and-girl fancy that doesn’t amount to -anything,” the banker responded lightly, but with an uneasy gleam -in his eyes.</p> - -<p>“These boy-and-girl fancies sometimes prove to be the most lasting -and dangerous,” his companion retorted, with a sullen air, as he -turned to a rustic seat, where he could command a view of all that -was occurring upon the lawn.</p> - -<p>Meantime Allison was trying to obliterate the remembrance of the -wound which her lover had received from her father.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Gerald! I was so disappointed when your note came,” she -exclaimed, with a heartiness which betrayed her sincerity, “but it -was just lovely of you to send these,” with a shy glance at the -bouquet pinned to her corsage, “and, you see, since I thought I -could not have you here, I tried to console myself by wearing your -flowers.”</p> - -<p>“You honor me, Allison,” said the young man, his tones thrilling -with emotion.</p> - -<p>“Ah! but there was an element of selfishness about it,” she -replied, with a saucy smile, “for I am very, very fond of these -dear little forget-me-nots.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I know you are,” said her companion, looking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> fondly into the -lovely, uplifted eyes, and wondering which were the bluer—they or -the flowers.</p> - -<p>“How fortunate it was that you met that Mr. Bartlett,” Allison -continued, in a satisfied tone; “you were in luck, and now we will -have just as good a time as we can. Oh, dear, I wish we were not -going to Newport on Monday,” she concluded, with a regretful sigh.</p> - -<p>“Why! I have always supposed that you have very gay times at -Newport,” Gerald observed, with surprise.</p> - -<p>“Yes, we do—too gay, and that is just the reason I don’t like it. -Everything is so forced—everybody trying to outdo everybody else, -just to gratify their vanity and be conspicuous. There isn’t any -heart in it—it is all a sort of ‘Vanity Fair’ parade; no matter -where you go, you are scrutinized to see if your sleeves are of -the latest cut; if your skirts have the right number of gores and -measure the correct number of yards; if the crown of your hat is -too high or too low, or if you carry the same parasols you had -last year. I do like new and pretty things, but I don’t like to be -measured and dissected wherever I go, and the probable condition of -Adam Brewster’s finances judged accordingly.”</p> - -<p>Gerald laughed.</p> - -<p>“I think it must be only women who are so well versed in such -analytical processes. I am sure the other sex are always impressed -by the general effect—the tout ensemble,” he said, as he ran an -admiring eye over the dainty figure beside him, and thinking he had -never seen Allison more lovely than she appeared at that moment.</p> - -<p>She was clad in the finest of India lawn, trimmed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> with yards -and yards of beautiful Valenciennes lace. A rich, white, satin -ribbon girdled her waist and floated to the hem of her dress, and -costly white kid boots incased her small, shapely feet. The only -dash of color about her was the gleaming gold of her hair and the -forget-me-nots upon her bosom.</p> - -<p>“I reckon you are right, Gerald,” she gravely replied, “the men -are more kind and sensible in their judgment. If one is tastefully -dressed, and looks pretty, the cost and style do not matter so -much. Ah! here is Gladys,” she interposed, as a lovely child came -running to meet her. “Now, isn’t she sweet?”</p> - -<p>Gerald paused to talk to the little one for a few moments, and then -the young couple hurried away to the pavilion, where they were soon -whirling among the gay dancers and conscious only of the joy of -being in each other’s presence.</p> - -<p>It was an ideal afternoon to them both, although it meant a great -deal more to Gerald than to Allison, for she was just at an age to -enjoy a good time for the good time’s sake; she was standing where</p> - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“The brook and river meet,”</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>and had not yet awakened to the fact of a line of demarcation.</p> - -<p>She was conscious of being very fond of her young friend, of -realizing that he was more congenial to her than other gentlemen of -her acquaintance, but had never paused to ask the reason why. The -sacred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> depths of her woman’s nature had never yet been sounded, as -her ingenuous manner betrayed.</p> - -<p>The two men who watched the girl from a distance, noting her every -look and gesture, realized that it would need but a word or a -breath to arouse the latent fire of a deep and absorbing love, and -settle her fate for all time.</p> - -<p>Both saw the danger and secretly vowed that it must and should -be avoided in the future. Adam Brewster told himself that, after -to-day, Allison and Gerald should not meet again, at least, until -the former was the promised wife of another; while John Hubbard -swore far more radical measures—swore that Gerald Winchester -should be crushed—ruined; that he should be so compromised as -to character and reputation that he would never dare to declare -his love for Allison Brewster, or that, in the event of such a -betrayal, she would spurn him from her with contempt.</p> - -<p>The lawn-party appeared to be a grand success. Everybody seemed to -enter into the spirit of the occasion with a zest and heartiness -that bespoke real enjoyment. Allison had taken pains to introduce -Gerald very generally to her friends, to whom he was so attentive -and kind that he soon became an acknowledged favorite, a coveted -partner and cavalier, and the fair little hostess was secretly very -proud of him.</p> - -<p>After a bounteous repast had been served in another pavilion, -erected for that purpose, a party was formed for a row upon the -lake, Gerald heading the company as “captain.”</p> - -<p>The boat was a handsome and commodious affair<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> shaped like a swan, -and gaily canopied with red-and-white bunting. A couple of men had -been hired to do the rowing, while Gerald managed the rudder.</p> - -<p>Everything went well until the last party were returning. A short -way out in the lake an artificial island had been made. Upon this -there was a charming little grotto and fountain, and an arched -rustic bridge spanned the water between this pretty spot and the -mainland.</p> - -<p>Just as the boat, with its merry company, was about to pass beneath -the bridge, a sweet little voice from above called out gaily:</p> - -<p>“Hurrah! Allison, hurrah! See! I’ve got a pretty flag!”</p> - -<p>Allison, who was seated in the stern of the boat, beside Gerald, -glanced up at the sound, to see little Gladys Manning leaning far -out through one of the spaces of the bridge above. For once she had -escaped the watchful eyes of her mother, and had run out upon the -bridge “to see the pretty bird swim on the water.” Some one had -given her a little silken flag, and this she was now waving merrily -at Allison.</p> - -<p>“Take care, Gladys! Back! back!” cried Allison, almost breathless -from fear as the boat shot under the arch, and the child leaned out -farther to watch it.</p> - -<p>But she spoke too late, for already the little one had lost her -balance, and, with a shriek of fear, fell headlong into the water -and disappeared from sight.</p> - -<p>Cries and screams now filled the air, and for a moment a panic in -the boat seemed inevitable.</p> - -<p>“Sit still, everybody, and be quiet!” cried Gerald, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> ringing, -authoritative tones, while at the same moment he whisked off his -coat and vest and slipped off his shoes. The next instant he sprang -upon the seat, then dived out of sight.</p> - -<p>Allison sat still in her place, her hands convulsively clasped upon -her breast, her face as white as her dress. She scarcely seemed to -breathe, and her agonized glance was fastened upon the spot where -Gerald had disappeared.</p> - -<p>The child had not risen to the surface, and it seemed an age before -the young man reappeared.</p> - -<p>But a great sigh, that seemed like a single moan, went up from -every heart when he at length came up alone, gasping for breath.</p> - -<p>The next moment he went down again, and, after what seemed an -interminable age, although barely two minutes had elapsed, he came -up, and now the limp form of little Gladys was seen in his arms.</p> - -<p>The child’s clothing had caught upon a spike in one of the supports -of the bridge, and thus she had been held at the bottom of the lake.</p> - -<p>Gerald made straight for the boat with his lifeless burden.</p> - -<p>“Can you help me, Allison?” he questioned, as he laid hold upon the -stern.</p> - -<p>She put forth her arms, grasped the child, and with his help soon -had her in her lap.</p> - -<p>“Now, you——” she gasped, looking anxiously into his white face.</p> - -<p>“No—row! row with all your might,” Gerald<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> shouted to the men, -“never mind me, but the child must have help.”</p> - -<p>They needed no second bidding, and two minutes later they were at -the landing, where willing hands were extended to take Allison’s -lifeless burden from her.</p> - -<p>“Stop!” cried Gerald, as they were about to bear her away to the -house.</p> - -<p>He seized the child, laid her upon the greensward, fell upon his -knees, and began to work upon her as he had once seen a physician -try to resuscitate a man who had nearly drowned.</p> - -<p>“Go for a doctor, somebody, and then bring blankets,” he continued, -without suspending his efforts.</p> - -<p>For fifteen minutes or more he worked for dear life, assisted by -others; then a physician appearing upon the scene, he was only too -glad to relinquish his patient to him, for suspense and excitement, -together with the strength he had expended in the water, had nearly -exhausted him, and he willingly obeyed Mr. Brewster, who ordered -him to “come to his rooms, have a bath, and get into dry clothing.”</p> - -<p>The child soon recovered under the physician’s treatment, and -appeared as bright and well as ever.</p> - -<p>Gerald, who was about the size of Mr. Manning, was provided with -necessary apparel from that gentleman’s wardrobe, and ere long -reappeared among the company, looking a trifle pale, perhaps, but -very handsome and attractive after his act of heroism.</p> - -<p>Allison also came down in a fresh toilet in season to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> receive the -adieus of her friends, who declared they had had a delightful time -in spite of their recent fright.</p> - -<p>No one would acquiesce in Gerald’s going back to the city that -night. Mr. Brewster, with an unusual thrill of feeling in his -voice, told him to “stay and make himself at home.”</p> - -<p>An hour later the gentleman left his niece, Mrs. Manning, with -Allison and Gerald, sitting upon the broad balcony overlooking the -lake, where a glorious full moon shed its silver light all around -them, and went to the library.</p> - -<p>Fifteen minutes afterward Gladys called “mama” from above, and Mrs. -Manning went up to see what was wanted, when, finding the child -restless and nervous, she lay down beside her, where they both soon -fell asleep.</p> - -<p>Allison and Gerald, thus left alone, had a long, cozy chat -together, until the great clock in the hall struck ten, when the -former sprang to her feet.</p> - -<p>“That means bedtime for me,” she said, laughing, “and papa is so -ridiculously particular about it I suppose I must say good night. -What a day this has been!” she added, with a deep sigh; “it is a -long, long while since I have had such a lovely time. But for the -accident there would have been nothing to mar it—at least after -you came.”</p> - -<p>Gerald’s pulses leaped at those last words, but he dared not betray -how they had moved him, and so he replied with what composure he -could:</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p> -<p>“But that—the accident—only interrupted things for a little -while.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, thanks to you,” said Allison, as she laid her hand upon the -back of his chair, and bent to look into his upturned face. “Oh, -Gerald! what should we have done if you had not been there? I shall -never forget how you seemed to know just what to do—never! You -dear, brave, splendid hero!”</p> - -<p>Actuated by the impulse of the moment, and the gratitude of her -tender heart, she leaned forward and lightly touched his brow with -her sweet, red lips.</p> - -<p>Then, frightened at what she had done, she would have fled, but -Gerald, every nerve in his body thrilling with ecstasy from that -soft caress, sprang to his feet, seized her hands, and drew her -gently toward him, looking eagerly down into her blushing face.</p> - -<p>“Allison! Allison!” he whispered, all the mighty love within him -breaking every barrier down and asserting its God-given right to -speak for itself.</p> - -<p>There was no mistaking the emotion that vibrated through every -syllable of that tenderly uttered name, and, like a flash, -it revealed to the beautiful girl what she was to Gerald -Winchester—what he was to her, and would be for all time. She -lifted one startled, comprehending look to him.</p> - -<p>“Gerald!” she breathed softly; then their lips met in a mute caress.</p> - -<p>The next instant the young lover found himself alone.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2> - -<h3>“I WOULD STAKE MY FORTUNE.”</h3> - - -<p>When Gerald and Allison met at the breakfast-table the next morning -the fond glances of the one and the shy blushes of the other -warned Mr. Brewster that Cupid was surely in ambush, and it would -behoove him to be keenly on the alert. It was his custom to attend -church every Sabbath morning, and Allison always accompanied him; -accordingly, this morning, notwithstanding the excitement of the -previous day, was no exception to his rule.</p> - -<p>He courteously invited Gerald to accompany him, but the young man -excused himself, as he wished to get back to the city by the next -train.</p> - -<p>Mr. Brewster offered to drop him at the station, as it lay on their -way to church, and he experienced a sense of intense relief when -the young man sprang from the carriage, just in season to board the -train.</p> - -<p>Not that he was not fond of Gerald for his faithfulness to him and -his many noble qualities, while his heroism of the previous day had -aroused his deepest gratitude, and increased his admiration for -him a hundredfold. Had he been his own son, he would have gloried -in him, or had he been the son of a man in his own sphere of life, -he would have eagerly welcomed him as a suitor for his daughter’s -hand. But pride,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> that relentless tyrant of the human heart, would -never swerve out of the beaten track for a struggling clerk, even -though he were of irreproachable morals or noblest aspirations.</p> - -<p>One day, shortly after the departure of his family for Newport, Mr. -Brewster, on entering his office, laid a tiny package upon Gerald’s -desk.</p> - -<p>“Something that Mrs. Manning commissioned me to hand to you,” he -remarked.</p> - -<p>It proved to be a small box, which, upon opening, Gerald found to -contain a modest—as to size—but flawless diamond, in the form of -a stud.</p> - -<p>On an accompanying card were written these words:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“With grateful remembrance and kindest regards.<br /> -<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 20%;">“Charles and Annie Manning.”</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Gerald was deeply touched by the testimonial, and greatly delighted -with the beautiful gift.</p> - -<p>He did not once see or hear from Allison throughout the summer, -although, for years, he had never failed to receive an invitation -to spend a day or two at Newport with the family, but the memory -of those few last moments on that never-to-be-forgotten night at -Lakeview—that lingering, betraying caress, and the trustful, -loving look in the sweet, startled eyes uplifted to his, was a -source of never-failing joy to him.</p> - -<p>“I will yet be worthy to claim her, morally, intellectually, -and—financially,” he often said to himself, with that same look of -determination with which he had once told John Hubbard that nothing -was unattainable to him who is bound to win.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Brewsters remained at the fashionable watering-place until the -middle of September, when Mr. and Mrs. Manning went abroad for an -extended tour. Allison returned to Smith College, at Northampton, -where she had two years more of study before her, and the banker -settled himself in his winter home on Madison Avenue.</p> - -<p>Thus another twelve months passed. John Hubbard still continued, -apparently, to prosper in his worldly affairs, while he seemed to -have utterly forgotten his enmity against Gerald.</p> - -<p>But from time to time Gerald observed that his employer seemed -preoccupied, and wore an anxious look. He was often taciturn, and -occasionally harshly impatient, while, upon two or three occasions, -he made strenuous efforts to tide over the meeting of certain -obligations, which both surprised and troubled his confidential -clerk.</p> - -<p>Then there came a day, just after the close of Allison’s school -year, that carried dismay to the hearts of all of the banker’s -friends. He dropped senseless in his office just before the closing -of the bank, and was borne to his home paralyzed and speechless. -Eminent physicians were summoned, and every known remedy employed -for his relief. His debility was purely physical, however—his -mental faculties appearing to be as keen as ever.</p> - -<p>Meantime, John Hubbard assumed the control of affairs at the bank, -though, of course, under the authority of Mr. Brewster, and now -Gerald began to realize that the tentacles of this human octopus -were beginning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> to close around both himself and his employer.</p> - -<p>From time to time the expert would call his attention to the fact -that there were mistakes in his work. He could never account for -these errors—he could have sworn that his work had been correctly -done; but upon reviewing it, he was forced to confess that -appearances were against him.</p> - -<p>“You’ll have to be more careful, Winchester,” Mr. Hubbard sternly -remarked to him one day in December, when, for the third time, he -pointed out to him some discrepancies; “this kind of thing has been -going on too long altogether; I have been looking back over some -of Mr. Brewster’s private accounts, and I find numerous errors -covering more than a year. If the man were well, I should disclose -the fact to him and have you instantly discharged.”</p> - -<p>Gerald flushed crimson. He could have taken his oath that he had -never made an error in his work—at least, an uncorrected one.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Brewster has never complained,” he began, when his companion -curtly interrupted him with the trite remark:</p> - -<p>“Figures don’t lie, young man.”</p> - -<p>“Figures have been made to lie,” was on the tip of Gerald’s tongue -as he darted a suspicious look at his companion; but he resolutely -closed his lips and made no response.</p> - -<p>But a little later, while John Hubbard was at luncheon and he was -left alone in the office, he proceeded to examine some of these -criticized accounts,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> and was almost paralyzed upon discovering how -his books appeared to compromise him.</p> - -<p>There were evidences that some one had been critically examining -them, for there were frequent marginal notes, while the balance -seemed to show that he had been cleverly and systematically robbing -his employer for a long time.</p> - -<p>With a very white face and sternly compressed lips, Gerald took a -powerful magnifying-glass and brought it to bear along the various -columns of figures.</p> - -<p>“I thought so!” he hoarsely muttered, at last, “they have been -tampered with! Some of my threes and sixes have been changed to -eights; my ones, in numberless instances, have been made into twos, -fours, and sevens, but so skilfully that no one would believe me -if I should assert it—I could never prove that he did it. Great -Heaven! and it has been going on for many months. This was what he -had in mind when he crushed my rose and warned me to beware of a -similar fate.”</p> - -<p>Gerald was sick at heart as he realized that he was standing -upon the brink of a fearful precipice and was powerless to help -himself—how he had become entangled in a skilfully contrived net -from which there seemed to be no possible way of escape.</p> - -<p>If Mr. Brewster had been well he would have appealed at once to -him, stated his suspicions, and tried to point out the changes he -had discovered in the figures, but in the man’s present precarious -condition he dared not trouble him with the matter, even if he were -allowed an interview with him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span></p> - -<p>A week passed, and then, to his great joy, he received a note from -Mr. Brewster asking him to call upon him at a certain hour the -following Saturday, as he had a special commission for him.</p> - -<p>He presented himself at the Brewster mansion promptly at the hour -mentioned in the note, and was at once conducted to his employer’s -presence.</p> - -<p>He was greatly shocked at the change in the man—not having seen -him since his attack—for he had grown very thin, and seemed to -have aged many years. Mr. Brewster greeted him very kindly, and -seemed heartily glad to see him, but almost immediately broached -the business concerning which he had desired to see him.</p> - -<p>“Gerald, I have a secret commission with which I wish to entrust -you,” he began, a grave look settling over his face. “I know that -I can trust you absolutely, and that is why I have chosen you in -preference to any one else.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, sir,” Gerald replied, with a glowing face, his sorely -wounded heart greatly comforted by this assurance.</p> - -<p>“You have been inside the bank vault?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, often; you have frequently sent me to the drawer which -contains your private documents.”</p> - -<p>“Yes—yes, I know, and —— But before I go on I want you to give me -your word of honor that no one shall ever learn from you the secret -I am about to commit to you,” said the banker.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p> -<p>“Certainly, sir, I will promise that I will never betray any -confidence that you repose in me,” Gerald responded.</p> - -<p>“That is enough,” he said. “Now, behind that drawer, which contains -those private papers, there is a small, secret vault, which I had -built there to store certain valuables during my absence from town. -No one save the man who made it, and I, know that it is there; no -one would suspect it, for, on removing the drawer, there seems to -be nothing but the brick wall behind it. On the contrary, there -is an iron plate, or panel, painted to resemble bricks. At the -bottom of this panel there is a small slot. You will insert in this -a tiny key which I shall give you; turn it half-around, and the -panel will spring outward. You can then swing it upward, when you -will discover behind it two boxes, take them out, being careful to -relock the panel, and bring them to me.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir; I shall be very glad to do as you wish,” Gerald -remarked. “But how will I be able to get into the vault and remove -the boxes without the knowledge of others?”</p> - -<p>“I have keys that will admit you to it, and you must go to the -bank when no one else is there,” said the banker, with a slight -frown, as if he did not exactly relish this part of the commission.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -“To-morrow will be Sunday, and you had best go as soon after you -have had your breakfast as you can; then come directly to me. Be -careful not to excite the suspicion of any one whom you may meet, -for one of the boxes contains valuable jewels that belonged to Mrs. -Brewster. I want them for Allison; the other holds nothing of -special value to any one except myself.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Brewster had become very white during this last statement, and -Gerald feared he was talking too much for his strength.</p> - -<p>“Here are my keys,” he continued, after a moment, and, taking a -bunch from a drawer in the table beside him, “this one unlocks the -outer door, this the inner; the brass one opens the gate of the -iron fence; the heavy one will admit you to the vault; this unlocks -my private drawer, and the little, flat one the panel that conceals -the secret vault. Quite a lesson to learn, isn’t it?” he added, -with a slight smile; “but I think you will have no difficulty in -remembering how to use them.”</p> - -<p>“No, sir; four of them I know already, so that leaves only those -belonging to your drawer and the secret vault to be distinguished, -and that is easily done,” Gerald replied, as he examined each key -attentively.</p> - -<p>“Very well, then, I shall look for you here again some time -to-morrow forenoon. I want to get those boxes into my possession -as soon as possible,” Mr. Brewster observed, with a faint but -impatient sigh.</p> - -<p>“I will try to be here some time between ten and eleven o’clock,” -Gerald returned, then added, losing some of his color: “And now, -Mr. Brewster, if you are not too tired, I have something to tell -you about my work.”</p> - -<p>“I am not too tired, go ahead,” said the man; whereupon Gerald gave -him a brief account of the conversation that had recently passed -between himself and John<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> Hubbard, and what he had discovered -afterward in connection with his work.</p> - -<p>Mr. Brewster listened to him with growing astonishment, never once -removing his eyes from the young man’s face during his recital.</p> - -<p>“These are very strange statements, Gerald—very grave statements,” -he remarked, with some sternness, as he concluded.</p> - -<p>“They are, indeed, sir, and they involve my honor, my reputation, -and, unless my past dealings with you and my assurance are -sufficient guarantee to you of my integrity, the evidence is there -to prove that I have been doing very crooked business in your -office. The balances are all right, apparently, but the entries, if -examined, would seem to be conclusive testimony that I have been -systematically robbing you. Mr. Brewster, I firmly believe that -those figures have been skilfully changed for the sole purpose of -ruining me.”</p> - -<p>“By whom?”</p> - -<p>“That, of course, I cannot say positively, but I have long known -that Mr. Hubbard dislikes me,” was the somewhat reluctant reply.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean to imply that John Hubbard would doctor the accounts -to injure you?” exclaimed Mr. Brewster, with a start.</p> - -<p>“I have no right to assert that he would, for I cannot prove -it; but some one has done it, and he is the only one who, to my -knowledge, has had access to the books. I can only say I know he -hates me, and—I also say, Mr. Brewster”—and the honest fellow -here straightened himself with conscious integrity, and lifted an -unfaltering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> look to his employer—“that I have never made a false -entry upon one of your books.”</p> - -<p>Neither was conscious of the presence of a third person in the room -as the banker heartily responded:</p> - -<p>“I am sure you have not, Gerald; I would stake my fortune upon your -integrity and upon your unswerving faithfulness to my interests. I -will look into this matter just as soon as I am able. Ah! Allison, -I did not hear you come in. What is it, dear?” he concluded, -turning, as he caught the sound of her step behind him.</p> - -<p>She came forward, blushing and smiling a welcome to Gerald.</p> - -<p>“It is time for your beef broth, papa,” she said, as she placed a -small salver containing a cup before him.</p> - -<p>Then she turned to our hero with outstretched hand.</p> - -<p>“What an age it is since I saw you last, Gerald,” she remarked, and -then flushed again as she recalled her last interview with him.</p> - -<p>He returned her greeting with what warmth he dared in Mr. -Brewster’s presence, but with a hand-clasp that spoke volumes.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2> - -<h3>THE BANK ON SUNDAY MORNING.</h3> - - -<p>Allison had come into the room where Gerald and her father were -conversing so earnestly just in season to catch the words of -commendation uttered by the latter.</p> - -<p>“I am sure you have not, Gerald,” he had said; “I would stake my -fortune upon your integrity and upon your unswerving faithfulness -to my interests.”</p> - -<p>She had noted, with the keen perception of a loving heart, the -troubled look in Gerald’s eyes, the anxious expression upon his -brow, and she instantly knew that something had gone amiss with -him, in spite of the fact that he seemed in perfect health, and was -handsomer and more manly than ever.</p> - -<p>But in the excitement of greeting him—when she saw his face light -up with joy in her presence, when she felt the warm, lingering -clasp of his hand, and detected the old-time thrill in his -voice—she forgot all about it, for the time, and thought only of -the pleasures of this unexpected meeting.</p> - -<p>When Gerald finally left the house it was with a very much lighter -heart than when he entered. His employer’s hearty and unqualified -assurance of confidence was like balm to his wounded spirit; while -his little interview with Allison had set all his pulses vibrating -afresh with his deep and abiding love for her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span></p> - -<p>He had not seen her for many months, and she seemed to have grown a -hundredfold more lovely than <a name="Err9" id="Err9"></a>when he had bidden her adieu on that -bright Sunday morning so long ago.</p> - -<p>He wondered if she had forgotten the evening previous—their -interview upon the veranda, where, with the moonlight streaming -upon them in its soft effulgence, they had been conscious only of -each other’s presence and the happiness that had thrilled every -fiber of their being. Did she remember their parting when the -clock struck ten? That blissful moment when their lips met in -that involuntary caress? That look into each other’s eyes, that -low-breathed “Allison!” “Gerald!” which had expressed so much?</p> - -<p>She seemed a trifle more mature; she had acquired a little air of -dignity which, on the whole, he decided only added to her charms, -although at first it had chilled him slightly—at least, until he -found himself looking down into the expressive eyes.</p> - -<p>He hoped he should see her again on the morrow, when he returned -with the boxes which Mr. Brewster had commissioned him to get from -the secret vault.</p> - -<p>He smiled and uttered a sigh of content, as he passed his hand over -the pocket which held the keys the banker had given to him, and -realized that he never would have been entrusted with them if he -had not possessed the entire confidence of the man.</p> - -<p>He hurried back to his lodging, where, in this happy frame of mind, -he settled down to the preparation of some lessons which were to be -recited that evening to a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> certain professor with whom he had been -studying for three years.</p> - -<p>As we know, Gerald, at the time of his aunt’s death, had been in -the second year of the high school, but for a time after that his -studies were interrupted, as he found that his daily duties taxed -his strength to the utmost.</p> - -<p>But as he became accustomed to his work, he began to get hungry for -his books again, and for a while attended evening school, although -his progress was thus necessarily slow.</p> - -<p>Then he made the acquaintance of a professor by the name of -Emerson, who, becoming interested in the bright, ambitious lad, -offered to help him perfect his education and arranged for Gerald -to recite three times a week to him.</p> - -<p>He was now in his twenty-first year, and expected by the coming -June to complete the studies of the second year of a regular -college course.</p> - -<p>After partaking of a light supper, he repaired to the house of -his friend, Professor Emerson, where he acquitted himself most -creditably in his recitations.</p> - -<p>The gentleman had become quite fond of his enterprising pupil, and -it was a great delight to him to teach one who was so eager for -knowledge and so quick to comprehend.</p> - -<p>“By the way, Gerald, what do you intend to make of yourself when -you get through with your course?” he inquired to-night, as he -closed his book after the last recitation, and bent an inquiring -look on the handsome face before him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I think—since I am so well started in the banking business, I -shall stick to it, learn it thoroughly, and, if fortune favors -me, perhaps become a banker myself, by and by,” he replied, but -with a smile at his egotism in aspiring to a position such as Adam -Brewster occupied.</p> - -<p>Professor Emerson eyed him curiously for a moment, then remarked:</p> - -<p>“You’ll achieve it, if you undertake it, and, rightly conducted, -banking is a good business; still, I wish you might go a little -higher, intellectually—you would make a fine lawyer, your mental -grasp is so keen and accurate.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” said Gerald, flushing at the compliment, “but it would -take me several years to prepare for the bar, after completing my -college course, and, since I have my own canoe to paddle, I think -I will adhere to what I have begun. I wish, though,” he added -gravely, as his mind suddenly reverted to John Hubbard, “I have -time to become thoroughly posted in law, and could combine the two, -for then I should always be sure of the faithfulness of my legal -adviser.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Winchester! I did not suppose you possessed so suspicious a -nature!” said his friend, smiling, but with a note of surprise in -his tones. “If every one was governed by such distrust I fear the -lawyers would fare hard.”</p> - -<p>“I am not naturally suspicious,” replied Gerald, reddening,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> “and my -remark must seem narrow and intolerant to you; it was prompted by -the fact that one lawyer whom I know is anything but an honest and -conscientious man.”</p> - -<p>“But, ‘one swallow does not make a summer,’ my boy,” retorted his -friend, laughing.</p> - -<p>“I know it, sir, and I have no business to be suspicious of all men -because of one man’s failings. I will try to be more charitable -toward lawyers in the future,” said the young man, as he rose to -leave.</p> - -<p>He felt half-ashamed of having allowed himself to be so swayed by -his antipathy against John Hubbard, but all the way back to his -lodgings he was haunted by the face of the man and the malignant -scowl which had distorted it when he accused him of unfaithfulness -and dishonesty in his work.</p> - -<p>Even in his sleep during the night he could not divest himself of -the consciousness of his vicious individuality—he seemed to be -continually pursuing and persecuting him until his visions became -so real that they finally drove him from his bed long before his -usual hour for rising on Sunday morning.</p> - -<p>It was not yet dawn when he arose on Sunday morning, and, upon -looking from his window, Gerald saw that it was snowing.</p> - -<p>He dressed himself with unusual care, for he hoped to see Allison -again, and, loverlike, desired to make as good an appearance in -her sight as possible. Then he hurried out for his morning meal, -after which he wended his way to the bank, where he arrived about -half-past eight.</p> - -<p>The steps leading up to the door were covered with snow, and, -strangely enough, as he mounted them, leaving a footprint upon -every one, an uncomfortable sensation which was akin to guilt, -began to creep over him,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> causing his errand to become suddenly -repulsive to him, and making him long to go back to his room and -remain there.</p> - -<p>But, throwing back his head with an air of conscious rectitude—for -was he not there at his employer’s command?—he quickly let himself -into the building, removing the key and relocking the door on the -inside to make sure that no one would follow him.</p> - -<p>Passing through the inner door, he carefully wiped his feet upon -the mat, and removed his overshoes lest they should leave tracks -upon the floor—that same uncanny feeling which he had experienced -outside still pursuing him.</p> - -<p>The bank was so still every footfall echoed noisily through it, and -sent a nervous shiver creeping down his spine.</p> - -<p>“Good gracious!” he exclaimed, with an impatient shrug of his -shoulders, “I am no thief stealing in here to rob the place! Why on -earth should I feel like one? It is positively absurd!”</p> - -<p>Proceeding directly to the vault, he drew the heavy bolts, unlocked -and swung open the massive iron-plated door. The place was cold -and gloomy, and again Gerald shivered with a nervous chill as he -stepped within those solid walls which so securely guarded their -hoarded treasure.</p> - -<p>Proceeding directly to Mr. Brewster’s private drawer, the number of -which he had long known, he unlocked and drew it out, setting it -upon the floor.</p> - -<p>It contained several packages of papers. But these held no interest -for him; he merely gave them a passing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> glance, then began to look -for the slot in the iron panel at the back of the aperture.</p> - -<p>It required close searching to find it, but his efforts were -finally rewarded, whereupon he inserted the last of his keys, -turned it half-around, when the panel sprang outward, as Mr. -Brewster had described.</p> - -<p>It appeared to be swung upon hinges, and, lifting it up, Gerald -could distinguish within the little vault thus disclosed a box of -some description.</p> - -<p>He drew it from its place of concealment.</p> - -<p>It proved to be a beautiful Japanese affair, inlaid with gold and -mother-of-pearl in an intricate pattern. There was a tiny key in -its lock, and for fear that it might drop out and be lost, Gerald -removed it and transferred it to a pocket in his vest, without once -thinking that he had it in his power to inspect the contents of the -casket, if he chose to do so.</p> - -<p>Putting it carefully down upon the floor, he looked for the -other. He found it shoved away back in the secret vault. It was -much larger than the other—a common, though strong, wooden -receptacle—and it was also locked, while there was no key with it.</p> - -<p>Gerald felt quite sure that the Japanese casket must contain the -jewels of which Mr. Brewster had spoken, and which were to be given -to Allison. Doubtless they were very valuable, and would be doubly -precious to her because they had once belonged to and been worn by -her mother.</p> - -<p>He would probably see them upon her person some day; but, strange -to say, he did not feel half so curious about them as he did -regarding the contents of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> larger box, for he had been -impressed by Mr. Brewster’s manner and expression when he had said -that it contained “nothing of special value to any one—except -myself.”</p> - -<p>However, he felt that it was no business of his what either held; -his duty lay simply in conveying them safely to his employer.</p> - -<p>Putting the drawer back in its place, he relocked it, when, -gathering the boxes from the floor, he turned to leave the vault. -At that instant a shadow obscured the light admitted by the open -door.</p> - -<p>Gerald started forward with a sudden and terrible heart-throb. -His face flushed hotly, then paled to the hue of marble as he was -confronted by John Hubbard, who was standing upon the threshold, a -sardonic grin distorting his sinister countenance.</p> - -<p>“Aha! my young burglar,” the man exclaimed, in a tone of fiendish -triumph, “is this the way you are in the habit of spending your -Sundays?”</p> - -<p>The sound of the expert’s voice at once restored Gerald’s -composure, although every nerve in his body was tingling with anger -at his manner of addressing him.</p> - -<p>“I am no burglar, Mr. Hubbard, and you know it,” he coldly -returned. “I am not in the habit of coming here—I have never been -in the bank on Sunday before this; but——”</p> - -<p>“What have you there?” sternly interposed his companion, and -indicating by a gesture the boxes in Gerald’s hands.</p> - -<p>“Some things belonging to Mr. Brewster.”</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p> -<p>“So I judged. How came you here?”</p> - -<p>“By his orders,” the young man briefly replied, and then wondered -at the almost satanic leer which swept over the features of the man -before him.</p> - -<p>“Indeed! but how did you pass all these barriers?” with a nod -backward over his shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Why, by means of these keys, which Mr. Brewster himself gave to -me, when he asked me to perform this errand for him,” the young -man responded, as he held up the bunch by the ring, and which Mr. -Hubbard instantly recognized as belonging to the banker.</p> - -<p>“When did you see Mr. Brewster?” he questioned, a look of -perplexity flashing over his face.</p> - -<p>“Yesterday afternoon—he sent for me to go to him,” Gerald -explained.</p> - -<p>“H’m!” ejaculated the expert, with a frown. Then, after a moment of -thought, he added: “What is in those boxes?”</p> - -<p>Again Gerald flushed. Then he threw back his handsome head -haughtily.</p> - -<p>“Excuse me,” he said freezingly, “but that is a question which Mr. -Brewster alone is qualified to answer.”</p> - -<p>“Ha! ha!” laughed his companion, but with so weird a note in the -sound, which echoed and re-echoed mockingly through the vault, that -Gerald’s blood almost seemed to congeal in his veins. “You are very -non-committal, my fine fellow,” he continued, with a snarl, “but do -you dare to tell me that you don’t know what either of those boxes -contains?”</p> - -<p>“I must decline to discuss the matter with you, Mr. Hubbard,” was -the terse reply.</p> - -<p>“Indeed!” sneered his companion. Then he observed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> served, -authoritatively, as he went a step nearer Gerald. “Very well, we -won’t discuss it; but since I am Mr. Brewster’s attorney, I will -relieve you of all further care of them. Give them to me.”</p> - -<p>“No, sir!” said Gerald resolutely, and retreating from him.</p> - -<p>“Give them to me, I tell you!” commanded the man angrily.</p> - -<p>“I cannot do that, Mr. Hubbard,” Gerald calmly returned. “Mr. -Brewster requested me to come here for them, and then bring them -directly to him. I shall deliver them to no other hands.”</p> - -<p>Once more that strange laugh echoed through the dismal vault.</p> - -<p>“You will have to go a long journey to do that, young man,” said -John Hubbard, showing his white teeth in a horrible grin.</p> - -<p>“How so?” queried Gerald, in surprise, but with a strange numbness -stealing over him, “I—I do not understand you.”</p> - -<p>“Adam Brewster is dead!” said John Hubbard.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2> - -<h3>GERALD SUFFERS AN INDIGNITY.</h3> - - -<p>There was a dead silence in that gloomy place for the space of a -full minute after John Hubbard’s terrible announcement.</p> - -<p>“It cannot be possible!” Gerald finally gasped, as he staggered -back against the side of the vault, almost paralyzed from horror. -As he did so, the topmost box in his hands slipped from his grasp, -and fell with a crash to the floor.</p> - -<p>The lock was either broken or forced from its socket by the -concussion, and the lid flew back, thus disclosing to the curious -eyes of John Hubbard various articles of valuable jewelry.</p> - -<p>“Aha! diamonds! pearls! rubies and emeralds!” he exclaimed, as -he stooped to examine them more closely. “Truly, young man, you -were taking time by the forelock to feather your nest before an -inventory could be taken of your employer’s effects.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean, sir?” he exclaimed, starting forward, a -dangerous gleam in his eyes. “Do you dare assert that I knew that -Mr. Brewster was not living, and stole here to rob him?”</p> - -<p>“I am forced to admit that it looks very much like it,” was the -deliberate and cruel response.</p> - -<p>A terrible shock went quivering through Gerald at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> these words, for -he realized but too well that the man would do his utmost to injure -him by putting the worst possible construction upon the situation.</p> - -<p>“You know better!” he cried, hot indignation and resentment flaming -up within him; “you know I would not touch a penny that did not -belong to me.”</p> - -<p>“Ahem! that all sounds very well, my would-be paragon of honor,” -sneered the expert, “but you will have to prove it, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Prove it! Why, of course, I can prove it,” replied Gerald, a -little smile of scorn for his recent fear curling his lips, and a -consciousness of rectitude and security supplanting it, “I have Mr. -Brewster’s note of yesterday, asking me to come to him, as he had a -special commission for me, and then the very fact of my having his -keys proves that I am here under orders,” and again he held them up -to his companion’s view.</p> - -<p>“H’m! so he wrote you to come to him, did he?” queried John Hubbard -thoughtfully. “Where is the note? I should like to see it.”</p> - -<p>Gerald put his hand into his coat-pocket; then suddenly remembered -that he had put on his best suit that morning.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” he said, “it is in the pocket of my other coat.”</p> - -<p>John Hubbard’s eyes gleamed with a cunning light at this -information.</p> - -<p>“Well, you will doubtless need all the proof you can bring to -get you out of this scrape,” he gruffly observed. “Maybe you can -produce such a note, but I doubt it. Did any one see Mr. Brewster -give you those keys?”</p> - -<p>Gerald’s heart sank at the question, as he remembered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> that he and -his employer had been utterly alone throughout their interview, -except for the few minutes that Allison was in the room, and he was -sure she had heard nothing that would prove the truth of what he -had asserted. At least he knew she was not there when the keys were -given to him.</p> - -<p>“You have no right to question me like this, or to doubt my word, -and I will have no further conversation with you about the matter,” -he responded, after a moment of thought.</p> - -<p>But he was deathly pale as he stooped to recover the box that had -fallen. He found that it was not broken; the lock had only been -forced by the fall. He carefully arranged the jewels which had been -somewhat displaced, although, fortunately, none had been spilled; -then, shutting the box, he relocked it with the key which he took -from his vest-pocket.</p> - -<p>John Hubbard watched him warily while he was thus engaged. “I will -take charge of those things,” he sternly observed, as Gerald was -about to replace the key in his pocket.</p> - -<p>“Excuse me; but I do not think you will,” the young man coldly -returned.</p> - -<p>“I am Mr. Brewster’s attorney, and it will be my duty to settle his -estate; consequently all his property will pass through my hands. -Give me those boxes!” the man concluded authoritatively.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span></p> -<p>“No, sir. Mr. Brewster authorized me to take them to his house; I -shall do as he ordered, and since you say he is no longer living, -give them to Miss Brewster; he stated that he wanted the jewels for -her.”</p> - -<p>And he started to leave the vault as he concluded.</p> - -<p>“You will do no such thing, you young upstart!” snarled John -Hubbard, at the same time making an agile spring backward out of -the vault, when he swung to the ponderous door almost before Gerald -comprehended his intention.</p> - -<p>“Now, you beggarly upstart, I have you just where I want you,” -he cried, in a cruel, exultant tone, and putting his lips to the -keyhole, “I once gave you an object-lesson regarding your fate if -you continued to stand in my way.”</p> - -<p>Gerald did not deign to reply to these taunts and presently he -knew, by the closing of the outer door of the bank, that he was -alone.</p> - -<p>His heart was very heavy, for he began to realize that his case was -desperate. Fate and his evil-minded foe had conspired to so involve -him in a network of compromising circumstances, it seemed likely -that he was destined to be proved a graceless scamp and a daring -robber.</p> - -<p>His employer, the only one who had it in his power to exonerate him -from blame and prove his innocence, was dead.</p> - -<p>He felt almost sure that John Hubbard intended to bring an officer -there to arrest him, with the evidences of his guilt around him.</p> - -<p>With this thought there came the temptation to restore those boxes -to the secret vault from which he had taken them.</p> - -<p>Mr. Brewster had said that no one, save himself and the man who -constructed it, knew of its existence. If<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> he should conceal those -jewels and the other box, there would be no evidence, beyond John -Hubbard’s word, to prove that he had attempted to take them from -the bank. His word would be just as good as that of his enemy, upon -whom the burden of proving his own accusations would have to rest.</p> - -<p>“But I should have to deny all knowledge of them. I should be -obliged to lie, and that I will not do, even to save my—myself -from prison,” he said to himself, with an air of proud resolution. -“No, I will tell the truth and take my chance; I have Mr. -Brewster’s note telling me to come to him; I have also his keys, -and the two taken together ought to be strong points in my defense.”</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, these arguments were small consolation in view of his -unfortunate situation.</p> - -<p>Then his thoughts reverted to Mr. Brewster, and hot tears rushed -into his eyes as he realized that the man was lying still in -death, and they would never meet in this life again. He was still -weak from the shock he had experienced upon learning the fact so -suddenly, and he wondered what could have caused the unlooked-for -attack.</p> - -<p>He had appeared to be very comfortable, and hopeful of soon getting -out again, when he had seen him the previous day, and it seemed -awful to him that he should have been so ruthlessly cut down, just -in the prime of life, and in the height of prosperity.</p> - -<p>He was wild with impatience to learn the particulars, and chafed -restively against his confinement in that tomb-like place.</p> - -<p>“Poor Allison! It will be a terrible blow to her,” he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> mused; “she -will be all alone in the world now; but she is fortunate to be left -an heiress, and thus shielded from the hardships of life.”</p> - -<p>Alas! he little thought that the fortune which would fall to the -girl was destined to bring upon her dangers and trials from which -he would have shrunk appalled could he have foreseen them.</p> - -<p>He sprang to his feet and began to pace the vault restlessly, -for a feeling of faintness and sickness came over him; he also -experienced a difficulty in breathing, as the air in the place -began to be vitiated.</p> - -<p>Suppose John Hubbard should not return in season to release him -before suffocation overtook him, he thought, a nervous chill -creeping over him; but he discarded it with a bitter smile.</p> - -<p>He well knew that the man would not dare to let him die there—that -he was planning for him a worse fate than death, out of a cruel -spirit of revenge, because he had dared to love the girl whom he, -for some strange reason, coveted. He believed that he meant to so -crush and humiliate him that he would never want to seek Allison -Brewster again, or meet the gaze of her pure, clear eyes.</p> - -<p>“He shall not do it! by Heaven! he shall not succeed in his -atrocious designs!” he cried out, in a sudden anguish, as those -torturing thoughts flitted through his brain. “I am an honest man, -and I swear I will yet prove it to the world, in spite of the worst -that he can do.”</p> - -<p>A little later he heard the outer door of the bank open and close -again, then the sound of steps and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> voices drawing near him, until -presently, the bolt which fastened the door of the vault was shot -back, and the next moment John Hubbard, accompanied by a policeman, -stood in his presence.</p> - -<p>“Here, Mr. Officer, is your prisoner, and that,” pointing to the -two boxes upon the floor, “is the booty with which he was about to -make off when I caught him,” the man explained, as he shot a look -of malignant triumph at his victim.</p> - -<p>“Humph!” ejaculated the officer, as he darted a comprehensive -glance around the place, and at the same time taking the measure of -Gerald.</p> - -<p>“It is very fortunate that I happen here just as I did,” Mr. -Hubbard went on. “I seldom come to the bank on Sunday, but there -were some papers here which I was obliged to have to-day, and thus -I came upon him in the midst of his depredations.”</p> - -<p>“H’m! you look rather young and green to be a bank-robber,” the -policeman remarked, not unkindly, as he searched the pale, handsome -face of his prisoner; “you don’t seem like the sort, either, that -would be up to such business.”</p> - -<p>“I am no bank-robber,” said Gerald, with quiet dignity, and meeting -the man’s searching look unflinchingly, “I am here under orders.”</p> - -<p>“Whose orders?”</p> - -<p>“My employer’s, Mr. Brewster’s,” and Gerald proceeded to give him -a brief account of the facts of the case, though he said nothing -about the secret vault.</p> - -<p>“That sounds all straight and right,” said the policeman, as he -gravely turned to Mr. Hubbard.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yes; he tells a very plausible story,” was the sneering response, -“but it is perfectly absurd, when you come to think of it, that -Mr. Brewster should intrust such a commission to a mere boy, when -I have been his attorney, and have conducted his affairs for -years; and on Sunday, with so much secrecy, too! That was not Adam -Brewster’s way of doing business; it is far more likely that he -would have sent for what he wanted, openly and aboveboard, and on -some day during regular banking hours. No, sir; he can’t pull the -wool over my eyes; and as I feel bound to protect the interests of -my late client, I shall expect you to do your duty, and take the -fellow in charge,” he concluded authoritatively.</p> - -<p>“Well, I suppose I must,” the man responded, with evident -reluctance, adding, as he drew from a capacious pocket a pair of -steel bracelets, “hold out your hands, my young man.”</p> - -<p>Gerald shrank back a step.</p> - -<p>“Oh! not that!” he said, with pale lips; “I beg you will not -handcuff me. I will go with you peaceably.”</p> - -<p>“Well, maybe you would. I’m inclined to believe you; but it’s my -rule to make sure of my birds, and I don’t make any exceptions,” -said the man, as he dexterously slipped the shackles upon the -wrists of his prisoner; but with an air that betrayed he did not -very much relish the business in hand.</p> - -<p>“The keys, Mr. Officer; I must have the keys,” John Hubbard -interposed, as they were about to leave the vault.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Where are they, youngster?” demanded the man. “Hand them over.”</p> - -<p>“They are in the left pocket of my coat,” said Gerald, with -difficulty repressing a groan over his ignominious and utter -failure to execute his employer’s commission.</p> - -<p>He was impressed that the larger box contained some secret which -Mr. Brewster would not, on any account, have made known to the -world, and he could not bear the thought that John Hubbard would -now learn it, and perhaps put it to an ignoble use.</p> - -<p>The expert plunged his hand into the pocket designated, and drew -forth the keys, after which he stooped to secure the boxes, and -left the vault, followed by the officer and his prisoner.</p> - -<p>“Now you may go and cage your bird,” he remarked to the former. “I -will let you out of the bank, but I have some business here, and -shall remain a while longer.”</p> - -<p>He unlocked the outer door, and the two men passed out into the -storm. John Hubbard stood looking after them for a few moments, a -fiendish expression on his thin face.</p> - -<p>“Gad! what luck!” he muttered. “If ever I made a shrewd move, it -was in coming here this morning to get those papers.”</p> - -<p>He returned to the vault, which he securely locked, also the gate -to the iron inclosure.</p> - -<p>Then, taking the two boxes, he went inside the banker’s private -office, and deposited them upon the table there.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Humph!” he observed, as he fastened a keen, curious glance upon -the larger, “there is no key to that, but I’m going to know what it -contains, all the same.”</p> - -<p>Whereupon he sat down, drew it to him, and deliberately began to -pick the lock.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2> - -<h3>MR. BREWSTER’S WILL.</h3> - - -<p>After Gerald left Mr. Brewster, on Saturday afternoon, the -banker—Allison also having retired—sat for a long time in deep -thought, an anxious look on his thin face, a stern expression in -his shrewd, gray eyes.</p> - -<p>“It certainly looks bad,” he muttered; “somebody has evidently been -meddling with my private accounts; but Gerald is not the rogue—he -is true to the core. I never knew any one possessing a finer sense -of honor. If I thought that Hubbard was up to any rascality—and I -am sometimes inclined to think he is too sharp—I’d cut him loose -without ceremony; and yet”—with a scowl of annoyance—“that might -not be so easily done, for some of our transactions have become -strangely mixed. Somehow, I have never had quite so much confidence -in him since that day when he proposed for Allison. I—I really -would like to break away from him before she gets through school -next summer, for, of course, she will never want to marry him, and -I am very sure I do not want him for a son-in-law.”</p> - -<p>Again he dropped into profound thought, which was finally -interrupted by the entrance of his attendant, with the light repast -which constituted his supper.</p> - -<p>A little later, Allison came again, to read the evening paper to -him, after which they chatted socially for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> a while, when the -banker said he felt weary, and would retire.</p> - -<p>His attendant was assisting him to prepare for bed when he suddenly -put his hand to his head and made an exclamation as if he were in -pain.</p> - -<p>“It is nothing,” he said, as the nurse glanced at him in surprise, -“merely a neuralgic twinge in my head; but—what is this?” he added -thickly, and beginning to rub his face, which was twitching and had -a strangely drawn look.</p> - -<p>The next moment he fell forward upon the bed, unconscious.</p> - -<p>A physician was summoned, and everything done that medical skill -could suggest; but the man never rallied; he remained in a stupor -throughout the night, until an early hour of the morning, when he -sank away like the sudden going out of a candle.</p> - -<p>Knowing that John Hubbard was her father’s attorney, and otherwise -connected with him in business, and having no relatives upon whom -to call in this emergency, Allison had sent for the lawyer, when it -was found that the banker could not live, and he had remained at -the house until the end.</p> - -<p>He assumed the care of everything, made all arrangements for the -burial, subject, of course, to Allison’s wishes and preferences, -and when these duties were over, he repaired immediately to the -bank, as there were certain papers which he wished to secure, and -certain accounts to be balanced, before Mr. Brewster’s death should -become known to the employees of the institution.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p> - -<p>It required some time for Hubbard to pick the lock of the box, for -it was strangely constructed, and, not having been disturbed for -many years, the lock was considerably rusted.</p> - -<p>But patience and perseverance at length accomplished his purpose, -when, throwing open the cover, <a name="Err10" id="Err10"></a>an exclamation of disappointment and -disgust escaped him when he found within only a few neatly folded -articles of infant’s clothing.</p> - -<p>Upon the garment uppermost there was a small pin, in the form of a -key, with a tiny diamond in the thumb-piece, which attracted his -interest for a moment.</p> - -<p>“Pshaw!” the man impatiently ejaculated. “I might have saved my -time and trouble; this trumpery doesn’t amount to anything. The -things are doubtless some of Allison’s baby-clothes, which her -mother wished to preserve for her. Bah!”</p> - -<p>He was upon the point of closing the box, when a second thought -prompted him to turn it upside down, whereupon, as the clothing -slipped out, two sealed envelopes rattled out upon the table.</p> - -<p>“Aha! this begins to be more interesting!” exclaimed the man -eagerly, a curious look leaping into his shrewd eyes. He tore open -the envelopes, one of which contained quite a bulky enclosure; the -other but a single half-sheet of paper, with some careless writing -on one side.</p> - -<p>This latter John Hubbard read first, and a look of astonishment -overspread his face while doing so.</p> - -<p>“Well! well! here is romance worth reading!” he muttered, in a -wondering tone, as he dropped the paper<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> and took up the closely -written sheets of the other missive and began to puruse them.</p> - -<p>He seemed turned to stone as he read.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“My Dear Husband,” the communication began, “I have a confession -to make to you, and I am wondering if you will ever forgive -me when you learn the nature of it. I am dying, or I fear -that I should not have the courage to make it even now; but I -dare not go out of the world weighed down with this, the only -secret I have ever kept from you, and with a living lie upon my -conscience. It is an awful secret, Adam, and you will be shocked -to your soul when you read it. Allison is not our own child, my -husband; I do not even know whose child she is. There the truth -is out at last, and, oh! my dear, my dear, I am trying to imagine -how you will receive this dreadful revelation. Why did I deceive -you so? How does it happen that our darling is not our very own? -you will ask. Ah! it is a long, sad story, but you shall have -every detail, and then judge me as you will. You remember that -when you sailed for Europe, before our own little one came, I -went to F—— to remain with my sister Nannie. Adam, that little -one died at its birth; but no one knew it save Nannie, Sarah—her -servant—and I. I had no physician, for baby came unexpectedly -in the midst of a terrible tempest, and Nannie took care of me; -but, oh! I was heartbroken when my darling died, and I grieved so -knowing how terribly you also would be disappointed, my sister -feared that you would lose me also. And now I will tell you how -strangely Allison was sent to take the place of the child we -lost. How dreadful it seems that hearts who so yearn for these -darlings are ruthlessly deprived of them, while other children -are remorselessly deserted, and left to the doubtful charity of a -cold world.”</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p> - -<p>Then there followed a full account of the incidents which have -already been related in the prologue to our story, and which it -would be wearisome to the reader to have repeated here.</p> - -<p>Nothing was withheld, neither was the deception defended; a -concise, simple statement of facts was made; but when the story was -all told the fond, yet timid, wife and mother poured out a wealth -of love for the child of her adoption, and pleaded with a pathetic -earnestness that would melt the coldest heart that her sin might -not be visited upon the innocent little daughter whom they both -so dearly loved, but that her husband, even though he had been -secretly wronged and deceived, would still continue <a name="Err11" id="Err11"></a>to tenderly -cherish her and never allow her to know the story of her desertion, -or that she was not their own flesh and blood.</p> - -<p>“Humph! My wealthy and aristocratic banker, you were smart in -certain directions, but you were inclined to neglect the burning of -your bridges behind you,” sneered Hubbard, as he finished reading. -“Doubtless that was what he meant to do, and that was why he sent -Winchester here to get the things to-day? Gad! but it is a queer -complication of circumstances—his dying so suddenly just at this -time, these papers falling into my hands, and the sweeping of that -young upstart from my path—that has conspired to throw the power -for which I have been scheming for so many years directly into my -hands in a way I least expected.”</p> - -<p>He sat for a long time absorbed in thought, his sinister face -changing in expression with the working of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> his mind, and plainly -betraying that he was plotting some deep and villainous scheme.</p> - -<p>“If she can be persuaded to marry me as soon as she finishes her -education everything can be quietly settled just to my liking; and -then, John Hubbard, you may play the high-toned gentleman to your -heart’s content for the remainder of your life. But if she should -be obstinate and refuse me——”</p> - -<p>An ugly scowl contracted his brow as he abruptly paused at this -point, while his eyes fastened themselves with an ugly glitter -in their depths upon the box whose sacred secrets he had just -fathomed. Then once more he fell into a fit of musing, which lasted -a long while.</p> - -<p>Finally he arose, and, making his way again to the vault—which he -reopened with Mr. Brewster’s key—he sought the banker’s private -drawer, removing it, and taking it, with its contents, back to the -office, when he reseated himself and began to examine the papers -within it.</p> - -<p>He finally found what he was in search of—a legal document, -which he drew from its envelope, unfolded, and began to study -attentively. After he had read it through he went back to the -first page, which he deliberately detached from the others; then, -procuring another sheet of paper exactly like it, he proceeded to -copy it, with a fountain-pen, which he always carried with him in a -hand which showed that the entire document had been written by him, -but making certain changes in the phraseology to suit himself.</p> - -<p>“There!” he observed, with an air of satisfaction as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> he finished -his work; “that will fix things just as I want them—for the -present.”</p> - -<p>He then refolded the paper, inclosed it in a fresh envelope, sealed -it with red wax, and wrote across the top of it in a bold, clear -hand, “Last will and testament of Adam Brewster.”</p> - -<p>This he replaced in the drawer, which he carried back to its place -in the vault; then, making everything secure inside the bank, he -left the building, taking with him the two boxes which he had -previously wrapped in strong brown paper.</p> - -<p>Three days later all that was mortal of Adam Brewster was laid away -in the family vault in Greenwood Cemetery.</p> - -<p>In the foremost carriage of the many which followed him to his last -resting-place sat Allison, the once petted and idolized daughter, -but now a lonely orphan, clad in deepest mourning, her fair face -pale and tear-stained from heart-breaking grief and much weeping.</p> - -<p>The faithful housekeeper, Mrs. Polard, who had been in the family -for years, occupied the seat beside her, and John Hubbard the one -opposite. He seemed in deep thought, and he scarcely took his eyes -from the bereaved girl during the melancholy drive.</p> - -<p>Immediately upon the return from this last tribute of respect to -the late banker a few persons gathered in the elegant library, -which would henceforth know his presence no more, to listen to the -reading of his last will and testament.</p> - -<p>Mr. Hubbard broke the seals in the presence of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> gentleman’s -pastor, two of the older officers of the bank, Allison and Mrs. -Pollard.</p> - -<p>The document was rather brief, considering the magnitude of the -testator’s fortune, and to the point, and was dated some eight -years previous.</p> - -<p>It bequeathed all that he might die possessed of to his only and -beloved child, Allison Porter Brewster, excepting certain bequests. -“And I hereby appoint John L. Hubbard, my trusted attorney, to be -her sole guardian—if he be living at the time of my demise—until -she shall attain her twenty-fifth year, when she shall come into -the unrestricted possession of her whole fortune,” read the will.</p> - -<p>Allison listened attentively to the reading of the will, although -she had flushed hotly upon learning that she was to be under the -guardianship of John Hubbard during the next six or seven years.</p> - -<p>She had never liked her father’s attorney, although he had always -treated her with the utmost kindness and respect. But she knew that -her father had long trusted him in business, and therefore, she -tried to think that he must have considered him the most competent -and trustworthy person to manage her property, or he would not have -given him so much power.</p> - -<p>Still, she would have preferred almost any one else; she felt that -he might, at least, have consulted her, since she had grown old -enough to think for herself, and not condemned her to such a long -and wearisome bondage to one who was so uncongenial to her in every -way.</p> - -<p>Of course, she did not once dream that her father’s will had been -tampered with since his death.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p> - -<p>After the reading of the will, those who had been invited to be -present during that formality took their leave, and Allison found -herself alone with the man to whom, for the next six or seven -years, she was to look for the management of her affairs.</p> - -<p>He now remained with her for a half-hour or more, consulting her -wishes with a gentle deference which disarmed her, and made her -feel that perhaps, after all, he might be a very agreeable sort of -person to have for a guardian.</p> - -<p>He came again the next day and every day throughout the -week—always upon some business which he contrived to make so -interesting that Allison really began to look forward to his coming -and to greet him with a growing cordiality and frankness that -made the man’s heart burn with eager hope and the belief that he -was destined to win the great stakes which for years he had been -playing.</p> - -<p>One morning, after an unusually entertaining call he arose to -leave, remarking, in a laughing way:</p> - -<p>“Well, Allison, I begin to think you would make quite a business -woman with the right coaching; you have been <a name="Err12" id="Err12"></a>quite an apt pupil -during the last few days.”</p> - -<p>She glanced up at him with a smile, and then a sob burst -involuntarily from her.</p> - -<p>The man started, and bent a tender look upon her.</p> - -<p>“Dear child, what is it?” he questioned, earnestly.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I am so alone!” she moaned, tears raining over her face.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> “This -great house seems so desolate, so empty! I feel as if I could -not live here another day,” she concluded, glancing around the -spacious, elegant room, and shivering nervously.</p> - -<p>“I know you must be lonely, dear,” he said, trembling himself, as -he leaned eagerly toward her, “and it pains me deeply to see you so -sorrowful. I would that I might shield you from every pang, from -every ill in life. Allison, may I?”</p> - -<p>His voice was husky from mingled emotion and tenderness; he was -very pale from the intensity of passion that throbbed in every -pulse of his being; and Allison, looking up at him with a sudden -shock, read in his burning eyes the story that he was yearning to -tell her.</p> - -<p>A hot flush instantly suffused her own face; then she shrank from -him with a gesture of unmistakable repugnance.</p> - -<p>But he had no intention of losing the vantage-ground that he had -gained, and, bending still nearer her, he captured one of her hands.</p> - -<p>“I perceive that you have fathomed my secret, my darling,” he said, -in a tremulous tone. “Yes, I love you, sweet. I have loved you ever -since you were a little girl, and have lived for years with the one -hope in view of some day winning your love in return. Now let me -become your guardian in more senses than one, Allison. Become my -wife and give me the right to smooth every rough place in life for -you; let me shield you from every rude wind and storm——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t! don’t!” suddenly interposed the girl, and snatching her -hand from his grasp.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> “Oh, why do you say such things to me? You -have no right to take advantage of my sorrow and loneliness. I -will not listen to you!”</p> - -<p>“Hush, my child!” said her companion gently, but growing very white -about the mouth. “My declaration may seem somewhat premature, but -I have waited many years for the time to come when I might tell -you that all the hopes of my life were centered in you. I can wait -still longer, Allison—I can even be as patient as Jacob of old if -you will give me a crumb of comfort—if you will tell me that I may -hope to win you at last——”</p> - -<p>“No! no! <a name="Err13" id="Err13"></a>I never could marry you,” Alison cried wildly, and with -such significant emphasis there was no mistaking her attitude -toward her would-be lover, and which stung him like a lash.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> - -<h3>EVIDENCE BY MR. PLUM.</h3> - - -<p>“Very well; we will drop the subject for the present,” John Hubbard -remarked, with compressed lips, and making a visible effort for -self-control, “but I want you to think over what I have said, and -be prepared to give me a different answer later on.”</p> - -<p>Allison started, and something in his tone stirred her anger and -instantly restored all her self-possession.</p> - -<p>“No,” she said decidedly, as she lifted her beautiful eyes, and -steadily met his, “I do not need to think it over, and I could -not give you any different answer later on. I know now that I do -not love you well enough to marry you, and never shall; so, Mr. -Hubbard, please never speak of this again to me.”</p> - -<p>Her manner was so resolute, her tone so calmly authoritative he -knew that she meant every word she uttered, and a terrible though -silent rage took possession of him.</p> - -<p>But he had far too much at stake to betray it, and thus incur -her enmity. He meant to move heaven and earth to win her and her -magnificent fortune. He meant to have both, if he could; but if she -proved obstinate, and would not marry him, he had other plans—he -would ruthlessly crush her, and so eventually win her money. Still, -a young and pretty wife was worth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> temporizing for; and so, with a -forced smile, he said:</p> - -<p>“My child, I love you far too well to bring even a cloud to your -dear face, so we will drop the subject for the present, and some -time, perhaps, you will realize the value of a true and faithful -heart.”</p> - -<p>When he went away, Alison, with a troubled face, watched him from a -window, as he passed down the street.</p> - -<p>“Ugh!” she cried, shrugging her shoulders impatiently. “I could -never marry him—never! Why, he is years and years older than I! -Then he has such horrid eyes, and, when he smiles, his teeth look -just like those of an ugly dog through that mustache of his, and -make my flesh creep. I don’t believe that any man so repulsive can -be really good, and I wonder how papa could have trusted him as he -seemed to. I suppose, though, he must be a good business man; but -marry him! I’d rather go into a convent and live out the rest of my -life as a nun,” she concluded, with a shiver of disgust.</p> - -<p>Then, suddenly, her thoughts reverted to Gerald, and a little color -came back to her pale cheeks.</p> - -<p>“I wonder where he can be,” she mused. “I think it is so strange -that he has not been here—that he did not come to papa’s funeral, -and has not even sent me a note to tell me that he is sorry for my -trouble—he might, at least, have done as much as that.”</p> - -<p>Her lips quivered, and hot tears rushed to her eyes, in view of -this seeming neglect.</p> - -<p>Many times during those days of loneliness and sorrow she had -thought that if she could see Gerald, if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> only for a few minutes, -his presence would be an inexpressible comfort to her; but she had -told herself that it was his duty to either come to her, or send -her a note of condolence, and she had been too proud to write and -ask him to come.</p> - -<p>But now, after her disagreeable interview with her guardian, the -longing for him became so intense that, after struggling for a few -moments with her emotions, she bowed her face upon her hands, and -burst into violent weeping.</p> - -<p>But poor Gerald was still a prisoner, awaiting his trial, which, -for some inexplicable reason, had been deferred, from day to day, -until he was now very impatient and miserable.</p> - -<p>On Monday, after his arrest, he had sent a note to Professor -Emerson, who, after listening to the young man’s story, looked -grave and perplexed. The case seemed difficult, <a name="Err14" id="Err14"></a>and he at once -procured a lawyer, Mr. Arnold, for the prisoner. The latter at -Gerald’s request, went to his room to procure the note that Mr. -Brewster had written to him, but it was nowhere to be found.</p> - -<p>The landlady was interviewed to ascertain, if possible, if any one -outside the house had been in his room during his absence; but both -she and the chambermaid asserted that there had not.</p> - -<p>It was, nevertheless, a fact that John Hubbard had himself been -there. As it happened, he knew another lodger in the same house, -and on Monday evening following Gerald’s arrest, he called upon -him, making a plausible errand of some kind. In this way he -learned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> that Gerald’s room was located upon the same floor, and -upon taking his leave, he shyly slipped into our hero’s apartment, -and in less than two minutes reappeared with Mr. Brewster’s note in -his possession, thus depriving his victim of an important piece of -evidence.</p> - -<p>Gerald, in laying his case before his lawyer, did not mention -Allison, or the fact that she had been present in the room during -any portion of his interview with her father.</p> - -<p>He really believed that she had not entered in season to overhear -anything that had been said about the “doctored” accounts, and -even if he had known that such was the case, it is doubtful if -he could have brought himself to call upon her as a witness for -him. The thought of dragging her into a criminal court, to have -her name bandied about by newspaper reporters, was very repugnant -to him. Besides, she had not shown the slightest interest in him, -or sympathy for him in his trouble. He reasoned that she could -not fail to know of it, since it had been widely chronicled in -the papers, and her apparent indifference cut him to the quick, -wounding his pride as well as his love, and thus a certain -obstinacy took possession of him, and made him secretly vow that he -would not appeal to her, even if he knew that her evidence would -save him from serving a sentence in State prison.</p> - -<p>The real facts of the case were, that during the first few days -after her father’s death, Allison had been so prostrated with grief -that it had been comparatively easy for John Hubbard to keep all -newspapers from her, which he had taken special pains to do, as he -did not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> care to have her know anything of Gerald’s trouble until -it was too late for her to interest herself for him. He believed -that he had played his cards so cleverly that his conviction was -inevitable, and, once behind prison-bars, he believed the fair girl -would never give him another thought.</p> - -<p>The case was finally called on the Tuesday following Mr. Brewster’s -burial. John Hubbard appeared against Gerald armed and equipped -with the falsified books, the casket of jewels, and the other box, -which had been carefully relocked, for the wily plotter had no -intention of having its secrets disclosed at present—those he was -reserving for later schemes in connection with Allison.</p> - -<p>The evidence for the prosecution was presented, with all the -eloquence and cunning of which the expert was master, and to every -listener in the room the fate of Gerald appeared settled before he -concluded.</p> - -<p>There were very few witnesses for the prisoner. The servant who -had admitted him to the Brewster mansion on the Saturday previous -to his master’s death, swore to the fact, thus proving that he -had been there, and Professor Emerson, <a name="Err15" id="Err15"></a>on taking the stand, spoke -eloquently and in the highest terms of his pupil, and emphatically -asserted that he believed him to be above doing a mean or dishonest -act. But, of course, all this proved nothing.</p> - -<p>Gerald was then allowed to go upon the stand, and tell his own -story, and the moment that he turned his frank, handsome face -to the audience, when he met those critical, searching glances -with his clear, honest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> eyes, and manly bearing, it was evident -that he made a favorable impression upon every person in the -room—excepting his sworn enemy. When he finally concluded, Hubbard -demanded the production of the note from Mr. Brewster relating to -“a special commission.”</p> - -<p>“It cannot be found,” Mr. Arnold gravely responded. “Mr. Winchester -left it in a pocket of his business-suit on Sunday, when he went -to the bank to execute his employer’s commission. He has not been -in his room since; but when I was authorized to go to his room to -secure this note, it had mysteriously disappeared. Nevertheless, -the fact that he went to Mr. Brewster’s residence on the date -stated, and was admitted to the man’s presence, proves conclusively -that he was sent for.”</p> - -<p>“Not at all,” retorted the prosecuting-attorney, “any one might -have called at the banker’s residence, requested an audience, and -been admitted to his presence without a previous appointment. We -are not asking opinions, your honor, we want evidence. You assert,” -he added, turning to Gerald, “that Mr. Brewster gave you the keys -to the bank and his private drawer in the vault. Will you state -where he took them from before handing them to you?”</p> - -<p>“From a drawer in the table beside him.”</p> - -<p>“Exactly. Where any one could easily have secured them in the -event of Mr. Brewster’s back being turned for a moment,” retorted -the expert laconically. “Now, with reference to these falsified -accounts,” said Hubbard, touching the books before him, his white -teeth gleaming viciously for a moment beneath his mustache,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> “you -claim, I believe, that they are none of your work—that some -one else has changed your figures. We would like to have your -statements proven, young man.”</p> - -<p>“I never knowingly made a false entry in my life,” Gerald proudly -returned, but flushing hotly beneath the man’s insolent manner; “my -own figures were all correct when entered, but my ‘ones’ have been -made over into fours, nines, sevens, zeros, and so forth——”</p> - -<p>“But the proof, young man—the proof!” interposed his tormentor.</p> - -<p>“If any one will add the columns, calling such figures as I should -point out, ‘ones,’ the balance would be found correct in every -instance,” Gerald replied.</p> - -<p>“Possibly, but we want evidence to prove that those ‘ones’ have -been changed.”</p> - -<p>“You can have it, sir,” said Mr. Arnold, in a brisk, businesslike -tone, that made John Hubbard prick up his ears, and, at a signal, -another witness now came forward.</p> - -<p>He was a small, olive-complexioned man, with straight black hair, -small, sharp features, with a pair of keen, black eyes, which were -shaded by steel-bowed spectacles.</p> - -<p>His manner was abrupt, and there was a decisive air about him which -indicated strong personality, while he rejoiced in the sobriquet of -Plum—Mr. Thomas Plum.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Plum,” courteously observed Mr. Arnold,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> “will you tell the -court what you have discovered with reference to those ‘doctored -accounts’?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, yes, sir,” responded the brisk little man, taking out -some tablets, “I find no less than eighty instances where the -figure ‘one’ has been skilfully changed to some other figure, -in those accounts, and covering a period of from sixteen, to -eighteen months. If the figures were added as ones, which they -were originally, the balance would, in every instance, be correct; -but, according to the changes made, there seems to be a deficit of -several hundreds of dollars.”</p> - -<p>John Hubbard suddenly sat erect, an alert spark glittering in his -cold, gray eyes.</p> - -<p>“So you assert, under oath, Mr. Plum, that those figures have -all been changed since the original balances were made up?” he -observed, in a metallic tone.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” briefly but positively.</p> - -<p>“You are willing to swear that the work was all square and right -when the clerk left it under the dates there recorded?”</p> - -<p>“Exactly, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Prove it, if you please.”</p> - -<p>“That I am prepared to do,” said the expert cheerfully, but -flashing a look at his questioner which sent a sudden chill through -him. “In the first place, Mr. Winchester’s figures were all entered -with the same ink, and with a fine-pointed steel pen. The figures -that have been tampered with show a different ink, and were -evidently changed with a gold, and, probably, a fountain-pen.”</p> - -<p>“How can you detect between the work of a gold and a steel pen?” -queried Hubbard, with a skeptical smile.</p> - -<p>An answering smile curved the lips of Mr. Plum.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p> - -<p>“With the utmost ease, sir, as you would soon discover were you -to study the subject with the aid of a powerful microscope. The -ink flows very differently from a gold and from a steel pen. My -examination has proved to me that Mr. Winchester was not guilty of -any of the changes referred to—his figures all being very decided, -especially in their angles, while the work of the real culprit, -although very cleverly done, shows a certain individuality of -roundness about the angles that appears nowhere in Mr. Winchester’s -figures. Your honor will observe by the aid of this powerful glass -the peculiarities of which I have spoken,” Mr. Plum concluded, -as he passed a small case up to the judge, who, after making a -careful examination of certain figures, pointed out to him, gravely -observed:</p> - -<p>“I do so observe; it is evident that the changes were not made by -the prisoner.”</p> - -<p>Gerald’s face lighted with pleasure at this remark, but his joy was -short-lived, for the matter of the doctored accounts was dropped -then and the charge of theft taken up.</p> - -<p>There followed a long, sharp contest, during which his counsel -fought nobly every inch of ground for him; but the burden of proof -was all against him, and when the case was finally summed up the -outlook was certainly very discouraging.</p> - -<p>The judge had been strongly attracted toward Gerald by his frank, -honest face, his manly bearing, and his straightforward story; -but he was reluctantly compelled to admit that the evidence was -decidedly against the prisoner, and he rose to address the jury<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> -and summarize the testimony, but before he could utter a word the -door of the court-room was thrown open, and a slender, black-robed -figure darted inside, and walked, with a quick, firm tread directly -toward him.</p> - -<p>The intruder was Allison Brewster.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a><a name="Err16" id="Err16"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2> - -<h3>AN IMPORTANT WITNESS.</h3> - - -<p>The fair girl looked wan, thin, and sad, her recent bereavement -having worn heavily upon her. But there was a spot of scarlet upon -each cheek, called there by the excitement of the moment, while -there was also a gleam of mingled indignation and determination in -her beautiful blue eyes, which bespoke some high purpose in view.</p> - -<p>Gerald half-started from his seat as he saw her enter the -court-room, then a swift, hot flush mounted to his forehead, and -he sank back with averted face and painfully compressed lips. As -Allison went swiftly across the room her eyes met those of John -Hubbard, who sprang to his feet, repressing an oath, and hurried -forward to meet her, while the judge paused in surprise at the -strange interruption.</p> - -<p>“Are you Gerald’s counsel?” Allison questioned excitedly, as her -guardian came to her side.</p> - -<p>“No,” he said briefly, then added, in a tone of displeasure, “but -why are you here? This is no place for you.”</p> - -<p>“Who is his lawyer, then?” she demanded, without heeding his -objection to her presence.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p> -<p>“No one whom you know; but the case is almost concluded—the judge -is about to address the jury. Come, let me take you out.”</p> - -<p>“Will Gerald be acquitted?” queried Allison, anxiously.</p> - -<p>“I—I cannot say,” the man faltered, his glance wavering before -her. “But, come now.”</p> - -<p>“No, not until I know how this case is going,” said Allison -sharply. “Oh, why did you not tell me about it? I never knew a word -of it until an hour ago, when I went to the bank to get something -that belonged to papa, which I wanted very much, and Mr. Whipple -told me what was going on here.”</p> - -<p>The truth was that Allison so yearned to see Gerald that she had -made an errand to the bank for that very purpose, when, upon -inquiring for him, she had learned the truth, and then, nearly wild -with grief, hastened to the courthouse with the hope of being able -to help him in some way.</p> - -<p>“Order!” some one now called out, for the judge was still waiting -for the prosecuting-attorney to return to his seat.</p> - -<p>“Who brought this charge against Gerald?” Allison questioned -eagerly, but lowering her voice.</p> - -<p>“I did,” returned her companion, now white with anger, as he -realized that she would not yield to him, and had some definite -purpose in view.</p> - -<p>“You? Why did you do it?” Allison demanded, with blazing eyes.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p> -<p>“Because I caught him in the act of stealing from the vault of the -bank.”</p> - -<p>“Never! Gerald could not be guilty of theft,” whispered the girl -hoarsely.</p> - -<p>“Unfortunately, his guilt has been proven. Now will you come?” And -the man laid an authoritative hand upon her arm.</p> - -<p>She drew herself haughtily away from him, and, turning, bent her -gaze upon Gerald, who was responding to some question just put to -him by his counsel.</p> - -<p>“Order!” again called the voice; but Allison, all unmindful of the -fact that she was becoming conspicuous, glided straight to the side -of Albert Arnold.</p> - -<p>“Are you Mr. Winchester’s lawyer?” she inquired, at the same time -bestowing a tremulous smile upon Gerald.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” he replied, smiling encouragement upon her, for he began to -see a gleam of hope for his client, as Gerald had just told him who -she was.</p> - -<p>“Then I have something to tell you,” she said, eagerly; “I would -have come before, but I did not know anything about this—this -trouble until within an hour. Am I too late to help Gerald?”</p> - -<p>“I hope not, my dear young lady, although, to use a slang -expression, it is a pretty close shave. Your honor,” turning to the -judge, with fresh energy, “this young lady is Miss Brewster, and -she informs me that she has some evidence to give in favor of my -client.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know the nature of it?” inquired his honor.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p> -<p>“I do not; had I known that she was qualified to testify, I should -have called her as a witness long before this.”</p> - -<p>“She may take the stand,” said the judge, resuming his seat with a -feeling of secret satisfaction.</p> - -<p>“I object, your honor,” John Hubbard here interposed. “Miss -Brewster is my ward—she can know nothing of the affair, and this -is no place for her. The case is almost concluded—the evidence has -been submitted, and——”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Hubbard, the young lady has voluntarily come here to give -evidence for the prisoner, and her testimony will be received,” -interposed the judge, with considerable sternness, adding, -peremptorily: “Officer, swear the witness.”</p> - -<p>After Allison was sworn, he courteously remarked:</p> - -<p>“Now, Miss Brewster, you may proceed.”</p> - -<p>“I am told,” the fair witness began, but now very pale, “that Mr. -Winchester is being tried for the crime of robbery. I know that he -is guiltless, for I have heard my father say, many times, that he -was the most trustworthy young man he ever met. I have heard him -say that he was ‘almost morbidly honest.’ I have learned today that -this supposed robbery was committed on Sunday, the—the morning -after my father died.” Allison’s voice wavered slightly here.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> “But -I am sure there was no theft—no intent to steal; I believe that he -was sent to the bank to get the articles found in his possession. -I know he came to see papa on Saturday—the day before—for I went -into the room while he was there. I am sure, too, that he must have -come by appointment, for my father denied himself to all visitors, -and seldom saw any one outside the family except on necessary -business. If Mr. Winchester says that he gave him the keys to the -bank to enable him to perform this errand, I know he must have done -so, for he is incapable of falsehood.”</p> - -<p>The court-room might have been empty, it was so still. There was -not a sound save that sweet, young voice, which was like music -to at least one pair of eager ears, as it bravely rehearsed the -sterling qualities of her persecuted lover.</p> - -<p>The audience listened spellbound—even the judge betrayed, by his -eager attitude, how intensely interested he was, while John Hubbard -was as white as the handkerchief with which, from time to time, he -wiped the moisture from his forehead.</p> - -<p>“Neither my father nor Mr. Winchester was aware of my presence in -the room until a minute or two after I entered,” Allison resumed, -after a momentary pause, “and as I stepped inside the portiéres I -heard Gerald say, ‘I have never made a false entry in one of your -books.’ ‘I am sure you have not, Gerald,’ papa replied. ‘I would -stake my fortune upon your integrity, and your faithfulness to my -interests. I will look into this matter as soon as I am able.’ Then -I made it known that I was in the room, and, a few minutes later, -Mr. Winchester went away.”</p> - -<p>Allison heaved a sigh of relief as she concluded, although she -would have been willing to talk on indefinitely if she could have -given conclusive proof of Gerald’s innocence. But the little -that she had told tallied so exactly with his own account of his -conversation with Mr. Brewster that it proved a great deal for him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Do you think it would have been possible for Mr. Winchester to get -possession of your father’s keys without his knowledge?” Gerald’s -counsel inquired, a ring of triumph in his tones.</p> - -<p>“Certainly not,” Allison replied confidently; “papa always kept -them in a small drawer of a table in his room. He was sitting close -beside it when I entered the room, and Mr. Winchester was on the -opposite side of the table, and there is no drawer on that side.”</p> - -<p>There was a little burst of applause at this latter statement, -which plainly betrayed the sympathy of those who had listened to -the evidence.</p> - -<p>Mr. Arnold said he had no further questions to ask, and John -Hubbard refusing, with frigid dignity, to catechise his ward, -Allison was allowed to leave the stand.</p> - -<p>The judge then remarked that, in view of the evidence just given, -the aspect of the whole case was reversed, and it was self-evident -that the prisoner was innocent of all wrong. The jury announced a -verdict of acquittal without leaving their seats.</p> - -<p>The moment the court was adjourned, and before her guardian could -intercept her, she darted to Gerald’s side and cordially shook -hands with him, after which he formally introduced her to his -lawyer, who commended her most heartily for the step she had taken, -and the timely aid she had given his client.</p> - -<p>“Gerald,” she asked, with a look of reproach, “why didn’t you call -upon me as a witness?”</p> - -<p>He flushed at the question.</p> - -<p>“I could not,” he replied, with evident embarrassment;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> “I could -not endure the thought of your coming to such a place, and, -besides, I did not know how much or how little you had heard of my -conversation with Mr. Brewster.”</p> - -<p>“But, at least, you might have let me know that you were in -trouble,” Allison returned, with a flash of resentment, while hot -tears of wounded feeling rushed to her eyes.</p> - -<p>“I supposed, of course, you knew,” he faltered, flushing -sensitively, “the newspapers were full of the affair.”</p> - -<p>“But I didn’t see the papers.” Then, with a searching look into his -face, she added: “If you believed I was aware of your trouble, you -must have thought me very—very unfriendly and indifferent—not to -send you some word of sympathy, nor come near you.”</p> - -<p>Again Gerald flushed.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid I haven’t been quite just to you,” he confessed.</p> - -<p>“Well?” questioned the girl, somewhat sharply, as a hand was at -that moment laid upon her arm, and she turned to find her guardian -at her side.</p> - -<p>“I have come to take you home,” he briefly remarked.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Mr. Hubbard,” she coldly returned, “but I am not going -home at present, and I will not detain you. The carriage is waiting -for me, and I have several errands to attend to before dinner.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, then, I will escort you to your carriage before I go,” -the man responded, white in his lips with inward rage over his -defeat.</p> - -<p>She gave her head a little independent toss, but she did not quite -dare to defy him further, for his tone had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> been authoritative, and -she knew she must go. But first she turned to Gerald and extended -her hand.</p> - -<p>“Good-by, Gerald,” she said. “I am so glad that all has ended well -for you.” Then she added, in a hurried whisper, “Come and tell me -about it—come to-morrow afternoon.”</p> - -<p>Gerald thanked her, and telegraphed his assent to her request by a -nod and a significant pressure of the hand he held.</p> - -<p>Then, after bidding Mr. Arnold good-by, she signified to Mr. -Hubbard her readiness to go, and so passed out of the court-room -with him, but with a frigid manner and haughty bearing which warned -him that it might not be to his advantage to presume too much -upon his office as guardian of this spirited young lady; that the -employment of tact might be more effectual.</p> - -<p>Upon reaching the carriage, Allison sprang in, before he could put -forth a hand to assist her, and she did not even offer to take him -along, and drop him at the bank on her way up-town.</p> - -<p>She was inwardly boiling with rage and resentment toward him, -because he had been instrumental in bringing Gerald into such -trouble and disgrace, and she told herself that she should hate him -for it as long as she lived.</p> - -<p>He was secretly chafed by her attitude, and yet there was something -of amusement and admiration, as well as of anger, in the look with -which he regarded her, as he closed the door of the vehicle.</p> - -<p>She was very pretty—“deucedly pretty,” as he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> mentally expressed -it—with that spirited air, that defiant flash in her beautiful -eyes, and the angry scarlet in her cheeks.</p> - -<p>He had never seen her in such a mood before, but it only added to -her charms, and he thought he rather liked it—unless it should -become too emphatic—unless she should defy all curbing by “taking -the bit in those dainty white teeth of hers.”</p> - -<p>He bent forward through the open window and intercepted her glance -with a smiling, indulgent look.</p> - -<p>“I seem to have incurred your displeasure in some way, Miss -Allison,” he remarked, in a friendly tone. “Don’t you think you -are a trifle unjust to me? I am certainly ignorant of any wilful -offense against you.”</p> - -<p>“But you said you caused Gerald’s arrest,” Allison began, excitedly.</p> - -<p>“And so I did,” he quietly interposed.</p> - -<p>“How could you? how could you?” she burst forth angrily; “it was an -outrage, for there isn’t a more honest fellow living than Gerald -Winchester, and papa——”</p> - -<p>“Softly, Allison, softly!” her companion interrupted, a cruel -spark leaping into his eyes. “Don’t allow your personal regard for -the young man to run away with your judgment. My fidelity to my -employer’s interests demands that if I find a burglar in the act of -robbing his bank I must guard them to the extent of the law, even -though its clutch falls upon a confidential clerk.”</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span></p> -<p>“But you might have given Gerald the benefit of the doubt, when he -had the keys—when you knew he had never been guilty of a mean or -dishonorable act since he came into papa’s employ,” the fair girl -persisted, adding tremulously. “Oh, it would have been too dreadful -if I had not found out about it!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, doubtless Winchester would have had a three years’ sentence -to serve,” John Hubbard returned, indifferently. “But,” he added, -assuming a blandness he was far from feeling, “I will not keep you -here discussing the matter further, even though I should be glad to -convince you of my fidelity to your father, and to assure you that -I shall continue to labor as faithfully for your interests.”</p> - -<p>Allison gave a little shrug of impatience at this latter remark, -thus plainly indicating that it would have pleased her better if -she could have had some one more congenial to guard her interests.</p> - -<p>The lawyer’s white teeth gleamed at her for an instant from beneath -his mustache; then he remarked, in a matter-of-fact tone:</p> - -<p>“By the way, you said you had some errands to attend to. Have you -plenty of money for your purpose?”</p> - -<p>“I have my check-book, thank you, and do not need any money,” -Allison coldly returned, drawing her coat more closely about her as -a hint that she did not care to be detained longer.</p> - -<p>The man looked a trifle surprised at her reply.</p> - -<p>“Very well, good-day,” he said, as he lifted his hat and stepped -back, whereupon Allison was driven away.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2> - -<h3>A THRILLING ADVENTURE.</h3> - - -<p>“Humph! So the little minx has her check-book!” mused John Hubbard, -as he bent his steps toward the bank after Allison’s departure, an -ugly gleam in his cold blue eyes. “That old dotard, her father, -must have had considerable confidence in her financial ability to -trust her to that extent! However, the game is pretty well in my -hands, and I haven’t much anxiety about the result. I’ll win her if -I can; I’ll drive her if need be—but I’ll crush her if she defies -me!”</p> - -<p>Musing thus, the wily schemer proceeded on his way; but, always -intolerant of opposition, he was in no amiable frame of mind when -he finally reached his office, and settled down to a pile of -accumulated work that had been neglected for the outside demands -upon his time during the week just passed.</p> - -<p>As he sat down to his desk he opened one of the books which he had -produced in court to show that Gerald had been guilty of falsifying -his accounts, and began to study it intently.</p> - -<p>“Humph!” he ejaculated.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> “I could have sworn that there is not a -man living who could detect any change in those figures! That -glass must have been wonderfully powerful, and that expert a keen -hand at his business. He has made a study of chirography to some -purpose! I wonder where they found him? I never heard of him -before, although Judge Haight seemed to recognize him. A man needs -to have his wits about him nowadays, if he intends to do crooked -work.” With which sage reflection Mr. Hubbard closed the book with -an impatient bang, and, turning to his papers, was soon absorbed in -his work.</p> - -<p>An hour later Gerald walked into the bank, when he was most -cordially greeted and congratulated by his fellow clerks, with whom -he had worked so long. He then went directly to Mr. Brewster’s -private office, where he found John Hubbard occupying the late -banker’s chair and desk.</p> - -<p>The man looked up with a scowl as he entered.</p> - -<p>“Well,” he remarked frigidly, “did you think you could come back to -your old place?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not, Mr. Hubbard. There is no Mr. Brewster to require a -confidential clerk,” Gerald gravely returned. “I have simply come -to take away what few things belong to me.”</p> - -<p>“Very well; be as expeditious as possible about it,” was the -caustic rejoinder, as the man turned his back upon him.</p> - -<p>Gerald quietly gathered up his personal belongings and made them -into a neat package, put the desk where he had labored so long in -perfect order, then left the room and the bank, nodding a friendly -adieu to the other clerks as he went, but with a very heavy heart, -for without a position and with no influential friends to back him, -the outlook was very dark for him.</p> - -<p>That evening he called upon Professor Emerson,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> with whom he had a -long talk relative to his prospects.</p> - -<p>“There is nothing like a good education to begin life with,” he -said. “You are still young, and two years at Harvard are just what -you need. Have you anything ahead, Gerald?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir; I have managed to save five or six hundred dollars since -I have been with Mr. Brewster.”</p> - -<p>“Have you? Well, that is pretty well for a young man in your -position,” said his friend, in a gratified tone; “and now I’m sure -I do not see what is to hinder you from going to Harvard.”</p> - -<p>“Why to Harvard? Why not to Yale?” questioned Gerald, who would -have preferred the latter college, because he would be nearer to -New York and Allison.</p> - -<p>“Well, Yale is all right; but I have a friend who has a Harvard -scholarship to give away, and I am very sure I could get it for -you.”</p> - -<p>“You are very kind, sir,” the young man replied, flushing with -emotion, “and I want a thorough education more than I can tell you; -but, really, I do not feel as if I could spare the time to spend -two years in college, and then study for a profession afterward. I -would like to be working myself up in some business, and keep on -with you as I have been doing.”</p> - -<p>“I take it that you are ambitious to get rich, my young friend,” -said Professor Emerson, with a smile.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, I am,” Gerald frankly admitted, flushing consciously as -he realized why he was so eager to acquire a competence.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span></p> -<p>“Well, of course, you must judge for yourself; but I should be -sorry to have you let so fine an opportunity slip away from you. I -advise you to take a little time to think it over before deciding -definitely,” said his friend earnestly.</p> - -<p>“I will—thank you,” Gerald responded; adding heartily: “But I -trust, whether I accept your offer or not, you will feel that I am -truly grateful for all your kindness and interest—both past and -present.”</p> - -<p>It was after ten o’clock when he left the house, and there were -indications of a storm. Gerald buttoned his coat close up to his -chin, and started briskly on his way.</p> - -<p>After passing three or four blocks he turned into a small park, and -observed, as he did so, a gentleman some distance in advance of -him. He paid no especial attention to the individual until he was -on the point of passing out at the opposite gate, when he caught -sight of another figure shadowing the first by skulking behind the -trunks of trees to keep out of sight.</p> - -<p>Gerald felt sure that this latter person had some malicious design -against the other, and he quickened his own steps that he might be -on hand if assistance was needed; but both had passed out of the -gate before he had half-crossed the park.</p> - -<p>As he drew near the exit he heard voices in angry conversation, -and, peering around a post, he saw the two in conversation, and, -peering around a post, he saw the two men standing not a dozen -paces away. One was a tall, fine-looking man, handsomely clad. The -other was a disreputable-appearing fellow, wearing a rough ulster -and a slouch-hat, and Gerald also observed that there was not -another person in sight.</p> - -<p>“I have told you never to appeal to me again,” Gerald<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> heard the -gentleman remark, in sternly resolute tones, “and I shall give you -no more money to spend upon drink and gambling.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, come, now don’t be hard on a fellow,” pleaded his companion, -as he moved a step or two nearer, while Gerald saw him slip his -right hand into the pocket of his ulster. “You’re just rolling in -wealth, and I am starving. Give me a ‘V.’”</p> - -<p>“Not a dime, you rascal! You have played no end of tricks upon me, -and I am done with you forever,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“But I’m hungry, I tell you. I haven’t had a decent meal for a -week,” persisted the beggar; and now Gerald saw him cautiously -withdraw his hand from his pocket with an object in it that made -his heart leap into his throat.</p> - -<p>“Heavens! It is a sand-bag!” he breathed.</p> - -<p>“Well, if you are hungry, go to the nearest station-house, where -you will get a night’s lodging, with a supper and breakfast, and -to-morrow morning you can work to pay for it,” said the gentleman.</p> - -<p>“Work!” snarled the tramp. “Do you think I am going to dig ice from -the gutters? Not if I know myself!”</p> - -<p>“Very well, then, you may go hungry,” replied his companion, as he -turned to proceed on his way.</p> - -<p>With an angry oath the tramp raised his arm aloft, and, in a moment -more, would have accomplished his deadly work had not Gerald, quick -as a flash, sprung from his place of concealment, dashed upon the -would-be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> murderer, and, wrenched the weapon from his grasp.</p> - -<p>The wretch was so taken aback that he was utterly unable to -defend himself from this rear attack, and an instant later he lay -sprawling and stunned upon the pavement, Gerald having dexterously -tripped him.</p> - -<p>“Now, sir, lend a hand, if you please,” he said, glancing over his -shoulder at the astonished man whom he had probably saved from a -violent death.</p> - -<p>“Certainly, certainly,” he replied, quickly recovering himself, -and, darting forward, he planted a powerful knee upon the breast -of his fallen assailant. “I am sure I had not a suspicion that -he would dare do me any violence,” he added. “What was he up to, -anyway?”</p> - -<p>For answer Gerald held the sand-bag up before him.</p> - -<p>“Good heavens! what a wretch!” said the gentleman, in a startled -tone. “He is a distant relative—a worthless fellow—and has been -a leech upon me for years. But I reckon this business will settle -his fate for a while. Now, if you will go to the corner and call a -policeman I will manage him while you are gone. Take care, there!” -he added sternly, as the prostrate villain began to squirm and -struggle, and he enforced his command by a powerful grip upon his -throat.</p> - -<p>Gerald darted away, and five minutes later came hurrying back with -a guardian of the peace, who immediately took the highwayman into -custody.</p> - -<p>Then he learned that the name of the man whose life he had -doubtless saved was Richard Morgan Lyttleton, a noted lawyer, of -New York.</p> - -<p>The officer demanded his name and address also, telling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> him that -his presence would be required in court on the morrow to testify -against the culprit.</p> - -<p>Gerald smiled to himself as he thought of appearing so soon again -in a criminal-court, and he observed, when he gave his name, that -Mr. Lyttleton started slightly, and glanced keenly at him.</p> - -<p>Then the policeman marched his prisoner off, when Mr. Lyttleton -turned to our hero and cordially extended his hand.</p> - -<p>“My young friend, you have rendered me an inestimable service -to-night, and I am deeply grateful to you,” he said earnestly; -then added: “But, more of this when I see you again, as we shall -doubtless meet to-morrow. As it is late and cold, I will not keep -you longer. Good night.”</p> - -<p>Gerald responded to his adieu, and they separated, each going his -own way.</p> - -<p>Early the next morning Gerald received a summons to appear at the -court-house at eleven o’clock, and, upon arriving at the place, he -found his acquaintance of the previous night awaiting him, and who -regarded him with curious intentness as he greeted him.</p> - -<p>“Can it be possible that you are the Gerald Winchester whose case -was before the court yesterday?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I am sorry to be obliged to confess that I am,” he replied -flushing, and a look of pain clouding his fine eyes.</p> - -<p>“It was rather a peculiar affair—I was quite interested in it,” -said the lawyer.</p> - -<p>“Indeed!” Gerald briefly observed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yes, it was really romantic, and you came off with flying colors,” -said his companion, smiling. “As I told you last night, I am a -lawyer myself, and I confess, up to the moment of the appearance -of that young lady upon the scene, I did not see a vestige of hope -for you. Young man, you are to be congratulated upon having had so -stanch a friend in the charming Miss Brewster. If I am not greatly -mistaken, that John Hubbard is a scamp.”</p> - -<p>Gerald lifted a glance of surprise to the gentleman’s face.</p> - -<p>“What makes you think that?” he questioned.</p> - -<p>“Well, I am something of a physiognomist, and, to me, he shows -treachery in every glance of his shifty eyes.” Mr. Lyttleton’s -expression plainly indicated a decided repugnance to the man under -discussion.</p> - -<p>“Lyttleton versus Ruggles,” was here shouted by the court-crier, -and the conversation of the two gentlemen was interrupted. It did -not take very long to settle the case, however, for, in the light -of the indisputable evidence brought to bear upon it, the prisoner -was found guilty of assault with intent to kill, and sentenced -to seven years at Sing Sing. As soon as they were released, Mr. -Lyttleton turned to Gerald.</p> - -<p>“Come,” he said; “you must come and have lunch with me; I want to -talk more with you.”</p> - -<p>In a neighboring restaurant they took a secluded table, and over -the coffee Mr. Lyttleton astonished Gerald by remarking:</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span></p> -<p>“Mr. Winchester, I happen, just at this time, to be very much in -need of a private-secretary. The poor fellow who has served me for -five years died last week, and I have, as yet, found no one to fill -his place. How would you like the position?”</p> - -<p>Gerald lifted a look of bland surprise at the speaker.</p> - -<p>“You think I am rather premature in making such a proposal to you -upon so short an acquaintance,” Mr. Lyttleton observed, smiling; -“but I have told you that I am pretty well versed in character -reading, and so, if you are willing to take the place on trial, I -am ready to give it to you. I like your looks—your manner; while -that girl’s testimony yesterday proved that Adam Brewster had the -most implicit confidence in you. That, of itself, is recommendation -enough for me. A week from to-morrow, I sail for Europe, to -investigate a complicated case which involves a large estate, -and which I hope to bring to trial within a couple of months. My -partner will manage the business here during my absence, which will -probably be six months or more, as I intend to combine pleasure -with duty, and see something of the old world before my return. -Your salary will be eight hundred and all expenses, for the first -year; more after that if we find ourselves mutually congenial. -There, you have my proposition—what do you say to it?” the lawyer -concluded, as he sat back in his chair and watched the expressive -face opposite him.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2> - -<h3>“I DID NOT MEAN TO BETRAY MYSELF.”</h3> - - -<p>Gerald’s breath was almost taken away by this unexpected proposal. -He had heard of the firm of “Lyttleton & Rand,” both members of -which were registered as eminent lawyers in New York. He instantly -recognized the fact that it would be a great thing for him to -become associated with them, while eight hundred dollars, over and -above all living expenses, would be quite a leap beyond fifteen -dollars a week, and finding himself. Then, too, the prospect of -travel and sightseeing was very alluring.</p> - -<p>He was dazzled, almost paralyzed, for a moment, by such unexpected -good fortune, coming to him just at this time, when he had seemed -to be under such a cloud; but he managed to inquire with a good -degree of outward composure:</p> - -<p>“What will my duties be?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I should say something like what they were with Mr. -Brewster,” Mr. Lyttleton responded; “the writing of letters, both -confidential and ordinary; the keeping of my private accounts; -in fact, whatever of a clerical nature would naturally fall to a -lawyer’s secretary, and—perfect loyalty and integrity. I warn you, -also, that I shall have plenty of work for you to do.”</p> - -<p>“I do not mind work,” said Gerald eagerly.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> “In fact, I like to -be a little crowded. I think it keeps up one’s enthusiasm. The -position is very tempting, Mr. Lyttleton, but——”</p> - -<p>“But what?” demanded the gentleman, eying him sharply.</p> - -<p>“I am wondering if it would be quite honest in me to accept it when -you really know nothing of me or my qualifications; and going out -of the country, too, it might be quite awkward for you if I should -not fill the bill.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Lyttleton gave vent to a little laugh.</p> - -<p>“Now I begin to understand what Adam Brewster meant when he said -you were ‘morbidly honest,’” he replied. “But, in case you do not -fill the bill, as you express it, I suppose I could ship you back -home again. However, if you are willing to come with me, upon so -short an acquaintance, I will assume the responsibility of your -ability, and we’ll settle the matter here and now. Is it a bargain?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, and thank you very much,” Gerald heartily replied.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you needn’t feel under any obligation, for I am going to -make you earn your money,” retorted his companion, with a roguish -twinkle in his eyes, but in a very satisfied tone. “Will you have a -glass of wine with your dessert?”</p> - -<p>“Thank you—no; I never take wine—just a cup of coffee, if you -please.”</p> - -<p>“Coffee for two,” briefly ordered the lawyer; but the look which he -bestowed upon his new clerk was one of unqualified approbation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Do you disapprove of wines?” he questioned, as the waiter -disappeared.</p> - -<p>“I disapprove of the abuse of them,” said Gerald, flushing; “and if -one does not use them at all one can never be guilty of excess.”</p> - -<p>“That is a self-evident fact, surely,” said his companion. “How -about smoking?”</p> - -<p>“I do not smoke.”</p> - -<p>“H’m! you are what might be termed a ‘model young man,’” his -employer dryly observed.</p> - -<p>“I am nothing of the kind, if, by that, you mean to imply that I -assume to have no faults,” Gerald retorted, with a little flash in -his eyes, for he began to suspect that he was being quizzed; “but I -have always claimed that I would never become a slave to any habit.”</p> - -<p>“And you are right, Winchester—I wish there were more young men -in the world who possessed just that spirit of independence,” said -Mr. Lyttleton, in a friendly tone. “Wines and liquors I shun, but -I smoke—my cigar I cannot do without; I wish I could. Now,” he -added, as he pushed back his chair, “I have an engagement, and -must hurry away; but I would like to have you come to my office -to-morrow morning at nine, sharp, when I shall want to talk with -you further about your duties.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, sir. I will be on time,” Gerald returned, and then the -two shook hands cordially, and separated.</p> - -<p>It was a little after two when they left the restaurant, and Gerald -thought he might as well go directly up-town to call upon Allison, -and inform her of his flattering prospects.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span></p> - -<p>But he sighed when he remembered that the ocean would soon roll -between them, and it would be many months before he could see her -again.</p> - -<p>A servant admitted him, and conducted him to the drawing-room, and -a few moments later, Allison came running down-stairs, with an -eager elasticity in her steps that set her lover’s pulses leaping -with secret joy.</p> - -<p>As she entered the room, she sprang to meet him with outstretched -hands and smiling lips, although the brilliant flush upon her -cheeks and the shy drooping of her golden-fringed lids betrayed -that she was not quite at ease.</p> - -<p>“I am glad to see you, Gerald,” she said, cordially; “it is so long -since you were here; and, oh! I can hardly realize all that has -happened since that day,” she went on, with starting tears. “It -breaks my heart, too, to think how you have been shut up in that -dreadful place. Why didn’t you send me word, you bad, bad boy?”</p> - -<p>“I did not like to trouble you, Allison—I thought you had enough -to bear without adding to your burdens.”</p> - -<p>“But it would have helped me to bear mine—it would have given me -something else to think of,” said the fair girl; “and then I could -have told what I knew, and you would have been set free.”</p> - -<p>“No, that could not have been accomplished, for there was no -one who would become my bondsman, and the affair had to come to -trial; and, besides, Allison, I really did not think that you had -overheard anything of importance that would make your testimony of -any value,” Gerald explained.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p> -<p>“Well, you might at least have allowed me to prove my friendship -for you, and show a little sympathy. I think it was just dreadful, -Gerald, and I nearly cried my eyes out yesterday after I came home -and had time to realize what you must have suffered. Now do tell -me all about it, for I only heard a brief account of the case when -I went to the bank. Mr. Phillips said that you were arrested for -being found in the vault, with some valuables belonging to papa, -and some jewels that were mama’s, besides doing something that I do -not understand to some books. He said you were then on trial, and -so I hurried away—remembering what I had heard papa say about your -honesty—to see if I couldn’t help you.”</p> - -<p>“You saved me, Allison—I should have had to serve a term in -State’s prison but for you,” said the young man tremulously.</p> - -<p>“Well, I want you to begin at the beginning and tell me all,” -Allison commanded, as she seated herself upon the sofa beside her -guest, and prepared to listen to his story.</p> - -<p>Gerald began with the note which he had received from Mr. Brewster, -and related all that had occurred in connection with his trouble, -up to the time of the trial, while Allison hung almost breathless -upon his words.</p> - -<p>“And John Hubbard was the one who found you in the vault, and had -you arrested, in spite of the fact that you had papa’s keys, and -told him that he had sent you there to perform an errand for him?” -she exclaimed excitedly, when he concluded.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span></p> -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Why, he must have known that you had been sent there?”</p> - -<p>“He did know it, Allison; but he asserted, as you know, that I -stole the keys from the drawer in the table, while I was here that -Saturday afternoon.”</p> - -<p>“But I proved that you did not,” cried Allison exultantly, “and he -didn’t seem to be very well pleased about it, either.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Gerald gravely; “he had reasons of his own for wanting -to ruin my reputation.”</p> - -<p>“What reasons?”</p> - -<p>“He has long hated me—he has been scheming for nearly two years -to get me discharged from the bank, and I am confident that it was -he who tampered with the books, to make them show that I had been -dishonest, although, of course, I cannot prove this.”</p> - -<p>“It was a bright idea of getting that expert,” said Allison.</p> - -<p>“Yes, that was Professor Emerson’s idea, and it worked well. The -professor returned from Washington only two days before the trial, -and, upon learning the charges, immediately said he knew a man who, -he thought, would help me. He looked him up, then the two demanded -the books for examination, and it did not take Mr. Plum very long -to decide that some very crooked work had been done by somebody -whose name was not Winchester,” Gerald explained. “I watched -Hubbard while he was making his statements,” he added,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> “and I knew -by the look in his eyes that he had been balked in a game which he -had felt pretty sure of winning.”</p> - -<p>“And yet papa trusted him,” said Allison musingly.</p> - -<p>“Surely, Allison, you do not think I doctored those books? You -cannot believe that I would be guilty of defrauding your father -after all his kindness to me?” he cried, in a wounded tone.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no! I did not mean to imply that, Gerald,” she returned -earnestly. “I would not have hurt you like that for all the world! -No, indeed, Gerald, if all the world said you were guilty, I would -never have believed it.”</p> - -<p>“Could you have trusted me to such an extent, Allison?” he -breathed, bending to look into her eyes, his face lighting with -sudden joy.</p> - -<p>“You know I could—nothing could ever make me lose faith in you. -What I did mean, when I said that papa trusted Mr. Hubbard, was, it -seemed strange to me that so shrewd a business man as my father was -should have been so deceived in any one.”</p> - -<p>“Allison, I do not believe that he was deceived; I imagine he knew -he was not to be trusted implicitly,” said Gerald thoughtfully. “I -used to fear, sometimes, that John Hubbard had managed to draw Mr. -Brewster into some transactions that were beginning to complicate -his business, and so made it necessary for him to retain the man.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I hate him with all my heart!” Allison suddenly burst forth, -with startling vehemence; “and, Gerald, I am going to tell you -something—I must tell somebody: that man asked me the other day -to—don’t look at me so, please,” she interposed, averting her -scarlet face—<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>“he asked me to marry him.”</p> - -<p>“Allison!” exclaimed Gerald, in breathless astonishment, and -turning deathly pale; “has he dared—has he presumed upon the -position he occupies toward you to do such a thing? Oh, he is a -bigger rascal than I thought him. Allison, you will not let him -either coax or force you to ruin your life in that way.”</p> - -<p>“Why, of course not—I told him I couldn’t marry him; you know I -could not, Gerald,” the ingenuous girl replied, and involuntarily -moving a little nearer his companion, with a confiding air that -thrilled him with joy, and yet what she had told him made him very -uneasy.</p> - -<p>“I cannot understand why papa should have given him authority over -me for so many years,” she said.</p> - -<p>“I cannot, either—it seems very strange to me,” Gerald observed -thoughtfully. He then told her of Mr. Lyttleton’s proposition, and -his contemplated tour abroad; but before he was through Allison -dropped her face upon her hands and burst into tears.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Gerald, don’t go!—I cannot spare you!” she sobbed.</p> - -<p>A shock of joy went quivering through the young man at her words, -although his own heart was almost rent in twain in view of the -approaching separation. Yet he felt that he had no right to betray -the great love he entertained for her. She was young—she was alone -in the world, and he felt that it would not be quite honorable to -take advantage of either her youth or loneliness to make her commit -herself. But, oh! he longed, mightily, to gather her in his arms, -tell her all, and ask her to wait until he could win a position -worthy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> of her acceptance, when he would lay himself and all he -possessed at her feet.</p> - -<p>He was silent so long, thinking of this, and trying to control his -yearning, that she finally lifted a wondering glance to him, and -thus caught him unawares—reading all that was in his heart through -the loving eyes which but too plainly told its story.</p> - -<p>The next moment her golden head lay upon his breast, and his -trembling arms enfolded her.</p> - -<p>“My darling! my darling! I did not mean to betray myself; but you -caught me napping,” he breathed, laying his cheek against her -shining hair.</p> - -<p>Allison lifted her head and flashed him a roguish look through her -tears.</p> - -<p>“You betrayed yourself a long time ago,” she whispered, a happy -smile wreathing her red lips; “have you forgotten that night at -Lakeview?”</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span></p> -<p>“No, dear, but I half-hoped that you had, and I have had many a -guilty twinge since, recalling it. I really had no right to betray -my love for you, nor abuse the confidence and hospitality of your -father in any such way; but it was done before I was hardly aware -of it. But, Allison, now that the veil has been entirely rent -asunder, I must tell you that I began to love you when I first came -to your father, and every year has only served to strengthen my -affection. But I am not going to ask you to bind yourself to me by -any promise, even now. I feel it would not be fair to you. You are -not yet through school, and after you graduate you will want to see -something of the world; so I am going to leave you free to choose -for yourself, in case you should ever meet any one else whom you -might love more than you love me; I could better bear to lose you -than to have you make a lifelong mistake.”</p> - -<p>Allison here sat up and looked her lover full in the eye.</p> - -<p>“Gerald, do you think it could be possible that you have made a -mistake in what you have just told me?” she questioned.</p> - -<p>“No, I am sure it would not be possible for me ever to love any one -but you,” he earnestly returned.</p> - -<p>“And do you think man capable of greater fidelity than woman?”</p> - -<p>“N-o, perhaps not; still I will not exact any promise from you -at present, Allison,” he gravely replied; “by and by, when you -have completed your studies—when you have been out in society a -while—when I have won my spurs, as the knights of old used to -say—if you are then free, and of the same mind, I shall feel that -I have a right to ask you to give yourself to me.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, what a complicated and indefinite proposition!” said Allison, -laughing, but with an impatient shrug of her graceful shoulders; -“but what do you mean by ‘when you have won your spurs?’”</p> - -<p>“Why, when I have made money enough to raise me above the suspicion -of being a fortune-hunter,” was the smiling response.</p> - -<p>“But suppose you do not achieve success by the time you have -indicated?” queried Allison demurely.</p> - -<p>“Then I suppose I must wait until I do,” with a sigh.</p> - -<p>“Ah! I thought so,” she retorted saucily;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> “you are far too proud, -my Gerald. Perhaps I am lacking in that quality, and I am very -sure that I am not ‘morbidly conscientious,’ so I am going to make -you promise me something, here and now.”</p> - -<p>He smiled fondly down at her. She was so sweet and lovable, so -charmingly frank, to let him see how dear he was to her, and yet -not in the least unmaidenly about it.</p> - -<p>“Very well; I will promise anything you ask,” he said tenderly; -“but first, since I have confessed so much, let me hear you say -that you love me.”</p> - -<p>She leaned toward him with parted lips and gleaming eyes; she -clasped her small, white hands, and laid them upon his breast.</p> - -<p>“Gerald,” she breathed softly, “you know that I love you with all -my heart.”</p> - -<p>Again he folded her close, his face luminous with happiness.</p> - -<p>“Bless you, my darling!” he said, with passionate earnestness. “Now -you may ask me whatever you will.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2> - -<h3>ALLISON AND HER GUARDIAN.</h3> - - -<p>“Well, then, Gerald,” said Allison, regarding her lover earnestly, -“you know, of course, that papa left me a lot of money.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I know that Mr. Brewster was supposed to be a very rich man,” -the young man responded, with a regretful sigh.</p> - -<p>“And one little body, like me, couldn’t begin to spend it -all—especially when she is cooped up in a boarding school, and -has an ogre of a guardian to hold her in check,” the young girl -continued, with a mock, injured air.</p> - -<p>“Well?” said Gerald, smiling at her mood, yet not suspecting toward -what it was tending.</p> - -<p>“You say that you—love me very much, Gerald?”</p> - -<p>“Ah, my darling, I have no words to tell you all there is in my -heart.”</p> - -<p>“And you know that I—I am every bit as fond of you?” This with a -shy look and blush that were almost bewildering.</p> - -<p>“I trust so, dearest.”</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p> -<p>“Then nothing should ever be allowed to come between us as a -barrier.”</p> - -<p>“No, indeed! Nothing ever shall come between us—at least, if I -can prevent it,” rashly asserted this unsuspicious wooer.</p> - -<p>A happy little laugh rippled over Allison’s scarlet lips at this -assurance, and, laying her hands upon his shoulders, she looked -straight into his eyes, while a gleam of triumph shone in her own.</p> - -<p>“There!” she said, drawing a long breath; “now I have you just -where I want you, and you must promise me that, when I have -completed my studies, and you get back from Europe and are nicely -established in your position—whether you have made a lot of money -or not—you will take me just as I am. I shall have plenty, and -there will be no reason why we should not share it together.”</p> - -<p>“But, Allison——” Gerald began, looking flushed and embarrassed -as, at least, he comprehended her meaning.</p> - -<p>She playfully laid her slender fingers upon his lips; but he -captured her hand, though with a very tender look into the lovely -eyes upraised to his.</p> - -<p>“You must let me finish what I was going to say, dear,” he said -resolutely. “You must know that no man could respect himself to ask -a woman to marry him if he could not give her a comfortable home -and feel that he was, in every sense of the word, her protector. I -never could be dependent upon your fortune, Allison,” he concluded, -with an air of pride and decision which convinced her that there -would be no use in discussing that point further.</p> - -<p>She secretly admired him for the stand he had taken; but, -womanlike, she wanted the last word.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span></p> - -<p>“You said you would promise me anything I asked,” she said, with a -pretty pout.</p> - -<p>“But I did not think you would be guilty of taking such an unfair -advantage of me,” Gerald retorted, laughing. “I cannot swear away -my self-respect, to please even you,” and bending, he softly kissed -the white brow that was resting against his shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Well, but what has passed between us to-day makes you belong to -me, does it not?” Allison questioned.</p> - -<p>“Forever.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see, then, but that you have sworn yourself away,” she -retorted slyly.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I believe I have. What a lawyer you would have made, -sweetheart!” Gerald responded, laughing again.</p> - -<p>“Very well; it is a poor rule that will not work both ways,” -Allison gravely observed; “I will not receive more than I am -willing to give, and so, Gerald, our mutual watchword shall be -‘forever.’”</p> - -<p>“My darling!” whispered the young lover, tears of emotion springing -to his eyes, “surely such a spirit of loyalty should nerve my heart -to any endeavor.”</p> - -<p>“How can I let you go away across the ocean!” Allison broke forth, -after a moment of silence, and in a voice of keen regret.</p> - -<p>“Yes, it does seem a little hard that I must go,” Gerald returned;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -“but I am hoping a great deal from this coming year of experience -with Mr. Lyttleton—I am impressed that it will be a stepping-stone -toward the goal I wish to reach. Besides, I should not see much of -you during the next six months, as, of course, you will soon return -to school.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I am to go back on Saturday; but we will write to each other -often.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I am sure there is no reason why we should not,” Gerald -assented; “but, perhaps, it will be just as well that Mr. Hubbard -should not know of our correspondence.”</p> - -<p>“He will never learn of it from me,” said Allison spiritedly, and -adding, with a sigh:</p> - -<p>“Oh, I wish papa had not made him my guardian.”</p> - -<p>“I can echo that wish most heartily,” her companion responded -fervently; “and I cannot understand his doing so—allowing him -such unlimited power over you, and making him sole executor of his -will also; it does not seem at all like Mr. Brewster’s habitual -shrewdness. By the way, has he given you your jewels, and the other -box?”</p> - -<p>“What other box? I have mama’s jewels—at least, they are in the -safe in the library; Mr. Hubbard brought them directly here after -the trial; but I know nothing about any other box.”</p> - -<p>“Well, there were two boxes which I was to bring to your father; -but possibly one of them contained things which do not concern you, -papers, perhaps, relating to Mr. Brewster’s business. Still, I am -impressed that he did not wish any one to know anything of it or -its contents, and that was why he enjoined me to secrecy regarding -my errand that Sunday.”</p> - -<p>“I will ask Mr. Hubbard about it,” said Allison thoughtfully.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yes, I think I would,” her lover replied, “although I do not -believe you will get any satisfaction from him; but it will at -least let him know that you are aware of its existence and have -some curiosity regarding the matter. But I must go now, dear,” he -added, rising. “I have a good many things to do for myself during -the week, and doubtless Mr. Lyttleton will require me at his office -some of the time.”</p> - -<p>“But you will come often between now and Saturday?” Allison -pleaded, as she clasped both hands about his arms, as if loath to -let him go.</p> - -<p>“I will come as often as you like,” he answered, smiling.</p> - -<p>“Then I shall look for you every evening; only I hope that Mr. -Hubbard will not pop in upon us, and spoil everything.”</p> - -<p>“Then every evening I will come,” Gerald replied, as he took a fond -farewell of her, and went away with a very happy heart.</p> - -<p>The remaining few days passed very swiftly to these young lovers, -who spent their evenings together, without exciting the suspicions -of John Hubbard, who, however, made some errand to call upon -Allison almost every day.</p> - -<p>Upon one occasion she questioned him about the box of which Gerald -had spoken, asking what it contained.</p> - -<p>“It is locked, and, as yet, I have found no key to it,” the man -told her evasively, but with a quickly averted glance, which did -not escape the fair girl’s watchful eyes.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> “Indeed, I have been too -busy to think much about it,” he added; “but I imagine there is -nothing in it but business papers.”</p> - -<p>So Allison was none the wiser, as Gerald had prophesied, and on -Saturday returned to her school, where, becoming absorbed in her -studies, she soon forgot all about it for the time.</p> - -<p>Gerald sailed for Europe the following Monday, and John Hubbard, -upon learning of the fact, experienced a feeling of intense relief.</p> - -<p>“Good riddance to him,” he muttered. “Now I need have no fear, for -I shall have a clear field to myself.”</p> - -<p>After Allison’s departure, Mr. Hubbard decided that it would -be useless expense to keep the Brewster establishment running; -consequently, he advertised it for rental, furnished, and it was -taken almost immediately by a Philadelphia family, who, bringing -their own servants with them, did not require any of the help who -had served there so long; and thus, all the servants, with Mrs. -Pollard, who had become exceedingly fond of Allison, and who felt -that she was being driven from her home, were obliged to find -situations elsewhere.</p> - -<p>The house at Yonkers was disposed of in the same way; consequently, -at the end of six months, when Allison had completed her education, -she found herself practically homeless, until she could arrange to -go to Newport for the summer, and so was obliged to take up her -residence with her guardian, whose family consisted of only himself -and his mother, with their servants.</p> - -<p>They were not to go to Newport until the middle of July, as Mr. -Hubbard had been so busy he had been unable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> to attend to the -opening of the cottage; but he managed to make his own home so -pleasant, and Allison so heartily welcome, while she found Mrs. -Hubbard such a dear old lady, she was wholly content to remain with -them.</p> - -<p>He did not once refer to his previous proposal of marriage; he -continued her the same liberal allowance which her father had made -her, and gratified her every wish, making himself so agreeable and -entertaining that all would probably have gone well but for an -incident that occurred during the second week after her return.</p> - -<p>Gerald returned about that time, and, feeling that Mr. Hubbard -would not favor his calling upon her, she arranged to meet him -at a certain point on Broadway, one day, when they were to go to -Delmonico’s for lunch, and to talk over their experiences of the -last half-year.</p> - -<p>They had hardly met and greeted each other when, they were suddenly -confronted by John Hubbard.</p> - -<p>“Well, Allison, whither are you bound?” he inquired, stepping -directly in her path, but without deigning Gerald even a glance of -recognition.</p> - -<p>The young girl paused aghast and flushed with mingled embarrassment -and astonishment.</p> - -<p>Then, recovering herself, her beautiful eyes began to blaze with -indignation at the slight in her companion.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Hubbard,” she said, glancing from him to Gerald, “do you not -recognize Mr. Winchester?”</p> - -<p>“I have no acquaintance with Mr. Winchester,” the man frigidly, but -very unwisely, responded.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> “I was, however, just on my way home to -get you to go with me to see that new painting at the Academy of -Design.”</p> - -<p>“I thank you, Mr. Hubbard,” Allison retorted, just as icily, “but -I was on my way to lunch at Delmonico’s with Mr. Winchester. Come, -Gerald.”</p> - -<p>Whereupon Miss Brewster haughtily passed her guardian, and -proceeded on her way, attended by her lover, who, although he bowed -coldly to the man, found it difficult to restrain his anger at his -insolence.</p> - -<p>“But, Allison——” authoritatively began John Hubbard, looking back -after the graceful, but proudly erect figure of his ward.</p> - -<p>He might as well have addressed the paving-stones, for the -independent little lady paid not the slightest heed to him.</p> - -<p>“Gerald, I could almost strangle him for being so rude to you,” she -remarked, when they were beyond hearing of the man.</p> - -<p>“Never mind me, dear,” he replied, smiling, but regarding her with -an admiring look. “I believe it would be worth while being snubbed -occasionally for the sake of seeing you look so pretty in your -righteous indignation over it.”</p> - -<p>“He has been very good to me of late, and I had begun to like -them—almost,” Allison explained; “but I believe this has made -him more hateful to me than ever. However,” <a name="Err17" id="Err17"></a>tossing her shining -head defiantly, “I am not going to let it spoil our little visit -together.”</p> - -<p>They had their lunch, and a quietly jolly time over it, and then -Allison insisted that Gerald himself should take her to see the -painting of which Mr. Hubbard had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> spoken. They passed a couple of -hours thus very pleasant, and then reluctantly separated.</p> - -<p>But they decided that, in future, they would have to be more -wary about their meetings; and, as Gerald was very busy, it was -doubtful about their seeing much of each other before Allison went -to Newport, and now the fair girl began to chafe sorely over the -fact that her fate was so closely allied with the man who was so -obnoxious to her.</p> - -<p>When she reached home on this afternoon, she found John Hubbard -there before her, and wearing a very injured air.</p> - -<p>But she paid very little attention to him until, galled by her -coolness toward him, he opened fire upon her.</p> - -<p>“I was very sorry to meet you with that disreputable fellow today,” -he began, when the indignant girl whirled around upon him like a -small tornado.</p> - -<p>“Mr. John Hubbard, you will be kind enough never to speak of my -friend, Mr. Winchester, in that way again,” she cried, with flaming -cheeks and blazing eyes; “and I will further say that I regard your -rudeness to him to-day as a personal insult to me, also.”</p> - -<p>The man gazed at her in astonishment. He was dumfounded by such -an exhibition of temper. Her manner was usually characterized by -a sweetness and quietness that gave one the impression that she -could not be aroused to an exhibition of passion, although the -determination and obstinacy which she had shown at Gerald’s trial -had betrayed a strong will.</p> - -<p>“Really, Allison,” he began, after a moment, and realizing that it -would not be wise to antagonize her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> still further, “I meant no -disrespect to you—you know that I have only the tenderest regard -for you; but I was so taken aback upon seeing you upon the street -with that—with young Winchester, I was hardly responsible for what -I did or said. I have never changed my opinion regarding the young -man, however, and it hurt me deeply to meet you with him.”</p> - -<p>Allison opened her lips as if about to retort sharply to him again; -but she suddenly checked herself, and turning from him, left the -room without deigning him any reply.</p> - -<p>But the man’s suspicions having been aroused, he resolved to watch -his ward closely.</p> - -<p>The result of his prying was the discovery of Gerald’s photograph, -which he found in a box in one of Allison’s bureau-drawers, and -with it his last letter from Europe, together with a couple of -recent notes which told him a great deal regarding their relations -to each other—enough to drive him into a white heat of rage, and -arouse all his native villainy and cunning.</p> - -<p>He had observed that Gerald had improved greatly during his absence -abroad; he had grown more manly, while there was a prosperous look -about him which betokened success and progression.</p> - -<p>This was true, for Gerald had proved himself so congenial to his -employer, and so thoroughly in earnest and determined to do his -very best, that the two had at once become the best of friends, and -at the end of three months Mr. Lyttleton raised his salary to a -thousand a year. More than this, he had found his mental grasp so -keen and forceful, that he had persuaded him to begin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> the study of -law, under his supervision, and thus the young man found himself -working out the very plan which his friend, Professor Emerson, had -once suggested to him.</p> - -<p>John Hubbard congratulated himself that he was so soon to get -Allison away from New York, and he hurried his own work in order to -prevent any delay in his plans.</p> - -<p>But the afternoon previous to her departure the lovers had an -enjoyable drive in Central Park, and on her return from this -excursion, Allison met with an adventure which, although, at the -time, it seemed unimportant in itself, was destined to result in -great things later on.</p> - -<p>As she had a few errands to attend to before going home, Gerald -left her at one of the large stores on Broadway, after bidding her -a reluctant farewell. She had completed her purchase, and had just -left a fashionable millinery establishment, where she had bought “a -love of a hat,” that was destined to do duty at the seaside, and -was standing upon the curbing, waiting for an uptown car, when she -observed a young girl, about fourteen years of age, leaning against -a lamp-post, and crying bitterly.</p> - -<p>She was poorly clad, was very pale, and wore a dejected, suffering -air, which at once appealed to the tender heart of the young -heiress, who also observed that a heavy bundle lay upon the -sidewalk at her feet.</p> - -<p>Stepping quietly to her side, Allison gently laid her hand upon her -arm to attract her attention.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Why are you crying?” she questioned in an earnest tone; “has -anything happened to you?”</p> - -<p>The girl turned her tear-stained face upon the speaker, and Allison -saw that it was almost convulsed with pain.</p> - -<p>With her right hand she pointed to her left arm, which, her -companion now saw, hung limp and useless—broken—by her side.</p> - -<p>The next moment the sufferer dropped senseless at her feet.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> - -<h3>“BREAD CAST UPON THE WATERS.”</h3> - - -<p>Allison’s first impulse was to scream for help. But she quickly -conquered it, for she had a horror of becoming the center of a -curious, gaping crowd upon a public thoroughfare.</p> - -<p>Almost at the same moment she espied a policeman across the street, -and beckoned him to come to her assistance; then, stooping over -the senseless girl at her feet, tried to move her into a more -comfortable position.</p> - -<p>“What has happened?” queried the officer, as he appeared upon the -spot. “A drunk, I reckon—eh?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Allison, flushing with indignation at his indifferent -tone; “the girl’s arm is broken, and she has fainted.”</p> - -<p>“Humph! then it’s a case for the hospital. I’ll ring up an -ambulance,” was the perfunctory response.</p> - -<p>Allison caught her breath sharply, for, like many others who are -ignorant regarding such institutions, she had a perfect horror of a -hospital.</p> - -<p>“No,” she said quickly and decidedly, while she glanced up at a -sign over a window in the next block, “Doctor Ashmore’s office is -quite near—take her there.”</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p> -<p>“She doesn’t look as if she could afford to pay a swell surgeon -like Doctor Ashmore—she’s a better subject for the hospital, -miss,” said the man slightingly.</p> - -<p>“Well, but I am not going to allow her to be put into an ambulance -and driven a long way over these rough pavements to any hospital,” -Allison asserted decidedly. “I know Doctor Ashmore—he is a -first-class surgeon, and I will be responsible for his charge. -Now, pray do as I ask you, and do not let this poor thing lie here -upon the hard sidewalk a moment longer” she concluded, somewhat -impatiently, for people were beginning to gather about them.</p> - -<p>“All right, miss; if you choose to look out for her, it’s no affair -of mine,” said the policeman, and, calling another man to his aid, -the two lifted the still unconscious girl and bore her into the -noted surgeon’s office, Allison swiftly leading the way thither.</p> - -<p>“I have brought you a patient, Doctor Ashmore,” she observed, as he -entered, and the gentleman came forward to greet her, whereupon he -ordered the men to deposit their burden upon a couch, and at once -proceeded to make an examination of the case.</p> - -<p>“The arm is broken above the elbow,” he observed, after ripping up -the sleeve of the girl’s dress. “Who is this protégée of yours, -Miss Brewster?”</p> - -<p>“I do not know,” Allison replied; “I found her leaning against a -lamp-post crying, and asked her what the trouble was, when she -merely pointed to her arm, and then fainted away.”</p> - -<p>“Well, we will soon have her comfortably fixed. Perhaps you would -like to go into another room while I set the bone,” said Doctor -Ashmore, after calling his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> assistant, and ordering him to bring -splints, bandages, and other necessary appliances.</p> - -<p>“No, thank you; the poor thing will perhaps feel better if she -comes to herself and finds me here, and I will try not to mind the -operation,” replied Allison, in a spirit of true self-abnegation, -yet not feeling nearly so brave as her words had sounded.</p> - -<p>Nothing more was said, and the surgeon proceeded at once about -his task, without attempting to revive his patient, who was still -unconscious.</p> - -<p>But as his skilful fingers put the fractured bone into position, a -low, shuddering moan plainly told that the shock and pain of the -setting had resulted in restoring suspended animation.</p> - -<p>But the girl made no other sound, no resistance; she lay white -and motionless while the splints were adjusted, and the bandages -arranged, and when all was over she raised herself to a sitting -posture, and looked curiously about her.</p> - -<p>“Where am I?” she inquired of Allison, as another patient entered, -and claimed the surgeon’s attention.</p> - -<p>“In the office of Doctor Ashmore. I asked a policeman to bring -you here, so that your injury could be attended to immediately,” -Allison explained; “and,” she added, smiling encouragingly into the -pale, pinched face before her, “I am sure the worst is over.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you think so—but that is all you know about it,” returned -the girl grimly.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p> -<p>“But I have always heard that after a broken bone is once set, -there is very little discomfort experienced while the fracture is -mending.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, the arm will do well enough,” said the girl, glancing at the -bandaged member indifferently; “I wasn’t thinking about that at -all.”</p> - -<p>“What were you thinking about?” inquired Allison, with surprise.</p> - -<p>“Of the money I’ve lost and the scoldings and abuse I shall get -because I sha’n’t be able to do any work for the next few weeks,” -returned the patient, with an anxious frown. “But where’s my -bundle?” she questioned, with a sudden start, and glancing around -the room with a troubled air.</p> - -<p>“Over there behind that chair,” said Allison, pointing it out. Then -she asked: “Now will you tell me your name, and how you happened to -get hurt?”</p> - -<p>“My name is Ellen Carson,” the girl replied;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> “I had been to Cohen -& Isaacs, to carry back a lot of work, and get some more, and the -pay for the last. I live with my aunt, or my uncle’s wife, and I do -the housework, while she and Anna—my cousin—make boys’ jackets -for a living. I help on them, too, after the drudgery is done, and -I always have to fetch and carry the bundles. I had the pay for the -last lot—three dollars—in one hand, and was hurrying home, when -an ugly-looking fellow gave me a rough push, knocking me against -that lamp-post, then snatched the purse, and made off with it, -before I hardly knew what had happened. At first I was so wild over -losing the money, and what I should catch when I got home, I didn’t -know that I was hurt; but, after a minute or two, the pain got so -sharp it took my breath away, and then I found my arm was broken. -Oh, dear! Aunt Lu will just about kill me for letting that money -be stolen,” Ellen concluded, with a sob, great tears chasing over -her hollow cheeks.</p> - -<p>“Hush! Do not cry! I will make the money part of it all right,” -said Allison kindly, a great pity for the unfortunate girl surging -through her heart. “I am sure your aunt cannot be very kind to you -if she will mind the loss of three dollars more than your accident.”</p> - -<p>“Kind! huh!” exclaimed Ellen, with a mirthless laugh, “and she’ll -mind the broken arm enough, too, but not in the way you mean; she -and Anna will have to do the housework now for a while, and I shall -get plenty of kicks and cuffs for being in the way and ‘not earning -my salt.’ I sha’n’t get much but salt, either, I imagine, to pay -for losing that money.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I cannot imagine any one being so cruel,” said Allison, -looking deeply troubled. “Your aunt must be very poor, as well as -unkind.”</p> - -<p>“You bet she is; but it wasn’t always so bad as it is now,” -Ellen observed, and, growing confidential. “When Uncle Alan—he -was my mother’s brother, and his name was Brown—was alive, I -used to go to school, and we lived in a better part of the city. -Anna graduated from the high school more’n four years ago; she’s -handsome, too—or would be if she could have pretty clothes like -yours”—this with an appreciative glance at Allison’s dainty -costume.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> “After Uncle Alan died, Aunt Lu at first threatened to -send me to an orphans’ home; but when she found how handy I was -in the kitchen, and to run on errands, she got over that, though -she doesn’t mind twitting me about being a beggar every day of my -life.”</p> - -<p>“But does she not pay you something for doing the work and helping -upon the jackets?” questioned Allison, with almost a sense of guilt -as she compared the ideal life which she had always led with the -miserable existence of this poor, abused child.</p> - -<p>“Pay me! Good land! Uncle Alan has been dead going on four years, -and I haven’t had a dime of my own to spend at one time since. -Sometimes I’ve got so desperate I’ve thought I’d run away and leave -Aunt Lu and Anna to shift for themselves, and become a cash-girl in -some store, but I haven’t a decent dress or a whole pair of shoes -or stockings to my name, and nobody’d hire me looking like this,” -the girl concluded, as she glanced ruefully down at her faded -dress, and the clumsy, defaced shoes upon her feet.</p> - -<p>Tears involuntarily rushed to Allison’s eyes, as they fell upon -her costly, well-filled purse, and she realized for the first -time in her life that she had never known the meaning of the word -“poverty.” Again a sense of guilt swept over her as she thought of -the dainty ten-dollar boots and the silken stockings that encased -her feet—of the expensive hat upon her head, and the many other -accessories of her toilet, the price of one of which would have -seemed like a small fortune to this destitute girl.</p> - -<p>“I suppose you thought you were doing a good thing when you had me -brought in here?” Ellen resumed, after a moment of silence, and -glancing around the luxurious room they were in;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> “but Aunt Lu will -never pay Doctor Ashmore for setting my arm—he’s one of your -swell, high-priced doctors; you would have done better if you’d -sent me to some hospital.”</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t,” said Allison; “somehow, I have a prejudice against a -hospital; but you need not worry about Doctor Ashmore’s fee—I am -going to pay him myself.”</p> - -<p>“H’m! that’s very good of you, and you must have lots of spare -cash to be able to sling it about in that way,” Ellen observed, -with a wistful glance at the silver-tipped pocketbook in Allison’s -daintily gloved hand. “But,” starting to her feet, “I must be -getting along home, though goodness knows how I am going to carry -that bundle with only one hand, and—and my knees have a queer, -shaky feeling in them, too,” she concluded, growing pale and -sinking back upon the couch again.</p> - -<p>“Where do you live?” Allison questioned, in a voice that was -somewhat husky.</p> - -<p>“Down on Greenwich Street.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” breathed the petted child of fortune, with a shiver of -repulsion; and then she abruptly crossed the room to speak to the -surgeon’s assistant. She asked him if he would call a carriage for -her, after which she went thoughtfully back to her protégée.</p> - -<p>“I am going to send you and your bundle home in a carriage,” she -said to her; “and now tell me, please, was it exactly three dollars -that was stolen from you this morning?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, just the price of a dozen jackets.”</p> - -<p>“What! you do not mean that you only get that amount for making a -dozen jackets?” exclaimed Allison, aghast.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p> - -<p>“That is all—just twenty-five cents apiece,” said the girl, with a -confirmative nod.</p> - -<p>Allison opened her purse, and took from it three dollars.</p> - -<p>“Ellen,” she said, in a very winning tone, “I am going to give you -that much to take to your aunt, so that she cannot blame you for -the loss.”</p> - -<p>“My! but ain’t you good!” breathed the girl, with a long, grateful -sigh, as she reached eagerly for the money.</p> - -<p>“Wait,” said Allison; “I will get an envelope from Doctor Ashmore -to put it in—it will be safer so,” and going to the surgeon, who -was now writing at his desk, she asked him to give her two.</p> - -<p>She placed the three dollars in one, then returned to Ellen, to -whom she gave it, and who hastily thrust it into the bosom of her -dress.</p> - -<p>“Now,” continued Allison, “I am sorry that I cannot know how you -will get on with your arm, for I am going to leave the city for the -summer to-morrow morning. But, of course, you will have to come -to Doctor Ashmore occasionally, and I shall learn from him how -you are, when I return, and perhaps then I can help you to find -something to do in a pleasanter home——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, would you?—will you?” cried the girl, with pathetic -eagerness. “I should love you with all my heart for it.”</p> - -<p>Allison was almost ready to weep as she met the wistful eyes -uplifted to hers.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span></p> -<p>“I will try, if you will leave your address with Doctor Ashmore,” -she replied, as she quietly slipped a ten-dollar bill into the -other envelope; “and now I am going to give you this for your very -own,” she continued, as she tucked her gift into Ellen’s hand; “you -can do whatever you like with it.”</p> - -<p>“For me! Oh! do you mean that you have given me all that? Ten -dollars!” gasped the astonished girl, whose quick eyes had detected -the denomination of the bill. “Have you a right to give away so -much money? What will your father and mother say? Why, I can’t -believe it!”</p> - -<p>Her voice shook from intense excitement and the hand that held the -coveted sum trembled visibly.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Ellen, I have the right to give away what I like, and I have -no father nor mother, I regret to say, to question my pleasure -in that respect. You need not say anything about it to your aunt -unless you choose.”</p> - -<p>“I guess I sha’n’t tell either Aunt Lu or Anna a word about it,” -Ellen hastily interposed. “I shouldn’t have it long if I did. I -shall keep very mum, and when my arm gets well, I will make a good -use of it,” she added, with a gleam of triumph in her eyes that -Allison never forgot. Then, with something very like a sob, she -continued: “Why, miss, I think I must feel something like the slave -I read about not long ago, when his master gave him his liberty: ‘I -’clar to goodness,’ he said, ‘dis am a new world to me!’ This money -means freedom to me and a new world to live in. How I love you for -being so kind to me! I—I hope you do not mind my saying it”—<a name="Err18" id="Err18"></a>in -an apologetic tone—<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>“I know I’m of no account, but I haven’t had -anybody to love since my mother died, seven years ago.”</p> - -<p>Allison was deeply touched by the girl’s emotion, and the pathos of -this last remark.</p> - -<p>“Indeed, Ellen, you are of a great deal of account,” she returned, -with a winning smile; “and when I come back to the city, in the -fall, I will try to see you again, and I hope I shall find you well -and happier than you are to-day. Ah, I think the carriage has come -for you,” she concluded, as Doctor Ashmore’s attendant at that -moment returned, accompanied by the coachman, who had come for the -bundle.</p> - -<p>The surgeon then came forward, gave his patient some directions, -making an appointment for her to come to him again in a few days, -after which Allison bade her a kind good-by, paid the hackman his -fare, and charged him to “be sure and carry the bundle into the -house for Ellen when she reached home.”</p> - -<p>Then Allison turned to Doctor Ashmore and requested him to name his -charge for setting the broken arm.</p> - -<p>He smiled into her beautiful, earnest face.</p> - -<p>“Are you in the habit of picking up disabled protégées in the -streets of New York, Miss Allison?” he questioned.</p> - -<p>“No; I am ashamed to say that this is my first experience of -anything of the kind,” Allison gravely replied;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> “but it would have -been inhuman to have left her lying there upon the pavement, or to -have allowed her to be carried away to a hospital, when help was -so near. I knew, too, that she could not fall into better hands -than yours.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you for your tribute and confidence,” said the surgeon, in a -gratified tone, “but there will be no charge for what I have done.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, but I never should have presumed to bring her here if I had -not expected to be responsible for her fee,” Allison exclaimed, and -flushing sensitively.</p> - -<p>“I understand; but I think you have already done your share for -that poor, forsaken-looking child,” the man kindly responded. “I -like to do a good deed <a name="Err19" id="Err19"></a>once in a while myself, so we will not talk -any more about the fee.”</p> - -<p>He had not been unmindful of what had occurred between the two -girls, notwithstanding he had appeared to be absorbed in other -things.</p> - -<p>Allison thanked him heartily for his personal interest in the case, -and then, after a few moments of friendly chatting, bade him good -afternoon, and went home, having received a vivid object lesson -upon human poverty and suffering which she felt she should never -forget, and little thinking how the “bread which had that day been -cast upon the waters” would be returned to her after many days.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> - -<h3>A TERRIBLE REVELATION.</h3> - - -<p>The next morning after her adventure with Ellen Carson, Allison -left New York for Newport, where the Brewster villa was reopened, -with John Hubbard to play the part of proprietor and host, and -mature his plans for the capture of the beautiful heiress for whom -and whose money he had so long been scheming.</p> - -<p>To Allison the thought of spending the entire summer in the same -house with the man whom she so disliked seemed intolerable, and she -became very restless and rebellious in view of the prospect before -her ere a week had passed.</p> - -<p>“What shall I do with myself during all the years that will -intervene before his authority over me or my fortune will expire?” -she asked herself, with a feeling of excessive impatience, one day -during the second week of their sojourn at Newport.</p> - -<p>Yet the man was unwearied in his attentions, unvarying in his -kindness to her. He spared no trouble to give her pleasure, he -grumbled at no expense if he could but see her smiling and happy, -and be allowed to bask in her presence.</p> - -<p>“I cannot live an idle, aimless life,” she mused,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> “while I am -waiting for Gerald to make his fortune. Oh, what a proud, obstinate -boy! But why doesn’t he write to me? I have not heard from -him once since coming to Newport,” she sighed, with a troubled -expression. “I would like to teach,” she went on, after a moment -of thought; “but it hardly seems right for me, with my fortune, -to apply for a position which would otherwise be filled by a girl -who must support herself. But something I must do to break away -from this bondage. Oh, I know!” with an eager start. “It will be -just the most delightful plan! I will have a chaperon, and I will -travel. <a name="Err20" id="Err20"></a>It will be such a blessed relief to get away from—him!”</p> - -<p>And, much elated with what she considered a very clever plan, she -sought her guardian and made known her wish to go abroad.</p> - -<p>The man glanced sharply at her the moment he comprehended her -purpose; then sat quietly listening to her until she concluded the -rehearsal of her plan, which was, in the main, that she wished to -have at least a couple of years of foreign travel before making her -début in New York society—which it would not be etiquette for her -to do until her season of mourning was over.</p> - -<p>When she was through he changed his seat to one beside her, and -remarked, with a confidential look and smile:</p> - -<p>“Really, Allison, I think it rather singular that you and I both -should have the same project in view.”</p> - -<p>She glanced up at him in surprise.</p> - -<p>“Why, have you been planning such a trip for me?” she questioned, -with a momentary twinge of conscience,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> lest she had been more -unjust toward him than he merited.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” he replied, in a tone which he could not make quite steady, -for the proposal he was about to make was a very momentous one to -him. “You are now through school, and it is but right that you -should see something of the world. I have had this in mind for -some time, and have been trying to arrange for it. I now have my -business in such shape that I can leave it indefinitely, and we -will have a long holiday, Allison; we will spare neither time nor -money, and you shall go wherever your sweet will inclines.”</p> - -<p>The girl shot one quick, startled look at her companion; then a -burning flush suffused her neck, cheek and brow, for his tone -had grown suspiciously tender and tremulous, and she dreaded -inexpressibly what she feared was to come.</p> - -<p>“Oh, but I did not once think of—of taking you from your business -to go with me,” she hastened to say. “I can have a chaperon, you -know; there is Miss Wilber, my teacher in history, who has often -attended young ladies abroad during summer vacations. She is out of -health, and will not teach the coming year, and I am sure she would -be glad to go with me; she would be a delightful companion, too, -for she is so well posted in history, and has been about so much -she is a perfect encyclopedia of facts, legends and traditions. I -should feel perfectly safe, and be very happy with her, also.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, yes; no doubt it would be a very good arrangement, both for -yourself and the lady,” rejoined John Hubbard, when Allison paused, -although a frown<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> swept over his face at her evident eagerness -to substitute her own plan for his; “but, my dear child, I could -never consent to let you go away to Europe like that; I should -never know one moment of peace during your absence. Allison,” with -sudden and vehement earnestness, “do you remember what I told you -only a few months ago—that I have loved you ever since you were a -little girl, and that, during all those years, I have had only one -aim in life—that of eventually winning you for my wife? Think of -it, Allison! I have lived nearly eleven years with this one hope -to feed upon and cheer me. I know that I am somewhat older than -you, but my affection is none the less strong and true—indeed, -having nursed my hopes so long, my love is far more intense than it -could have been at the age when a man usually chooses his wife. My -darling, I adore you; my life is bound up in you; I must win you, -or the world will henceforth be a blank to me, and during the last -six months I have yearned for this moment more than I can express. -Allison, you will marry me; you will be my wife, and we will go -abroad for our honeymoon. I will live only to make you happy, and -you shall go where you like if you will but give me the right to go -with you.”</p> - -<p>He had spoken so rapidly that Allison could not have interrupted -him if she had wished; he had poured out his passionate avowal with -such resistless vehemence that she was stricken dumb, and sat with -averted face, an almost sickening sense of repugnance, even fear, -oppressing her.</p> - -<p>As he concluded he leaned forward, laying his hand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> upon hers, -which were tensely clasped upon her lap, and tried to look into her -downcast eyes.</p> - -<p>His touch broke the spell upon her.</p> - -<p>Almost involuntarily she shrank from him, snatching her hands from -his, a visible shiver creeping over her, and driving every particle -of color from her face.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” she gasped, as if oppressed by some terrible weight upon her -chest, “why will you say such things to me? No, no; it cannot be!”</p> - -<p>The man’s countenance changed, as if he had been smitten a sharp -and sudden blow.</p> - -<p>“Do not tell me that,” he breathed, in a hoarse, unnatural voice. -“I cannot bear it. I have lived too long with only this one hope to -sustain me, to have it ruthlessly wrested from me at this late day.”</p> - -<p>Something in the man’s tone—a sort of despairing, appealing -note—sent a wave of pity coursing through Allison’s heart.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry if I have pained you,” she faltered; “but—I cannot -love you, Mr. Hubbard, and so I must not marry you.”</p> - -<p>“I will make you love me, Allison,” he returned, with almost -pathetic earnestness. “Out of the superabundance of my own -affection I will nourish yours until your heart will turn to me as -naturally as a flower turns to the sun.”</p> - -<p>But Allison only shrank farther from him.</p> - -<p>“It is impossible; it can never be,” she said, so decidedly there -was no mistaking her determination to settle the matter for all -time.</p> - -<p>“Why?” he demanded, sharply, but with quivering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> lips. “Why can you -never love me? How is it that you are so positive?”</p> - -<p>“I do not know that I can tell you why; it is not easy to analyze -one’s feelings,” Allison responded constrainedly. “I only know that -I do not love you and that it would be a great sin to become your -wife without loving you.”</p> - -<p>“Then it must be because some one stands between us,” said John -Hubbard, with jealous bitterness. “Tell me! Is is so? Do you love -some one else?”</p> - -<p>There was now a note of impatient authority in his tone that -aroused Allison’s antagonism and a spirit of recklessness. Then, -too, his love-making was so repulsive to her she felt that she -could not endure it a moment longer. Perhaps, she thought, if she -should confess the truth to him it would put an end to his hopes -and emancipate her from all persecutions of this nature in the -future.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” she admitted, after a moment of hesitation, a vivid flush -suffusing her face, “that is the reason.”</p> - -<p>“Aha!” he breathed, hoarsely, the veins upon his temples standing -out hard and full. “So you confess it! Who is he? Who is he?”</p> - -<p>His tone was almost savage, his aspect so vindictive that Allison -was aroused in proportion.</p> - -<p>She turned upon him with a haughty air, and met his lowering eyes -with a clear, cold glance.</p> - -<p>“That is my own secret,” she frigidly returned.</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha! So you fondly believe it is a secret, do you?” he -mockingly retorted.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> “You imagine that no one has eyes or -perceptions to discern the signs of the times? My haughty little -lady, your ‘secret’ is no secret; I have read your heart, like an -open book, for many a long year.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, then; if you are so well versed in mind reading there -is no need of your asking information regarding what you already -know,” said the fair girl, with quiet sarcasm.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps not; but I wish to have my suspicions corroborated by -the testimony of your own lips. I want to be sure that my fate is -irrevocably sealed before I bow to it. So, tell me, is it Gerald -Winchester whom you love? Is he the rival upon whom you expect to -bestow your peerless self and your enviable fortune?”</p> - -<p>Again Allison flushed a deep and conscious crimson. The man’s -manner had grown so coarse and repulsive, while his mocking -reference to Gerald set all her pulses tingling with indignation -and defiance, and a desire to stand up in defense of her lover.</p> - -<p>“And suppose you are right in your surmise—what then?” she -demanded, proudly, a dangerous gleam in her eyes.</p> - -<p>“In that case, I tell you that you are doomed to be terribly -disappointed, for I swear that you shall never marry that upstart! -He shall never have the privilege of handling one dollar of Adam -Brewster’s fortune!” snarled the man, but so beside himself with -rage <a name="Err21" id="Err21"></a>his voice was hardly audible.</p> - -<p>Allison was now thoroughly angry and disgusted.</p> - -<p>She sprang to her feet and confronted her companion with haughty -mien and blazing eyes.</p> - -<p>“You are exceedingly presuming,” she began scornfully.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> “You are -overstepping the bounds of your authority as my guardian, for I -certainly have and shall exercise the right to choose for myself -whom I will marry, and——”</p> - -<p>“And what, Allison?” questioned John Hubbard, growing very white as -she suddenly paused. “This is a matter that must be settled, here -and now, so you may as well express yourself freely.”</p> - -<p>“I was simply going to observe that my choice would certainly not -fall upon yourself, even were I heart-whole,” she retorted, with -startling candor, and driven to utter defiance by his arbitrary -tone and manner.</p> - -<p>The man flushed scarlet beneath the scathing words; then a lurid -light sprang into his eyes.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid you do not realize what you are doing, Miss Brewster, -by so scornfully rejecting my suit,” he said, with an evident -effort for self-control.</p> - -<p>“You have driven me to plain speaking, sir,” Allison replied more -calmly. “You would not accept my courteous rejection of your -proposals, and you have made me very angry by your slighting -remarks about Mr. Winchester, whom you have always appeared to -hate, and whom you have also shamefully persecuted.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I have hated and do still hate him, the insufferable upstart, -with his assumption of high-toned airs, which are entirely at -variance with the beggardly position he has always occupied,” Mr. -Hubbard almost hissed, a cold glitter in his eyes, and with the old -vicious gleam of his white teeth beneath his mustache. “More than -that,” he resumed cruelly,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> “I swore long ago that he should never -marry you, as I plainly saw he was aiming to do by worming himself -into the confidence of your father and making love to you on the -sly——”</p> - -<p>“If you please, Mr. Hubbard, I think we have discussed this subject -sufficiently, and I would like to change it,” Allison here icily -interposed. “I have decided that I will spend the next two years -traveling; therefore, I shall write to Miss Wilber this evening -to——”</p> - -<p>“Not quite so fast, my young lady, if you please,” her guardian -rudely interrupted. “You appear to forget or ignore the fact that -you are under my authority, and are not free to arrange your -movements exactly as you like without my consent.”</p> - -<p>“I am more than eighteen years of age, Mr. Hubbard,” said Allison, -proudly, “and I am capable of thinking and acting for myself in -all ways except the management of my fortune. Business I do not -understand, and I bow to the decree of my father’s will that you -shall act as my agent financially; but I am no longer a child, to -be told that I cannot go here or there, provided I am properly -attended, and I shall arrange to go abroad immediately, with Miss -Wilber as my chaperon.”</p> - -<p>“Excuse me, Miss Brewster, but you will not go abroad this -summer, unless you go under my protection, and as my wife,” John -Hubbard observed, with a peculiar smile, that was exceedingly -exasperating, and which also sent a strange chill to the heart -of his listener. “You’d better be sensible and listen to reason, -Allison,” he continued more gently, after a moment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> of silence. “If -you will accede to my proposal, your future may be one long idyl -of happiness; your every wish shall be gratified; you shall be a -queen—I your slave. But,” sternly, as the girl made an impatient -gesture, “if you defy me, I——”</p> - -<p>“Well, what if I defy you?” she cried, turning upon him with the -air of a princess.</p> - -<p>“I have it in my power to crush you.”</p> - -<p>A light, scornful laugh rippled over Allison’s red lips.</p> - -<p>The idea of a man like John Hubbard, whom, all her life, she had -instinctively regarded as her inferior, being able to “crush” her, -Adam Brewster’s daughter, and heiress to a million or more, seemed -ludicrous in the extreme.</p> - -<p>“You appear to be skeptical regarding my powers, Miss Brewster,” -the man observed, with a crafty smile, but with a face that was -ghastly white from his intense anger.</p> - -<p>“Well, yes, I am,” she dryly responded, as she drew forth her watch -and glanced at the time. “Excuse me,” she added coldly, “but I have -an engagement to drive at four.”</p> - -<p>She was about to turn away and leave the room when her companion -seized her hand in a vise-like grip, and, bending before her, gazed -straight into her eyes with a look that sent a cold chill running -down her back.</p> - -<p>“Once more, and for the last time—and think well before you answer -me—<a name="Err22" id="Err22"></a>will you marry me, Allison?” he questioned, through his tightly -locked teeth.</p> - -<p>“No! a thousand times, no!” she cried, in a ringing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> tone; “and if -you ever broach the subject again I will appeal to be set free from -your guardianship. I will not submit to such persecution.”</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha! You will not need to appeal to be freed from my -authority!” he retorted, with an almost fiendish leer.</p> - -<p>“Ah! you are going to resign your position, perhaps?” said Allison, -with an eagerness which but too plainly betrayed her delight at -such a prospect.</p> - -<p>“You would be glad to have me do so, no doubt,” he sneered.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I think I would,” the girl gravely returned, after a moment -of thought. “After what has occurred to-day I think it would be -unpleasant for both of us to continue our present relations.”</p> - -<p>“Very well; <a name="Err23" id="Err23"></a>you shall be gratified, for it is my purpose to resign -all authority over you,” said John Hubbard, with peculiar emphasis. -Then he added, with something between a sigh and a groan, “I would -have spared you this, Allison, and it is not too late even now -to—to save you, if you will but reconsider your rejection of -me——”</p> - -<p>Allison checked him with an imperative gesture.</p> - -<p>“I will have no more of that,” she said, haughtily. “But what do -you mean? From what is it not too late to save me? Why are you -about to resign your guardianship of me?”</p> - -<p><a name="Err24" id="Err24"></a>“To answer your last question will be to reply to all—because I -was appointed as guardian to Adam Brewster’s daughter, but—you are -no child of the late banker!”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2> - -<h3>AN APPALLING SECRET.</h3> - - -<p>Allison regarded her companion in silent astonishment for a full -minute after his astounding communication.</p> - -<p>“I do not understand you,” she said, at last, and she looked as if -she had not in the least comprehended his statement.</p> - -<p>“I have told you that you are not the daughter of Adam Brewster,” -John Hubbard stolidly reasserted.</p> - -<p>An incredulous expression swept over the girl’s beautiful face.</p> - -<p>“That is an assertion too absurd to be heeded,” she said, and -turning again, as if to leave the room.</p> - -<p>The man placed himself in her path, thus intercepting her.</p> - -<p>“I have told you only the truth,” he said, with cold -deliberateness. “There is not one drop of Adam Brewster’s blood -in your veins; you are of no kin to either him or the late Mrs. -Brewster—so called.”</p> - -<p>“Who—am—I—then?” came slowly from Allison’s white lips, for at -last the arrow had struck home, although she did not appear to have -heeded the last two ambiguous words which the man had uttered.</p> - -<p>“I do not know; no one knows,” he answered, with cruel -indifference.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I do not believe it—I will not believe it! You will have to prove -it!” the girl cried, tremulously.</p> - -<p>“I can prove it.”</p> - -<p>“Then I demand proof, here and now—this instant!” with an -imperative stamp of her foot.</p> - -<p>John Hubbard left the room without a word. In less than three -minutes he returned, carrying in his hands one of the boxes which -had been found in Gerald’s possession on that fatal Sunday morning -of the previous winter.</p> - -<p>He set it upon a table, placed a chair before it, and motioned for -Allison to be seated.</p> - -<p>“In that box you will find the proof of what I have told you,” he -said; then added, as if impelled by a twinge of remorse: “I would -have saved you this, Allison, had you been reasonable.”</p> - -<p>“Reasonableness! Do you call it unreasonable for a girl to -refuse to be coerced into an uncongenial marriage?” she cried, -passionately, her face flaming scarlet, although she was trembling -from head to foot with mingled suspense and apprehension.</p> - -<p>“Where is the key to this?” she demanded, sinking into the chair -before the table and without giving the man a chance to reply.</p> - -<p>He took a ring of keys from his pocket, detached one from it, and -passed it to her without speaking.</p> - -<p>Allison could not have been whiter if she had been carved from -marble as she inserted the tiny bit of brass in the lock, turned -it, and threw open the cover of the mysterious box.</p> - -<p>A low, inarticulate cry broke from her as she caught<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> sight of the -infant’s clothing within, and instantly surmised the truth; yet, -even in her amazement and horror over the terrible revelation, she -noted how exquisitely fine was the material from which the garments -had been made—how rich the various trimmings—how pure the tiny -diamond that gleamed in the small golden key that was pinned upon -the yoke of the little dress.</p> - -<p>She removed the articles one by one, laying them upon the table, -until she emptied the box of all its contents save that brief note, -written by the unknown mother, and Mrs. Brewster’s confession to -her husband.</p> - -<p>Allison unfolded the letter first, and read it through to the end -without making a sign of the suffering that nearly cleft her heart -in twain, as she realized how, in an instant of time, as it were, -she had been cut adrift from every human tie that had bound her to -her supposed parents.</p> - -<p>Then she perused the other, studying every line and dot of the few -brief words which had doubtless been penned by the hand of her own -mother.</p> - -<p>“Well,” she said, at last, in a hollow voice, “is this the extent -of your revelations upon this subject?”</p> - -<p>“Is it not sufficient to prove that you are not Adam Brewster’s -child?” the man questioned.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Allison, chocking back a sob; “there can be no doubt -that I was only an adopted child——”</p> - -<p>“You were not even adopted,” John Hubbard interposed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> “There was no -one living who knew the secret when Adam Brewster discovered it, -and he was far too shrewd a man to betray it by taking out papers -of adoption at that late day, and thus run the risk of having the -world learn the truth. Why he should have spoiled everything by -retaining these proofs is more than I can understand. If he had -burned them immediately after reading Mrs. Brewster’s confession no -one would ever have known that you were not his child.”</p> - -<p>“How came you to have this box?” Allison questioned, after a -thoughtful silence.</p> - -<p>“Why, having been Mr. Brewster’s attorney and your guardian, it -became my duty to examine everything connected with his affairs, -and this——”</p> - -<p>“Aha!” exclaimed Allison, with a start. “I believe this was one -of the two boxes which my father sent Gerald to get that Sunday -when you found him in the bank vault. I understand, now, why he -did this,” she went on, breathlessly. “He knew that he could trust -Gerald implicitly, never to speak of his errand to any one—never -to mention the existence of anything which he wished to conceal, -and he intended, without doubt, to destroy the contents of this -box, and so blot out of existence <a name="Err25" id="Err25"></a>every vestige of this secret.”</p> - -<p>“Well, yes, I should say that you have analyzed the situation very -accurately,” her companion observed, as she paused, although he had -given an impatient shrug at her tribute to Gerald.</p> - -<p>“Then if you knew—if you realized this, you have been false to -your trust,” Allison indignantly continued. “You have not carried -out my father’s wishes. Why could you not have respected them? Why -have you revealed this secret to me?”</p> - -<p>“I have my reasons,” the man sullenly returned.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the girl, tremulously,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> “if you have done this -simply to be revenged upon me because I rejected your proposal -of marriage, you have at least succeeded in giving me a terrible -shock; you have, in a sense, robbed me of my birthright; but you -can never rob me of the knowledge that Mr. and Mrs. Brewster both -loved and cherished me with all the tenderness which an own father -and mother could experience for their child. He certainly proved -this by every act of his life, and by making me the sole heir to -his wealth. The one thing I cannot understand is his making you my -guardian and investing you with so much power over me. I rebelled -against it at the outset; I am more than ever unreconciled to it -to-day, and I will submit to it no longer. I know that I have the -right to appeal for a change of guardian, and I intend to avail -myself of it,” she concluded, with considerable warmth.</p> - -<p>“Please allow me to remind you of what I have already stated—that -I am about to resign the honor which Mr. Brewster conferred upon -me,” John Hubbard returned, in a tone, and with a look so sinister -that Allison felt her flesh creep.</p> - -<p>“I am very glad,” she replied, coldly. “It will at least save me -considerable trouble and worry.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” he stiffly rejoined; “but possibly you may not feel -quite so elated when I tell you that the revelation which I have -just made was but to prepare you for another of a far more serious -nature.”</p> - -<p>“More trouble! Oh, I can bear no more!” moaned Allison to herself, -although she made no visible sign, except to grasp the arms of her -chair convulsively and try to brace herself for what was to come.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span></p> - -<p>She began to feel spent from the excitement which she had already -undergone, and it seemed as if she could not endure another blow -like that which had just fallen upon her.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I am afraid there is more trouble for you,” said John -Hubbard, with a smile of cruel triumph over her suffering.</p> - -<p>Now that he was convinced that he could never win her, he was -prepared to ruthlessly crush her, with all possible despatch, and -his plans had long been matured to this end.</p> - -<p>“But,” he returned, after a slight pause, “I want you to understand -that you have brought judgment upon your own head. I would have -been glad to shield you from every pang. You need never have -learned this secret, or have been shorn of a single luxury. As -it is, however, it becomes my duty to tell you that you are no -longer the heiress you have supposed yourself to be. The rich Miss -Brewster, the belle, the beauty, will be dethroned—hurled from her -high position in the world into poverty and obscurity by one blow -from the ax of fate.”</p> - -<p>The seeming absurdity of such a statement acted like an electric -shock to Allison.</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?” she demanded, whirling haughtily around upon -the speaker.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> “I may not be Adam Brewster’s own child—that is a -fact which I am forced to admit; but that it deprives me of the -fortune which he left me, by will, or of the position in society to -which he reared me, I do not admit. Your authority as my guardian -is not powerful enough for that, and you know, as well as I, that -my father spent his life accumulating his money with the hope and -the intention that I should inherit it.”</p> - -<p>“Your conclusions are well drawn, Miss Brewster, and I should not -presume, upon my own authority, to controvert them,” John Hubbard -returned, with an air of mock humility and a deprecatory glance; -“but, unfortunately, a power more potent than any which I possess -is at work against your interests.”</p> - -<p>“I do not understand you,” said Allison, coldly, but with a sinking -heart, for the man’s manner was very ominous.</p> - -<p>“Well, then, to bring the matter before you in a nutshell, a woman -calling herself Mrs. Adam Brewster has recently presented herself, -claiming to be the legal wife of your late father, so called, and -certain property rights. In fact, she proposes to dispute Mr. -Brewster’s will and your right of inheritance.”</p> - -<p>“It is false! I do not believe it!” cried Allison, starting wildly -to her feet. “Who is this woman? Where is she? I pronounce her an -impostor!”</p> - -<p>“Pray do not allow yourself to become excited, Miss Brewster,” said -her companion, with formal politeness.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> “I foresaw, of course, that -this would be a great trial to you, and I hoped that the matter -might be compromised quietly—to save scandal and your feelings, -you understand. It could have been so arranged if—if you had -consented to become my wife. You would then have retained your -proper position in life, and the loss of a part of your fortune -need never have been known. I would have paid Mrs. Brewster what -she demands, and the whole affair could have been hushed up, since -she cares more for money than for the notoriety of becoming known -as the late banker’s wife.”</p> - -<p>“I do not believe one word of it! She is an impostor!” Allison -reiterated. “My father never made a second marriage. He loved my -mother far too well ever to put another in her place.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, pardon me, Miss Brewster, but I fear that I have not even yet -made myself quite plain,” returned the villain, his white teeth -gleaming viciously under his mustache. “Mrs. Brewster does not -claim that she is the second wife; she asserts that she is the -first—the only wife——”</p> - -<p>“What!” almost shrieked Allison, as she sank back, pale and -breathless, upon her chair. “What is this that you dare tell me? -Oh, you do not know what you are saying! You are making my lovely -precious mother no wife at all!”</p> - -<p>“Exactly; that is just what the aspirant for the Brewster fortune -claims,” began the wily expert.</p> - -<p>“It is not true! There is not a word of truth in the dreadful -story!” interposed the unhappy girl, in heart-broken tones, a -shudder of repugnance shaking her from head to foot.</p> - -<p>“No doubt it seems hard, and there are a good many hard things in -the world. I have found it so in my own experience,” her companion -replied, with significant emphasis; “but, unfortunately for you, -the lady brings proofs which appear incontestible.”</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p> -<p>“I will not listen to them! I will have them refuted! I will engage -the best counsel in New York, and leave no stone unturned to -defend the reputation of my dear father and mother,” Allison wildly -declared.</p> - -<p>Her companion looked somewhat disconcerted in view of her threat; -but, after a moment, leaned toward her and said, in low, stern, -rapid tones:</p> - -<p>“All vehement denial and denunciation can do your cause no good. I -have seen this woman who claims to be Mrs. Brewster. I have seen -and read letters and documents which prove her statement that she -was married to Adam Brewster some three years prior to his marriage -to the lady whom you called mother. She says they only lived -together a very short time; a violent quarrel and the discovery -that they were not congenial resulted in a separation, she going -to a distant city in the West to reside, and where, out of motives -of revenge, she caused a notice of her death to be inserted in a -newspaper and sent to her husband. A few years afterward she saw -an announcement of Mr. Brewster’s marriage to a Miss Porter, of -Massachusetts.”</p> - -<p>“Horrible! But if all this is true, why did she not make her claim -upon him at that time? Why wait all these years before claiming her -rights?” Allison demanded, as Mr. Hubbard paused.</p> - -<p>“That is easily explained,” he returned.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> “Mr. Brewster took his -bride immediately abroad. She did not know when he returned, and -could learn nothing regarding him until after the death of the -second Mrs. Brewster. She says that later she did seek him, and -demanded recognition as his wife. Of course, it was a terrible blow -to him to learn how she had deceived him, but he would have nothing -to say to her; he repudiated her utterly. The only thing he would -agree to was to pay her a certain amount annually, as hush money, -for she threatened to expose the facts of the case unless he would -make some arrangement with her.”</p> - -<p>“I do not believe it,” Allison again stoutly affirmed. “It was not -like my father to pay ‘hush money’ to any one. He was always open -and aboveboard in all his dealings; besides, he never appeared to -have any trouble or burden upon his mind, as he must have had if he -had stood in constant fear of a public scandal.”</p> - -<p>“All the same, Miss Brewster, your father was married—it was a -secret marriage, too—three years previous to his union with Miss -Porter. It occurred during the last year of his college course in -New Haven. Mrs. Brewster can produce prima facie evidence of the -fact in the form of old letters and a certificate, and I have also -seen the record of the marriage license in the city archives.”</p> - -<p>“Why, then, did not this woman come forward at the time of papa’s -death, and contest his will? Why has she waited all these months?” -questioned Allison, with white, quivering lips.</p> - -<p>“Simply because I have not allowed her to do so; because I have -been striving to protect your interests—trying to temporize with -her,” said Mr. Hubbard, with a would-be effective sigh.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> “She would -have been content with half, and I could then have saved the other -half for you, if you had been reasonable and listened to my suit. I -could thus have protected you from every ill; indeed, I never would -have wounded you by allowing you to suspect anything of what has -been revealed to you to-day. You perceive what you have brought -upon yourself by defying me.”</p> - -<p>Allison lifted a death-white face to the speaker, but there was a -gleam in her eyes that made him quail before her.</p> - -<p>“Mr. John Hubbard, I would rather be a beggar in the streets—I -would rather be a street sweeper, earning a penny at a time, -than be the wife of such a man as you,” she said with deliberate -scorn. “You are cold, cruel, unprincipled, or you would never have -conducted yourself as you have to-day; you would never have sought -to be revenged upon one who was helplessly consigned to your power -because, not loving you, she refused to marry you.”</p> - -<p>“Very well. You have sealed your own doom. Henceforth I shall act -in the interests of Mr. Brewster’s legal wife and daughter.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> - -<h3>DO YOUR WORST.</h3> - - -<p>“Daughter!” gasped Allison, a feeling of utter despair at her -heart, as John Hubbard gave utterance, in a tone of fiendish -triumph, to that last word. “Do you mean to tell me that papa has -an own daughter living?”</p> - -<p>“Yes—Miss Anna Brewster, who is a young lady a few years your -senior. A fine-looking girl she is, too—a brilliant brunette, -resembling her mother, who must also have been a handsome woman -when she was young,” John Hubbard responded, as he covertly watched -his companion.</p> - -<p>Allison sat silently thinking for several moments, but at last she -looked up at the man, meeting his eyes with a steadfast look.</p> - -<p>“In spite of all you say, I do not believe it,” she said, with a -quiet positiveness. “If that woman was his wife, there might have -been some good reason for his repudiation of her; but he never -would have denied the child that was his own flesh and blood. He -was too honorable not to wish to do what was right and honest, and -he would certainly have made generous provision for her. No, I will -not credit such a story.”</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span></p> -<p>“Suppose I should show you the certificate of his marriage to -this woman, also some letters which he wrote to her before their -marriage?” questioned her companion, a light of evil triumph in his -eyes.</p> - -<p>“If you have such proofs, of course you will show them to me,” -Allison haughtily returned. “You cannot suppose that I am going to -take all that you have told me for granted, and yield my position -and fortune without a struggle. Produce your evidence, if you have -it; it is my right to demand it.”</p> - -<p>“Very well; I will produce it,” said the man, with an ugly frown -upon his brow; and, slipping his hand inside the breast pocket of -his coat, he drew forth a large envelope and a small package of -time-yellowed letters that were tied together with a faded blue -ribbon.</p> - -<p>Drawing a paper from the envelope, he unfolded and spread it out -upon the table before Allison.</p> - -<p>It was a marriage-certificate, dated more than twenty-four years -previous.</p> - -<p>It certified that on the 10th of April, of 18—, Adam Brewster -had been united in marriage to Louisa M. Simpson, of New Haven, -Connecticut, by the Reverend Albert Ackerman.</p> - -<p>The document was faded and creased with time, and it had every -appearance of being a genuine certificate. Allison read it -carefully, then pushed it one side, and held out her hand for the -letters.</p> - -<p>As she untied the narrow ribbon that bound them, and the various -missives dropped apart, a low cry of pain escaped her, for she -instantly recognized her father’s handwriting upon their envelopes.</p> - -<p>Opening several of these, she saw that they were affectionately -addressed to “My Dearest,” “Sweetheart<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>,” “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Ma Belle</i>,” etc., and -signed “Ever yours,” or “Your own Ad.”</p> - -<p>There could not be the slightest doubt that those letters had been -written by Adam Brewster, although Allison did not have the heart -to read any of them, and gradually the conviction was forced upon -her that the story which John Hubbard had told her must be true.</p> - -<p>What then, was to be her fate?</p> - -<p>Mrs. Brewster’s confession of her secret adoption had, at first, -cut her to the heart, for it had seemed to alienate her from the -dear ones whom, all her life, she had regarded as her parents; but, -in the light of this later revelation, she now felt a thrill of -thankfulness in knowing that she had not been their child, since -such a birth would seem to entail disgrace upon her; and, like a -drowning person clutching at a straw of hope, she now clung to that -assurance contained in the young mother’s note that the child whom -she had been forced to desert was “well and honorably born.”</p> - -<p>And yet she knew that Adam Brewster had loved her as he loved no -other being on earth; that all his hopes had been centered in her; -that he had constantly toiled and accumulated for her alone, and -gloried in the fact that she would be his sole heiress.</p> - -<p>She could not understand why, if he really had an own child, he -should have repudiated her; why he had not made handsome provision -for her. Possibly he had done so, unknown to any one save this -woman and her daughter; and they, now becoming greedy for more, -were taking this way to get possession of the heritage willed to -her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yes,” she sighed, at last, as she gathered up and retied the -letters together, “I am afraid it is all true.”</p> - -<p>A sinister, avaricious light sprang into the eyes of her companion -as she made this admission.</p> - -<p>“Still,” she thoughtfully resumed, “I do not see how it can very -materially affect my position. I was reared as my father’s own -child; all the world knows it; and the will which he made, naming -me as his heiress, must stand.”</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Brewster and her daughter will contest that will,” briefly -observed John Hubbard.</p> - -<p>“How can they? Was it not legally drawn? If it was not, then you -are responsible for its invalidity,” sharply retorted Allison.</p> - -<p>“Certainly it was legally drawn; there is no flaw in it,” was -the dignified response, although the man flushed guiltily as he -recalled that Sunday morning which he had spent in the bank the -previous winter. “But, according to certain laws, a man has no -right to make a will ignoring any of his heirs, and if, either -by oversight or design, he does so, the will can be broken. -Consequently, Mrs. Brewster has informed me that she should bring a -suit against her late husband’s estate, and demand recognition of -her position and rights.”</p> - -<p>“And, in view of that threat, have not you, as my guardian, done -anything to protect my interests?” demanded Allison, with some -warmth.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p> -<p>“Certainly, Miss Brewster; I have done a great deal. I have staved -off proceedings, for one thing, hoping that we might compromise -matters, and so settle everything quietly, without a trial and a -scandal. This could have been done if—if my plans had worked,” -said the crafty man, with a reproachful look and sigh. “But now I -think Mrs. Brewster will press her claims. She will try to break -the will, asserting that you have no right to anything, while she, -being the legal wife, and her child, the only legitimate heir, are -justly entitled to everything.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, will poor, dear mama’s name have to be dragged before the -public? Will this claimant try to prove that mama was never legally -married to papa?” exclaimed Allison, in deep distress, her face -crimsoning with shame at the thought of having that lovely and -sainted woman’s reputation so trailed in the dust.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I fear she does not intend to spare her rival, unless we can -hit upon some plan of settling the matter quietly,” said the crafty -villain.</p> - -<p>“Can it be quietly settled?” eagerly questioned the distressed girl.</p> - -<p>“Possibly it might be,” the man admitted, with averted eyes.</p> - -<p>“How?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I suppose if you would resign everything——”</p> - -<p>“Everything! Do you tell me that I am expected to relinquish all -right and title to everything that my dear father left me?” cried -Allison, the hot color mounting to her forehead in indignant -protest against such wholesale robbery.</p> - -<p>“Ahem!” said John Hubbard, moving uneasily upon his chair.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> “I think -that will be the only way to get out of it quietly. You see, you -are not really entitled to a penny, since there is no Brewster -blood in your veins.”</p> - -<p>“But do not the love and wishes of my father, as expressed in his -will, count for anything?”</p> - -<p>“From a sentimental point of view, they might count for a great -deal; but there is no sentiment in law, Miss Brewster,” sneered the -attorney.</p> - -<p>“No, nor any other principle but greed!” sharply retorted Allison, -a ring of keen pain in her tones.</p> - -<p>It seemed as if she was an entirely different being from what she -had been two hours previous, as if some terrible metamorphosis -had taken place in her, destroying her identity and making her a -stranger to even herself.</p> - -<p>She was no longer Allison Brewster, the heiress to a vast fortune; -she had no longer any right to the position she had always -occupied. She did not know who she was, or—if this strange woman, -who called herself Adam Brewster’s widow, demanded the uttermost -farthing—how she was to live in the future, or find a home to -shelter her.</p> - -<p>“Oh, it is all a cruel mystery, and I do not know how to meet -it!” the perplexed girl sighed, almost unconsciously voicing her -thoughts.</p> - -<p>“Yes, the events connected with your association with the Brewster -family are mysterious, and it is doubtful if they will ever be -solved,” responded her companion, a gleam of cruel satisfaction in -his eyes in view of the evident suffering of his victim. “And,” -he added, pressing the thorn yet more deeply into the wound,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> “it -must seem hard to one reared as luxuriously as you have been to be -reduced from affluence to abject poverty by a single blow.”</p> - -<p>His cruelty stung her to the quick.</p> - -<p>“It shall not be! I will not be so robbed!” she exclaimed -excitedly. “I will claim that I have a right to at least some -portion of the fortune which my father willed me. Surely no judge -or jury would ever decree that that woman and her daughter are -entitled to the whole. And I cannot quite understand your attitude -in connection with their claims, Mr. Hubbard,” she added, with -sudden thought. “Considering your position as my guardian, one -would naturally suppose you would make a brave fight for me, rather -than advocate their cause so earnestly.”</p> - -<p>“I have already fought to the finish for you. I have spared no -effort to win,” the man retorted significantly: “but, as I have -already told you, you have sealed your own doom. I could have -braved everything for my wife, and I would have won the victory; -but when a girl tells a man that she loves a fellow he hates, and -that she would rather be a beggar or a street-sweeper than marry -him, her scorn has a tendency to produce a strong revulsion in -his feelings. And now, my proud little beggar—for such you will -be—you may go and starve, for all I care!” he concluded, with -intense bitterness.</p> - -<p>“I will not starve! I will defy you to the very end,” Allison cried -spiritedly, as she again sprang to her feet and confronted her -sworn foe with flashing eyes.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> “Oh, I am almost inclined to believe -that this is some deep-laid plot to ruin me—some vile scheme of -your own to drive me into a hateful marriage with you, or into -poverty and obscurity as my only alternative. I have never trusted -you, Mr. John Hubbard, and have wondered how papa could have put -faith in you. I have long believed you to be tricky and capable of -double-dealing. I have always felt that you had a hand in bringing -that trouble upon Gerald. But truth and the right triumphed in his -case, and you will be foiled in this. I am only a lonely girl. -I know nothing about the quirks and quibbles of law; but I am -inclined to doubt this story of yours regarding the woman whom you -call Mrs. Brewster, in spite of the ‘proofs’ which you have shown -me; and now I am going to prove to you that, even though I may -have no Brewster blood in my veins, I have a spirit of which Adam -Brewster need not be ashamed in the girl whom he reared as his -daughter. Now, do your worst, Mr. Hubbard, and I will seek the best -counsel in New York to fight against you!”</p> - -<p>She was gloriously beautiful as she stood proudly facing her enemy. -Her pose was proud and fearless, her cheeks were scarlet, and her -beautiful eyes blazed with a fire which bespoke dauntless courage.</p> - -<p>She seemed to have suddenly developed from a quiet, clinging, -dependent schoolgirl into a strong, self-reliant woman, who was -determined to do and dare all things to maintain her rights and -preserve her heritage.</p> - -<p>John Hubbard gazed upon her wonderingly.</p> - -<p>He had not dreamed of arousing such a sleeping lioness; he had -believed that she would be so overwhelmed by the proofs and the -power which he held in his hands that she would tamely submit to -the inevitable, and relinquish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> all right or title to the Brewster -estate, whereupon he would come without an effort into possession -of her fortune, which he had so long coveted.</p> - -<p>“And whom will you choose as your attorney to contest this case, -Miss Brewster?” he inquired, in a harsh, rasping voice, after -recovering a little from his surprise at the stand she had taken.</p> - -<p>“I do not know yet, and I should not tell you if I did,” she coldly -responded. Then she added thoughtlessly: “Gerald will advise me. -Perhaps Mr. Lyttleton——”</p> - -<p>A vicious, sibilant oath here interrupted her as she uttered these -names.</p> - -<p>“Neither is in New York. They sailed again for Europe a week ago -to-day,” John Hubbard added, in a tone of vindictive triumph.</p> - -<p>Allison started violently, then flushed a wounded crimson. -This explained why she had not heard from Gerald, she thought. -Doubtless his employer had been suddenly recalled to England upon -some business connected with “the complicated case” that he was -conducting there.</p> - -<p>And yet she felt, with a terrible sense of loss and pain, that -Gerald might at least have found time to drop her a line, telling -her of his unexpected flitting. It was very strange, and she was -deeply wounded, but she did not once suspect foul play—that John -Hubbard might have been tampering with her correspondence.</p> - -<p>Such was the case, however. No letter of hers had been allowed to -reach Gerald; while, at that very moment, two tender epistles from -her lover, one of them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> telling her that he and his employer had -been summoned abroad again, and giving her his London address, were -tucked snugly away in the villain’s wallet.</p> - -<p>“Very well,” she proudly returned, on recovering herself a little; -“there are other talented lawyers. I shall find some one to help -me.”</p> - -<p>“But where will you get the money necessary to conduct your case, -Miss Brewster?” sneeringly demanded Mr. Hubbard. “Litigation is -expensive business, and, in view of your present attitude, I shall -feel it my duty to cut off your allowance from this time on.”</p> - -<p>Allison’s heart sank within her, for she saw that she was powerless -in his hands; he had control of her property, and she could not -compel him to give her a single dollar if he chose to withhold it.</p> - -<p>“Well, at least I have my mother’s jewels. I can pledge them as -security for my counsel’s fee,” she wearily replied.</p> - -<p>“I beg leave to differ with you, my dear young lady,” was the -sarcastic retort. “Those jewels, as you are aware, are in my safe; -and since it has been proved that you are not Adam Brewster’s -daughter, they will be regarded as belonging to his estate, and so -retained for the true heirs, as the court shall decide.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Hubbard, you know that they rightly belong to me,” Allison -indignantly exclaimed. “You know that papa intended them for me. He -told Mr. Winchester so when he sent him to get them, and I demand -them from you.”</p> - -<p>“Excuse me, but I shall be obliged to ignore your demand,” returned -the man, with a cruel smile.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> “Having been purchased with Mr. -Brewster’s money, they henceforth properly belong to Mr. Brewster’s -own daughter, and they will probably become the property of Miss -Anna Brewster.”</p> - -<p>Allison stood silently and gravely regarding him for a moment.</p> - -<p>“Have you no heart?” she at length inquired. “Have you no -principle, that you thus prove recreant to the trust my father -reposed in you?”</p> - -<p>“I was appointed guardian to Mr. Brewster’s daughter, and I fully -intend to see that the lady has her rights,” John Hubbard replied.</p> - -<p>“You know that you are not in the least carrying out the spirit -of my father’s will,” said Allison solemnly. “You, as well as I, -know that he would never have left his property as he did if he had -supposed there was any one living who would contest his wishes. You -are guilty of a great wrong.”</p> - -<p>“Miss Brewster, I am fulfilling the ‘letter of the law’. Ah, -Allison, you should never have made an enemy of me,” the villain -concluded mockingly.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” cried Allison passionately, and with a shiver of repugnance; -“I believe I would rather have your enmity than your friendship, -if it would free me forever from your hateful presence! From this -moment I repudiate you utterly, and all your authority over me. -Now, do your worst; but I warn you I will make a hot battle for -you!”</p> - -<p>John Hubbard felt a strange heart-sinking as he looked upon the -beautiful girl, read the scorn in her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> great blue eyes, and -realized how utterly despicable he was in her sight.</p> - -<p>Then he laughed out mockingly.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid you have undertaken more than you realize, Allison,” -he said, all his ghastly teeth gleaming at her from the shadow of -his inky mustache; “for let me tell you another precious little -secret.” And now he bent so that his own evil eyes came just on a -level with hers. “You have scornfully rejected the hand and fortune -which I offered you, but Miss Anna Brewster stands ready to become -Mrs. John Hubbard any day I choose to name for the wedding. So, -you perceive, you will have the united interests of Hubbard and -Brewster against you; and do you think I will let such a fortune -slip out of my hands?”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2> - -<h3>WRECK OF THE LIMITED.</h3> - - -<p>As the man recklessly threw that last poisoned lance at Allison, -he turned and abruptly left the room, without waiting to note what -effect his words would have upon her.</p> - -<p>She was almost paralyzed for a moment, in view of the fiendish plan -which she now saw he was contemplating.</p> - -<p>Then she nervously sank into her chair again, too weak to -stand—too wretched to care much whether she lived or died.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I believe it is all a plot of his own making!” she sighed. “I -feel as if I had become entangled in some net, from which there is -no hope of escape, and I am sure I do not know to whom I can look -for help in this terrible emergency. Gerald has gone—how strange! -I cannot understand why he should not have confided the fact to me.”</p> - -<p>A bitter sob interrupted her at this point, for she was deeply -wounded by her lover’s apparent neglect of her.</p> - -<p>She was indeed in a trying position. She did not know what to -do or to whom to turn. Her cousin, Mrs. Manning, was, as she -supposed, still abroad; she could not tell her troubles to mere -acquaintances, and she felt utterly alone.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Can it be possible that I am no longer I—Allison Brewster? Am -I indeed only a poor little waif who was deserted almost at my -birth?” she sighed wearily, as she drew the box again toward her, -and examined, once more, the little garments it contained and the -golden key with the tiny diamond set in the heart of the pansy.</p> - -<p>“What does it unlock I wonder?” she murmured thoughtfully; “or is -it only an ornament? If so, it is a queer device, for it certainly -is a perfect key.”</p> - -<p>Then she reread the note supposed to have been penned by the hand -of her real mother, and after that the letter written by Mrs. -Brewster.</p> - -<p>“Poor, dear mama! How she must have suffered to have had such a -secret upon her mind! But both she and papa loved me as if I had -been their very own,” she mused, as she touched the closely written -pages to her lips.</p> - -<p>After that she sat a long time, thinking, and trying to decide what -she should do to wrest her heritage from the greedy clutch of John -Hubbard and his accomplices, as she regarded them.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p> -<p>“I have no money, except what I have saved from my allowance, -and that, I fear, would not be a tempting retaining fee for any -reliable lawyer. Then I wonder if papa would want all that past -experience of his life raked over, to become subjects of discussion -for a scandal-loving public? If that woman’s story is true, it -proves that mama was never a lawful wife, even though papa may have -believed he was free when he married her. Ah! he was so fond of -her; it would certainly have deeply wounded him to have the truth -known, and I would not wish to do anything to bring reproach upon -the memory of either of them.”</p> - -<p>It was a trying position for the tender-hearted, conscientious -girl, and she was sorely perplexed. On the one hand, if she made -no effort to recover the fortune which her father had willed to -her, she would be reduced to abject poverty; on the other hand, it -seemed as if she would only be turning to sting the hearts that had -nourished her by entailing opprobrium upon their names.</p> - -<p>Finally she returned the clothing and letters to the box, carefully -locking it, and putting the key in her purse. Then she went wearily -up-stairs to her room.</p> - -<p>The next morning Allison purposely delayed going down to breakfast -until after John Hubbard had left the house for his usual trip to -New York.</p> - -<p>Thus she was alone at the table, and, while she went through the -form of breaking her fast, she took up the morning paper, which her -guardian had left lying beside her plate and began to glance over -its columns.</p> - -<p>Suddenly she started and uttered a joyful cry as her eye caught the -following paragraph:</p> - - - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“We learn from a Boston correspondent that the talented artist, -Mr. Charles Manning, has recently returned from his long sojourn -in Rome, where he has been pursuing his chosen profession -under most favorable auspices, and established himself with -his charming family in Boston, where he has some important -commissions—one of which is the decoration of the ceiling of -the elegant banquet hall of the —— House,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>a magnificent hotel -which has recently been erected in that city. It is probable -that, later, he will return to and locate in New York, where he -will be warmly welcomed back to the circle from which both he -and his cultivated wife have so long been missed. They are now -stopping at the Vendome.”</p></div> - -<p>“Oh, could! anything have happened more opportunely?” Allison -breathed, with a sob of thankfulness, as she laid down the paper to -wipe the blinding tears from her eyes. “Cousin Charlie will be just -the one to help me out of this dreadful trouble, and Annie will -gladly take me under the friendly shelter of her wing until I can -free myself from this hateful bondage to John Hubbard.”</p> - -<p>She sat absorbed in thought for some time; then, with an air of -decision, continued:</p> - -<p>“Yes, I believe I will go at once to Boston, without saying a word -to any one, and put myself under their protection. Ah, I feel like -a new creature, now that I know that friends and help are near!”</p> - -<p>Her appetite seemed to return to her, in view of this solution of -her difficulties, and, after eating a hearty meal, she was almost -gay as she arose from the table and ran up-stairs to prepare for -her journey.</p> - -<p>She thought it would hardly be kind to leave the house without some -explanation to Mrs. Hubbard, who had invariably been very good to -her; therefore, she would tell her that she was going to New York, -and might not be back that day. This would give her time to get -well on her way to Boston without the fear of being detained by the -authority of her guardian.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span></p> - -<p>She knew, of course, that considerable excitement would ensue upon -the discovery of her disappearance, but this did not trouble her, -for, once she was safe under Mr. Manning’s protection, she intended -to utterly repudiate Mr. Hubbard’s guardianship and appeal to the -court to appoint her cousin’s husband in his place.</p> - -<p>She packed her valuables and some necessary clothing in a -portmanteau, thinking that she could easily have her trunks -expressed to her later.</p> - -<p>She was careful, however, to take along with her the box which -contained the proofs that she was not Adam Brewster’s child; for, -although it had brought her only sorrow, it might become important -to her in the future.</p> - -<p>But a sudden thought came to her as she was about to pack it with -her other things; and, reopening it, she took out the little golden -key which had so excited her curiosity when she had previously -examined it.</p> - -<p>“I will always wear it, after this. I will play that it is my -mascot, and perhaps it will bring me good luck,” she said to -herself, with a queer little smile.</p> - -<p>She had a pretty gold chain among her jewelry, and, attaching -the key to this, she clasped it around her neck and concealed it -beneath her dress.</p> - -<p>Then, rapidly completing her packing, she rang for a servant to -order the carriage around to take her to the station, after which -she dressed herself in a plain dark-gray traveling-suit, and then -went to tell Mrs. Hubbard that she was going to run down to New -York for a day or so.</p> - -<p>This announcement did not trouble or surprise the old lady, for -Allison often made the trip alone to do<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> shopping for herself, or -keep an appointment with her dressmaker. But she did look a trifle -startled when tears sprang into the eyes of the beautiful girl, as -she kissed her good-by, giving her a spasmodic little embrace, and -then hurriedly left the room.</p> - -<p>“I—I wonder what is the matter?” she mused, as she wiped one of -Allison’s tears from her cheek. “I’m afraid the dear child isn’t -quite happy with only John and me in the house. I’ll tell him that -we must ask some young folks here to make it more lively for her.”</p> - -<p>But the kind-hearted old lady never saw the fair girl again, for -two months later she “slept with her fathers.” It was a mercy, too, -that she did not live to have her heart broken by learning later, -as she must have learned, that her only son was an unmitigated -scoundrel.</p> - -<p>Meantime, Allison was speeding on her way to New York, where she -arrived just in season to purchase her ticket, recheck her baggage, -and board a fast express bound for Boston.</p> - -<p>The day was very warm, and the girl was almost worn out with the -grief and mental excitement of the last twenty-four hours, and it -was with a deep sigh of relief that she settled herself in her -section and knew that she would have a long rest. At New Haven she -alighted and procured a light lunch, then returned to her seat, -where, after the conductor had made his rounds, she lay back and -soon fell into a heavy sleep. She did not waken once until the -train stopped at Worcester, and then only long enough to show her -ticket again, a profound slumber that was almost lethargy once more -overpowering her senses.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was a blessed sleep for her—a merciful unconsciousness; for -thus she escaped the realization, even for a moment, of the fearful -fate toward which she was fast hastening. The train rushed on at -lightning speed—it was the limited express—forests, rivers, and -towns, like <a name="Err26" id="Err26"></a>swift-flitting visions of dreamland appearing, then -vanishing in rapid succession, until a misplaced switch sent it -swerving off upon another track, when it went dashing and crashing -into a heavy, slow-going freight with a terrible shock, demolishing -the engine, throwing two cars from the track, and sending the one -in which Allison was a passenger rolling down an embankment, and -making a complete wreck of it. It was full of people, many of them -bound for summer-resorts along the New England coast or among the -mountains.</p> - -<p>Many were severely injured, several killed outright, five or six -taken from the wreck for dead; and Allison was among these—the -ghastly wound on top of her lovely golden head telling but too -plainly how she had come to such a fate.</p> - -<p>She was drawn out from under the débris of the shattered car by an -elderly gentleman, who had occupied the section opposite the one -she had taken, and who had been irresistibly attracted by the fair, -delicate girl who seemed to be traveling alone, and was so overcome -by excessive weariness.</p> - -<p>For hours he had watched her, strangely fascinated by her beauty -and the exquisite picture she made, with her refined face outlined -against, and her golden hair contrasting so effectively with, the -dark-blue cushion of her seat. His first thought was of her when, -after the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> first terrible shock of the accident, he recovered from -his own half-stunned condition to find that, except for some severe -bruises and one or two cuts, he was unharmed—a fact which seemed -almost a miracle, in view of the demolished condition of that -portion of the car.</p> - -<p>He drew her from under the seat—which had fallen over and -partially protected her—as carefully and tenderly as he was -able, and he felt sure, as he observed the peaceful expression on -the colorless face, that that cruel blow on her head had come so -suddenly that she had not even been aroused from her slumber.</p> - -<p>“She was too young and beautiful to die like this,” the man -muttered, with something very like a sob, as he gently deposited -his burden upon a plot of grass, straightened the graceful figure, -and clasped the slender hands upon the pulseless breast, covering -the lovely face with a spotless handkerchief of his own.</p> - -<p>Then he remembered that he had seen a hand-bag on the seat with -her, and he went back to the car to search for it. He finally -found it under the forward end of the wreck, which had been driven -backward several rods by the fatal shock that had demolished it -before it left the track.</p> - -<p>The receptacle was crushed, and the articles it had contained were -scattered about.</p> - -<p>He gathered up what he could find—a purse, a little package of -dainty handkerchiefs wrapped in tissue-paper, a golden vinaigrette, -and a comb of tortoise-shell.</p> - -<p>He then went back and sat down beside his charge, and opened the -purse, in the hope of finding some name or address by which he -could identify her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span></p> - -<p>He found a roll of bills amounting to quite a generous sum, -some pieces of silver, a key, a gold glove-buttoner, and a -baggage-check, but there was no card, not even a scrap of paper, to -give him the slightest clue to the unfortunate girl’s identity.</p> - -<p>“The check may throw some light upon the subject, however,” he told -himself; and, with this thought in his mind, he made his way into -the baggage-car, where, he soon found Allison’s portmanteau, but -which, alas! had no name upon it.</p> - -<p>When the débris was removed from the track, the uninjured cars were -transferred to their proper pathway, where they were attached to -another ingoing train, while the injured were made as comfortable -as circumstances would permit, the dead being placed in a -baggage-car.</p> - -<p>All save Allison, the old gentleman who had constituted himself the -guardian of her lifeless form refusing to allow any one else to -touch her.</p> - -<p>He carried her in his arms to a stateroom of one of the -parlor-cars, where he laid her upon a berth and then sat down -beside her to keep guard over her until they should arrive in the -city, when he knew he would be obliged to yield the body up to the -proper authorities, to be retained for identification.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As we already know, Allison had informed no one of her intention of -going to Boston to put herself under the protection of the Mannings.</p> - -<p>She had simply told Mrs. Hubbard that she was going to New York, -and might not return that day.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span></p> - -<p>As she had sometimes remained overnight with one of her up-town -friends, John Hubbard did not experience any uneasiness when she -failed to make her appearance that evening.</p> - -<p>He knew that she was bitterly angry with him, and it was not -surprising that she should wish to get away from his presence -for a time. Possibly she had even gone to consult some lawyer -with reference to her affairs, but he only smiled viciously at -this thought, for he believed that his plans had been so cleverly -devised that there was not the ghost of a chance of their being -overthrown.</p> - -<p>But when the second day passed and his ward was still absent, he -began to be considerably exercised over her mysterious flitting, -for a mystery always angered him.</p> - -<p>He did not see a Boston paper that day, and the New York papers -only briefly described the accident that had occurred to the -limited express, without giving any names of the victims.</p> - -<p>But on the third morning after the strange disappearance of Allison -he was terribly shocked, after reading a full account of the -accident, to find the name of “Miss Brewster” among the list of -those who had been killed.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> - -<h3>A CRUSHING TROUBLE.</h3> - - -<p>John Hubbard sat like one stunned, upon realizing the full import -of what he had read of Allison’s probable fate, and at once he -seemed to comprehend her object in going to Boston.</p> - -<p>He also had heard of the Mannings’ return from Rome, and, knowing -how fond of her cousins Allison had always been, he had not a doubt -that she had fled to them for protection and assistance.</p> - -<p>But the shock which he had at first experienced was almost -immediately followed by a thrill of exultation.</p> - -<p>“That settles everything,” he muttered; “I shall now have no fear -of her contesting Mrs. Adam Brewster’s claims, on the ground that a -will was made in her favor, and thus, perhaps, securing a division -of the property. Everything will now naturally go to the new -claimants, and the Brewster fortune is mine. I will marry the girl, -Anna, thus making their interests identical with mine, take her -abroad for a year or two, to polish her off, then I can come back -to take my place with the other millionaires of the city. There -need be no more scheming or plodding for you, John; your future is -an assured success; henceforth, you can rest upon your oars and -have a jolly good time,” he concluded, with a sigh of infinite -content.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span></p> - -<p>His once boasted affection for Allison—what had become of it? He -had been momentarily shocked, but he did not appear to experience -the slightest grief in view of her untimely end. “The high-spirited -little minx” had dared to defy him, thus arousing his anger and -malice, and since his greed for gold now bade fair to be fully -gratified, she was apparently no more to him than a worm that had -been crushed in his path.</p> - -<p>Still, there were certain duties devolving upon him, certain -observances to which he must conform, and he had no intention of -being criticized for neglect of them. Consequently, he started -directly for Boston, for the purpose of identifying his ward and -properly attending to everything that might be necessary.</p> - -<p>But when he went to the morgue, and made inquiries, he was appalled -upon being told that the body of the young lady had already been -identified and removed.</p> - -<p>“It cannot be possible,” he exclaimed. “Are you sure it was Miss -Brewster’s body which was taken away?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” the official replied; “a Russia-leather card-case, -containing cards bearing the name of Miss Brewster, had been found -upon the person of the young lady, thus proving her to be the -person the gentleman was inquiring for.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Hubbard thought possibly the Mannings might have identified -Allison and cared for her, and, with this idea in mind, he sought -Mr. Manning at the Vendome.</p> - -<p>But Mr. Manning was horrified upon being interviewed upon the -subject. He had read an account of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> the accident, and had seen the -name of Brewster among the list of killed, but had not once thought -of Allison in connection with the event, supposing the person to -belong to some other family of the same name.</p> - -<p>Mr. Hubbard found it somewhat embarrassing to explain how his ward -happened to be traveling to Boston alone; but, thinking that the -truth might as well come out first as last, he related something -of the circumstances connected with the appearance of Mrs. Adam -Brewster and her daughter; said that Allison had become very angry -upon learning the truth, and thus, he supposed, she had taken it -into her head to come to her cousins in Boston.</p> - -<p>A diligent search was instituted, and many inquiries made for the -body of the missing girl; but all to no purpose—some one had taken -care of it—every victim had been identified by friends and taken -away.</p> - -<p>The Mannings were overwhelmed with grief, and Mr. Hubbard was -finally forced to return to New York, also very much disturbed by -the mystery which seemed to shroud the fate of his late ward.</p> - -<p>Two months passed, during which the plans of the wily schemer—the -chief obstacles having been removed—progressed to his entire -satisfaction.</p> - -<p>His application to the courts for the recognition of Mrs. Adam -Brewster and Miss Anna Brewster, as the only lawful heirs of the -late banker, had been granted, and their claims established, -notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Charles Manning had come forward -to contest them, on behalf of his wife, who, he asserted, was the -niece of Mr. Brewster, and his only living relative. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> utterly -repudiated the story regarding that gentleman’s early marriage and -subsequent separation from the woman in question.</p> - -<p>But his claim was overruled, in view of the preponderance -of evidence upon the other side. The old love-letters, the -marriage-certificate, the certified copy of the record of the -transaction, together with quite a sensational story regarding -the early married life of the couple, their occasional disputes, -which finally ended in a violent quarrel and separation, all having -been very cleverly arranged and sustained, were considered proof -positive that the widow and her daughter were the only legal heirs, -and the case was very shortly decided in their favor.</p> - -<p>Of course, it created a great deal of sensation and gossip, but, -like all other affairs of a similar nature, it had its “nine days’” -run, and was then forgotten in the excitement pertaining to some -newer scandal.</p> - -<p>A few days after the decision of the court was rendered, Miss -Anna Brewster became Mrs. John Hubbard. Mrs. Adam Brewster was -handsomely pensioned off, and luxuriously settled in an up-town -apartment, where she was to live at her ease, while the newly -wedded couple were traveling in Europe, and the “Brewster Case” was -supposed to be finally settled.</p> - -<p>Of all these happenings, however, Gerald, as yet, knew nothing, -for, shortly after Allison’s departure for Newport, Mr. Lyttleton -had been again suddenly summoned abroad, by his sister, to discuss -some new feature which had unexpectedly arisen in connection with -the lawsuit which he was conducting for her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span></p> - -<p>Gerald and Allison had agreed to continue their correspondence as -heretofore, but he did not hear from her once before he left. This, -although a disappointment to him, did not trouble him, especially -as he attributed it to the confusion and many cares incident upon -opening the villa and getting settled for the summer.</p> - -<p>He had written to her once or twice, and, upon learning of his -plans, wrote again, telling her the date of his sailing, giving, -also, his London address, and begging her to write him immediately.</p> - -<p>But John Hubbard had already intercepted all letters written by -the lovers, and this shared the same fate as the others; and thus -Allison did not know of Gerald’s departure until her guardian -informed her of the fact.</p> - -<p>Thus as weeks passed, after his arrival in London, and Gerald -received no word from his betrothed, he began to grow very unhappy -and anxious about her.</p> - -<p>He sent letter after letter to her, only to have them fall into the -hands of that arch-plotter, who did not hesitate to open and read -them, then chuckle exultantly over the success of his scheme and -the misery of his hated rival.</p> - -<p>Finally, becoming almost distracted over this mysterious silence, -our hero began to suspect that his correspondence was intercepted, -and he realized that he must find some other way of communicating -with Allison.</p> - -<p>Accordingly, he wrote to one of the clerks in the New York office, -telling him something of his trouble, and asking him to find some -means of conveying the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> enclosed letter to Miss Brewster, and -secure a reply to it, if possible.</p> - -<p>But before he could get a response to this appeal, Mr. Lyttleton -was obliged to make a trip to Berlin, to obtain some important -data, and here they were detained two or three weeks.</p> - -<p>Thus Gerald’s wild grief may be imagined when, upon his return to -London, he found awaiting him a letter containing the announcement -of Allison’s tragic death, and which, together with accompanying -New York papers, gave a full account of the sad event, and of the -subsequent litigation in connection with the Brewster estate, the -result of which was the transfer of everything into the hands of -the acknowledged widow and daughter of the late banker.</p> - -<p>The latest paper announcing the marriage of John Hubbard to “the -beautiful Miss Anna Brewster,” had not been forwarded; thus Gerald -could not know that his old enemy was now virtually the possessor -of the great fortune that had been willed to Allison.</p> - -<p>Gerald was so prostrated by the terrible shock consequent upon this -blighting news that he lay ill for nearly a fortnight at his hotel, -and narrowly escaped having brain fever. When he was finally able -to resume his business, he looked like the ghost of his former -self; he seemed to be bereft of all courage and desire for life, -and it was only by the persistent exercise of all the will-power he -possessed that he was enabled to fulfill his duty to his employer.</p> - -<p>Mr. Lyttleton, to whom he freely confided his trouble, sympathized -deeply with him, and tried to induce him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> to take a rest—to go to -Paris, or even to Rome, for a change. But Gerald only shuddered at -this proposal.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I do not want to rest. I do not want a chance to think. I -shall lose my mind if I am left to myself!” he responded in a tone -of despair that keenly smote the kind heart of his friend. “Give me -work—piles of work,” he added nervously; “I do not care how hard -you crowd me, if it will serve to occupy my thoughts and keep me -from dwelling upon that railway horror and upon that knave who, I -firmly believe, drove my darling to her death.”</p> - -<p>So Mr. Lyttleton made work for him, realizing his need of -employment, but the white, drawn face of the bereaved lover haunted -him continually, until he began to feel as if he also had been -personally afflicted.</p> - -<p>Had it not been for the deep and absorbing interest which, previous -to this, Gerald had begun to take in the wonderful case upon which -his employer was engaged, it is doubtful if he would have been able -to bear up during these first dark days of his crushing trouble.</p> - -<p>Mr. Lyttleton’s sister had, when very young, married an Englishman, -and under very peculiar circumstances.</p> - -<p>The home of the lawyer, during his youth, had been in a small town -in Illinois; and, educational advantages being at that time very -meager in their vicinity, Mabel Lyttleton had been sent East to -pursue her studies, at a noted seminary in one of the suburbs of -Boston.</p> - -<p>While there she had become acquainted with Charles Bromley, an -Englishman, who was making a tour of this country, and just at that -time visiting some relatives<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> who resided in the vicinity of the -above-mentioned seminary.</p> - -<p>The young man proceeded at once, upon their introduction, to fall -violently in love with pretty Miss Lyttleton. His affection was -most fervently reciprocated, and ere long both grew to feel that -life apart from the other would be unendurable.</p> - -<p>Mr. Bromley intended to remain in the United States some six months -longer, but, just on the eve of the holiday recess of the seminary, -he was suddenly recalled to England by the peremptory order of his -father.</p> - -<p>He was somewhat puzzled by this command, but, while discussing it -with his betrothed, and arranging to return to her by the time her -school-days were over, it suddenly struck him that it might have -some connection with an old project of his father to consummate -a union with a distant cousin, whose rent-roll amounted to some -thousands of pounds per annum.</p> - -<p>“I will fix things,” said this young man to himself; “I will marry -my little ‘prairie flower’ here and now, and then all the fathers -in creation cannot compel me to marry anybody else.”</p> - -<p>Whereupon, he broached the subject to Miss Mabel, who—though she -shrank from a secret marriage, as any pure-minded, conscientious -girl would do—found that her affection for her handsome lover was -stronger than her sense of filial duty, and she reluctantly yielded -to young Bromley’s persuasions.</p> - -<p>They were very quietly married on Christmas eve, and young Bromley -sailed for Europe the first day of January, but promised faithfully -that he would return<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> in season to accompany his wife to her home, -upon her graduation from school, the following summer, when he -would bear all the responsibility of their union, and boldly claim -her of her father; her mother was not living.</p> - -<p>Letters passed between them every week, and they continued to be -very happy in the knowledge of the secret tie that united them. -Young Bromley found that ill health had prompted his father to -summon him home, for the cares pertaining to Sir Charles Bromley’s -estate had become too heavy for him, and he needed help.</p> - -<p>The marriage with the distant cousin was broached, for the baronet -earnestly wished to see his son settled in life, while, too, he -had an eye to the welding of two fortunes, which would result from -the union; but when he discovered his son’s opposition to such an -alliance, he did not urge it, for he was no tyrant, and believed a -man had the right to choose his own wife.</p> - -<p>The old gentleman became so much better as the summer drew on -apace, he consented to allow the young man to complete his -interrupted tour in America, and the little wife so patiently -awaiting him was finally made supremely happy by having the day -fixed for his sailing.</p> - -<p>But, alas! just the week previous to her graduation, there came a -letter stating that Sir Charles had been prostrated by a stroke of -paralysis, and the young husband could not leave until his father -was declared out of danger.</p> - -<p>This was a terrible blow, and at first it seemed as if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> she could -not bear it; but her friend and confidante, Helen Atwood, wrote -to Mr. Lyttleton, begging that Mabel might be allowed to remain -with her during the remainder of the summer, as her parents were -going abroad for three or four months, and she would be very lonely -during their absence. This petition was granted, greatly to the -delight of the two friends, who retired to Mr. Atwood’s country -home, a few miles out of the city, to rusticate and enjoy each -other’s companionship, and most earnestly hoping that Mr. Bromley -would put in an appearance before the visit should come to an end.</p> - -<p>The latter part of August there came a letter from Bromley Court, -announcing the death of the baronet, after a second attack of -paralysis; the next week the waiting wife received another letter, -saying that, at last, her husband was free to come to her, and -would sail five days later, and would be with her in a little more -than a week afterward. But the steamer on which he sailed was the -ill-fated <i>Catalonia</i>, which was wrecked the sixth day out, its few -survivors being picked up the following morning by another vessel. -But, alas! among the names of the passengers who were lost was that -of Sir Charles Bromley.</p> - -<p>The news of this terrible tragedy, coming, as it did, just at the -moment when her cup of joy seemed full, was more than the waiting -wife could bear. As her horrified glance fell upon the name of her -idolized husband in the list of the dead, a shriek of agony burst -from her lips, and she sank to the floor in strong convulsions, the -fatal paper clutched in her rigid hands.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p> - -<p>For several days she lay at the point of death, but mercifully -unconscious of her own suffering, and her apparently blighted -life. Then she slowly began to rally, coming back to life and -consciousness, but so broken-hearted that <a name="Err27" id="Err27"></a>it was painful to be in -her presence.</p> - -<p>But, three weeks afterward, her mourning was turned into joy by -the sudden appearance of her husband, who, after various thrilling -experiences, had been rescued, with two or three others, by a -sailing-vessel which had arrived in port only that morning, when he -immediately hastened to his wife.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2> - -<h3>GERALD MEETS HUBBARD.</h3> - - -<p>The fair invalid’s convalescence was very rapid after that, and as -soon as she was able to travel, the happy couple started for the -home of the Lyttletons, in Illinois, where, upon their arrival, -the family were astounded to learn that Mabel had been a wife -for nearly a year, and would soon leave them again, to reside -permanently in England.</p> - -<p>The brothers, who worshiped their only sister—the baby and pet of -the household—at once accorded their new brother-in-law a hearty -welcome, and rather enjoyed the romance that had attended Mabel’s -marriage; but their father, a reserved, austere man, was inclined -to be very harsh with his daughter for having played them such a -trick.</p> - -<p>It was not, however, in the power of any one to long resist the -frank, manly young husband, who boldly asserted that he might have -been wrong in enticing his wife into a secret marriage, but that -“he would do it over again if it were necessary, rather than run -the risk of losing her.”</p> - -<p>Such a spirit rather staggered the old gentleman, but, on the -whole, he secretly admired the handsome sinner; while the fact of -being father-in-law to an English Baronet, to have one’s daughter -addressed as Lady Bromley,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> proved to be a salve to his wounded -dignity and love of authority; therefore, the erring little lady’s -indiscretion was finally condoned, and all was well.</p> - -<p>After a few weeks spent in her home, she departed for England with -her husband, where, with the exception of occasional visits to this -country, she had resided ever since, and led a very happy life.</p> - -<p>Her husband had died the year previous to Gerald’s connection with -Mr. Lyttleton, and the “complicated case,” which this gentleman -was conducting for his sister, was the settlement of the Bromley -estate, a distant relative having laid claim to it, upon the ground -of being nearest of kin, since Sir Charles had left no heir.</p> - -<p>The property had been largely augmented by the fortune of the -distant cousin, whom the elder baronet had wished his son to marry. -The lady had always cherished a secret affection for the young man, -and her love proving stronger and more enduring than her resentment -against him for choosing a younger and fairer bride, she had -bequeathed everything to him upon her death, which occurred some -ten years after the present Lady Bromley had come to Bromley Court, -and of whom also she became very fond.</p> - -<p>Thus the Bromley fortune was a magnificent inheritance, and -Richard Lyttleton was doing his utmost to save it for his sister. -Nevertheless, a court of chancery was an almost hopeless labyrinth -in which to become involved, and it might be years before the case -would be settled.</p> - -<p>Lady Bromley was a fair, sweet-faced woman of about thirty-eight -or forty years, and, from the moment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> of their meeting, Gerald had -been strongly attracted to her, and she to him.</p> - -<p>Therefore, upon learning of the terrible shock and sorrow that had -recently come to him, her sympathies were instantly enlisted in his -behalf, and she went to him often during his illness, to be sure he -had proper care and to cheer him as well as she could.</p> - -<p>When he was able to leave his room, she conceived a plan by which -she hoped to be of real benefit to him. She made him come to lunch -with her one day, and, after she had induced him to speak freely -of his bereavement and his love for the beautiful girl whom he had -hoped to marry, she confided to him something of her own story, as -related above.</p> - -<p>“Come and stay here with me for a while,” she pleaded during -this exchange of confidence; “I am almost alone in this great, -silent house”—glancing around the spacious, luxurious room with -a sigh—“and I should be glad to have some young life about me. -Richard, you know, is always so busy he can never spare me much -of his time, and my evenings are especially lonely. I want you to -tell me more of this lovely Allison Brewster; it will do you good -to talk of her, even though the story is so sad. Ah! I shall never -forget the dreadful day when I read that tragic account in the -newspaper and believed my husband to be lying in the depths of the -sea!”</p> - -<p>So, with her sweet sympathy and her plea for companionship, she -won her point, and almost every day after that, when his work was -done, Gerald might have been seen driving about or visiting some -place of interest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> with her. There was a gentle graciousness about -her—a sort of elder-sisterly manner toward him, that made her very -charming, and he soon grew to feel as if he must always have known -her, and he became devoted to her.</p> - -<p>This pleased Mr. Lyttleton, who was intensely relieved to see that -the face of his confidential clerk was beginning to lose its tense -look of pain, and that, when he came to his work in the morning, he -no longer appeared jaded and haggard, as if he had spent the whole -night in grieving.</p> - -<p>Thus time passed, and it was nearly the first of October when, -one day, Mr. Lyttleton announced that, for the fourth time, the -long-contested case had been put off until another term; and -accordingly they would return to New York at the end of another -week.</p> - -<p>“Then, Richard, I am going with you,” suddenly exclaimed Lady -Bromley, as she shot a wistful look at Gerald, who had grown very -pale at the thought of going home, where the loss of Allison would -seem like a fresh grief to him. “I will leave all business matters -in the hands of Mr. Cram, the steward, and make a little visit to -my native land, where I will stay until this dreadful lawsuit is -called again. I am almost ready to give up the battle. I am tired -out with it, and begin to think that the whole Bromley fortune is -not worth the wear and tear of all this worry.”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense, Mabel!” impatiently returned her brother, a dogged -expression settling over his face;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> “that is just what the other -side is working for—they want to tire you out, and I’m not going -to give up the fight, by any means. I know that Sir Charles wanted -you to be sole mistress of everything. I have often heard him say -that you were to have all, in case anything happened to him; and -how he ever allowed himself to be so negligent, and leave no will, -I cannot understand. I sometimes think he may have made one, and it -has slipped away somewhere.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid not, Richard; I have hunted the house over and over, -as you know, and I am sure no such document exists,” said her -ladyship, with a sigh. “However, I am going to run away from the -whole business, and try to forget it for a while. I’m going home -with you and Gerald,” she concluded, smiling.</p> - -<p>“Come, and welcome, dear,” said her brother cordially.</p> - -<p>The very next morning, as Gerald was walking down the Strand, -intent upon a matter of business for Mr. Lyttleton, he was suddenly -confronted by a man the sight of whom caused him to grow deathly -pale, and his heart to throb suffocatingly, from various emotions.</p> - -<p>This man was none other than John Hubbard.</p> - -<p>The expert, upon recognizing Gerald, lifted his upper lip, and -showed his gleaming teeth in a vicious grin. Then he attempted to -pass on without any other sign of recognition. But the young man -resolutely placed himself in his path.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Hubbard,” he remarked, with cold constraint,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> “you must excuse -me for delaying you, but I want to ask you a few questions. I wish -to inquire if any light has been thrown upon Miss Brewster’s fate -during the last few weeks?”</p> - -<p>“Not that I am aware of,” the man stiffly replied.</p> - -<p>“It was all true, then—the story of that railway accident, and -her—her burial by some parties unknown?” questioned Gerald, with -quivering lips.</p> - -<p>“I suppose it was, since every possible effort was made to find -her, but without avail,” the man returned, with a frown of -annoyance, for his own pillow was, by no means, free from thorns -in view of his agency in driving Allison from her home and to her -death.</p> - -<p>Often, during the night, he would start from his sleep, the -perspiration standing in cold beads all over him, his heart beating -wildly with fear, as if some demon had seemed to shout in his ear -the word “murderer!” and warn him that the wrongs which he had -perpetrated against her would yet be avenged.</p> - -<p>“It was a mysterious affair,” he continued, after a moment of -hesitation, and impelled almost against his will to make the -explanation. “I went to Boston as soon as I learned of the -accident, and saw her name in the paper, and made diligent inquiry -for the—the body.”</p> - -<p>Gerald gave utterance to a shuddering exclamation.</p> - -<p>“It seems strange to me,” he said, “that, since her cards were -found with her—at least, the paper so stated—any one should claim -her unless there happened to be another Miss Brewster upon the -train.”</p> - -<p>“It was strange.”</p> - -<p>“What can you tell me about this woman who claims to be Mrs. Adam -Brewster?” Gerald asked, and abruptly leaving the other subject.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> -“Where did she come from? Where has she been hiding all these -years?”</p> - -<p>“She has lived in various places in New York City during the last -few years,” responded the man, flushing hotly, for Gerald was now -probing a sensitive spot; but he seemed helpless to get away from -his inquiries. “She’s rather a fine-looking woman, though not -particularly well educated, or what one would have expected a man -like Mr. Brewster to choose for a wife. Her daughter, however, has -had far better advantages. She made her claims known to me not so -very long after her husband’s death; but I tried to stave them -off, for Allison’s sake, hoping that the matter could be quietly -settled. But after her—the accident, there was nothing to be done -but let the case come to trial.”</p> - -<p>“It seems to me the most improbable story in the world,” said -Gerald reflectively. “Mrs. Manning should have inherited that -property.”</p> - -<p>“She would have, but for the incontestable proofs which Mrs. -Brewster presented; even had Allison lived, she would have won the -suit,” returned John Hubbard, searching his companion’s pale, thin -face with his cruel eyes. He was secretly gloating over every stab -that he was giving him.</p> - -<p>“It is a mystery to me that she never put in an appearance while -Mr. Brewster was living,” the young man mused. “I suppose, however, -there must have been something questionable in her life or claim, -and she did not dare to. And you acted as her counsel?”</p> - -<p>“I did.”</p> - -<p>“That seems to me the strangest proceeding of all.”</p> - -<p>“Well, and what are you going to do about it?” was the sneering -demand; and for a moment the two men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> stood absolutely motionless, -gazing into each other’s eyes—one with a look of dogged defiance, -the other with a stern, searching, accusing expression.</p> - -<p>“I cannot understand your doing such a thing as that, Mr. Hubbard,” -Gerald remarked, his tone plainly indicating that he believed there -had been foul play.</p> - -<p>“Probably not,” was the curt, ironic retort, “and I do not know -that it is necessary that you should understand it. I was the -administrator of the Brewster estate, and when it was proved that -there wasn’t a drop of Brewster blood in Allison’s veins, there -is nothing so very remarkable about the fact that I conducted the -transfer of the property—especially after the death of Allison, -who might, perhaps, have contested the woman’s claim upon the -ground that a will had been made in her favor, though that would -easily have been broken.”</p> - -<p>“What were these proofs that Allison was not Mr. Brewster’s own -daughter?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, some clothing and some letters that were found in a box——”</p> - -<p>“What box—where was the box found?” queried Gerald, with -breathless interest, his mind instantly reverting to one of those -which he had taken from the secret vault at the banker’s command.</p> - -<p>“I see you suspect the truth,” said John Hubbard, with a malicious -grin. “Yes, it was one of those we caught you lugging off that -Sunday.”</p> - -<p>Gerald flushed at this fling, but he was too much absorbed in his -own thoughts, just then, to pay much heed to it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Ah! I understand now!” he said; “that was why Mr. Brewster made -me promise that I would never speak of my errand to any person. He -wanted to get that box into his hands without having any one know -of its existence—he meant to destroy the contents, so that Allison -should never learn the truth.”</p> - -<p>“It certainly looks like it; you reason very well, young man. But -justice sometimes triumphs, as in this case,” sneered his companion.</p> - -<p>“Justice!” repeated Gerald, with infinite scorn; “that is yet to -be proved. But did no one question the genuineness of this woman’s -proofs?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, there was some talk in that direction—there naturally -would be,” returned the attorney, with a contemptuous shrug of his -shoulders. “But it didn’t amount to anything; the evidence was so -conclusive it was promptly admitted by the court.”</p> - -<p>“Where did this alleged marriage take place?” demanded Gerald.</p> - -<p>“In New Haven, Connecticut.”</p> - -<p>“And were the records pertaining to this event thoroughly examined?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly; everything was conducted with all due regard to the -requirements of law, Mr. Winchester. Mr. Manning made a very -brave showing in the interests of his wife—he is no half-way -worker; while, as for myself, I seldom undertake anything which I -am not pretty sure of carrying to a successful end,” Mr. Hubbard -concluded, with significant emphasis.</p> - -<p>“All the same, I do not believe one word of that woman’s story,” -stoutly affirmed our hero, a frown of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> perplexity gathering upon -his brow. “Mr. Brewster certainly never appeared like a man who -had any such skeleton in his closet. I believe him to have been a -strictly honorable man in every act of his life, and——”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I believe there was a sort of mutual admiration society -between you,” sarcastically interposed John Hubbard.</p> - -<p>“And,” the young man continued, without appearing to heed the -interruption, “I am sure that if he had known that he had an own -child living he never would have allowed it to live in such poverty -as the papers have represented was the lot of this woman and -her daughter; he would, at least, have given them a comfortable -support.”</p> - -<p>“That is your idea of the matter, young man; but stranger things -than that are happening every day,” dryly observed his companion. -“It is rather difficult to judge just what kind of an existence -some of our aristocrats do lead; indeed, many of them have been -known to have been engaged in love-intrigues that would not bear -the light of day.”</p> - -<p>Gerald’s hand clenched involuntarily at this indirect slur upon his -former high-minded employer.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Brewster was never such a man,” he said sternly; “his life was -clean, through and through. Where are these women now?”</p> - -<p>“Ahem!” said Mr. Hubbard, shifting uneasily from one foot to the -other. “Mrs. Adam Brewster is at present in New York City; her -daughter, who is now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> Mrs. John Hubbard, is here, in London, and we -are stopping at the Langham.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2> - -<h3>THE SECRET OF THE FOOT-REST.</h3> - - -<p>For a moment Gerald was stricken dumb with astonishment by the -unexpected announcement that John Hubbard had married the heiress -to Adam Brewster’s fortune, and all that it implied.</p> - -<p>Then there arose with him a terrible indignation in view of what -he believed to be a foul wrong—the successful consummation of the -long and cunning plotting of a skilful knave.</p> - -<p>“Do I understand that you have married this so-called Miss Anna -Brewster?” he finally demanded in a strangely calm voice.</p> - -<p>“Exactly; that is just what I have done,” replied the man, showing -his teeth. “Miss Anna was a handsome girl, of whom almost any -man might feel proud—well educated and—ah—amiable. She is a -few years older than Allison. She was naturally grateful for the -interest which I manifested in her affairs; we found, upon a closer -acquaintance, that we were mutually congenial, and she consented to -honor me with her hand.”</p> - -<p>“And her fortune, also—it goes without saying, I suppose?” -scornfully interposed Gerald, who was fast losing command of -himself, as he realized what consummate villainy lay behind this -revelation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Certainly; Miss Brewster being the only child of her father, of -course inherits the bulk of his property, although the widow has -her third; while the lady having become my wife, it naturally -devolves upon me to manage her interests,” the man responded, a -ghastly, malicious grin expressing his enjoyment of the situation.</p> - -<p>“You are a scoundrel, sir!” said Gerald, between his compressed -teeth. “I firmly believe that for years you have been scheming for -this very thing. I know that you wanted to marry Allison when you -believed her to be rich, and when you could not carry your point in -that direction, and get her money, you doubtless plotted to bring -the same result about in some other way.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you certainly did not succeed in getting any of Adam -Brewster’s gold!—you were rather balked in your efforts to win -the pretty heiress—eh!” sneered the wretch, but flushing guiltily -beneath the young man’s fiery, accusing glance.</p> - -<p>“I would scorn to marry any woman for her money,” said Gerald -proudly.</p> - -<p>“You did care, for the girl, though—you became very sweet on her, -if I remember rightly.”</p> - -<p>“That is a matter which does not concern you in the least, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Think so?” was the satirical rejoinder.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> “Possibly it does -not—now, but it did concern me very much at one time. Have you -forgotten the very significant little object-lesson which I gave -you over three years ago? I told you, when I crushed the bud which -she had given to you, that everything which stood in my path -should share the same fate.”</p> - -<p>“I remember,” said Gerald sternly, but with bloodless lips, as -he thought how that act had symbolized Allison’s fate as she lay -crushed and bleeding beneath that fatal wreck; “but,” he continued -in the same tone, “let me now, in turn, prophesy for you—your day -of triumph will be short, for if you have been guilty of fraud—and -I firmly believe you have—if you have been false to the trust -which Mr. Brewster reposed in you, you will ere long find yourself -doomed. I am studying law, Mr. Hubbard, under one of the shrewdest -attorneys of our day, and, when I complete my studies, if not -before, I shall make it my business to investigate this singular -case, which has so recently excited the gossip of New York society, -and given a million or more of money into your greedy hands; and, -if such a thing be possible, justice shall be meted out to you.”</p> - -<p>“Bah! you brag like a second David, aching to slay another Goliath; -but such valiant deeds are not achieved in this nineteenth century, -you insufferable boaster!” snarled John Hubbard, as he turned -resolutely aside to pursue his way.</p> - -<p>“Hold!” commanded Gerald authoritatively;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> “I have yet one more word -for you. Following out your simile, let me say that my sling is a -dauntless will, and a pebble may yet be found which will do its -work and hurl you from the heights, upon which you feel so secure, -into an ignominious abyss from which you will never arise.”</p> - -<p>Upon returning to Lady Bromley’s elegant residence in Portland -Square, Gerald informed Mr. Lyttleton of his encounter with John -Hubbard. The lawyer was deeply interested in the rehearsal of -the conversation which had taken place between the two, and when -the young man concluded, he remarked, with no little warmth and -conviction:</p> - -<p>“There certainly has been foul play in connection with the Brewster -property. I always felt that the man was a rascal, but he is a -very clever one, and you may be very sure that he has so covered -his tracks and burned his bridges behind him that, unless some -unforeseen evidence comes to light, it would be very difficult to -depose him from his position.”</p> - -<p>“I cannot credit that story regarding the woman who calls herself -Mrs. Brewster,” said Gerald reflectively. “I would give a good deal -to have our old friend, Plum, examine that certificate of hers, and -those old letters, which she claims were written by Mr. Brewster -before their marriage.”</p> - -<p>“I fear you will never be gratified, my boy,” said his friend; “the -case has been settled, and no one has any authority to rake it -over again, unless, as I said before, some new evidence should be -forthcoming, or some barefaced fraud detected which would implicate -the victors in the recent trial. If we had been in New York at the -time the case was in court, I should have followed it with a great -deal of interest.”</p> - -<p>Gerald said no more about the matter at that time. All the same, -he made a secret resolve that immediately upon his return he would -go to New Haven and examine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> the records of marriage-certificates, -to assure himself that matters were exactly as they had been -represented.</p> - -<p>He could not—he would not believe that there had ever been an -ignoble secret in his former employer’s life. He almost felt it a -personal injury, and resented it as such, that his fair name should -have been so smirched before the public. He felt, too, that Mrs. -Manning, as the nearest of kin, was being deeply wronged by having -Mr. Brewster’s large fortune so diverted from its proper channel.</p> - -<p>The week following found him, with Lady Bromley and Mr. Lyttleton, -on the broad Atlantic, and fast approaching the shores of their -native land.</p> - -<p>Upon their arrival in New York her ladyship took a suite of rooms -in a hotel, saying that she wanted a place of her own in the city, -where she could go and come, making visits here and there, as she -liked. She, however, persuaded Gerald to take a room in the same -house with her.</p> - -<p>“I shall want an escort,” she smilingly told him, “for I mean to -go about a good deal, and it will be so convenient to have you -near—that is, if you will not feel that I am imposing upon you.”</p> - -<p>Gerald assured her that it would give him great pleasure to attend -her wherever she might feel inclined to go; and he was thankful -to her for looking to him for companionship, for it seemed to him -that it would be almost more than he could bear to be left to -himself among the familiar scenes which reminded him so forcibly of -Allison.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span></p> - -<p>He did not have a suspicion that Lady Bromley had made all these -arrangements wholly on his account; that his sorrowful face and -heavy eyes so haunted her that she resolved to give him just as -little time as possible to dwell upon his trouble.</p> - -<p>Thus it came to pass that they breakfasted and dined together, -Gerald getting his luncheon down-town, near the office, while -in the evening they almost invariably went out to some concert, -lecture, or place of amusement, or had friends come to them.</p> - -<p>In this way they grew to be more and more fond of each other, -until the sweet, though lonely woman gradually came to regard the -high-minded fellow with almost as much affection as if he had -been her son; while he never failed to experience a feeling of -restfulness and content in her presence.</p> - -<p>One Sunday afternoon Gerald and his friend were sitting in Lady -Bromley’s charming little parlor. The young man had been reading -aloud from a new book that was just out, until, as the daylight -began to wane, Gerald had observed that her ladyship had seemed -somewhat restless, and several times had glanced rather wistfully -around the room. At last, realizing that he was watching her, she -broke forth with an apologetic little laugh:</p> - -<p>“Gerald, I really must have a hassock. I have acquired the habit -of using a foot-rest, and I shall not feel at home until I can get -into my natural position. I shall go out to-morrow morning and buy -three or four; then I can have one in every room.”</p> - -<p>“Why did you not speak of it before?” Gerald inquired.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> “I would -have supplied your needs with pleasure. Possibly I might find -one in the house to-night for you. I will go and ask the clerk. -Ah!”—with sudden thought—“I have the very thing for you; at -least, it will answer your purpose until you are better equipped.”</p> - -<p>With that he started up, and, going to his own room, took from his -trunk the old-fashioned cricket that had belonged to his aunt.</p> - -<p>With a smile of amusement over the antiquated appearance of the -thing, he returned with it to his friend.</p> - -<p>“It is as ‘old as the hills,’ and rather a shabby affair for a -modern boudoir,” he remarked as he placed it conveniently for Lady -Bromley, and then he told her the history of it, while she listened -with curious interest.</p> - -<p>“But for Aunt Honor’s wish that I would not part with it, because -it was an heirloom which she prized, I would have gotten rid of -it long ago,” he remarked, in conclusion. “It is a veritable -‘elephant’ upon my hands, for I usually carry it in my trunk -wherever I go.”</p> - -<p>“That must indeed be rather inconvenient for you,” Lady Bromley -observed, as she regarded the quaint old foot-rest critically. -“It is queer how tenacious of heirlooms some people are,” she -added reflectively;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> “I know of some attics and storerooms that are -full of just such things, and they are of no use to any one; but, -having been purchased and prized by some remote ancestor, they are -regarded as sacred, and it would be thought desecration to either -dispose of or destroy them. But, Gerald, this cricket is made of -solid mahogany! If it was repolished, the brass claw feet nicely -cleaned and laquered, and the top handsomely upholstered, it would -really be a very pretty thing.”</p> - -<p>Gerald laughed.</p> - -<p>“That involves a good deal of reconstruction, and I am afraid I -do not care enough for it to take all that trouble, especially as -I never use anything of the kind,” he smilingly responded, and -then they drifted to some other subject. A few days later, when he -returned at his usual hour for dinner, his friend lifted a doubtful -face to him.</p> - -<p>“Gerald,” she said plaintively. “I have ruined your cricket! -Look!” she continued, removing her feet from it, when he saw that -the bright, intricate patchwork, which had been the work of Miss -Winchester’s patient fingers, was all discolored.</p> - -<p>“I was trying, this afternoon, to remove some spots of iron-rust -from a couple of nice handkerchiefs, and I did not like to trust -the work to any one else,” her ladyship continued. “Suddenly the -bottle of acid slipped from my hands, the contents were spilled -upon the cricket, and the color all taken out of the cover, as you -see.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind; pray do not give it another thought,” replied the -young man indifferently, “that patchwork was years and years -old—it has served its day and generation.”</p> - -<p>“May I fix it over for you?” questioned his companion.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> “I will have -it done nicely, and then it will make a pretty ornament for my -room as long as we remain here.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly; do with it as you like,” heartily replied Gerald. “I -would like to give it to you, since it seems to interest you so -much, but I’m afraid Aunt Honor’s ghost would haunt me for being so -unmindful of her wishes.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I do not want you to give it to me; but I would like to make -it a more presentable piece of furniture,” said her ladyship, and -there the matter rested.</p> - -<p>But the next day, when she was alone, she looked it over carefully, -to consider just how she would repair it. Taking her scissors, she -cut away a portion of the patchwork covering, and then laughed out -amusedly as another, faded and worn, was revealed to her.</p> - -<p>“There may be half a dozen, for aught I know,” she mused, “and -I have a curiosity to see what taste and texture represent the -previous generations of my Gerald’s family.”</p> - -<p>Clipping busily away, she cut the whole outer cover off, when a -piece of worsted work came to light.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” said Lady Bromley. “Miss Winchester’s ancestor, next removed, -was evidently fond of crewel embroidery! It is a very pretty -design—ferns and honeysuckles—and there are an endless number of -stitches in it; if it could only speak, what an interesting history -it might give me of the girl or woman who wrought it!</p> - -<p>“But this is strange!” she added, a moment after. “It has been -partially cut away on three sides, and”—lifting it—“so has the -next cover, which is a piece of ordinary tapestry, and the next, -also, which is of ordinary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> horsehair, and probably the original -covering.</p> - -<p>“Generation the fourth, and last,” she observed in a tone of -satisfaction, as she removed the ragged hair-cloth and threw it to -one side, for her occupation was becoming rather distasteful, on -account of the dust which arose from her efforts.</p> - -<p>This left only a layer of cotton to be disposed of, and, as she -gathered it up and laid it upon the heap of rags beside her, a low, -startled exclamation burst from her lips upon observing that there -was a lid in the top of the cricket, and that a leather loop had -been tacked upon one side of it, to enable it to be readily lifted -from its place.</p> - -<p>“Well! I am afraid I have stumbled upon some secret with which I -have no business!” rather nervously murmured her ladyship, as she -curiously eyed the ancient foot-rest. “What can it mean? Possibly -this heirloom, which he has so affected to despise, may prove, -after all, to be very precious to ‘my Gerald.’”</p> - -<p>She had almost unconsciously grown into the habit of calling him -“my Gerald,” her constantly increasing affection for him giving her -a certain sense of possession.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps we shall discover title-deeds to a great fortune—as we -read about in novels—in this dusty, musty little sepulcher which, -in all probability, has not been opened for many years,” she went -on, with a light, mocking laugh at her romantic suspicion. “And -yet”—with a slight start—<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>“every cover except the last had been -partially cut away, so, of course, Miss Winchester must have known -the secret—possibly she also may have concealed something in here -for him to find, and that is why she made him promise never to part -with it.”</p> - -<p>With her thumb and finger she laid hold of the leather loop and -lifted the cover, just enough to ascertain whether the thing was -empty or not.</p> - -<p>The next instant she dropped it again, a quick, startled cry -breaking from her.</p> - -<p>The receptacle was packed full of papers!</p> - -<p>With a very grave face Lady Bromley arose from the floor, carefully -placed the cricket in one corner of the room, and dropped an afghan -over it.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2> - -<h3>THE WINCHESTER HEIRLOOM.</h3> - - -<p>“Gerald,” said her ladyship that same evening, upon coming up from -their dinner, “how far back do you know your family history?”</p> - -<p>Gerald turned to his friend with some surprise at this question, -and then his fine face clouded.</p> - -<p>“Not very far,” he gravely returned. “The most that I know -is that—a long time ago—some of my ancestors came to this -country from England. I have heard Aunt Honor speak of her -great-grandfather, on her mother’s side, being a Scotch -Presbyterian minister. Her grand-father was a blacksmith, her -father a physician, and——”</p> - -<p>“And your father—who and what was he, Gerald?” eagerly questioned -Lady Bromley, as he paused suddenly.</p> - -<p>Again the young man flashed a look of surprise at his companion, -and flushed slightly.</p> - -<p>“Pardon me if I seem unduly curious,” said her ladyship, laying -her hand fondly upon his shoulder as she caught the look.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> “I am, -perhaps, overstepping the bounds of etiquette in catechizing you -thus, but I have a reason for it which I will explain presently. -You have already told me that you do not remember either your -father or mother.”</p> - -<p>“No,” replied Gerald, “my father, who must have been considerably -younger than Aunt Honor, went to sea and never came back, and that -is about all that I know regarding him; for auntie never seemed to -like to talk about him. My mother died of quick consumption when I -was an infant only a few months old, and was buried in Ashton, a -small town in Rhode Island, where, later, I buried auntie. This is -about all that I know concerning my personal history, for my aunt -was always so busy trying to make a living for us, she never seemed -willing to stop to answer my boyish questions. So I finally grew -tired of having her say bruskly, though not unkindly, ‘Oh, go away, -child; I’m busy now, and can’t be bothered,’ and thus I gradually -came to look upon my birth and early life as a sort of vague dream, -and to realize that my chief concern was to improve my time, and -get what education I could to fit myself for the future that lay -before me. And yet, since I have grown older, I have sometimes -thought that Aunt Honor intentionally evaded me and kept back from -me facts regarding my parentage. But she was always very good to -me—she denied herself a great deal to keep me at school. <a name="Err28" id="Err28"></a>I really -believe that she worked beyond her strength, and that was what -caused her to drop away so suddenly.”</p> - -<p>“Have you no relics—no keepsakes, that belonged to your mother? -Have you no record of her marriage, or her wedding-ring?” asked -Lady Bromley.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span></p> -<p>“No; I was so intent upon my boyish pursuits I never thought to ask -for anything of the kind; indeed, I doubt if I even knew that such -things were requisite accompaniments to marriage while Aunt Honor -lived; you know, I was only fourteen years of age when she died,” -Gerald responded, with a sigh.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I suppose it is not strange that you did not think of such -things at that age,” said Lady Bromley, adding, as she smiled -kindly into his rather troubled face: “And now I am going to -tell you why I have been so exceedingly inquisitive—perhaps you -may have deemed me rudely so. I made a discovery this afternoon, -Gerald, which I am impressed will be of great interest to you, even -if it does not throw any light upon your own personal history. It -was to prepare you somewhat for this that I have questioned you. I -took a notion into my head that I would have that ancient cricket -of yours made over into something respectable, and, upon removing -various coverings, I found that the top of the thing is a kind of -box, with a cover which fits snugly into it.”</p> - -<p>“That is curious!” Gerald observed, with sudden interest.</p> - -<p>“It is; and what is still more so, is the fact that the receptacle -is packed with papers.”</p> - -<p>“Why, that is very remarkable! What kind of papers?”</p> - -<p>“That I cannot tell you, my dear boy,” replied her ladyship, -flushing slightly,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> “for, of course, I did not presume to touch -them. I am sure, however that your aunt, Miss Winchester, must have -known of this secret, and it is possible that she also may have -added something to its contents, for I found that every covering, -underneath the outer one, had been partially detached to admit of -the lid being lifted.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, this explains why she was so insistent that I should never -part with the cricket!” Gerald exclaimed. “But why all the secrecy? -Why did she not tell me that the thing contained important -documents?” he added wonderingly.</p> - -<p>“Possibly she may have intended to do so, later on, when you had -arrived at years of discretion—she may have regarded you, up to -the time of her death, as too young to be entrusted with important -information,” replied Lady Bromley. “But come,” she continued, -rising and speaking in a playful tone, “you must examine this -mysterious inheritance for yourself.”</p> - -<p>She went to the corner where she had placed the cricket, removed -the coverings she had thrown over it, and pointed to the ancient -heirloom, which, in its demolished condition, now appeared more -disreputable than ever.</p> - -<p>But, somehow, Gerald shrank from the thing. There was an oppressive -weight upon his heart—a sense of dread lest, upon investigating -the mystery, he should learn some secret which would make his life -unendurable.</p> - -<p>“Come, come, you indifferent boy; have you no curiosity?” lightly -queried her ladyship, who plainly read his thoughts upon his -expressive face.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> “I frankly confess to an element of ‘Mother Eve’ -in my nature; but I have some letters to write, so I am going to my -chamber while you examine the contents of your treasure-chest.”</p> - -<p>“I cannot bear to touch it,” he replied, regarding the inoffensive -chest with a moody brow; “I believe I am afraid of it.”</p> - -<p>“Fie! do not be superstitious,” laughingly reproved his companion. -“Who knows but that you may find yourself the descendant of some -‘lord of high degree’ over the water. In that case, I may have the -felicity of your continued friendship and presence in the country -of my adoption; that is, if my own case comes to a favorable issue, -and I ever get back to England.”</p> - -<p>Still Gerald did not move.</p> - -<p>He was superstitious in this instance; and if he could have -followed the promptings of his own inclinations, he would far -rather have burned this mysterious heirloom, without learning the -nature of its contents, than run the risk of discovering some story -of the past which would make his cheek burn with shame to rehearse -to this lovely woman, who had become so much to him during the last -year.</p> - -<p>Still assuming a lightness of manner, although her own heart was -strangely oppressed by the magnetism of his fear, Lady Bromley -herself lifted the foot-rest, and bore it to the table, where she -deposited it.</p> - -<p>Then, after placing a chair before it, she again went to Gerald’s -side, slipping her hand within his arm, and forcibly compelling him -to cross the room and be seated.</p> - -<p>“Now, my dear boy,” she said, laying her hand caressingly on -his head, and speaking with exceeding tenderness,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> “let not your -heart be troubled, no matter what the contents of this strange -treasure-chest reveals to you; all is wisely ordered by a good -Father. Nothing can harm you individually; Miss Winchester’s -judicious training and your own innate nobility of character have -made you a man whose friendship any man or woman might be proud to -win, and from whose real worth no mistake or shadow of a previous -generation could detract one iota.”</p> - -<p>Gerald lifted his face to the beautiful one bending above him, and -there was a suspicious moisture in his eyes. He gently took the -hand from his head, and, bringing it around to his lips, left a -reverent caress upon it.</p> - -<p>“Lady Bromley, how kind you are to me! How much you have become to -me during the short year of our acquaintance! I owe you more than -I can express—especially for your almost divine sympathy during -my recent trouble. I believe, but for you, I could not have lived -and kept my reason, after learning of Allison’s terrible fate, and -now——”</p> - -<p>Her ladyship laid her fingers upon his tremulous lips. She saw -that he was on the verge of a wild outburst of grief, in view of -the crushing sorrow of the past, and the dread of what might be in -store for him.</p> - -<p>“Hush!” she said softly, “do not look back. We all have our -troubles and losses. I have had mine, and no living soul, save -myself, knows how hard to bear some of them have been”—this with -visible emotion; “and if I should allow myself to dwell on them I -should be one of the most wretched women living. Now I am going to -run away,” she continued more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> brightly, “but when I come back, let -me find all these somber clouds dispersed.”</p> - -<p>She swept her hand lightly and caressingly across his brow as -she ceased speaking, then went quickly from the room. Gerald sat -moodily, thinking for a long time after she disappeared. His arms -were tightly folded across his breast, his head was bent, and his -whole attitude plainly indicated the great depression of mind which -held him enthralled.</p> - -<p>Mentally he went over the ground of his whole life, recalling many -incidents of his childhood which, at the time, had seemed of no -importance whatever, but which now, viewed in the light of later -events—of his aunt’s persistent evasion of his questions and of -Lady Bromley’s discovery of that day—appeared to be strongly -significant of some vital secret regarding his origin.</p> - -<p>Surely, Miss Winchester would never have made him promise so -sacredly never to part with her cricket if she had not known that -it contained something which might some day become of importance to -him.</p> - -<p>The partial cutting away of the various coverings also betrayed -that, at least, some individual, for four generations back, had -been cognizant of an important secret connected with the quaint -heirloom, and had probably added something to it. He recalled how -very vague his Aunt Honor had always been to him in reference to -his parents—particularly so regarding his father, who “went to sea -before he was born and never came back”—that was her invariable -reply to all questions which he asked, and he was usually<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> switched -off upon some other subject when he became too persistent.</p> - -<p>He had a picture of his mother, taken when she was a fair, sweet -girl of seventeen or eighteen years, and all his life he had -loved to look at the lovely face, with its earnest, thoughtful -expression, and he often wondered if the sound of her voice would -have thrilled him as did those beautiful eyes into which he so -loved to gaze.</p> - -<p>He never remembered to have seen any relatives—he had had but few -playmates. He and his aunt had lived very quietly by themselves in -their country home, until they had come to New York, and become a -part of its bustling, hustling life.</p> - -<p>Miss Winchester had been kind and fond of him, in her way, and he -had loved her more because he had no one else to love, than because -of the bond of kinship which existed between them.</p> - -<p>He smiled now, a trifle bitterly, as he thought of this, and -remembered how few people there had ever been in the world who had -felt any real interest in him.</p> - -<p>Toward Mr. Brewster he had been strongly attracted from the first -hour spent in his office, when he had gone to him as a common -messenger-boy. He had been his ideal of a true and honorable -gentleman, and his regard for him had continued to increase until -it had grown into something that might have been called boyish -worship.</p> - -<p>Then Allison had come into his life, like a star of hope, only to -fall again suddenly from his firmament, and leave him in almost -rayless darkness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span></p> - -<p>And yet he knew he should not say that, for there was Mr. -Lyttleton, whose kindness had been unvarying, while Lady Bromley -was, next to Allison, the dearest friend he had ever known.</p> - -<p>His had been rather a barren existence thus far, taking it all in -all; what would the future bring him? he wondered, with a weary -sigh.</p> - -<p>With a look of sudden determination, he straightened himself, put -forth his hand, and grasped the Winchester heirloom.</p> - -<p>The next moment he swung back the lid in the top, and found himself -gazing upon the mysterious documents which, for so long, had been -concealed there.</p> - -<p>Those on top were yellowed and creased with age. There was a -chronological tree of the Winchesters, dating back for ten -generations; but although Gerald examined it carefully, he could -find no trace of any “lord of high degree,” or anything which threw -the slightest light upon his own birth or parentage.</p> - -<p>Then there were records of marriages, births, and deaths, some -baptismal-certificates, and, among these latter, that of Miss Honor -Winchester herself. Also one of Martha Winchester which was pinned -to a marriage-certificate, showing her to have married, some fifty -years previous, a certain Arthur Harris.</p> - -<p>With these there was the record of the birth of a daughter, who had -been named Miriam, and who evidently had been the only child of -this couple.</p> - -<p>“H’m!” said Gerald thoughtfully,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> “I never heard Miss Honor speak -of having had a sister named Martha, and—and my mother’s name was -Miriam. This rather mixes things for me, and strikes me as being -very queer.”</p> - -<p>These papers were the only ones which, as yet, contained anything -of special interest to him, and he wondered why they had been -placed so near the bottom of the receptacle in the cricket.</p> - -<p>He laid them apart from the others, and then drew forth a bulky -envelope, which, with a sudden start and thrill, he discovered was -addressed to himself, in the familiar handwriting of Miss Honor -Winchester.</p> - -<p>Now every nerve in his body seemed alive with a sense of painful -expectation.</p> - -<p>He believed that a crisis in his life had come—that he was about -to pass the Rubicon which was perhaps to make or mar his whole -future.</p> - -<p>The envelope was sealed, but he broke it open impatiently—an -intolerance of all delay in learning his fate taking possession of -him—and drew out its contents, though with a hand that was far -from steady.</p> - -<p>There were a few letters bound together with a rubber band, and the -writing on their envelopes had a strangely familiar look to him.</p> - -<p>Next, there were several closely written sheets which, he saw -at once, had been written by his aunt, and doubtless to him, -although he could not stop to read them then. He was too anxious -to ascertain the contents of those two other papers which lay -underneath them.</p> - -<p>With a strange heart-sinking, he unfolded the uppermost one, and as -he glanced quickly over it, a look of blank astonishment overspread -his face.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span></p> - -<p>Laying it down, he opened the only remaining document. There was -a minute of utter silence, during which he scarcely seemed to -breathe, as he hastily perused its contents.</p> - -<p>Then, with a hoarse cry bursting from his colorless lips, he sprang -from his chair, the paper clutched in his rigid hands, while the -ancient heirloom of the Winchesters, which he had overturned with a -sweep of his elbow, went crashing noisily to the floor.</p> - -<p>An instant after that hoarse, startled cry rang through the -room—after that foot-rest went crashing to the floor, the door of -Lady Bromley’s chamber flew open, there was the sound of silken -garments trailing swiftly over the carpet, then a jeweled hand was -laid upon Gerald’s arm, and the anxious eyes of the beautiful woman -searched, with a frightened look, the rigid countenance of our hero.</p> - -<p>“Gerald! What is it?” she whispered. “What has excited you so? Tell -me!”</p> - -<p>“Good heavens! It cannot be true! I can never believe it!” the -young man muttered, a far-away look in his eyes, his face still set -and white as marble.</p> - -<p>“What is it that cannot be true? Have you made some wonderful -discovery?” questioned Lady Bromley, her hand still clinging to his -arm, her voice full of gentle persuasiveness.</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me!”</p> - -<p>“I am almost afraid to breathe it aloud.”</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span></p> -<p>“No, no! Gerald, surely not to me—your friend under all -circumstances; one who will never fail you,” the lovely woman -pleaded. “Is it as you surmised, some secret connected with your -origin?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and it is wonderful! Incredible!”</p> - -<p>“Tell me!” again commanded his friend.</p> - -<p>The excited fellow drew in a deep breath that shook his stalwart -frame from head to foot.</p> - -<p>He straightened himself to his full height, throwing back his head -with an air of freedom and conscious pride, while an expression of -great joy illumined his eyes.</p> - -<p>Then he looked down and smiled into the face of the fair woman -beside him.</p> - -<p>“You will scarcely believe me,” he said, “but I am Adam Brewster’s -son!”</p> - -<p>Lady Bromley heard Gerald’s statement with amazement, although she -had felt that the papers might have a serious bearing on the life -of her young friend. Together they examined the documents so long -hidden in the old foot-stool, and when they had finished with the -last piece of evidence, so singularly produced, it was evident to -both that the mystery of Gerald’s birth had been cleared away, and -that, as the lawful son of the banker, he was the rightful heir -to the millions for which John Hubbard had seemingly successfully -plotted.</p> - -<p>How Gerald’s claim to the banker’s fortune was established to the -complete undoing of the scheming lawyer, and how the sunshine of -love and happiness once more entered into his life, will be found -in the sequel to this story, which is published under the title,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> -“A Heritage of Love,” and bound in handsome cloth binding, uniform -with this volume.</p> - - -<p>THE END.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="Good_Fiction_Worth_Reading" id="Good_Fiction_Worth_Reading"></a>Good Fiction Worth Reading.</h2> - -<p>A series of romances containing several of the old favorites in the -field of historical fiction, replete with powerful romances of love -and diplomacy that excel in thrilling and absorbing interest.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><b>DARNLEY.</b> A Romance of the times of Henry VIII. and Cardinal -Wolsey. By G. P. R. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by -J. Watson Davis, Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">In point of publication, “Darnley” is that work by Mr. James which -follows “Richelieu,” and, if rumor can be credited, it was owing -to the advice and insistence of our own Washington Irving that we -are indebted primarily for the story, the young author questioning -whether he could properly paint the difference in the characters -of the two great cardinals. And it is not surprising that James -should have hesitated; he had been eminently successful in giving -to the world the portrait of Richelieu as a man, and by attempting -a similar task with Wolsey as the theme, was much like tempting -fortune. Irving insisted that “Darnley” came naturally in sequence, -and this opinion being supported by Sir Walter Scott, the author -set about the work.</p> - -<p class="small">As a historical romance “Darnley” is a book that can be taken up -pleasurably again and again, for there is about it that subtle -charm which those who are strangers to the works of G. P. R. James -have claimed was only to be imparted by Dumas.</p> - -<p class="small">If there was nothing more about the work to attract especial -attention, the account of the meeting of the kings on the historic -“field of the cloth of gold” would entitle the story to the most -favorable consideration of every reader.</p> - -<p class="small">There is really but little pure romance in this story, for the -author has taken care to imagine love passages only between those -whom history has credited with having entertained the tender -passion one for another, and he succeeds in making such lovers as -all the world must love.<br /></p> - - -<p><b>CAPTAIN BRAND, OF THE SCHOONER CENTIPEDE.</b> By Lieut. Henry A. -Wise, U. S. N. (Harry Gringo). Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations -by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">The re-publication of this story will please those lovers of sea -yarns who delight in so much of the salty flavor of the ocean as -can come through the medium of a printed page, for never has a -story of the sea and those “who go down in ships” been written by -one more familiar with the scenes depicted.</p> - -<p class="small">The one book of this gifted author which is best remembered, -and which will be read with pleasure for many years to come, is -“Captain Brand,” who, as the author states on his title page, was -a “pirate of eminence in the West Indies.” As a sea story pure and -simple, “Captain Brand” has never been excelled, and as a story of -piratical life, told without the usual embellishments of blood and -thunder, it has no equal.<br /></p> - - -<p><b>NICK OF THE WOODS.</b> A story of the Early Settlers of -Kentucky. By Robert Montgomery Bird. Cloth, 12mo. with four -illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">This most popular novel and thrilling story of early frontier -life in Kentucky was originally published in the year 1837. The -novel, long out of print, had in its day a phenomenal sale, for -its realistic presentation of Indian and frontier life in the -early days of settlement in the South, narrated in the tale with -all the art of a practiced writer. A very charming love romance -runs through the story. This new and tasteful edition of “Nick -of the Woods” will be certain to make many new admirers for this -enchanting story from Dr. Bird’s clever and versatile pen.<br /></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span></p> - -<p><b>WINDSOR CASTLE.</b> A Historical Romance of the Reign of Henry -VIII., Catharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. By Wm. Harrison -Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by George -Cruikshank. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">“Windsor Castle” is the story of Henry VIII., Catharine, and -Anne Boleyn. “Bluff King Hal,” although a well-loved monarch, -was none too good a one in many ways. Of all his selfishness and -unwarrantable acts, none was more discreditable than his divorce -from Catharine, and his marriage to the beautiful Anne Boleyn. -The King’s love was as brief as it was vehement. Jane Seymour, -waiting maid on the Queen, attracted him, and Anne Boleyn was -forced to the block to make room for her successor. This romance -is one of extreme interest to all readers.<br /></p> - - -<p><b>HORSESHOE ROBINSON.</b> A tale of the Tory Ascendency in South -Carolina in 1780. By John P. Kennedy. Cloth, 12mo. with four -illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">Among the old favorites in the field of what is known as -historical fiction, there are none which appeal to a larger -number of Americans than Horseshoe Robinson, and this because it -is the only story which depicts with fidelity to the facts the -heroic efforts of the colonists in South Carolina to defend their -homes against the brutal oppression of the British under such -leaders as Cornwallis and Tarleton.</p> - -<p class="small">The reader is charmed with the story of love which forms the -thread of the tale, and then impressed with the wealth of detail -concerning those times. The picture of the manifold sufferings -of the people, is never overdrawn, but painted faithfully and -honestly by one who spared neither time nor labor in his efforts -to present in this charming love story all that price in blood -and tears which the Carolinians paid as their share in the -winning of the republic.</p> - -<p class="small">Take it all in all, “Horseshoe Robinson” is a work which should -be found on every book-shelf, not only because it is a most -entertaining story, but because of the wealth of valuable -information concerning the colonists which it contains. That it -has been brought out once more, well illustrated, is something -which will give pleasure to thousands who have long desired an -opportunity to read the story again, and to the many who have -tried vainly in these latter days to procure a copy that they -might read it for the first time.<br /></p> - - -<p><b>THE PEARL OF ORR’S ISLAND.</b> A story of the Coast of Maine. By -Harriet Beecher Stowe. Cloth, 12mo. Illustrated. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">Written prior to 1862, the “Pearl of Orr’s Island” is ever new; -a book filled with delicate fancies, such as seemingly array -themselves anew each time one reads them. One sees the “sea like -an unbroken mirror all around the pine-girt, lonely shores of -Orr’s Island,” and straightway comes “the heavy, hollow moan of -the surf on the beach, like the wild angry howl of some savage -animal.”</p> - -<p class="small">Who can read of the beginning of that sweet life, named Mara, -which came into this world under the very shadow of the Death -angel’s wings, without having an intense desire to know how the -premature bud blossomed? Again and again one lingers over the -descriptions of the character of that baby boy Moses, who came -through the tempest, amid the angry billows, pillowed on his dead -mother’s breast.</p> - -<p class="small">There is no more faithful portrayal of New England life than that -which Mrs. Stowe gives in “The Pearl of Orr’s Island.”<br /></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span></p> - -<p><b>GUY FAWKES.</b> A Romance of the Gunpowder Treason. By Wm. -Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by George -Cruikshank. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">The “Gunpowder Plot” was a modest attempt to blow up Parliament, -the King and his Counsellors. James of Scotland, then King -of England, was weak-minded and extravagant. He hit upon the -efficient scheme of extorting money from the people by imposing -taxes on the Catholics. In their natural resentment to this -extortion, a handful of bold spirits concluded to overthrow the -government. Finally the plotters were arrested, and the King put -to torture Guy Fawkes and the other prisoners with royal vigor. A -very intense love story runs through the entire romance.<br /></p> - - -<p><b>THE SPIRIT OF THE BORDER.</b> A Romance of the Early Settlers in -the Ohio Valley. By Zane Grey. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations -by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">A book rather out of the ordinary is this “Spirit of the Border.” -The main thread of the story has to do with the work of the -Moravian missionaries in the Ohio Valley. Incidentally the reader -is given details of the frontier life of those hardy pioneers who -broke the wilderness for the planting of this great nation. Chief -among these, as a matter of course, is Lewis Wetzel, one of the -most peculiar, and at the same time the most admirable of all the -brave men who spent their lives battling with the savage foe, -that others might dwell in comparative security.</p> - -<p class="small">Details of the establishment and destruction of the Moravian -“Village of Peace” are given at some length, and with minute -description. The efforts to Christianize the Indians are -described as they never have been before, and the author has -depicted the characters of the leaders of the several Indian -tribes with great care, which of itself will be of interest to -the student.</p> - -<p class="small">By no means least among the charms of the story are the vivid -word-pictures of the thrilling adventures, and the intense -paintings of the beauties of nature, as seen in the almost -unbroken forests.</p> - -<p class="small">It is the spirit of the frontier which is described, and one can -by it, perhaps, the better understand why men, and women, too, -willingly braved every privation and danger that the westward -progress of the star of empire might be the more certain and -rapid. A love story, simple and tender, runs through the book.<br /></p> - - -<p><b>RICHELIEU.</b> A tale of France in the reign of King Louis XIII. -By G. P. R. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. -Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">In 1829 Mr. James published his first romance, “Richelieu,” and -was recognized at once as one of the masters of the craft.</p> - -<p class="small">In this book he laid the story during those later days of the -great cardinal’s life, when his power was beginning to wane, but -while it was yet sufficiently strong to permit now and then of -volcanic outbursts which overwhelmed foes and carried friends -to the topmost wave of prosperity. One of the most striking -portions of the story is that of Cinq Mar’s conspiracy; the -method of conducting criminal cases, and the political trickery -resorted to by royal favorites, affording a better insight into -the state-craft of that day than can be had even by an exhaustive -study of history. It is a powerful romance of love and diplomacy, -and in point of thrilling and absorbing interest has never been -excelled.<br /></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span></p> - -<p><b>A COLONIAL FREE-LANCE.</b> A story of American Colonial Times. -By Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by -J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">A book that appeals to Americans as a vivid picture of -Revolutionary scenes. The story is a strong one, a thrilling one. -It causes the true American to flush with excitement, to devour -chapter after chapter, until the eyes smart, and it fairly smokes -with patriotism. The love story is a singularly charming idyl.<br /></p> - - -<p><b>THE TOWER OF LONDON.</b> A Historical Romance of the Times of -Lady Jane Grey and Mary Tudor. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth, -12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">This romance of the “Tower of London” depicts the Tower as -palace, prison and fortress, with many historical associations. -The era is the middle of the sixteenth century.</p> - -<p class="small">The story is divided into two parts, one dealing with Lady Jane -Grey, and the other with Mary Tudor as Queen, introducing other -notable characters of the era. Throughout the story holds the -interest of the reader in the midst of intrigue and conspiracy, -extending considerably over a half a century.<br /></p> - - -<p><b>IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING.</b> A Romance of the American -Revolution. By Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four -illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">Mr. Hotchkiss has etched in burning words a story of Yankee -bravery, and true love that thrills from beginning to end, with -the spirit of the Revolution. The heart beats quickly, and we -feel ourselves taking a part in the exciting scenes described. -His whole story is so absorbing that you will sit up far into the -night to finish it. As a love romance it is charming.<br /></p> - - -<p><b>GARTHOWEN.</b> A story of a Welsh Homestead. By Allen Raine. -Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, -$1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">“This is a little idyl of humble life and enduring love, laid -bare before us, very real and pure, which in its telling shows -us some strong points of Welsh character—the pride, the -hasty temper, the quick dying out of wrath.... We call this a -well-written story, interesting alike through its romance and its -glimpses into another life than ours. A delightful and clever -picture of Welsh village life. The result is excellent.”—Detroit -Free Press.<br /></p> - - -<p><b>MIFANWY.</b> The story of a Welsh Singer. By Allan Raine. Cloth, -12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">“This is a love story, simple, tender and pretty as one would -care to read. The action throughout is brisk and pleasing; the -characters, it is apparent at once, are as true to life as though -the author had known them all personally. Simple in all its -situations, the story is worked up in that touching and quaint -strain which never grows wearisome, no matter how often the -lights and shadows of love are introduced. It rings true, and -does not tax the imagination.”—Boston Herald.<br /></p> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span></p> - -<p><b>ROB OF THE BOWL.</b> A Story of the Early Days of Maryland. By -John P. Kennedy. Cloth, 12mo. Four page illustrations by J. Watson -Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">This story is an authentic exposition of the manners and customs -during Lord Baltimore’s rule. The greater portion of the action -takes place in St. Mary’s—the original capital of the State.</p> - -<p class="small">The quaint character of Rob, the loss of whose legs was supplied -by a wooden bowl strapped to his thighs, his misfortunes and -mother wit, far outshine those fair to look upon. Pirates and -smugglers did Rob consort with for gain, and it was to him that -Blanche Werden owed her life and her happiness, as the author has -told us in such an enchanting manner.</p> - -<p class="small">As a series of pictures of early colonial life in Maryland, “Rob -of the Bowl” has no equal. The story is full of splendid action, -with a charming love story, and a plot that never loosens the -grip of its interest to its last page.<br /></p> - - -<p><b>TICONDEROGA.</b> A Story of Early Frontier Life in the Mohawk -Valley. By G. P. R. James. Cloth, 12mo. Four page illustrations by -J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">The setting of the story is decidedly more picturesque than any -ever evolved by Cooper. The story is located on the frontier of -New York State. The principal characters in the story include an -English gentleman, his beautiful daughter, Lord Howe, and certain -Indian sachems belonging to the Five Nations, and the story ends -with the Battle of Ticonderoga.</p> - -<p class="small">The character of Captain Brooks, who voluntarily decides -to sacrifice his own life in order to save the son of the -Englishman, is not among the least of the attractions of this -story, which holds the attention of the reader even to the last -page.</p> - -<p class="small">Interwoven with the plot is the Indian “blood” law, which demands -a life for a life, whether it be that of the murderer or one of -his race. A more charming story of mingled love and adventure has -never been written than “Ticonderoga”.<br /></p> - - -<p><b>MARY DERWENT.</b> A tale of the Wyoming Valley in 1778. By Mrs. -Ann S. Stephens. <a name="Err29" id="Err29"></a>Cloth, 12mo. Four illustrations by J. Watson -Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">The scene of this fascinating story of early frontier life is -laid in the Valley of Wyoming. Aside from Mary Derwent, who is -of course the heroine, the story deals with Queen Esther’s son, -Giengwatah, the Butlers of notorious memory, and the adventures -of the Colonists with the Indians.</p> - -<p class="small">Though much is made of the Massacre of Wyoming, a great portion -of the tale describes the love making between Mary Derwent’s -sister, Walter Butler, and one of the defenders of Forty Fort.</p> - -<p class="small">This historical novel stands out bright and pleasing, because of -the mystery and notoriety of several of the actors, the tender -love scenes, descriptions of the different localities, and the -struggles of the settlers. It holds the attention of the reader -even to the last page.<br /></p> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span></p> - -<p><b>THE LAST TRAIL.</b> A story of early days in the Ohio Valley. By -Zane Grey. Cloth, 12mo. Four page illustrations by J. Watson Davis. -Price, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">“The Last Trail” is a story of the border. The scene is laid at -Fort Henry, where Col. Ebenezer Zane with his family have built -up a village despite the attacks of savages and renegades. The -Colonel’s brother and Wetzel, known as Deathwind by the Indians, -are the bordermen who devote their lives to the welfare of the -white people. A splendid love story runs through the book.</p> - -<p class="small">That Helen Sheppard, the heroine, should fall in love with such -a brave, skilful scout as Jonathan Zane seems only reasonable -after his years of association and defense of the people of the -settlement from savages and renegades.</p> - -<p class="small">If one has a liking for stories of the trail, where the white -man matches brains against savage cunning, for tales of ambush -and constant striving for the mastery, “The Last Trail” will be -greatly to his liking.<br /></p> - - -<p><b>THE KNIGHTS OF THE HORSESHOE.</b> A traditionary tale of the -Cocked Hat Gentry in the Old Dominion. By Dr. Wm. A. Caruthers. -Cloth, 12mo. Four page illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, -$1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">Many will hail with delight the re-publication of this rare and -justly famous story of early American colonial life and old-time -Virginian hospitality.</p> - -<p class="small">Much that is charmingly interesting will be found in this tale -that so faithfully depicts early American colonial life, and also -here is found all the details of the founding of the Tramontane -Order, around which has ever been such a delicious flavor of -romance.</p> - -<p class="small">Early customs, much love making, plantation life, politics, -intrigues, and finally that wonderful march across the mountains -which resulted in the discovery and conquest of the fair Valley -of Virginia. A rare book filled with a delicious flavor of -romance.<br /></p> - - -<p><b>BY BERWEN BANKS.</b> A Romance of Welsh Life. By Allen Raine. -Cloth, 12mo. Four page illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, -$1.00.</p> - -<p class="small">It is a tender and beautiful romance of the idyllic. A charming -picture of life in a Welsh seaside village. It is something of a -prose-poem, true, tender and graceful.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price -by the publishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 52-58 Duane St., New York.</p> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<h2><a name="Transcribers_Notes" id="Transcribers_Notes"></a>Transcriber’s Notes:</h2> - - -<p>A table of contents was created to enable eBook navigation.</p> - -<p>Obvious punctuation omissions and instances of extraneous -punctuation have been repaired. Inconsistent hyphenation was -retained as printed. Period and common alternate spellings were -also retained, but the following apparent printing errors were -corrected:</p> - -<p>On page 4, changed “enomiums” to “encomiums” (<a href="#Err1">winning for herself -encomiums from both surgeons and physicians</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 20, changed “smal” to “small” (<a href="#Err2">She had a small annuity</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 20, changed “founteen” to “fourteen” (<a href="#Err3">fourteen years of -age</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 22, changed “b” to “be” (<a href="#Err4">to be a noble, whole-hearted, -high-principled fellow</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 25, changed “everythink” to “everything” (<a href="#Err5">at whose touch -everything seemed to turn into gold</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 29, changed “quielty” to “quietly” (<a href="#Err6">then he said, as -quietly as if</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 38, changed “talkin” to “talking” (<a href="#Err7">she stood talking with -John</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 40, changed “Gearld” to “Gerald” (<a href="#Err8">But before Gerald could -reply</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 62, changed “bdden” to “bidden” (<a href="#Err9">when he had bidden her -adieu</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 83, extra “an” removed (<a href="#Err10">an exclamation of disappointment</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 85, changed “chirish” to “cherish” (<a href="#Err11">to tenderly cherish -her</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 89, changed “pupit” to “pupil” (<a href="#Err12">quite an apt pupil</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 91, changed “mary” to “marry” (<a href="#Err13">I never could marry you</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 94, added a missing “he” (<a href="#Err14">and he at once procured a lawyer</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 96, changed “stank” to “stand” (<a href="#Err15">on taking the stand</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 102, changed “CAPTER” to “CHAPTER” (<a href="#Err16">CHAPTER IX.</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 139, changed “shinning” to “shining” (<a href="#Err17">tossing her shining -head</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 152, changed “tne” to “tone” (<a href="#Err18">in an apologetic tone</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 154, changed “myelf” to “myself” (<a href="#Err19">once in a while myself</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 156, changed “wil” to “will” (<a href="#Err20">It will be such a blessed -relief</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 161, changed “as” to “was” (<a href="#Err21">his voice was hardly audible</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 164, changed “mary” to “marry” (<a href="#Err22">will you marry me</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 165, changed “shal” to “shall” (<a href="#Err23">you shall be gratified</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 165, changed “wil” to “will” (<a href="#Err24">To answer your last question -will be to reply to all</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 169, changed “secert” to “secret” (<a href="#Err25">every vestige of this -secret</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 195, changed “visons” to “visions” (<a href="#Err26">swift-flitting visions -of dreamland appearing</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 209, changed “paniful” to “painful” (<a href="#Err27">it was painful to be -in her presence</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 233, changed “realy” to “really” (<a href="#Err28">I really believe</a>).</p> - -<p>On page 251, changed “Coth” to “Cloth” (<a href="#Err29">Cloth, 12mo.</a>).</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Key, by Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN KEY *** - -***** This file should be named 50909-h.htm or 50909-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/9/0/50909/ - -Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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