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Show CofrlM. iki. bi J 3 UfflncottCo "I'ncla Kpli wouldn't coinr nrounil ho front of tin1 home tvhi'n tlit ie woo four of uu ulttliig1 011 the rerutuln," re-plh'd re-plh'd Hester. "May I rm!t to ! IntriHlnrril to Unclo Uphrnim?" huiilrid l!lii;bnu d. "Yot.'to met hlin," mild l.ndlou; 'Yes, rhIi, pleuw, cn!i, t'nnk j V, suh.' " "Oh I tlm old fellow who ci .Tied my ullso up from tho trnln. V hv, I've ''en a kmu1 deul of hlni,ntid 'ucpnm 'o fcu qulto tibove ehlcl.cn-sti limp. I bejiuto I'd trust him with m iocltet-ijook." iocltet-ijook." "Yoit could do thnl safely rnoiih; he'd bring- It hack; hut that liii't r:i liifr he wouldn't borrow n fat cl icken If I'royldcncti threw one In hit t a . L'n-clo, L'n-clo, i:ph in an honest an the dav la long, 'nit he'll bear wntchlnff after il.irh," replied re-plied Ludlow. "Hoecr, I n(;rio with llqafcr; tho Intruder wasn't n Angrant of aclilekn. thief." "No," said llcstcri "I suppose It wni ono of the Ilynutn boya; and I wanted to nk yon, Mr. I.udlow, If tin re hait been any new decIopmcnt lately; I can't rjet anythltif out of father or Henry." "N'othlnfT that I know of, eeept well, jes; wo'vo dcelded to hcrjm work iffiiln on tho JlcN'abb eln, hut I don't sco how that could account for jour rlaltor; that' distinctly n comi any affair, af-fair, now." "Yon may ho sure they won't conaid-cr conaid-cr lt,80. Tin afraid It will mean a return re-turn of tho old daya of cut clotliCHllucH, and broken fence, and border warfare generally." ltlngbraud looked allocked, and Ludlow Lud-low replied, gTavely; "Wo won't hao that, at any cost. I wish thero were some way of getting- CTldence ngulnst' them." "Can It ho postlhlo that thcio hnro been no wltnewtca to any of thelrdepre-iliitloim?" thelrdepre-iliitloim?" naked liliiRbrand. "Oh, I aitppomj theie aro a few, only they won't tcntlfy, und I don't know t,hat I blnino them much; I'd po on the fitness Bland nijaelf, If I weio morally uiro ot n conviction, but othciwlso it Aould he rlaky enoujfh. It takes n heroic he-roic lpro of Justice for Its own rnke to niaken man IHpb to Incur the enmity of such people as tho llynums." IWhat would be necessary o pon-tlct pon-tlct them?" "The testimony of ono or more rclla-hlo rclla-hlo eye-wltnessea, or n chain of t Ircuin-'tantUl Ircuin-'tantUl chlcneo that could not ho enal-", enal-", Jroken." Ludlow 'n bnntei Injr biipgestlon that he chould turn iletcctlto came to Illii(r-brand Illii(r-brand with a boIkt meaning In tho Ight of tho threatened dnnptr to the 'jtt,liner, and In connection with hln .Urcorcry of tho oieTlcocato. lie saw Ul opportunity, and how n binvriuau itouIu hntoturnedlttoaceount; dozen plans for entrapping tho eilinlnula lloahcd through hla mind, butt'iey nil uked fcr more or lers personal ciurnff.'" in the patt of the perton who .should eeutothem. Of course thrret a- tin ilternatltc that ho could effiiep 1 lmhef 'ir tnnilnjf hlallifornintlonotert jthoao ho would moke use of It; but Itiiip-'iranil Itiiip-'iranil was 01. ly human, nrd he 1 .id nl-endy nl-endy learned enoiiph of Ilestci' chni-icter chni-icter to .nuke him fear that sho might uipect Ida mothe In tbiftlni; 'he l-e-onslb!llty. As a matter of fiU, ho Ud her nn tujuttke In this; hut when owardlce, or Acnallty, or Icc, or any other human weakness or wlcl rdness oiieo uiidenuluca the fortress of character, char-acter, thero nre many uncanny ihnpen stnndliiir ready to slip unnoticed through tho breach. After they had left tho dining table ho excuicd himself, and oomit tho eat ly part of tho afternoon In wandering altnlesjly about tho Ullage, tiding to dcflto koine bihuno which olT -ml i comntotnHo between his wcal.n' rs and his determination to win Heater's up-probutlon; up-probutlon; and with theplannlngrnine that iiiriously liisUter.t urglug which flmN u paiallel In the dcelre to icj liow neHr one van creeji to tho brink of a precipice without being overhuWr.ccd. It U tho quality which often huds a timorous man to attempt that which viould mukii u brHe ono hesitate, and wlien Itlunbrnnd finally yielded (to Ita Iruiiortu.il ty ho turned his ttcps toward (hn row! ho had taken In tho fort noon, The shadows of the westorn cliffs wrre beginning their evening march rlxwn the sloping sides of McNnbb'a cqe, and thnhushof thenuminerofter-noon thenuminerofter-noon brooded over the picturesque landscape land-scape of the nanpw lley. Hud Ily-lum'a Ily-lum'a dog. IjlDB- lu tho shadow of the ham. rot yawning, made a canine leUiilie, and cocked one car toward the roud leading up from Harmony tbI-lej tbI-lej That his aenl scnao was not at fault was )irrtitly proved by tho ap-vartiuco ap-vartiuco of fc man sppronthlng tho ,'rtrmhoune, and ho begtin tobaik furl, sly ut. the Intrmlor. Jula lljnum, Mining to the back, door tq find out ,vhat hod aroutcd the dog's anger saw pleasant-faced young man standing it tho gate, and she stepped Into tho -ajd and spoko sharply to tho harking Jur. tlinghrand looked up at tho sound if her olee, and found himself con-'routed con-'routed lV a middle-aged woman with lukcmpl'bnlr and sallow face, whoso gh cheek bones and flashing block yr mudo lilm woniUr If there were ot Iudloii blood In her volns. Ho 'ouchodhlsbatnndopcnedthegnte, "J topped to ask If jou could glto in B IrlnVof wiitri," lie (laid, roltteneas is rarely wasted, rieu on he iuoM unpromising ct.bject, and her was souiuthlug In tho nntu.e of hn woman tlintresjwndeilunconBcious-r tlintresjwndeilunconBcious-r to tho touch ot kindly deference In Is olce and manner. ''I reckon vb an lime a drink." 'o wkJ, leading the uy to the hou u Tlio water bucket as empty . and n she took It up she johiltd to 11 U-ueh In thopasaagfi "Set Iovmi thur a minute, an" I'll go fetch miiui fiom the uprlug." " wouldn't trouble you to do that. "X itopptil to Mk If you could sit n a drtsl of watar," ha aalil. Show me where to go, and I'll get It." "Oh I leekon ye couldp't tlnd hit," alio answered, "an' onywaja ye'd lit plum shore to get hit riled. Jest set down; I'll bo back In a minute." She went down tho path and crossed the road, pausing a moment to glance shnrply tow nrd tho volley before dls-npno.irlng dls-npno.irlng In tho thicket of willow. h iindlng tho spring, When she ro-tumid, ro-tumid, Hlngbrand drank deeply and lifted his hat as he thanked her, "That ain't nothln'," sho said. "Thnr'n a plenty o' water In tho cove. Ye didn't tome plum up jcro to get a drink, did ye?" Itiugbn.nd laughed easily; "ia, t can't say that 1 did; lam Just tramping around to amuse myself." The woman looked at htm suspiciously. suspicious-ly. "You elty fellers hftv. tol'ablo little sense," she suld, slowly. '"Pears like ye'd know bcttcr'n to como a-pryln' round McNnbb's coc." "Why should I know better?" asked lllngbrnnd. "I don't sco how It can hurt nnyono," "Thai's them that tnought hurt you, all, If they found jou yero. Yqu'retho man that's stoppln' dt Toni Ludlow's, nln't jo?" "Yes," "I knowed hit, tho minute I sot eyes on J e " nho hesitated, and seemed ly lv ilghlng her words. "Ialn'tgotno cnll to lie lu Ipln' you nil, bntT don't be-lloui be-lloui ye're lu with tho rest of 'cm; yo don't look liko hit. IJutthnttharwon't help j on none, less'n jo stay at honm 1111' inln' jcpowii business, I 'nv yti done hrnnl tho story Twut the dog 'f got hlaself killed 'cause he didn't have no better rcns than to run with the wohes?" "Yes, l'io heard It." "Well, I hain't got nothln' mom to ni, Vcptln' that hit's gcttln' late nn' ji-'M hitter bo trampln'. Jesl wait o minute." Hhe dlvipptnred In tho house and niino out again In a moment with a siliilionnet diuwn out her head. "Thar'j n shoi t cut oipr tho shouldero' tho moiiuting, nn I 'low ye'd belt"!' till c hit; ,c'll ho u heap less hker to iiu-et up with the folks thut 'd os! yo! u' sight moro questions 'n what 1 have, tome on " HIim entered 1he forest at thoes,rqf the house, nud Hlngbrand followed her lu silence. Unlf way up the mountain they came to hii Indistinct trull which lid'th-'in by innny dotlouo nlnd.ngs to the liascof theehlTa.nnd.aklrtlti' these, Hlngbrand found blmtclf, for t'te second sec-ond time that day, rtandlng nn the small plateau nt the mouth of the Mc-Nnbb Mc-Nnbb tunnel. "Tliut's jcr way," said Jule, Indleat-ititrt Indleat-ititrt he tond leading to the tuljey 'Jest Keep rtutlglit on till je get down the mounting; yo cajn'tuiiss hit, nohow." JlSiigbrmiel lifted his hat again; "I'm riue i tu.u)c you tcrj- much; it'ngood of jou to till 0 o ruuoli trouble 011 uiy account " "Nev mind 'bout Jlhat; but jou all take my qdvico an' don't come pniwlln' rouud tills ycio .rove no more. Yer p'Jltcpcss moughtu't got yo out ng'ln, nc.t time," She turned abruptly and left hlni to nnko his way back to Tregartl.cn, and neither of them saw the parting of tho huilies at the top of the illfT through which a pair of molmoleut ejea wiitclnd their movements. 1'eforn taitlng on his homeward walk, a sudden sud-den Impulse piompted Rlngbrand to climb once morn Into the abandoned ooal woiklng. Tho place was darker, now that tho sun had goue behind the mountain, und It was some tlnio before he could sco well enough to make out tho dim outlines of tho interior; when ho was ablo to do so, he saw that the hole in the .oqf had disappeared. He lighted a match, and, on finding U place, diacotercd that thii npeiture had l-en plugged from nhoie with 0 frag-P.r frag-P.r of stone which flttwl accuraUIy onoiifh to make .t uppcartolwoulyotjo i.f the rough lm qualities of tho tuunvl ioof. When he lenllzed that this had been done slnee hl visit of 11 fw hours befon- that thoMi who did It might een now be In the upper rUoy. o hiddin In the dusky shadows jicov M hand a tery pinlonf tciiorceli'i.dhliii, and hu thmi(;hl he thould unifocal, be-fore be-fore he could slnipi'le out Into Hit ok.i nlr ngaln. On outfcldoiif the tm nel, he fled down theioiigll itountnln lsd, lioci hi .Mug behind him or slop -Ing to talu brinlli until he was huU nj tothiMnlliM then tlicbtlinuluaor fiar iiii1di'rl Uft hint, and ho fat down upun 11 f.illm dee, coierlng his fine with his hiinilm and wishing, in uls shamo and humlllntlon, that he had neier been bom. He stayed there uutll II W1l II Olll 1 'ThTcnrrTonTng shallow a warned him that rvenlnrf was npproachlng, and thenipttlllng himself together, ho rose, nnd'tveBtslowly Imck to Tregnrthen. It w nearly dark when he reached the village, and ho found Mrs. Ludlow sitting sit-ting on thft veranda. '"I'm piolid of jou, Mr. ntngbrend," sho said. its he camo tip tho steps; "jou don't deaervo to bo helped, I vrKi'ndcd Heater to. stay to tea and had It n 1 arranged ar-ranged that you wcr to sec her safely homo; and you had to go and sj oil ! all by staying awayl Whcro in the w'orld Inn o you been?" "I nm -ery sorry to have failed jou I took n long walk and wenf fa iher than 1 Intended to. I hope Miss nll-iner nll-iner did not haio to go back nh ie?" ningbrand's voice was grave, an his tono was snhmlaslvelj1 apologetic. "N'o; Tom went up with hcr,"ii 'led Mrs. Ludlow, going liefoio him bit . the dlnlng-rooin aud liglitlii,'r tti 1 ,np. "I'm nfrnld yon won't get niiieh foi iip-fiV' iip-fiV' she ntlded, sitting down to jour Ids tea. "More than I need or deserte," he raid, making a brave effort to simulate 1111 appetite for the belated nienl Mm. Ludlow, sitting opKsltp, no tUed that he ute. net to nothing, nd she saw that something wiih trout up him. They wero ld friend, and had liven well acquainted In tho days when lilngbrand was n struggling nppri'iitict In the literary workshop and Ludlow a small-salaried chirk In 1111 engineering olllco. "What Is It, Hugh?" she naked with kindly sympathy; "Is It nnj thing about UeMcr?" ".N'o; that Is, It Is nothing that she ha said or done." "Won't you tell mo about It? Perhaps Per-haps I could help you." "I tn't tell jou now," ho replied, pushing his chair hack nt the sound ot Ludlow's step on the Veranda. "I don't feel equal to talking to-night, nnd I hop j-ou will excuse mo If 1 go to mj room; I know It's ungracious, but I'm in deeper tiouble than you imagine. Perhaps I can tell you all about It, some imy. She gave him permission, and stepped before him with delicate tact to enable htm to go upstairs without meeting her husband. When ho reached his loom ho dropped wearily loto n chair and lighted a cigar; when it was burnt d out ho went methodically to work packing his ase-". "It'a tltflflply thing there li. to do,'1- ho mused, "and It's a proper sequel to the thing, anyhow, I don't see why I couldn't have been born with a little, blood In my veins, Instead of weak tea or dltch.wjiter; but I wasn't, and I suppose that's tho end of It. Ily Joiel I believe I'd bo willing to change Identities with the mostljrnoiuntof mj forefathers, dirt, peat smoke, bad whisky, baro legs and all, If I could only have a dash of tho brute courage along with tho rest. Bah I It makes me alck to think of It; owl Just as I was bo ginning to believe thero might 1m a chance fornie!" When tho packing was finished lie sat down to wrlto a letter to Hester; beginning be-ginning half a dozen nnd ending by tearing them all up, "That would m acting only half tho man," Ife said. "I can write her n line from New York, thanking her for her hospitality nnd ic-grcttlnf; ic-grcttlnf; that I could not sec her ngnlu l havo no reason toprpqse tltrt sho cares, j-et, nnd she'rttedLnotcr know what It costs me to lenvo her." . Ilftilng completcdWils preparations, he was unxloustobogone: biit.nstliero was no train until noon of the next dav, ho was obliged to wait with what pa tlenee he could sumtnop, and he went to sleep thinking that hu would spent) the forenoon with Ludlow, telling him of bin Intended departure and giving him the facts of his discoveries in tlio abandoned mine. VI. AN CMMir.URUITA'rhn DEt'AnTfnE. Those w ho ought to know most about such matters polntout thowutiibilltj of things terrestrial by showing that t e change hi position of n single grain of sand may determine tho course 01 a mighty river, or that a chunco rnlnd' p trickling down the face of n cliff tr"i mark the lino of cronlon which sh II oiontually cut the mountain in tun 1 If these Illustrations proio tho sulij e-tlon e-tlon of the element, to tho unhcr il rula of chungo, eiaruplcB uro notairr t-lug t-lug to show that tho sapie law governs with counl authority In the domain ol hu.nan affairs. Hlngbrand went downstairs tho nest morning fully determlnud to enrrj' o it his programme of the previous etenl- 4. aud he told Ludlow at the brcnl.fu t tublo that ha would upend the forcnooii at the furuacowlth him. As they weie leaving the hoqie together tho colonel overtook thuni lu his buggy aud tmlted niugbraud to go with him 011 11 diho across th vnllay to look at u horse wbloh wa. for .ale, promising to get him back to tho company's ofllco bcfoi e noon. Tlier was no good reason for refusing, re-fusing, nnd the colonel was hospltublj Insistent; Ludlow added his word, and the upshot of tho uiutter was that thu superintendent went to his ofllce nlone, while Ida gilcM departed upon an e eurslonwhleh was to demonstrate anew the futility of human plans and pur jioaej, Making du allowance for the fact that Hlngbrand was upon tho cvo of taking a atep.whUh Involved the renunciation renun-ciation of th. woman helotcd, he was less uncompanionable than he might hao been. Their mute took them over the wood edknollslntha main vallcy.aud ach rise In the road brought out new beauties of the landscape, At the top of tbo highest of tha hills the colonel stopped and pointed out tha winding course of tho nnnnony river, its bends and reaches etched aroonj; tho fields in a sinuous pathway of silver mlat, ruffled by tha sun Into lleeoy wines of translucent translu-cent pearl. In the middle distance, and abouWhalf-way from Tregathen to tho tlver. n group of Lombardy poplsrs orowned ono of tbo knolls overlooking tho valley to the southward, and tin colonel Indicated the .mall hill with 11 comprehensive gesture which Incliidid tho cultivated fields aurronnd.iitf It "That's tho Manor farm," ho said, "and tho old square house stood lu thah among tho poplaU'n, My father raised it lu the taooud yeah after het moved down from Vl'glnla, and It waa n mighty comfo'tabla old mansion mighty comfo'toble, seh. If you'vo been, In any ot tho old Vl'glnla plantation planta-tion home., you'll know about what sort o'plaeo It wwi,'1 "I havo passed through Virginia," , replied Hlngbrand, "and I think I know . the type, They certainly look comfort-1 comfort-1 able from tho outside, und they git 9 j one an Idea ot stability which la dc-I dc-I tidcdlv T.fieshlug la thin ago of archl- '.1'' ' ' ," '.'iErrrjff: tecttirul sluiuiH," "Yes. seh, they do thai; strong and solid, like n man was bulldlu' for liH chlld'en and grandchlld'cii. The old Manor house was built that a-wey; beams and t Imbcrn of solid oak, difsied down with the biondaf. It was n long time n-burnlii'." "I don't wonder your father didn't rebuild It," said lllngbrnnd, nllccllulj-. "Tim associations would nlwnyi luno hvii painful." The colonel looked aurpiiscd: "I hope jou don't allow that lie went up on tlio mountain fur that rensonl No. M-h-.heliBtln bt tier one. Old Dim-Hon s-fo'd s-fo'd talked right eneour iriu'iibout 'lie 'iiounta.n all for my lnntha she wui ilwnys mighty po'ly in ihe vullej I reckon I'm chnngo did ! 1 .p her jor '," lie nddid, tho.iiditiiilt' 'Ut she lit 'r dlil pick up lifter .lint 1 o'niti' w'1011 thej ijnr'd father buiiie " Col. Lutiuier pulli d 1 horeen 1 to the rnd again, end t' v tlnwe u. 111 silence. '1 he ieferr.nr (i tha f 1 I brought lltiigbriuid Uu k to tlii:. prrseiil, ami thethougln 1 iitheshn I not ni Ulster tigs 1 11 hail .'wiwri'i'iv us the time of his iV,;uHne mtio nearer, lie lrcilled tl e lie Ineh'i nts uf tlielr neqiinlnmrec, a. t.'.dt ifei Koineeomfort nut or the III f tl at !i"i limit wnH still In her on 11 keeping, 1 d that tho pulii of reuuuehti mi viiHg mg to bo his not here. The I'lnm-i I.. ' wnnl at the (ileiisuut hours s ut at !i-home !i-home ot tho Uitlinvra ixinimlid h in thnt It would bo ungracious to gonwuj without milking some niknowledg-inent niknowledg-inent ot tho colonel's kindness, nnd he wondered how he could managu it without betraying Ids plans for iui mediate, retreat. roitunntelj, the colonel himself opened the wnj by asking ask-ing him to become n guest at "The Lnurels." "I told Tom Ludlow, day befo' jeste'dnj-, that ho was actlu' mighty menu about It, nnd he said he reckoned thej-nll could send you tons for a spell." "I'm sure that's very good of jou, colonel, and I thank jou both for the Invitation nnd for jour innny kindnesses kind-nesses to me since 1 cuino to Tiegar-then; Tiegar-then; you ccrtulnly haven't let me feel that I was n stranger turning jou. I iissiirn jou, I would glndlj' accept the hospltalitj' of 'The Laurels' If If my time wero wholly my own; n It Is not, I shall have to (isk j-qii to excuse mc. I reallj' ought to bo In Now York now." "Well, I'm right sorry for thot 'deed f am," replied the colonel; "I sort o' got the Idea from Tom jou'd stay down hero and make us a right good visit." "I havo Btaycd now longer than I should," rejoined Hltigbraud, making a mental reservation ns to the rensons. "As j-ou probnblj' know, I dejienil upon my work for a living, nnd I can't afford to neglect It for very long ntu time," The colonel laughed. "'Pears to mo like youh work could bo done 'most any w here; w o-all'v c got a mighty quiet plnco upon the mountain, nnd I'm right sine Hotter could set you out with pen, ink and paper." "Thcrs's no end to your hospitality, colonel," replied Hlngbrand, smiling ut tho thoughtot literary workln the house with Hester. "I suppose j'ou'd be quite wllllug to hnvo mc turn 'The Lnniels' into n workshop; nnd 1 idtnost wish I inyld tnko you at your word, scltlah ns It would lie. It would scarcely bo possible, pos-sible, though; I shouldn't know how to work It I wero out f reach ot tho pi Inter's Int-er's boy." They had left tho main road In the valley, nnd were descending a steep hill ton ford In the river. Thedilvingwui difficult, and the lolonel gave his entire attention to the horecn n they did down the locky declivity, talking to them no If thej understood his explicit directions. "So-o, rjow, there, Tolllvn there's a right smnit chunk o' ro -Just ahead of jou rtep nioiirdit, n bov. You, .Tunc! never jou mind ..Un. 'lolllvei; Just pick up vou own feet llttlo Idghor. Slemly, 1 ov " "You havo pretty rough . ds aiouti'' here," began Hlngbrand, 1 -lci-ig bin' self into his sent. "Isho- think" The Interruption was imlnoi snap, and the linrsos sto d ' llu soundid mighty like aorrie'jilng broke mid tho colonel, nud thej .hted a. lookedthecnrrlageovercn "f,illy "Ye hero it Is, for sure," hi .ju timid ' tongue's broke oft tight h t." Thrj examined the fic'iire, ai Hlugbi.ind sugosted wn Ino; it ir cplhitbv. ihoin . t'loliiiu . xtr.ips. "I veil on 1' v oi.1.' 'I'. , ' fiiiU t' t colonel, "but we . n 1 I J """ 1 - C mt in.ed t vv ik |
