A COUNTY FAMILY.

Bruce Herald, Volume XI, Issue 1077, 10 January 1879, Page 3

A COUNTY FAMILY.

(By the author of " Lost Sir Massingberd." CHAPTER XXXIV THE WARNING. Herbert Stanhope was even more altered in appearance, thoueh not, as in. the other's case, for the better. He had grown paler and thinner of late months ; and anxiety and wounded pride had set their marks upon a face that had once evoked Danton's antagonism by its calm insouciance. The t\vo young men shook hands, if not with cordiality, yet with perfect frankness. "lam sorry tchave been thus obliged to trouble you. Mr Stanhope," sad Denton, "but since Mr William Blackburn is not at borne, I have no choice ; the matter on which I have come here being, unhappily ■, of the last import tance, and not admitting of delay." " No apology is at all necessary, Mr Denton ; the occupation you have interrupted was only that of making artificial Hies ; and I assure you that the arrival of any visitor in this place,

! whatever* his 'busiaear, is quite a godsend to us. 1 think I should remark, however, that if tbe matter ia question, which you say is so important, has any private and particular reference 0 Mr Blackburn, that I have no authority, and indeed must altogether decline to be its recipient. "The matter E have iv hand, " said Denton, gravely, " touches Mr William Blackburn only as it affects every one else in this house, yourself included. It is not, I confess, upon his account I have come. I mentioned . his name merely as being the most proper person to receive my communication ; and yet, if there had been none dearer to me under this roof than he, 1 should still have. thought it mv.duty to have made it. I must beg of you, first of all, Mr Stanhope, to take;|§|>on trust, with only my word to guarantee it-— that lam well acquainted with certain matters connected with my profession, which is that of civil engineer, that I am not one to be mistaken, for instance, about the strength of an embankment. And it is with the acutest aense of the peril in which you and all persons now resident on the Curlew stand from the state of che reservoir on Kedmoor, that I bave ridden here this day, and with no other object whatsoever." '•Do you mean to tell me that there is any danger of the great embankment on the moor giving way, Mr Denton ?" asked Sbanhope, starting to his feet. ■•■'■•" " There is, in my opinion, very great danger of it ; I should v say, J indeed, if -the wind were east iuatead of south, as at present, the most imminent danger. Iv that case the wind would bring the waves right down upon the embankment ; and it is not in a condition to resist it, Sir ;it is not, indeed. I entroat you, I adjure you, Mr Sbanhope, to give heed to what I say." " There is no fear of my neglecting such a warning, Mr Denton. Independently of our friends in this house, and to human life generaly supposing I were so brutal as to disregard it, 1 ha»e property on the Curlew which, even if this catastrophe should be delayed, must sooner or later be destroyed by it - 1 will not only do my best to persuade Mr Blackburn and his family to quit this spot, but I shall not lose a moment in representing to the authorities at Mosedale, with whom 1 have some influence " " That would be time wasted, " interrupted Denton, solemnly, " and there is, ia my judgment, not one hour to waste I have spoken — I have warned in vain. The directors of the company, in the person of their chaitman, have refused to accede to my request that the reservoir should be examined." " But I thought that matter was looked to last year, and it I remember rightly you yourself, Mr Denton, "vere the edgineer appointed for that purpose." " I *as, Sir, and made my report, wherein, as you may read for yourself, I even then eonteuded that not enough had been done for safety. From personal observation of the embankment the last two nays, I am confident that misclref of a magnitude such as those people yonder " — and he pointed westward with his hand — " have no conception of is Good Heaven ! what is that? "It is my miller's fowling piece, if I am not much mistaken, " said Stauhope smiling, " though the echoes of the Curlew make it souud somewhat portentous. JHd you think it was the bursting of the dam ? ' "Do nob jest, Mr Stanhope— do not treat my appreheusions as if they were idle fears. lam a young man, but not ignrant of the things of which I speak. lam as sure of what I now tell } ou as I am of my own existence. "But it seems so strauge, Mr Denton, that these directors should not in so important a matter have taken action upon the report of their own officer." "I was not their ordinary engineer, Sir, but only the substitute for him. My friend Mr Flywheel delegated me to act for him in the affair, winch be did not understand to be of the magnitude and importance which it really was. If he were on tbe spot now, I would stake my existence that his view would be the same as mme — that he would have the dam blown up this very hour, so as to decrease the water prt Sill re. There was a crack iv the embankment last year that was sufficient to admit a penknife ; there is one today in which I can almost place my band." "Bat why is not Mr Flywheel at his post ?" "He ia abroad, Sir, employed on an Italian railway. I would to Heaven he were here." " Bat you ia bis absence are his representative, are you not ?" "I was, Sir," answered Denton, with flashing eyes, '• until yesterday. But when I found I was not listened to by the Reservoir Bead, I at once threw up my appointmeut. To hold it for another day, would be, ia my judgment, to be accessory b, fore the fact to But Heaven only knows to what ; there is no limit to the ruin that may happen." " Then you are not come here in any official capacity, Mr. Derton ? " " In none whatever, Sir ; though, of course, if my profession were not what iz is I shculd feel no cause for these approheusi 'iis. 1 have lately been appointed resident engineer on the i Mosedale Railway, or I should not have been in I the town at all. If, if" — *md the young man hesitated, and crimsoned to the forehead — '* if circumstances had not brought one that is dearer to me than life itself into this peiilous place, I should not perhaps have visited Rednnorat all. God 1 have not done so. even now, in vain. You will not neglect this warning, Mr. Stanhope— promise me that; or beware lest the guilt of blood — the destruction of man and woman, as well as the ruin of hearth and homestead — should lie at your door." It was curious to ;ee bow, as the one seemed to grow more earnest and impassioned with every word, the other became mora calm, and even "I will certainly put our friends here on their guard, Mr Denton. lam sure it is most kind of you." "Itis nothing of that sorb, Mr Sfc-.mhops," broke in the other. " You do not say it is kindness to warn a bather who ctwinot swim of a current which you know will s tep him to his death. It is my duty, and nothi g more. You, Sir, can have no miserable reasons, founded on a few pounds of cost, to refuse to listen to me, such as bave made those in Mosedale deaf and blind ; nor, as I trust, have you any personal prejudice so strong against me as to make you discredit my word.? because they are mine." "Indeed, Mr Denton," returned Stanhope, flushing in his turn, "you do me no more than justice. It is impossible to misunderstand your motive, or to fail to be moved by such generous earnestness : you may depend upon it, so far as my iuHi;ence i-xtends in this househould, your warning shall have all the attention which it desevt s." "Thank you, Mr. Stanhopj, thank you,,' said Denton, fervently, as he held out his hand. " You have taken a weight from off my mind such as I can scarcely bear to think of, even now that it is gone. — Good-bye, Sir ; aud God bless you." Stanhope accompanied him to the door, and saw him mount and tnrn his horse's head towards Redinoor. " A.re you going to take another look, then, at the embankment yonder?" "Ve 1 , Mr. Stanhope, though it is usekss. 1 am also going to Curlew Mill to give my warning there. lam not permitted to avert this peril, it; seems ; but, as far as in me lies, I must strive to abate its consequences ; " and with bne'look up at the sky, wnere tbe light clouds were floating leisurely to eastward, he shook the reiDd and cantered up the gorge. (To be continued.)