CHAPTER XXII.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 30, 4 February 1875, Page 7

CHAPTER XXII.

• MAN AND WIFE — SECRET 'FOR SECRET. 1 With a pale face and features un- • naturally calm, Julia made. her appearL ance on the morning of the day appointed for the wedding. -She -had not 1 abandoned her purpose.' She had not : even faltered, but had spent the previous : day in completing her preparations, 1 showing no sign by her outward, demeanor of apy inward struggle or emo- [ •■ tion, though this must have beep of no common character. ] She retired early 1 in. the. evening, and shut herself up in - her room, where she spent a great part j of the -night un writing* ;ThenA shesnatched an hour or two of fevered sleep, I and appeared in the. morning before her u^clepwith" ali.the.pafeness of an ..-agii tated bride. On her entrance into the room where {A Mr Moredant sat, the latter was /not' a I . httle astpnishedat her-str^urgelook aod 3 wretched aspect. .' ." . '„ " Why, bless me, Olive, how white r you are," he cried,, as he took iier. in his I I arms and kissed her. "What ds- the 3 meaning of this?" : c ... 3 " I have not slept wejl," - she replied, : in a calm, passionless voice. : ;..„•...; "-Ah, ; ths "usual nervousness of a f young girl in th c near prospect of goirig to the alter. * Biitl thought you; had , more . strength of mind, th^thajb.' ,: jri'- [ deed,- 1 remarked how 'sihgsar!y f, -posr 1 sessed J you. were up till /yesterday^ whea s I : noticed you were Very 'bate; 'put 'this c morning you; are positively"" ghosf-Me.

.., _„ M — , „ mmm 1 Ml i, mm, .ifiT 1 11 i- ■ 1 1 mi My dear girl, this is not like you at all You are not going to- break down, I hope?', .. ■ ■ ; "Oh no, there is no fear of that. It is natural, I suppose, to— to every bride. Has James come." " Yes; he arrived last uight, and is^ as happy as a fortunate bridegroom can be. Ah, my dear, I cannot help saying to you how much I wish, the bridgegroom had been another. This would have been a proud and joyous day to me had it been. Victor who was to lead you to the alter insted of James Menzies." " This regret is useles," answered Juliaf turning towards the window to hide her heightened color. " I know it is, but I cannot help feeling it. That rash, headstrong, rebellious, and ungrateful boy, to- fling from him such a prize." Julia bit her lip and inwardly wondered how matters would have stood, now had Victor been that day's bridegroom. Bad as the -resurrection; of Olive was for her, -it would really have beerif wGrse in that, case .; and , for! the 'first 'time a feeling of thankfulness came over her at the thought of her re-; jection. " Where can Victor have gone," she; murmured,Jm.a voice almost gentle. j " I donft knoV, and I don't care/i returned his father,*ira.angry haste.- "I; shali-rieyer ; seahim^^^an^j^dori't wan t to»hear of hira/again." '■'■'-- yyy r ; " "Oh, you must ' forgive him for, thwarting you. I — J dare say : he did' rightly- " : ' •- ' - , " Don't say so, Olive. He was an, idiot, a fool, a — a— oh, I am furibus; when.l- think ofit. And yet you sayi liriust forgive him — never-^-I tell you never< He is no longer son of mine, and if he. should dare to return I- ": „ "-Hush, 'tis .best , to .Say -no more.! None of us can; answer for thq future." i ... Saying which, 'and with an intima-; tion -that she would retire tp. be dressed! by her maids ' for the ceremony, 1 - she! withdrew from the apartment.'. r:;v On her way to her own room she paused at one of the landings of the stair, where a narrow passage branched-- to-j wards the right. » Sherstood a moment revolving the idea.that had struek-foer.; " Yes," I must satisfy myself that she; is safe," she muttered. .: / .She is a weak,; timid creature^ and confinement in that solitary place may have' injured her, ; Besides, , I ; threw, her from me. withi violence, and perhaps she was hurt.' I; dare not go away -without knowing; that she is safe. My OWri safety re- ]\ quires ifc." .">']■ ;' She turned back.to. the landing below, and. glided into the library, to procure the- key of the -tower. The library was! a large lofty room with deep - set .win; j dows, .and" a . dppr ;made tp swibg softly, ; and when she pushed it noiselessly ! back the first object that rhet, her, -view was the;man whose-wife-she was-^hat ' day to become^ standing irii ope^bf .'the . embrasures. She started guiltily back arid.wasi about to ,I withdraw,'.-.bufc as'^is back was towards her, and as be seemed deeply absorbed in. the perus&l ofa letter, she venWre;d_ wfth _nbiselessJPoot across the thick carpettp where t the key h,ungj and^having seepredi it,i retrejited without attracting his observation, ■ Juiia"now made her Wy by the private^ . s.tair to the; ' coribealed door; which gaVe accesy^tb the'hn ; de.r'grQ.und passage leading; to the dungeon Where Olive was confined. She'gi'oped her way through . the darkness "with ~a stealthy step, and listened 1 - with a beating heart to catch sorrie sbuad fromjthe interior of the cell. , / She did riot intend to enter it, but only to assure-. herself of Olive's safe t v. This desire proceeded. frorii no spontarieous feeling of teri'derness or consideration for the girl she ; had ifnmured. Hadit "beejg-prudent to-do-so she would have.unh||itatin'gly llefther tO; perish, but, inasni^shas .others knew of her existeric*ef^(|of her .journey to Beech' wood, apd^wQuld soon come to seek^her, the crime^auld be oiseless and speedily detected. '■- Hir,<own safety was therefore involyedrfin; Olive's preservation, and itwas selfishness that- now prompted her to' learn how it fared with her. As ; drew -near 'the door she moved still mdre^utiouslyi- and listened with strained -Arihicl a an?aoiUß.i)ear. All was silent as- thej^graverry-the stillness was deep as. the slifl'ness of death. "'Merciful powers ! can she be dead ?" was Julia's terrified in ward ejaculation. . She. waited ma^y moments, hut _still heard ho'sbu'nd-o'i* ru|tlri from ' Within. A sigh o*va moan^#lri^|ya, been, a welcome manifestafaon/^fdr either of these would,hava betoken life. ....... .1 ; fl I must.enter andrfhriowrthe^ worst," she thought^iand laidiher^harid upon: the rusty. bolt to draw it back, when a faint light coming through a- chink of one of the hinges caught her- attention. •■ : She placed her eye to jt, and ir heheld'wha^ once allayed her anxiety and^f*^-ai|^her conscience. ' ; "y '.... ( ,X Qlive was on her knees by the r side of the mouldy ; her hands were clasped, her "eye's were raised with be- • seeching intensity, arid her lips'' riioVed i in earnest prayer, .'The light from the grating aboVe;fell upon. her .headland revealed to- the concealed gazer the ; sad yet faith-given expression. of her beautifrirface.' The- spectacle Had ah' effcel i such : as r, vVe iirtay- suppbsei tb be'-prodiidec J oa & Mien.s pirit: when it on. /the j fh.ce.pf,ar*i angeLof^lighti, ! "and innocence ' which # ulf'a' * saw wai j something she- feh sh& ,hacfc<los£. a^ni j could ney^r^^reT^p^jUwT^T^^'-^ ' sneer"G^ied t h«rthin.4iararp]^eßsedj lip*

— a scornful and contemptuous smile i followed, as she tried to call up a feeling \ of mocking indifference^ but the pang^" inflicted by her goaded and smitten \ conscience was too much for such pitiful ( bravado. The smile changed to bitterriess, thesnear gave place to the fierce- t ness of rage,. and as her teeth . snapped t together in very fury, she fled from a a sight sha .could not endure, returning ] with fleet but still noiseless footsteps to t the light of day and the inhabited parts ' of the mansion. I James Menzies was still absorbed in r the letter when she stole into the library to replace the key, and she made good I her .retreat to her own room, where the \ bridesmaids were waiting her coming t to deck her in bridal array. It would have taken much more a noise than she made- in the library tp a have attracted the attention of Menzies t from the letter whose contents he was devouring. The; receipt of that letter had relieved him from an anxiety c under which he had been labouring for c weeks — an, anxiety which had been i equally shared by his partner, M'Dou- g gal. , The cause of .this .anxiety,, had i • been the absence of all news regarding t their two vessels the Friends and Mary j t Nothing had been heard of -these two 1 ships since their departure from port, g , whereas, according to the arrangement of the plot, the intelligence of their loss t ought to have' been received very a speedily. Such news concerning the t Mary was, indeed, not much overdue; r but the Friends should have been ac- c counted for -weeks ago. Week after t week passed, and 'the expected tidings g did not arrive,. much to the consterna-; \ tion and dismay of the two owners, i who had • such ; good reason to be $ alarriied. Had the venture miscarried ? , Had the two captains proved false ? or *s had a discovery taken place which was t to bring ruin upon them 1 , t This <was the disquieting state of; c matters when the day drew near wbich < .had been appointed for the marriage 1 f lof.J Menzies and ■ Olive, (?) Moredant., He remained in Glasgow up to the last ( moment in the hope that tidings would; j come ; but on the afternoon preceeding 1 ..the; weeding he ,had been obliged to < quit the city in the same state of £ ignorance and suspense. It was there- j fore'with feelings far. from akin to those I of a happy bridegroom that he arrived < at ' Beechwood. Yet as it was his' policy to assume a joyous bearing \ fitting the occasion, he had. assumed a { ; false gaiety which he felt it hard to. 1 * counterfeit. -'- 3 I r M'Dougal was to have accompanied s Kirn, bufc they arranged* that, he should wait- in Glasgow/ till the following j morning, , by , which- time, perchance, , i j the longed-for ; tidings i would have come. 1 ; ; Mehzie3 rose early froih' his sleepless 1 1 couch, and anxiously., looked for the; coming of his associate. Instead of : ] ' appearing himself '. M'Dougal sent * a; 1 ; messenger with a letter, the contents of: : which fully—made- up -for- the writer's j absence. j i . „-The communication - wa"s . carefully j 1 worded, but so as Menzies could under- ; 1 ' gtand that. [aU; was right.! o Within anj hour of his departure from_ Glasgow! news of the loss, both vyesSelsf)had ; come, and MfDougal could not possibly j leave, as the msurarice agents- reqfuired i : to be communicated with. The letter ; ended with -the. enigmatical, sentence — ' "J. is still in We shall, keepj ' ; him therefor some; time.": .rrrrr: l ; . i Such was, the .letter which Menzies j i was so intent- on reading 1 when Julia j i saw him standing. in the 'recess of the. I window. Scarcely had she' vanished, when he crushed the paper. in his hand ; in the viclence of his excitement. " Safe!" lie -said to himself with the most intense. sa,tisfaction v . "Again w„e are saife and successful. - But this shall be the last, time I'll run .the risk. Not for worlds would I agfain suffer what I have done for the last month.. .M'Dou- ' gal may go on if he chooses, Bui; I'll 1 have done with it. Why; should J ;*iot ? From to-day henceforth I shall be rich ' and have no-need to engage in such [ hazardqus, business. Ah, this matri- ' mbnial. scheriie is a much better specu- > latibri." Gad/how' nicely I have" placed * my. cards; v/ith Olive/ arid Moredant. 1 j How fortune has favored me to he sure. '; Beechwood is mine, s mifte,, ,and. lata 5 : rich for life. What .an; .unmitigated , fool young Moredant was to , renounce ; the estate, T should bej the last : to say so, seeing' his folly has brought. * it into .my hands. . 7Ha I here comes his • ; father. -Now to. be- dpleful as befits the , 1 evil tidings I have received. ■'. He lurried^towards 1 the window with an air .of great .defection, and did not : ' i move when' Mr Moredant came into , 3 . the room. "No appearance pf M'Dougal yet," . he cried. "'"-The Quests ! %o drop -in, and the.rninjster will not be I long; Shouldn't' 'wonder but "what \ I he'll be too late; Ehi. _what. , . ; Why, , j James, what's the matter f j 3 ' -, " t Ah, . matter -- enough;, Moredant, 3 ; matter enough. Here's a letter from; \ M'Dougal. .The rMaiy -arid« Friends i have both foundered.". .....-!,.,.... 3 1 1 .;. j1 : 1 :■ . - ■.:..., 3 i r » Foundered —^both foundered. God ; i bless me you don't say s ; o ?" -y" \ . I " Alas, it is true — too true. Had 1 t ! ever ; poor, wretches., such ilKlupk?: i| Ship after'ship^^sh'ip''afterShip.el "I never heard A the like of this," 1 v.; ejaculated Moredant, "Such losses ! s j hreC-wjthput 7pr^ee|^t.\\f^^'hp^eVi: to i i ) goodness you are sufh^iehtly w ihsure v dT' i a J V'rWfl , are fins^ed^ut— sufficiently ?'! s s Ah^whtf'canMflsiireßrifficteii StilV'

it breaks the loss ; or; egad, Moredant we could not stand it." t "Of course you could riot. It would ruin the richest merchants in Glasgow. Any lives lost.? 7 .' . " Two, lam sorry to say. Two of the crew of the Friends. M'Dougal has not sent me full particulars ; but I am to see him to-night in Glasgow. But come," he he added, with a pretended effort to recover cheerfulness, "no man should be heavy of heart on his wedding day, and, despite the bad news I mean to be cheerful." " That's right, James — that's right. If you are well insured the loss will not be so great, and Beechwood will more than make it up." " But it's an extraordinary fatality — a most extraordinary fatality," he added to himself, as he went upstairs to dress for the ceremony. An hour later the short simple, but effectual, Scotch 'hVarriage service was conducted in the' jdining-room by the minister ef the '"; ..parish. The large apartment was shrouded in semi-dark-ness, for the bride had insisted on all the blinds being; closely drawn — a ' notion considered due to maidenly bashfulness, and .one, therefore, to be strictly attended to. Not even- when the certificate came to be signed would the blushing bride allow the blind of the nearest window • to- be lifted, and principals and witnesses wrote their names in a dim obscurity which . scarcely enabled them to see their own production. At length all forms were ended — the ceremony ! was complete, and husband and wife received the congratulations of the assembled party. -\ In another hour the carriage which was to convey the happy pair to their temporary home in Glasgow waited at the front entrance, and in the rear two or three other carriages, in which some of the guests were to accompany them for a few miles as convoy. The bride, arrayed now in a travelling dress, was led forth. and handed to her place ; her husband took his seat beside her; and,, amidst the usual demonstrations of gun-firing and slipper-throwing, the gay., cavalcade swept down the avenue in flashing brightness under the radiant sunshine of the- cloudless day. *' Julia tried not to look at the old ; tower as she was-earried past, but some strong power — some resistless fascina- ; tip^— compelled r her eyes, to turn towards it; arid iri s'piteof herselfi-she shuddered, and her pale face grew whiter as she drew back into her corner. What a commotion would be raised in a few- hours,ywhen the revelation would be made of the existence of her : who was now immured in its base. " In a short while," was Julia's bitter : reflection ;. " in. a.,, very, short while the truth will be known,, and then-^-aye, what then T . . . " \ ' ; [ ', .. She glanced at "her hvtsband as he i sat smiling by; her side,"iittle, dreaming that he too had a dark secret which was soon to be brought to- light— a secret ■ whose reyelatioh would entail still, more j fear ful ' consequences*: ' . :-JTf , "At last/, muttered Julia,.. " I. have , gained a position, for am I riot his! wife?"... 'yi'.......,y..,.AJ : .. ; I Ay,. truly; his wife, but . not destined! thereby to riauchbenefit; or Idvantage. i 'Rathar the oppoVite, as you will find] .oh,- : plotting" one, only too soon. X\ At a-distance of six mile's from : Beec- = wood, where many roads m'efcahdVdi- ; verged, the conveying, carriages drew up' to enable tlieir bccupants tb bid adieu to the newly-married pair. When Mr 1 Moredant advanced— to bid the bride 1 good-bye, he was ; startled ;b.y ; the^ rigid face she bent- towards him, , and the; strange-expression- it -wore, - She lent over the side of. the carriage . so that neither her husbknd noiany ; one could see or hear her as she put a small-key intohis hand. - ] . " This is the key of the desk which 1 stands on my dressing table," she whis* pered. " Open it when „_,yo,u .return and you will find a paper lying on the i top addressed to yourself, which I wish you to read. Will you be sure to do so?" " - " Certainly, my dear. {Some directions which you wish me to follow, I su/ppose." yy " You will.^iiot forget this — it is of the utmost importance," she added-. . . " Forget it ? no, I shall read the paper the first thing after I return. , '•'Good-bye." .... « Good-bye, my. dear. Much happiness., -I shall see you soon again." She returned his good wishes with a , sickly smile,, and. so. they parted to : meet . .ag.ain_eroJo.ng.as„he said,. but in a very different relationship. [ When, Mr Moredant returned' to ; Beechwood -he- did not forget his- proI mise to. open the desk and obtain the '. paper.' ,, .. . . - j ; Oh heavens !' what a shock that paper was to give .him. '(To he Continued:')

The, crow-is not-so_bad'._ a . bird .after : all. It never shows the white: feather, , and never complains .withput .paws'. X, I , " She dyed for. me," t said ' a young ' : husband when- lie beheld* the dark locks : gradually returning to ' their • original '; red? „r, -. y. i .. r.y ] -.'■ .. ...-.,.-. /t j! •" Sixty dollars for, a threshing- rna- \\ chine?" exrilaijmed a young East '^ide 'j boy, when he saw the card ori One "for V\ safe?-" Why? habfher' pays : only $vo y- dollars a pair for her slippersJ 1, . - -