THE MYSTERY OF METROPOLISVILLE BY EDWARD EGGLESTON, A.UTHOB OF " THE HOOSIEB SCHOOL- MASTEB," rt THE HUD OF THE WOEU>," ETC WITH THIRTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS. NEW YORK: ORANGE JUDD AND COMPANY, 245 BROADWAY. To ONE WHO KNOWS WITH ME A LOVE-STORY, NOW MORE THAN FIFTEEN YEARS IN LENGTH, AND BETTER A HUNDRED FOLD THAN ANY I SHALL EVER BE ABLE TO WRITE, THIS BOOK IS INSCRIBED, ON AN ANNIVERSARY. MARCH 18TH, 187a M11969 PREFACE. A NOVEL should be the truest of books. It partakes in a certain sense of the nature of both history and art. It needs to be true to human nature in its permanent and essential qualities, and it should truthfully represent some specific and temporary manifestation of human nature: that is, some form of society. It has been objected that I have copied life too closely, but it seems to me that the work to be done just now, is to represent the forms and spirit of our own life, and thus free ourselves from habitual imitation of that which is foreis^i. I have wished to make my stories of value as a con tribution to the history of civilization in America. If it be urged that this is not the highest function, I reply that it is just now the most necessary function of this kind of literature. Of the value of these stories as works of art, others must judge; but I shall have the satisfaction of knowing that I have at least rendered one substantial though humble service to our literature, if I have portrayed correctly certain forms of American life and manners. BROOKLYN, March, 1873. CONTENTS. PREFACE WORDS BEFOREHAND. PAGE ... 7 .. 11 CHAPTER I. The Autocrat of the Stage-Coach 13 CHAPTER n. The Sod Tavern 23 CHAPTER in. Land and Love 29 CHAPTER IV. -Albert and Katy 37 CHAPTER V. Corner Lota 45 CHAPTER VI. Little Katy s Lover 53 CHAPTER VII. Catching and Getting Caught 61 CHAPTER Yin. Isabel Marlay 73 CHAPTER IX. Lovers and Lovers 82 CHAPTER X. Plausaby, Esq.. takes a Fatherly Interest S3 CHAPTER XI. About Several Things 94 CHAPTER XH. An Adventure 102 CHAPTER XHI. A Shelter 109 CHAPTER XIV. The Inhabitant 115 CHAPTER XV. An Episode 124 CHAPTER XVI. The Return 135 CHAPTER XVTL Sawney and his Old Love 143 CHAPTER XVHL A Collision 152 CHAPTER XIX. Standing Guard in Vain 162 CHAPTER XX. Sawney and Westcott 172 CHAPTER XXI. Rowing 181 CHAPTER XXII. -Sailing 183 CHAPTER XXITL Sinking 195 CHAPTER XXIV. Dragging 200 CHAPTER XXV. Af tenvards 208 CHAPTER XXVI. The Mystery 214 CHAPTER XXVII. The Arrest 221 CHAPTER XXVIII. The Tempter 233 9 .;,., HP" THE MYSTERY OF METROPOLISVILLE BY EDWARD EGGLESTON, ACTHOB OF "THI HOOSIEB SCHOOL- MASTKB," rt THK BJTD OF TEOt WOmU)," KTO WITH THIRTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS. NEW YORK: ORANGE JUDD AND COMPANY, 245 BROADWAY. Kntemi, according to Act of OMffiw. l UM jw imt, by i;i.\v.\i:i> Hoamm, In the OOce of the UbrvUn of OongtM*, at Wi M MAM To ONE WHO KNOWS WITH ME A LOVE-STORY, NOW MORE THAN FIFTEEN YEARS IN LENGTH, AND BETTER A HUNDRED FOLD THAN ANY I SHALL EVER BE ABLE TO WRITE, THIS BOOK IS INSCRIBED, ON AN ANNIVERSARY. MARCH 18TH, 18?a M11969 FREF 1 A.CE. A NOVEL should be the truest of books. It partakes in a certain sense of the nature of both history and art. It needs to be true to human nature in its permanent and essential qualities, and it should truthfully represent some specific and temporary manifestation of human nature: that is, some form of society. It has been objected that I have copied life too closely, but it seems to me that the work to be done just now, is to represent the forms and spirit of our own life, and thus free ourselves from habitual imitation of that which is foreign. I have wished to make my stories of value as a con tribution to the history of civilization in America. If it be urged that this is not the highest function, I reply that it is just now the most necessary function of this kind of literature. Of the value of these stories as works of art, others must judge; but I shall have the satisfaction of knowing that I have at least rendered one substantial though humble service to our literature, if I have portrayed correctly certain forms of American life and manners. BROOKLYN, March, 1873. N CONTENTS. PAGE PREFACE 7 WORDS BEFOREHAND 11 CHAPTER I. The Autocrat of the Stage-Coach 13 CHAPTER II. The Sod Tavern , 23 CHAPTER HI. Land and Love 29 CHAPTER IV. -Albert and Katy 37 CHAPTER V. Corner Lota 45 CHAPTER VI. Little Katy s Lover 53 CHAPTER \TL Catching and Getting Caught 61 CHAPTER VIIL Isabel Marlay 73 CHAPTER IX. Lovers and Lovers 82 CHAPTER X. Plausaby, Esq., takea a Fatherly Interest 89 CHAPTER XI. About Several Things 94 CHAPTER XII. An Adventure 102 CHAPTER XIH. A Shelter 109 CHAPTER XTV. The Inhabitant 115 CHAPTER XV. An Episode 124 CHAPTER XVI. The Return 135 CHAPTER XVIL Sawney and his Old Love 143 CHAPTER XVIIL A Collision 152 CHAPTER XIX. Standing Guard in Vain 162 CHAPTER XX. Sawney and Westcott 172 CHAPTER XXI. Rowing . 181 CHAPTER XXII.- -Sailing.... 183 CHAPTER XXHI. Sinking 195 CHAPTER XXIV. Dragging 200 CHAPTER XXV. Afterwards 208 CHAPTER XXVI. The Mystery 214 CHAPTER XXVII. The Arrest 221 CHAPTER XXVIII. The Tempter 233 10 CONTENTS. CHAJTKB XXIX. -The Trial .Ml CHAPTEB XXX. The Penitentiary . . .151 CUAJTBB XXXL-Mr Lurt : ...886 CUAJTBB XXXII. A Ooafewion. ... KB mill Peat .-: KB XXXIV. Mr. Lnrton iCoortahi; ..191 ( IIAITBB XXXV. Unbarred ..97 CHAirn XXrVI.-Iaabel .805 CuArriB XXX VII.- The Last ATTKBWAJUM... 8 ILLUSTRATIONS, Br FRANK BEARD. HtoUaclfth Lore found A Melancholy RecoBpenw . The Superior Bcin c 10 Mr. Mlnorkey and the Fat GenUcman : Plaaaaby 0eIU Lot- Bj George! He I bo: Mr*, riaamby . ... 85 The Inhabit*. li: .of Snnff. 130 Mr*. Ferrrt One 8arae Blow full In ibc Face . . . . 1M "What on Airth t the Matter TheF. r..!m.il" . 110 "GitupaodFuUc: . ttl THE MYSTERY OF METROPOLISVILLE WORDS BEFOREHAND. \3f -"a^ETROPOLISVILLE is nothing but a mem ory now. If Jonah s gourd had not been a little too much used already, it would serve an excellent turn just here in the way of an apt figure of speech illustrating the growth, the wilting, and the withering of Metropolisville. The last time I saw the place the grass grew green where once stood the City Hall, the corn-stalks waved their banners on the very site of the old store I ask pardon, the " Emporium " of Jackson, Jones & Co., and what had been the square, staring white court-house not a Temple but a Barn of Justice had long since fallen to base uses. The walls which had echoed with forensic grandiloquence were now forced to hear only the bleating of silly sheep. The church, the school-house, and the City Hotel had been moved away bodily. The village grew, as hundreds of other frontier villages had grown, in the flush times; it died, as so many others died, of the financial 11 12 nih jr. i^TiLLm. crash whi.-h was the inevitable sequel and retribution of specu- :: i Western towns of the sort so strongly, that I should n<.t take tin- trout ; I about it, nor ask yon to take th t: to read about it, if \<-lv<> also the history of certain human lives- of a trap th . more than one soul. A . what b i. \vc.rth but fur its human iatcrcM . .ens It :" Miluc on account of it.- t< i ! statues, but on ac- of its men and women. A: . .in street" of >! -: -fcn- ii(l blMuins almost undisturbed by comers and poets, though the plowshare remorselessly turns ov r t in pbcet \vh.rc rorner loU wen- once sold for a hun rn the front foot, and though tht- lot oncv K;. :i the map) as " ! \.t there arc hearts on \\;,i.-h the brirf trop- olisvil. ft traT- in .:. - :il 1 >t.nn, iu or itrrnity. THE AUTOCRAT OF THE STAGE-COACH. 13 CHAPTER I THE AUTOCRAT OF THE STAGE-COACH. up!" No leader of a cavalry charge ever put more authority into his tones than did Whisky Jim, as he drew the lines over his four bay horses in the streets of Red Owl Landing, a village two years old, boasting three thousand inhabitants, and a cer tain prospect of having four thousand a month later. Even ministers, poets, and writers of unworldly romances are sometimes influenced by mercenary considerations. But stage-drivers are entirely consecrated to their high calling. Here was Whisky Jim, in the very streets of Red Owl, in the spring of the year 1856, when money was worth five and six per cent a month on bond and mortgage, when corner lots doubled hi value over night, when everybody was frantically trying to swindle everybody else here was Whisky Jim, with the in fatuation of a life-long devotion to horse-flesh, utterly oblivi ous to the chances of robbing green emigrants which a sea son of speculation affords. He was secure from the infection. You might have shown him a gold-mine under the very feet of his wheel-horses, and he could not have worked it twenty- four hours. lie had an itching palm, which could be satisfied f THE MYSTERY OP METRO r.K. with nothing but the " ribbons" lnwn hacks of a four- in-hand. (/ The coach mo veil away slowly at first from the front door of the large, rectangular, unpointed Red O drag ging its wheels heavily through the soft turf of a Main street fr<>m \\hirli the cotton-wood trees had been cut down, t>ut in i tin- stumps were still standing, and which remained as innocent of all pav. m< nt a> wh n, three years before, the who.- bore, loaded his worldly goods upon the back . st and ugliest wife, slung his gu - shoulder, and started mournfully uway from the home of his f which MM fellow, had bargained away to the white man for an annuity ..f p >wder and blankets, nn : icmey, to be quickly spent for whisky. And yet, I might add di- grcssi in the saddest situations. :ig adieu to the "home of his ances tors found solace In the sweet hope of returning und r favor- in mnstances to scalp the white man s wife and elk; .ir : O lang!" Th-- I..MI; whip swung round ra( ki i iv over the haunches of the leaden, making them start .ut the coach v. und ihpp - l into a he same Instant, nearly throwing th< ilrivi r, n-i ! the panscoger who was enjoying the outride i their seats. "What a hole!" sai uwengvr, a studious-looking .ologist s tin collecting-box slung his sh"ul . The dri a long breath, moistened his Upa, and amid in a cool and aggravating^ deliberate fa*l. mm fcnuuuit THE AUTOCRAT OP THE STAGS-COACH. 17 "That air blamed pollywog puddle sold las week fer tew thaousand." "Dollars?" asked the young man. Jim gave him an annihilating look, and queried : " Didn think I meant tew thaousand acorns, did ye ? " "It s an awful price," said the abashed passenger, speaking as one might in the presence of a superior being. Jim was silent awhile, and then resumed hi the same slow tone, but with something of condescension mixed with it: " Think so, do ye? Mebbe so, stranger. Fool what bought that tadpole lake done middlin well in disposin of it, how- sumdever." Here the Superior Being came to a dead pause, and waited to be questioned. "How s that?" asked the young man. After a proper interval of meditation, Jim said : " Sol it this week. Tuck jest twice what he invested in his frog-fishery." " Four thousand ? " said the passenger with an inquisitive and surprised rising inflection. " Hey ? " said Jim, looking at him solemnly. " Tew times tew use to be four when I larnt the rewl of three in old Vannount. Mebbe taint so in the country you come from, where they call a pail a bucket." The passenger kept still awhile. The manner of the Superior Being chilled him a little. But TVTiisky Jim graciously broke the silence himself. "Sell nex week fer six." The young man s mind had already left the subject under discussion, and it took some little effort of recollection to bring it back. 18 THE MTBTERY OF METItOPOLISVILLK. "How long will it keep on going up?" be hes the top. Come daown tarn like a spile- uu.vi it ll mash anybody what happens to stan* perci> " When will it reach the t- : Being turned his eye* full \\\m the student, who i !itil- uii.l. r th<- half-sneer of his look. .n. IT, stranger, that s jest whatereryb< pay money trw \body means to git aout in luit thumler ! every pieee this terr a deadfall. 8<>- ry one of them air traps. Gee up! G lan- . won t y..u 1L> And this last .- I with ai lagnificent writiri. ina-t- r tloiirish of ;>-lash, and emphasized by an explosive crack at th m.l. wi.j.-h ita horses off in a swinging gallop, fr< .Ittn <lul not allow them to a walk until they had reached the high prairie in the rear of the town. "What are those people HUM-/ ; ;i t.-nts for 11 asked the itcd back to Red * w considerably below them, an 1 Vnirh presented a panorama of balloon-frame houses, mostly innocent of paint, with a sprinkling of tools 1 here and there among the trees; on lots not yet re- .1 from virgin wildness, but which possessed the remark able qualit r prices that would hare done honor 11-lnentrtl l:m,l in i hia. ause they can t live no other." Then, after a long pause, the Superior Being resumed in a tone of half-solil( n t a bed nur a board In the hull city of lied Owl to be had for paybV nur THE AUTOCRAT Ot jE-COACH. 19 * THE S" coaxin . Beds is aces. Houses is trumps. Landioids is got high, low, Jack, and the game in ther hands. Looky there ! A bran-new lot of fools fresh from the factory." And he pointed to the old steamboat "Ben Bolt," which was just com ing up to the landing with deck and guards black with eager immigrants of all classes. But Albert Charlton, the student, did not look back any longer. It marks an epoch in a man s life when he first catches sight of a prairie landscape, especially if that landscape be one of those great rolling ones to be seen nowhere so well as hi Minnesota. Charlton had crossed Illinois from Chicago to Dunleith in the night-time, and so had missed the flat prairies. His sense of sublimity was keen, and, besides his natural love for such scenes, he had a hobbyist passion for virgin nature superadded. " What a magnificent country ! " he cried. " Talkin sense ! " muttered Jim. " Never seed so good a place fer stagin 1 in my day." For every man sees through his own eyes. To the emi grants whose white-top " prairie schooners " wound slowly along the road, these grass-grown hills and those far-away meadowy valleys were only so many places where good farms could be opened without the trouble of cutting off the trees. It was not landscape, but simply land where one might raise thirty or forty bushels of spring wheat to the acre, without any danger of " fevernager ; " to the keen-witted speculator looking sharply after corner stakes, at a little distance from the road, it was just so many quarter sections, "eighties," and "forties," to be bought low and sold high whenever opportunity offered ; to Jim it was a good country for staging, except a few "blamed > 20 :: MYff&BT OF kETBOPOLJBVILLJL biougns where th !..?.,:., ;. . i f, !! . But the cnihusiaatk eyes of young Albert Charlton despised all sordid and " culi nary uses " of the earth ; to him this limitleat vista of waring wild ^rass, these green meadows and treeless hills dotted every- vr flowers, was a sight of Nature r noblest mood. Such rollin- lulls IK him! hills! If those ro(U could be called hills ! After an hoar the coach had gradu ally ascended to the summit of the "divide" between Purple Hiv.-r "ii tin- one side and I: r on the other, and th rows of willows and cotton-woods that hung over the water s edge the only trees umlt r ih- whole sky marked di- . the meandering lines of the two streams. Albert Charlton shouted and laughed; he stood up beside Jim, and cried out that it was a paradise. " Hcbbe tis,** sneered Jim. " Anyway, it s got morc n one d.-vil into it. 00-lang!" und. r t aion of the scenery, Albert, with the impulsiveness of a young man, unfolded to Whisky Jim all the f his own theories: how a man should live naturally and 1 features live; how tcr a man was with out flesh-eating; how wrong it was to speculate, and that a speculator gave nothing : : that it was not beat to wear flannels, seeing one should harden his body to endure mil how a man should let his beard grow, not use tobacco nor coffee nor whisky, should get up a- o clock In the morning and go to bed early. i.ooky here, mister!** said the Superior Being, after a whil.-. " I wouldn t naow, cf I was you!" Wouldn t what?" Wui in t f h no skh notions into this kcd ntry. Can t THE AUTOCRAT OF THE STAGE-COACH. 21 afford tew. Taint no land of idees. It s the ked ntry of corner lots. Idees is in the way don t pay no interest. Haint had time to build a sylum fer people with idees yet, in this territory. Ef you must have em, why let me rax)mmend Bost n. Drove hack there wunst, myself." Then after a pause he proceeded with the deliberation of a judge : " It s the best village I ever lay eyes on fer idees, is Bost n. Thicker n hops ! Grow single and hi bunches. Have s cieties there fer idees. Used to make money outen the fellows with idees, cartin em round to anniversaries and sich. Ef you only wear a nice slick plug-hat there, you kin believe anything you choose or not, and be a gentleman all the same. The more you believe or don t believe hi Bost n, the more gentleman you be. The don t-believers is just as good as the believers. Idees inside the head, and plug-hats outside. But idees out here ! I tell you, here it s nothin but per-cent." The Superior Being puckered his lips and whistled. " Git up, will you ! G lang! Better try Bost n." Perhaps Albert Charlton, the student passenger, was a little offended with the liberty the driver had taken in rebuking his theories. He was full of " idees," and his fundamental idea was of course his belief hi the equality and universal brotherhood of men. In theory he recognized no social distinc tions. But the most democratic of democrats in theory is just a little bit of an aristocrat in feeling he doesn t like to be patted on the back by the hostler; much less does he like to be reprimanded by a stage-driver. And Charlton was all the more sensitive from a certain vague consciousness that he himself had let down the bars of his dignity by unfolding his theories so gushingly to Whisky Jim. What did Jim i: MYSTERY OF METBOPOLISVILLB. know what could a man who said " ideoe " know about the great forming tboughU that engaged his attention? Hut win : di-nity is .:. all the king s oxen and all the king s men can t stand It on ita legs again. In such a strait, <>nc in . in him who saw the fall. Albert Charlton mined that hr wouM change to th< f the coach when an oppoitnnu nnil Irnvc tho Siprri .r Being to sit "wrapped in the solitude of his own original THE SOD TAVERN. 23 CHAPTER II. THE SOD TAVERN. -6rfe* and there Charlton noticed the little claim- Y-,, shanties, built in every sort of fashion, mere ex cuses for pre-emption. Some were even constructed of brush. What was lacking in the house was amply atoned for by the perjury of the claimant who, in pre-empting, would swear to any necessary number of good qualities in his habitation. On a little knoll ahead of the stage he saw what seemed to be a heap of earth. There must have been some inspiration in this mound, for, as soon as it came in sight, Whisky Jim began to chirrup and swear at his horses, and to crack his long whip threateningly until he had sent them off up the hill at a splendid pace. Just by this mound of earth he reined up with an air that said the fore noon route was finished. For this was nothing less than the "Sod Tavern," a house built of cakes of the tenacious prairie- sod. No other material was used except the popple-poles, which served for supports to the sod-roof. The tavern was not over ten feet high at the apex of the roof; it had been built for two or three years, and the grass was now growing on top. A red-shirted publican sallied out of this artificial grotto, and invited the ladies and gentlemen to dinner. - I HIE XT8TKBT OF METBOPOUSvTLLE. It appeared, from a beautifully-engraved map hanging on the walls of the Sod Tavern, that this earthly tabernacle stood in tin- midst of an ideal town. The map had probably been constructed by a poet, for it was quite - limitations of sense and matter-of-fact According to Hi lary burrow was surrounded by Seminary, Depot, Court-IIoose, Woolen Factory, and a Tariety .f oil. astitulions, \vhi.-h composed the flourishing city of New Cincinnati. But the m;ip was meant chiefly for Eastern rin-ul:i f ietetic thi-nr u - to the severest test at 1 II had a good I in the op- in Minnesota is apt to make one hungry. Hut the first thing disgusted Mr. Charlton was the coffee, i ml steamin- und.-r hi* nose. He haled coflbe because he lik.-i it; and the look of disgust with which be shored it away was t his physical craving for it. The solid food on the table consisted of waterlogged potatoes, half-baked salt-rising bread, and salt-pork. :i was a reader of the Water-Cure Journal of that day, and despised meat of all things, and of all meat despised swine s flesh, as not even fit for Jews; and of all forms of hog, hated fat salt-pork as poisonously indigestible. So with a dyspeptic self-consciousness he rejected thr p,,ik, 1 off the periphery of the bread near the crust, cautiously tag th. .lough-bog* in thr mi, MI.-; but then he revenged himself by fallii furiously upon the aquatic potatoes, oat of which most of th.- nutriment had been soaked. Jim, who sat alongside him, doing cordial justice to the badness of the meal, muttered thai it wouldn t do to eat by idees In Minncsoty. And v. it-longs to THE SOD TAVXEN. 25 the frontier, the company begun to discuss dietetics, the fat gentleman roundly abusing the food for the express pur pose, as Charlton thought, of diverting attention from his voracious eating of it. " Simply despicable," grunted the fat man, as he took a third slice of the greasy pork. " I do despise such food." " Eats it like he was mad at it," said Driver Jim in an undertone. But as Charlton s vegetarianism was noticed, all fell to denouncing it. Couldn t live in a cold climate without meat. Cadaverous Mr. Minorkey, the broad-shouldered, sad- looking man with side-whiskers, who complained incessantly of a complication of disorders, which included dyspepsia, consump tion, liver-disease, organic disease of the heart, rheumatism, neuralgia, and entire nervous prostration, and who was never entirely happy except in telling over the oft-repeated catalogue of his disgusting symptoms Mr. Minorkey, as he sat by his daughter, inveighed, in an earnest crab-apple voice, against Grahamism. He would have been in his grave twenty years ago if it hadn t been for good meat. And then he recited in detail the many desperate attacks from which he had been saved by beefsteak. But this pork he felt sure would make him sick. It might kill him. And he evidently meant to sell his life as dearly as possible, for, as Jim muttered to Charlton, he was "goin* the whole hog anyhow." "Miss Minorkey," said the fat gentleman checking a piece of pork in the middle of its mad career toward his lips, " Miss Minorkey, we should like to hear from you on this subject." In truth, the fat gentleman was very weary of Mr. Minorkey s pitiful succession of diagnoses of the awful symptoms and fatal 2 . K MY8TRBY OF MBTRo L*. complication- of \\iii, i, he had been cored by very allopathic doses of animal food. So be appealed to Miss Minorkey for relief at a moment \sh.-n 1.. r father bad checked and cl bia utterance with coffee. Miss Minorkey was <|>. affair from her fail,, r She was thoroughly but not obtrusively healthy. She bad a high, head, a fresh complexion, and a mouth v. hi -li. if it was deficient in sweetness and warmth of ex pression, was also free from all bitterness and aggressiveness. Miss was an eminently well-educated young lady as education goes/ She was more she was a young lady of reading and of ideas. She did < :lton> theory in ) r n pi;. . but she prr h sides of the con troversy, and ( :-t--d some scientific authorities in sucb a way as to make it apparent tliat there wwv two aides. This un- cd and rather judicial assistance called forth f: t-ili a warm aekM"\\ le. i-. ment. hi-pale fur,- lli;,!,, .; u;th I:..,-, -t pleasure, and a :it* 11* ( tuulity of Mils Minor- key s forehead he in war the only person of ideas in the whole company was not wholly again- was far from being a " ladies man : deed, nothing was more despicable in his eyes than men who fritt-red away life in ladies company. But thi at all prevent him from tx-ing very human himself in bis regard for ladies. All the more that be bad lived out of society all hi* lid his heart flutter when be took bis seat in the stage afti r < ; .r : Miss Mir fat gentle man f-it that ic back seat; there were two gentlemen on the middle seat; and Albert Charltun, all unused to the presence of ladies, must needs fit on the front TOZ SOD TAVZ 07 seat, alongside the gray traveling-dress of the intellectual Minorkey, who, for her part, was not in the least bit nervous. Young Charlton might have liked her better if she had been. But if she was not shy, neither was she obtrusive. When Mr. Charlton had grown weary of hearing Mr. Minor- key pity himself, and of hearing the fat gentleman boast of the excellence of the Minnesota climate, the dryness of the ah*, and the wonderful excess of its oxygen, and the entire absence of wintry winds, and the rapid development of the country, and when he had grown weary of discussions of in vestments at five per cent a month, he ventured to interrupt HIBB Minorkey s reverie by a remark to which she responded. And he was soon ia a current of delightful talk. The young gentleman spoke with great enthusiasm: the young woman without warmth, but with a clear intellectual interest in literary subjects, that charmed her interlocutor. I say lit erary subjects, though the range of the conversation was not rery wide. It was a great surprise to Charlton, however, to find in a new country a young woman so well informed. Did he fall in love ? Gentle reader, be patient. You want a love-story, and I don t blame you. For my part, I should not take the trouble to record this history if there were no love in it Love is the universal bond of human sympathy. But you must give people time. What we call falling in love is not half so simple an affair as you think, though it often looks simple enough to the spectator. Albert Charlton was pleased, he was full of enthusiasm, and I will not deny that he several times reflected in a general way that so clear a talker and so fine a thinker would make a charming wife for some man some intellectual man some man like himself, for in- Xi> 1MB MYSTKBY OF METBOPOLISVILLK. stunn>. He admired Miss Minorkiy II. !>;.. ! h< r With an ci.tliusiastic young man, admiring and liking are, to aay the least, steps that lead easily to something else. Bui you must remember bow complex a thing love is. Charlion I have to s it was a little conceited, as every young man is at y. He flattered himself that the moat intelligent woman he could find would be a good match f.-r him. He loved ideas, and a woman of ideas pleased his fancy. Add to this that he had come to a time of life \\hi-n he was very liable to full in love with somebody, and that he was in the best of spirit^ from the influence of air and scenery and motion and y, and you rendi r it quit* probaMf that he could not be toned for half a day on the same aeat in a coach with such a girl as Helen Minorkey was that, above all, he could not discuss Hugh Miller and the "Vestiges of Creation" wit: uith<>ut iiiiiinii :.; i" nl ucing an admiration for bar and an admiration for him-, if. ami a liking and a palpitating and a casth -building that under favorable conditions might somehow grow into that ; licable feeling which we call love. In f.-u-t. Jim, who drove both routes on this day, and who peeped into the coach whenever he stopped to water, solilo quised that two fools with ideea would make a quare span ef had a neck-yoke on. LAHD AND LOVE. CHAPTER m. LAND AND LOVE. . MINORKEY and the fat gentleman found much to interest them as the coach rolled over the smooth prairie road, now and then crossing a slough. Not that Mr. Minorkey or his fat friend had any particular interest in the beautiful out line of the grassy knolls, the gracefulness of the water-willows that grew along the river edge, and whose paler green was the prominent feature of the landscape, or in the sweet contrast at the horizon where grass-green earth met the light blue northern sky. But the scenery none the less suggested fruitful themes for talk to the two gentlemen on the back-seat. "I ve got money loaned on that quarter at three per cent a month and five after due. The mortgage has a waiver in it too. You see, the security was unusually good, and that was why I let him have it so low." This was what Mr. Minor- key said at intervals and with some variations, generally adding something like this : " The day I went to look at that claim, to see whether the security was good or not, I got caught in the rain. I expected it would kill me. Well, sir, I was taken that night with a pain just here and it ran DIE MYSTERY OP METB< I.E. through the lung to the point of thr shoulder-blade hrr had to get my f t int<> a tut> of wau-r and take some brandy. !i:i<l pli-uri-y if I d Ini-n in any oth< I I trll you. nothing Bared rm- l>ut thr oxygen in thi* air. There! i :i hnndn-1 dollars on at flTC per cent a month and six per cent after maturity, with a wairer in the mortgage. The day I came here to sec thia I was nearly dead. I had a " Just hrn thr fat gentleman would get desperate, and, by way of pn-vrniini: the dolorous account, would break out \\ith: That s Sokaska, the new town laid out by Johnson th.it hill , where you see those stakes. I bbug) uMic square, and a block opposite when tin -y hope to get a factory. There s a brook runs through the town, and they think, it has water enough and fall enough to furnish a water-power part of th-- day, during part of th- year, and they hope to get a f . located there. Th. n 11 1.. a trrritorial road run through from al next -prin</ if they ran get a bill through the Irgilli tun- this winter. You d best buy t: 1 IM v. T boj t\\n l"t~." amid I :hing despair ingly, I ruti no rinks. I take my interest at three and five per cent a a good mortgage, with a waiver, un<l 1 ike naks." :..-!- ful fnt Kik risks and was no hyp wn, laid out hypo thetical 1\ <>n ].-ij.rr. in whose hypothetical adrantagrs he did. not covet a share. *nmed, " I )>uy low cheap as dirt and get the rite. Some towns must get to be dties. I have a MB. MINOBKEY AND THE FAT GENTLEMAN. 31 LAXD AND LOVE. 33 little all round, scattered here and there. I am sure to have a lucky ticket in some of these lotteries." Mr. Minorkey only coughed and shook his head despondently, and said that " there was nothing so good as a mortgage with a waiver in it. Shut down in short order if you don t get your interest, if you ve only got a waiver. I always shut down unless I ve got five per cent after maturity. But I have the waiver in the mortgage anyhow." As the stage drove on, up one grassy slope and down another, there was quite a different sort of a conversation going on in the other end of the coach. Charlton found many things which suggested subjects about which he and Miss Minorkey could converse, notwithstanding the strange contrast in their way of expressing themselves. He was full of eagerness, positive- ness, and a fresh-hearted egoism. He had an opinion on every thing ; he liked or disliked everything ; and when he disliked anything, he never spared invective in giving expression to his antipathy. His moral convictions were not simply strong they were vehement. His intellectual opinions were hobbies that he rode under whip and spur. A theory for everything, a solution of every difficulty, a "high moral" view of politics, a sharp skepticism hi religion, but a skepticism that took hold of him as strongly as if it had been a faith. He held to his non credo with as much vigor as a religionist holds to his creed. Miss Minorkey was just a little irritating to one so enthusiastic. She neither believed nor disbelieved anything in particular. She liked to talk about everything in a cool and objective fashion; and Charlton was provoked to find that, with all her intellectual interest hi things, she had no sort of personal interest in anything. If she had been a 2* . it THE MTSTBBY OP METBOPOLI8VILLK. disinterested spectator, dropped down from another sphere, she could n<>t have discussed the affairs of this planet with more complete impartiality, not to say indifference Theories, doctrines, faiths, and even moral duties, the treated as Charlton etlea; ran pins through them and held t. where ;id get a good view of them put Utem away as curiosi ties. She listened with an attention that was surely flattering enough, Imt Churltmi felt that he had not made much impres sion o:. In r There was a sort of attraction in this repulsion. There was an excitement in his ambition to imprest this im partial and judii -ial mind with the truth and importance of the glorious and regenerating views he had embraced. His teem was pleased at the thought that he should yet conquer this cool and open-minded girl by the force of his own intelligence. He admired her Intel hrtual nrlf pnsnnsrtin all the in< U was a quality which he lacked. Before that aft* rr was convinced that he sat t>y thr su] man of all h- known. And who was so fit to marry woman as he, Albert Charl ton, who was to do so much l>y advocating all sorts of re forms to help the world forward to Its goal? II ilk- 1 th.it word goal. A man s pet words are the k his character. A man who talks of "vocalic , oal, w and all that, may be laughed at while he is in the period of InteUet ; tl f< rni titation. The time is sure to come, however, >uch a man can excite other emotions than mirth. 1 so Charlton. full of thoughts of bis " vocation" and the world s " goal," was slipping into an attachment for a wom an to whom both words were Choctaw. Do you wonder at it? If she had had a vocation also, and had talked about LAND AXD LOVE. 35 goals, they would mutually have repelled each other, like two bodies charged with the same kind of electricity. People with vocations can hardly fall hi love with other people with vocations. But now Metropolisville was coining in sight, and Albert s attention was attracted by the conversation of Mr. Minorkey and the fat gentleman. "Mr. Plausaby has selected an admirable site," Charlton heard the fat gentleman remark, and as Mr. Plausaby was his own step-father, he began to listen. " Pretty sharp ! pretty sharp ! " continued the fat gentleman. " I tell you what, Mr. Minorkey, that man Plausaby sees through a millstone with a hole in it. I mean to buy some lots in this place. It ll be the county-seat and a railroad junction, as sure as you re alive. And Plausaby has saved some of his best lots for me." "Yes, it s a nice town, or will be. I hold a mortgage on the best eighty the one this way at three per cent and five after maturity, with a waiver. I liked to have died here one night last summer. I was taken just after supper with a violent " " What a beauty of a girl that is," broke in the fat gentle man, " little Katy Charlton, Plausaby s step- daughter ! " And instantly Mr. Albert Charlton thrust his head out of the coach and shouted " Hello, Katy ! " to a girl of fifteen, who ran to intercept the coach at the hotel steps. "Hurrah, Katy!" said the young man, as she kissed him impulsively as soon as he had alighted. "Pint out your baggage, mister," said Jim, interrupting Katy s raptures with a tone that befitted a Superior Being. In a few moments the coach, having deposited Charlton 10 THE MYSTKRY OF METKOPOLISVILLK. and the fat gentleman, was starting away for iu destination at Penitaut, eight miles farther on, when Charlton, remembering his companion on the front seat, lifted his hat and nn<l Mi.-s Minorkcy w.v kind mon-h t<. n-tuni th- bow. Altwrt tri.l to analyxc her bow as he lay awak in bed that night Miss Minorkey doubtless slept soundly. She always did. ALBERT AND KATY. 37 CHAPTER IV. ALBERT AND KATY. day in which Albert Charlton had been riding from Red Owl Landing to Me- tropolisville, sweet Little Katy Charlton had been expecting him. Everybody called her sweet, and I suppose there was no word hi the dictionary that so perfectly described her. She was not well-read, like Miss Minorkey ; she was not even very smart at her lessons : but she was sweet. Sweetness is a quality that covers a mul titude of defects. Katy s heart had love hi it for everybody. She loved her mother; she loved Squire Plausaby, her step father; she loved cousin Isa, as she called her stepfather s niece; she loved well, no matter, she would have told you that she loved nobody more than Brother Albert. And now that Brother Albert was coming to the new home hi the new land he had never seen before, Katy s heart was in her eyes. She would show him so many things he had never seen, explain how the pocket-gophers built their mounds, show him the nestful of flying-squirrels had he ever seen flying-squirrels ? And she would show him Diamond ilS THE MYSTERY OP METRO POIJSVILLB. Lake, and the speckled i>i< kerel among the water-plant*. And she would point out tin- |H>ople, and entertain Al!rt with him their names and : :* gossip about ?:. :n It was so fine to know something that even Albert, w ith nil his i"u. And she would intnxloce Altx-rt t. him. Would Albert likr him f of course he would. were hot And as the hours w -rew more and more 1 and nervous She talked about Albert to her mother till she wearied that worthy woman, to whom the arrival of any one was an excuse for dressing if possible in worse taste than usual, or at least for h.-r hair n was sure to be .f a hu discordant uith tin mutually discordant ones that preceded it Tired of u to her an excuse to buy someti Irs, or hair-pins, or dried apples- something kept in th very miscellaneous stock of the porium." and -he knew who \\ould and who kindly he small transaction by every artifice in his power, and thus give to t -11 him aU><; Broth. T All-it H,. w..uld be so glad to hear about AlN-rt. He was always glad to hear In r t. 11 alx^ut anybody or anything. 1, wh<n the talk orer the con :m could not be farther prolonged, she had even stopped on her way home at Mrs. 1 her about Albert, though she did not much like to talk to her she looked so pene- lv at h r out of near-sighted eyes, v. seemed always keeping a watch on t her note. And Mrs. Ferret, with her jerky voice, and a smile that was meant to be an expression of mingled cheerfulness and intelli- ALBEET AND KATY. 39 gence, but which expressed neither, said: "Is your brother a Christian ? " And Katy said he was a dear, dear fellow, but she didn t know as he was a church-member. "Does he hold scriptural views? You know so many people in colleges are not evangelical." Mrs. Ferret had a provoking way of pronouncing certain words unctuously she said " Chrishchen " " shcripcherral," and even in the word evangelical she made the first e very hard and long. And when little Katy could not tell whether Albert held " shcripcherral " views or not, and was thoroughly tired of being quizzed as to whether she "really thought Albert had a personal interest in religion," she made an excuse to run away into the chamber of Mrs. Morrow, Mrs. Ferret s mother, who was an invalid Mrs. Ferret said " invaleed" for the sake of emphasis. The old lady never asked impertinent ques tions, never talked about " shcripcherral " or " ee-vangelical " views, but nevertheless breathed an atmosphere of scriptural patience and evangelical fortitude and Christian victory over the world s tribulations. Little Katy couldn t have defined the difference between the two in words ; she never attempted it but once, and then she said that Mrs. Ferret was like a crab- apple, and her mother like a Bartlett pear. But she was too much excited to stay long in one place, and so she hurried home and went to talking to Cousin Isa, who was sewing by the west window. And to her she poured forth praises of Albert without stint; of his immense knowledge of everything, of his goodness and his beauty and his strength, and his voice, and his eyes. 10 I Mi: >n-lKKY OF METKOPOU8VILLE. "And you ll love him better n you ever loved anybody," she wound up. And G I*a Mid she didn t know :i...ut that After till this weary waiting Albert had come. He ha been at home for two yean. It was during hit ilmncn that miner had married Squire Plausaby, and had moved to Mmn. - i H. wMted to sec everybody at home. His sister had \vritt.ii him favorable accounts of his step ie had heard other accounts, not quite mi haps. He persuaded himself that like a dutiful son he wanted most to see his mother, who was really very fond of bun. But in truth he spent his spare time in thinking about Katy. He sin cerely believed that he loved his mother better than am in the world. All his college cronies knew that the idol of his heart was Katy, whose daguerreotype he carried in the inside pocket of his vest, and whose letters he looked for with the eagerness of a 1< > At last he had come, and Katy had carried him off into the house in triumph, showing him showing is the word, I think showing him to her mother, whom he kitted ten and to her step father, and most triumphantly to Isa, with an air that said, " JVinr, isn t he just the finest fellow in the world : she was not a little indignant that Isa was so quiet in her treatment of the big brother. Couldn t she ee what a forehead and eyes he had? And the mother, with one shade of scarlet and two of pink IB her hair- ribbons, was rather proud of her son, but n >t satisfied u Why didn t you graduate?" she queried as the poured the at ATKF.RT AND KATY. 41 "Because there were so many studies in the course which a dead waste of time. I learned six times as much as some of the dunderheads that got sheepskins, and the professors knew it, but they do not dare to put their seal on anybody s education unless it is mixed hi exact proportions so much Latin, so much Greek, so much mathematics. The professors don t like a man to travel any road but theirs. It is a re flection on their own education. Why, I learned more out of some of the old German books hi the library than out of all their teaching." " But why didn t you graduate ? It would have sounded so nice to be able to say that you had graduated. That s what I sent you for, you know, and I don t see what you got by going if you haven t graduated." " Why, mother, I got an education. I thought that was what a college was for." " But how will anybody know that you re well-educated, Fd like to know, when you can t say that you ve graduated?" answered the mother petulantly. "Whether they know it or not, I am." "I should think they d know it just to look at him," said Katy, who thought that Albert s erudition must be as apparent to everybody as to herself. Mr. Plausaby quietly remarked that he had no doubt Al bert had improved his time at school, a remark which for some undefined reason vexed Albert more than his mother s censures. "Well," said his mother, a body never has any satisfac tion with boys that have got notions. Deliver me from no tions. Your father had notions. If it hadn t been for that, 1 J im; imiBBY Otl M 1.1 1: -I MI.I-\ ILLK. we might all of us have been ri<h to <lny. Hut notion* kept ua down. That s what I like al- lausaby. He hasn t a slngl- ii .other a body with. Hut, I think, notions nin in the blood, a; i pose, you ll always be pi. some fool notion or oil, wn way. I mean? to be a lawyer, but I s poae you ve got something against that, though it \v:u* your own father s call <1 about aa soon be a thief aa a lawyer," Albert broke out in his irritation. \v. 11, that s a nice way to speak about \---:r father s pro- f ess ion, I m sure," said his moilu-r. " Hut tint s what cornea feat 1 don t care much, though. if \<>u a n t a law- re make more than lawyers do, and you can t have any notion* against being a dot \Vhat, and drug people? Doctors are quacks. They know that drugs are good for nothing, and yet they go on dosing everybody to make money. If ]> >{>!< w<>ul I bathe, and livr : n air, and get up <urly, and harden themselves to endur. < iKinges of climate, and not violate God s dec*- loguc \\ritt-n in tl muscles and nerves and head and stomach, they w.*uKliit \\ n,t t . swallow an apothecary-shop "Did you evert" said Mrs. Plansaby, looking at her hus band, who smiled knowingly (as much as t hat he had . and at Cousin Ism, who looked perplexed between her admiration at a certain chivalrous courage hi Albert s devo- his ideas, and her surprise at the ultraism of his opinions. i> i >ou ever!" said th. mother again. "That s carrying notions further than your fath< r i u 11 never be any thing Albert Well, well, what comfort can I take in a boy ALBERT AND KATY. 43 that ll turn his back on all his chances, and never be any thing but a poor preacher, without money enough to make your mother a Christmas present of a a piece of ribbon ? " "Why, ma, you ve got ribbons enough now, I m sure," said Katy, looking at the queer tri-color which her mother was flying hi revolutionary defiance of the despotism of good taste. "I m sure I m glad Albert s going to be a minister. He ll look so splendid hi the pulpit ! What kind of a preacher will you be, Albert?" " I hope it ll be Episcopal, or any way Presbyterian," said Mrs. Plausaby, "for they get paid better than Methodist or Baptist. And besides, it s genteel to be Episcopal. But, I suppose, some notion ll keep you out of being Episcopal too. You ll try to be just as poor and ungenteel as you can. Folks with notions always do." " If I was going to be a minister, I would find out the poorest sect in the country, the one that all your genteel folks turned up their noses at the Winnebrenarians, or the Mennonites, or the Albrights, or something of that sort. I would join such a sect, and live and work for the poor " "Yes, I ll be bound!" said Mrs. Plausaby, feeling of her breastpin to be sure it was in the right place. "But I ll never be a parson. I hope I m too honest. Half, the preachers are dishonest." Then, seeing Isa s look of horrified surprise, Albert added: " Not in money matters, but in matters of opinion. They do not deal honestly with themselves or other people. Min isters are about as unfair as pettifoggers in their way of ar guing, and not more than one in twenty of them is brave enough to tell the whole truth." 44 THE XTBTERY OF METROPOLIS VI LLE. " Such notions ! each notions ! " cried Mrs. PUnjtby. And Cousin ISA Miss Isabel Marlay, I should say for she was only a cousin by brevet here joined valiant bet favor of the clergy. And poor little Katy, who dearly loved to take sides with her friends, found her sympathies sadly in two in a contest between her dear, dear brother and her dear, dear Cousin Isa, and she did wish they wouM quit t.-ilkinir about such disagreeable things. I do not think either of the combatants convinced the other, but as each fought fairly they did n<>t offend one another, and when the battle was over, Albeit bluntly confessed that he had spoken too strongly, and though Isa made no confession, she felt that iiftT all ministers were not impeccable, and that Albert was a brave fellow. And Mrs. Plausaby said that she hoped Isabel would beat some sense into the boy, for she was really afraid that he wouM h.iv ii iythinir but notions. She pitied the unHstn that married him. She wouldn t pet many silk -dresses, and fix her old bonnets over two or three years CORNER LOTS. 45 CHAPTER V. CORNER LOTS. R. PLAUSABY was one of those men who speak upon a level pitch, in a gentle and winsome monotony. His voice was never broken by impulse, never shaken by feeling. He was courteous without ostentation, treating every body kindly without exactly seeming to intend it. He let fall pleasant remarks incidentally or accidentally, so that one was always fortuitously overhearing his good opinion of one s self. He did not have any conscious intent to flatter each person with some ulterior design in view, but only a general dispo sition to keep everybody cheerful, and an impression that it was quite profitable as a rule to stand well with one s neighbors. The morning after Charlton s arrival the fat passenger called, eager as usual to buy lots. To his lively imagination, every piece of ground staked off into town lots had infinite possibili ties. It seemed that the law of probabilities had been no part of the sanguine gentleman s education, but the gloriousness of possibilities was a thing that he appreciated naturally ; hope fulness was in his very fiber. Mr. Plausaby spread his "Map of Metropolisville " on the table, let his hand slip gently down past the " Depot Ground," so that the fat gentleman saw it without seeming to have had his attention called to it; then Plausaby, Esq., looked medi- . 1 1, nil \\\ -Ti-.UY OF METROPOUSVIULB. tatively nt th- p-oun.i :i]>:ir: f r College," and seemed to be making a mental calculation. Then Plauaaby proceeded to unfold the many advantages of the place, and Albert was a pleased li er before suspected that M- olisville bad prospects so entirely daaling. He coul doubt the statements of the bland Plausaby, who said these things in a 00 .! and reserved way to the fat gentle : not un.l. nund. but Plausaby di-: what is toM in a comer to a fat gentleman with curly hair uii.l a horn-fill nose is sun- to b<- n JM :it,-,l from the- house-tops. You are an Epiacoi>aHan, I believe?" said Plausaby, Esq. The fat gent that he was a Baptist "Oh : \\.-ll. I might have UMOSMI it from your cordial way of talking. Baptist myself, in principle. In principl.-. at least Not a member of any church, sorry to say. Very sorry. My mother and my first irifa were both Baptists. Both of I have a f r the good old Baptist warm ui-: a warm side for every Bap tist Every Baptist To say nothing of th f, < ling I have i w -11, \\- .\. lit us not pass compliment*. Business b business in this country. In this country, you Hut 1 will tll you one ti i r i,,t there marked 4 (liege* I ani just about transferring to trustees for a Bap tist i :LTC two or three parties, members of Dr. Armitage s church in New York City, that are goi give us a hun<ip- 1 thousaiiil dollars endowment. A h thousand dollars. Don t say anything about it. Th people who well, who wou. ihe thing if they We have neighbors, you know. Not very friendly one* r instance. It isn t best t COENEK LOTS. 40 one s neighbor all one s good luck. Not all one s good luck," and Plausaby, Esq., smiled knowingly at the fat man, who did his best to screw his very transparent face into a crafty smile in return. " Besides," continued Squire Plausaby, " once let it get out that the Baptist University is going to occupy that block, and there ll be a great demand " "For all the blocks around," said the eager fat gentleman, growing impatient at Plausaby s long-windedness. "Precisely. For all the blocks around," went on Plausaby. "And I want to hold on to as much of the property in this quarter as " "As you can, of course," said the other. "As I can, of course. As much as I can, of course. But I d like to have you interested. You are a man of influence. A man of weight. Of weight of character. You will bring other Baptists. And the more Baptists, the better for the better for " "For the college, of course." "Exactly. Precisely. For the college, of course. The more, the better. And I should like your name on the board of trustees of of " "The college?" " The university, of course. I should like your name." The fat gentleman was pleased at the prospect of owning land near the Baptist University, and doubly pleased at the prospect of seeing his name in print as one of the guardians of the destiny of the infant institution. He thought he would like to buy half of block 26. "Well, no. I couldn t sell in 2G to you or any man. Couldn t sell to anv man. I want to hold that block because ><> II Y OP METIIOPOI ! of its sloj 11 in 28 to you, and the lota there are just about as good. Quite as good, indeed. But I want to build on 26." The fat .-< Ml< -;ii:;n declared that hr woul lift havr anything lots in 20. That block suited his fancy, and care to buy if 1;< eould not have a ; u *e," Mid Plausabj, Esq. "Aii r man would have i you re a little hard to insist <, k. I want you hen-, aivl I ll give half of 28 rather than sell you out o: -Well, new. my :. I am sorry to seem bard. But I fastened my eye on 26. I have a fine eye fur direction and .. three, fcur block- He square. Tint 1 * the block with the solitary oak-tree in it, if I m Yes? Well, I must have lots in that v : take a whim of that kind, heaven and earth can t turn me, Mr. Plausaby. So y<> Plausaby, Esq., at last concluded that he would 11 to the plump trentlem.in any p:irt of Mock 86 C.v ts on the soath-east that gentleman said that those were the very i his eyes upon. iv if tin-re were any reserves. He always took h: "Ut of each i 1 \\!1. said Mr. Plnu*aby coaxingly, **yoo see I hare .elected those two lots for my step-d She is going to get married ; --. :m 1 I have ised her the two best in t id marked off these two. Marked them off f.-r h r 111 Mi alongside, nearly as good, for half-j.rir.v . ;>rioe, w But the fat gentleman was inexorable. Mr. Plauaaby com- CORNER LOTS. 51 plained that the fat gentleman was hard, and the fat gentleman was pleased with the compliment. Having been frequently lectured by his wife for being so easy and gullible, he was now eager to believe himself a very Shylock. Did not like to rob little Kate of her marriage portion, he said, but he must have the best or none. Tie wanted the whole south half of 26. And so Mr. Plausaby sold him the corner-lot and the one next to it for ever so much more than their value, pathet ically remarking that he d have to hunt up some other lots for Kate. And then Mr. Plausaby took the fat gentleman out and showed him the identical corner, with the little oak and the slope to the south. "Mother," said Albert, when they were gone, "is Katy going to be married in the spring ?" "Why, how should I know? queried Mrs. Plausaby, as she adjusted her collar, the wide collar of that day, and set her breastpin before the glass. " How should I know ? Katy has never told me. There s a young man hangs round here Sundays, and goes boating and riding with her, and makes her presents, and walks with her of evenings, and calls her his pet and his darling and all that kind of nonsense, and I half- suspect" here she took out her breastpin entirely and began over again " I half-suspect he s in earnest. But what have I got to do with it ? Kate must marry for herself. I did twice, and done pretty well both times. But I can t see to Kate s beaux. Marrying, my son, is a thing everybody must attend to personally for themselves. At least, so it seems to me." And having succeeded in getting her ribbon adjusted as she wanted it, Mrs. Plausaby looked at herself in the glass with an approving rnn science. 62 IHK mmmi Of METROPOLISVTLL*. it ia Kate going to be married in the spring?" asked Albert I don t know v. he will hare her %\. ding in the spring or summer. I can t bother myself about Kate s aflkirs. il a ihini: il. >Jy must attend to person ally for themsdvr.-s Allx-rt. If Kate gets married, I can t i know as there s any great sin in it. . get marri 1 yourself some day." Di.l fa di ! Mr IMausaby promise Katy some lots?" "Lav,, i he sells most is sold for Kate s lot. It s a way he has. lie knows how to deal with these sharks. If you want any trading done, Albert, you let Mr. Plausaby do it for . that isn t ri You ve got I u ll want us all to quit eating m ; nose. Mr. Piaosaby said last night i be cheat you d been I- month, if you i> of things. Yu s don t understand sharks. Plausaby does. But then that is not my lookout. I have all I can do t< to myself. !r. Fluidity </<** know how to manage sharks." The more All" rt th- matter over, the more he was convinced that Mr. Plausaby did know bow to manage sharks. He went out and exam -takes, and found that block 86 did not contain the oak, but was much farther do. the slough, and that the corner lots that were been I weMirn: i*Tti-.n -tr< :.to the peat-bog, and further that if th Baptist University should stand on i ry all arouml it. LITILE KATY S LOVEK. 53 CHAPTER VI. LITTLE KATY S LOVER. >ATY was fifteen and a half, according to the family Bible. Katy was a woman grown in the depth and tenderness of her feeling. But Katy wasn t twelve years of age, if measured by the de velopment of her discretionary powers. The phe nomenon of a girl in intellect with a woman s passion is not an uncommon one. Such girls are always attractive feeling in woman goes for so much more than thought. And such a girl- woman as Kate has a twofold hold on other people she is loved as a woman and petted as a child. Albert Charlton knew that for her to love was for her to give herself away without thought, without reserve, almost without the possibility of revocation. Because he was so op pressed with dread hi regard to the young man who walked and boated with Katy, courted and caressed her, but about the seriousness of whose intentions the mother seemed to have some doubt because of the very awfulness of his appre hensions, he dared not ask Kate anything. The suspense was not for long. On the second evening after Albert s return, Smith Westcott, the chief clerk, the agent in charge of the branch store of Jackson, Jones & Co., in M ;.olisvill,., called at the house of Plauaaby. Mr. Smith Weatcott was apparently more than twenty-six, but not more than thirty years of age, very well-dressed, rather fast-looking, and d.rid.dly V,,*.. His history was written in general but lx? misunderstood terms all over It was not the face of a drunkard, but there was the redness of many glasses of wine in his romjil-\ion, and a nose that expressed nothing so much as pampered self-indulgence. He had the reputation of being a good, sharp business man, with his M eye- but his conversation was: Wrll hn! ha : and how s Katy? Divine as rattling the keys and coins in his pocket and frisking about "Beautiful evening! And how docs my sweet Katy? Th< l..v, li- ,i nni 1, ii in the town! II.-: h< ! hi ha! I declare!" n, as Albert came In and was introdtn i. h- broke out " Glad to see you ! By Georg ixxJy rela Look ilk. a little. That s a complim* nt to you. Mr. Charlton. he! he! quite so handsome though, by George ! Confound i^ ur" throwing it away; "I ordered a box in Red Owl last week generally get Ym in Chicago. If th< P- M anything a good cigar, a j.urty girl, ha! ha! But this last box is stronger n pison. That sort of a cigar floors me. Can t go entirely without, you know, so I smoke half a one, and by that time I get so confounded mad I throw it away. Ha! ha! Smoke, M >n? No! No imatt rices, I s pose. Couldn t live with :/ar. I m glad smoking isn t offensive to Kate. Ah! this window - fresh air. Kate knows my habits pretty -.-. LITTLE KATY S LOVER. 55 time. By George, I must try another cigar. I get so nervous when trade s dull and I don t have much to do. "Wish you smoked, Mr. Charlton. Keep a man company, ha ! ha ! Ever been here before ? No ? By George, must seem strange, he ! he ! It s a confounded country. Can t get anything to eat Nor to drink neither, for that matter. By cracky ! what nights we used to have at the Elysian Club hi New York ! Ever go to the Elysian ? No ? Well, we did have a confounded time there. And headaches in the morning. Punch was too sweet, you see. Sweet punch is sure to make your headache. He! he! But I m done with clubs and Delmonico s, you know. I m going to settle down and be a stead}* family man." Walk ing to the door, he sang in capital minstrel style : " When de preacher took his text He looked so berry much perplext, Fcr notbitf come acrost his mine But Dandy Jim from Caroline ! Yah ! yah ! Plague take it ! Come, Kate, stick on a sun-bon net or a "hat, and let s walk. It s too nice a night to stay in the house, by George ! You ll excuse, Mr. Charlton ? All right; come on, Kate." And Katy hesitated, and said in a deprecating tone : " You won t mind, will you, Brother Albert?" And Albert said no, that he wouldn t mind, with a calmness that astonished himself ; for he was aching to fall foul of Katy s lover, and beat the coxcombry out of him, or kill him. "By -by!" said Westcott to Albert, as he went out, and young Charlton went out another door, and strode off toward Diamond Lake. On the high knoll overlooking the lake ie stopped and looked away to the east, where the darkness was slowly gathering over the prairie. Night never looks so strange 56 i in: MVSTI:I:V <T MI.TI:- LE. M when it creeps over a prairie, seeming to rise, like a shadowy Man of the Sea, <> grass. The images become and mor .ulscapc vanishes by de grees. Away t -n saw the groves that grew on ilic banks of the Big (Inn R . dun the smooth , hori/on tin- "Big Woods." all hi- :in\ r.niM not h lp fc. ling the influence of si; /reatness, the majc God. came to him for a mom >ught of Kate s unhappy i :a the contrast .:; . 11 unit rapidly vi r ih i : s. To remonstrate with Katy seemtd out of the question. If : of reason, he might But one can not reason \\ith feeling. It was so har.l tli.it a soul so sweet, so free from the -.:i hut universal human taint of egoism, a soul so loving, self-sacrificing, and nsccrating, should throw itself away. "O Go! ; raying and swearing, "must this alabaster-box of precious ointment be broken upon the head of an in: xcomb?" And then, as he how many alabaster-boxes of precious v. thus wasted, and as he looked abroad at down so inevitably on trees and grass and placid lake, it seemed to him tha ukl be no Benevolent Int- -lli-j -nre in the universe. Things rolled on as they i I all hi- j.:-.. .i.l no imr.- ilrive away .ness from iian any cry of his . avail to drive ba.k the all jxTvad ing, awsomc presence of night, which was putting out the features of the landscape one after another. 5T Albert thought to go to his mother. But then with bit terness he confessed to himself, for the first time, that his mother was less wise than Katy herself. He almost called her a fool. And he at once rejected the thought of appealing to his step-father. He felt, also, that this was an emergency in which all his own knowledge and intelligence were of no account. In a matter of affection, a conceited coxcomb, full of flattering speeches, was too strong for him. The landscape was almost swallowed up. The glassy little lake was at his feet, smooth and quiet. It seemed to him that God was as unresponsive to his distress as the lake. Was there any God? There was one hope. Westcott might die. He wished he might. But Charlton had lived long enough to observe that people who ought to die, hardly ever do. You, reader, can recall many instances of this general principle, which, how ever, I do not remember to have seen stated in any discus sions of mortality tables. After all, Albert reflected that he ought not to expect Kate s lover to satisfy him. For he flattered himself that he was a somewhat peculiar man a man of ideas, a man of the future and he must not expect to conform everybody to his own standard. Smith "VVestcott was a man of fine business qualities, he had heard; and most commercial men were, in Albert s estimation, a little weak, morally. He might be a man of deep feeling, and, as Albert walked home, he made up his mind to be charitable. But just then he heard that rattling voice : " Purty night ! By George ! Katy, you re divine, by George ! Bweeter n honey and a fine-tooth comb I Dearer to my heart 3* 58 TUB MYSTERY OF METROI 01 ISM i.LK. than a jrold dollar ! Beautiful as a dew-drop and better than a good cigar! li At such wit and such a giggle Charlton a charity vanished. To him this idiotic giggle jokes was a capital offense, and he was seized with a murderous desire to choke hit sister H low. Kutc should not marry that fellow if h<> rould help it. H- uould kill him. Ii.:t lh< n to kill West- to kill K..t\. to say nothing of hanging himself. Killing has so many --<iufls. Hut Churlton was at tl executive stage of hi- d- \ lopment, and such a man must act And BO h- In if until Westcott kissed Eaty and Katy kissed Westcott back again, and Westcott cried back fn.m the gate, " Dood night! dood i II By -by! By George!" and pnmcirt out mttliiu the keys and coins in his pocket and singing: ,lr Ml*. Lacy Nel!" etc. Then All rt went in. <1. trrmincd to hare it all oat with Katy. But one sight of i- in 1 pleas face disarmed him. What an overturning of tlic heaven would h< produce by a word! And what could be more less than n-inon-.tr.mrf with .m- so infatuated! How would she receive hi- l-itt-r words about one she loved to idolatry? He kissed her and went to bed. As Albert ( harlton lay awake in his nn plastered room In the house of Plausaby, Esq., on the night after he had made the acquaintance of the dear, dear feUow whom his sister 1 him-.-lf uith various rulrulationv tions," as hte mother styled th<m, he had been able to leave* v tm thousand dollars, be sides a fond for th< (duration of his childnn And, as Albeit LITTLE KATY S LOVER. , 59 phrased it to himself that night, the ten thousand dollars was every cent clean money, for his father had been a man of integrity. On this ten thousand, he felt sure, Plausaby, Esq., was speculating in a way that might make him rich and re spected, or send him to State s-prison, as the chance fell out, but at any rate in a way that was not proinotive of the in terests of those who traded with him. Of the thousand set apart for Katy s education Plausaby was guardian, and Kate s education was not likely to be greatly advanced by any efforts of his to invest the money in her intellectual develop ment. It would not be hard to persuade the rather indolent and altogether confiding Katy that she was now old enough to cease bothering herself with the rules of syntax, and to de vote herself to the happiness and comfort of Smith Westcott, who seemed, poor fellow, entirely unable to exist out of sight of her eyes, which he often complimented by singing, as he cut a double-shuffle on the piazza, l Her eyes so bright Dey ehine at night When dc moon am far away ! " generally adding, " Ya ! ya ! dat am a fack, Brudder Bones ! He ! he ! By George ! " As Charlton s thoughts forecast his sister s future, it seemed to him darker than before. He had little hope of changing her, for it was clear that all the household authority was against him, and that Katy was hopelessly in love. If he should succeed in breaking the engagement, it would cost her untold suffering, and Albert was tender-hearted enough to shrink from inflicting suffering on any one, and especially on Kate. But when that heartless " he ! he ! " returned to his GO THE MY ..p METRO! "! I-\ II.LK. memory, and he thought of all the consequences of such a marriage, he nerved him.- If fur a sharp and strong intcffer* cnce. It was hb habit to plunge iir Conflict with n to carry his point by storm. If there had been opixiriunity, ..uld hav Italy s slender reasoning faculties :.t ii --. Hut :i- :: : isrhi of sleeplessness wore on, the sub- 1 sense i.-. adc itself felt. To attack the dilliculty in this way was to insure a great tears fr ni:irn 1 with a coxcomb, a difluulty with his mother, an interference hi favor of Kate s marriage on the pa :><! a general success in he desir.- And so for the first time thb opinionated young man, who had always taken responsibility, and fought his battles alone and by the most <i nods, began to look >r a possi ble ally or an indirect approach. 11 lie irround .1 times \vit!.<ut finding any one on whom he could 1, or any device th.it o;l< red the remotest chance of success, until 1 > think of Isabel Marlay Cousin Isa, as Katy called h< r He remciubc>red how much sur prised he had been a few days t girl, whom he had thought a sort of animated sewing-ma pped so much for feme of the clergy. Why not get her strong MOM on bis side? CATCHING AND GETTING CAUGHT. 61 CHAPTER VII. CATCHING AND GETTING CAUGHT. ID you never notice how many reasons, never thought of before, against having an aching tooth drawn, occur to you when once you stand on the dentist s door-stone ready to ring the bell ? Albert Charlton was full of doubts of what Miss Isabel Marlay s opinion of his sister might be, and of what Miss Isabel Marlay might think of him after his intemperate de nunciation of ministers and all other men of the learned pro fessions. It was quite a difficult thing for him to speak to her on the subject of his sister s love-affair, and so, whenever an opportunity presented itself, he found reason to apprehend interruption. On one plea or another he deferred the mat ter until afternoon, and when afternoon came, Isa had gone out. So that what had seemed to him in the watchfulness of the night an affair for prompt action, was now deferred till evening. But in his indecision and impatience Charlton found it im possible to remain quiet. He must do something, and so he betook himself to his old recreation of catching insects. He would have scorned to amuse himself with so cruel a sport as fishing; he would not eat a fish when it was caught. But though he did not think it right for man to be a beast of prey, slaughtering other animals to gratify his appetites, he tvj THE MY>TJ;I:Y OF METROPOII di-1 n.t hesitate to sacrifice the lira of creeping things to satisfy the . il nn-d.s of humanity. Kvi-n lhi> 1. with ( -har.i tenderness, i.-\<r 1 caring a grasshopper to until- .>n ;i pin for two days*, but kin ily giving him a loroform to pass him i: uldhist s heaven of ctcr- n:t! rrjM.M-. In tin- c.uinie of an !. two he had ad- II \\itli :i \ irifty of orthoptrra. .1, and all tlur i.th-T oj.t, ra> known to the insect-catching profession. A large < -proud its bright wings across the crown hat, and several green Katydids appeared to h. (limbing up the sides for an introduction to tin- brilliant moth; thr- e dragon-flies sat on thr brim, and two ,r thn-r u::ly beetlea k-pt wit. m. As for grasshoppers, they hung .reads fr< hat brim, and mad- hints, whii -h to face at he ran hither and thith- r with his net, sw< for n- w victims rying witii lon^ strides after a large locust \\hi -ii h- suspected of belonging to a new species, and whirh il w high and far, his eyes were so uplifted to his game that he did not see anything else, and own a hill and fairly against a lady, and then drew back in Iferi : rise and apologised. I Jut before his hasty apology was half-uttered he lifted his eyes to the face of the lady and saw that it was Miss Minor- key, walking with h. r fath. r. Albrrt was -till more confused when be recognized her, and his confusion was not n by her laughter. For the pi -n and his portable museum was too mueh for her gravity, and as the li.-* of two r.-nt uries ago used to say, she u loat nr serious." Guessing the cause of her Chart ton his hat off his head, held it <: i li her. CATCHING AXD GETTING CAUGHT. 6S " Well, Miss Minorkey, no wonder you laugb. This is a queer hat-buggery and dangling grasshoppery." " That s a beautiful Cecropia," said Helen Minorkey, recov ering a little, and winning on Albert at once by showing a little knowledge of his pet science, if it was only the name of a single specimen. " I wouldn t mind being an entomo logist myself if there were many such as this and that green beetle to be had. I am gathering botanical specimens," and she opened her portfolio. " But how did you come to be hi Metropolisville ? " " Why," interrupted Mr. Minorkey, " I couldn t stand the climate at Perritaut. The malaria of the Big Gun River affected my health seriously. I had a fever night before last, and I thought I d get away at once, and I made up my mind there was more oxygen in this air than in that at Perritaut. So I came up here this morning. But I m nearly dead," and here Mr. Minorkey coughed and sighed, and put his hand on his breast in a self -pity ing fashion. As Mr. Minorkey wanted to inspect an eighty across the slough, on which he had been asked to lend four hundred dollars at three per cent a month, and five after maturity, with a waiver in the mortgage, he suggested that Helen should walk back, leaving him to go on slowly, as the rheu matism in his left knee would permit. It was quite necessary that Miss Minorkey should go back; her boots were not thick enough for the passage of the slough. Mr. Charlton kindly offered to accompany her. Albert Charlton thought that Helen Minorkey looked finer than ever, for sun and wind had put more color into her cheeks, and he, warm with running, pushed back his long light *> THE MYSTERY OF METBOPOUSVILLS. hair, and looked sidewise at the white forehead and the cate but fresh checks l> "So you like Cccropias and bright-green beetles, do y he aaid, and he gallantly the wide-winged moth from i of Miss .V key s portfolio, and t:. i the green beetle. Helen thanked him in h< r .| . hut with pleased eyes. wmc in-. \; said Albert, blushing, as they approach : I should like very much to ac company you to the j.arl>r of the hotrl, l.ut people get:- see nothing but the ludi< -niw side of scientific pursuits, and I should only make y ;<>us." I took! be very glad to have \ said Helen. "I don t i .^ laughed at in good company, and it U such a relief to meet a gentleman who can talk about some thing betides corner lots and five per cent a month, and," with ked look at the figure of h.r f.ith- r in th- di- amv, "and mortgages with waivers in th in " <ynjc philo> .ml his . ing away like an iceberg in the Gulf-stream. An hour before he have tol 1 a woman s flattery >uld have no effect on an it. 1 inan; now he frit a trnunr <>f pl<a>ur-. an hv deacribablc something, as be shortened his steps to kecj \vitti thr litth- boots with uhi.h Misa 3! trod down grass, and he who had laughed at awkward boys for seeking the aid of dancing-masters to improve their gait, wished himself less awkward, and actually blushed with pleasure when this so If- possessed young lady praised his con- v-r-.uK.n II IffJta i r.l h }. r H flM hOl !. B%M ^ I I took the precaution to take his hat off his head and hang it CATCHING AND GETTING CAUGHT. 65 on his finger, and twirl it round, as if laughing at it himself back-firing against the ridicule of others. He who thought himself sublimely indifferent to the laughter of ignoramuses, now fencing against it ! The parlor of the huge pine hotel (a huge unfinished pine hotel is the starting point of speculative cities), the parlor of the Metropolisville City Hotel was a large room, the floor of which was covered with a very cheap but bright-colored ingrain carpet; the furniture consisted of six wooden-bot tomed chairs, very bright and new, with a very yellow rose painted on the upper slat of the back of each, a badly tattered hair-cloth sofa, of a very antiquated pattern, and a small old piano, whose tinny tones were only matched by its entire lack of tune. The last two valuable articles had been bought at auction, and some of the keys of the piano had been permanently silenced by its ride in an ox-cart from Red Owl to Metropolisville. But intellect and culture are always superior to external circumstances, and Mr. Charlton was soon sublimely oblivious to the tattered hair-cloth of the sofa on which he sat, and he utterly failed to notice the stiff wooden chair on which Miss Minorkey reposed. Both were too much interested in science to observe furniture. She admired the wonders of his drag on-flies, always in her quiet and intelligent fashion ; he returned the compliment by praising her flowers in his eager, hearty, enthusiastic way. Her coolness made her seem to him very su perior; his enthusiasm made him very piquant and delightful to her. And when he got upon his hobby and told her how grand a vocation the teacher s profession was, and recited stories of the self-denial of Pestalozzi and Froebel, and the <;; m mrsjim ov OEM great schemes of Basedow, and told how he meant h* thia new country to t.nild a great Institute on rational prin- found him im-n- intm-timr than ever. and me, she loved philanthropy at oth< r expense. She admired great r h she herself dreamed of putting n litth- lin-cr to anybody It took so long to explain fully thh -n-./ ih.it Alhi-rt st:ii,l until m arly MipjxT-timr, for . burden of his sister s unhappy future in tin- int-n>t "f s< icnce and ]iliil:inthnpv. Ami -vi n \\ h< n he n>x<- to j;o ( Charlton turm-tl back to look again prairir p \vhi<h Helen Minorkey had dissected while he spoke, and, lin-iin- som < uri..u8, perhap ring his micro scope over in the <-vrnin- an M it a proposition I to II i who had nothing but ennu <** In Metropolisville, and who was therefore delighted. Delighted is a strong w< .< so cool: perhaps it woul.l !,- to say that she was relieved :m*l j-h-ased at the pros(x passing an rvi nin- \vith - ( uri<>ns nnl interesting a compan ion. For Charlton wi both ruri .us and ititerestlng to her. She symp iil> hi- int Ih-clual activity, and the was full .f u..i nv moral earnestness. \ rt, botany suddenly took on a new interest in hi . \- 11- ha<l bitfH :t : - .:: d H M I : I | Wft he was so prof IH of discovering the tru.- char. ..- tissue in the pi.,- i uiii.-h Miss Minorkey had dissected, that it seemed to him --n.-st imjiortance to settle It that very evening. His moth com- d of his going out, and seemed not very well saHiflfxl about something. 1 . that he was likely to have a good CATCHING AND GETTING CAUGHT. 67 opportunity, after supper, to speak to Isabel Marlay in regard to his sister and her lover, but somehow the matter did not seem so exigent as it had. The night before, he had determined that it was needful to check the intimacy before it went farther, that every day of delay increased the peril; but things often look differently under different circumstances, and now the most important duty in life for Albert Charlton was the immediate settlement of a question hi structural botany by means of mi croscopic investigation. Albert was at this moment a curious il lustration of the influence of scientific enthusiasm, for he hurried ly relieved his hat of its little museum, ate his supper, got out his microscope, and returned to the hotel. He placed the in strument on the old piano, adjusted the object, and pedagogi- cally expounded to Miss Mmorkey the true method of observ ing. Microscopy proved very entertaining to both. Albert did not feel sure that it might not become a life-work with him. It would be a delightful thing to study microscopic botany forever, if he could have Helen Minorkey to listen to his en thusiastic expositions. From her science the transition to his was easy, and they studied under every combination of glasses the beautiful lace of a dragon-fly s wing, and the irregular spots on a drab grasshopper which ran by chance half-across one of his eyes. The thrifty landlord had twice looked in at the door in hope of finding the parlor empty, intending in which case to put out the lamp. But I can not tell how long this en thusiastic pursuit of scientific knowledge might have lasted had not Mr. Minorkey been seized with one of his dying spells. When the message was brought by a Norwegian servant-girl, whose white hair fairly stood up with fright, Mr. Charlton was very much shocked, but Miss Minorkey did not for a 6> 1MB MTBTBBT OF UETBOPOUSY1LLK. moment lose her sc^-possession. Besides having the advantage of quit -t K T\< . >h* i:.:d become inured to the presence of Death in all his protean i was impossible that h< r fitlu-r should be threatened in a way with which she was not already familiar. Emotions may be suspended by being superseded for a time by stronger ones. In such case, they are lik- ly t.. r.-turn with great force, when n-vivcd by some association. Charlton step ped out on th" pi:i/zi with hi- ini ToM-op<- in his hand and stopped a moment to to ., sn-m the rawness and new- mast and flimsiness of the mushroom Tillage, with its hundred unpainird baas-wood houses, the sweetness, peacefulness, and freshness of the unfurrowcd prairie b< calmness and clear, star lit sky aborewhen he heard a voice round th of th- l-.iil iiui: that put out his eyes and <>i>:. 1 his ears, if I may so speak. Somebody was re proaching somebody else with bring "spooney on th- Huh II ly began i I know my business, : t Not such a fool as you th was a shuffling of feet, and Chnrlton s imagination easily Buppli 1 tin image of Smith Wi> igeon- I> ! I know the ways < rid? Hav. n t I had all t!,-- -illy l \- seen t he danced aguiii and sang: "Can t 700 come oat to-night, Can t yon come oat to-night, And dance bj the light of the moon " began, again rattling his coins and keys, irnt too much a!x>ut New York. I had to leave. <li<ln t want a man there that knew all the ropes so well, and ; BT GEOBGE! HE! HE! HE! CATCHING AND GETTING CAUGHT. 71 so I called a meeting of the mayor and told him good-by. He ! he ! By George ! S a fack ! I drank too much and I lived two-forty on the plank-road, till the devil sent me word he didn t want to lose his best friend, and he wished I d just put out from New York. Twas leave New York or die. That s what brought me here. If I d lived in New York I wouldn t never Ve married. Not much, Mary Ann or Sukey Jane. He ! he ! " And then he sang again : "If I was young and in my prime, I d lead a different life, I d spend my money but I d be hanged if I d marry a wife to save her from the Tower of London, you know. As long as I could live at the Elysian Club, clidn want a wife. But this country ! Psha ! this is a-going to be a land of Sunday-schools and sewing- societies. A fellow can t live here without a wife: Den lay do\vn do ehubble and de hoe, Den hang up de fiddle and de bow For poor old Ned Yah ! Can t sing ! Out of practice ! Got a cold ! Instrument needs tuning ! Excuse me ! He ! he ! " There was some other talk, in a voice too low for Albert to hear, though he listened with both ears, waiving all sense of delicacy about eavesdropping in his anger and his desire to rescue Katy. Then Westcott, who had evidently been drink ing and was vinously frank, burst out with : " Think I d marry an old girl ! Think I d marry a smart one ! I want a sweet little thing that would love me and worship me and believe everything I said. I know ! By George ! He ! he ! That Miss Minorkey at the table ! She d VJ THE MY8TXBT OF METROPOLIS VILLE. see through a fellow ! Now, looky here, boys, I m goin to be scriou -. 1 want a girl that ll exert a moral influence me, you kno* il U- ( -unfounded if I want too moral influence, bj George, he ! he ! A little spree now and then all smoothed over! I need moral influence, but in small doses. Weak constitution, you know! Can t star Mb moral influence. Head s Jerri A lit- : lucate her yourself, you know ! He ! he ! By George! And do as you O Jinny! g\t yer ho*e*ke doo*. BJ dear ! O Jinny ! frit yer hoe-cake 4os*l Yah t yah I He ! 1.- It is not strange that Charllon did not sleep that night, that he was a prey to < emotions, blessing the cool, dual, self-possessed face of Miss Minorkoy, who knew botany, and inwardly cureing the fate that had handed little Ksty over to be the prey of such a man as Smith Westcott TJL MARL CHAPTER VTII. 3KL MARL AT ISABEL MARLAY was not the niece of our friend Squire Plausaby, bat of his first wife. PhnHby, Esq., had been the guardian of her small inheritance in her childhood, and the property had quite mysteriously coffered from a series of TTirtMB misfortunes: the mvestinents were niilucky ; those who borrowed of the guardian prored worthless, and so did their utcuiHtoL Of coarse the guardian was not to blame, and of course he handled the money honestly. But people will be suspicions even of the kindest and most smoothly-speaking men ; and the bland manner and innocent, open countenance of Plausaby, Esq., could not save him from the reproaches of uncharitable As he could not prove his m****n++^ be had no bat that which is ever to be derived from a rnnnrirnrn roid : :T :> Isabel Mariay found herself at an early age without means. Hut site had nevet seen a dsy of dependence. Deft infallible taste in matters of dress, invincible and swift industry made her always valuable. She had not been content to live m the house of her aunt, the first Mrs. as a dependent, and she even refused to remain 4 i I Till: MWniBT OF 11ETROPOU8VILLB. In tin- nndriimd r-l:ition of a in tin- family whose .: utility. in .MUD. . .-hly squares the account of board and clothes at the year*." r not she had n: in n -ml t tin- transactions of Plausaby, : in tin- inatl T of h-r i>.itrim>n\ . I d : .may it a desire to have her hide- she may hav< would not? having her own money to upend. At any rate, she made .in \vilh her nm-!-in-l:iw, by which she took charge <>f th sewing in his boose, ni. -ear a hunir"l dollars in cash and her board. It was not large pay for such service as she rendered, l>nt th. n -;. house of a relative to that of a stranger. \\\-.-:\ the second Mrs. Plausaby had com* house, Mr. Plausaby bad glad to continur the arrangement, in the hope, perhaps, that Isa s good taste might modify that In discordant utrlton, Isa s life seemed not to be on a very She had only a common-school education, and th<> 1 -i-ure she had been able to command for general reading was not very great, nor had tin- lil-mry in th.- h<.uc of Plausaby been Sh* had read a good deal of Ma ibors of Mary Lyon" and tl Isabella Graham," i \s of Jnn< 1 1 story d Milt..., , Paradise Lost." She had tried to read Mrs. > Poems M and Pollok s M Coune of Time," but hud t! 1 th in mnrh. She was not imaginative. it, for srntiinrni i- - that has been thought over; and hrr lif- wns too on to allow ! II- r ISABEL MARLAY. 75 highest qualities, as Albert inventoried them, -were good sense, good taste, and absolute truthfulness and simplicity of char acter. These were the qualities that he saw hi her after a brief acquaintance. They were not striking, and yet they were qualities that commanded respect. But he looked in vain for those high ideals of a vocation and a goal that so filled his own soul. If she read of Mary Lyon, she had no aspiration to imitate her. Her whole mind seemed full of the ordinary cares of life. Albert could not abide that anybody should ex pend even such abilities as Isa possessed on affairs of raiment and domestic economy. The very tokens of good taste and refined feeling in her dress were to him evidences of over-care ful vanity. But when his mother and Katy had gone out on the morn ing after he had overheard Smith Westcott expound his views on the matter of marriage, Charlton sought Isa Marlay. She sat sewing hi the parlor, as it was called the common sitting- room of the house by the west window. The whole arrange ment of the room was hers; and though Albert was neither an artist nor a critic in matters of taste, he was, as I have already indicated, a man of fine susceptibility. He rejoiced in this susceptibility when it enabled him to appreciate nature. He repressed it when he found himself vibrating in sympathy with those arts that had, as he thought, relations with human weakness and vanity ; as, for instance, the arts of music and dress. But, resist as one may, a man can not fight against his susceptibilities. And those who can feel the effect of any art are very many more than those who can practice it or criticise it. It does not matter that my Bohemian friend s musical abili ties are slender. No man in the great Boston Jubilee got more i in: MYMLKY <>r MUM:- :.IJL out of Johann Strauss, In his * Knnstlcbcn," that ini: preasiou of inspired vagabondage, than he did. And so, though Albert Charlton could n<>t )..r. > . -rs would "go together/ as the ladies say, ho could, n feel the discord of his in < ss, as now he --auty <>f the room ai .s of Isa, that had made BO mi; f resources s<> r. only a few t< t.s in tin- two vases on the ina: thm- were wild-Mower* and 1 r.urie-gTMHCH over imes; there were asparagus-stalks in the firvplao ; th-r.- \\:i~ was a tout-eittembU of coolness an<; ulness, of fresh ness and repot- irai ti,< .-M. : .1 figure of Isal the window, with the yet dewy grass and the distant rolling, 1 -Mindless meadow for a background. And there was in Isa bel s brown calico dn>- *sncas of fit, and a suitable ness of color a perfect harmony, lik< thut .f was real art, pure and refint * dress, as in the arrange ment of the room. Albeit was angry \\\\\. !t its it w:is a> though she had set herself there to be admired. But nothing was further r thought The artist works not for the eyes of others, but for 1 Isabel Marlay would have taken not one whit less of pains if she could have been assured that no eye in the universe would look in upon that frontier-village par. I said that Charlton was vexed. He was vexed became be . weakness in himself that admired such "gewgaws," at he called everything relating to dress or artistic housekeeping. He rejoiced mentally in the superior Men Mlnorkey, who gave her talents to higher themes. And yet he f< It a sense of restfulness in this cool room, where every color waf ISABEL MARLAY. 77 tuned to harmony with every other. He was struck, too, -with the gracefulness of Isa s figure. Her face was not handsome, but the good genius that gave her the feeling of an artist must have molded her own form, and every lithe motion was full of poetry. You have seen some people who made upon you the impression that they were beautiful, and yet the beauty was all hi a statuesque figure and a graceful carriage. For it makes every difference how a face is carried. The conversation between Charlton and Miss Marlay had not gone far in the matter of Katy and Smith Westcott until Albert found that her instincts had set more against the man than even his convictions. A woman like Isabel Marlay is never so fine as in her indignation, and there never was any indignation finer than Isa Marlay s when she spoke of the sacrifice of such a girl as Katy to such a man as Westcott. In his admiration of her thorough-going earnestness, Albert for gave her devotion to domestic pursuits and the arts of dress and ornamentation. He found sailing with her earnestness much pleasanter than he had found rowing against it on the occasion of his battle about the clergy. "What can I do, Miss Marlay?" Albert did not ask her what she could do. A self-reliant man at his time of life al ways asks first what he himself can do. "I can not think of anything that anybody can do, with any hope of success." Isa s good sense penetrated entirely through the subject, she saw all the difficulties, she had not imagination or sentiment enough to delude her practical faculty with false lights. " Can not you do something ? " asked Charlton, almost 78 II Y OF METROPOLIS VI LLB. "I i < vr-rytliinsr. 1 nave spok< r mother. I hav :< Plaosaby. I have begged K:. listen to 11; -.<.ull only f< 1 forry f-r him if she <-d he was bad. She can 1- think, and if she kin-u him t<> : I man i y she would marry 1. TIM him. I did IM.JK- i havr M>m<- mllm-no- .v-r her." is such a child. She w. n t i>- Ik to hurry the mattrr. I wbh it -. if he baa any, : pose tlir ! 4 It is a great lenoe \\lnrc we can t do anything \\iti W. 11. Miss Mar! n t look for rant I don t betters that (iod cares, i:\.rythlng goex -lie al manac and n.ttnnil >c sun sets when the time cornea, no m ire sweet - and have always been and "ill always be vi of rakish fools hk. Smith \\rMc.tt I \\i-h I \verc an Indian, ;:inl i 11 ! my own Pr short his career, I men be ing cut ofl .!-. in the same way as I sup pose David li : .- ..f the wicked of his da ting th.-m off hlmtelt" Isabel was t y shocked \\ . good religion^ uirl would not hare been? ton with mu.-h plainness of speech that she though modesty might making iclsms on - her part .11 the facts of the case were known to him. She intimated that there were ISABEL MARLAY. 79 many things in God s administration not set down in almanacs, and she thought that, whatever God might be, a young man should not be in too great a hurry about arraigning Him for neglect of duty. I fear it would not contribute much to the settlement of the very ancient controversy if I should record all the arguments, which were not fresh or profound. It is enough that Albert replied sturdily, and that he went away presently with his vanity piqued by her censures. Xot that he could not answer her reasoning, if it were worthy to be called reasoning. But he had lost ground in the estimation of a person whose good sense he could not help respecting, and the consciousness of this wounded his vanity. And whilst all she said was courteous, it was vehement as any defense of the faith is likely to be; he felt, besides, that he had spoken with rather more of the ex cathedra tone than was proper. A young man of opinions generally finds it so much easier to impress people with his tone than with his arguments ! But he con soled himself with the reflection that the average woman that word average was a balm for every wound that the average woman is always tied to her religion, and intolerant of any doubts. He was pleased to think that Helen Mmorkey was not intolerant. Of that he felt sure. He did not carry the analysis any farther, however ; he did not ask why Helen was not intolerant, nor ask whether even intolerance may not sometimes be more tolerable than indifference. And in spite of his un pleasant irritation at finding this " average " woman not over awed by his oracular utterances, nor easily beaten in a contro versy, Albert had a respect for her deeper than ever. There was something hi her anger at "Westcott that for a moment had seemed finer than anything he had seen in the self-possessed M) niK MYSTERY OF MBTRo I.E. Miss Mlnorkcy. But then she was to weak as to allow her ns to be influenced by her feelings, and to be intolerant I hare said thru this thing of falling in love is a very com- might say that it Is also a very un u we all of us along the !io knows uii.th. r have Miss Marlay if he had not seen Mist Minor k i v in the stage? If he had not run against In r. \\hih- madly chasing a grasshopper? If he b . 1 a great curiosity about a question in botany v r company ? And even yet, if he had not had collision with Isa on the question <>f Divine Providence? And even uftrr thai - .be sure that th- scale mlpl, have been tun n that while he was li< this conversation with Isa Marlay, his mother and sister had :t they showed unmi pleasure in .. cs, and Mrs. Plausaby even fct" a to persuade lutn to forego his K and that to. and th:; :t together, they cornl>i: produce a solil<> "Mother an i ml to mrJcc a match for me. As if fVy understood mt! They want me to marry an ateragt .n*e. Pshaw! Isabel Marlay only understands :!ln:iry use* of things. My mother knows that sh a knack. would 1 r me to have :-. a knack. Hut mother :" ir me. I ought to have a wife with ideas. And I don t doubt Plausaby baa a ISABEL MARLAY. 81 hand in trying to marry off his ward to somebody that won t make too much fuss about his accounts. And so Charlton was put upon studying all the evening, to find points in which Miss Minorkey s conversation was superior to Miss Marlay s. And judged as he judged it as a literary product it was not difficult to find an abundant advantage on her side. \ 82 THE MYSTERY OF MKTBOP* ( IIAPTKK IX. LoVEBfl AN "J/LBEBT < HAKLTON i m <i little he was not a man i ! was good in mathematics, and did a little surveying now nnd tlu-n ; in fact, with : urage, ! to any useful employment ord these things as baring any bearing on his <:IP-<T. He was onl D 1 his Great Education . virgin lining boys to lire TV Ml <>r j> ni.ti.nl Jokes, t<. luvr truth, honesty, ami hard lessons ; 1 forego physioloi: tliri:r ionary, was h< ing at a man who has a " vocation," and who wants to gire a good send-off tov. is som iitimit 1 1. SomHhing to make you and me ashamed of OKI :* not jud^e ( >y his green o discordant acids shall have ripened in tin 1 suufhiii - and )> shall tell how good the fruit may be ? We may laugh, howev :md hU nchool that was to be. I do not doubt that even that visionary street- LOVEES AND LOVERS. 83 loafer known to the Athenians as Sokrates, was funny to those who looked at him from a great distance below. During the time in which Charlton waited, and meditated his plans for the world s advancement by means of a school that should be so admirable as to modify the whole system of education by the sheer force of its example, he found it of very great advantage to unfold his plans to Miss Helen Mi- norkey. Miss Helen loved to hear him talk. His enthusiasm was the finest thing she had found, out of books. It was like a heroic poem, as she often remarked, this fine philanthropy of his, and he seemed to her like King Arthur preparing his Table Round to regenerate the earth. This compliment, ut tered with the coolness of a literary criticism and nothing could be cooler than a certain sort of literary criticism this deliberate and oft-repeated compliment of Miss Minorkey al ways set Charlton s enthusiastic blood afire with love and ad miration for the one Being, as he declared, born to appreciate his great purposes. And the Being was pleased to be made the partner of such dreams and hopes. In an intellectual and ideal fashion she did appreciate them. If Albert had carried out his great plans, she, as a disinterested spectator, would have written a critical analysis of them much as she would have described a new plant. But whenever Charlton tried to excite in her an enthusiasm similar to his own, he was completely foiled. She shrunk from even-thing like self-denial or labor of any sort. She was not adapted to it, she assured him. And he who made fierce war on the uselessness of woman in general came to reconcile himself to the uselessness of woman in particular, to apologize for it, to justify it, to admire it. Love is >-l I UK MYSTKBY OK METIMI ol.IsVILL*. the moth- r of | JM r-iM.i- i himself that it was quite becoming in such a woman as the most remark- :ihly rultiv. .icctual Ilelen .hrink from the .Inidgery of life. She was not intend* i Her susceptibilities were too keen, according to him, t. y % 8 susceptibilities were indeed of a very quiet sort. I better* fed n.arlton, the sweeping radical, who thought, \vh- ii thinking on general principles, that every human creature shouM live wholly f>r rvery <>th r human creature, .K-tually addressed some "Lines to If. M .-.>:. -h tl. umns of the <ST. ftml Adeerti* in which he l-ninnilvited the startling d< it a Being such as was the aforosni l H M . il I n<.t !.. . \j>cctcd to come inu- tact with tin hard realities of life. She must content I iration of the life of Anoti. would work ottt plans that shoul 1 iiiun- t*> the good of man and the he Being, who wo < and sustain Ills were a litllc tio oli^run- fT the : f-n the meter was not very ninootii. You hare doubtless had oc casion OM \\hi- Iteings and In- spiral! y of ver>- imjMrfrrt Jl . irlti ii \\orked at Mirv via- sj yments as offered tli-m^ivcs, wrote poems to Helen M lotted .m<l i . :ht break up little Katy s engagement He i>! i breaking hear the more he saw of Smith Westcmt, th< !;1 ,, r . entirely detest- ji!)l- he seeme- Isabel Marlay If h- rmcnted I to make a : between him and " Cousin Isa," she resented it ten times more LOVEKS AND LOVERS. 85 vehemently, and all the more that she, in her unselfishness of spirit, admired sincerely the unselfishness of Charlton, and in her practical and unimaginative life felt drawn toward the idealist young man who planned and dreamed in a way quite MBS. PLACSABY. wonderful to her. All her woman s pride made her resent the effort to marry her to a man in love with another, a man who had not sought her. * I UK MY8TEKV OF M I Ti: I iI.I> V 1 1 " Albert is smart," said Mrs. Plauaaby to her significantly the in:m Ia." Why, Mrs. Plausahy, I heard you My yourself that bis vouH i,:ivc to do without eilk dresses and new bonncta. think much of th.-it kind of smartness that can t get a IrHng I wouldn t have a man like Mr. 1 nns." that -lir spokr th- truth: having never learned to analy/r h< r ..\\n f ling*, she d know that all h< r tiMikr fr Charl - him, and that havim: practical ability herself, the kind of ity tl. ni make a living wai Just the sort that she admired most It was, UMT --en them, that Isabel and young Chiirlton were both of tln-m puttin- forth tlji-ir fn-t . n :. :ivor to <1 f- -at th- pl:m> of Smith Wr-tcof the sad eclipw- which thrcatcnetl tin- lif- c.f littlr Katy. Ami their . that ilir- qually fruitful in pr- MUi-ht to |TQ : : wheneTCT Isa talketl to liiil- Katy at Rood- nets of ln-r honrt nn<l the vrlu-nn-ntv of h-r love was set upon - out, I uttiliL :ill Of his gOOd qualitirs. Ami when AllM-rt attack. ! lira vehemently and :ul>, and a rake, and a hrnrtlcm villain, she Cried, and <Ti.,l, out of shrrr pit -r Mr. \\Y-.t. :.t him th<> most persecuted man in ,-termined that she woul i 1"\. i,;-.. man f- r ever, that she would for all the po< was not slow in finding on- r a feller LOVEKS A.XD LOVERS. 87 was Katy s soft side, by George! he! he!" and having made this discovery he affected to be greatly afflicted at the treat ment he received from Albert and from Miss Marlay ; nor did he hesitate to impress Katy with the fact that he endured all these things out of pure devotion to her, and he told her that he could die for her, " by George ! he ! he ! " any day, and that she mustn t ever desert him if she didn t want him to kill himself; he didn t care two cents for life except for her, and he d just as soon go to sleep in the lake as not, " by George ! he! he!" any day. And then he rattled his keys, and sang in a quite affecting way, to the simple-minded Kate, how for " bonnie Annie Laurie," with a look at Katy, he could " lay him down and dee," and added touchingly and recitatively the words " by George ! he ! he ! " which made his emotion seem very real and true to Katy ; she even saw a vision of "poor Mr. Westcott" dragged out of the lake dead on her account, and with that pathetic vision in her mind she vowed she d rather die than desert him. And as for all the ills which her brother foreboded for her in case she should marry Smith Westcott, they did not startle her at all. Such simple, lov ing natures as Katy Charlton s can not feel for self. It is such a pleasure to them to throw themselves away in loving. Besides, Mrs. Plausaby put all her weight into the scale, and with the loving Katy the mother s word weighed more even than Albert s. Mrs. Plausaby didn t see why in the world Katy couldn t marry as she pleased without being tormented to death. Marrying was a thing everybody must attend to personally for themselves. Besides, Mr. "\Vestcott was a nice-spoken man, and dressed very well, his shirt-bosom was the finest in Metrop- olisville, and he had a nice hat and wore lavender gloves on 88 ::Y OF METIIOPOLI>VILLE. ivs. And he was a store-, ho would give iiimrs she wanted. It was a nice thing to be a store-keeper s wife. She wished Plausaby \\. :!! And she went to the glass and fixed her ribbons, and : Plausaby kept a store she could get plci. : 10 all th.-it Con-in I-:i :ni<l Br<>t!icr Albert said came ifil Katy into a greater iid made . cry. And when she cried, the sentimental Westcott com by rattling his keys in an affectionate way. that the course <>f triu i run smooth, " by George ! he! 1. PLAUSABY, ESQ., TAKES A FATHERLY INTEKEST. 89 CHAPTER X. PLAUSABY, ESQ., TAKES A FATHERLY INTEREST. LAUSABY, ESQ., felt a fatherly interest. He said so. He wanted Albert to make his way hi the world. "You have great gifts, Albert," he said. But the smoother Mr. Plausaby talked, the rougher Mr. Albert felt. Mr. Plausaby felt the weight of all that Albert had said against the learned professions. He did, indeed. He would not care to say it so strongly. Xot too strongly. Old men never spoke quite so strongly as young ones. But the time had been, he said, when Thomas Plausal>\ s pulse beat as quick and strong as any other young man s. Vir tuous indignation was a beautiful emotion in a young man. For his part he never cared much for a young man who did not know how to show just such feeling on such questions. But one must not carry it too far. Not too far. Never too far. For his part he did not like to see anything carried too far. It was always bad to carry a thing too far. A man had to make his bread somehow. It was a necessity. Every young man must consider -that he had his way to make in the world. It was a fact to be considered. To be considered carefully. . ) 1: MYSTERY OP METBOPOLLSVILLE. ul.l rerormm-nil that Albert ronsiili-r it. And consider it carefully. Albert must make bis way. For his per had a ]>l:m in vi-\\ :M not be objecti< to All at all objcctionabl< the lent All tbU Plausaby, Esq., oozed or. N ami in gentlest tones. charlt<* n f..r hi> reflected that Mr. Plausaby had not said a word ought to anger him. II- th< -i his head and waited to hear the plan which Pluusahy ha<l f<>r him. Mr. Plausaby proceeded to state that he thought Albert ought n pt. Albert - to prr--mpt as soon as he 1 be of age, but that N\ as some weeks off yet, and he sup posed that when he L here would be few good < l of age was easily got over, n-plir.i ITmaaby. (juii" easily got ov ing easier, indeed. All th- young rit-iry who were over nineteen had pre-empted. It was customary. Quite customary, indeed. And custom was law. In some sense it was law. Of coarse there were some customs in regard to pre-emption that Plausaby thought no good man < uM approve. ill Not in the least huiMing of a house on wheels and hauling it from claim to claim, and swearing it in on each claim as a houiM \<- "f that. Not at all N*>i in th< Last He thought it a dangerous pre cedent Quite dangrrnuft. Quite sa But good men di.l it. -oo,l in.-n. in-l-.-l An.l thm h- had known men to wear that there was gltts in the v a house when there was only a whisky tint: in th window. It was amusing. Quite amusing, these dericcs. Four men Just orer PLAUSABY, ESQ., TAKES A FATHERLY INTEREST. 91 in Town 21 had built a house on the corners of four quarter sections. The house partly on each of the four claims. Swore that house in on each claim. But such expedients were not to be approved. Not at all. They were not commendable. However, nearly all the claims in the Territory had been made irregularly. Nearly all of them. And the matter of age could be gotten over easily. Custom made law. And Albert was twenty-three in looks. Quite twenty-three. More than that, indeed. Twenty-five, perhaps. Some people were men at six teen. And some were always men. They were, indeed. Always men. Always. Albert was a man in intellect. Quite a man. The spirit of the law was the thing to be looked at. The spirit, not the letter. Not the letter at all. The spirit of the law warranted Albert in pre-empting. Here Plausaby, Esq., stopped a minute. But Albert said nothing. He detested Plausaby s ethics, but was not insensible to his flattery. "And as for a claim, Albert, I will attend to that. I will see to it. I know a good chance for you to make two thousand dollars fairly in a month. A very good chance. Very good, indeed. There is a claim adjoining this town-site which was filed on by a stage-driver. Reckless sort of a fellow. Disre putable. We don t want him to hold land here. Not at all. You would be a great addition to us. You would indeed. A great addition. A valuable addition to the town. And it would be a great comfort to your mother and to me to have you near us. It would indeed. A great comfort. We could secure this Whisky Jim s claim very easily for you, and you could lay it off into town lots. I have used my pre-emption right, or I would take that myself. I advise you to secure it. I do, in- i: MT8TKBT OF METK 1.5. deed. You couldn t use your pre-emption right to a better .. !-, . 1 ..-..:;. ( i.i . . : \\ ;! said Alb. J Jim will sell out, why not 1 it f..r MM for three weeks until I am of age?" - II- uoul.ln -Icctcd to stay on it. Has been away from it more than thirty il.iv- have a perfect right to jump it :m<l pn- mpt it. I am well i with Mr. Shambereon. of the re lic is a Ian r, and they do say that a f of fifty dollars to him will put the case throu or wronir. I; . in this case we should have right on o 1 make a nice thing. A very nice thing, town wot: .-red of a dissipated man, and you < carry out your plan of establishing a i his teeth. " I hear that the rea- comc back to take possession of his claim at is his sickness. He s sick at the Bod :!!." W. 11. you see, 1. have neglected his claim so long before he was taken sick. Not at all. Besides, he doesn t add anything to the moral character of a tow moral character of a >vc all. I moral character. If he gets that labors, and be on ; ading citizens. Quite a leading c-iii/. n It . pot will IK; on one corner of the cant of that claim, shouMn t nrj;l-t get on. rmlly. This Is the road to wealth and inilu. n< -. The road to wealth. And influence PLAUSABY, ESQ., TAKES A FATHERLY INTEREST. 93 You can found your school there. You ll have money and land. Money to build with. Land on which to build. You will have both." "You want me to swear that I am twenty-one when I am not, to bribe the receiver, and to take a claim and all the im provements on it from a sick man ? " said Albert with heat. " You put things wrong. Quite so. I want to help you to start. The claim is now open. It belongs to Government, with all improvements. Improvements go with the claim. If you don t take it, somebody will. It is a pity for you to throw away your chances." "My chances of being a perjured villain and a thief! No, thank you, sir," said the choleric Charlton, getting very red hi the face, and stalking out of the room. "Such notions!" cried his mother. "Just like his father over again. His father threw away all his chances just for notions. I tell you, Plausaby, he never got any of those notions from me. Not one." "No, I don t think he did," said Plausaby. "I don t think he did. Not at all. Not in the least." .M i in; ^n^^:KY OF METBOl ( BARTER XI. Ai.ol I ttVKUl THINGS ON, like man very C0nscientiu- m.-n at his tim- was quarrel- :..-i. ii. i liked Mr. Plausaby s / way of doing business, and be therefore < to satisfy his conscience by having a row with his step.f.-nh.T. And so he startled his sister and si. his mother, and made the bouse generally uncomfortable, l.y making, in season and out of season, severe remarks on the subject of land speculation, and particularly of land-sharks. It was* sagreeablc way of being honest Even Isabel Marlny looked \\iih t> rr<>r at what she regarded as signs of an approaching quarrel between the two men <f : Hut there was no such thing as a quarrel with Plansaby. Moses may have been the meekest of men, hut that was in the ages before Plausaby, Esq. No manner of abuse could stir him. !! : . . many things of outraged creditors, and the victims of his some what remarkable way of dealing; his air of patient long-suffer- ABOUT SEVERAL THINGS. 95 ing and quiet forbearance under injury had grown chronic. It was, indeed, part of his stock in trade, an element of character that redounded to his credit, while it cost nothing and was hi every way profitable. It was as though the whole catalogue of Christian virtues had been presented to Plausaby to select from, and he, with characteristic shrewdness, had taken the one trait that was cheapest and most remunerative. In these contests Albert was generally sure to sacrifice by his extravagance whatever sympathy he might otherwise have had from the rest of the family. When he denounced dis honest trading, Isabel knew that he was right, and that Mr. Plausaby deserved the censure, and even Mrs. Plausaby and the sweet, unreasoning Katy felt something of the justice of what he said. But Charlton was never satisfied to stop here. He always went further, and made a clean sweep of the whole system of town-site speculation, which unreasonable invective forced those who would have been his friends into opposition. And the beautiful meekness with which Plausaby, Esq., bore his step-son s denunciations never failed to excite the sympathy and admiration of all beholders. By never speaking an unkind word, by treating Albert with gentle courtesy, by never seeming to feel his innuendoes, Plausaby heaped coals of fire on his enemies head, and had faith to believe that the coals were very hot. Mrs. Ferret, who once witnessed one of the con tests between the two, or rather one of these attacks of Albert, for there could be no contest with embodied meekness, gave her verdict for Plausaby. He showed such a " Chrischen " spirit. She really thought he must have felt the power of grace. He seemed to hold schripcherral views, and show such a spirit of Chrischen forbearance, that she for her part thought 90 TMK MYSTERY OF METROPOLIS VI I : he deserved the sympathy of good people. Mr. Charlton was -really uncha: -real deal of honesty, but pe -ound views go n And Mrs. 1 to an astringcd smile, which, with tin- ri-iu- ini! voice, dema! rers. Tli- s of disapproval whic.i A! -d in the OM of those about him did not m :ill decrease his irritation. Hi> irritation did not t- . the se- :uentv And the fart that Smith West- cott had Jumjn Whisky rse at Plausaby s suggestion, led Al a strain of furious talk that must have pro n thr family, had it >r the admir isaby, Esc}., un der t. .--st provocation. 1 . embraced the cause of Jim ; and much as he disliked all manner of ras- < d to hear that Jim had employed Shamberson, the lawyer, who was broth* r in law to the re- and whose r- : those days of mercenary lawlessness was a guarantee of his client s success. West. lawyer a fee * Jim s .rrnt fee of half the claim, reached him in the same mail, and t -.: lawyer, after talking them ^ith the receiver who was to decide the case, ided to take half of the claim. Jim would have given him all rather than stand a defeat ok sides of course with in thi-: contest Westcott showed re he meant to build the most perfect little dove-house for h< r. t>y ABOUT SEVERAL THINGS. 97 George, he ! he ! and she listened to his side of the story, and became eloquent in her denunciation of the drunken driver who wanted to cheat poor, dear Smith she had got to the stage in which she called him by his Christian name now to cheat poor, dear Smith out of his beautiful claim. If I were writing a History instead of a Mystery of Me- tropolisviile, I should have felt under obligation to begin with the founding of the town, in the year preceding the events of this story. Not that there were any mysterious rites or solemn ceremonies. Neither Plausaby nor the silent partners interested with him cared for such classic customs. They sought first to guess out the line of a railroad; they examined corner-stakes; they planned for a future county-seat ; they selected a high- sounding name, regardless of etymologies and tautologies; they built shanties, l< filed" according to law, laid off a town-site, put up a hotel, published a beautiful colored map, and began to give away lots to men who would build on them. Such, in brief, is the unromantic history of the founding of the village of Metropolisville. And if this were a history, I should feel bound to tell of all the maneuvers resorted to by Metropolisville, party of the second part, to get the county-seat removed from Perritaut, party of the first part, party in possession. But about the time that Smith "flTestcott s contest about the claim was ripening to a trial, the war between the two villages was becoming more and more interesting. A special election was approaching, and Albert of course took sides against Metropolisville, partly be cause of his disgust at the means Plausaby was using, partly because he thought the possession of the county-seat would only enable Plausaby to swindle more people and to swindle 5 IMK MT8TEUY OF ML I K } -I l-\ 1 1 them more effectually, partly because he knew that was more nearly central In the county, and partly because he made it a rule to oppose Plausaby on general principles. Al- was on enthusiastic and effective talker, and it was for it-oson that Plausaby had wished to interest him by get ting him to "jump" vhieh lay aloi the town. And it was because be was an enthusiastic talker, and because hi> < ntin- disinterestedness and his relations to Plausaby gave mces peculiar weight. Squire planned to get him out of the county until afu-r tin- < lection. Mrs. Plausaby suggested to Albert that he should go and visit a cousin thirty miles away. Who suggested it to Mrs. Plausaby we may not guess, since we may not pry it: secrets of a family, or know anything of the conferences which a husband may h<>M \\ith 1. regard to the manage* incut n "f th<- household. As an au thentic historian, I am bound to limit myself to the Mm pit- fact, and the fact is that Mrs. Plausaby stated to IDT opinion that it would be a nice thing for him to go and sec Cousin John s folks at Glenfield. She made the sug gestion with charact* riMir in:il:i<lr>itnoss, at a moment when Allwrt had been holding forth on his fN !.y of the sinfulness of land-speculation in general, ami the peculiar wick edness of misrepresentation and all the other arts pertaining to town-site swindling. Perhaps \ was too suspicious. He always saw the hand of Plausaby in everything proposed by his m<> bluntly refused to go. d to stay and vote. He would be of age in time. He wanted to stay and vote against this caning of a county-seat amund the country for purposes of speculation. He became so much ex- ABOUT SEVERAL THINGS. 99 cited at what he regarded as a scheme to get him out of the way, that he got up from the table and went out into the air to cool off. He sat down on the unpainted piazza, and took up Gerald Massey s poems, of which he never tired, and read until the light failed. And then came Isa Marlay out in the twilight and said she wanted to speak to him, and he got her a chair and list ened while she spoke in a voice as full of harmony as her figure was full of gracefulness. I have said that Isabel was not a beauty, and yet such was the influence of her form, her rhythmical movement, and her sweet, rich voice, that Charl- ton thought she was handsome, and when she sat down and talked to him, he found himself vibrating, as a sensitive nature will, under the influence of grace or beauty. " Don t you think, Mr. Charlton, that you would better take your mother s suggestion, and go to your cousin s ? You ll excuse me for speaking about what does not concern me ? " Charlton would have excused her for almost anything she might have said hi the way of advice or censure, for in spite of all his determination that it should not be, her presence was very pleasant to him. "Certainly I have no objection to receive advice, Miss Mar- lay; but have you joined the other side?" " I don t know what you mean by the other side, Mr. Charlton. I don t belong to any side. I think all quarreling is unpleasant, and I hate it, I don t think anything you say makes any change in Uncle Plausaby, while it does make your mother unhappy." "So you think, Miss Isabel, that I ought fo go away from Wheat County and not throw my influence on the side of right loll mi; maun 00 Mi:iKMr,, L lrtVlLLJL In thia contest, becauae my mother is unhappy ? " Albert spoke with some warmth. 1 did not say so. I think that a useless struggle, which makes your m>th< r unhappy, ought to be given But 1 didn t want to advise you about your du; I was led into saying so much on that point I came to say thing else. It does seem to me that if you could take Katy with you, something might turn up that would offer you a chance to influence her. And that would be better than :ig the county -seat at Perritaut." And she got up to go in. Charlton was profoundly touched by Isabel s interest in Katy. He rose to his feet and sal .are right, I believe. And I am very, very much obliged." And as the straightforward Isa said, "Oh! no, that is noth ing," and walked away, Charlton looked after her and said, "What a charming woman!" He f- It more than he said, mi ! he immediately set himself loyally to work to ...... ..... h :ill the points in whi.h Mi>s Helen Minorkey was ISA, and said that, after all, gracefulness of form and elasticity of motion and melodiousness of voice were only lower gifts, possessed in a degree by birds and animals, and he blamed himself for feeling them at all, and felt thankful that Helen Minorkey had those higher qualities which would up lift-he had read some German, and compounded his word* up-lift a man to a high. Perhaps every loyal-hearted lover plays these little tricks of self-deception on himself. Every lover the one whose "object" is indeed perfect. Too know who that is. So do I. Indeed, life would be a very poor affair if it were not for these what shall I call them ? If Brown knew how much Jones s wife was superior to his own, ABOUT SEVERAL THINGS. 101 Brown would be neither happier nor better for the knowledge. "When he sees the superiority of Mrs. Jones s temper to Mrs. Brown s somewhat energetic disposition, he always falls back on Mrs. Brown s diploma, and plumes himself that at any rate Mrs. Brown graduated at the Hobson Female College. Poor Mrs. Jones had only a common-school education. How mor tified Jones must feel when he thinks of it ! I"- T1IK MT8TKBY OF MKI ( I! A 1 T K I! X I I. AN ADVENTURE. HAT Katy should go with Albert to tee the at Glrnfli-M was a matter easily brought about Plausaby, Esq., was ao desirous - * abococe that in- thr.-w all of Mrs. Plauaaby s influence on the ride of the arrange tip ; \\hi<-h Charlton made a tine qua non. Albert f-lt :i littl* mean at making su co in promise of prim ipl-, :m<l IMuusaby felt mm h as a man does who pays the maker of crank-music to begone. H<- di l ii . t ill going; he wanted to further her marriage with BO inllm -ntwl a person as Smith Wwtcott, the agent in charge of the interests of Jackson, Jones A Co., who not only owned th< in, but were silent partners in the town-site. But Katy must go. Plausaby affectionately proffered the loan of his hone and buggy, which Charlton could not well refuse, and so the two set out for GlenficM with nmn\ adieus. Westcott came down, and smoked, and rattlr keys, and hpi th< y\l hare a pleasant journey and get back soon, you know, K <reorge! he! be! he I ( ..ul<in t li\< l.>n? withoir th.- li -hi ountenaace. 8 a fact! By George! II And when the carpet-bags and lunch- basket and all the rest ware stowed away under the seat of AX ADVENTURE. 103 the buggy, Mrs. Plausaby, with a magnificent number of stream ers, kissed them, and she and Cousin Isa stood by the gate and nodded their heads to the departing buggy, as an expression of their feelings, and Mr. Plausaby lifted his hat in such a way as to conceal his feelings, which, written out, would be, " Good riddance!" And Smith Westcott blandly waved his good-by and bowed to the ladies at the gate, and started back to the store. He was not feeling very happy, apparently, for he walked to the store moodily, rattling the coppers and keys in his right pantaloons-pocket. But he seemed to see a little daylight, for just as he arrived in front of the Emporium, he looked up and said, as if he had just thought of something, " By George ! he ! he ! he ! " Owing to some delay in fixing the buggy, Charlton had not got off till about noon, but as the moon would rise soon after dark, he felt sure of reaching Glenfield by nine in the evening. One doesn t mind a late arrival when one is certain of a warm welcome. And so they jogged on quietly over the smooth road, the slow old horse walking half the time. Albert was not in a hurry. For the first time since his return, he felt that for a moment he possessed little Katy again. The shadow had gone; it might conie back; he would rejoice in the light while he could. Katy was glad to be relieved of the perpetual con flict at home, and, with a feeling entirely childish, she rejoiced that Albert was not now reproving her. And so Albert talked in his old pedagogic fashion, telling Katy of all the strange things he could think of, and delighting himself in watching the wonder and admiration in her face. The country was now smooth and now broken, and Albert thought he had never seen the grass so green or the flowers so bright as they were this K t I UK MT8TSRY OF MKTBOPOL! morning. The streams they crowed were clear and cold, the hone hot upon them, hut the sky was BO blue and the earth so pr -n th.it they both abandon, a themselves t- pleasure of living with such a sky above and such a world beneath. There were here and there a few settlers houses, but country was not a lonely one for all that. Every now and tln-n th.- fri -lit. n.-d i M He-chickens ran across the road or rose with tin ir ..ui.-k. \\ hirri:.- flight; ten thousand katydids and grasshoppers wen* jumpinir. fluti- flying, and fiddling their rattling notes, and the air seemed full of life. They were considcraMy delayed by Albert s excursions aft. T n -A- insects, for he had brought hi* >n. < tin^-box and net along. So that \\hm. about the middle of the afternoon, aa they stoppi .: in f.-r ii::.: a brook, to water old Prince, and were sound of tin: little conscience-smitten that he had not traveled more toward hi- .I -tiir:!!"!]. A?-.-! \\li.ri h> ATOvl M a , ; .r 1 ; f i mil* . he found him* If in a most iinpleasnnt dilemma, toeing two roads, concerning which th- - uh<> 1 him had neglected to give him an. been n-, and she waa very sure that t<> hand was the road. There was now no time to turn back, for the was already upon th -m one of those fearful thunder- storms to which the Inch Minnesota table-land is peculiarly In sheer desperation. ( harlton took the ncht-h.ind road, tint? that he could at least find shelter for the night in some settler s shanty. The storm was one n<>t t> i - imagined by those who have not teen its like, not to be described by any one. The quick succewi of sudden, sharp, unendura ^kma, AN ADVENTURE. 105 before, behind, and on either side, shook the nerves of Charlton and drove little Katy frantic. For an hour they traveled through the drenching rain, their eyes blinded every minute by lightning; for an hour they expected continually that the next thunder-bolt would smite them. All round them, on that tree less prairie, the lightning seemed to fall, and with every new blaze they held their- breath for fear of sudden death. Charl ton wrapped Katy in every way he could, but still the storm penetrated all the wrapping, and the cold rain chilled them both to the core. Katy, on her part, was frightened, lest the lightning should strike Brother Albert. Muffled in shawls, she felt tolerably safe from a thunderbolt, but it was awful to think that Brother Albert sat out there, exposed to the lightning. And in this time of trouble and danger, Charlton held fast to his sister. He felt a brave determination never to suffer Smith Westcott to have her. And if he had only lived in the middle ages, he would doubtless have challenged the fellow to mortal combat. Now, alas ! civilization was in his way. At last the storm spent itself a little, and the clouds broke away in the west, lighting up the rain and making it glorious. Then the wind veered, and the clouds seemed to close over them again, and the lightning, not quite so vivid or so frequent but still terrible, and the rain, with an incessant plashing, set in as for the whole night. Darkness was upon them, not a house was in sight, the chill cold of the ceaseless rain seemed beyond endurance, the horse was well-nigh exhausted and walked at a dull pace, while Albert feared that Katy would die from the exposure. As they came to the top of each little rise he strained his eyes, and Katy rose up and strained her eyes, hi the vain hope of seeing a light, but they did not know 5* 10 . THK MTNTFKT : I.E. that thry were in the midst of that they wrrr indrrd diagonally armss a great A hi. -h ha.: > the hands of some corporation by mean* of the location of half- breed scrii _r since given up all hope of the hospitable welcome at the house of Cousin John, and now wished f<>r nothing but .-h.-U.-r ->f any sort Albert knew that he was lost, l>ut thi- < ntir< at>sence of settlers houses, and even of dex-rted (1 aim-shanties built for pre-emption purposes, puz zled him. Sometimes he thought h- raw a house ahead, and endeavored to quicken the pace of the old horse, but the house always transformed itself to a dump of hazel-brush as he drew nearer. About nine o clock the rain grew colder and the light- less frequent. Katy became niiir. ly -il- nt Allwrt rould feel h< r .-hiv-r now and th numb misery, con- y hoping to see a house on ascending the next rise of Mstantly sufleriiiir (li.^ipp Mntmrnt. thry traveled on throuph tin- \\ri-ti-hi--l in-.n- t- iiy of that ni_s:lit. Thr OCMe- leas plash of th< rain, the slow tread of the horse s hoofs in the water, the roar of a distant thunderbolt these were the only sound" they lie:ml during the ne\t liour <lurinp the longer hour followinir durinir the hours aftrr that. And then littl^ Katy, thinking she must die, began to send messages t folks at home, and to poor, dear Smith, who would cry o Hut ju-t in the morn- ruuity. frit that his very heart was chilled by this exposure in an boggy to more than seven hour- k >tonn, he caught sight of something whi. h l.^-red him. He had descend. what seemed to be a valley, there was water hi the road. h<- could mark the road by the absence of grass, and the glistening AX ADVENTURE. 107 of the water in the faint light. The water was growing deeper ; just ahead of him was a small but steep hill ; on top of the hill, which showed its darker form against the dark clouds, he had been able to distinguish by the lightning-light a hay-stack, and here on one side of the road the grass of the natural meadow gave unmistakable evidence of having been mowed. Albert essayed to cheer Katy by calling her attention to these signs of human habitation, but Katy was too cold and weary and numb to say much or feel much ; an out-door wet-sheet pack for seven hours does not leave much of heart or hope in a human soul. Albert noticed with alarm that the water under the horse s feet increased in depth continually. A minute ago it was just above the fetlocks ; now it was nearly to the knees, and the horse was obliged to lift his feet still more slowly. The rain had filled the lowland with water. Still the grass grew on either side of the road, and Charlton did not feel much alarm until, coming almost under the very shadow of the bluff, the grass suddenly ceased abruptly, and all was water, with what appeared to be an inaccessible cliff beyond. The road which lost itself in this pool or pond, must come out somewhere on the other side. But where? To the right or left? And how bottomless might not the morass be if he should miss the road ! But in such a strait one must do something. So he selected a certain point to the left, where the hill on the other side looked less broken, and, turning the horse s head in that direc tion, struck him smartly with the whip. The horse advanced a step or two, the water rose quickly to his body, and he re fused to go any farther. Neither coaxing nor whipping could move him. There was nothing to do now but to wait for the 108 I HE MYSTERY OF METROPOU8VILLE. next flash of lightning. It was long to wait, for \s itli Ihe con tinuum < of tin- storm the lightning bad grown lew and lew rlion tli..u- ht ii the longest five minutes that ho ever knew. At last there came a blaze, very bright and blind ing, leaving a very fearful darkness aft* T it But short and u as it was, it served to ahow Charlton that the sheet of water before him was not a pool or a pond, but a brook or a creek over all its banks, swollen to a river, and sweeping wild torrent At t: rh.-irlmn was, tbe water was comparatively still ; the stream curved in such a way as to make tbe current dash itself against the rocky bluff. A SHELTEB. 109 CHAPTER XIIL A SHELTER, LBERT drove up the stream, and in a fit of desperation again essayed to ford it. The staying in the rain all night with Katy was so JM terrible to him that he determined to cross at all hazards. It were better to drown together than to perish here. But again the prudent stubbornness of the old horse saved them. He stood hi the water as immovable as the ass of Balaam. Then, for the sheer sake of doing something, Charlton drove down the stream to a point opposite where the bluff seemed of easy ascent. Here he again attempted to cross, and was again balked by the horse s regard for his own safety. Charlton did not appreciate the depth and swiftness of the stream, nor the consequent certainty of drowning in any attempt to ford it. Not until he got out of the buggy and tried to cross afoot did he understand how impossible it was. When Albert returned to the vehicle he sat still. The current rippled against the body of the horse and the wheels of the buggy. The incessant rain roared in the water before him. There was nothing to be done. In the sheer exhaustion of his resources, in his numb despondency, he neglected even to drive the horse out of the water. How long he sat there it would be hard to say. Several times he roused himself to 110 Y->:KI:V OK Mi;iK< I.E. lOtl "t the rain swallowed u; ii was husky with cm< A hilr he heard a plashing in the water, which was not that of thr rain. Hi- tho.i-ht it must be the sound of a canoe ; 1<1 anybody row against such a tor: Hut IP .IMinrtly h< anl th<- plashing, and it was below Even Katy roused h-r- If to listen, and strai yes against the blackness of the night to dis <>v< ; might t* ! did not grow any nearer. 1 at At the end of ten minutes this ir - hi.h seemr .11 some way du- to human agency, was neither farther nor neanr. n ith. r itowoi r.ipid than at first. tiallooed again and up --it th<- mysterious cause of tin and dashing was deaf to all cries for help. Or deaf, this oarsman seemed as incapable of giving r> ply "dumb old man" that rowed h- "lily maid of Astolat" palace of Arthur. But it was no oarsmai one. The light ning f<>r \vhi -!i Al : .- r prayed came at last, and illumined the water and the shores, dispelling all dreams of canoe or oars man. Charlton saw to an instant that there was a fence a frw rods away, and that where the fence crossed the stream, or crossed from bank to bank of what was the stream at its aver- age stage, long poles had been used, and one of the* and : wasnow partly Mihinrnro*!. The swift current Mii-Mlr until it woul-1 -pri::- nn<! drop hack It \\:\ t in a rotary motion, making the sound whir)) ho had mistaken for the paddling of a ranoeman. With this discovery departed all thought of human help from that quarter. A SHELTER. Ill But with the dissipating of the illusion came a new hope. Charlcon turned the head of the horse back and drove him out of the water, or at least to a part of the meadow where the overflowed water did not reach to his knees. Here he tied him to a tree, and told Katy she must stay alone until he should cross the stream and find help, if help there should be, and return. It might take him half an hour. But poor Katy said that she could not live half an hour longer in this rain. And, besides, she knew that Albert would be drowned hi crossing. So that it was with much ado that he managed to get away from her, and, indeed, I think she cried after he had gone. He called back to her when he got to the brook s bank, " All right, Katy ! " but Katy heard him through the roar of the rain, and it seemed to her that he was being swallowed up in a Noachian deluge. Charlton climbed along on the precarious footing afforded by the submerged pole, holding to the poles above while the water rushed about his feet. These poles were each of them held by a single large nail at each end, and the support was doubly doubtful. He might fall off, or the nails might come out. Even had he not been paralyzed by long exposure to the cold, he could have no hope of being able to swim in such a torrent. In the middle of the stream he found a new difficulty. The posts to which these limber poles were nailed at either end sloped in opposite directions, so that while he started across on the upper side he found that when he got to the middle the pole fence began to slant so much up the stream that he must needs climb to the other side, a most difficult and dangerous performance on a fence of wabbling popple, poles in the middle I HE MYBTEKY OF MCTBOPOL1.SVILLJL of a stream on a very dark ni :.-;im, h- found him- if in tin ;;,i M of a hazel thicket higher than his bead. He hallooed to Knty, and the wan sure this linn- that it was his last drowning cry. Working his way out of the ha/ -I -i.ru-.li. he came to a halt against a fence and waited for liirhtninir. That th- re was a house in the neighborhood he >ul<l not doubt, but wh th.-r it wnv inhabited or not was a question. And where was it? For full five minutes an eternal five minutes the pitiless rain poured down upon <ln.:-n as he stood there by th fence, his eyes going forward to H-. i n house, his heart run- nii- lark t.> th.- (..Tithing Katy. At last the lightning showed him a house, nnd from tin- n>f of the house he SAW ft store- pipe. The best proof that it was not a deserted claim-shanty! Stumbling round th<- frm in th darkness, CharUon came upon th- !i"-i - i tried three tides of it before e. When h- kmx-ked, the door wss opened by n tall man, who said : :i^ht smart sprinkle, stranger! Where did yon come V rained down lik<- a Hut All. -rt li id no time for compliments. He told his story Ten- I rii-tly. nnd asked permission to i.ring his sister orer. < h in -r right along, stranger. No lady never staid hi this ere shed afon . but she s mL-i Albert now hurried back, seized with a fear that he would find Katy dead. He crossed on the poles again, shouting to Katy as he went II.- found her almost senseless. He qui< kly loosed old Prince from the buggy, and tethered him ith the lines where he would not suffer for either water or grass, and then lifted Kate from the boggy, and literally carried her to A SHELTER. 113 the place where they must needs climb along the poles. It was with much difficulty that he partly carried her, partly persuaded her to climb along that slender fence. How he ever got the almost helpless girl over into that hazel -brush thicket he never exactly knew, but as they approached the house, guided by a candle set in the window, she grew more and more feeble, until Albert was obliged to carry her in and lay her down hi a swoon of utter exhaustion. The inhabitant of the cabin ran to a little cupboard, made of a packing-box, and brought out a whisky-flask, and essayed to put it to her lips, but as he saw her lying there, white and beautiful in her helplessness, he started back and said, with a rude reverence, " Stranger, gin her some of this ere I never could tech sech a creetur!" And Albert gave her some of the spirits and watched her revive. He warmed her hands and chafed her feet before the fire which the backwoodsman had made. As she came back to consciousness, Charlton happened to think that he had no dry clothes for her. He would have gone immediately back to the buggy, where there was a portmanteau carefully stowed under the seat, but that the Inhabitant had gone out and he was left alone with Katy, and he feared that she would faint again if he should leave her. Presently the tall, lank, long haired man came in. "Mister," he said, "I made kinder sorter free with your things. I thought as how as the young woman might want to shed some of them air wet feathers of her n, and so I jist venter d to go and git this yer bag thout axin no leave nor license, while you was a-bringin on her to. Looks pooty peart, by hokey ! Now, mister, we ha n t got no spar rooms here. Ill But you and inc ll j.V takr to the loll our riwiin i* IK-HIT nor o i.m-rup Blars." They went to the 1< ft 1 y an outside ladder, the Inhabitant peaking very in a \s ding sure was an angel down-stairs. They went down again 1 on wood so tliat H (Came too warm ; ! loil-.l a j.-.tnf coffee, fried some salt-pork, baked soin* } ,\v and a little tcx) short, hut t-> th<- hunirr. :y palatal : boa found it <-a-y to f-.p--,, .iinbun and eat salt- pork, especially as he had a glass of milk. h> r part, a ciij* " f " :r< <> l>ul at<> liti - , thutitrh .tiitant ! hi-r tin- best he had with a voU-o stammering with emo- not sjx-al. it limit llu>hinir to his temples. I!- tri.-l to apologize for tli- &*-, hut , h i! !ly ever get through his h- of a wntiiu.-nt of adoration f.-r th- iir-t la.ly into whose presence he had come in years. .\ it a profound resport fr the :it of his reverence for Katy. And Re course loved him as she did even-body who wa- her or to her friends, and she esaayed on to mak oomfor >ut so great was his agitation that he r she spoke, and almost upuct tl. I ; oticed tha > two classes those who have selfish, crabbed love of - I those who hare fled from th.-ir f Hows from a ensitivcnM. The Inhabitant was of tin- latter sort TUB INHABIT AJTT. 115 CHAPTER XIY. THE INHABITANT. HEX Albert awoke next morning from a sound sleep on the buffalo-robe in the loft of the cabin of the Inhabitant, the strange being who had slept at his side had gone. He found him leaning against the foot of the ladder outside. " Waitin , you know," he said when he saw Albert, " tell she gits up. I was tryin to think what I could do to make this house fit fer her to stay in ; fer, you see, stranger, they s no movin on tell to-morry, fer though the rain s stopped, I low you can t git that buggy over afore to-morry rnornin . But blam d ef ta n t too bad fer sech as her to stay in sech a cabin ! I never wanted no better place tell las night, but ever sence that creetur crossed the door-sill I ve wished it was a palace of diamonds. She hadn t orter live in nothin poarer." " Where did you come from ? " asked Charlton. "From the TTawbosh. You see I couldn t stay. They treated me bad. I had a idee. I wanted to write somethin or nother hi country talk. I used to try to write potry in good big dictionary words, but I hadn t but mazin little schooling and lived along of a set of folks that talked jes like I do. But a Scotchman what I worked along of one winter, he read 116 I UK MY8TEKY OK MKTK. l.K. me some potry, \\rit i .ut by a Mr. Barns, in the sort of bad grammar that a Scotch man talks, you know. And I says, Ef H Scotchman could write poetry in his sort of bad grammar, why couldn t a Hoosier Jest as well \\ rite poetry in the sort of we talk down on the Wawboah? I don t see why. Do Albert was captivated to find a " rhiM . with such an idea, and he gave it hi- entire || -Wai. you ne, wtal I i:ot to makin varses I found the folks down in Posry Kyounty lii-ln take to varocs wrote out in their \vn t.-ilk. They lik-.l tin- n-al -lii-tionary po try. lik- boy stood on the burnin ileek ami A life <>n the ocean wave, but thi-y made fun of me, ami \\h-n the boys got a hold of my poorticst Tarses, and said cm over and over as they was comin* from school, aii<: d the gals k fooled in., /in in* me to do some vawo* f< r thcr birthdays, and then makiif fun <>f .l.ln Inr it no ways, and so I jist cleanr i l-ft to git sh ,1 of their talk. Hut I s-tu. k t.. ." all the same. I made vmrses in -y talk all the same, and sent Vm to editors, hut .Uln* see nothin in em. ^"rit hark that I d hett. -r lani to *\-l\. When I could a-speh down any one ,f mi the best day they ever seed!** like to see some of your versea, H sai 1 niaybe you IWH.I." and witli that hr took out a hlu- p.ip Ton ul.- .i u... -A: hie ink home VCTSe*. w, I coul l -; !1 I wanted to, bat I <1 that Mr was spoke, and so I thought I d writ* my iuntry t ilk hy the same iie morn ing light in hi- from the apex of which THE INHABITANT. 117 THE INHABITANT. 119 the tail of the wolf hung down his back, read aloud the verses which he had written in the Hoosier dialect, or, as he called it, the country talk of the Wawbosh. In transcribing them, I have inserted one or two apostrophes, for the poet always complained that though he could spell like sixty, he never could mind his stops. WHAT DUMB CRITTERS SAYS. The cat-bird poorty nigh splits his throat, Ef nobody s thar to see. The cat-bird poorty nigh splits his throat, But ef I say, " Sing out. green coat," Why, "I can t : and " I shan t," says he. I low d the crows mout be afeard Of a man made outen straw. I low d the crows mout be afeard, But laws! they warn t the least bit skeered, They larfed out, "Haw! haw-haw!" A long-tail squir l up in th top Of that air ellum tree. A long-tail squir l up in th top, A lis nin to the acorns drop, Says, " Sh I sh-sh ! " at me. The big-eyed owl a-settin on a limb With nary a wink nur nod, The big-eyed owl a-settin on a limb, Is a-singin a sort ol a solemn hymn Of Hoo! hoo-ah!" at God. Albert could not resist a temptation to smile at this last line. " I know, stranger. You think a owl can t sing to God. But I d like to know why ! Ef a mockin -bird kin sing God s praises a-singin trible, and so on through all the parts you see I larnt the squar notes oncet at a singin why, I don t see to save me why the bass of the owl a n t jest as good praisin ef ta n t quite sech fine singin . Do you, now ? An I kinder in had a f. llrr-f.-.-lin fer the owl. I says to him. aid me is jist alike in one thing. Our note* a n t ap- preciat. .1 l,y tin- ; B inaybc God thinks about aa much of the re;tl pn .uine h.-otin 1 of a owl a* he docs of the hL hfalugeon whistlin of a mockin -blrd all stole from some body else. An ef my ranee is kinder humhly to hear, any way they a n t made like other folk--*; they re all of en: my head seen as it ,ly have struck an original rein," said Albert, who had a passion for n.ture in the rough. "I wish you would read some of your verses to my si " Could n do it," said the poet; "at least, I don t believe I could. My voice wouldn hold up. Laid awake all las night try in t make some vanes about her. But sake*, stranger, I . ..-it two lines strung toget i mout as well try to put sunshine inter :i . know, as to write about th.it lovely rreetur. An I can t make poetry in nothin* V in our country talk ; but laws ! it seems seen a rough thing to use to say anything about a heavenly angel In. Seemed like as ef I was makin a nosegay : :.<! hadn t no poeeys bat jimson-weeds, hollyhocks, and big yaller sunflowers. I wished I < -oul.l 11* made real dictionary poetry like Casabianca Columby. Hut I didn know enough :i words. I never got nary wink of sleep a-thinkin about her, and a-wishin* my house was finer and my clo es punier and my 1. r, and I was a cddicated gentleman. Never wished that air af ;. n little dull and quite hungry, but not sick, and she good-naturedly set herself to work to show her gratitude : ij.iu.r him to get breakfast, at which he de clared that he was never so flustrated In all his bora days. Never. THE INHABITANT. 121 They waited all that day for the waters to subside, and Katy taught the Poet several new culinary arts, while he showed her his traps and hunting gear, and initiated the two strangers into all the mysteries of mink and muskrat catching, telling them more about the habits of fur-bearing animals than they could have learned from books. And Charlton recited many pieces of "real dictionary poetry" to the poor fellow, who was at last prevailed on to read some of his dialect pieces in the presence of Katy. He read her one on " What the Sunflower said to the Hollyhock," and a love-poem, called "Polly in the Spring-house." The first strophe of this inartistic idyl will doubtless be all the reader will care to see. POLLY IN THE SPRING-HOUSE. Purtier n dressed-up gals in town Is peart and larfin Polly Brown, With curly hair a-hangin down, An sleeves rolled clean above her elbow. Barfeooted stan in on the rocks, A-pourin milk in airthen crocks, An kiverin em with clean white blocks- Jest lis en how my fool heart knocks Shet up, my heart! what makes you tell so? " You see," he said, blushing and stammering, " you see, miss, I had a sort of a prejutfzV* agin town gals hi them ah" days, I thought they was all stuck up and proud like; I didn think the the well you know I don t mean no harm nur nothin but I didn expect the very purtiest on em all was ever agoin to come into my shanty and make herself at home like as ef I was a eddicated gentleman. All I said agin town gals I take back. I I you see " but finding it impossible to get through, the Poet remembered something to be attended to out of doors. The ever active Charlton could not pass a day in idleness. 6 THE MYSTERY OF METROPOLIS!; By ten o clock be bad selected a claim and staked il out It was just the place for bis great scbooL When the country should huve srttlrd up, be would found a farm-school and make a great institution out of ii. Tin Inhabitant waa <,i with the prospect of having her of an angel for a neighbor, and readily made a bargain to erect for Charlton a cabin like his own f>r purposes of pre-emption. Albert s >n bad already plan n< 1 th< building and grounds of Ins inhtitut. During tin \\ h-1- .-f that sunshiny day that Cbarlton waited for the waters of Pleasant Brook to subside, George Gr.i Inhabitant of the lone cabin, exhausted his ingenuity In en deavoring to make his hospitality as complete as possible. When Albert saw bun standing by the ladder in the morning, he bad already shot some prairie-chickens, which he car 1. And after they had supped on wild strawberries and another night had passed, they breakfasted on some squirrels . in a neighboring grove, and made into a delicious stew by the use of such vegetables as the garden of the Inhabitant afforded. Cbarlton and the Poet got the horse and buggy through the stream. When everything was ready for a start, th< Inhabitant insisted that he would go " a piece** with them to show the way, and, mounted on his Indian pony, he kept them company to their destination Then the trapper bade Albert an affectionate adieu, and gave a blushing, summering, adoring farewell to Katy, and turned his little sorrel pony back toward bis home, where he spent the days in trying to make some worthy verses in commemoration of the coming to the cabin of a trapper lonely, a party angel bright as day, and how the trapper only wep and cried when she went away. THE INHABITANT. 123 But his feelings were too deep for his rhymes, and his rhymes were poorer than his average, because his feeling was deeper. He must have burned up hundreds of couplets, triplets, and sextuplets in the next fortnight. For, besides his chivalrous and poetic gallantry toward womankind, he found himself hope lessly in love with a girl whom he would no more have thought of marrying than he would of wedding a real angel. Some times he dreamed of going to school and getting an education, " puttin some school-master s hair-ile onter his talk," as he called it, but then the hopelessness of any attempt to change himself deterred him. But thenceforth Katy became more to him than Laura was to Petrarch. Habits of intemperance had crept upon him in his isolation and pining for excitement, but now he set out to seek an ideal purity, he abolished even his pipe, he scrupulously pruned his conversation of profanity, so that he wouldn be onfit to love her any way, ef he didn never marry her. 124 THE MYSTERY OF XXTROPOUSVII I.K. (HAITI I! \ V. - AN IT.AU the gentle reader, how much more the garage one, will accuse m< ,,f h-iving beguiled him with false pretenses. Here I hare written XIV rs of this story, which claims to be a my a i i.l there stand the letters XV at th? bead of this chapter ami I have not got to the mystery yet, and my friend Hiss Cormorant, who devours her dozen novels a week for steady diet, and perhaps makes it a baker s dozen at this sesjaon of the year, and who loves nothing so well as to be mystified by labyrinthine plots and counterplot* Miss Cormorant is about to part company with me at this point She doesn t like this plain sailing. Now, I \\ill N- honest with you. Miss Cormorant, all the more that I don t care if you do quit 1 will t< 11 you plainly that to my mind the mystery lies yet several chapters in advance, and that I shouldn t be surprised if 1 have to pass out of my teens and begin to head with douMe X s before I get to that mystery. Why don t I hurry up then ? Ah I there s the rub. Miss Cormorant and all the Cormorant family are wanting me to hum- up with this history, and just so surely as I should ski; ny part of the tale, or slight my back ground, or show any eagerness, that other family, the Critic* AX EPISODE. 125 the recording angels of literature take down their pens, and with a sad face joyfully write : " This book is so-so, but bears evident marks of hurry in its execution. If the author shall ever learn the self-possession of the true artist, and come to tell his stories with leisurely dignity of manner and so on and so on and so forth he will well, he will do middling well for a man who had the unhappiness to be born in longitude west from Washington." Ah ! well, I shrug my shoulders, and bidding both Cormorant and Critic to get behind me, Satan, I write my story in my own fashion for my gentle readers who are neither Cormorants nor Critics, and of whom I am sin cerely fond. For instance, I find it convenient to turn aside at this point to mention Dave Sawney, for how could I relate the events which are to follow to readers who had not the happiness to know Katy s third lover or thirteenth the aforesaid Dave ? You are surprised, doubtless, that Katy should have so many lovers as three ; you have not then lived in a new country where there are generally half-a-dozen marriageable men to every mar riageable woman, and where, since the law of demand and sup ply has no application, every girl finds herself beset with more beaux than a heartless flirt could wish for. Dave was large, lymphatic, and conceited; he "come frum Southern Eelinoy," as he expressed it, and he had a comfortable conviction that the fertile Illinois Egypt had produced nothing more creditable than his own slouching figure and self-complaisant soul. Dave Sawney had a certain vividness of imagination that served to exalt everything pertaining to himself ; he never in his life made a bargain to do anything he always cawntracked to do it. He cawntracked to set out three trees, and then he cawntracked to 126 THE MYSTERY OF METROPOLISVILLE dig six poet-boles, and gave bis occupation to the census-taker be set himself down as a ** cawntnn He bad laid sicgi in his f :i | in of an evening, an- 1 l.<..i>tinir : nith Wr-tn.tt would and chirrup and jokr, and walk Katy right away from him to take a walk or a boat I , 1 finish the yarn which >v--t<-r,u ha: IT.. km bib > Mrs. Plausaby i|> nu.l remark that hr thmiirht maybe he mout as well be a -pi- In th, , .r. uhirh had raged about the hi-l 1< ft fr , Dave Sawney bad come to be a man <>f inipoitand. His own claim lay equidistant from the two rival towns II, id considerable inlluencc with a k; a dozen settlers in . < rh.xxl, who iinulf, M>nal interest in the matt- r. It became evident that a half-dozen votes mi.irht tip the scale after Plausaby, 1 turned t s flank by getting some local ; who would naturally have r own village stood the gfaost of a chance, or at least that their in terests would be served by the not* : h the contest :* ahw b\ ! - Iiirh. inity, \va -lisvillr. After ven so small Sawney. Plausaby persuaded Dave to oawntrack f..r the de- Dave was i. t n lull- delighted to be flattered aiv :un- tim ! ;-.i: ;: ... . > : !; , . y . i ig things fcr the 1 village AN EPISODE. 127 of Metropolisville would erect a brick court-house and donate it; that Plausaby had already cawntracked to donate it to the kyounty free gratis. This ardent support of Dave, who saw not only the price which the squire had cawntracked to pay him, but a further ance of his suit with little Katy, as rewards of his zeal, would have turned the balance at once in favor of Metropolisville, had it not been for a woman. Was there ever a war, since the days of the Greek hobby-horse, since the days of Rahab s basket indeed, hi which a woman did not have some part ? It is said that a woman should not vote, because she can not make war ; but that is just what a woman can do ; she can make war, and she can often decide it. There came into this contest between Metropolisville and its rival, not a Helen certainly, but a woman. Perritaut was named for an old French trader, who had made his fortune by selling goods to the Indians on its site, and who had taken him an Indian wife it helped trade to wed an Indian and reared a family of children who were dusky, and spoke both the Dakota and the French d la Canadien. M. Perritaut had become rich, and yet his riches could not remove a particle of the maternal complexion from those who were to inherit the name and wealth of the old trader. If they should marry other half-breeds, the line of dusky Perritauts might stretch out the memory of a savage maternity to the crack of doom. Que Toukz-vous ? They must not marry half-breeds. Each gen eration must make advancement toward a Caucasian whiteness, in a geometric ratio, until the Indian element should be reduced by an infinite progression toward nothing. But how? It did not take long for Perritaut pere to settle that question. Voild, tout. The young men should seek white wives. They had THE MYSTERY OF METROPOLIS VI LLE. money. They might marry poor girls, but white ones. Hut the girls? Eh bit i y should wa>h them also, or at lea* money should 1>1 aih their descendants. Great Stain-eraser, th the Magic Cleanser. And the stain of race la not tlu . nly <.ne that money makes white as snow. Bo the old gentleman one day remarked to some nink wine with him, that he would geere one >u-ant t-aiare, begare, to te man tat maree his oltest daughtATC, Mathilde. Ek Men, te man must rary surelee pe w ite and rw-spect-oA-ble. Of course this *1 remark soon spread abroad, as It was meant to spread abroad. It came to many ears. The mobl utterly worthless white men, on hear ing H, generally dn-w themsclTCs up in pride and rowed t see the ole frog-eatin Frenchman hung afore they d many his Injir. drutlar marry a Injin than a nigger, ur rouldn be bought with n nn: r >U lj. \\iih a Injin. Not so our friend Dave. Hi- wuni l afcared of no Injin, he said; sartainly not of one what had been weakened down to half the strength. Kf any man dared him a Injin and backed the dare by ten thousand dollars, blamed ef h wouldn t take the dare. In be dared by no Frenchman to marry his daughter. He wouldn t. H.- wa n t afeard to marry a Injin. He d cawn track f< r ten thousand. The first effort of thi* thought on Dare s mind was to change his riew of the county-seat question. He shook his bead now when Plausaby s brick court-house was spoken of. The squire was at\ f he said ominously. it-d that be made i more easily by foregoing his preferences for a white wife vor of a red one, than by cawntractlng to set out shade- 130 AX EPISODE. 131 trees, dig post-holes, or drive oxen. So he lost no time in visiting the old trader. He walked in, in his slouching fashion, shook hands with M. Perritaut, gave his name as David Sawney, cawntractor, and after talking a little about the county-seat question, he broached the question of marriage with Mathilde Perritaut. " I hearn tell that you are willin to do somethin han some fer a son-in-law." "Varee good, Mistare Sonee. You air a man of bisnees, perhaps, maybe. You undairstand tese tings. Eh ? Tris bicn I mean vary well, you see. I want that my daughtare zhould maree one re-spect-erA-blc man. Yare good. You air one, maybe. I weel find out. Tris bifn, you see, my daughtaro weel marree the man that I zay. You weel come ovare here next week. Ecf I find you air respect-aA-ble, I weel then get my lawyare to make a marriage contract" " A cawntrack ? v said Dave, starting at the sound of his favorite word. "Yery well, musheer, I sign a cawntrack and live up to it." "Vare good. "\Yeel you have one leetle peench of snuff?" said the old man, politely opening his box. " Yes, I m obleeged, musheer," said Dave. ; Don t keer ef I do." And by way of showing his good-will and ingratiating himself with the Frenchman, Dave helped himself to an amazingly large pinch. Indeed, not being accustomed to take snuff, he helped himself, as he did to chewing tobacco when it was offered free, with the utmost liberality. The result did not add to the dignity of his bearing, for he was seized with a succession of convulsions of sneezing. Dave nabitually did every thing hi the noisiest way possible, and he wound up each THE MYSTERY OF MKTR< LE. successive fit of sneezing with a whoop that gave him the em- Mam a war-song, by way of fitting him self to wed a half-breed wife. I declare," he said, when the sneezing had subside*!, I iirv.-r did M M Nj 1. " \ are good/ resumed M. Pemtaut. "I wecl promeea in the contract to gcevc you one ten tousant toUars <bu0 mitt* two tousant avcry yore for fife yare. Tret bien. My danghtarc is educate ; she stoody fife, eecx yare in te convent at Montreal. Zhc play on piano evare so many tun. . 2Hen. You come Monday. We weel zee. Adieu. I mean good-by, Mistaro Sonee." "Adoo, musheer," said Dare, taking his hat and leaving. He boasted afterwards that he had spoke to the ole man in French when he was comin away. Thouirht it mout kinder tickle him, you kn< >>. And he said he didn* mind a brown complexion a bit Per his part, seemed to him twas kinder y Would n* want all women reddish, l twas sorter nice, you know. He always did Bompin d AIP! In now threw all his energy into the advocacy of IVrritaut. h was the natural lo<aiiu of a county-seat Me- tropolisville never would be nawthin . Monday morning found him at Perritaul s house, rea; all himself in marriage. As for the girl, she, poor brown lamb or wolf, as the case may be was ready, with true Indian stolidity, to be disposed of as her father chose. The parties who were interested in the town of IVrritaut had got wind of Dave s proposition; and as they saw how important his might be in the coming election, they took pains to AN EPISODE. 133 satisfy Monsieur Perritaut that Mr. Sawney was a very proper person to marry his tawny daughter and pocket his yellow gold-pieces. The lawyer was just finishing the necessary docu ments when Dave entered. "Eh bien! How you do, Mistare Sonee? Is eet dat you weel have a peench of snuff?" For the Frenchman had quite forgotten Dave s mishap in snuff-taking, and offered the snuff out of habitual complaisance. "No, musheer," said Dave, "I can t use no snuff of late yeers. Fection of the nose; makes me sneeze dreffle." " Oh ! -Eh bien ! C est comme U faut. I mean dat is all right, vare good, mistare. Now, den, Monsieur FAvocat, I mean ze lawyare, he is ready to read ze contract." " Cawntrack ? Oh ! yes, that s right. We Americans marry without a cawntrack, you see. But I like cawntracks myself. It s my business, cawntracking is, you know. Fire away when ever you re ready, mister." This last to the lawyer, who was waiting to read. Dave sat, with a knowing air, listening to the legal phrase ology as though he had been used to marriage contracts from infancy. He was pleased with the notion of being betrothed in this awful diplomatic fashion. It accorded with his feelings to think that he was worth ten thousand dollars and the ex haustive verbiage of this formidable cawntrack. But at last the lawyer read a part which made him open his eyes. Something about its being further stipulated that the said David Sawney, of the first part, in and for the consideration named, " hereby binds himself to have the children which shall issue from this marriage educated in the Roman Catholic faith," caught his ears. THE MYRTKRT OF METR- - H..M .MI. tnifftST, I I ml -iirn that! I a n t over-pertikrler bout who I in.-irry. bu- " What part < to ?" -W.11. . f I und r-tand thrm words you re got kilr.l up Tin pmty iniddlin smart at is, you tee I m th.- rhildmi in the Catholic faith, as you call <, that i- "Ota/ varc food. l>.it I must insccst on," said Perritaut \\.i: 1 ii n t n.ithin in .1 rrli.tfous way. ! .t I can t utan that air I m t..o \\.-ll ru.-M-tl. I kin marry a Injin. !iit to sell out my childn n :" vthollc pCJMtl. I couldn t do tliat air i f fM pi i: And upon this point Dare M here is a sentiment down somewhen in alinoat any man, and there was this one ith Dave. And tin -re was likewise this .-ruplf with I .rritaut. And these opposing scruples In two men "h<> rt unlv, tumid tin- scale and gare th- rounty -rat to Mn: Id nil hin if the county -seat should remain itholirs would build a nunnery an a cay- nd then none daughters would be safe. prirsts was a-lo..; :! comin generation. besides, Catholics an In hare a gmxl influence on ioml an.l religious kerectcr of th iluence of half breeds was a bad thi lixntion. Kf a man was half-Injin, he wan 1. -md yon couldn t make him white noways. And Dnre distributed freely deeds to some valueless ts, which Plauaaby had giren him f : THE RETURN*. 135 CHAPTER XVI. THE RETURN. S long as he could, Charlton kept Katy at Glen- field. He amused her by every means in his power; he devoted himself to her; he sought to win her away from Westcott, not by argument, to which she was invulnerable, but by feeling. He found that the only motive that moved her was an emotion of pity for him, so he contrived to make her estimate his misery on her account at its full value. But just when he thought he had produced some effect there would come one of Smith Westcott s letters, written not as he talked (it is only real simple- heartedness or genuine literary gift that can make the personality of the writer felt in a letter), but in a round business hand with plenty of flourishes, and in sentences very carefully composed. But he managed in his precise and prim way to convey to Katy the notion that he was pining away for her company. And she, missing the giggle and the playfulness from the letter, thought his distress extreme indeed. For it would have re quired a deeper sorrow than Smith Westcott ever felt to make him talk in the stiff conventional fashion in which his letters were composed. And besides "Westcott s letters there were letters from her r, in which that careful in.. tin -r never failed to tell how Mr WrMtoit had conic in, :ig before, to talk about and to 1. 11 in r how lost and heart-broken he was. So th.it 1 11 home generally 1. rough t on a relapse of 1 . !<>\.r. She W8 rnn-lly turn !>y :dt rnatc fits of loving pity fur ; the one hand, and j>oor, d-ur, dear Smith Wotcotl on the other. And the generally carried the day . inpothiea. He wa such ;i i .v. and hadn t anybody, not I mtl). r, : infort him, and he had often said tluit if hia charming and divine littl <-rer prore falae, he would go and drown him < If in the lake. And that wot; 90 awful, you know And, hold- . Brother Albert bad plenty to lovi him ! ...:. wt .nd there waa that quiet kind of a young la.! 1 that Allxrt went to aee O nil !ik-- anybody ao cool ahe know. And tl Move Broth- r aaybe, ty, and poor Smith had often said that 1 ;. t h-ij. him to !>< food And sh- lit to him forever and h lp him. M<ihrr and she was That would ! tame ae murdering l.im. }<>u know. :u. the fortnight ..nd hJt abler riit Glenii .idcd his time between trying to impreaa Knty -.-iw of Smith Wcstcott to be her husband, and t!> f writing long 4Jp^ !>g long letter* from tint lady. Hi* iitaimatfc; they explained In a rather vehement style all the chemei that filled bis brain 4 THE EETURX. 137 for working out his vocation and helping the world to its goal : while hers discussed everything in the most dispassionate temper. Charlton had brought himself to admire this dispassionate temper. A man of Charlton s temper who is really in love, can bring himself to admire any traits in the object of his love. Had Helen Minorkey shown some little enthusiasm, Charlton would have exaggerated it, admired it, and rejoiced in it as a priceless quality. As she showed none, he admired the lack of it in her, rejoiced in her entire superiority to her sex in this regard, and loved her more and more passionately every day. And Miss Minorkey was not wanting in a certain tenderness toward her adorer. She loved him in her way, it made her happy to be loved hi that ideal fashion. Charlton found himself in a strait betwixt two. He longed to worship again at the shrine of his Minerva. But he dis liked to return with Katy until he had done something to break the hold of Smith Westcott upon her mind. So upon one pretext or another he staid until Westcott wrote to Katy that business would call him to Glenfield the next week, and he hoped that she would conclude to return with him. Katy was so pleased w T ith the prospect of a long ride with her lover, that she felt considerable disappointment when Albert determined to return at once. Brother Albert always did such curious things. Katy, who had given Albert a dozen reasons for an immediate return, now thought it very strange that he should be in such a hurry. Had he given up trying to find that new kind of grasshopper he spoke of the day before? One effect of the unexpected arrival of Albert and Katy in Metropolisville, was to make Smith Westcott forget that he ever had any business that was likely to call him to Glenfield. 138 THE MYSTERY OF MBTROPOLJSYllUL Delighted to sec Katy back. Would a died if she d staid away another week. By George ! he! he I he ! Wanted to jump into the lake, you know. Always felt that way when Katy was out of sight two days. Curious. By George t Didn t think any woman could ever make such a fool of him He! he! Pelt like olc Dan Tucker when he came to supper and found the hot cakes all gone. H< ! h- ! ho! By George! You know! Let s sing de f<>rty-lr!..-:-.th hymn! Ahem! U Diner wa an apple, 1 was one beside her. Oh ! how happy we would be. When we s rkwnahed Into cider! And a litUe more cider too. ah boot And a little more dder loo I And a little mo And a little no How much* Pailful! By George! He! he! he! That s sol You know. Them s my sentiments. Sprcaaea the motions of my heart, bred : ih ! By hokey ! And here comes Mr. Albert Charlt-.n. Brother All., rt Just as well learn to saj it now a, riftrr a while. Eh, Katy? How do, brother Albert? Glad to sec you as if I d stuck a nail in my foot By George I min 1 my carryin on. Nobody minds me. I m the j.r i know. I am, by George! he! he I Come, Kate, let s take a boat-ride. . com* ; my boat , by the shore; If yrr don t Hde now, I won t ax JOB no more." And so forth. Too hoarse to sing. But I am not too feeblo to my own canoe. Come, Katy Darling. You needn t your shawl when you ve got a Westcott to keep you warm. He ! he ! By George ! THE RETURN. 139 And then he went out singing that her lips was red as roses or poppies or something, and " wait for the row-boat and we ll all take a ride." Albert endeavored to forget his vexation by seeking the society of Miss Minorkey, who was sincerely glad to see him back, and who was more demonstrative on this evening than he had ever known her to be. And Charlton was correspondingly happy. He lay in his unplastered room that night, and counted the laths in the moonlight, and built golden ladders out of them by which to climb up to the heaven of his desires. But he was a little troubled to find that in proportion as he came nearer to the possession of Miss Minorkey, his ardor hi the matter of his great Educational Institution his American Philanthropinum, as he called it abated. I ought here to mention a fact which occurred about this time, because it is a fact that has some bearing on tha course of the story, and because it may help us to a more charitable judgment in regard to the character of Mr. Charlton s step-father. Soon after Albert s return from Glenfield, he received an ap pointment to the postmastership of Metropolisville in such a way as to leave no doubt that it came through Squire Plausaby s influence. We are in the habit of thinking a mean man wholly mean. But we are wrong. Liberal Donor, Esq., for instance, has a great passion for keeping his left hand exceedingly well informed of the generous doings of his right. He gives money to found the Liberal Donor Female Collegiate and Academical Institute, and then he gives money to found the Liberal Donor Professorship of Systematic and Metaphysical Theology, and still other sums to establish the Liberal Donor Orthopedic Chirurgical Gratuitous Hospital for Cripples and Clubfooted. 140 12 MTSTXBT OF METBOPOLLSV1LLE. Shall I say that the man is not generous, bat only ostentatious r Not at all. He might gratify his vanity in other ways. His vanity dominates over his ben ;md makes it pay tribute to his own glory. But hU benevolence is genuine, notwith standing. Pluusaby was mercenary, and he may have seen some advantages to himself in having the post-office in his own house, and in placing his step-son under obligation to himself. Doubt less these consi weighed .: ! Besides, we most remember the injum-tion that indiulcs even the in th.- lunni.. r.f tho-i- t<> whom a share of credit is dm us sa\ id-shark as he was, he was not vindietivr, in- \\ a.s not without generosity, and that it gave him sincere pleasure to do a kindness to his step-son, particularly when his generous impulse coincided so exactly with his own interest in the matter. I do not say that he would not have red to take the apj been that he had once been a postmaster in P. nnsylvania, and son isantness between him and the Post- Office Department about an unsettled account stood in his way. But in all the tangled maze of motive that, by a resolution of force, pro duced the whole \\hi.-h men called Plausaby the Land-shark, wanting an elrni. at <>f generosity, and th. mcnl of generosity had in IK h i<> do with Charl ton s appoint- txrt took it kindly. I am afraid that be was just a little less observant insactions in which Plausaby engaged after that I am sure that he was much less vehement than 1 MM of land-sharks. The post office wan sot up in one of the unfinished rooms of Mr. Plausaby s house, and. a mail times, Charlton was not obliged to confine himself to it Katy or Cousin Isa or Mrs. Plausaby was THE RETURN. 141 always glad to look over the letters for any caller, to sell stamps to those who wanted them, and tell a Swede how much postage he must pay on a painfully-written letter to some relative in Christiana or Stockholm. And the three or four hundred dollars of income enabled Charlton to prosecute his studies. In his gratitude he lent the two hundred and twenty dollars all that was left of his educational fund to Mr. Plausaby, at two per cent a month, on demand, secured by a mortgage on lots hi Metropolisville. Poor infatuated George Gray the Inhabitant of the Lone Cabin, the Trapper of Pleasant Brook, the Hoosier Poet from the Wawbosh country poor infatuated George Gray found his cabin untenable after little Katy had come and gone. He came up to Metropolisville, improved his dress by buying some ready- made clothing, and haunted the streets where he could catch a glimpse now and then of Katy. One night, Charlton, coming home from an evening with Miss Minorkey at the hotel, found a man standing in front of the fence. " What do you want here ? " he asked sharply. "Didn mean no harm, stranger, to nobody." " Oh ! it*s you ! " exclaimed Charlton, recognizing his friend the Poet. " Come in, come in." " Come in ? Couldn do it no way, stranger. Ef I was to go in thar amongst all them air ladies, my knees would gin out. I was jist a-lookin at that purty creetur. But I druther die n do her any harm. I mos wish I was dead. But ta n t no harm to look at her ef she don know it. I shan t disturb her; and ef she marries a gentleman, I shan t disturb him nuther. On y, ef he don mind it, you know, I ll write po try about her 11J 1I1K MV>1KUY OF METROPOLIS VI LLE. now and thm. I got some vanes now that I wish you d show to her, cf you think they won t do hrr no harm, you know, and I don t low they will. Good-by, Mr. Charlton. Comin down to sleep on your claim ? Land s a-comin into market down thar." After the Poet l<-ft him. All>- rt t>,k the verses into the house uml r.-a<l them, and gave them to Katy. The first stanza wat, if I remember it rightly, something of this " A angel come inter th po*r trappr door, The party feet tromped on the roagh puncheon floor, lovely head ilep on hit prairie gnu* pillcr The cabin is lonesome and the trapper U poar, I! hcar little shoe* a-pattin* the floor; He can t sleep at night on that piller no more; Hi* Hooder harp hangt on the wild waur-wilkr I" SAWNEY AND HIS OLD LOVE. 143 CHAPTER XVII. SAWNEY AND HIS OLD LOVE. 1 ELF-CONCEIT is a great source of happiness, a buffer that softens all the jolts of life. After David Sawney s failure to capture Perritaut s half- breed Atlantis and her golden apples at one dash, one would have expected him to be a little modest in approaching his old love again; but forty-eight hours after her return from Glenfield, he was paying his " devours," as he called them, to little Katy Charlton. He felt confident of win ning he was one of that class of men who believe themselves able to carry off anybody they choose. He inventoried his own attractions with great complacency ; he had good health, a good claim, and, as he often boasted, had been "raised rich," or, as he otherwise stated it, "cradled in the lap of luxury." His father was one of those rich Illinois farmers who are none the less coarse for all their money and farms. Owing to reverses of fortune, Dave had inherited none of the wealth, but all of the coarseness of grain. So he walked into Squire Plausaby s with his usual assurance, on the second evening after Katy s return. "Howdy, Miss Charlton," he said, "howdy! I m glad to see you lookin BO smart. Howdy, Mrs. Ferret!" to the widow, 144 TUB MT8TKRY OP MXTBOPOL18VTLLB. who was ; "Howdy do, Mr. Charl ton back again?" And i .IH scat alongside K it a little for ).. f.-lt :i v. ry slight :i: -t his flirtation \vith IVrritaut s tm thou-aud dollar- " mout ve made hi* chance* jul. -r-.ti-." as he stated i: reflected, :i think I m worth mon- n \ T \\iu-n she knows I declined t n th.M>:in ! dollars, in five annooal payment*." "Mr. Sawney," said the widow Ferret, beaming on him with one of h- r >u<M< n. precise, pickled smiles, "Mr. Sawnc, d li .-h .-d t.> !.. ar that y.-ii made a brave stand against Roman ism, It is the bane of this country. I re^jK-< t you for tin- -M.i i. It shows th of schripchcral training by a prajinir in-thrr. I ve no iloiilit. Mr. flsiwi. Dave was flattered and annoyed at this mention, and he 1 at littl. hi t seem to feel any Interest in the n. : so he took heart -I Ml it my dixity, Mrs. i .-Iced I d I r- -I- . t you for i;. Mr. Sa*:. said Albert Ira* For selling himself into a men -n:iry marriage, and then higgling on a point of religious prejudice Mrs. Ferret now focused Charlt<>n, smiled h. r drpr.M-.-itiiiir smil think, Mr. Charlton. tint in thH day <>f lax views on one side and priest craft on 1 respect a man who thinks enough of ee-vangelical truth to make a stand against any enemy religion of "W.ll. Hid ( hurltoii nidily. -I must Ray that I respect * just as much as I do Dave s, Both of them were engaged in a contemptible transaction, and both of MBS. FERRET. 145 SAWXEY AND HIS OLD LOVE. 147 them showed an utter lack of conscience, except in matters of opinion. Religion is " But the company did not get the benefit of Mr. Albert s views on the subject of religion, for at that moment entered Mr. Smith Westcott. " How do, Katy ? Lookin solemn, eh ? How do, Brother Albert? Mrs. Ferret, how do? Ho! ho! Dave, is this you? I congratulate you on your escape from the savages. Scalp all sound, eh ? Didn lose your back-hair ? By George ! he ! he ! he ! " And he began to show symptoms of dancing, as he sang : "John Brown, he had a little Injun; John Brown, he had a little Injun ; Dave Sawney had a little Injun ; One little Injun gal 1 Yah ! yah ! Well, well, Mr. Shawnee, glad to see you back." "Looky hyer, Mister Wes cott," said Dave, growing red, "you re a-rnakin a little too free." " Oh ! the Shawnee chief shouldn git mad. He ! he ! by George ! wouldn git mad fer ten thousand dollars. I wouldn , by George ! you know ! he ! he ! Ef I was worth ten thousand dollars live weight, hide and tallow throw d in, I would " " See here, mister," said Dave, rising, " maybe you d like to walk out to some retired place, and hev your hide thrashed tell twouldn hold shucks? Eh?" "I beg pardon," said Westcott, a little frightened, "didn mean no harm, you know, Mr. Sawney. All s fair in war, especially when it s a war for the fair. Sort of warfare, you know. By George ! he ! he ! Shake hands, let s be friends, Dave. Don mind my joking nobody minds me. I m the privi leged infant, you know, he ! he ! A n t I, Mr. Charlton ? " 148 THE MT8TRBT OP MBTBOPOU8V1IJJL You re Infant enough, Fm sure," said Albeit, "and whether you arc privileged or not, y<>u certainly take liberties that almost any otlu -r n>..: wouM get knocked down " Oh ! well, don t i ross. Spoils our faces and voices, Mr. Charlton, to be cross. For my part, I m the laughin phil<>- r the giggling philosopher, by George! he! he ! Come Katy, let s walk." Katy was glad enough to get her lover away from brother. She hated qu.irr.-ling, and didn t see why people couldn t be peaceable Ami so -h< took Mr. Westcott s arm, and they walked out, that gentleman stopping to strike a match and light his cigar at the door, and calling back, "Dood by, all, dood by ! Adieu, Monsieur Sawney, au rtwir had passed out of the gate he was singing lustily : :i litUe, nine lltUc, eight little Injun ; Seren little, six little, five little Injun ; Four little, three little, two little Injun ; One lltUe Injun girl! He! he! By George! Best Joke, f.. r tin time of the year, I ( v.r heard." " I think," said Mrs. Ferret, after Katy and her lover had gone she spoke rapidly by Jerks, with dashes between "I think, Mr. Sawney that you are worthy of commendation I do, indeed for your praiseworthy stand against Romanism. I don t know what will become of our liberties if the priests erer get control of this c< Sawney tried to talk, but was so annoyed by the quirk effrontery with --. hi h Westcott had carried the day that he say anything quite to his own satisfaction. At last Dave rose to go, and said he had thought maybe be mout git a SAWXZT AXD HIS OLD LOYE. 149 chance to explain things to Miss Charlton ef Mr. VTjfteott hadn t gone off with her. Bat he d come agin. He wanted to know el Albert thought her feelin s was hurt by what he d done in offexin to make a cawntrack with Perritaut. And Albert assured him he didn t think they were in the least. He had never heard Katr mention the matter, except to laugh about it, At the gate Mr. Sawney met the bland, gentlemanly Plausaby, who took him by the hand soothingly, and spoke of his services in the late election matter with the highest appreciation. Dare asked the squire what he thought of the chance of his succeeding with Miss Charlton. He recited to Plausaby his early advantages. " You know, Squire, I was raised rich, cradled in the lap of luxury. Ef I ha n t got much book-stuffin in my head, ta n t fer want of schoolin . I never larnt much, but then I had plenty of edication; I went to school every whiter hand-runnin tell I was twenty-two, and went to singin every Sunday arternoon. Ta n t like as ef I d been brought up poar, weth no chance to larn. I ve had the schoolin anyway, and it s all the same. An" I ve got a good claim, half timber, and runnin water onter it, and twenty acre of medder. I s pose mebbe she don t like my going arter that air Frenchman s gaL But I didn t mean no fense, you know ten thousand in yaller gold s a nice thing to a feller like me what s been raised rich, and s kinder used to havin and not much used to gittin . I wouldn t want her to take no fense, you know. Ta n t like s cf I d a-loved the red-skin Catholic. I hadn never seed er. It wasn t the gal, it was the money I hankered arter. So Miss Charlton needn be jealous, nor juberous, like s ef I was agoin to wish Td a married the Injun. I d feel satisfied with Kate Charlton ef you think she d be with David Sawney!" MY8TBBY OF METBO1 1 Hiitr :i ili-li.-iitr s t , :ne to speak about, Mr. Sawney. To ray anything about, i assure you that I \ i<-. - in m:r late battle. i highly. (^ : ! have i,o frit -nil that I tin: None. I think I hi mm.-, faror- :iM-- ii.ij r--i -:i frnm Miss Charlton s mind. Any unfavorable impression.** . -lytliin you tdl me to do, sqnin-. I ll 1... IM rnos 1 skelp the ol . i\ hi.s ilarttr too, cf you R;U help steott,and carry off Mias < . T seed a gal that come up to h r. in my \\.. ;!i % . Nou -liatisit?" "Well, Mr. Sawney, we CM r day ^at Got it i -ix. majority. After a hard buttle. A \ ry i Expensive contest, too. I ti that w i Mways pay em. Always. Now, ng to have trouble to get possession, unless we do bold. > mean to contest th< I y ve got on th ir side. will get an ii try t- > rds. Sure to. Now, if I was a young man Nforv th.y had time. Possession is points. > s of law. They may watch the records at nl^ ht. ( otild lie moved in the daytime by some man that suspect Ea .imty l)iiihlings are hi the edge of town. Nearly everybody away at Val, s,,uir.-. IM cawntrack t- 1 n make a contract, you see. Pm a magistrate. SAWNEY AND HIS OLD LOVE. 151 Conspiracy and all that. But I always help a man that helps me. Always. In more ways than one. There are two reasons why a man might do that job. Two of them. One is love, and the other s money. Love and money. But I mustn t appear in the matter. Not at all. I ll do what I can for you. What I can. Katy will listen to me. She certainly will. Do what you think best." " I a n t dull bout takin a hint, squire." And Dave winked his left eye at the squire in a way that said, " Trust me ! I m no fool!" l.VJ i HI: M\- . 11.1.1:. (II. MTU; XVIII. A Col. I.; (K tl.is were a Hi- 1 < tropolisville but it nougli. ^ "t want to hear, and I ! not want to tell you, how Daro Sawn- mother Samson, orrrthrew the Philis- A he sauir tin- room where all the county officers did business together, he and his associates, at noon, when most of the officers were gone ; how he seized th- peoordl lay loaded thrin int.* hi- ..agon, and made off. ^ : want to hear all that. If you dorcall o: .inself. He has told it orcr and over to everybody who from that tin)- tu this, and h -fully p-t >ut of bed at three in tin- morning t-> t-11 it airain, with th- utmost . in ainsUn- \vith MK ii littlt accretions of fictitious ornani always gather about a story often and N wither do you, gentle rea own amusement, care to be in : all the schemes devised by Plnusaby for remoT- ing the county officers t< :s and other perquisites which accrued to said officers. It Is snfBdnit ic purposes of this story that the county-seat was carted off to Metropoiisvillc, and abode there in basswood tabernacles A COLLISION. 153 for a -while, and that it proved a great advertisement to the town; money was more freely invested in Metropolisville, an " Academy "was actually staked out, and the town grew rapidly. Xot alone on account of its temporary political importance did it advance, for about this time Plausaby got himself elected a director of the St. Paul and Big Gun River Valley Land Grant Railroad, and the speculators, who scent a railroad station at once, began to buy lots on long tune, to be sure, and yet to buy them. So much did the fortunes of Plausaby, Esq., prosper that he began to invest also on time and at high rates of in terest in a variety of speculations. It was the fashion of 56 to invest everything you had in first payments, and then to sell out at an advance before the second became due. But it is not about Plausaby or Metropolisville that I meant to tell you in this chapter. Xor yet about the wooing of Charl- ton. For in his case, true love ran smoothly. Too smoothly for the interest of this history. If lorkey had repelled his suit, if she had steadfastly remained cold, disdainful, exact ing, it would have been better, maybe, for me who have to tell the story, and for you who have to read it. But disdainful she never was, and she did not remain cold. The enthusiasm of her lover was contagious, and she came to write and talk to him with much earnestness. Xext to her own comfort and peace of mind and her own culture, she prized her lover. He was ori ginal, piquant, and talented. She was proud of him, and loved him with all her heart Xot as a more earnest person might have loved, but as heartily as she could. And she came to take on the color of her lovers habits of thought and feeling : she expressed herself even more warmly than she felt, so that Albert was happy, and this story was doomed to suffer because of his 7* THE MYSTERY OF METROPOLIS VI LLB i light give zest lull love-affair l.y A disdain* ;ug for a r is a furi- .th.-r. But I inu-t I*- inithful at all baza I am 1 to say thai whil.- Mr have been d<li:ht< 1 to have bad for son-in-law some man whose invest- at have inulti|ilii i il l ii itihrritanrc. hr was yet SO . un.l.T tli- iuilurnri- of his admired daughter that !,.- i\. . :. nt, i< itlj v i- L -, to urj tttof In boat ; >do Bo tli -cognized presently as the proep Mrs. Charltoii. Mrs. Plausaby liked her because she won nice dresses, and Katy loveil her because she loved Broth For i: t need any reason for loving any body. Even Isa stifled a feeling she was unable to undrr- and declared that Miss Mlnorkey was smart, and just suit, i :t; and she supposed that Albert, with nil his icts and theories, might make a person like Miss .V key happy. It wasn t every woman that could put up with them, you know. But it was not about tin prosperous Imt uninteresting court- .ship of two p. oplr \\jth "id.rs" that I s i.-irlton got on smoothly with Helen Minorkey, had no more serious and one-sided outbreaks \\ ith bis step fit t get on with his sister s 1 W< ... all of one night with some 11 : " Elysian Club, and his merry time of the night was subsiding into a quarrelsome time in the morning. He was able, when he was sober, to smoih towards Alt>-r is no better ambush than an nuir.ly idiotic giggle. But drink had destroyed his prudence. A COLLISION. 157 so when Albert stepped on the piazza of the hotel where VTestcott stood rattling his pocketful of silver change and his keys for the amusement of the bystanders, as was his wont, the latter put himself in Charlton s way, and said, in a dreary, half-drunk style : "Mornin , Mr. Hedgehog! By George! he! he! he! How s the purty little girl ? My little girl. Don t you wish she wasn t? Hard feller, I am. Any gal s a fool to marry me, I s pose. Katy s a fool. That s just what I want, by George ! he ! he ! I want a purty fool. And she s purty, and she s the other thing. "What you goin to do about it ? He ! he ! he ! " "I m going to knock you down," said Albert, "if you say another word about her." " A n t she mine ? You can t help it, either. He ! he ! The purty little goose loves Smith TTestcott like lots of other purty little " Before he could finish the sentence Charlton had struck him one savage blow full in the face, and sent him staggering back against the side of the house, but he saved himself from fall ing by seizing the window-frame, and immediately drew his Deringer. Charlton, who was not very strong, but who had a quick, lightning-like activity, knocked him down, seized his pistol, and threw it into the street. This time Charlton fell on him in a thoroughly murderous mood, and would perhaps have beaten and choked him to death in the frenzy of his long pent-up passion, for notwithstanding "Westcott s struggles Albert had the advantage. He was sober, active, and angry enough to be ruthless. TTestcott s friends interfered, but that lively gentleman s eyes and nose were sadly disfigured by the pummeling he had received, and Charlton was badly scratched and bruised. i;Y OF Whatever hesitancy ha<l k pi AM., rt from talking to Katy about Smith Wuiteott was all gone now, and home to denoum--- iiim l.iu rly. One may be sure that the mud dled remarks of Mr. Westoott about Katy of \\hi.-h even he had grace to be a little ashamed when he was soberwere not softened in the ri iH-titiun wiiii h Albert piv.- th-in at home. Mr-. IM:iu.-:ib\ long enough to express her indignation, and as for Miss Marlay, she combine.: Albert in a ba .rge on poor Katy. H tusaby had always made it a ml* not to fight a current Wait till tli. ti ; turns, he used to say, and row with the stream \vh.-n it Hows your way. fcJo now he, too, denounced Wettcott, Katy was fairly borne oil" h r y the influ ences about her. In truth. Katy was not without her own pri vate and personal i n against Westcott Nt because he had spoken of her as a f">l. That hurt her feriin->. i not anger h. r much. She was not hi the habit of getting angry on hiTOwn ncc-tiiint. Hut \\l\n\ she saw thrv<- frightful scratches i lihiek bruise on the face of Broth- r All" rt. >h. . ..ul 1 n..t lu 1|> thinking that Smith had acted badly. And then to draw 1 her own dear, dear broth, r ! She < vcr forgive him, she said. If she had swn the much nion; serious damage which p.-.r, dear, dear Smith had d at the i.-nder hands of her dear, dear brother, I not Abe would have bad an equally strong indignation against Alb- r Westcott s face was in r md the Privileged i had lost his , 1 1 days. He -wear " by George" once, li ne t 1 -1 keys and the cheerful ten-cent coins lay in hi* A COLLISION. 159 pocket with no loving hand to rattle them. He did not indulge in double-shuffles. He sang no high-toned negro-minstrel songs. He smoked steadily and solemnly, and he drank steadily and solemnly. His two clerks were made to tremble. They forgot Smith s bruised nose and swollen eye in fearing his awful temper. All the swearing he wanted to do and dared not do at Albert, he did at his inoffensive subordinates. Smith Westcott had the dumps. Xo sentimental heart-break over Katy, though he did miss her company sadly in a town where there were no amusements, not even a concert-saloon hi which a refined young man could pass an evening. If he had been in New York now, he wouldn t have minded it. But in a place like Metropolisville, a stupid little frontier village of pious and New Englandish tendencies hi such a place, as Smith pathetically explained to a friend, one can t get along without a sweetheart, you know. A few days after Albert s row with Westcott he met George Gray, the Hoosier Poet, who had haunted Metropolisville, off and on, ever since he had first seen the " angel." He looked more wild and savage than usual. "Hello! my friend," said Charlton heartily. "I m glad to see you. What s the matter?" " Well, Mister Charlton, I m playin the gardeen angel." " Guardian angel ! How s that ? " "I m a sorter gardeen of your sister. Do you see that air pistol? Hey? Jist as sure as shoo tin, I ll kill that Wes cott ef he tries to marry that angel. I don t want to marry her. I aint fit, mister, that s a fack. Ef I was, I d put in fer her. But I aint. And ef she marries a gentleman, I haint got not a bit of right to object. But looky hyer ! Devils haint got no 160 THE MYSTERY OF METROPOLIS VI LLE. right to angels. Kf I kin finish u; jest about the time he git* his l.v.\ - onto a angel and 1* t th-- angel go free, why, I say it s wuth tin- doiif. II- ( h : an ashamed to say, did not at first think the :iiiih Westcott by violence a very great crime or cala mity, if it to save Katy. H.. \\.vr, as he walked and limy, the thought of munler made him shudder, and he made an earnest effort to persuade tin- Inhabitant to give up his criminal thoughts. But it is the misfortune of people like George Gray that the romance in their composition will pot into their lives. They have not mmtal di.sriplinc enough to make th<- distinction between tin- world .f and the world of action, in which inflexible conditions modify the i>un>ose. I in v t.. han- fT it I ll hanp, but I m goin to be her i .ii.ln t know that guardian angels carried pistols," said Albert, trying to laugh the half-crazed follow out of a conceit from which lie could not drive him by ar-uni- I. ..>ky hyer, Mr. Charlton." said (Iray, coloring"! thought you was a gentleman, and wouldn stoop to make no tech a re- mnrk. Kf you re goin to talk that-a-way, you and me don t tr.iv.l HO furd-r on Ofti f-ame trail. The road forks right here, " Oh ! I hope not. my de.- t r friend. I didn t mean any offense. Give me your hand, and God bless you for your noble Gray was touched as easily one way as the other, and he took Charlton * hand with emotion, At the .-ame time drawing his sleeve across his eyes nnd saying, " God bless yon, Mr. Charlton You can depend on me. I m the gardeen, and I don t kecr two A COLLISION. 161 cents fer life. It s a shadder, and a mush-room, as I writ some varses about it wonst. Let me say em over : Life s a shadder, Never mind it. A cloud kivers up the sun And whar is yer ehadder gone? Ye ll hev to be peart to find it! Life s a ladder What about it? You ve clini half-way t the top, Down comes yer ladder ke-whop ! You can t scrabble up without it! Nothin s no sadder, Kordin to my tell, Than packin yer life around. They s good rest under the ground Ef a feller kin on y die well." Charlton, full of ambition, having not yet tasted the bitter ness of disappointment, clinging to life as to all, was fairly puzzled to understand the morbid sadness of the Poet s spirit. "I m sony you feel that way, Gray," he said-. " But at any rate promise me you won t do anything desperate without talking to me." " I ll do that air, Mr. Charlton," and the two shook hands again. UJ J I Hi: KTBTXBT OF MKTi VILLK. ( ii \ITKI; \i\. STAND was Isabel Marlay that sought Albert again. i-rartiral intrll. rt, (,. -th, P d with HO visiODS, i \\ith n<> theories, embarraaaed by no broad philanthropies, was full of resource, an<l jually full, if not of ,i l<-ast of a specific benevolence >rgot mankin.l in its kindness to the i All>crt saw plainly enough that h- r present state of feeling. lie saw how she would in< vitably .-lip tlirnudi liis fingers. liut \\liat to do h<- kn-w not. So, like most UK n <>f cirnest and half- visionary spirit, he did nothing. 1 n.vid. -nr.- that In- wa**. In- belief that soinrtliimr mu-t ha, lp liiin out of tin- dilllrulty. Isa, bili\i-r tiiat she was, set herself to be her own Providence. Albert had been spending an evening with Miss v He spent nearly all his evenings with Miss Minorkey. He came -t<Nd a minute, as was his wont, looking at the j landscape. A rolling prairie is like a mountain, hi that i: pctually changes its appearance; it i> lc to all m -i.i.. j.ii- ric effects. It lay before him in the dim moonl: linit* ; a . < Hsion of undulation- running one into t; not to be counted nor measured. All accurate STANDING GUAED IX VAIN. 163 notions of topography were lost ; there was only landscape, dun, undeveloped, suggestive of infinitude. Standing thus in the hap piness of loving and being loved, the soft indefiniteness of the landscape and the incessant hum of the field-crickets and katy dids, sounds which came out of the everywhere, soothed Charl- ton like the song of a troubadour. " Mr. Charlton ! " Like one awaking from a dream, Albert saw Isa Marlay, her nand resting against one of the posts which supported the piazza- roof, looking even more perfect and picturesque than ever hi the haziness of the moonlight. Figure, dress, and voice were each full of grace and sweetness, and if the face was not exactly beautiful, il was at least charming and full of a subtle mag netism. (Magnetism! happy word, with which we cover the weakness of our thoughts, and make a show of comprehending and defining qualities which are neither comprehensible nor definable !) "Mr. Charlton, I want to speak to you about Katy." It took Albert a moment or two to collect his thoughts. TVhen he first perceived Miss Marlay, she seemed part of the landscape. There was about her form and motion an indefin able gracefulness that was like the charm of this hazy, undulant, moonlit prairie, and this blue sky seen through the lace of thin, milk-white clouds. It was not until she spoke Katy s name that he began to return to himself. Katy was the one jarring string in the harmony of his hopes. "About Katy? Certainly, Miss Marlay. Won t you sit down?" "No, I thank you." " Mr. Charlton, couldn t you get Katy away while her rela- 164 TUB MTSTKBT OF METKOPOLISVILLK. tions with Westcott are broken? You don t know how soon she ll slip back into her old love for hi: -"and AlUrt hesitated. To go, he must leave Miss Minorkey. And the practical difficulty presented itself to him at the same moment "If I could raise money enough to get away, I should go. But Mr Plausaby has all of my and all of Katy s." Isabel was on the point of complaining that Albert should lend t M- l l:iu>:il.\. but sin- disliked to take any liberty, even that of reproof. Kvcr since she knew that the family h.-i l thought of marrying her to Albert, she had been an Iceberg to him. II - should not dare to think that she had any care for him For tin same reason, another reply died unuttered on hr lips. She was about to offer to lend Mr. Charltm fifty dol lars of her own. But her quick pride k< pi h< T back, and, be sides, fifty dollars was not half-enough. She said she thought there must be some way of raising the i. Then, as if afraid she had been too cordial and had laid her motives open to suspicion in speaking thus to Charlton, she drew herself up and bade him good-night with stiff politeness, leaving him half- fascinated by her presence, half-vexed with something in her mann vexed with him- If for having any feeling one way or the other. What did he care for Isabel Marlay ? What if she were graceful and full of a subtle fascination of presence? Why should he value such things? What were they worth, after all? What if she were kind one minute and Isa Marlay was nothing to him! ng in his little unfinished chamber, he dismissed Intel- lectual Miss Minorkey from his mind with regret; he dismissed graceful 1 al Miss Marlay from his mind also, woo- STANDING GUABD IN VAIN. 165 dering that he had to dismiss her at all, and gave himself to devising ways and means of eloping with little Katy. She must be gotten away. It was evident that Plausaby would make no effort to raise money to help him and Katy to get away. Plausaby would prefer to detain Katy. Clearly, to pro ceed to pre-empt his claim, to persuade Plausaby to raise money enough for him to buy a land- warrant with, and then to raise two hundred dollars by mortgaging his land to Minor- key or any other lover of mortgages with waiver clauses in them, was the only course open. Plausaby, Esq., was ever prompt in dealing with those to whom he was indebted, so far as promises went. He would always give the most solemn assurance of his readiness to do anything one wished to have done ; and so, when Albert ex plained to him that it was necessary for him to pre-empt be cause he wished to go East, Plausaby told him to go on and establish his residence on his claim, and when he got ready to prove up and pre-empt, to come to him. To come and let him know. To let him know at once. He made the promise so frankly and so repetitiously, and with such evideDt conscious ness of his own ability and readiness to meet his debt to Al bert on demand, that the latter went away to his claim in quietness and hopefulness, relying on Miss Marlay to stand guard over his sister s love affairs in his absence. But standing guard was not of much avail. All of the cur rents that flowed about Katy s life were undermining her reso lution not to see Smith "Westcott. Katy, loving, sweet, tender hearted, was far from being a martyr, in stubbornness at best; her resolutions were not worth much against her sympathies. And now that Albert s scratched face was out of sight, and I UK MY8TEKY OF METKOPOLI8VILLE. was no viable object to keep alive her indignation, she frit li.-r heart full -f nit!i l"<>r p.i..r. dear Mr. W-M. <: H..W lonesome he must be with. >ut )> r She l\ measure his loncsomem- un II. r hoart, ever eager to love, could it had itself, and she longed for other evenings in \\hi- 11 hear Smith s rat tling talk, and in which In- would 1. 11 In r how happy she bad made him. How loncs* iust IK-! What if he M liiu^.-lf in the lake? Mr. ! ! . . >ull trll in th- most incidental way of something that had h . and tli his slidini:. slipi-in-. n -JM titi..i>. l move round from one indiflVn r until he managed at In. -mith \v. ime. By the way." h- would viy. -p. -or - ks heart- i. Abeolutcly heart-l.rok. -. I didn t know cared so much for I !n t think he had BO much heart. So much faithfulness. Rut h down cast. Never saw n fellow look Mm. And. l>y the way, Alh.rt did pnnMi him awfully 1 1 bokl Mack and blue. Wdl. he deserved it. He did M, I -upi-- mean to say anything against K M bu sinew old friends coax him to drink. Still. Al!-< rt was : severe. Too severe, in fact I m sorry for Wrstrott. I am, (L" After some such talk as this. Cousin Isa would generally "W y, dear*" she would say In a >o full of natural m !<>dy :. n< sympnt move Katy to the depllis .f her heart. STANDING GTJABD IN VAIX. 167 Katy would cry more than ever, and fling her arms about the neck of dear, dear, dear Cousin Isa, and lavish on her the ten derness of which her heart was full. " O Cousin Isa ! what must I do ? I m breaking poor Smith s heart. You don t know how much he loves me, and I m afraid something dreadful will happen to him, you know. What shall I do?" " I don t think he cares much, Katy. He s a bad man, I m afraid, and doesn t love you really. Don t think any more of him." For Isabel couldn t find it in her heart to say to Katy just what she thought of "Westcott. " Oh ! but you don t know him," Katy cries. " You don t know him. He says that he does naughty things sometimes, but then he s got such a tender heart. He made me promise I wouldn t throw him over, as he called it, for his faults. He said he d come to be good if I d only keep on loving him. And I said I would. And I haven t. Here s more than a week now that he hasn t been here, and I haven t been to the store. And he said he d go to sleep in the lake some night if I ever, ever proved false to him. And I lie awake nearly all night thinking how hard and cruel I ve been to him. And oh!" here Katy cried awhile " and oh! I think such awful things sometimes," she continued in a whisper broken by sobs. " You don t know, Cousin Isa. I think how cold, how dreadful cold the lake must be ! Oo-oo ! " And a shudder shook her frame. " If poor, dear Smith were to throw himself in ! What if he is there now?" And she looked up at Isa with staring eyes, "Do you know what an awful thing I heard about that lake once?" She stopped and shivered. "There are leeches in it nasty, black worms and one of them bit my JHE MY8TEKT op MKTR< :.LE. hnn-1 OIK. . And thi-y told me that if a peraon should be drowned in Diamond Lake the leeches would oo ! take all tli. ir Mood, ;i:;d th.ir faces would be white, and not hlack like other drowned people s faces. Oh ! I can t bear to think about poor Smith. If I ( -ould only write him a note, ami t- 11 him I I0fl him Just a littlr! Hut I told Alln-rt I wouldn t ee him i, > him. What shall I do ? ! live till morning. Tiny *.ay h<- looks broken-hearted. Hr ll throw himself into that cold lake to-night, maybe and the leeches the black worms oo! or else he ll kill himself with that ugly pistol." It was in rain that Isabel talked to hrr, in vain that she tri. ! to nriru-- ith a cataract of fit-ling. It was rowing gainst Niagara with a canoe-pad dl*-. It tv.i* n<>t wonderful, therefore, that before Albert got back, Isa Marlay f readin >tes from Westcott, note* that he had intrusted to one of his rl-Tk-. \\ho was sent to the post-office three or four times a day on various pretexts, until he should happen to find Katy in the office. Then he would hanl note*, Katy did n-.t n ply. She had promised Albert she wouldn t. But there was no harm in In -r reading them, just to keep Smith fr<>m drowning himself among those black leeches Sn Diamond Lake. Isabel Marlay, in h. -r .listressful sense of respon .1.1 yet find no means of breaking up this renewed communication. In sheer desperation, she appealed to Mrs. Plausaby. u< .; now," said that lady, sitting in state with the com placent eonicioomnsi of a new and more stunning head-dress than usual, "I ll tell you what it U, Isabel, I think Albert STANDING GUAED IX YAIX. 169 makes altogether too much fuss over Katy s affairs. He ll break the girl s heart. He s got notions. His father had. De liver me from notions! Just let Katy take her own course. Marryin s a thing everybody must attend to personally for themselves. You don t like to be meddled with, and neither does Albert. You won t either of you marry to suit me. I have had my plans about you and Albert. Xow, Isabel, Mr. TVestcott s a nice-looking man With all his faults he s a nice man. Cheerful and good-natured in his talk, and a good pro vider. He s a store-keeper, too. It s nice to have a store keeper for a husband. I want Plausaby to keep store, so that I can get dresses and such things without having to pay for them. I felt mad at Mr. "vVestcott about his taking out his pistol so at Albert. But if Albert had let Mr. Westcott alone, I m sure Smith wouldn t a-touched him. But your folks with notions are always troubling somebody else. For my part, I shan t meddle with Katy. Do you think this bow s nice? Too low down, isn t it ? " and Mrs. Plausaby went to the glass to adjust it. And so it happened that all Isa Marlay s watching could not keep TTestcott away. For the land-office regulations at that tune required that Albert should live on his claim thirty days. This gave him the right to buy it at a dollar and a quarter an acre, or to exchange a land-warrant for it. The land was already worth two or three times the government price. But that thirty days of absence, broken only by one or two visits to his home, was enougli to overturn all that Charlton had done in breaking up his sister s engagement with TVestcott. The latter knew how long Albert s absence must be, and arranged his approaches to correspond. He gave her 8 170 ilIK MYSTEKY OF METttOPOLlSVII.LB. days to her resentment, and to begin to him on :i ( "lint of y the \vould bear Aftrr he 1 r out: hulr lugubrious note, confessing that he had been intoxicated an 1 beggfc I ii- i) In- u.. dayg, dn :in HMD \VcstCOttV i need an an.-v. l<>,,k- \\lun sin- n . iv-d the note 1: <> him. On th - v TV < \t nii:/ ::ft he bad sent ti .M that In- \v- ; drink :r. : It BO vith what In- ha<l ln-ar-1 of it.- r- ption, that be ! a rr ny out of his ]: cards together in his room, anl aa be did his friend, got up in Uu m aasun all riglit with bis sweet got back. By George! If folks :<*>ted. l.rok- h:^ u .irt ;il<>ut a woman yet Not im: Gcpru i In- M-t hi> heart on a tbing, be geu< got it. II.- IH : Ai.d he bad set bi.s that little girt As for jumping into the lake, any man wt a fool to jump into i| M . drink on acrount of a woman. u. Large assortment constantly on band. Pays yer money and takes yer ch iee 1 Suicide ? George 1 l Hang hi* coat on a hickory limb, Mjrolfdid! Mjrulrd,*: STANDING GUABD IN VAIN. 171 Wondered what tune Charlton would sing when he found him self beat? Guess twould be: Can t stay in de wilderness, In a few days, in a few days, Can t stay in de wilderness, A few days ago. Goin to pre-empt my claim, too. I ve got a month s leave, and I ll follow him and marry that girl before he gets far. Bruddern and sistern, sing de ole six hundredth toon. Ahem ! I wish I was a married man, A married man I d be ! An ketch the grub fer both of us A-fishin in the sea. Big fish, Little fish, It s all the same to me ! I got a organ stop in my throat. Can t sing below my breath to save my life. He ! he ! After three days had elapsed, Westcott sent a still more melancholy note to Katy. It made her weep from the first line to the last It was full of heartbreak, and Katy was too unobserving to notice how round and steady and commercial the penmanship was, and how large and fine were the flourishes. "Westcott himself considered it his masterpiece. He punched his crony with his elbow as he deposited it in the office, and assured him that it was the techin est note ever written. It would come the sympathies over her. There was nothing like the sympathies to fetch a woman to terms. He knew. Had lots of experience. By George ! You could turn a woman round yer finger if you could only keep on the tender side. Tears was what done it. Love wouldn keep sweet without it was pickled in brine. He ! he ! he ! By George ! 172 THE MYSTERY OP METROPOLIS VILLE. CHAPTER XX SAWNEY AND WE8TCOTT. AVID SAWNEY was ofellghted with the newt lhat Albert t harlton ami Bmith Westcott bad quarreled. " Western s run of luck in that quarter s broke. When a feller bos a run of luck right along, and they comes a break, ts all tip ^ ith him. Hroke .-an t be s It s David Sav m now Poor win<l that blows no wbar. Til bet a right smart pile I ll pack tin- little gal off y- Hut if an in-rru table Providence had on make any Smith Wcstcotts, Dave Sawney wouldn t have stood the ghost of a chance with Katy Hia Hiiprcme self-complacency gio no occasion to pity him. HIT love was close of kin to her tender-heartedness, and all ; ity was wasted on Dave. H- couldn t have been more entir y than he was tf he had owned th > universe in fee si: However, Dave was resolved to try his luck, and so, soon aft* T Albert s depart lacked up his vast boots and .- hi* hair, and went to Plausaby s. He had the good luck to find Katy alone. 11 si. li v,ly! Howdy git along? find you In ? Haw ! haw ! Fm one of the tacktost feDert ere? SAWNEY AND TVESTCOTT. 173 was born. Always wuz lucky. Found a fip in a crack in the hearth fore I was three year old. Ts a fack. Found a two- and-a-half gole piece wunst. Golly, didn t I feel some ! Haw ! haw! haw! The way oft wuz this." But we must not repeat the story in all its meanderings, lest readers should grow as tired of it as Katy did ; for Dave crossed one leg over the other, locked his hands round his knee, and told it with many a com placent haw ! haw ! haw ! When he laughed, it was not from a sense of the ludicrous: his guffaw was a pure eruption of delighted self-conceit. "I thought as how as I d like to explain to you somethin that might a hurt yer feelin s, Miss Charlton. Didn t you feel a little teched at sompin ?" " No, Mr. Sawney, you never hurt my feelings. " "Well, gals is slow to own up that they re hurt, you know. But I m shore you couldn t help bein , and I m ever so sorry. Them Injin goin -ons of mine wuz enough to a broke your heart" "What do you mean?" "Why, my sellin out to Perritaut for ten thousand dollars, only I didn t. Haw ! haw ! " and Dave threw his head back to laugh. " You had a right to feel sorter bad to think I would consent to marry a Injin. But tain t every feller as ll git ten thousand offered in five annooal payments ; an I wanted you to understand twan t the Injin, twas the cash as reached me. When it comes to gals, you re the posy fer me." . Katy grew red, but didn t know what to say or do. " I heerd tell that that feller Westcott d got his walkin papers. Sarved him right, dancin roun like a rang-a-tang, and jos lin his keys and ten-cent pieces in his pocket, and sayin imperdent lit THE MYSTERY OF METROPOLIS VI LLK. things. But I could V beat him at talk the t>cs day he erer aeed ef he d on y V gi n me tim- t<> think. I kin jaw back splemli ! ef yu gin mo time. Haw! haw! hau < ain t far don t never gin a feller time to git hi* thoughts gathered vou know. !! jumps around like the Frenchman ! flea. Put ycr finger on him an he ain t th:ir. and n\<r \\\i/. Haw I haw! haw: Hut jest Irt him stay still wunst tell I get a good rest on him like, and I ll IK? dog-onM cf I don t knock the nine sights oflVn hfm the. puniest day he CTcr aeed! Haw! haw! haw! V.-ur In i him rough, he ? Barred him right I say, if a man is on respectful to a woman, her brother had orter thrash him; and your His eye s blackcr n my boot noae ( Haw ! ha" a-mournin f. r !::- bruin II -m Law! haw! And he feeU bad bekatc you cut him, too. Jem. -nti\, . f h- d<> t r look like a ef kill his54-lf frr thn-e l.iU.* Katy was so affected ly this fmrful picture of poor, dear idition, that she got up ami hurri.-d . room \\ . . | V:rth *s th .i zed Dave, "Bash ful little rnvt.-r. 1 \ \\irr | : . . \\ .;:.!, ./ UBM U da Ban ha* I fosj | Eht^i is cur us now, to bo .-i. he a gitUn* on, I reckon. Gin her tim* to comr round, I NVitii - , renewe.: me to Uin- iiny l.icent Dave whiled away his days, and all t<> is he expraseed it Meam\liil , th.- n.tr of Westoott were fa rt had done to aeparut him from puny little pi: SATTOEY AND WESTCOTT. 177 Of course, when the right time came, he happened to meet Katy on the street, and to take off his hat and make a melancholy bow, the high-tragedy air of which confirmed Katy s suspicions that he meant to commit suicide at the first opportunity. Then he chanced to stop at the gate, and ask, in a tone sad enough to have been learned from the gatherers of cold vic tuals, if he might come in. In three days more, he was fully restored to favor and to his wonted cheerfulness. He danced, he sang, he chirruped, he rattled his keys, he was the Privileged Infant once more. He urged Katy to marry him at once, but her heart was now rent by pity for Albert and by her eager anxiety lest he should do something desperate when he heard of her reconciliation. She trembled every day at thought of what might happen when he should return. " Goin to pre-empt hi a few days, Katy. Whisky Jim come plaguey near to gittin that claim. He got Shamberson on his side, and if Shamberson s brother-in-law hadn t been removed from the Land Office before it was tried, he d a got it. I m going to pre-empt and build the cutest little bird s nest for you. If I was young and in my prime, Td lead a different life, I d save my money, and buy me a farm, Take Dinah for my wife. Oh! carry me back Psha ! Dat dah ain t de toon, bruddern. Ahem ! When you and I get married, love, How jolly it will be! We ll keep house in a store-box, then, Just two feet wide by three! Store -box 1 Band-box 1 All the same to me! 8* mi: MYSTI:I:T OF M El i ILLB. Au-i when we want oar breakfaet, tort, .1 nibble btved and ehee All the MUDO to met Dog-o ft Whitr (.read s good as brown bread. Jest M good n> la good deal It s all th- same t 1 more BO besides, and something to cany. IT- all the Ba tain t. Ahem: Jane and Sukcj and July Ann Too brown, too slim, too toot! needn t mile on thla *era man, Olt oat! git oat! git oat! :hc maiden fair i bonny brown hair- All the rest git oal!" "Get out yourself!" : ,t iiumi -:. <>nt f r you," and he bore down on Weetcott ii- I beg pan! n. I m in TV to sec your sister with her consent and your iM<>thrr*s, and " .-id I trll you," -.i.Mutr.i my sister is a littlr i -irl, and my mother doesn t understand su< h T-UJ.;.!.^ u I am my sister s IT hen, I ll kill you if I . 44 Albert, don t be so quarrelsome," > Ilausaby, < ing hi at the in.stan; Mr. Wcsicolt sa genteel man, and good <> Katy, ami it : I say. r..nfi.und you ..r I ll break yoar empty head," thund. red ( h irlton, whose temper was now. past all SAWNEY AXD WESTCOTT. 179 softening. " Put your hand on that pistol, if you dare," and with that he strode at the Privileged Infant with clenched fist, and the Privileged Infant prudently backed out the door into the yard, and then, as Albert kept up his fierce advance, the Privileged Infant backed out of the gate into the street. He was not a little mortified to see the grinning face of Dave Sawney in the crowd about the gate, and to save appearances, he called back at Albert, who was returning toward the house, that he would settle this affair with him yet. But he did not know how thoroughly Charlton s blood was up. " Settle it ? " said Albert yelled Albert, I should say turn ing back on him with more fury than ever. " Settle it, will you? I ll settle it right here and now, you cowardly villain ! Let s have it through, now," and he walked swiftly at Westcott, who walked away; but finding that the infuriated Albert was com ing after him, the Privileged Infant hurried on until his retreat became a run, Westcott running down street, Charlton hotly pursuing him, the spectators running pell-mell behind, laughing, cheering, and jeering. " Don t come back again if you don t want to get killed," the angry Charlton called, as he turned at last and went toward home. " Now, Katy," he said, with more energy than tenderness, as he entered the house, " if you are determined to mam- that confounded rascal, I shall leave at once. You must decide now. If you will go East with me next week, well and good. If you won t give up Smith Westcott, then I shall leave you now forever." Katy couldn t bear to be the cause of any disaster to any body ; and just at this moment Smith was out of sight, and Albert, white and trembling with the reaction of his passion, THE MY8TKKY OP MSTBOPOLIBVILLK. stood before l\~ - It, somehow, that she bad brought all this trouble on Albert, and in h< r pity for him, and remorse for her own coarse, she wept and clung to her brother, and begged him not to leave her. And Albert said: "There, don any more. It s all ri-ht now. I didn t mean to hurt your feel ings. There, there! Itat La nothing a man can not abide better than a woman in tears. BOWLNG. 181 CHAPTER XXI. ROWING. get away with Katy immediately. These were the terms of the problem now before Albert His plan was to take her to visit friends at the East, and to keep her there until Westcott should pass out of her mind, or until she should be forgotten by the Privileged Infant. This was not Westcott s plan of the cam paign at all. He was as much bent on securing Katy as he could have been had he been the most constant, devoted, and disinterested lover. He would have gone through fire and flood. The vindictive love of opposition and lust for triumph is one of the most powerful of motives. Men will brave more from an empty desire to have their own way, than they could be persuaded to face by the most substantial motives. Smith Westcott was not a man to die for a sentiment, but for the time he had the semblance of a most devoted lover. He bent everything to the re-conquest of Katy Charlton. His pride served him instead of any higher passion, and he plotted by night and managed by day to get his affairs into a position in which he could leave. He meant to follow Albert and Katy, and somewhere and somehow, by working on Katy s sympathies, to carry off the " stakes," as he expressed it. He almost ceased 182 -in!-, in -i I:KV "j- amo ..I.K. trifling , . in 1 i-\m hi- ironies came t. 1 h- was really in 1"-. : . saw signs of Intense and genuine feeling, and ok its nature Mrs. F sympathy for him- tan really loved Kate, and she believed that Kate bad a right t<> mnnry anybody she pleased. She <li.l nt what warrant there was in Scrinrhrrr for cising any uut: Mrs. Plausaby onjrht : brouglit up her turn to have more resp - hority.and to holil S< ri|> In ml views. If he wi -w! What with him in that r.-i-..- ncv.r fully appeared; : not l.rini; h< r :nph-tc the sentence. She only said putjini< -ti\ -i\- : - If ho were my son sin \\.,iiM break off and give her head two or three awful and I, "SVhat w.ui li a young !iad been her son. it wmihl IM- hanl t> t 11. Some thing Ml. 110 tli>Ul>t. mcient to M h m ci/r hote and passionate d.-ti-nni: Hut to go, he must have money ; to get i; h.- inu>t (.ll.<t it from IMuii.-aby. <>r at leatt get .irrant with which he c<>uM prc t-m\ gage lii- l.i:. : f<>r :, :>.iy lib) traveling expenses. 1 was BO mncli ( i>ior to ! n<l money to Plausnby, Ksq., than it was 1 ! Ilsq., was always Just going to ha^ i:l., had \cuses for past fiiilurt . :.nd so many assurances of paymi - in the im- rlton WM-; k- pi lioplni? and waiting in !. i! in the matt- r of \N . -t. ,,tt m She was again gri over Smith s j^xwiblf niitridr. was again loni-i lie cheerful BOWING. 183 rattle of flattery and nonsense which rendered the Privileged Infant so diverting even to those who hated him, much more to her who loved him. Albert s position was the more embarrassing that he was obliged to spend a part of his time on his claim to maintain a residence. One night, after having suffered a disappointment for the fifth time in the matter of Plausaby and money, he was walking down the road to cool his anger in the night air, when he met the Inhabitant of the Lone Cabin, again. " Well, Gray," he said, u how are you ? Have you written any fresh verses lately?" "Yarses? See here, Mr. Charlton, do you low this ere J s a time fer varses?" "Why not?" " To be shore ! Why not ? I should kinder think yer own heart should orter tell you. You don know what I m made of. You think I a n t good fer nothin but varses. Now, Mr. Charlton, I m not one of them air fellers as lets theirselves all off in varses that don mean nothin . What my pomes savs, that my heart feels. And that my hands does. No, sir, my po try s like the corn crap hi August. It s laid by. I ha n t writ nary line sence I seed you afore. The fingers that holds a pen kin pull a trigger." "What do you mean, Gray?" " This ere," and he took out a pistol. " I wuz a poet ; now I m a gardeen angel. I tole you I wouldn do nothin desperate tell I talked weth you. That s the reason I didn shoot him t other night. When you run him off, I draw d on him, and he d a been a gone sucker eft hadn been fer yore makin me promise t other day to hold on tell I d talked weth you. Now, 184 NIK MYSTERY OP MOTROJ i H.I^MLI.K. I ve talked wcth you, and I don t make no furder promises. Soon aa he gila to makin headway agin, 111 drop him." It was in rain that Charlton argued with him Gray Mid life wurn t no count no how ; he had sot out to be a Gardeen Angel, :i!i.l h- "u/. airoin through. The*. blam d good k<- r of tin -ir hiU>. but down on the "Wawbosh, where he come from, th< v didn t v.illcy life a copper in a thing of this ere sort Ef Smith West>tt k- ;, a shovin ahead on his present trail. IP all to wunst, wetli a jolt Aft T thK th* dread of a tragedy of some sort did not de crease Albert s eagerness to be away. He began* to talk vi< to Plausaby, and that poor gentleman, harassed now by a suit brought I ritaut to set aside * y-seat >n, and by a prosecution instituted against him for con- , an.l by n -uit on the part of the fat gcnUemn damages on account of fniu.l in the matter of the two watery lots in block t\\ and by much trouble ari-ini: from his illi.it sjM-cuhition in claim- -ihU jxxjr Squire Plausaby, hi the of this an iimuLiti ,1 his temper sweet, bore nil of Albert * severe remarks with serenity, and made fair pronii-.-s with an unruffled countenance. Smith Westoott had defeated Whisky .lim in his contest for the claim, because the -honest receiver left the case to be decided accord ing to the law and the regulations of the General Land Office, helawgav ui to Westrott. The Privileged Infant, oraemion of Jim s shanty, made a feint of : trunk, his bed, his whisky, and all "iln-r necessaries to the shanty. As hb thirty .lava had expired, he was getting ready to pre-empt ; the value of the claim would ROWING. 185 put him in funds, and he proposed, now that his blood was up, to give up his situation, if he should find it necessary, and "play out his purty little game" with Albert Charlton. It was shrewdly suspected, indeed, that if he should leave the Terri tory, he would not return. He knew nothing of the pistol which the Gardeen Angel kept under his wing for him, but Whisky Jim had threatened that he shouldn t enjoy his claim long. Jim had remarked to several people, in his lofty way, that Minnesoty wuz a healthy place fer folks weth consumption, but a dreffle sickly one fer folks what jumped other folks s claims when they wuz down of typus. And Jim grew more and more threatening as the time of "Westcott s pre-emption drew near. "While throwing the mail -bag off one day at the Metropolisville post-office he told Albert that he jest wished he knowed which mail Westcott s land- warrant would come in. He wouldn t steal it, but plague ef he wouldn t heave it off into the Big Gun River, accidentally a purpose, ef he had to go to penitensh ry fer it. But after all his weary and impatient waiting on and badger ing of Plausaby, Albert got his land-warrant, and hurried off to the land-office, made his pre-emption, gave Mr. Minorkey a mortgage with a waiver in it, borrowed two hundred dollars at three per cent a month and five after maturity, interest to be settled every six months. Then, though it was Friday evening, he would have packed everything and hurried away the next morning ; but his mother interposed her authority. Katy couldn t be got ready. What was the use of going to Red Owl to stay over Sunday ? There was no boat down Sunday, and they could just as well wait till Monday, and take the Tuesday boat, and so Albert reluctantly consented to wait. 1 S G THE MYSTERY OF METROPOLIS VILLK. H ; Katy be out of his sight He WAS : that in these lut hours of her nlay in (>> tory, Smith Wcstcor unity D \\ith li.-r lie ]>lay.l the tvranniral l.rother tO perfection. He walked about tin- house in a fighting mood all tin- time, \\ith brows drawn down and fist rcn. II. most have one more boat-ride with Hoi- n Minorkey, and k Katy with him, because he dared not leave !. k them both in tin- unjui: !i lr- longed to nobody in particular, and he rowed away across the looking at the grassy green shores on the one side, : the basflwood trees that shadowed th< <>th< r . ha<l never had a happier Imur. Out in t. . was safe from tin- im-ur.-ioii- <-f tlu- tempt, r I; Lin i.f his vigilanc< water - D* H happy, h<- fflt - s irr m>w that forget Westcott, and be at peace again as h pi when he had built ; I fr tin- sunny lii: , had Helen, and she seemed doubly dear t<> l.im on the eve < : When he was alone \\i- always a sense of disap- jwiiir- :\g by passionate speeches to pression more cordial than it was possible f<>r s cool i " I lit now that Katy s presence was a restraint uji-n him, this .11 an<l of hirs did not make Itself felt, and he was satisfied i, and with Katy. And so talked and The reaction from his prertoos st pot Albert into a sort of glee; he BOWING. 187 the Privileged Infant himself. He amused himself by throw ing spray on Katy with his oars, and he even ventured to sprin kle the dignified Miss Minorkey a little, and she unbent enough to make a cup of her white palm and to dip it into the clear water and dash a good, solid handful of it into the face of her lover. She had never in her life acted in so undignified a manner, and Charlton was thoroughly delighted to have her throw cold water upon him in this fashion. After this, he rowed down to the outlet, and showed them where the beavers had built a dam, and prolonged his happy rowing and talking till the full moon came up out of the prairie and made a golden pathway on the ripples. Albert s mind dwelt on this boat-ride in the lonely year that followed. It seemed to him strange that he could have had so much happiness on the brink of so much misery. He felt as that pleasure party did, who, after hours of happy sport, found that they had been merry-making in the very current of the great cataract. There are those who believe that every great catastrophe throws its shadow before it, but Charlton was never more hopeful than when he lifted his dripping oars from the water at half-past nine o clock, and said : " What a grand ride we ve had ! Let s row together again to-morrow evening. It is the last chance for a long tune." Tin; MYMI.KY Of lOnOFOLUn II.I.K. XXII. N the Saturday morning after this Fridmy- ing boat-ride, C harlton was vigilant as ever, and yet Saturday was not a dangerous day. It was the busy day a; : <>rium, and he bad not much .: fnun Wr-trott. whose good qualit which h- rigidly adhered. "Business before plcasui r.-d the utmost self-denial of his life. He was fond of repeating his nn>tt<>. uiUi no little exultation in th>- triumph he had achieved over his pleaiore- loving disposition. To this fuMity to business he owed hit on as "Agci. ranch store of Jackson, Jones A C o If lu- could h:m- ,. money as fast as he made it, he might have been a part:, the firm. I : the success he had attained, and, to admiring neophytes who gazed in admiration on his mcnt of rather reckless living and success in gaining the confidence of hin employers, he explained the mar ring his favorite adage in his own peculiar style: "Business By George t That s the doctrine ! A merchant don t care how fast you go to the devil < hours, if you keep his business straight Business before pleas ure ! That s i He! he! ByGeorge!" SAILING. 189 When evening came, and Charlton felt that he had but one more day of standing guard, his hopes rose, he talked to Isabel Marlay with something of exultation. And he thought it due to Miss Marlay to ask her to make one of the boat ing-party. They went to the hotel, where Miss Minorkey joined them. Albert found it much more convenient walking with three ladies than with two. Isa and Katy walked on arm- in-arm, and left Albert to his ttte-d-Utc with Helen. And as Sunday evening would be the very last on which he should see her before leaving for the East, he found it necessary to walk slowly and say much. For lovers who see each other a great deal, have more to say the more they are together. At the lake a disappointment met them. The old pine boat was in use. It was the evening of the launching of the new sail-boat, " The Lady of the Lake," and there was a party of people on the shore. Two young men, in a spirit of burlesque and opposition, had seized on the old boat anci had chalked upon her bow, u The Pirate s Bride." With this they were rowing up and down the lake, and exciting much merriment in the crowd on the shore. Ben Towle, who was one of the principal stockholders in "The Lady of the Lake," and who had been suspected of a tender regard for Isabel Marlay, promptly offered Albert and his party seats in the boat on her first trip. There were just four vacancies, he said. The three ladies had stepped aboard, and Albert was following, when the ex-sailor who held the rudder touched his arm and said, "I don t think it s safe, Mr. Charlton, fer nobody else to git in. She s got leven now, and ef the wind freshens, twelve would be dangerous." "Oh! I ll stay out!" said Albert, retreating. 100 11112 MT8TEBY OP MBTKO POLLS VI LLK. ifa my place," Mid To- com* i sit Mill, and Ml stand on the shore and chcc Just as the boat waa about to leave her moorings, S: Weetcott came up and insisted on getting in. , Mr. Wes cott safe," said the helms man. " I jest begged 31 > go. She s got a fllll loud 1. * oh : I don t weigh anything. Lightcr n a fcatlirr. Only rxn infant. And Ix-idr*, I m golflg anyhow, by George!" and with that h.- :-t:ut.d to get aboard. Cut AlU-rt h:id patcd him by getting in at the other end of the boat and tak ing the only vacant seat. Tin- Privileged Infant scowled fi iiurlton affected not to sec him, and began talking in a loud tone t.> Urn Towlc about the rigging. The line was ti off and the boat pushed out, the wind anight the new white sail, and the "Lady of the Lake" started along in the shal lows, gradually swinging round toward the open water. Soon :ift-r In r k 1 had ceased to grind upon the gravel, Albert jumped out, and, standing over boot-top in water, wav hat and \\i-!,-d thorn a pleasant voyage, and all the ladies in the boat waved th. ir handkerchiefs at him, appreciating hit efforts to keep the boat from being overloaded, but not think ing of the stronger motive Charlton had for keeping Smith Weatcott ashore. T ! not know how i; Albert felt as he sat down on the green grass and poured the water from his boots. There was a fine breeze, the boat sailed admirably, the ; .: . .: . . i . ..: , : : . . ..- SAILING. 191 merry music that reached the shore. The merry music was irritating discord to the ears of Westcott, it made him swear bitterly at Charlton. I am afraid that it made Charlton happy to think of Westcott swearing at him. There is great comfort in being the object of an enemy s curses sometimes when the enemy is down, and you are above and master. I think the consciousness that Westcott was swearing at him made even the fine sunset seem more glorious to Charlton. The red clouds were waving banners of victory. But in ten minutes the situation had changed. Albert saw Westcott walking across the beaver-dam at the lower end of the lake, and heard "him hallooing to the young men who were rowing the "Pirate s Bride" up and down and around the " Lady of the Lake," for the ugly old boat was swiftest. The Pirate s Bride landed and took Westcott aboard, and all of Albert s rejoicing was turned to cursing, for there, right before his eyes, the Pirate s Bride ran her brown hull up alongside the white and graceful Lady of the Lake, and Smith Westcott stepped from the one to the other. The beauty of the sunset was put out. The new boat sailed up and down the little lake more swiftly and gracefully than ever as the breeze increased, but Albert hated it. By some change or other hi seats Westcott at last got along side Katy. Albert distinctly saw the change made, and his anger was mingled with despair. For Isabel and Helen were in the other end of the boat, and there were none to help. And so on, on, in the gray dusk of the evening, the boat kept sailing from one end of the lake to the other, and as it passed now and then near him, he could see that Smith was hi con versation with little Katy. 192 TIIK MYSTERY OF METROPOLIS VI LLB. "Yon needn t worry, Mr. Charlt-m. ril iix hi:n ." It Guardian Ang< 1. Ill i\\ him, shore as shoot: ra he stood looking at Albert For the first ruck Albert that George Gray was a little insane. was a strange look in his eyes. If he should kill Westcott, the law would not Nobody would be accounta Katy would be saved. But in a i !>cttr feeling was uppermost. The horriblcnoss of murder came distinctly before him. He that he should hav the thought of suffering it. r<ni see, Mr. charlton," said Gray, with eyes baring that strange mysterious look that only belongs to the eyes of people who are at least on the borders of insanity, "you sec this ere * got five bar ln, all loath no* 1. I tuck <>ut the ole loads las night and fill- 1 h< r up \\ :h powder what s shore to go leave that air matter to me, will you Gray hand. -d it to him, and Charlton examined it a minute. and thi-n. with n sudden n- got to his feet, ran for ward a few paces, and hurled the pistol with all his i. into the lake. D t 1. 1 us commit m<:r ^iid. tuniin- round and meet xcited eyes of th< hulf insane jv M Wi-11, maybe you re right, but I ll be hanged ef I think trdly far and squar and gentlemanly to wet a feller s cat- ri-1 - kwig 1 Allxrt, trembling. "If I ha would hare been a murderer before morning." "Maybe ao, but they nin t *e to be done. Ef yoa SAILING. 193 don t let me kill the devil, why, then the devil will pack your sister off, and that s the eend ou t." The moon shone out, and still the boat went sailing up and down the lake, and still the party in the boat laughed and talked and sang merry songs, and still Charlton walked up and down the shore, though almost all the rest of the spectators had gone, and the Poet sat down hi helpless dejection. And still Smith Westcott sat and talked to Katy. What he said need not be told: how, while all the rest laughed and sang, the Privileged Infant was serious; and how he appealed to Katy s sympathies by threatening to jump off into the lake ; and how he told her that they must be married, and have it all over at once. Then, when it was all over, Albert wouldn t feel bad about it any more. Brothers never did. When he and Albert should get to be brothers- in-law, they d get on splendidly. By George ! Some such talk as this he had as they sailed up and down the lake. Just what it was will never be known, whether he planned an elopement that very night, or on Sunday night, or on the night which they must pass in Red Owl Landing, nobody knows. Isabel Marlay, who saw all, was sure that Smith had carried all his points. He had con vinced the sweet and trusting Katy that an immediate marriage would be best for Brother Albert as well as for themselves. And as the boat sailed on, tacking to and fro, even the pilot got over his anxiety at the overloading which had taken place when Westcott got in. The old tar said to Towle that she carried herself beautifully. Five minutes after he made the remark, while Westcott was talking to Katy, and playfully holding his fingers in the water as he leaned over the gunwale that almost dipped, there came i 1 Jl 111K MY8TXRY OP METB> I.E. a flaw in the wind, and tin- littl- l.<.:it, h:i\in_; t-.o much can- vas and too in :ig, careened . and capsized. There waa a loin.-. discordant shriek a of a dozen voices on different : ring cries of t.-rror and despair. Tin re was the confusion of one person falling orcr anoiln was UP- \\ill grasping f..r the seising of each other s garments and arms, t ned and unde- struggle of the first desperate minute after a boat has capsized, the scream that dies to a gurgle in the water and then breaks out afresh, louder and sharper than ml then is into a gurgle again. 1 < all these . there was an alarm on the shore, a rash of people, and tin -n then- mini- stillness, and those minutes of desperate wait ing, in whii-h th< .It-owning \ ing to rigging and boat, un<l test the problem of human endurance. It is a race be- tween the endurance of frL nil..!. drowning people, and the stupid rescnce of mind of tho-r 0:1 shore. All - of tin- boat got hold of something, and for :i <>utofw:r ir eyes were so near to tin- w:ii< r, th:it nt ( \< n the most in If pnmirssnd of them could sec whu t - were being made by people on shore to lu lp them. I lung a minute, no one saying any thing, when Jane Downing, who held to the rigging at some distance from the boat, par. go, and slowly sank out of sight, saying never a word as she went down, but looking with beseeching eye* *t, who turned away as ibe water closed ov. nacioosly than md wondered ... -!p ever would reach them. And this was only at the dose of the first minute. There were twenty-nine other minutes I ;> came. SINKING. 1 95 CHAPTER XXIII. SINKING. fSABEL MARLAY S first care had been to see that little Katy had a good hold. Helen Mi- norkey was quite as self-possessed, but her chief care was to get into a secure position herself. Nothing brings out character more distinctly than an emer gency such as this. Miss Minorkey was resolute and bent on self-preservation from the first moment. Miss Marlay was res olute, but full of sympathy for the rest. With characteristic practical sense, she did what she could to make herself and those within her reach secure, and then with characteristic faith she composed her mind to death if it should come, and even ventured with timid courage to exhort Katy and Miss Minorkey to put their trust hi Christ, who could forgive their sins, and care for them living or dy rg. Even the most skep tical of us respect a settled belief in a time of trial. , There was much broken praying from others, simply the cry of ter ror-stricken spirits. In all ages men have cried in their extrem ity to the Unseen Power, and the drowning passengers hi Dia mond Lake uttered the same old cry. Westcott himself, in his first terror, prayed a little and swore a little by turns. The result of self-possession in the case of Isa Marlay and Helen Minorkey was the same. They did not waste their strength. When people drown, it is nearly always from a TUB MYSTERY OF XETIlo. IJL lack of econou Here was poor little Katj so tort- fled at thought* of drowning, and of the cold slimy bed at the bottom of the lake, and more than all at thought* of tl. black lecchee that abounded at the bottom, that she was draw- ing herself up head andnhou; f tin \vatT nil the time, mul praying brokenly to God aii ht lp them. Isa tried to soothe her, but she shuddered, and amid that the lake was so cold, and she knew she should drown, and Cousin Isa, and Smith, and all <>f th- m. Two or three times, In sheer desperation, lit- t -. !>ut <-a< h time ISA Marlay saved her and gave her a better hold, and cheered h< r with assurances that all would be i\- Whll < :.< party <>M the shore were building a raft v.::h \\lii h to reach the drowning people, Al rlton and George Gray ran to find tin- old t--at. Rut the young men wh<> iiad rowed in it, wishing to keep it f- r their own me, haa concealed it in -tuary on the side of the lake op posite to the village, so tha- ih< M\ rescuers were obliged to run half the circumference of the lake before they found it And tvni \\II.-M li. y narh d it, there were no oars to be found, the party rowing last having carefully hidden them in the deep grass of the slough by th< outlet. George Gray s frouacrsman*s instinct supplied the deficiency with sticks bro- tnc Hut with the time consumed in find- tng t^e boat, an ! th time lost in searching for the oars, and the slowness of the progress made in rowing with these clumsy poles, and the distance of ih< boat s starting point from the scene of thr di- i-t. :. th. raft had greatly the advantage of them, though Charlton and Gray used their awkward peddles with the energy of dcsperati* -.vrcrked people Lad SINKING. 197 to their frail supports nearly a quarter of an hour, listening to the cries and shouts of their friends ashore, unable to guess what measures were being taken for their relief, and filled with a distrustful sense of having been abandoned by God and man. It just then occurred to Westcott, who had recovered from his first fright, and who for some time had neither prayed to God nor cursed his luck, that he might save himself by swimming. In his boyish days, before he had weakened his texture by self-indulgence and shattered his nerves by debauch ery, he had been famous for his skill and endurance in the water, and it now occurred to him that he might swim ashore and save Katy Charlton at the same time. It is easy enough for us to see the interested motives he had in proposing to save little Katy. He would wipe out the censure sure to fall on him for overloading the boat, he would put Katy and her friends under lasting obligations to him, he would win his game. It is always easy to see the selfish motive. But let us do him justice, and say that these were not the only considerations. Just as the motives of no man are good without some admix ture of evil, so ^ are the motives of no man entirely bad. I do not think that Westcott, in taking charge of Katy, was wholly generous, yet there was a generous, and after a fashion, maybe, a loving feeling for the girl hi the proposal. That good motives were uppermost, I will not say. They were somewhere in the man, and that is enough to temper our feeling toward him. Isa Marlay was very unwilling to have Katy go. But the poor little thing was disheartened where she was the shore did not seem very far away, looking along the water horizon tally the cries of the people on the bank seemed near she was sure she could not hold on much longer she was so II MTSTKBY OF METR : I.E. anxionn to get oat lake she was so afmi<! to die she dreaded the black leeches at the bottom she loved and trusted Smith as such women as she always love and trust and so she was gin i : t his offer. It was so good of Smith t<. Wr lirr so and to save her. And so she took hold of his coat-collar as he bade her, and Westcott started to swim toward the nearest shop* II had swam his two miles once, uh.u )! was a boy, testing his endurance in the waters of the North 1 hhmo-. ; I^ake was not a mile wide, seemed no reason t<> doubt th:r 1 .\vim to th i an half a mile :md \\liirh seemed indeed much nearer as he looked over the surface of the water. Bat WestcoU had not taken all the element- into the account He had on his Hothin:. . and he had gone far, his boots aeemed to fetter him, his sat*. sleeves dragged through the water like leaden weights. Hfc limbs, too, had grown numb from remaining so long in th<> water, and his physical powers had been severely taxed of late yean by his dissipati ! to thi, that he was encum bered by Katy, that his fright now red 1 that h<- made the mistake so oft. n m:i<lr _. the best of swimmers under i -lit, of wasting p uning too high, and you have the causes of rapid exhauM seems so far away," murmured Katy. "Why me and save us?" and she held on to Smith with a grasp yet more violent, and he seemed more and more embarrassed by her hold t go my arm, or we ll Ix.th drown." he cried savagely, and the poor litilr (him; took her left hand off his arm. hut h-ld nil the more firmly to his collar; bat her heart sank hi hopeless- SINKING. 199 ness. She had never heard him speak in that savage tone before.. She only called out feebly, "Brother Albert!" and the cry, which revealed to Westcott that she put no more trust in him, but turned now to the strong heart of her brother, angered him, and helped him to take the resolution he was already meditating. For his strength was fast failing; he looked back and could see the raft nearing the capsized boat, but he felt that he had not strength enough left to return ; he began to sink, and Katy, frightened out of all self-control as they went under the water, clutched him desperately with both hands. With one violent effort Smith Westcott tore her little hands from him, and threw her off. He could not save her, anyhow. He must do that, or drown. He was no hero or martyr to drown with her. That is all. It cost him a pang to do it, I doubt not. Katy came up once, and looked at him. It was not terror at thought of death, so much as it was heart-break at being thus cast off, that looked at him out of her despairing eyes. Then she clasped her hands, and cried aloud, in broken voice: " Brother Albert ! " And then with a broken cry she sank. Oh! Katy! Katy! It were better to sink. I can hardly shed a tear for thee, as I see thee sink to thy cold bed at the lake-bottom among the slimy water-weeds and leeches ; but for women who live to trust professions, and who find themselves cast off and sinking neglected and helpless in life for them my heart is breaking. Oh ! little Katy. Sweet, and loving, and trustful ! It were better to sink among the water-weeds and leeches than to live on. God is more merciful than man. V OF METB01 ( II Al TKl; \\IV. ES, God is indeed more mcrriful than man. There nre many things worse than death. There is a Mil \\lu-n- n< \\ol\c.srntrr; :i country uh<re a loving shall nut find its own \"\>- turned into poison; n place where the wicked cease fr ;a tr.uMi:..; yea, even in this heretical day, let us ><lox enough to be lieve that tin r- is a land where no Smith Wcstcotfe ever come. There are many cases in uhi-h it -tcr to die. It said- -iy times!- ee Katy dead than marrifl to Westcott . iiy was indeed dead, how clT ! Gray had paddh-d hanl with crooked limbs, the boat was unmanageable, and t . \\ith diilu ult\ k< the raft h . i tak. n tin- i-i.-i-h- fr ni it, and Albeit hear voice tip : be no mistake as to the voice, weak and shiv ering as it was of Isa Marlay, calling to him from the raft: We are all safe. Go and save Katy and him I DRAGGING. 201 "There they air!" said Gray, pointing to two heads just visible above the water. " Pull away, by thunder ! " And the two half-exhausted young men swung the boat round, and rowed. How they longed for the good oars that had sent the "Pirate s Bride" driving through the water that afternoon! How they grudged the time spent in righting her when she veered to right or left ! At last they heard Katy s voice cry out, " Brother Albert ! " " O God ! " groaned Charlton, and bent himself to his oar again. " Alb " The last cry was half-drowned in the water, and when the boat, with half-a-dozen more strokes, reached the place where Westcott was, so that he was able to seize the side, there was no Kate to be seen. Without waiting to lift the exhausted swimmer into the boat, Charlton and Gray dived. But the water was twenty feet deep, the divers were utterly out of breath with rowing, and their diving was of no avail. They kept trying until long after all hope had died out of their hearts. At last Charlton climbed back into the boat, and sat down. Then Gray got in. "Westcott was so numb and exhausted from staying hi the water so long that he could not get in, but he held to the boat desperately, and begged them to help him. "Help him in," said Charlton to Gray. "I can t." " I d like to help him out ef he wnz in, mighty well. I can t kill a drownin man, but blamed ef I gin him a leetle finger of help. I d jest as soon help a painter outen the water when I know d he d swaller the fust man he come to." But Charlton got up and reached a hand to the sinking Westcott. He shut his eyes while he pulled him in, and was almost sorry he had saved him. Let us not be too hard on Al- 9* IMK MYSTERY OF METROPOLIS VI LLK. bcrt He was In the first agony of baring reached a hand to aave littl< Katy and missed her. To come ao near that yon might have succeeded by straining a nerve a little more some wherethat is bitterest of all. If Westcott had ! on a mini: It was with diilimliy that Albert and Gray rowed t<> ih> shore, where Plausa 1 m, and persuaded them to change tip ir < lothes. They were both soon on the shore again, where large fires were blazing, and the old boat that had failed to save little Eaty alive, was now in use to recover her body. is no ni - and 111- work than dragging for the body of a drowned person. The drag more* ov bottom; the man who holds the rope, watching for th. faintest sensation of resistance in the muscles of his arm, at last feels hlng drawing against the drag, calls to the oarsmen to stop rowing, lets the lin. .-lip through his fingers till the boat s mo mentum is a little spent, lest he should lose his hold, then he draws on his line gently, and while the boat drifts back, he reverently, as becomes one handling the dead, brings the drag surface, and finds that its hooks have brought >. but water- weeds, or a waterlogged bough. And when at last, iifti-r hours of anxious work, the drag brings the lifeless body to the surface, the disappointment is bitterest of all. For all the time you have seemed to be seeking the drowned person, and now at last you have got what? It was about clock when they first began to drag. t had a sort of vague looking for something, a supersti tious feeling that by some sort of a miracle Katy would yet be is the hardest work the imagination has to do this realizing that one who has lived by us will never more DRAGGING. 203 be with as It is hard to project a future for ourselves, into which one who has filled a large share of our thought aud affection shall never come. And so there lingers a blind hope, a hope- iess hope of something that shall make unreal that which our impotent imaginations refuse to accept as real. It is a means by which nature parries a sudden blow. Charlton walked up and down the shore, and wished he might take the drag-line into his own hands; but the mistaken kindness of our friends refuses us permission to do for our own dead, when doing anything would be a relief, and when doing for the dead would be the best possible utterance to the hopeless love which we call grief. Mrs. Plausaby, weak and vain though she was, was full of natural affection. Her love for Albert was checked a little by her feeling that there was no perfect sympathy between him and her. But upon Katy she had lavished all her mother s love. People are apt to think that a love which is not intelligent is not real ; there could be no greater mistake. And the very smallness of the area covered by Mrs. Plausaby s mind made her grief for Kate all the more passionate. Katy occupied Albert s mind jointly with Miss Minorkcy, with ambition, with benevolence, with science, with literature, and with the great Philanthropinurn that was to be built and to revolutionize the world by helping it on toward its "goal." But the interests that shared Mrs. Plausaby s thoughts along with Katy were very few. Of Albert she thought, and of f her husband. But she gave the chief place to Katy and her own appearance. And so when the blow had come it was a severe one. At midnight, Albert went back to try to comfort his mother, and received patiently all her weeping I UK MYBTEBT OF METRO 1 u LI VILLA .1 lings of him for letting his sister go in th boati he might have known it was not safe. And then he hastened back again to the water, and watcln -d the in- dnigir it result >dy on the shore knew just "Lady of the Lake" had capsized, and if accurate information, plentifully iriv. n. < mild have helped to find the bodies, it \\ouid soon have been accomplished. The only lillleillty W:IH th:it this ;i, . .VSS VCTY ; two of the po-i wit upases being abl to agree. 80 n murh >hnitin/ along shore, and many but all th- searching for a long time proved vain. All the shouting pc shouting, and spoke in whispers whenever ADxTt came near. To most there is nothing m grtef- At half-past two <> i strange thrill, a sense of having bodies. He drew up his drag, and one of tin hooks fa <*e of a black silk cape. Wl more essays had been mail body itself was br : 1 the boat t toward the shore. There was no more shouting of now, not a sinirli 1-u 1 word was spoken, the oarsman rowed with a steady funereal rhythm, uhil-- l: 10 lia.l h M the drag-rope, now held half ..:: of water the leoofered corpse. Albert leaned forward anxiously to see the face of l -lit it was Jane Downing, th< jirl who was drowned first Her father took the txxly in his arms, drew i fashion for a wli ami fri.inlly nriirhliors lifted it. and IMIP- it J>f..ro him ! house, N\ 111:111 followed in a diinili | ae draggi wu reaumed ; but as than DEAGGING. 205 was much more doubt in regard to the place where she went down than there was about the place of the accident, the search was more difficult and protracted. George Gray never left Al bert for a moment. George wanted to take the drag-rope him self, but a feeling that he was eccentric, if not insane, kept those in charge of the boat from giving it to him. "When Sunday morning came, Katy s body had not yet been found, and the whole village nocked to the lake shore. These were the first deaths in Metropolisville, and the catastrophe was so sudden and tragic that it stirred the entire village in an ex traordinary manner. All through that cloudy Sunday forenoon, in a weary waiting, Charlton sat on the bank of Diamond Lake. " Mr. Charlton," said Gray, " git me into that air boat and I ll git done with this. I ve watched them fellers go round the place tell I can t stan it no longer." The next time the boat faced toward the place where Charl ton stood he beckoned to them, and the boat came to the shore. "Let Mr. Gray row a few times, won t you?" whispered Albert. " I think he knows the place." With that deference always paid to a man in grief, the man who had the oars surrendered them to the Hoosier Poet, who rowed gently and carefully toward the place where he and Albert had dived for Katy the night before. The quick instinct of the trapper stood him in good stead now. The perception and memory of locality and direction are developed to a degree that seems all but supernatural in a man who lives a trapper s life. M Xow, watch out ! " said Gray to the man with the rope, as they passed what he thought to be the place. But the drag did not touch anything. Gray then went round and pulled at right angles across his former course, saying again, "Now, watch THE MYSTERY OP METROPOLIS VILLB. as they paaaed the tame spot The man \\ii-- In Id the rope advised him to turn a little t< the right, but <Jray stuck to his own infalliM.- instii rosscd and re-crossed the same point six times without soccesi, You see," he remarked, "you kin come awful closte to a thing in the water and not tech it We ha n t missed six foot . lit smart row in to do it yet. But when you miss a mark a-tr gain nothin by vlmotin wild. Now, watch 01 h-it ni >:: drag caught l-ut did not hold. Gray noticed it man said a word. hitant : thr l.oat rotinl and pulled slowly back ov r the same The drag caught, and Gray lifted his oars. The man with th- r -p. . who had suddenly got a great reverence for Gray s skill, \\illi- MI to draw in the line. The PCX* did 9Cjntiously and trvmhlingly. \\ h- . ;. I- !;. ..:.. .: water, he had nil h- .inim/ II. gently took lnld of tin- arms and s.i I ull away now." And with lib own wild. 1 -mring, desolate heart full of Gray held to Uic little form and drew her through tin- water. Despite his grief, the Poet was glad to be the one who 1 t>ring her aahop i!< h, Id her now, if only her dead body, and his unselfish love found a melancholy recompense. Albert would have chosen him of all men for the office, Poor little Kate t In that dread moment when she found herself sinking to her cold bed among the water-weeds, the had, ther support, clasped her left hand with her right and gone down to darkness. And as she went, so now came her lif* less body. The right hand clasped tightly the four li tl. of th-- ! A DRAGGING. 207 Poor little Kate ! How white as pearl her face was, turned up toward that Sabbath sky ! There was not a spot upon it. The dreaded leeches had done their work. She, whom everybody had called sweet, looked sweeter now than ever. Death had been kind to the child at the last, and had stroked away every trace of terror, and of the short anguish she had suffered when she felt herself cast off by the craven soul she trusted. What might the long anguish have been had she lived! TH* MT8TEKY OF METBOPOLliJVlLLK. (HAITI R XXV. AFTKKWARDS. HE funeral was over, and there were two fresh graves the only ones in th< Lit of prairie act apart for a graveyard. I have written enough in this mrlanrh Why should I pause to de- gcril) 1 the solemn services IP M in the grove by t igh that the land-shark for- illegal traffic in claims; the money-lender ceased for one day to talk of mortgages and per cent .-. he fat r lots. Plausaby s bland face was wet with tears of sincere grief, and Mr. M i-csscd his hand to his chest and coughed more despairingly th:m v< r. Tlie grove in which the was held commanded a view of the lake at the very place wh- r. tin :i< < id. m occurred. Tin- nine survivors sat upon th< front seat of all; th fri. nds of the deceased were nil t). . most pathetic sight of all, the two mute white faces of the drowned were exposed to view. Th.- i>oople wppt Wforr the tn-inul.us voice of the mlnliter had begun the service, and their was so mu i that the preacher could say but littl. . Poor Mrs. Plausaby was nearly heart-broken. Nothing could have been more pathetic than her absurd mingling for two day* of the sincerest grief and aa AFTERWARDS. 209 anxious questioning about her mourning-dress. She would ask Isa s opinion concerning her veil, and then sit down and cry piteously the next minute. And now she was hopeless and utterly disconsolate at the loss of her little Katy, but wondering all the time whether Isa could not have fixed her bonnet so that it would not have looked quite so plain. The old minister preached on "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth." I am afraift he said some things which the liberalism of to-day would think unfit we all have heresies nowadays ; it is quite the style. But at least the old man reminded them that there were better investments than corner-lots, and that even mortgages with waivers hi them will be brought into judgment. His solemn words could not have failed entirely of doing good. But the solemn funeral services were over; the speculator in claims dried his eyes, and that very afternoon assigned a claim, to which he had no right, to a simple-minded immigrant for a hundred dollars. Minorkey was devoutly thankful that his own daughter had escaped, and that he could go on getting mortgages with waivers in them, and Plausaby turned his at tention to contrivances for extricating himself from the embar rassments of his situation. The funeral was over. That is the hardest tune of all. You can bear up somehow, so long as the arrangements and cares and melancholy tributes of the obsequies last. But if one has occupied a large share of your thoughts, solicitudes, and affections, and there comes a time when the very last you can ever do for them, living or dead, is done, then for the first time you begin to take the full measure of your loss. Albert felt now that he was picking up the broken threads of 210 THi: MVSIEItY OK METRn another man s life. Between the past, whi< h had been full of ies and plan.- for little Kate, and the future, into which no little Kate could ever come, there was a great chasm. parts from so regretfully as its burdens. Mrs. I-Vrn-t came to see Charlton, and den puckered smile, and talked in In r Miplacent voice about the uses of sanctified affliction, and h- r trust that ihemd- . ath of \n^ si.ster In all the thoughtless vanity would prove a solemn and impressive warning" to him to re- pent in health -hould he with him everlastingly too late. Albert was very far from having that childlike spirit whi<-ii ent r heaven easily. Some natures are softened by nfllietiun, but they arc not such as his. Charlton in his aggressiveness demanded to know the reason for ev erything. And in his sorrow his nature sent a defiant toAf back to the P. had made Eaty s fate so sad, and : s rasping way of talking about Eaty s death as a divine judgment on him tilled him with curses bitterer than Job s. Miss Isa Marlay was an old-school Calvinist. She had been i on the Assembly s Catechism, interpreted in good sound West "Windsor fashion. In tlury >\\< from the s,,iid Around of the creed of her childhood. But while she held inll< xiMy to ],, r < reed in all its generalizations, .a i" all those sweet illogical women of her Kind are inking. In general, she firmly believed that everybody who failed to have a saving faith in the vica rious :t of Christ would be lost. In particular, she ted many individual cases among her own acquaintance. AFTERWARDS. 211 And the inconsistency between her creed and her applications of it never troubled her. She spoke with so much confidence of the salvation of little Kate, that she comforted Albert some what, notwithstanding his entire antagonism to Isa s system of theology. If Albert had died, Miss Marlay would have fixed up a short and easy road to bliss for him also. So much more generous is faith than logic ! But it was not so much Isa s belief in the salvation of Katy that did Albert good, as it was her tender and delicate sympathy, expressed as much when she was silent as when she spoke, and when she spoke expressed more by the tones of her voice than by her words. There was indeed one part of Isabel s theology that Charl- ton would have much liked to possess. He had accepted the idea of an Absolute God. A personal, sympathizing, benevolent Providence was in his opinion one of the illusions of the the- ologic stage of human development. Things happened by inexorable" law, he said. And in the drowning of Katy lie saw only the overloading of a boat and the inevitable action of water upon the vital organs of the human system. It seemed to him now an awful thing that such great and terrible forces should act irresistibly and blindly. He wished he could find some ground upon which to base a different opinion. He would like to have had Isabel s faith in the Paternity of God and in the immortality of the soul. But he was too honest with him self to suffer feeling to exert any influence on his opinions. He was in the logical stage of his development, and built up his system after the manner of the One-Hoss Shay. Log ically he could not see sufficient ground to change, and he scorned the weakness that would change an opinion because of feeling. His soul might cry out in its depths for a Father in l UK MYMKBT OF METBOPOLISVILLK. the universe. Hut what does Logic care for a Soul or its cry? Aft.-r a while experience brings in something better than Logic. This is Philosophy. And Philosophy knows what Logic can not learn, that reason is not the only facult \\liich truth is apprehend* -d that the hungers and intuitions of the Soul are worth more than syllogisms. Do what he would, ( harlton could not conceal from him self that in sympathy Miss y was greatly deficient She essayed to show f.-.-iin-, but she had little to show ! was not h-T fault Do you blame the dahlia for not hav ing the fragrance of a tuberose? It is the most dangerous quality of enthusiastic young men and women that they are able to deceive themselves. Nine tenths of all conjugal disap pointments come from the ability of people in love to see more in those they love than ever existed there. That love is blind is a fable. He has an affection of the eyes, but it is not Mind ness. Nobody else ever sees so much as he does. For here was Albert ( harlton, bound by his vows to Helen Minorkey, with whom he had nothing in common, except in intellect, and y his sorrow was disclosing to him the sh.illowness of her nature, and the depth of his own; even now he found that she had no voice with which to answer his hungry cry for .thy. Already his betrothal was becoming a fetter, and his great mistake was disclosing itself to him. The rude ion had knocked at his door before, but he had been able to bar it out. Now it stared at him in the night, and he could not rid him-- if *>f it. Hut he was still far enough from ac- .{ the fact that the intellectual Helen Minorkey was des- titute of all unselfish feeling I . r < harlton was still to love her. When one has fixed heart and hope and thought AFTER WARDS. 213 on a single person, love does not die with the first consciousness of disappointment. Love can subsist a long time on old asso ciations. Besides, Miss Minorkey was not aggressively or ob trusively selfish she never interfered with anybody else. But there is a cool-blooded indifference that can be moved by no consideration outside the Universal Ego. That "was Helen. - It I-KKY Of C HAITKi: XXVI. IKK M\>: . HAY ! is one of the original sources of information for this history, a lil of The Wheat County Weakly WindmOl for 1856. It is not a l:iri: >hr--t. hut r.-rtainly it is :, - day this Windmill ground many grist*, though its edit"f:il .. -In, .ma were chiefly occupied with impartial irushin/ nn.l -\pan >s on the charms of scenery tility "f -,ii. npol railroad prospects, admiroblenesB of location, h alt h fulness, and general future rosinesa of th II papiT ti.wiiN thnt ]i:iil trihutc to its odTcrtising columns. And tlir ailvi-rti-inj- c.hiinn-: Th-y aboui, iismess an nouncements of men wh Money to Loan on Good Real Estate" at three, four, five, and six per cent a month, :i {ferrous who called th(insh(> " Attorn-ys -:it-Law and Real state Agents," who stated that "All t.uMness relating t ei n i >t ion and contested claims would be promptly aii< n<l* d t * at thi-ir Iliri-s in IVrritnut. Kvni now, through the thin dls- guise of honest-seeming phrases, one can see the bait of the land- shark who speculated In imaginary titles to claims, or sold cor- <u Mile-towns. And, as for tin- to\vn<. it app-ar~ these advertisements that there was one on almost every square THE MYSTERY. 215 mile, and that every one of them was on the line of an inevitable railroad, had a first-class hotel, a water-power, an academy, and an indefinite number of etcaeteras of the most delightful and remunerative kind. Each one of these villages was in the heart of the greatest grain-growing section of the State. Each was the " natural outlet " to a large agricultural region. Each commanded the finest view. Each point was the healthiest in the county, and each village was "unrivaled." (When one looks at these town-site advertisements, one is tempted to think that member serious and wise who, about this time, offered a joint resolution in the Territorial Legislature, which read: " Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives, That not more than two thirds of the area of this Territory should be laid out in town-sites and territorial roads, the remaining one third to be sacredly reserved for agricultural use.") But I prize this old file of papers because it contains a graphic account of the next event in this narrative. And the young man who edited the Windmill at this time has told the story with so much sprightliness and vigor that I can not serve my reader a bettor turn than by clipping his account and pasting it just here in my manuscript. (I shall also rest myself a little, and do a favor to the patient printer, who will rejoice to get a little " reprint copy " in place of my perplexing manuscript.) For where else shall I find such a dictionariful command of the hights and depths to say nothing of the lengths and breadths of the good old English tongue? This young man must indeed have been a marvel of eloquent verbosity at that period of his career. The article in question has the very flavor of the golden age of Indian contracts, corner-lots, six per cent a month, and mortgages with waiver 210 I Hi. MYSTERY OF METROPOLLSV11 1 I riknscn There is also vi : I f-ar, .- littlr <>f th> whir. :it thai linn in lYrritaut against Mctrop- il.-. I \\i-ix th.-u on obstinate scruple on the part of the printers and the limits of a duodecimo page did not : TOE EDITOR Of "THE " ing here, In all th i h precede the article In question. Any pageant Introduced by muric b impressive, aayi Madame de Stael. At least she says tonx of that >ort, only it is In French, and I can not remember it THE MYSTERY. 217 exactly. And so any newspaper article is startling when intro duced by the braying of head-lines. Fonts of type for displayed lines were not abundant in the office of the Windmill, but they were very stunning, and were used also for giving prominence to the euphonious names of the several towns, whose charms were set forth in the advertisements. Of course the first of these head-lines ran " Startling Dis closures ! ! ! ! " and then followed " Tremendous Excitement in Metropolisville ! " " Official Rascality ! " " Bold Mail Robbery ! " " Arrest of the Postmaster ! " " No Doubt of his Guilt ! " "An Unexplained Mystery ! " " Sequel to the Awful Drowning Affair of Last Week!" Having thus whetted the appetite of his reader, and economized in type-setting by nearly a column of such broad and soul-stirring typography, the editor proceeds: "Metropolisville is again the red-hot crater of a boiling and seething excitement. Scarcely had the rascally and unscrupulous county-seat swindle begun to lose something of its terrific and exciting interest to the people of this county, when there came the awful and sad drowning of the two young ladies, Miss Jennie Downing and Miss Katy Charlton, the belles of the village, a full account of which will be found in the Windmill of last week, some copies of which we have still on hand, having issued an extra edition. Scarcely had the people of Metrop olisville laid these two charming and much-lamented young ladies in their last, long resting-place, the quiet grave, when there comes like an earthquake out of a clear sky, the frightful and somewhat surprising and stunning intelligence that the postmaster of the village, a young man of a hitherto unex ceptionable and blameless reputation, has been arrested for robbing the mails. It is supposed that his depredations have 10 llli: NM-IF.KY .-I been very extensive and i that many r of our .Mi village may have suffered from irlher investigations will doubtless bring all bis nefarious and unscrupulous transactions to light At present, how. v. r, he is under arrest on the single charg ling a land-warrant. The name of the rascally, villainous, and dishonest postmaster is Albert Charlton, and here comes in the wonder ful and startling romance of this strange story. The carnival of excitement in Metropolisville and about Metropolisvillc has all had to do with < n- family. Our readers will remem* her ho\v fully we have expo.-- ; tricks of tin- old fox I land-shark who runs .ill. , :md \\lio now has temporary possession of tin- county -seat by means of a series of gigantic frauds, and of wholesale bribery and corruption and nefarious hall stuffing. The fair Katy Charlton, who was drowned by tin* heart rending calamity of last week, was his step-daughter, and now her brother, Albert Charlton, is arrested as a rile and dishonest mail robber, and the victim whose land-warrant he stole was Miss Kate Churl ton s betrothed lover. Mr Smith Westcott. There was always hatred and animosity, however, between the lover and the brother, and it is hinted that the ilrveloj.in.-nts nn the trial will pYOTI that yun.: Charltoii ha-! j.ut a hind and ruthless hi on the track of Westcott at the time of his sister s death. Mr. Westcott is well known and . esteemed in Metropolisville and also here in Perritnut. lie is the gentlemanly Agent in charge of the branch store of Jackson, Jones & ( we rejoice that he has made to narrow an escape from death at the hands of his relentless and unscrupulous foe. THE MYSTERY. 219 " As for Albert Charlton, it is well for the community that he has been thus early and suddenly overtaken in the first in- cipiency of a black career of crime. His poor mother is said to be almost insane at this second grief, which follows so sud denly on her heart-rending bereavement of last week. We wish there were some hope that this young man, thus arrested with the suddenness of a thunderbolt by the majestic and firm hand of public justice, would reform; but we are told that he is utterly hard, and refuses to confess or deny his guilt, sitting in moody and gloomy silence in the room in which he is con fined. We again call the attention of the proper authorities to the fact that Plausaby has not kept his agreement, and that Wheat County has no secure jail. We trust that the youthful villain Charlton will not be allowed to escape, but that he will receive the long term provided by th law for thieving post masters. He will be removed to St. Paul immediately, but we seize the opportunity to demand in thunder-tones how long the citizens of this county are to be left without the ac commodations of a secure jail, of *hich they stand in such immediate need ? It is a matter in which we all feel a per sonal interest. We hope the courts will decide the county-seat question at once, and then we trust the commissioners will give us a jail of sufficient size and strength to accommodate a county of ten thousand people. " We would not judge young Charlton before he has a fair trial. We hope he will have a fair trial, and it is not for us to express any opinions on the case in advance. If he shall be found guilty and we do not for a moment doubt he will we trust the court will give him the full penalty of the law without fear or favor, so that his case may prove a solemn and THE MYSTERY OP METBOPOLISVILLR. impressive warning that shall make a lasting impression on the < f Hi 1 young men of this community in fa vor of honesty, and hi regard to tin- sinfulnese of ***Hy We would not exult over tin (!<>\vnfall of any man; but when tli- proud young Charlton gets his hair cropped, and finds him self clad in 8tillw:it< -r pray, and engaged in the intl! rmplo sli ingles and making vinegar-barrels, he will huvo plenty of time for meditation on that great moral truth, that honesty is general] y the THE AEEBST. 221 CHAPTER XXVII. THE AKREST. HE eloquent editor from whom I have just quoted told the truth when he said that Metropolisville was " the red-hot crater of a boiling and seething excitement." For everybody had believed in Charl- toii. He was not popular. People with vicarious consciences are not generally beloved unless they are tempered by much suavity. And Charlton was not. But everybody, ex cept Mrs. Ferret, believed in his honesty and courage. No body had doubted his sincerity, though Smith Westcott had uttered many innuendoes. In truth, Westcott had had an un comfortable time during the week that followed the drown ing. There had been much shaking of the head about little Katy s death. People who are not at all heroic like to have other people do sublime things, and there were few who did not think that Westcott should have drowned with Katy, like the hero of a romance. People could not forgive him for spoiling a good story. So Smith got the cold shoulder, and might have left the Territory, but that his land-warrant had not come. He ceased to dance and to appear cheerful, and his he ! he ! took on a sneering inflection. He grew mysterious, and intimated to his friends that he d give Metropolisville something else to talk about before long. By George ! He ! I in; >MMJ:I:Y OF METROI>< And when the deptity of UK- United States marshal swooped down upon the Tillage and arrotrd th< young pott- matter on a charge of abstracting Smith Wcstcott s land rant from the mail, the whole town was agog. " Told y M >. By George!" said West. At first the villagers were divided in opinion about A I ! -nty of people, like MM. Ferret, were ready to nj :< that he was not so good as he might be, you But many -iid that h wouldn t steal. A fellow that had thrown away all hi* chances of making :u t steal I it was rejoined that if Charlton did not care for money he was a good 1 tint a man would not do for money he mL M do for - i was known that Albert had ooen very anxious to get away, and that he wanted to get away before Westc And that hing depended on which should get a land-warrant first. What mo 1 than that Charlton should seize s land-warrant, and thus help himself and retard ThU sort of reasoning staggered those who would round of previous gootl Hut that which shook th, | . .!n-rl mott was his own behavior when arrested. He was perfectly col lected until he inquired what re was against >puty marshal said that it was rery dear ev deed. "Tin- hind-warrant with whi> ! your bore a certain designating numl rrnnt was mail 1 .\ 1 on th< LngQtt, dinrt.,1 tc, Smith W-st. to receive it Thr stolen i : :ing in If, you must account for it in some way." THE AKBEST. 223 At this Charlton s countenance fell, and he refused to make any explanations or answer any questions. He was purposely kept over one day in Metropolis ville in hope that something passing between him and his friends, who were permitted to have free access to him, might bring further evidence to light But Charlton sat, pale and dejected, ready enough to converse about anything else, but declining to say one word in regard to his guilt or innocence of the crime charged. It is not strange that some of his best friends accepted the charge as true, and only tried to extenuate the offense on the ground that the circumstances made the temptation a very great one, and that the motive was not mercenary. Others stood out that it would yet be discov ered that Plausaby had stolen the warrant, until half-a-dozen peo ple remembered that Plausaby himself had been in Red Owl at that very time he had spent a week there laying out a marshy shore in town lots down to the low-water mark, and also lay ing out the summit of a bluff three hundred and fifty feet high and sixty degrees steep. These sky and water lots were afterward sold to confiding Eastern speculators, and a year or two later the owner of the water privileges rowed all over his lots in a skiff. Whether the other purchaser used a balloon to reach his is not known. But the operation of staking out these ineligible " additions " to the city of Red Owl had attracted much attention, and consequently Plausaby s alibi was readily established. So that the two or three who still believed Albert innocent did so by "naked faith," and when questioned about it, shook their heads, and said that it was a great mystery. They could not understand it, but they did not believe him guilty. Isabel Marlay believed hi Albert s innocence as she believed the hard passages in the catechism. She knew it, she believed it, she -"- I UV OF METROPOLIS VI LLK. could ii.. t prove it, hut f-hr would not hoar to anything else. uce, and that was enough. For a woma: ing, she believes In of all her senses and all reason. What are the laws of evidence to her ! She believes with the heart. Poor Mrs. Plausaby, too, sat d..\\n in pair, and 1 that she knew 1 >ieh thinp*. ! \\ith MI. h i in t iln anything naughty. All> Il> hadn t done any harm, and they <<>uldn t find out that I Katy was gone, and now Albert was in tmubl- she didn t know what She thought Isa might do i not let all the- s come on her in this way. For the poor woman had come to depend on Isa not only in v. h as dresses and bon nets, but also in all th- ! iirs of life. Atid it seemed to her a grievous wrong that Isab. had saved from so many troubles, should Katy from drown im; ami Albert from prison. Tin- ehief tr. iilth- in the mind of Alh.rt w:i- ility of impi -w of hi> il srlu nios though ail of these wer< Murrnnw. lint witit him was to ask what v I.. tii> f his arrest on Miss Minor I! hid f. it finding Helen the ideal woman he ha ut, as I said a while ago, love does :itm-nl. I littli- t.. li\r on in thf on<- who is loved, it will yet find enough In th<> rit-, tin QOpes, I dwell within the lover. his arrest, reviewed THE AKEEST. 225 everything, but in thinking of Miss Minorkey, he did not once recur to her lack of deep sympathy with him in his sorrow for Katy. The Helen he thought of was the radiant Helen that sat by his beloved Katy in the boat on that glorious evening hi which he rowed in the long northern twilight, the Helen that had relaxed her dignity enough to dip her palm hi the water and dash spray into his face. He saw her like one looking back through clouds of blackness to catch a sight of a bit of sky and a single shining star. As the impossibility of his marrying Helen became more and more evident to him, she grew all the more glori ous in her culture, her quietness, her though tfulness. That she would break her heart for him, he did not imagine, but he did hope yes, hope that she would suffer acutely on his account. And when Isa Marlay bravely walked through the crowd th-it had gathered about the place of his confinement, and asked to see him, and he was told that a young lady wanted to be admitted, he hoped that it might be Helen Minorkey. When he saw that it was Isabel he was glad, partly because he would rather have seen her than anybody else, next to Helen, and partly because he could ask her to carry a message to Miss Minorkey. He asked her to take from his trunk, which had already been searched by the marshal s deputy, all the letters of Miss Minorkey, to tie them in a package, and to have the goodness to present them to that lady with his sincere regards. "Shall I tell her that you are innocent?" asked Isabel, wishing to strengthen her own faith by a word of assurance from Albert. 10* - J i Tii ;;T or MKTK i i:. 11 her "and Alt>< rt ,-a-r down his eyes a moment In painful n-lln -lion tell her that I will xplain MJIU- Meantime, t-ll . what you believe I l.. Urn that you a: 1 M, Misa Isabel/ said Albert warmly, but 1 and grew r i not -/i , ..ii.- \\-or 1 of assurance. v< was staggered for a moment. Hut only for .1 mom. faith of a \\ lik. N.ihel Marlay laui h.s nt ilmil t. I !> not k to dcscritx* tin- feelings with \\l\\ih Mist Marlay \\- from Alb* r;. Kvi-n in ; :. ftill of love, which he had say one word about his -uilt or innocence. And yet Isabel red in her In-art that he had not coinmiv Whil l,r was strong anJ free from su>: Isa Marlay had admired him. He seemed to her, not withstand): eccentricities, a mun rvor, and earnestness of chara* : him I- she was will admit to hcr-elf. Now that he was an universal MI. in r t o lraireou* and generous heart espoused hU cause vehemently. She stood ready to do anything in the f r him. Anyt: : he had asked her to do. Why she did not like to < arry messages from him to Miss she did nut know. As soon as she became conscious of this jealous feeling in her heart, she took 1> !..!...!, - .-: i.. . :!. : ! i:! :. . . . !.- In : i; - out in t)k<- li. ht .-: i conscience. She < Hut if I should ; ruly wha" naught , f into the light and of th :n--lf. 1 slioijld s< m to t>e writ* THE ARKKST. 227 ing cant, and people would say that I was preaching. And yet I should only show you the source of Isa s high moral and religious culture. Can I write truly of a life in which the idea of God as Father, Monitor, and Friend is ever pres ent and dominant, without showing you the springs of that life? When Isabel Marlay, with subdued heart, sought Mi?* Minorkey, it was with her resolution fixed to keep the trust committed to her, and, as far as possible, to remove all sus picions from Miss Minorkey s mind. As for any feeling in her own heart she had no right to have any feeling but a friendly one to Albert. She would despise a woman who could love a man that did not first declare his love for her. She said this to herself several times by way of learning the lesson well. Isa found Miss Minorkey, with her baggage packed, ready for a move. Helen told Mi?s Marlay that her father found the air very bad for him, and meant to go to St. Anthony, where there was a mineral spring and a good hotel. For her part, she was glad of it, for a little place like Metropolisville was not pleasant. So full of gossip. And no newspapers or books. And very little cultivated socie y. Miss Marlay said she had a package of something or other, which Mr. Charlton had sent with his regards. She said "something or other" from an instinctive delicacy. "Oh! j-es; something of mine that he borrowed, I sup pose," said Helen. " Have you seen him ? I m really sorry for him. I found him a very pleasant companion, so full of reading and oddities. He s the last man I should have be lieved could rob the post-office." I ill. |fl ISVTLLB. -<>!. 1.1:1 h- said Isa, "Ind..d! Well, I m glad to hear it I hope hell be able it. Is there any n-\v rvMrne. Isa was obliged to confess that she had heard of i an<l Mi- I-HK -ceded like a judge to explain to Miss IH.W strong tin in was. And then be said -in- thini. ht the warrant had been taken, cupidity, hut from a desire to serve K -y the law could nut sec it in that way. Hut all tic- time I- > tested win a word of it N..J All the ju lirr- and jurir- ami witnesses in the w.rll >u: i of AllM-rt .- guilt Because shr kn.-w him KM. \\ that In- rouMn t you see. Mi> IIT fatlicr sick. .in. Mr. i i.arltMM so much, y<>u know, that it has made talk," she said. "An.l : U bad about it And" see- sion of Isa 8 that aid not ! to IK* niito so secr< t-ll you the truth. I .lid lik- him. Hut of course that ia aU over. - between us In :i Av iii li- iiant, and -h- n. loiiiii : tin- 8Up- le her to pl.ad !, (ii- M with Mis* -t a spice km him Miss Minorkcy winced a littl, \v,-ll, you know, some are sentimental, n are n<>t. It U a good (hint; f.T me thai I m n->t fin- of thoM- t away and die THE ARREST. 229 after anybody. I suppose I am not worthy of a high-toned man, such as he seemed to be. I have often told him so. I am sure I never could marry a man that had been in the penitentiary, if he were ever so innocent. Xow, could you, Miss Marlay ? " Isabel blushed, and said she could if he were innocent. She thought a woman ought to stand by the man she loved to the death, if he were worthy. But Helen only sighed humbly, and said that she never was made for a heroine. She didn t even like to read about high-strung people in novels. She supposed it was her fault people had to be what they were, she supposed. Miss Marlay must excuse her, though. She hadn t quite got her books packed, and the stage would be along in an hour. She would be glad if Isabel would tell Mr. Charlton privately, if she had a chance, how sorry she felt for him. But please not say anything that would com promise her, though. And Isa Marlay went out of the hotel full of indignation at the cool-blooded Helen, and full of a fathomless pity for Albert, a pity that made her almost love him herself. She would have loved to atone for all Miss Minorkey s perfidy. And just alongside of her pity for Charlton thus deserted, crept in a secret joy. For there was now none to stand nearer friend to Albert than herself. And yet Charlton did not want for friends. Whisky Jim had a lively sense of gratitude to him for his advocacy of Jim s right to the claim as against Westcott ; and having also a lively antagonism to Westcott, he could see no good reason why a man should serve a long term in State s-prison for taking from a thief a land-warrant with which the thief Tin: M\ -TKKV or vrrrw. I.E. had transferred t> tin- !>r->th T tli- <i< lavished on tin- sister. It was this unit;. < !ui from tin- mt iins and t from ti..- Indiana "Pocket" that gave AUnrt a chance for liberty. Tin- pri.-oner was handcuffed and mnftned in an upper room, . indows of which were securely boarded up About thi villr, the deputy in.ir-hal. \\h. ; , had or thn i- lime, l!i<- ainpl.- ll.i \Vest- (oit, \\.-is >lrt-pin U very soundly. All>< rt. who was awake, :i:iil- drawn from the bojinls. Presently the wi: was familiar voi< < .sail in a dramatic tone: N!I ( horlton, git up and fuller." IfOM and ciit to 1 - thai. Gray," aaid Chart ton. though the prospect of liberty wa* "See hi p-. ini.-tT. I < alk; year ur inun ." put in tli<- driver, thrusting hi- lu-ad in -side his Hon>i, r fri -n ." added (i t put oat fer the In. in ! n say so, and f. t. h up in Kansas soin.- fancy names, H a hand in th.- wras lc agoin* on tliar. v : got a a.s 11 help n "My friends r so thankful to you " Blame take yer thanks! Come along, the Supe rior I; THE Ai:i:->T. 231 "I ll be dogged ef it haint," said the Poet Charlton looked out wistfully over the wide prairies. He might escape and lead a wild, free life with Gray, and then turn up in some new Territory under an assumed name and work .out his destiny. But the thought of being a fugitive from justice was very shocking to him. Vo! no! I can t. God bless you both. Good-by ! " And I ill: MYSTERY OF MJCTBOl he went back to bis pull< t <>n t)><- tl-^r. When the reacuen reached the groin. red him- some vi ry .sul]>lnin)us oaths, iiihn<ll to express his abhorrence I re*l that air blamed ctarunl infarnal nateral 1 11 die in Siii: -liti-M-h ry jot fcr idee*. Orter go to a f syluin." Hut th- I .x t we nt off d.jrctcdly to his lone cabin or j>rai. Ami th.n- was a great row in the HKTIUML: n\ t \- breaking oju n <.f t: , ; n,,i tlir attempted rt^ uc I n- .1. |.uiy in "f his awaking in th<> arni Irivin.ir off a n>. . of < i^lit \sith 1 .body wondered wh> they were, Wa Charltou, then, a member of a gang? THE TEMPTER. 233 CHAPTER XXVIII. THE TEMPTER. LBERT was conveyed to St. Paul, but not until he had had one heart-breaking interview with his mother. The poor woman had spent nearly an hour dressing herself to go to him, for she was so shaken with agitation and blinded with weep ing, that she could hardly tie a ribbon or see that her breast pin was hi the right place. This interview with her son shook her weak understanding to its foundations, and for days after ward Isa devoted her whole time to diverting her from the accumulation of troubled thoughts and memories that filled her with anguish an anguish against the weight of which her feeble nature could offer no supports. When Albert was brought before the commissioner, he waived examination, and was committed to await the session of the district court. Mr. Plausaby came up and offered to become his bail, but this Charlton vehemently refused, and was locked up in jail, where for the next two or three months he amused himself by reading the daily papers and such books as he could borrow, and writing on various subjects manu scripts which he never published. The confinement chafed him. His mother s sorrow and feeble Ill I. MY.-T1.KY I F M KTHOPOLISVILLB. ln-:ilth oppn >ed him. And despit* all he could do, his own humiliation bo\v d his bead a little. But moot of all, tin- mt< r neglect >f 1 1.1. -n Minorkey hurt him sorely. Except Uiat she had sent, throuirh Isabel Marlay, tli.it little smuggled menage that she was sorry for him like one who makes a great ado about him. which turns nut to be i "thing this mo< kery of pity, IP- had no word or sign from HHi-n. His mind dwelt on her as he remembered h. r in the rnts when \\ccn carried out of h-r> If l.y the con tagion of hi- .wn enthusiasm, when sh<- had seemed to love him devotedly. Especially did In- think of her as she sat in quiet and thoughtful enjoyment in the row-boat by the side of Kuty. playfully splashing the water and seeming to r in his society. And !.<>\v she had so easily accepted his L-MII sc thoughts robbed him of slc< ; Ikf confinenu nt and laek of .\ercise made him nervous. The energetic spirit, UMrted at tin- \-i-y bsMHst -f l"-jinni::i; c!n-ri-h.-.l ( nt- rp: i- -, and shut out from hope of ever undertaking them, preyed upon had a morbid longing for the State s ueary hiin-elf with toil. Hi MM Mr. (<.t.-r. Mr. Conger was not a great juri-i. Of the philosophy of law le knew n< ; sublime principles , ; .> :t \ the pn :;K nts that iin.l. rlie the 001 ::tor into t!ie admi f public ju-tic. . M D :. But was one thing Mr. Conger did r that was success. He was a . act- Ire, ever in motion. When h.- 1 , n still long enough torrn w. He said with a qi.; unt utterance, as though he grudged the THE TEMPTEK. 235 time taken to speak fully about anything. He went along the street eagerly ; he wrote with all his might. There were twenty men in the Territory, at that day, any one of whom knew five times as much law as he. Other members of the bar were accustomed to speak contemptuously of Conger s legal knowledge. But Conger won more cases and made more money than any of them. If he did not know law in the widest sense, he did know it in the narrowest. He always knew the law that served his turn. When he drew an assignment for a client, no man could break it. And when he undertook a case, lie was sure to find his opponent s weak point. He would pick flaws in pleas ; he would postpone ; he would browbeat witnesses ; he would take exceptions to the rulings of the court in order to excite the sympathy of the jury; he would object to testimony on the other side, and try to get hi irrelevant testimony on his own ; he would abuse the oppos ing counsel, crying out, " The counsel on the other side lies like thunder, and he knows it ! By shrewdness, by an un wearying perseverance, by throwing his whole weight into his work, Conger made himself the most successful lawyer of his time in the Territory. And preserved his social position at the same time, for though he was not at all scrupulous, he man aged to keep on the respectable side of the line which divides the law\*er from the shyster. Mr. Conger had been Mr. Plausaby s counsel in one or two cases, and Charlton, knowing no other lawyer, sent for him. Mr. Conger had, with his characteristic quickness of perception, picked up the leading features of the case from the newspapers. He sat down on the bed in Charlton s cell with his brisk profes sional air, and came at once to business in his jerky-polite tone. NIK MYSTERY OF METROPOLIS VILLB. ..id business, this, Mr. Charlton, but U-t us hope we ll pull through. We generally do pull through. Been in a good .es in my time. But it is necessary, first of all, that you trust boat is hi a bad wayyou hail a pilot in- comes aboard. K< i off tin- In -1m yon sit down :inl Irt tin- pilot -t< er her thr understand? " !: Conger looked as though he might have smiled at his own illustration if he >ul<l have spared the time. But he couldn t. As for Albert, In- only looked more Now," he proceeded, "let s git to business. In the first place, you must trust me with everything. You must t< -11 me whctln-r you took the warrant or not." And Mr. Conger paused < rutinized his client <!< Charlton said nothing, but his face gave evidence of a straggle. Well, uell. Mr. Charlton," said the brisk man with the air of one who ha, -otten tliMuirh the tirrt and most disagreeable part of his business, and who now proposes to proceed imme diately to the MKl DMtter QSJ d Well, well, Mr. Charlton. you needn t say anything if the yiestion is an un- pleasa .red lawyer knows what K mean -," and there was just a tri 1 ratulati >n in his voice. A- for Albert, he \\ineed, and seemed to be to make up his mind to speak. "Now," and with this now the lawyer brought his white fat hand down uj>n his knee in an emphatic way, as one who says " Now there are several courses open to us. I asked you whether you took the warrant -cause the line of defense that presents itself first is to follow the track fix the guilt on so: else if we can. I understand, however, that that coarse is closed to u* ? " THE TEMPTER. 237 Charlton nodded his head. " We might try to throw suspicion only suspicion, you know on the stage-driver or somebody else. Eh ? Just enough to confuse the jury ? " Albert shook his head a little impatiently. " Well, well, that s so not the best line. The warrant was in your hands. You used it for pre-emption. That is very ugly, very. I don t think much of that line, under the circum stances. It might excite feeling against us. It is a very bad case. But we will pull through, I hope. We generally do. Give the case wholly into my hands. We ll postpone, I think. I shall have to make an affidavit that there are important wit nesses absent, or something of the sort. But we ll have the case postponed. There s some popular feeling against you, and juries go as the newspapers do. Now, I see but one way, and that is to postpone until the feeling dies down. Then we can manage the papers a little and get up some sympathy for you. And there s no knowing what may happen. There s nothing like delay in a bad case. Wait long enough, and something is sure to turn up." "But I don t want the case postponed," said Charlton de cidedly. "Very natural that you shouldn t like to wait. This is not a pleasant room. But it is better to wait a year or even two years in this jail than to go to prison for fifteen or twenty. Fifteen or twenty years out of the life of a young man is about all there is worth the having." Here Charlton shuddered, and Mr. Conger was pleased to see that his words took effect. " You d better make up your mind that the case is a bad 238 11 IE MYSTERY OP METIK > one, and b \Vlu-n \ tin- I tliink I can pull if you ll li-avr th- "Mr. Conger," said Churlinn, lifting up his pale face, twitrhini: with nrrvousness, "I don t want to g is; tricks on a court of la- .w that fif t n or i years in prison would not leave me hut I \vill not degrade myself by evading justice with and false affidavits If you can do anything for me fairly and squurviv, I ihoold ffln to I-. "Bcrupli-s i-li?" asked Mr. Conger in surprise. Vis, scniph-s," said Al!> rt ( :inlng his head on his hand* with of one who has nia and h.-.- a f< li:; i ,,f . dm "Scruples, Mr. Charlt- .ough when one is about ik the law. A lias been arrested, scruples are in V--U have no right to presume that I hav the said Charlton with -OUH thing of his old fire. \\YII. MI- Ohttttoe, it ^ill do no goo<l irurel with your i have as good as riun- yourself. I must insist t ca> in my hands, t.r I nui-.t throw it up. to think ahout i: my partn* suggestions from you about wit- most we can do Is to prove previous good acter. That isn t worth anything where the evidence against th prison r i^ n , -:. lusivo as in your case. But it makes a show of doing something." And Mr. Conger was about leav ing the cell when, as if a new thought had occurred to bun, h< turned back and sat down again and said: "There ft one THE TEMPTER. 239 other course open to you. Perhaps it is the best, since you will not follow my plan. You can plead guilty, and trust to the clemency of the President. I think strong political influ ences could be brought to bear at Washington in favor of your pardon ? " Charlton shook his head, and the lawyer left him " to think the matter over," as he said. Then ensued the season of temptation. Why should he stand on a scruple? Why not get free ? Here was a conscienceless attorney, ready to make any number of affidavits in regard to the absence of important witnesses; ready to fight the law by every technicality of the law. His imprisonment had already taught him how dear lib erty was, and, within half an hour after Conger left him, a great change came over him. Why should he go to prison? What justice was there in his going to prison ? Here he was, taking a long sentence to the penitentiary, while such men as Westcott and Conger were out. There could be no equity in such an arrangement. Whenever a man begins to seek equal ity of dispensation, he is in a fair way to debauch his con science. And another line of thought influenced Charlton. The world needed his services. What advantage would there be in throwing away the chances of a lifetime on a punctilio ? Why might he not let the serviceable lawyer do as he pleased ? Conger was the keeper of his own conscience, and would not be either more or less honest at heart for what he did or did not do. All the kingdoms of the earth could not have tempted Charlton to serve himself by another man s perjury. But lib erty on one hand and State Vprison on the other, was a dread ful alternative. And so, when the meek and studious man whom Conger used for a partner called on him, he answered Hii: MV-T1IKY OF METBOPOLISVILLK. ull his qurstions, and offered no ol jrctin t> the assumption of th- quirt man thai Mr. Conger would carry on the caae In >wn fashion. Many a man is willing to be a martyr till l. >. , s th.- stake and fugota. THK TRIAL. 241 CHAPTER XXIX. THE TRIAL. ROM the time that Charlton began to pettifog with his conscience, he began to lose peace of mind. His self-respect was impaired, and he became impatient, and chafed under his restraint. As the trial drew on, he was more than ever filled with questionings in regard to the course he should pursue. For conscience is like a pertinacious attorney. When a false de cision is rendered, he is forever badgering the court with a bill of exceptions, with proposals to set aside, with motions for new trials, with applications for writs of appeal, with threats of a Higher Court, and even with contemptuous rnutterings about impeachment. If Isa had not written to him, Albert might have regained his moral aplomb in some other way than he did he might not. For human sympathy is Christ s own means of regenerating the earth. If you can not counsel, if you can not preach, if you can not get your timid lips to speak one word that will rebuke a man s sin, you can at least show the fellowship of your heart with his. There is a great moral tonic in human brotherhood. Worried, desperate, feel ing forsaken of God and man, it is not strange that Charl ton should shut his teeth together and defy his scruples. He 11 *- f- ftl ! METR- 1 use any key h.- tnnhl to irct out into the su: gain. II Uf- false adages lawlessness of necessity and so weary : T strength to stand at peace again, as ^L- his back i lions of liia rescuers in ilul he had grown weak .iiemcnt prisons do not .strength- .< hud moreover given wa. iming a! <ut lilx rty until In- was like, u h>m< >ick rhild, who aggra vates bis impatience by dwelling much on the : IL-htfulness of the meeting with old friends, and by counting the slow- iiu.vii: :i:it intcTvene. But th< i just the day before th- trial, a lttr \\ith the jxt ni;irk " M tn ; .];>\illr" <.n it. That post-mark is . in him. He itn> \\ ith what boyish :i possession of his oil; >w he to stamp the post-mark on the letters. The address r \V:LS not in hi- ied pcnm: it was Isa Mariay s straightforward and yet grat ing, and the very M-ht of it i: . was simply a : rom IsaLx cause Mrs. Plansaby did not f* el wdi , n u ? h to write; this is Isa said it was, and what she believed it to be, but Charlton kn--w that Isa s own fri irt had planned it. And th.Mi . h it ran on about tint un imp. riant matter "f villu.L"- were its commonplace sentences affairs like n rj soul of the prisoner ination in :m al^urdly ruri.-.H h.,,k that pooplc of a very sensitive fiber ca.n take :i i,-.; .-ontents an 1 inffer -f \\ !:!! n- THE TRIAL. 243 known, and by pressing it for a time against the forehead can see the writer and his surroundings. It took no spirit of divination in Charlton s case. The trim and graceful figure of Isa Marlay, in perfectly fitting calico frock, with her whole dross in that harmonious relation of parts for which she was so remarkable, came before him. He knew that by this time she must have some dried grasses in the vases, and some well- preserved autumn leaves around the picture-frames. The letter said nothing about his trial, but its tone gave him assurance of friendly sympathy, and of a faith in him that could not be shaken. Somehow, by some recalling of old associations, and by some subtle influence of human sympathy, it swept the fogs away from the soul of Charlton, and he began to see his duty and to feel an inspiration toward the right. I said that the letter did not mention the trial, but it did. For when Charlton had read it twice, he happened to turn it over, and found a postscript on the fourth page of the sheet. I wonder if the habit which most women have of reserving their very best for the postscript comes from the housekeeper s desire to have a good dessert. Here on the back Charlton read: " P. S. Mr. Gray, your Hoosier friend, called on me yesterday, and sent his regards. He told me how you refused to escape. I know you well enough to feel sure that you would not do anything mean or unmanly. I pray that God will sustain you on your trial, and make your innocence appear. I am sure you are innocent, though I can not understand it. Providence will overrule it all for good, I believe." Something in the simple-hearted faith of Isabel did him a world of good. He was in the open hall of the jail when he ~il THE MYSTEBY 01 I.E. read it, and he walked about the prison, feeling strong enough now to cope with t Th:it v-ry m>n. i from a colporteur, and now, 1 to Isa Marlay s faith, maybe out of some deeper s-ihly he read the story of the trial and condemr A In his combative day he had read it f< r ilio sake of noting tin- disagreements l..-tv. :-li-N in some *f the details. But now he was in no mood for small criti- Which is the shalhnv i-ni that harps on disagreements in such narratives, or the jx-ttifoppiiu- M ran hardly t-ll. In Charlton s .y earnest mood, one sees the smallness of all disputes about sixth and ninth hours. Albert saw the pro found essential unity of the narratives, ! Mt ng of the deep suhlii: he f It t!. f the suhlimcst charaet< r in human hi-: TV. Did h i:i any orthodox sense. Hut d you think that tin- in:! (.f the Christ is linuii-d to them who h Id : ions about Him . If a man s heart l not see Jesus in any li:ht without Citing good from Him. Charlton, unl- that he was, wet the pages with tears, tears of sympathy with tin- huh self-sacrifice of Jesus, and tear- is own m-r.-.l weakness, which stood rebuked l< f. r< tin- (Jrrsit K\ampU\ .in*- Hi-- d-\il. in tin- |M-r>tin .: uger. ice was full of hopefulness as he sat down in Ch.irlton s and smote his fat white hand upon his knee and said and looked expectantly at ) moment in hope of rousing Charlton s curios v, he mid present!} "I t- id you we 1 j.ull through. I/eare the whole matter to : THE TRIAL. 245 " I am -willing to leave anything to you but my con science," said Albert. " The devil take your conscience, Mr. Charlton. If you are guilty, and so awfully conscientious, plead guilty at once. If you propose to cheat the government out of some years of penal servitude, why, well and good. But you must have a devilish queer conscience, to be sure. If you talk in that way, I shall enter a plea of insanity and get you off whether you will or not But you might at least hear me through before you talk about conscience. Perhaps even your conscience would not take offense at my plan, unless you consider yourself foreor dained to go to penitentiary." " Let s hear your plan, Mr. Conger," said Charlton, hoping there might be some way found by which he could escape. 3Ir. Conger became bland again, resumed his cheerful and hopeful look, brought down his fat white hand upon his knee, looked up over his client s head, while he let his countenance blossom with the promise of his coming communication. He then proceeded to say with a cheerful chuckle that there was a flaw in the form of the indictment the grand jury had blundered. He had told Charlton that something would cer tainly happen. And it had. Then Mr. Conger smote his knee again, and said "Now!" once more, and proceeded to say that his plan was to get the trial set late in the term, so that the grand jury should finish their work and be discharged before the case came on. Then he would have the indictment quashed. He said this with so innocent and plausible a face that at first it did not seem very objectionable to Charlton. "What would we gain by quashing the indictment, Mr. Conger ? " . I-! MYSTEUY OK MKTKor>I .I-VII.LK. " Will, if th in its substance, then the ca*c falK But t! /rand jur you again. Ik hi-trict Attorney should In* a little cany and I age, and my influence with him, he would be :i n-w n.mmitmrnt : befor- f it. If you wen 1 nirain, then we pain time. Ti:r - ihinu in a bad case. You could not be trie<l until t!i When the next term comes, we could then see what could be done. ill." If ( li:irlton had n<t r- ly < ! :ir -hen . inly in a mood to deal honestly ^ith linnsclf, he w> 1 to tak rse. Let DM I K ; M * <, . :,. M If th.- case were delayed, and I still had nothing to present against the stron? DM of the prosecution if, in other word*, ill leave us in our present position v. be an ^aipc by a fa ij> trial?" \\Y11. fM ^e*-, !>Ir. Ch:irlt"n. this is precisely a case in will not accept a pitch . if we can h- After a whil.-, ^hm th- prosecuting parties feel lets toward you, we r.iipht get some of the evidence mkl the v :hr jury, or w.ll. ue might manage somehow to dodge trial on the case as it - is worth a great deal in thrsr thi IMP- are. thru, two possibilities for me." raid :i away, or we mny juggle the evktoce or the jury. Am I ripht ? " 44 Or, we c v.n c > prison?" said Congta-, smiling. THE TKIAL. 217 \ " I will take the latter alternative," said Charlton. "Then you owe it to me to plead guilty, and relieve me from responsibility. If you plead guilty, we can get a recom mendation of mercy from the court." "I owe it to myself not to plead guilty," said Charlton, speaking still gently, for his old imperious and self-confident manner had left him. "Very well," said Mr. Conger, rising, "if you take your fate into your own hands in that way, I owe it to myself to withdraw from the case." "Very well, Mr. Conger." "Good-morning, Mr. Charlton!" " Good-morning, Mr. Conger." And with Mr. Conger s disappearance went Albert s last hope of escape. The battle had been fought, and lost or won, as you look at it. Let us say won, for no man s case is desperate till he parts with manliness. Charlton had the good fortune to secure a young lawyer of little experience but of much principle, who was utterly bewildered by the mystery of the case, and the apparently paradoxical scruples of his client,^ but who worked diligently and hopelessly for him. He saw the flaw in the indictment and pointed it out to Charlton, but told him that as it was merely a technical point he would gain nothing but time. Charlton preferred that there should be no delay, except what was necessary to give his counsel time to understand the case. In truth, there was little enough to understand. The defense had nothing left to do. When Albert came into court he was pale from his confine ment. He looked eagerly round the crowded room to see if ho II! . .I.E. find the support of friendly f I : just two. Tin I >et sat on one of the benches, and by him sat In <!. Mr Plausaby sat next to Miss Marlay, but Al him any thin.- .f friends. 1 wondered how he would j-l -ad. She hoped th: did not mean to plead guilty, but the withdrawal of Conger from the ruse tilled h< r with fear >rmed !\ \Ir. Plausaby that ho r .- to plead alto- and it would !> consider- d a j-l- i him innocent, hut ehc had not had one word of assurance to that effect fr<>m him. :i:id vm her f littl<- ly the innuendoes and I aby. iy l(x>kcd at the prisoner. Attcn 1 that Albert Charlton be arrai- rt instructed the clerk, who said, "Albert < come for\\ Albert here rose to his feet, and raised his right hand in token of his identity. The pi rney said, " This priMMKf I have in: by the unind jury." "Shall we waive the reaxlin? of t nmt?" asked Charlton > omnaiL BTt, " 1- 1 it be read," ami h ! in tently \\huV tin- cli-rk read it. "AllH-n ( harli.n. you Lave heard the charge. What My !.- I ::. r/::::. fed unmean ing yoke in v clerk was acecustomed to go t! with hi* IH rfiinctor)- performanoet took on some solemnity re was dead alienee for a moment. Ii Marlay * 1 ^t"l>I and the Poet from Posey County opened his THE TRIAL. 249 mouth with eager anxiety. When Charlton spoke, it was in a full, solemn voice, with deliberation and emphasis. "Nor GUILTY!" "Thank God!" whispered Isa. The Poet shut his mouth and heaved a sigh of relief. The counsel for the defense was electrified. Up to that moment he had believed that his client was guilty. But there was so much of solemn truthfulness in the voice that he could not resist its influence. As for the trial itself, which came off two days later, that was a dull enough affair. It was easy to prove that Albert had expressed all sorts of bitter feelings toward Mr. Westcott ; that he was anxious to leave; that he had every motive for wishing to pre-empt before Westcott did ; that the land-war rant numbered so-and-so it is of no use being accurate here, they were accurate enough hi court had been posted in Red Owl on a certain day; that a gentleman who rode with the driver saw him receive the mail at Red Owl, and saw it de livered at Metropolisville ; that Charlton pre-empted his claim the S. E. qr. of the N. E. qr., and the X. * of the 8. E. qr. of Section 32, T. so-and-so, R. such-and-such with this identical land-warrant, as the records of the land-office showed beyond a doubt. Against all this counsel for defense had nothing whatever to offer. Nothing but evidence of previous good character, nothing but to urge that there still remained perhaps the shadow of a doubt. No testimony to show from whom Charl ton had received the warrant, not the first particle of rebutting evidence. The District Attorney only made a little perfunc tory speech on the evils brought upon business by theft in 11* Tlir. MV^IKUT OF lOETBo: LK. of Charltnn a counsel amounted to nolhini: ; the jury found him puilty without drlibcratkm. The judge sentenced him with much solemn admci was a grievous thing for one so young to commit such a Hi- \v:irncl Al he must not regard any consid* ; as a ju-ti:i, ..;: ,:i fur such an offense. He bod l> tru-t and N-.-M -uilty of theft. Th<- jud;:e expressed bis regret that the v \vas so severe. It was a sad thing to send :inrmrnt to be the companion of criminals for so many years. But the law rccognb difference between a theft by a sworn and trusted officer and an or.hiuiry larceny. II- Imped that this terribl- experience, and that he would so in. of his confinement with meditati what would remain to him of life when he should come out of the walls prison might be spent as an honorable and law . itixen. lie sentenced him to serve the shortest term \> The first deep snow of the \vint. r was falling outside the court-house, and as Charlton stood in the prisoners box, he hear the jingling of sleigh-bells, the sounds that usher in the happy social life of winter in these northern latitude*. II h< ml the ju.l /<. and he listened to the sleigh-bells as .1 man who dreams the world was so far off from him now ten weary years, and the load of a great disgrace measured the L ulf fired between him and all human joy and nym: And when, a few minutes afterward, the jail-lock clicked be- it seemed to have shut out life. F->r burial alive i.s no fable. Many a man has heard the closing of the vault as Albert i did. THE rJEXTTESTULEY. Co 1 CHAPTER XXX. THE PENITENTIARY. |T was a cold morning. The snow had fallen heavily the day beforehand the Stfflwater stage street-corners with eageuma as the driver, at a little i^ past five o clock in the moraine, mored about col lecting passengers. From the up-town hotels he drove in the light of the gas-lamps to the jail where the deputy marshal, with his prisoner securely handcuffed, took his seat and wrapped the robes about them both. Then at the down-town hotels they took on other passengers. The Fuller House was the last can of afl. -Havent you a back-seat? 1 * The passenger partly spoke and partry coughed out his inquiry. "The back-seat is occupied by ladies," said the agent, "you will have to take the front one." -It wffl kGl me to ride backwards,** whined the voice of Minorkey, but as there were only two he had no choke. He put his daughter in the middle while he took the end of the seat and resigned himself to death by retrograde motion. Miss Helen Mmorkey was thus placed ex actly n+a-ris with her old fever Albert Charhon, but in the darkness of six o clock on a winter s morning in Minnesota, she in i MKTKOPOU could not know it. The gentleman who occupied the other cad of the seat recognized Mr. Minorkcy, and was by 1 . to his i! . resist the e\hil i .such a M bnlf- vas imminent I* ril of upsetting at turn. And BO she ami IKT r.< w necjuaintancc talk many things, v. .Id not but recall bis ride, a half-year ago, on a front-scat, over the green prairies h:id prairies ever been ::P-. -in r : and blue sky, and in bright sunshine had hone so brightly ? with this same q Bought ful Helen >1 H.>\v soon had sunshine tr.rned to darkness! How suddenly had the blossoming spring-time ehan | It i r. htful, th! -\z\\ the .now and darkness in a .*.< h on runners, this battling with difll- I be the ,! . man- r nothing, n for yoi:r o\\ n r ,-ck. i- thoroughly : li^htful pr> pajsengcr in handeuflfs going to years. ! good name has been whose lil>erty is pone, whose future is to be made of weary days of monotonous and dreary nights in a sc friends hare deserted him, who is an outlaw to society to the passenger in hand cuffs this dashing and whirlin- toward a living entombment has no exhihr -on was gbi.l of the darkness, but dreaded the dawn when there must come a ??< In n ;^r he begged the deputy marshal to pull his over his eyes and to adjust bis woolen romfortcr over his nose, THE PENITENTIARY. 253 not so much to avoid the cold wind as to escape the cold eyes of Helen Minorkey. Then he hid his handcuffs under the buf falo robes so that, if possible, he might escape recognition. The gentleman alongside Miss Minorkey asked if she had read the account of the trial of young Charlton, the post-office robber. "Part of it," said Miss Minorkey. "I don t read trials much." 44 For my part," said the gentleman, " I think the court was very merciful. I should have given him the longest term known to the law. He ought to go for twenty-one years. TTe all of us have to risk money in the mails, and if thieves in the post-office are not punished severely, there is no security." There spoke Commerce ! Money is worth so much more than humanity, you know ! Miss Minorkey said that she knew something of the case. It was very curious, indeed. Young Charlton was disposed to be honest, but he was high-tempered. The taking of the war rant was an act of resentment, she thought. He had had two or three quarrels or fights, she believed, with the man from whom he took the warrant He was a very talented young man, but very ungovernable in his feelings. The gentleman said that that was the very reason why he should have gone for a longer time. A talented and self-con ceited man of that sort was dangerous out of prison. As it was, he would learn all the roguery of the penitentiary, you know, and then we should none of us be safe from him. There spoke the Spirit of the Law ! Keep us safe, O Lord ! whoever may go to the devil ! In reply to questions from her companion, Miss Minorkey told the story of Albert s conflict with "\Vestcott-she stated the case with all the coolness of a dispassionate observer. THE MYSTERY OK METK< I.K. There was no sum Allcrt listened for it of the slightest syin- palhy for or against him in tin- matter. Thru the story of little wa.s told as one u. onu-thing tha 1 1 pOMd a hundred year* :i_">, without any JH rsonal sympathy. It was y a curious story, an i: \\ith\\l. beguile a weary hour of str.ire riding hi the darkness. It would Albert to have been abl ration of ft painful memory or ruffled by di-tu; Tin- :ifnd i" :ough Mr. Minority s si:d :i thai t!i- f-nt at ;.oli vill.- had l.rouirht on a sud I his com- plnint. hf had bn-n -ri/rd wilh a pain jut under lite rib*. It ran up to the point of th<- ri-. ht sln-i. Ting saved him tuit putting his feet into !. :y dawn came i:nrlton was present QM I njoaments of ihr well kii it npuin without a profound . thnt he could : \7-d. H<r face was r w:;s not icsflion to deepening of her nature ad changed BO th hav.- r- ( n-!ii/-d him nadily h:ul it been leas con- And by w> much ns hU .Min .enap h- r> : fixed, had In- drifd-d away from ! :t Ml this, l ful his emotion was, as h< sat there casting glances at Helen - .IT.- was no regret that all twccn thorn wms broken f<-r w;i> not sorry r-r th meeting. He needed such a meeting to measure, tho THE FEXiTEirriARY. 255 parallax of his progress and her stagnation. He needed this impression of Helen to obliterate the memory of the row-boat. She was no longer to remain in his mind associated with the blessed memory of little Kate. Hereafter he could think of Katy in the row-boat the other figure was a dim unreality which might have come to mean something, but which never did mean anything to hirn. I wonder who keeps the tavern at Cypher s Lake now ? In those old days it was not a very reputable place ; it was said that many a man had there been fleeced at poker. The stage did not reach it on this snowy morning until ten o clock. The driver stopped to water, the hospitable landlord, whose familiar nickname was "Bun," having provided a pail and cut a hole through the ice of the lake for the accommodation of the drivers. "\Vatcr for beasts gentlemen could meantime find something less "beastly" than ice-water in the little low-ceiled bar-room on the other side of the road. The deputy-marshal wanted to stretch his legs a little, and so, trusting partly to his knowledge of Charlton s character, partly to handcuffs, and partly to his convenient revolver, he leaped out of the coach and stepped to the door of the bar-room just to straighten his legs, you know, and get a glass of whisky "straight" at the same time. In getting into the coach again he chanced to throw back the buffalo-robe and thus exposed Charlton s hand cuffs. Helen glanced at them, and then at Albert s face. She shivered a little, and grew red. There was no alternative but to ride thus face to face with Charlton for six miles. She tried to feel herself an injured person, but something in the self-pos sessed face of Albert his comforter had dropped down now awed her, and she affected to be sick, leaning her head on her THE MYSTERY OF METHOPOLI father s shoulder and surprising lhat p^ntlcman beyond -T shown BO much emotion of any sort i life before, cert M fusion an l shame. And f IHT reasoning that it was Albert who should 1*3 embarrassed. IV vo seemed to bare changed places. ( hnrlton was as * Minork- v <" r had been; uhe trrmMed and shud< with her t-t think that his eyes u irouu h and throutrh measuring nil the prtty in< anness hallowness of her soul. She -M!ii|il:iiMl of th. <r,ld and wripjM .l IMT Mankct shuwl aboii! and pretended to bo asleep, bir nrful nakcdiu-ss cf ln-r p]irit M-< whit Irjs.s vi-ililr t- tin- cool, intliflrn nt eyes that she frit must bo ill lookiivj at ln-r from undr the shadow of that cap-front. \Vhat a relief it wan at la*t to t-t into \\\c warm parlor - 1 .^lic hhivcrrd wli-n ^hn tluniirlit of It is ono thing to go into a warm parlor of n your room. your dinner. your Ix-d. i drive up und -r tin- 1 all of a prison ;i wall on which m-s f OSC to grow to ! hand- years of * : to hare ; age, nativity, hi-li marks carefully boo, i*d to half th- i of a i : . fcfl dre5.s v .-hosrn and whi. h seems half your individuality, and put on a suit U -iry uniform to ,.- ; . man with a plaee nmon id to become simply :. so agreeable as living at Did 1 ink of t! nee? TUE PENITENTIARY. 257 There is little to be told of the life in the penitentiary. It is very uniform. To eat prison fare without even the decency of a knife or fork you might kill a guard or a fellow- rogue with a fork to sleep hi a narrow, rough cell on a hard bed, to have your cell unlocked and to be marched out under guard hi the morning, to go in a row of prisoners to wash your face, to go in a procession to a frugal breakfast served on tin plates in a dining-room mustier than a cellar, to be marched to your work, to be watched by a guard while you work, to know that the guard has a loaded revolver and is ready to draw it on slight provocation, to march to meals under awe of the revolver, to march to bed while the man with the revolver walks behind you, to be locked La and barred in and double-locked in again, to have a piece of can dle that will burn two hours, to burn it out and lie down in the darkness to go through one such day and know that you have to endure three thousand six hundred and fifty- two days like it that is about all. The life of a blind horse hi a tread mill is varied and cheerful in comparison. Oh! yes, there is Sunday. I forgot the Sunday. On Sun days you don t have to work in the shops. You have the blessed privilege of sitting alone hi your bare cell all the day, except the hour of service. You can think about the outside world and wish you were out. You can read, if you can get anything interesting to read. You can count your term over, think of a broken life, of the friends of other days who feel disgraced at mention of your name, get into the dumps, and cry a little if you feel like it. Only crying doesn t seem to do much good. Such is the blessedness of the holy Sabbath hi prison! in ::v OK METli : .us. But Charlum did not 1< t himself pine for lil < rty. II. was busy with plans for reconstructing i would :..-i.l it. it OOOMI I " 1 b( V ; trjf t . build a house, and ". n about you ^iiukc. Your material is, nuu-li of it, broken. You can ncrer make it what .mill. Hut tin- br. failing U) it would, docs what it can. C harlton, who 1 the law as a pro fession, was now enam< that is no culling thnt offers nobler opjw.rtuniiies to a man v.ho 1ms a moral fi! bear the strain. When he ahould ::ni>lied lii- ti-nn. li" \\<>\i\>\ ! thirty-one, and would IM- ria i by his disgrace. 1 on a if necessary, and be the < f the apfttmtd. pleasure h< u<>uKl I:;IM- n beating some day! So he arranged to borrow law-books, and faithfully used his two hours of candle hi He calculate! thnt ; years if he ahould sun .r* of life in a < .! he could lay a foundation f r onlMOOa in 1 i: ;d li-;:rniiiL . Thus he and rcn : ttlcton on tone at night. II from the contractor for <> he u>ed iw-books. Soiu- i :::! I he hoped for a pardon, but there was only one y that was likely to bring it about And he could not wish for t rison-offlcers t<hnul.l Beck a pardon for beginning they had ." had been six months in prison, Imracter was ^< guards that no one < lit of wa :u or of inspecting his work. 11" Mi a LTI it desire to bare something done in a philan- iy for the prisoners, but \\l\a\ the acting chaplain. THE PENITENTIARY. 2o Mr. White, preached to them, he always rebelled. Mr. White had been a steamboat captain, a sheriff, and divers other things, and was now a zealous missionary among the Stillwater lum bermen. The State could not afford to give more than three hundred dollars a year for religious and moral instruction at this tune, and so the several pastors in the city served alternately, three mouths apiece. Mr. White was a man who delivered his exhortations with the same sort of vehemence that Captain White had used in giving orders to his deck-hands in a storm ; he arrested souls much as Sheriff White had arrested crim inals. To Albert s infidelity be gave no quarter. Charlton de spised the chaplain s lack of learning until he came to admire his sincerity and wonder at his success. For the gracefulest and cruditest orator that ever held forth to genteelest congre gation, could not have touched the prisoners by his highest flight of rhetoric as did the earnest, fiery Captain-Sheriff-Chap lain White, who moved aggressively on the wickedness of his felonious audience. When Mr. White s three months had expired, there came another pastor, as different from him as possible. Mr. Lurton was as gentle as his predecessor had been boisterous. There was a strong substratum of manly courage and will, but the whole was overlaid with a sweetness wholly feminine and sera phic. His religion was the Twenty-third Psalm. His face showed no trace of conflict. He had accepted the creed which he had inherited without a question, and, finding in it abundant sources of happiness, cf moral development, and spiritual con solation, he thence concluded it true. He had never doubted. It is a question whether his devout soul would not have found peace and edification in any set of opinions to which he had i: MYSTKKY OK il : LE. !\\-> such men ;r life. Th.ir presence la a benieon. Allnri felt more peaceful \\-\\\\t- Mr. Lurtm stood without the grating of hla roll, i to leave a benedktkra behind him did not talk in pious rant, he <i scd a sinner down an inclined plane. He was too humMe for ruflled. th- iMirufflc- :iM- ix-accfulnejs nnd trustfulness of his soul seemed , hose life hnd hoen stormier within than v thins less than sul.li: inmates of the prison could r ki thi^i (. bV young minLst<-i ! ! .u-h to their life him or for him Understand th -m. He considered them nil, on general prim-ij l >, a-* l"-t sinners, 1. natur outward transgressions and the (rime of r "eting Christ to their original guilt and corruption as members of tlfc human family. Charlton watched Lurton with intense interest, listen* nil ho had to say, rcspon his fine q . Init found hi* own douMs yet unanswered and indeed nn- tou< hed. The mini.strr. on hi> part, took a lively interest in the man, and often ei. to remov kiiit logical arguments he ed in tiie schools. "Mr. I. ;r; >:.. *.iid C harlton :> one day, ** were I .! not remember that I ever seriously entertained a in regard to religious truth in my life," said Lurlon, Thm N no more about my doubts than a blind THE PENITENTIARY. 261 man knows of your sense of sight." But after a pause, he added, laughing : " Nevertheless, I would give away my doubta- tiveness any day in exchange for your peacefulness." Charlton did not know, nor did Lurton, that the natures which have never been driven into the wilderness to be buffeted of the devil are not the deepest. It was during Mr. Lurton s time as chaplain that Charlton began to receive presents of little ornamental articles, intended to make his cell more cheerful. These things were sent to him by the hands of the chaplain, and the latter was forbidden to tell the name of the giver. Books and pictures, and even little pots with flowers in them, came to him in the early spring. He fancied they might come from some unknown friend, who had only heard of him through the chaplain, and he was prone to resent the charity. He received the articles with thankful lips, but asked in his heart, "Is it not enough to be a convict, without being pitied as such ? " Why anybody in Stillwatcr should send him such things, he did not know. The gifts were not expensive, but every one gave evidence of a refined taste. At last there came one a simple cross, cut in paper, intended to be hung up as a transparency before the window that in some unaccountable way suggested old associations. Charlton had never seen anything of the kind, but he had the feeling of one who half-recognizes a handwriting. The pattern had a de licacy about it approaching to daintiness, an expression of taste and feeling which he seemed to have known, as when one sees a face that is familiar, but which one can not " place," as we say. Charlton could not place the memory excited by this transparency, but for a moment he felt sure that it must be from some one whom he knew. But who could there be near (HI enough to him to . i framed pictures v,. A as no one in Still water whom be Lad !!Un Minorkey were there yet, and he I ivcn up and all desire of rcccir- ing any attention at h< r hands. Brides, the associations excited transparency, tin- taMe . inp it, the < ntiment which it <-\pn -><<!. \\.p- i-...t "f II- 1 n Minorkey. It was on t tin- liirht of his window. not until Sunda\ / 1: tlesaly w:r. his scanty allowance of daylight grow din. -came Mirv of the hand t!, vorkman>l. B uji ijuii-kly and looked at it more < andsaM: "It lini-t be Isa Marl "wn again, \V< 11, ii c. :i a man .- he luis one frit-mi." And then, as the light grew more and Why di.l i.ot I M - re? Good ortliodox Isa wants to preach t > :.i . She means to say that I should nv -iv. li:ht thn>u.i:h the crosa.** And he lay awake far into the night, trying how the flower-pots and pictures and all the rest could torn :.!! the way from Metropolis i IV It was not till long iiftrrwar.l that In- lisr<.\ alliance 1 .y Jim and Isabel, and how Jim hal <1 on tip route ti h-lp him pt them thr..M-h. Ii::l (. liarlt-.n \vrotO Isa, and told IK r how hr had detected her, and tbanke.l 1>< di illy, asking her why she concealed her hand. S kindly, but with little allusion to the gifts y came no. Wii- n l-:i h.id been cUacorered she could resents. Save that now and then tin r.- came something from his moth ich Isa s taste and THE PENITENTIARY 2G8 skill were evident, he received nothing more from her, except an occasional friendly letter. He appreciated her delicacy too late, and regretted that he had written about the cross at all. | One Sunday, Mr. Lurton, going his round, found Charlton reading the New Testament. " Mr. Lurton, what a sublime prayer the Pater-noster is ! " exclaimed Charlton. 44 Yes ; " said Lurton, " it expresses so fully the only two feelings that can bring us to God a sense of guilt and a sense of dependence." " What I admired in the prayer was not that, but the un selfishness that puts God and the world first, and asks bread, forgiveness, and guidance last. It seems to me, Mr. Lurton, that all men are not brought to God by the same feelings. Don t you think that a man may be drawn toward God by self-sacrifice that a brave, heroic act, in its very nature, brings us nearer to God ? It seems to me that whatever the rule may be, there are exceptions ; that God draws some men to Himself by a sense of sympathy ; that He makes a sudden draft on their moral nature not more than they can bear, but all they can bear and that in doing right under difficulties the soul finds itself directed toward God opened on the side on which God sits." Mr. Lurton shook his head, and protested, in his gentle and earnest way, against this doctrine of man s ability to do any thing good before conversion. "But, Mr. Lurton," urged Albert, "I have known a man to make a great sacrifice, and to find himself drawn by that very sacrifice into a great admiring of Christ s sacrifice, into a great desire to call God his father, and into a seeking for the forgive- in I:T or ness and fav.r that would make him in some sense a cl : God. Pi i r know mch a case?" I do not think that genuine conversions comr in that way. A sense tisness can not prepare a man for Miration onlj a set. at all our righteous ness i < otirage you fr>in study ing the BiM in any way. You will come round right afu-r u while, and then you will find that to be saved, a mail must :it>hor t v.-ry so-railed good thins: that h<- evrr did." Yes," said Charlton more modest in bis truth i:i th" :ne as you state it. Bu ? and more oj divinn crnee, for resisting a temptation to vi- Mr. Lurton hrsitu:. !. H.- reinenilM red tliat he bad read, in very sound writers, H t* no such thing as good works before Mr Lurton was too bumble to set hi great d ; that All.rrt s questions K that drijiirf-nwi hereby attrihutetl to Arniinius, . - may he the imp < iod is grace to Do you think that a man can really do good \\ i God s help ?" asked Mr I don l think man < :uility ami lp from dod," an- wbose mode of thinking about God was fast clumping for <od goes out a long, long way to meet tbe first : a good purpose In a man s In-art. The par.. 1 odigal Bon c: U it. The parable breaks down with a truth too tn at for human analogus. I don t km- THE PENITENTIARY. -0-") that He acts in the beginning of the purpose. I am getting to be a Calvinist in fact, on some points, I out-Calvin Calvin. Is not God s help in the good purposes of every man ? " Mr. Lurton shook his head with a gentle gravity, and changed the subject by saying, " I am going to Metropolisville next week to attend a meeting. Can I do anything for you?" " Go and see my mother," said Charlton, with emotion. " She is sick, and will never get well, I fear. Tell her I am cheerful. And Mr. Lurton do you pray with her. I do not believe anything, except by fits and starts ; but one of your prayers would do my mother good. If she could be half as peaceful as you are, I should be happy. Lurton walked away down the gallery from Albert s cell, and descended the steps that led to the dining-room, and was let out of the locked and barred door into the vestibule, and out of that into the yard, and thence out through other locks into the free air of out-doors. Then he took a long breath, for the sight of prison doors and locks and bars and grates and gates and guards oppressed even his peaceful soul. And walking along the sandy road that led by the margin of Lake St. Croix toward the town, he recalled Charlton s last remark. And as he meditatively tossed out of the path with his boot the pieces of pine-bark which in this lumbering country lie about everywhere, he rejoiced that Charlton had learned to appreciate the value of Christian peace, and he offered a silent prayer that Albert might one day obtain the same serenity as himself. For nothing was further from the young minister s mind than the thought that any of his good qualities were natural. He considered himself a miracle of grace upon all sides. As if natural qualities were not also of God s grace ! ; MV ii ;. ( HAITI-.!; XXXI. MB, i T was a warm Sunday in the early spring, one r Mr. Lurtim > . ion wiih hat ihr latter sat in hi he could p.t.t ISA His j>r much a prison. T- ] n-iv t .ii> lalmmoas creep- HILT through tin- narrow. hi-h \\indow a mere orii: n thick wall ami making it-- If f- rl.ly fdt as it fdl athwart - of th" ( cil, t ]Ti- . . >f sprin-T. an 1 not t. ! al.l;- \<t m th : trcc- .*S of tllC 811!: . be able : of tin- !ir-t tuittt-rinr of t!ic -parrows and th" 1. tin- s\va. 1 thai h- and lifr had parted. Mr. Luri Mi -, (Invc months a> -haplain , and tin iv had co:nr ia his stead Mr. ( . y stiff \\hit - unk-ti and a very straight-breasted long-toih*d coat Nothing is SO jrn-.U a bar to In: dress, and Mr. Cai:t..n h. \ed a great gulf bt-: !; and his f, How-men, ri.arlt. -n - lljj^ll ilMlirnnOJI, v. hi. h bad \vcct influences of mt-nlullN ! an nrflmJMtl <. and all KM h mii . was capa- Th- hour .f sirvicr v.-as ended, and (. luirlton Mil. LURTOX. 2G7 to absorb some of the influences of the balmy air tliat reached him ia such niggardly quantities. He was hungering for a sight of the "woods, which he knew must be so vital at this season. lie had only the geraniums and the moss-rose that ISA had sent, and they were worse than nothing, for they pined hi this twilight of the cell, and seemed to him smitten, like himself, with a living death. He almost stopped his heart s beating ia his effort to hear the voices of the birds, and at last he caught the harsh cawing of the crows for a moment, and then that died away, and he could hear no sound but the voice of the clergyman in long clothes talking perfunctorily to O Xcill, the wife-murderer, in the next cell. He knew that his turn would come next, and it diJ. He listened in silence and with much impatience to such a moral lecture as seemed to Mr. Canton befitting a criminal. Mr. Canton then handed him a letter, and seeing that it was addressed ia the friendly hand of Lurton, he took it to the window and opened it, and read : " DEAR MR. CHARLTOX : " I should have come to see you and told you about my trip to Metropolis ville, but I am obliged to go out of town again. I send this by Mr. Canton, and also a request to the warden to pass this and your answer without the customary inspection of contents. I saw your mother end your step father and your friend Miss Marlay. Your mother is failing very fast, and I do not think it would be a kindness for me to conceal from you ray belief that she can not live many weeks. I talked with her and prayed with her as you re quested, but she seems to have some intolerable mental bur^ den. Miss Marlay is evidently a great comfort to her, and, 1H i >I oI.I>N III :. r saw a more faithful person than ri r a more remarkable < lie beauty of a lif . She takes every burden < h seems i hhc b ! <>lut< ly in your imiormrr. Hy th< w .v you n riends ih< <as ? T. t at least have been , ;in 1 \\- illicit IM- able to hr!j> 15 t I am wri:i ythin^ U to say, or rather t> a>k, for I tn-mblc to ask It. Are y- oil. rr than as a fri-:rl in Miss Isabel : . Will L Ur.-S \vliV I ::>U th> her I have tho.i. ht of her a great i I may a hi t I have :i:i\i >ij-ly Mnuht divine ;; . ly to affect the u>rfnhn ss of my whol.- Ufa I \vill n<>t take a irt has been h-nly drawn, if y.u li.iv nny JT I T < 1 ii:n, .r ope of r in some more : Far !> it from m- to aid a straw t.. have had t. b.ir I expect to be " :>olisville again soon, an.l will > your inntln-r once m< .. ith frinkncss, ami 1" ft "Ahvays your fr! Th- : -yarding 1. to Al fully of ber slate. It would lx diftVult t> <!-s : -.din- <>f mingled pain and pleas- n a 1 I. :r n s confession of bis K love for Is-ibi 1 v since bis imprisonment bad so humbled (Miarlton as the r< e bad in his cstitnitr H-len Minorkcy, and bis MR. LURTOX. 269 for her over Isa. He liad lain on bis cot sometimes and dreamed of what might have been if he had escaped prison and had clioscn Isabel instead of Helen. He had pictured to himself the content he might have had with such a woman for a wife. But then the thought of his disgrace a disgrace he could not share with a wife always dissipated the beautiful vision and made the hard reality of what was, seem tenfold harder for the ravishing beauty of what might have been. And now the vision of the might-have-been came back to him more clearly than ever, and he sat a long while with his head leaning on his hand. Then the struggle passed, and he lighted his little ration of candle, and wrote : "SUNDAY EVEXIXG. " REV. J. II. LURTOX : " DEAR SLR : You have acted very honorably in writing me as you have, and I admire you now more than ever. You fulfill my ideal of a Christian. I never had the slightest claim or the slightest purpose to establish any claim on Isabel Mar- lay, for I was so blinded by self-conceit, that I did not appre ciate her until it was too late. And now ! "What have I to offer to any woman ? The love of a convicted felon ! A name tarnished forever! Xo ! I shall never share that with Isa Marlay. She is, indeed, the best and most sensible of women. She is the only woman worthy of such a man as you. You are the only man I ever saw good enough for Isa bel. I love you both. God bless you ! "Very respectfully and gratefully, CHARLTOX." Mr. Lurton had staid during the meeting of the eccle siastical body Presbytery, Consociation, Convention, Confer ence, or what not, it does not matter at Squire Plausaby s. mopou Albert had written about him. and Isa, ft* soon as sbc beard that he was to attend, ha 1 prompted Plausaby i t with the e-unmitt -e on the entertainment of dele gates for the ossi !.im aa flocrt His pcaccfulncss had not, as Albert and Isabel hoped, t* ho was i t -m.r it ti f death. The hkillful surgeon bfl tries to heal, and Mr. Lurum Ml If to find the cause of all this irritation in the mind of thh weak woman. Sometimes she s -emrd inr! 11 him n . it nhvays happened that when sl:e was just ready to apeak, fare of Plausaby glM th- door. On the appearance of her hi; ahy would cease speaking. It took I. :: i a long time to discover that Plausaby was the cause of thi* H-- it, however, and endeav. -erview v was n ;t Isabel. In trying to do this, he made n fr tint Pluuvilty was stanl over his wife, and that the restraint he e\ r< -I* -d w.- rial. Tli thing fascinat. d liim ; and it had something to do with ( h.irl ton, and th- yet stnn-jer motive of a * : . ih alllieted woman, msde him resolut- in his d trnninat: more so, hou -i was Isalnl. wl.o ! in every way to secure an nnint. rn:; " ton was thus place.! in fr o to nee Miss Marlay s in ht-r - rhythrni so sensi MR. LUKTON*. - nature as Lurton s. But more than that was he moved by her diligent management of the household, her unwearying patience with the querulous and feeble-minded sick woman, hci tact and common-sense, and especially the entire truth fulness of her character. Mr. Lurton made excuse to himself for another trip to Metropolisville that he had business in Perritaut. It was business that might have waited ; it was business that would have waited, but for his desire to talk further with Mrs. Plausaby, and for his other desire to see and talk with Isa bel Marlay again. For, if he should fail of her, where would he ever find one so well suited to help the useful ness of his life? Happy is he whose heart and duty go together! And now that Lurton had found that Charlton had no first right to Isabel, his worst fear had departed. Even in his palpitating excitement r.bout Isa, he was the true minister, and gave his first thought to the spiritual wants of the afflicted woman whom he regarded as provi dentially thrown upon his care. He was so fortunate as to find Plausaby absent at Perritaut. But how anxiously did he wait for the time when he could see the sick woman ! Even Isa almost lost her patience with Mrs. Plausaby s char acteristic desire to be fixed up to receive company. She must have her hair brushed and her bed "tidied," and, when Isabel thought she had concluded everything, Mrs. Plausaby would insist that all should be undone again and fixed m some other way. Part of this came from her old habitual vanity, aggravated by the querulous childishness produced by sickness, and part from a desire to postpone as long ns she could an interview which she greatly dreaded. Isa Till i:Y OF METKo I.B. knew th.-it time v. .> i.f the greatest ralue, and BO, when she h.i l complied \viih tip- t\\ utictli unroasonat-. ;n of the sick woman, and was just about to hear the t\\ she suddenly ojM-ned the d<*>r of Mr*. Plausaby s sick room and invited Mr. Lurt . then logan again the <>M !.-i!:i. -tl,- i.ir:-; Conflict of all the battle with vacillation. To contend with u stub born will is a Dimple problem of force against force. But t<> contend with a weak and vacillating \\ill i ; Mrv IMausaby said she bad something to say to Mr. Lur- ton. lint dear mi she was so annoyed room w*s : t for a stranger to see. She must look like a ghoat. ..thin- that worri- ! her. She was afraid she was going to she had <li-l Mr. Lurto M think she - Didn t he think she might get v. Lurton It id to say that, in his opin: L-rt \\.11. and tiiat if there wos anything on her mind, she would h. tt.-r tdl it. Didn t I*:i think she n.ul.i She didn t want to die. Hut then Katy was de.id. Would she go to hcaren if riM Di.l Mr. Lurton think that if she hati ( ouldif t she ! \\ithoi;; tint:- W.-uMn t h-- pray for h.-r unless she con fessed it? II.- ou.u ht not to be s> h.-r. Would God tdl it nil? Oh I she \v:\s , mi-- n! ! Lurton told her that SOIIK bf r- Mm t soft b :;.- .r . oai I kn smd mm to do with on,, r p.. -pi.-. Was her confession neces sary to remove blame from others* MK. LUKTON. 273 " Oh ! " cried the sick woman, " Albert has told you all about it! Oh, dear! now I shall have more trouble! Why didn t he wait till I m dead ? Isn t it enough to have Katy drowned and Albert gone to that awful place and this trou ble ? Oh ! I wish I was dead ! But then maybe God would be hard on me ! Do you think God would be hard on a woman that did wrong if she was told to do it? And if she was told to do it by her own husband ? And if she had to do it to save her husband from some awful trouble? There, I nearly told it. Won t that do?" And she turned her head over and affected to be asleep. Mr. Lurton was now more eager than ever that the whole truth should come out, since he began to see how important Mrs. Plausaby s communication might be. Beneath all his sweetness, as I have said, there was much manly firmness, and he now drew his chair near to the bedside, and began m a tone full of solemnity, with that sort of quiet resolute ness that a surgeon has when he decides to use the knife. He was the more resolute because he knew that if Plausaby returned before the confession should be made, there would be no possibility of getting it. "Mrs. Plausaby," he said, but she affected to be asleep. " Mrs. Plausaby, suppose a woman, by doing wrong when her husband asks it, brings a great calamity on the only child she has, locking him in prison and destroying his good name " "Oh, dear, dear! stop! You ll kill me! I knew Albert had told you. Now I won t say a word about it. If he has told it, there is no use of my saying anything," and she covered up her face in a stubborn, childish petulance. 12* TIM: - , or MEI CIIA1TKK \\XII. A CONTEST I -, * - K U KTn-. . 1,-fi the room. Mr*. ally s fears of death soon awakened again, and she begged Isa to ask Mr. Lurton to come if had a .-. stitious veneration for ecdesia*t :IM ! M..-.V in her weakened condition she bad readily gut a vague nation thv I/irt<>a hrl-1 h-r - :1\ :iM<>n in his hands, and i modify th- < if lie would. " You aren t a Catholic arc yon, M ?" Ho, I am not nt .-ill :i Catholic." " \V. 11. then, what m:ikrJ y M want mo to confess?" "Because y.. u nn- BUI ur fir>t sin a prrr. wronging your son by not coi " Who I,, M you that? Did All. i told me at much as r "Did 1 Why, then I miirht MS \\dl t.-ll you all. Hm why won t that do?" I) . .1 I not get A riaon. lon t want to U-nve him in ]>cniteiiti:iry \\\. "Oh, dear! I cnn t 1. 11 Plauaaby won t let me. Maybe 1 might tell Isa. M A CONFESSION. 275 "That will do just as well. Tell Miss Marlay." And Lurton walked out on the piazza. For half an hour Mrs. Plausaby talked to Isa and told her nothing. She would come face to face with the confes sion, and then say that she could not tell it, that Plausaby would do something awful if he knew she had said so much. At last Isabel was tired out with this method, and was desperate at the thought that Plausaby would return while yet the confession was incomplete. So she determined to force Mrs. Plausaby to speak. "Now, Mrs. Plausaby," she said, "what did Uncle Plau saby say to you that made you take that letter of Smith West- cott s ? " " I didn t take it, did I ? How do you know ? I didn t say so ? " "You have told me part, and if you tell me the rest I will keep it secret for the present. If you don t tell me, I shall tell Uncle Plausaby what I know, and tell him that he must tell me the rest." " You wouldn t do that, Isabel ? You couldn t do that. Don t do that, begged the sick woman. " Then tell me the truth," she said with sternness. " What made you take that land-warrant for you know you did, and you must not tell me a lie when you re just going to die and go before God." "There now, Isa, I knew you would hate me. That s the reason why I can t tell it. Everybody has been looking so hateful at me ever since I took the letter, I mean ever since Oh ! I didn t mean anything bad, but you know I J";* , -in I.B. have to do what IMnuialiy t* 11s inc I must do. He s tuck a man ! An.l tln-n he was in was SOUK- dd trouble from Pennsylvania. The men came > md made .oni-y, all ih- money he coul 1 . tlieni from him put in prison. I don t know what it wan all about, i:id about business, but was AllMTt I othrriMt: him about : . j>ay for a warrant, and tlu-sf :u all his money, and here was a trial about .-OHM- lot th.it h sold to that fat man with curly hair, and he was afraid Albert would swear against him about that i.out th.- < ounty-scat, and so he want* : !;im away. An.l th -rr was an awful bother about Katy an 1 V, : the same tini". Ami I wanted a changeable silk dress, and ha , i L l-t it for in - Iwraujio all his money was going t insylvania. But I cant t 11 \<> i any more, iiaaby might come. You won t ull, and you won t h.-itr mr, Isa, dear now, will you ? You used to be good t . . in , but you won t be good to me any more ! " "11! ;.: . if you <>::ly trll i:- the rest" .I tan t. For you !< C I hus -iby didn t i:. harm, niul I didn t mean any harm. Plausahy wanted All.rt to go away so tiny couldn t get Albert to swear against him. It was all Alert s fault, you know he had such notions. But he was a good boy, and I can t sleep at night now for seeing him U-hind a kind of a grate, and he seems to be pointin Hngcr at me and *..-.; :t mo in here. Bat I didn t l one of his notions. It was PUnsaby made me : any oar I toon 11 had hclix?d Westcott to get the any ho from bis own A CONFESSION. 277 in-law. He said that I must get the letter out of the office when Albert did not see me. He said it would be a big letter, with Red Owl stamped on it, and that it would be in 3Ir. Wcstcott s box. And he said I must take the land-warrant out and burn up the letter and the envelope. And then he said I must give the land-warrant to Albert the next duy, and tell him that a man that came up in the stage brought it from Plausaby. And he said he d get another and bring it home with him and give it to Westcott, and make it all right. And that would keep him out of prison, and get Albert away so he couldn t swear against him in the suit with the fat man, and then he would be able to get me the changeable silk that I wanted so much. But things went all wrong with him since, and I never got the changeable silk, and he said he would keep Albert out of penitentiary and he didn t, and Albert told me I musn t tell anybody about taking it myself, for he couldn t bear to have me go to prison. Now, won t that do? But don t you tell Plausaby. He looks at me sometimes so awfully. Oh, dear ! if I could have told that before, maybe I wouldn t have died. It s been killing me all the time. Oh, d2ar ! dear ! I wish I was dead, if only I was sure I wouldn t go to the bad place." Isa now acquainted Lurton briefly with the nature of Mrs. Plausaby s statement, and Lurton knelt by her bedside and turned it into a very solemn and penitent confession to God, and very trustfully prayed for forgiveness, and call it the con tagion of Lurton s own faith, if you will at any rate, the dying woman felt a sense of relief that the story was told, and a sense of trust and more peace than she had ever known in her life. Lurton had led her feeble feet into a place of 278 TIM ;.ut rest. An 1 h- >y in thinking that, though his min i-try to rii-k- lamb-mien nn-l 1 might be fruitless, he had at least some gifts that made him a source of .strength aii-l consolation to the weak, the remonefu), the ml th< ilj.in-. 11. stepped out of the door of th- lumber, and t him, was Plau&abr, his avor to 1 Hul Lurton saw nt oner that Plausaby h:i 1 tli-- prayer in whie h h - had fnined Mrs. Plausaby s confcs- H -:i to K-i into a solemn and specific confession to Go know no :; pitiful iat of a man who has worn his face as a mask, when at last the mask is 1>. nud t | bi-hin 1 it-clf. I/ir oa had a gnat f presence of mind, and if he <li 1 not thinlx much of -tly authority of a minister, he h;ul a pro- sense of hU moral a ; 1 ( thnly and y into tl. "ham, who ha-1 !H.-:I i:n>lnk u till .-.terfeit wr ( oul 1 not 1 tip and look the real in the face. Lurton been abashed or nervous or so If -conscious, Plati- .-.iiiy mi-, ht have assumed on air of indignation at the miais- tcr s i Hut I.urt >n ha-l nothing but a serene sense lxv:i divinely aulcd in th mce of n catc nn<l difflcult luty. 11 i , an 1 cotjrt-ously arid y.-t : that Plau.oihy li i 1 ov.-rh .ml. did not care to conceal th<> indignation she felt Poor Plauaoby, Esq.! the disguise was torn, and hr could no longer hid .f He sit do\vn anl wiped II. fonhr.vl, and essayed to speak, as boforn. to the r.i A CONFESSION. 279 his anxiety about his poor, dear wife, but he could not do it. Exert himself as he would, the color would not return to his pallid lips, and he had a shameful consciousness that the old serene and complacent look, when he tried it, was sadly crossed by rigid lines of hard anxiety and shame. The mask was indeed broken the nakedness and villainy could no more be hidden! And even the voice, faithful and obedient hitherto, always holding the same rhythmical pace, had sud denly broken rein, galloping up and down the gamut in a husky jangling. "Mr. Plausaby, let us walk," said Lurton, not affecting in the least to ignore Plausaby s agitation. They walked in silence through the village out to the prairie. Plausaby, habitually a sham, tried to recover his ground. He said something about his wife s not being quite sane, and was going to caution Lurton about believing anything Mrs. Plau saby might say. " Mr. Plausaby," said Lurton, " is it not better to repent of your sins and make restitution, than to hide them ? " Plausaby cleared his throat and wiped the perspiration from his brow, but he could not trust his voice to say anything. It was vain to appeal to Plausaby to repent. He had saturated himself in falsehood from the beginning. Perhaps, after all, the saturation had begun several generations back, and unhappy Plausaby, born to an inheritance of falsehood, was to be pitied as well as blamed. He was even now planning to extort from his vacillating wife a written state ment that should contradict any confession of hers to Isa and Lurton. THE M"i >V METBOPOLLSVILLE. Fly swiftly, jwn ! For Isa Marhy knew th" stake in this game, and she di 1 not mean that any chance of secur ing Charlton s release should be neglected. She knew noth ing of legal forms, but she could v. light-out state ment after a woman s fashion. So she wrote a paper read as folio. 1 do not expect to live long, and I sol- >nfeas that I t<M>k ti, .:it from Smith Wrst< ..it s latter, for which my *on Albert Ch:irlt.>n U i. :ly irapHs- m the p. i I di 1 K th,. knowledge of Al i of Thomas Plausah;. husband. This pap-T Isa read to Mrs. Plaiwaby. an 1 that lady, after _:ne<l it with :i f- !.l hand. Then Isabel own name as a witness. But she wanted another :it Mrs. Fi-rrct rain.- in, having an in- -;in<-tivr feeling that a second visit fr i boded some thing worth finding out. Isa took her into Mrs. Plausaby s room s this pap "Wrll," nU p Ttinadooi Mrs. Fll have to know it. Wi>n t !y want to know that this Is Mrs. Plausaby s signature,* and Isa placed lur im;. < r* ov< r the P-IJMT in such a waj that Mrs. 1 uKl not read u Did you *ign this Mrs. Plausaby ? sick woman said she d "Do yon know what Is in it ? V C q. hut hut it s a seen Di 1 yon sign it own free will, or did Mr. I siby mak< A CONFESSION. 281 " Mr. Plausaby ! Oh ! don t tell him about it. He ll make such an awful fuss ! But it s true." Thus satisfied that it was not a case of domestic despotism, ?-Irs. Ferret wrote her peculiar signature, and made a private mark besides. And later in the evening Mrs. Plausaby asked Isa to send word to that nice-looking young woman that Albert loved so much. She said she supposed he must feel bad about her. She wanted Isa to tell her all about it. " But not till I m dead, 1 she added. "Do you think people know what people say about them after they re dead? And, Isn, when I m laid out let me wear my blue merino dress, and do my hair up nice, and put a bunch of roses in my hand. I wish Plausaby bad got that changeable silk. It would have been better than the blue merino. But you know best. Only don t forget to tell Albert s girl that he did not do it. But explain it all so she won t think I m a that I did it a-purpose, you know. I didn t mean to. What makes you look at me that way ? Oh, dear ! Isa, you won t ever lo%-e me any more!" But Isa quieted her by putting her arms around her neck in a way that made the poor woman cry, and say, " That s just the way Katy used to do. When I die, Katy ll love me all the same. Won t she ? Katy always did love a body so." Per haps she felt that Isabel s love was not like Katy s. For pity is not love, and even Mrs. Plausaby could hardly avoid distin guishing the spontaneous affection of Katy from this demon stration of Isa s, which must have cost her some exertion. :i:ilY OF MK1 i i.i. i :. ( IIAITKI; \\.\in. g I L.USABY grew raon II. r remorse and IHT fn-ling <>f tin- iirv necessity n f easing her iu had sustained LIT hitherto. Hut I-.MW IK r duty was done, she hod no loafer any mental stimulant In spite of Isa s t 1 .. ;i::d inirf : m> kindness, the sensitive \ Mrs. Plausaby detect* ili ii Isa thought of her as a She somehow got a notion that Mrs. 1 . w all about it also, and from h rton she half-hid her face i:i tho cover. Lurton, ; - that his mission to Mn. .l>\ was ended, return-. l home, intending to ate Isabel whrn < in -it instances should be more favorablr. But tin : ; rounl nftor a won t which she knew lay not far Mrs. Plausatiy having sodden 1 by h.-r .hiring tho nieht, Init PUusmby strenu- was unnecessary. The poor ^ secretly bcsougl to Imve hor alon< iro away from her bedside. tli- 1". > riris-iSy sj>oke har- r tl..- lir-t i trratr.i him with a savage neglect. A house- fT^nc rally supreme in the house, and Isa DEATH. 283 had gradually conie to be the housekeeper. She sat stubbornly by the dying woman during the whole night. Mr. Plausabv had his course distinctly marked out. In the morning he watched anxiously for the arrival of his trusted lawyer, Mr. Conger. The property which he had married with his wife, and which she had derived from Albert s father, had all been made over to her again to save it from Plausaby s rather eager creditors. He had spent the preceding day at Perritaut, whither Mr. Conger had gone to appear in a case as counsel for Plausaby, for the county-seat had recently returned to its old abode. Mr. Plausaby intended to have his wife make some kind of a will that would give him control of the property and yet keep it under shelter. By what legal fencing this was to be done nobody knows, but it has been often surmised that Mrs. Plausaby was to leave it to her husband in trust for the Metropolisville University. Mr. Plausaby had already acquired experience in the management of trust funds, hi the matter of Isa s patrimony, and it would not be a feat beyond his ability for him to own his wife s bequest and not to own it at the same time. This was the easier that territorial codes are gen erally made for the benefit of absconding debtors. He had made many fair promises about a final transfer of this property to Albert and Katy when they should both be of age, but all that was now forgotten, as it was intended to be. Mr. Plausaby was nervous. His easy, self-possessed manner had departed, and that impenetrable coat of mail being now broken up, he shuddered whenever the honest, indignant eves of Miss Marlay looked at him. He longed for the presence uf the bustling, energetic man of law, to keep him in countenance. When the lawyer caine, he and Plausaby were closeted for U MYSTERY OF METROPOLIS VILLE. half an hour. Tl. iby, Esq., took a walk, and th^ atlon ac in, stiff, mid, mid Mi M:i;!.:\ ." . smiling n little as Ix-ramr a . penetrating way from beneath shadowing eyebrows, have the goodness to tell me the nature of the par* : I l iimhy .-i-nod jcstcrtl. "Did Mrs. I hui- . Isabel diplomatically. " I have information to that effect. Will you tell me whether that p.iper was of th- nit ire of a will or der 1 or in short, what w I will not t 11 you anything abor.t it. It h Mrs. Plausaby s secret. I suppose you get your information from Mrs. Ferret. If she chooses to tell you the contents, she m You are a little sharp, Miss Marlay. I understand that Mrs. Ferret does not know th fceotl of that pajx T. A confiii y an 1 of Mr*. I lausmbj, I have a ri-ht to a :.t.s of that p.i; "As the Co; - * Is;i st.unin.Tr.l. Slc was about to retort that as confidential legal adviser to Mrs. Plausaby risk that lady her-lf, 1 was afraid of his doing that vi ry thing; so eh- short because she was confused, grew a little angry, and t"ld Mr. Confer th:.t h-- hail I !o ask any ! tlu-n got up ami disdainfully walked out of the room. And tin- lawyer, left alone, m" .i: I were likely t<> !> d<-foated, of getting angry. to get angry. And you never could do anything with a DEATH. 280 woman when she was angry. Or, as Conger framed it in his iniad, a mad dog was easier to handle than a mad woman. As the paper signed the day before could not have been legally executed, Plausaby and his lawyer guessed very readi ly that it probably did not relate to property. The next step was an easy one to the client if not to the lawyer. It must relate to the crime it was a solution of the mystery. Plau saby knew well enough that a confession had been made to Lurton, but he had not suspected that Isabel would go so far as to put it into writing. The best that could be done was to have Conger frame a counter-declaration that her confes sion had been signed under a misapprehension had been ob tained by coercion, over- persuasion, and so forth. Plausaby knew that his wife would sign anything if he could present the matter to her alone. But, to get rid of Isabel Mar- lay ? A very coward now in the presence of Isa, he sent the law yer ahead, while he followed close behin.l. Miss Marlay," said Mr. Conger, smili; g blandly but speak ing with decision, it will be necessary for me to speak to Mrs. Plausaby for a few minutes alone." It is curious what an effect a tone of authority has. Isa rose and would have gone out, but Mrs. Plausaby said, " Don t leave me, don t leave me, Isa; they want to arrest me, I be lieve." Seeing her advantage, Miss Marlay said, "Mrs. Plausaby wishes me to stay." It was in vain that the lawyer insisted. It was in vain that Mr. Plausaby stepped forward and told Mrs. Plausaby to ask Isabel lo leave the room a minute. The sick woman in: | iii.ii:- r over her ryes and 1. to I-.: - i - 1 sail: "No, IK-, don t go Isa, don t go." ill not go till you iwk me," said Isa. At lost, however, Plaimby pu*he.l himself close to hi* and said sou: rnctl pale, and he asked If .: \ bead. Doi I I<i stubbornly. " unleti you will go out of the room \\\ n. if Mr*. I lausaby tells mo that she wishes to see you ami this gentleman out my prescmv. I >hal! Mr. I lau^.iby <!n \v thr aitrn. y into one | tin- room for consultation. Nothing but the dcsperateness . ;vicc of i bare l him to tak me whi !. > dwHfrd i for force was not a common resort \\iih him, a: .:i l.is f t ilt-i, he was a man of mm h kindness of h< I," h.- Ml i, I a fathi r to you. I you are r against me. If \ In- tin-ler th- I iinful necessity of putting \ by main strength." Tin ol.l smile was on his face. He setoed :ms, and Isa, see -ing h<>w useless resistance won: itrmuit mi-ht ! t t!i- patinit. rose logo. that m k towarl \\\- lu-d, slic If] r msaby b < .ml xho wouKl not been a woman if she could hav, i,. !;., l a<l 1m -, " See wha have done, now 1 " TO was nothing Mr. Plausaby wanted less than thai his i die at t! nient moment. He ran hut poor, weak Mrs. Plausaby was past signing wi. ns. DEATH. 287 The next day she died. And Isa wrote to Albert : " METROPOLISVILLE, May l?th, 1857. "MR. CHAKLTOX: t "DEAR SIR: Your poor mother died yesterday. She suf fered little in body, and her mind was much more peaceful after her last interview with Mr. Lurton, which resulted in her making a frank statement of the circumstances of the land- warrant affair. She afterward had it written down, and signed it, that it might be used to set you free. She also asked me to tell Miss Minorkey, and I shall send her a letter by this mail I am so glad that your innocence is to be proved at last. I have said nothing about the statement your mother made to any one except Miss Minorkey, because I am unwilling to use it without your consent. You have great reason to be grate ful to Mr. Lurton. He has shown himself your friend, indeed. I think him an excellent man. He comforted your mother a great deal. You had better let me put the writing your mother left, into his hands. I am sure he will secure your freedom for you. "Your mother died without any will, and all the property is yours. Your father earned it, and I am glad it goes back to its rightful owner. You will not agree with me, but I believe in a Providence, now, more than ever. Truly your friend, ISABEL MARL AY." The intelligence of his mother s death caused Albert a real sorrow. And yet he could hardly regret it. Charlton was not conscious of anything but a filial grief. But the feeling of relief modified his sorrow. The letter fillevl him with a hope of pardon. Now that he TIIK MVSTKi. : !.. could without danger to 1 >ate from an unjust lease made (very ! I!< experienced a < satisfaction with Isn s letter. She had al ::* t- writ-- r.nilally. Dear Mr. M , Dear Mr. 1 . -.. i:l I n<>t :". n. Now that he was i nhoin i.sed and would naturally fe, 1 grateful to her, the case was v > I not sec why she -1 lie so friendly with him when she had erery reason to 1 him iruilty. - -v him in:, him with a straiu:<T-lik<> crxjlnrss. He had resolved to care , for h i in -re he was anxious for some si-: for him. Albert w ly : PBK or BONDAGE, May 20th. Mv Di.\!:. <;.M,ii fmtm Tfc ath of my mother has .1 of sorrow, thou-.-h it did not surprise me, 1 rememher now how many times of lalo yi-.. For whatever mistakes her person- was certainly a most Affectionate i . >w see, and th \*c* me much tiittcnicss, that I might have been moi ul of her happiness without com- i :ll<- my s< lf-<-onceit must have given lu-rl Your i-.-h;ik- 0:1 t!ii> s-.iliject has been ;:iee I hear 1 of !. ! I ftm f , too. M- ve gone, and mon di-t in- lives will i law. " If I had n.ii n M- . -i bow DEATH. 289 much I owe to your faithful friendship. I doubt not God will reward you. For I, too, am coming to believe hi a Providence ! " Sometimes I think this prison has done me good. There may be some truth, after all, hi that acrid saying of Mrs. Ferret s about 1 sanctified affliction, though she does know how to make even truth hateful. I haven t learned to believe as you and Mr. Lurton would have me, and yet I have learned not to believe so much in my own infallibility. I have been a high-church skeptic I thought as much of my own infallibility as poor O Xeill hi the next cell does of the Pope s. And I suppose I shall always have a good deal of aggressiveness and uneasiness and all that about me I am the same restless man yet, full of projects and of opin ions. I can not be Lurton I almost wish I could. But I have learned some things. I am yet very unsettled in my opinions about Christ sometimes he seems to be a human mani festation of God, and at other times, when my skeptical habit comes back, he seems only the divinest of men. But I believe in him with all my heart, and may be I shall settle down on some definite opinion after a while. I had a mind to ask Lurton to baptize me the other day, but I feared he wouldn t do it. All the faith I could profess would be that I believe enough in Christ to wish to be his disciple. I know Mr. Lurton wouldn t think that enough. But I don t believe Jesus himself would refuse me. His immediate followers couldn t have believed much more than that at first. And I don t think you would refuse me baptism if you were a minister. " Mr. Lurton has kindly offered to endeavor to secure my release, and he will call on you for that paper. I hope you ll like Lurton as well as he does you. You are the only woman in the world good enough for him, and he is the only man fit 13 rni: .\i . a. Aud if it should ( v r < ome to pass that you and be should t>< :, I hhall be too glad to envy cit!. * 1 > -he memory of my mother. You know how she was to 1 . ..... 1 > em D I bi if - people sbould talk about In r unkindly. She bad such a dread of censure. I thin:. is what kill- ! MB J-orry \ .Id not now share my disgrace with a wife; ami if I marry, ifo is one of the last I sh< : o not even car- h.-r think "As tot un greatly L I l.ujsai.y owned it once rightfully and 1 -itlly, :md t: trusted him on f his possession of it. I wish I did n j>onMl>ilit -A hat 1 00 I hare \\rittn :. 1- .- . a great deal the gratitu. .e I f you. But I am gomg to be always 1 frirud, Ai.r.i :;r ( IIAUI.; This 1. -tier M- in a whirl of emotions. She shi er ],- tdm it slu- bail ni-vi-r thought of him M a < and jiraisi-.s woul.l bavr m:ii. b:ip| \ conndrli. lu-r. lou-hl tl. inijrbt lovr her made it rom dreaming of a new future, brighter than any slu- had supposed possible to MR. unrroN s COURTSHIP. 291 CHAPTER XXXIV. MR. LURTON S COURTSHIP. FTER the death of Mrs. Plausaby, Isa had broken at once with her uncle-in-law, treating him with a wholesome contempt whenever she found opportunity. She had made many apolo gies for Plausaby s previous offenses this was too much even for her ingenious charity. For want of a better boarding-place, she had taken up her abode at Mrs. Ferret s, and had opened a little summer-school in the village school- house. She began immediately to devise means for securing Ch:irlton s release. Her first step was to write to Lurton, but she had hardly mailed the letter, when she received Albert s, an nouncing that Lurton was coming to see her; and almost imme diately that gentleman himself appeared again in Metropolis- ville. He spent the evening in devising with Isa proper means of laying the evidences of Charlton s innocence before the Pres ident in a way calculated to secure his pardon. Lurton knew two Representatives and one Senator, and he had hope of being able to interest them in the case. He would go to "Wash ington himself. Isa thought his offer very generous, and found in her heart a great admiration for him. Lurton, on his part, regarded Isabel with more and more wonder and 11IK MYBTKBY OK MKTR" I.E. it List, in a sweet and sincere humil ity, tin- luml -n of IIH h .rt. He confessed his lore with a frankness that was very winning, and with a gentle defer ence that rrvcal -d him to her the man he was affec tionate, MII ATP, and unselfish. If Kil>; 1 h:ul been impulsive, she would hare accepted at once, under the i.ilueucc of his presence. But she had a wife, practical way of taking time to think. She cnde . :: ruinate entirely t .ie clement of feeling, and see the oflfer n the light in which it woul.l show itself after presci cumstances had passed. For if I/.irton had been a man, he could not have offered himself at a moment more opportune. Is* was now homeless, and without a f If you ask me why, then, she did not accept Lurton wlth- 11 ;t hesitation, I answer that I can no more explain than 1 r paradoxes of lore that I see e\ ..a it that he was too perfect ? Is it easier for u vc a man than a model ? People a apt to !> fiKunore.l of m- ; ven of a monotony of goodness. Was it, thin, that Isa would hare liked a man 1 been a .thiT than one goodness an- 1 f.iit .i had had an easy ti: 1 she fed more symp.ilhy fr one wlm h:ul fought and orercomc, like f-r one who : r known a great strug- 1 at all upon the real reason for Isa s hesitation. But she certainly did hesitate. She found it (jui i HHJM.-M:/,.- t.i an .ilyze her own feelings in the matter. The more she thought about it, th-- more hopeless her con- It i one of the unhappy results produced by some works MK. LUKTON S COURTSHIP. 293 of religious biography, that people who copy methods, are prone to copy those not adapted to their own peculiarities. Isabel, in her extremity of indecision, remembered that some saint of the latter part of the last century, whose biography she had read in a Sunday-school library-book, was wont, when undecided in weighty matters, to write down all the reasons, pro and con, and cipher out a conclusion by striking a logical balance. It naturally occurred to Isa that what so good and wise a person had found beneficial, might also prove an assistance to her. So she wrote down the following: : " REASONS ix FA YOB. " 1. Mr. Lurton is one of the most excellent men in the world. I have a very great respect and a sincere regard for him. If he were my husband, I do not think I should ever find anything to prevent me loving him. u 2. The life of a minister s wife would open to me opportunities to do good. I could at least encourage and sustain him. "3. It seems to be providential that the offer should come at this time, when I am free from all obligations that would interfere with it, and when I seem to have no other prospect. " REASONS AGAINST. " 1." But here she stopped. There was nothing to be said against Mr. Lurton, or against her accepting the offered happi ness. She would then lead the quiet, peaceful life of a village- minister s wife who does her duty to her husband and her neighbors. Her generous nature found pleasure in the thought i HI: MY-IKRY OF METRO: of all the employments that wmiM fill her heart and hands. r it would 1)0 to have a home, and to have others to work f>r, than t-> 1 :" of a stranger in s houses! An-1 then she blushed, and was happy at the thought lli.it thrrr would l>o rhildrm s I the house little storking in the b:i-k< t >n a Saturday night - tin- tender cnrrs of the mother. II a life than a Ion- It was not until some hours of such thin-. castlc-huiMinir than the sober-spirited prl had done i. whole Te that she became painfully conscious that in all this dreaming of her future as the friend of the par ishioners and the house-mother, Lurton himself was a figure in the background of In r t rnthu.-i.ism in her heart She took up her paper; she read reasons why love Li;r ison may chain Love and forbid hia going v nil the in-ir in the world can not make him go where he will not She had always acted as a most rational Now, f >r ild not make her he i she u" such cases seems held back by intuition, by .1 lo-ic so high and fine that its terms can not be stated. Love has a balan< .ill is invisible except the totals. I have noticed that practical : of-fa are most of all likely to be exacting and Ideal in love alTairs. Or, is it that this high and ideal way of a affairs is only another manifestation of prac. : un it IS, -hit though Isa found it imjwissilde to set down a single reason for not loving so good a man 295 the utmost fervor, she found it equally impossible to love him with any fervor at all. Then she fell to pitying Lurton. She could make him happy and help him to be useful, and she though* she ought to do it. But could she love Lurton better than she could have loved any other man? Now, I know that most marriages are not contracted on this basis. It is not given to every one to receive this saying. I am quite aware that preaching on this subject would be vain. Comparatively few people can live hi this atmosphere. But nobkssc oblige noblesse does more than oblige and Isa Marlay, against all her habits of acting on practical expediency, could not bring herself to marry the excellent Lurton without a consciousness ot moral descending, while she could not give herself a single satisfactory reason for feeling so. It went hard with Lurton. He had been so sure of di vine approval and guidance that he had not counted failure possible. But at such times the man of trustful and serene habit has a great advantage. He took the great disappoint ment as a needed spiritual discipline ; he shouldered this load as he had carried all smaller burdens, and went on his way without a murmur. Having resigned his Stillwater pastorate from a conviction that his ministry among red-shirted lumbermen was not a great success, he armed himself with letters from the warden of the prison and the other ministers who had served as chaplains, and, above all, with Mrs. Plausaby s written confession, and set out for Washington. He easily secured money to defray the expense of the journey from Plausaby, who held some funds belonging to his wife s estate, and who yielded to a very Hi I.E. gentle pressure from I :: how entirely be wai in Lurton s p<> It is proper t " say here that Albert s scrupulous conscience was never troubled about the ^-tlcracnt of his mother s estate. Plausaby bad an old will, which bequeathed nil to him i -plf. He presented it f >r md would have succeeded, doubtless, in saving something by ncute jug- L lni^ will. itors but that In- .inotis whispers of the real solution of the mystery wh uld not tell. Thinking that Isa was planning 1( ft HP- r..miiry. 1I turned up aftorwanls sident of a Nevada silver-mine eompany, whirh di-1 a large business in stocks but a small one in di\i<l<-mls; and I have a vague impression that be had something to do with the buildin. of . Railroad. i tors made short work of the property left by Mrs, Plausaby. UNBABRED. 297 CHAPTER XXXV. UNBAERED. URTOX -was gone six weeks. His letters to Charlton were not very hopeful. People are slow to believe that a court has made a mistake. I who write and you who read get over six weeks as smoothly as we do over six days. But six weeks in grim, gray, yellowish, unplastered, limestone walls, that are so thick and so high and so rough that they are always looking at you in suspicion and with stern threat of resistance ! Six weeks in May and June and July inside such walls, where there is scarcely a blade of grass, hardly a cool breeze, not even the song of a bird! A great yard FO cursed that the little brown wrens refuse to bless it with their feet! The sound of machinery and of the hammers of unwilling toilers, but no mellow voice of robin or chatter of gossiping chimney -swallows ! To Albert they were six weeks of alternate hope and fear, and of heart-sickness. The contractor gave a Fourth-of-July dinner to the con victs. Strawberries and cream instead of salt pork and pota toes. The guards went out and left the men alone, and Charl ton was called on for a speech. But all eulogies of liberty died on his lips. He could only talk platitudes, and he could not say anything with satisfaction to himself. He tossed wakefully all that night, and was so worn when morning came 13* I ill: MYSTERY OF MKTKor"l.ls\;U.B. that hr debated whrthrr hr should not ask to be put on the Hit, II" was marched to the watrr-tnnk as usual, then to hrcak- nt he could not cat. When the men were ordered to work, one of the guards sai irlton, the warden wants to see you in the ofV Out through the vestibule of tin- main building Charlton passed with a heart full of lu>i>r, alternating great disa; >ticed, as he passed, how bolts and bars were, and wonde: ^c two doors I ever shut him walked across the yard, I faint, and thin ascended th< !::.: :! /ht of steps which went up to the office-door. For the office was so arranged as to out of the prison and in it also, and was so adapt . ground as to be on top of the prison-wall. Pant ing with harlion stopped at the this II i- \\hile the guard gave an alarm, and the door was opened from the office Fi .Id : t n fr i: looking back ov. r th<- prison yard ; he saw erery famili jcct again, he passed through thr door, and stood face t with tin- Jinn and ki:. ton standing by the wardm. h was painfully rrery- thing; thr H.Tks had ceased to write, and were looking at him cxixx-tantly. -W.ll. Clmrlton." .-aid the ward- n kindly. "I am gl .. tell you t arc pardoned. I ncrer was so glad at any I .r. :...! (harlion had dreamed o much of li that now that liU-rty had come he was i >. " I am much obliged to you, Mr. Proctor," he gasped. UNBACKED. 299 " That is the man to thank," said the warden, pointing to Lurton. But Charlton couldn t thank Lurton yet. He took his hand and looked in his face and then turned away. He wanted to thank everybody the guard who conducted him out, and the clerk who was recording the precious pardon in one of the great books ; but, hi truth, he could say hardly any thing. " Come, Charlton, you ll find a change of clothes in the back-room. Can t let you carry those off!" said the warden. Charlton put off the gray \rith eagerness. Clothes made all the difference. When once he was dressed like other men, his freedom became a reality. Then he told everybody good-by, the warden first, and then the guard, and then the clerks, and he got permission to go back into the prison, as a visitor, now, and tell the prisoners farewell. Then Lurton locked arms with him, and Charlton could hardly keep back the tears. Human fellowship is so precious to a cleansed leper ! And as they walked away down the sandy street by the shore of Lake St. Croix, Charlton was try ing all the while to remember that walls and grates and bars and bolts and locks and iron gates and armed guards shut him hi no longer. It seemed so strange that here was come a day in which he did not have to put up a regular stint of eight vinegar-barrels, with the privilege of doing one or two more, if he could, for pay. He ate some breakfast with Lurton. For freedom is a great tonic, and satisfied hopes help digestion. It is a little prosy to say so, but Lurton s buttered toast and coffee was more palatable than the prison fare. And Lurton s face was more cheerful than the dark visage of Ball, the burg lar, which always confronted Charlton at the breakfast-table. HIE MYSTEBT OF METROPOUSV1LLE. Charlton was impatient to go back to Metropoli&ville. For what, bo could hardly say. There was no home there for him, but then he wanted to go somewhere. It seemed BO fine to be able to go anywhere. Hid liner Lurton a grateful adieu, he hurried to St. Paul. The next morning he was booked for .t>ed up t h the eager f a boy. "Wai. - t.-\v thunder! I m glad to see you re :iMi- to lie aout. \ :, fined t the baousc fer some . I guess, p r aps ? " It was the voice ..f Whi.-ky .Tim that thus greeted A! If there was a half-sneer in the ffOfdt, there was nothing but cordial friendliness in the tone and the grasp of the hand - was BO delighted that he could only ex- ::i"tii,ns 1 r several extra !>* with his \\hip, and by putting on a speed that threatened to upset the coach. " Well, TJitn, what s the news?" said Charlton ga\ ly. >ozc? Let me see, Nothin \\\\\ or step -fath r. IT Wk -a call him, concluded to cut and run las week. I s posc he 1 that y>ur pittin out I. avo a vacancy fer him. Thought h- might hcv to turn in und d : n years Job that s owin to Sam on that land eh? I guess t find no money left T\\ixt him and the creditors and the la and the jrdirc*. they a n t na: "When did y.u hear from Gray?" "Oh! he was up to Metropolisvillc las* week. He n tini.-h of a singster as he wna, Gone to gpekil : lie 8t yRailroa! . C hU taown. UNBARRED. 301 Here the Superior Being stopped talking, and waited to be questioned. u Laid off a town, then, has he ? " " Couldn help hisself . The Wanosia and Dakota Crossing Road makes a junction there, and his claim and yourn has dou bled in valoo two or three times " " But I suppose mine has been sold under mortgage ? " "Under mortgage? Not much. Some of your friends jest sejested to Plausaby he d better pay two debts of yourn. And he did. He paid Westcott fer the land-warrant, and he paid Minorkey s mortgage. Ole chap didn t want to be paid. Cut throat mortgage, you know. He d heerd of the railroad juncr tion. Jemeny ! they s five hundred people livin on Gray s claim, and yourn s alongside." "What docs he call his town?" asked Albert. Jim brought his whip down smartly on a lazy wheel-horse, crying out: 44 Puck-a-chee ! Seechy-do ! " (Get out bad.) For, like most of his class in Minnesota at that day, the Superior Being had enriched his vocabulary of slang with divers Indian words. Then, after a pause, he said :- " What docs he call it ? I be lieve it s Charlton, or suthin of that sort. Git up!" Albert was disposed at first to think the name a compliment to himself, but the more he thought of it, the more clear it became to him that the worshipful heart of the Poet had meant to preserve the memory of Katy, over whom he had tried in vain to stand guard. Of course part of Driver Jim s information was not new to Albert, but much of it was, for the Poet s letters had not been explicit in regard to the increased value o\ the property, and 30XJ 11: Charlion li:i-l crcludcd the claim would go out of tad had ceased to take any furthrr i i it. When nt last be saw Again the familiar balloon-frame houses f MeiropMii-villr, he grew anxious. How would j>eople re- him? Albert had always taken more pains to express inions dopnatiral!. . now that the odium of crime an . f to him. hi- f- It ; that Metropolisville, wh n- there was neither mother would oflVr liiin no cordial welcome. His h ar*. turned t<- Isa with inon? warmth tha irrd that -i-hip !> mi_ ht show to Isalx-1 xvniiM (oin promise her. A young woman s standing is not helped by tli !p of a post-ofllrc thi< f, In- n-flci -t- !. llf could not 1. ;iv M<-troivlisvillc without sccinq; th- !">t friend he not scr her without d.-iis^- her hann. He was thoro . .1 that lie had rashly piit :n so awk ward a dik-mma; hr :il::u^t ck in Bt. Paul, last the SUJH rior lirinu rou.M-d his li>r into n final dash, and came rushin- nj> to the door of thr"( ity II, -t. 1 -.viih his t .ourish. " Honr:i\ . ll wily : I know d y-.ti d 1x5 along to-ni tin- 1 -i ISC a f through off a i .\ <-al!-,l it Charlton. nrti-r -;ow they wuz a f<-ll< r come along yistcrday ss said n :ne on her Lurt" how as Olr HIM k th<- Pn-sidrnt I mean hail ordered IfMI 1! ..u lookalectlc.-lim, ; ll 1 H.k jx art -n _ ! ^ hm we |K rKon, and you sec some < round wuth fifteen dollar n loot! in think I d ever a gin up po tr aoagh UNBARRED. 303 to sell lots. But you see the town wuz named arter her you know a eorter moniment to a angel, a kind of po try that ll keep her name from bein forgot arter my varses is gone to nothin . An I m a-layin myself out to make that town nice and fit to be named arter her, you know. I didn t think I could ever stan it to have so many neighbors a drivin away all the game. But I m a-gittin used to it." Charlton could see that the Inhabitant was greatly improved by his contact with the practical affairs of life and by human society. The old half-crazed look had departed from his eyes, and the over-sensitive nature had found a satisfaction in the standing which the founding of a town and his improved cir cumstances had brought him. " Don t go in thar ! " said Gray as Charlton was about to enter the room used as office and bar-room for the purpose of registering his name. " Don t go in thar ! " and Gray pulled him back. "Let s go out to supper. That devilish Smith Wes cott s in thar, drunk s he kin be, and raisin perdition. They turned him off this week fer drinkin too steady, and he s tryin to make a finish of his money and Smith Wes cott too." Charlton and Gray sat down to supper at the long table where the Superior Being was already drinking his third cup of coffee. The exquisite privilege of doing as he pleased was a great stimu lant to Charlton s appetite, and knives and forks were the greatest of luxuries. " Seems to me," said Jim, as he sat and watched Albert, " seems to me you a n t so finicky bout vittles as you was. Sheddin some of yer idecs, maybe." " Yes, I think I am." " Wai, you see you hed too thick a coat of idees to thrive- I HE MYSTKBT OF METROPOLI I guess a good cumin a n t done you no pertickeler hurt, but blamed ef it didn t seem mean to me at first I ve cussed about r and over agin on and St. Paul. But rum, -iii s healthy. I wish some other folks as I know could git put through weth a curry-comb as would peel the hull ThU b-t remark was accompanied by a significant look at ugh board partition that separated tin dining-room from the bar-room. For Westcott s drunken voice could be heard singing snatches of : - in a most melancholy tone. Somebody in the bar-room mentioned Charlton s namr 44 Got out, did ho ? " said Westcott in a maudlin tone. " How d c get out ? I! like it fur s he went? Always liked i know. Ob! If I wtiz a jail-bird, With feathers like a crow, I d flop around and - Wat s the rest? Hey? I!< \ do ;!; L-O? Wonder how it feels to be a thief? II Somehow the voice and the wonls irritated AllxTt beyond ( ndurance. lie lost his relish for supper and went out on the "Git ^ ill 1 dreffle easy," said Jim as Charlton disappeared. does. I hope he ll gin Wes cott another lie s powerful .i-1 tl.e i tinw, though. I wanted to salivate Wes cott wunst, and he throwed Mol Into the I; ISABEL. 305 CHAPTER XXXVI. * ISABEL. to do about going to see Isabel? Albert knew perfectly well that he would be obliged .to visit her. Isa had no doubt heard of his arrival before this time. The whole vil lage must know it, for there was a succession of people who came on the hotel piazza to shake hands with him. Some came from friendliness, some from curiosity, but none remained long in conversation with him. For in truth conversation was quite embarrassing under the circumstances. You can not ask your acquaintance, " How have you been ? " when his face is yet pale from confinement in a prison ; you can not inquire how he liked Stillwater or Sing Sing, when he must have disliked what he saw of Stillwater or Sing Sing. One or two of the villagers asked Albert how he had "got along," and then blushed when they remembered that he couldn t have "got along" at all. Most of them asked him if Metropolisville had "grown any" since he left, and whether or not he meant to stay and set up here, and then floundered a little and left him. For most people talk by routine. What ever may be thought of development from monkeys, it does seem that a strong case might be made out in favor of a de scent from parrots. 300 mi: in .p MBTEOI OLI.SVILLE. Charllon knew tliat be must go to Bee Lia, and that the village would know where he bad gone, and tbat it I give Isa trouble, maybe. He wanted to see Isa more than ! <!.-< in the world. ti:t thin he dreaded t ) .-< ,- in r. S!i l.ad 1 itit-d him and helped him in 1 but hr 1- : something of constraint in tin in. 1 memh< red bow she :ys mingled the friendliness of bcr ient with something of reset-. olncss. 11 < arc much fcjr this in other times. IJut now he found i: ".eh u lump-ring for something inorr from Isa, Ibat he 1 the efTc cool dignity. IK- bad bra< against b< : y-d int- :m nfT Ttion for Isabel. He most not allow himself to become interested in ln-r. As an honora- :ii lit- could not marry ! Id 86C :ul t -.ank h r. Th-n if j-h- ire him a few kind words 1 dierisb them as a comfor in nil thn ! Of f"]l.^\i- - \ r \r* II If just so mir Between bis fear of c ing Isa and bis feeling tbat f-ry acconnt be must ?c her, his drwd of meeting bcr nnd h !i h^r, he was In a stnt pound :nent when he r /-i of tlje !!<-tl, and started down ! t towanl the house of Mrs. Ferret. He hnd noticed some women going to the nnd half Isabel should have gone to meeting also. He l:ir she was in the performance ;i duties. Hut Is.ifironrr had staid at home. And bad rcccivetl from Mrs. 1 aufltic lecture on the sin of neglecting her ISABEL. 307 for the sake of anybody. Mrs. Ferret was afterward sorry she had said anything, for she herself wanted to stay to gratify her curiosity. But Isabel did not mind the rebuke. She put some petunias on the mantel-piece and some grasses over the looking-glass, and then tried to read, but the book was not interesting. She was alarmed at her own excitement; she planned how she would treat Albert with mingled cordiality and reserve, and thus preserve her own dignity; she went through a mental rehearsal of the meeting two or three times in truth, she was just going over it the fourth time when Charlton stood between the morning-glory vines on the door step. And when she sa-w his face pale with suffering, she for got all about the rehearsal, and shook his hand with sisterly heartiness the word u sisterly " came to her mind most oppor tunely and looked at him with the utmost gladness, and sat him down by the window, and sat down facing him. For the first time since Katy s death he was happy. He thought him self entitled to one hour of happiness after all that he had en dured. When Mrs. Ferret came home from prayer-meeting she en tered by the back-gate, and judiciously stood for some time looking in at the window. Charlton was telling Isa something about his imprisonment, and Mrs. Ferret, listening to the tones of his voice and seeing the light in Isa s eyes, shook her head, and said to herself that it was scandalous for a Chrischen girl to act in such a way. If the warmth of feeling shown in the interview between Albert and Isa had anything improper in it under the circum stances, Mrs. Ferret knew how to destroy it. She projected her iceberg presence into the room and froze them both. -IHIi MYSTERY o: rt li.-i.l manj mi t that he bad not acted with proper If <- , n tn 1 in his interview with Isabel. Arvl ju*t in proportion to his growing love for Isa did iff with irmounta! r to his possessing ! should he venture to hope that a woman who had refuse 1 ton, should bo to marry him* And to marry his dls- II lay thus .vhat lie shot:! . .etimel almost hU scruples and endeavor to \\\n Isa, bravrly d-trnniivd to IcaTC with Gray in the : ^ville a-. was not rncourap-d by the fact that Westcott occtipU-il tin* bed on t!. ->f a thin board partition. He could him in that pitiful state of rium tint so succeeds a spree, and that Just touches upon the verge of mania- A- f- "So be s out. irlton heard him M v the d vil did lie r -a swum out, by George : Tliat s thr only way. Now In r f -i. Ah\:i\ What :mt? What do you look at me for? What makes you look that way? I can t help it. I didn t drown you. 1 t some way. Wl AlixTt x ;- i-y if.- can t save you. Don t look .ay If youV .1: it and be done -\\ith it? 1! : will keep l>oll)in up and down and staring at me lik<- the devil all the . In t h- lj> it. I didn t -hake you o(l. I would arc gone down myself if I h idn t. There now, let go! ISABEL. 309 Pullin me down again ! Let go ! If you don t let go, Katy. I ll have to shake you off. I couldn t help it. What made you love me so? You needn t have been a fool. Why didn t somebody tell you about Xclly ? If you d heard about Xclly, you wouldn t have oh ! the devil ! I knew it ! There s Nelly s face coming. That s the worst of all. What does she come for ? She a n t dead. Here, somebody ! I want a match ! Bring me a light ! " Whatever anger Albert may have had toward the poor fellow was all turned into pity after this night. Charlton felt as though he had been listening to the plaints of a damned soul, and moralized that it were better to go to prison for life than to carry about such memories as haunted the dreams of Wcstcott. And he felt that to allow his own attachment t > Isa Marlay to lead to a marriage would involve him in guilt and entail a lifelong remorse. He must not bring his dishonor upon her. He determined to rise early and go over to Gray s new town, sell off his property, and then leave the Territory. But the Inhabitant was to leave at six o clock, and Charlton, after his wakeful night, sank into a deep sleep at daybreak, and did not wake until half-past eight. When he came down to breakfast, Gray had been gone two hours and a half. He sat around during the forenoon irresolute and of course unhappy. After a while decision came to him in the person of Mrs. Ferret, who called and asked for a private interview. Albert led her into the parlor, for the parlor was always private enough on a pleasant day. Nobody cared to keep the company of a rusty box-stove, a tattered hair-cloth sofa, six wooden chairs, and a discordant tinny piano-forte, when the weather was pleasant enough to sit on the piazza or to walk ::!<) ;:v OK METI: on t .. - rt tlio parlor was full of associ of tl. i-i \\hi< h Min< -k y. Ami t "f the mistakes of the k to bis self-confidence now. So that 1 i himself to 1. i meekness even to Mrs. Ferret 44 Mr. Charlton, do ym think you re acting Just right just as you wiiul . ing attentions to M:irl:iy wh r- ju-l out of of the penitentiary ? " Albert was angered ! iy of putting it, and ! -lliii:L r In r th:it it was none of .ness. But his iencc was on Mr-. ! r: I h:i\.-:; t ; special att< :iti >:i to Milt Marlay. I to sec her as an old f; <k<- \\-.i\\ some irriUit: knew all th- wliilc he was not speaking with < m lr. " \\ I harlton, how w. hare your sister marry a man just out of \v -just as you arc, just out of j> . you know? I have heard remarks already about Miss Marlay that she had re fused a very < .xc< lU-nt and talented preacher of the Oospill you know who I mean and was about to take up well, you know hov. talk with a : -ut of th-- out y you know. A jaX-Hrd is what they said. <>w people will talk. And Miss Marlay is under my caro, and I must do my duty ns a Chrischen to her. And I know she thinks a great deal of you, an think it would be ri-ht, you know, for you to try to marr. You know the Soriprhcrr says that we must do as we d be done by ; and I wouldn t want a daughter of mine to marry ISABEL. 311 a young man just well just out of the just out of the penitentiary, you know." " Mrs. Ferret, I think this whole talk impertinent. Miss Marhy is not at all under your care, I have not proposed marriage to her, she is an old friend who was very kind to my mother and to me, and there is uo harm in my seeing her when I please." "Well, Mr. Charlton, I know your temper is bad, and I expected you d talk insultingly to me, but I ve done my duty and cleared my skirts, anyhow, and that s a comfort. A Chrischen must expect to be persecuted in the discharge of duty. You may talk about old friendships, and all that ; but there s nothing so dangerous as friendship. Don t I know ? Half the marriages that oughtn t to be, come from friend ships. "Whenever you see a friendship between a young man and a young woman, look out for a wedding. And I don t think you ought to ask Isabel to marry you, and you just out of just you know out of the the penitentiary." When Mrs. Ferret had gone, Albert found that while her words had rasped him, they had also made a deep impres sion on him. He was, then, a jail-bird in the eyes of Me tropolis ville of the world. He must not compromise Isa by a single additional visit. He could not trust himself to see her again. The struggle was not fought out easily. But at last he wrote a letter : "Mr DEAR Miss MARLAY: I find that I can not even visit you without causing remarks to be made, which reflect on you. I can not stay here without wishing to enjoy your society, and you can not receive the visits of a jail-bird, as they call me, without disgrace. I owe everything to you, 7 UK MYSTERY OP METIIOPOLI- nnd it would b ungrateful, indeed, in me to be a source of ion and dishonor to you. I never regretted my disgract so much as since I talked with you last night If I shake that off, I might hope for a great happiness, perhaps. " I am going to < I shall close up my business, and go away somewhere, though I would much and live down my disgrace. I shall rcmem- bi-r your kindness with a full heart, and if I can ever serve you, all I have shall be yours I would bt ours uow, if I could offer inys If without dishonoring you, and you me. Good-by, and may God bless you. "TOW BMMl grateful friend, KRT CIXARI.T< words about offering himself, i:i the next t<> last sentence, Albert wrote with hesitation, and then con- ! that he would better erase them, as he mean any pl.iee to hi* feelings. II dr w his pen through to leave the * - ntirely 1 troke. Such tricks does inclination with the sternest rceolvcs! THE LAST. 311 CHAPTER XXXVII. THE LAST. HE letter was deposited at the post-office imme diately. Charlton did not dare give liis self- denying resolution time to cool. Isa was not looking for letters, and Mrs. Ferret ventured to hint that the chance of meeting some body on the street had something to do with her walk. Of course Miss Marlay was insulted. No woman would ever do such a thing. Consciously, at least. And after reading Charltou s letter, what did Isa do ? What could she do ? A woman may not move in such a case. Her whole future happiness may drift to wreck by somebody s mis take, and she may not reach a hand to arrest it. What she does must be done by indirection and under disguise. It is a way society has of training women to be candid. The first feeling which Isa had was a sudden shock of sur prise. She was not so much astonished at the revelation of Charlton s feeling as at the discovery of her own. With Al- 14 ;;i i ru m ; -.. bcrt s abrupt going away, all her heart c seemed to be Char It on to be r< s*l mull this moment It was not until ho ]>ropoted going away entirely that she came to understand how com* plru-ly that in; a^od its chara I Jut what could she do? Nothing at all She was a \\uli. . As evening drew on, Charlton felt more and more th terness of the sclf-d< -nial li< ha I imposed upon himself. II inwardly abused Mrs. Fern t fur : U-^an t !1 sorts of impose :it> that mi, lit rrlroN- him from hi* duty in the case. irk he walked out. to meet HIM Marlay his was made up he would not walk c! :saby street at least not so far as Mrs house. Tin-re could be no possib) harm in his going half Ix>ve is always going half-way, and then splitting the difference on the re- maiml r. I i. M h.-r part, remembered a little errand she must attend to at the store. She f.H that, after a day of indeed she did not want to mctt Charlton any rnor.>, if he had made up hU mi:. to see her. And so they walked rL ht up to one anotl. : i illy resolved ;>art, :ng, Isabel," sa. 1I- h.v 1 m t - ...: I It was a sort <>f involuntary freedom 1 himself this was to be the very last Interview. " Oood-evcnmg uilh si^trrly f: ::-w that she Was going to bid him adiou fon - You were going away without so much as saying good-! THE LAST. 21 "One doesn t like to be the cause of unpleasant remarks about one s best friend," said Charlton. " But what if your best friend doesn t care a fig for any body s remarks," said Isabel energetically. "How?" asked Albert. It was a senseless interrogatory, but Isa s words almost took his breath. Isa was startled at having said so much, and only replied indistinctly that it didn t matter what people said. "Yes, but you don t know how long such things might cleave to you. Ten years hence it might be said that you had been the friend of a man who was in the penitentiary." Charlton presented objections for the sake of having them refuted. "And I wouldn t care any more ten years hence than I do now. Were you going to our house ? Shall I walk back with you?" " I don t know." Charlton felt his good resolutions de parting. " I started out because I wanted to see the lake where Katy was drowned before I go away. I am ever so glad that I met you, if I do not compromise you. I would rather spend this evening in your company than in any other way in the world " Albert hada t meant to say so much, but he couldn t recall it when it was uttered " but I feel that I should be selfish to bring reproach on you for my own enjoyment." " All right, then," said Isa, laughing, " I ll take the responsi bility. I am going to the lake with you if you don t object." "You are the bravest woman in the world," said Albert with effusion. 31 G THE MYSTERY OF METROPOLLSVILLE. You forget how brave a man you have shown yourvlf " I atn afraid this strain of talk was not at all favorable to the strength and persistence of Charlt.m .s n-.s<.luii<.n, v. indeed, was by this time sadly weakened. After UP \ had s|>cnt an 1. knll 1-mkiiv* out upon the lake, and talking of the past, and diligently avoiding all mention of th<- future. Chnrlton summoned courage to allude to his departure in a voice more full of love than of Why dfl you go, Al I . looking down and breaking a weed with the toe of her boot. They had called each other by their Christian names during the whole inter- " Simply for the sake of your happiness, Isa. It makes me miserable enough, I am sure." Charlton spoke as pathetically as he could. "But suppose I t iroing will make me as wretched as it can make y>u. What th-n?" How It certainly would be unmanly for me to ak to share my disgrace. A poor way of showing my lo-. love ; enough to do anything in the world to make you hap; Isa looked down a moment and began to speak, l-ut "Well, what?" said Albert "May I decide what will make me happy? Am I capable of judging?" 1 oked foolish, and said, " Yes/ with some eager ness. He was more than ever willing to have somebody else for him. TIIE LAST. 317 " Then I tell you, Albert, that if you go away you will sac rifice ray happiness along with your own." It was a real merry party that met at a petit soupcr at nine o clock in the evening in the dining-room of the City Hotel some months later. There was Lurton, now pastor in Perritaut, who had just given his blessing on the marriage of his friends, and who sat at the head of the table and said grace. There were Albert and Isabel Charlton, bridegroom and bride. There was Gray, the Hoosier Poet, with a poem of nine verses for the occasion. "I m sorry the stage is late, said Albert. "I wanted Jim." One likes to have all of one s beat friends on such an occasion. Just then the coach rattled up to the door, and Albert went out and brought in the Superior Being. " Xow, we are all here," said Charlton. " I had to ask Mrs. Ferret, and I was afraid she d come." " Not her ! " said Jim. " Why ? " " She kin do "better." "How?" "She staid to meet her beloved." "Who s that?" " Dave." Jim didn t like to give any more information than would serve to answer a question. He liked to be pumped. " Dave Sawney ? " "The same. He told me to-day as him and the widder owned claims as jined, and they d made up their minds to 318 THK MYSTERY OP METR< LK. jlne too. An-i 1 you could a-hccrd him a miie. ! ." widder that s let the cat oat of tlu bag." "What cat out of whit kit;?" a>k- -<i Lurton. "Why, how M to go to the State board in 1 - house fer takin a land- warrant he didn t.i I low did she find out?" said laa, II r v.i<e seemed to bo r and sweeter than ever happiness had tuned it. li t nm at tl; lo," said .1 VThea! What k Wh.-n Mr. Lurton and Miss Marlay I beg your pard n, 1 ton was a-talkin about haow to git Mr. Chad- ton out." i; . :,n ful," sai i shouldn t make such a charge unless you have authority." .Jim lMik-.l at L irl.n n riantly. " Th and li-rhtnin , lie said, "Dave tolc me so hteelf! Said Mo i-id tlion-ht it powerful rule in li- : ii-1 in hi> II >">! r and Jim accom- thi-. li-t remark witli a pn" look at Gray. ( h;irltM. A\h:it are you thinking about?" asked Lurton i conversation flagged. 14 One year ago to-day I was sentenced, and one year ago to morrow I started to Still wa- .!ly:" said .Tim. "I bo- yrr par-lmi, Mr*. Cbarllon, I couldn t help it. A b.-dy likes to see the wh- right some folks in as well < Whtu ( h.irlt--n wit!i h: brid- started in a f! THK I.AST. 319 morning to his new home on his property in the village ot Chaillon " a crowd bad gathered about the door, moved partly by that curiosity which always interests itself in newly-mar ried people, and partly by an exciting rumor that Charltou w:is not guilty of the oflense for which he had been imprisoned. Mrs. Ferret had told the story to everybody, exacting from each one a pledge of secrecy. Just as Albert started his horses, "\Vhisky Jim, on top of his stage-box, called out to the crowd, " Three cheers, by thunder ! " and they were given heartily. It was the popular acquittal. THE f OF METBOruUbVlLLK. WOIM)- AFTERWAB b only a memory now. The collapse of the land-bubble and Ing of railroad .boring railway sta tion. "polhvilh- ::< : i state of eociety in \\ . w has like wise disappeared the land-sharks, the claim speculator town-proprietors, the trapper?, and the stape-drivers have emlgrat- !i:ivr tiii lcrgone metamorphosis. The wild excitement of 56 is a tradition hardly <: > those who did not f. P.it th^ in may impre them- on luiman beings, and in tlie results vi thn^ ;^c beeomc immortnl. There is ;>nge to n" works, but to the history of tlir ever-unfolding human no one will ever write Till 1 M>. THE Hoosier School-Master, By EDWARD EG-G-LESTON. Finely IllTisti-alecl, vritlx 13 full-page En gravings and ZVixmeroxis other Cxits. COlsTTETSTTS. CHAPTER I. A Private Lesson from a Bull-dog. CHATTER II. A Spell Coming. CHAPTER III. Mirandy, Hank, and Shocky. CHAPTER IV. Spelling down the Master. CHAPTER V. The Walk Home. CHAPTER VI. A Night at Pete Jones s. CHAPTER VII. Ominous Remarks of Mr. Jonetk CHAPTER VTIL The Struggle in the Dark. CHAPTER IX. Has God Forgotten Shocky? CHAPTER X. The Devil of Silence. CHAPTER XL Mies Martha Hawkins. CHAPTER XIL The Hardshell Preacher. CHAPTER. XIII. A Struggle for the Mastery. CHAPTER XIV. A Crisis with Bud. CHAPTER XV. The Church of the Best Liclu. CHAPTER XVI. The Church Militant. CHAPTER XVII. A Council of War. CHAPTER XVIII. Odds and Ends. CHAPTER XIX. Face to Face. CHAPTER XX. God Remembers Shocky. CHAPTER XXI. Miss Nancy Sawyer. CHAPTER XXII. Pancakes. CHAPTER XXIII. A Charitable- Institution. CHAPTER XXIV. The Good Samaritan. CHAPTER XXV. Bud "Wooing. CHAPTER XXVL A Letter and its Consequences. CHAPTER XXVIL A Loss and a Gain. CHAPTER XXVIIL The Flight. CHAPTER XXIX. The Trial. CHAPTER XXX." Brother Sodom. 1 * CHAPTER XXXI. The Trial Concluded. CHAPTER XXXIL After the Battle. CHAPTER XXXIII. Into the Light. CHAPTER XXXIV. "How it Came Out." DPrice, post-paid, $1.25* JTJDD & COMPANY, 243 BROADWAY, NEW-YORK. FAD OF Til FAVOR LI). A LOVE STORY. T EDWARD EGGLESTON. Author of " The Hootier School -nuuter," etc. \\llli I . i full page i:ni;r;i * Inu-. ! " "l> liii. I II list i ntlons. CONTENTS. ra I -In Ixivo with a Dotchnuui. II \:i Ki; "ion. 111.- trr Irritant \ I VII \\ i liln n< VIII -Two MUU -Th Wronj XVIII I" M ;: E, ! A: . . .. . - . Tart. l; -i :KR Mrr Little O*m. with < XXVlIL-W*kin ff opnlV tomer. -Sacrifice, 1. i: . . f - -carln- ft lUwk. . titan Marm. MIN ill. iMtn i . r<>Mt-i>jii<i, si ORANGE JUDD & COMPANY, PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE; A Guide to the Sucoessful Propagation and Cultivation OF FLORISTS PLANTS. BY PETER HENDERSON, BERGEN CITY, N. J., AtrreoB or "GABDEITENQ FOB PBOFIT." MR. HENDERSON is known as the largest Commercial Florist in the country. In the present work he gives a full account of his modes of propagation and cultivation. It is adapted to the want? of the amateur, as well as the professional grower. The scope of the work may be judged from the following TABLE OF CONTENTS. Aspect and Soil. Laying out Lawn and Flow er Gardens. Designs for Flower Gardens. Planting of Flower Beds. Soils for Potting. Temperature and Moisture. The Potting of Plants. Cold Frames Winter Pro tection. Construction of Hot-Beds. Greenhouse Structures. Modes of Heating. Propagation by Seeds. Propagation by Cuttings. Propagation of Lilies. Culture of the Rose. Culture of the Verbena. Culture of the Tuberose. Orchid Culture. Holland Bulbs. Cape Bulbs. Winter-Flowering Plants. Construction of Bouquets. Hanging Baskets. Window Gardening. Rock-Work. Insects. Nature s Law of Colors. Packing Plants. Plants by Mail. Profits of Floriculture. Soft- Wooded Plants. Annuals. Hardy Herbaceous Plants. Greenhouse Plants. Diary of Operations for each Day of the Yeax. Beautifully Illustrated. Sent post-paid. Price, $1.50. ORANGE JUDD <fc CO., 245 Broadway New- York. BEAUTIFYING COUNTRY HOMES. A Jl(in<l-r.nnh of l.illl<l*riijn- f, (I /v/r/l I II f/. BY J. \\ i;il)l N >I \N N. A SPLENDID QUARTO VOLUME. Bnnimiy niostratd wiut mam in fool Bumms, til win 17 Full-: r.i 7 Double-Pago Colored Lithographs OF PLACES ALREADY IMPR: 3iAivi; no MI; i;i : vi i ii i L. XOTIOCS BT mi ram. A homo I A home in the country ! and a home made bcantiful by tastr arc three idcnn which Invent with a triple charm the subject of thl exquisite v.,!uuic. We know of nothing which indicates a more ncallhj progreM amoof oar countrymen than the growing taste for cuch homes. The American people are quick to follow a (aehiun, and it is getting to be the fashion to hare a place In the country, and to beautify It ; and this is at once fed and guided by uch books as this, which lay down the ju*t principles of landscape gardening ; and nil how to nse the means at their dlpoal. This book is prepared with careful judgment. It includes many plan*, and farninhcs minute instruction A out of grounds and the planting of tree*. We have found rery ; :. ;i*uro in A nr-t in ;>< ti -n, and doubt not that whm another summer returns, we shall find the book as practically useful, a* it Is beautiful to the eye xciting to the ImaginnUon.-.V. F. Jte0*A4. !.ave from Oraoge Judd A Co. a magnificent manual, entitled Ifetv/J/y. ing Country Boom; a Hand-Book <f Lmubeapt Gantmlny. It is r. treatise on Undscape gardening and architecture, explaining the principles of beauty which apply to it, and making just those practical suggestions of which every builder and owner of a little hind, who desires to make the most of it in the way of convenience and taste, Hands in need, in regard to lawn*, drainage, roads, drirea, walka, grading, fencea, hedge*, treea-thdr selection an.! grouping-flowers, water, ornamentation, rock-work, tools, and general 1m- proremcnt*. The chapter on "improving new places economically " womld be worth much more than the cost of the book ten times over to many person . The whole is illustrated, not only by : r*, but by a serieaof lull-page lithographs of places which have been actually treated in accordance with the principles bid down, with 11U of trees and ahrabs, and other useful sngges- tiou*. We have never met with any thlng-and we have given a good deal of attention to the subject, and bought a great many books upon it-which eesa- ed to us so helpful and, in general, so trustworthy as this treatise, which we heartily commend. Wo omitted to say that it has been done by Mr J. Weiden- mann. Superintendent of the City Park, and of Cedar HU1 Cemetery, ilartlord, - Cwi^r*po/Jia/W, (Boston.) PRICE, PREPAID, $1 . ORANGE JUDD & COMPANY, 245 Broadway, New-York, (.1 M K XI. I I UK XRV I MM KM It Oh (XI II OK M X III KKI 1 l\ RI II RN 10 DISK I ROM \\HKH IU )RR( )\\ I I > [ his book is due on the l.^t d.itr stamped Ix-lou. or on the date to \vhkh Renewed books .IK Mihjec t to iinmrdi.itt i c< all. 293ep54VH ~B REC D LD SEP i REC D l 954 ilili i960 OIC .M 6 196850 1*68 -2 PR o I LD j Apr 50 Ml! LD 21 100m l. S4(ltt7tl6)476 CIRCULATION DEPT. GENERAL LIBRARY - U.C. BERKELEY BDDDSM3D3b Mll9t>9 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY