EDRIE'S LEGACY.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 29, Issue 48, 22 June 1917, Page 7

EDRIE'S LEGACY.

COPYRIGHT.

By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon, Author ol '■'-'That Dowdy of a Girl," &c.

SYNOPSIS OF PREVIOUS PARTS. Mrs. Campbell and her daughter Helena Sturtevant rescue a young girl, who calls herself Brown Edrie, from the clutches of a woman who Is unmercifully beating the child. They take her home, where she is installed as waiting-maid. Mrs. Campbell was a widow with two children, Helena and Harold, when she married Mr. Daniel Campbell, a coarse, uneducated, but immensely wealthy man. * When Mr. Campbell sees Edrie for the first time, and learns her • name, he receives.a great shock, forshe brings back memories to him that he would rather forget. Professor Gortz, Helena’s music teacher, hears Edrie singing' in the garden ; he prevails upon Mrs. Campbell to ' allow him to teach her, as he predicts a brilliant future for her. Just at this time Harold Sturtevaut is home from college, and makes the acquaintance of Edrie. A few years Jip by, during which Edrie makes wonderful progress, till it seems that she is sure to make a great name for herself. The following Christmas the Campbells are entertaining a number of friends, young and old. Edrie had been asked to sing something to amuse the children. Just as she Is beginning the last verse Mr. Campbell enters the room, and recognises the song as one he had forbidden her to sing. Then, all at once his gaze is attracted to a window through which a ghastly, emaciated face is peering. Later on Mr. Campbell has a violent interview with Edrie, and he declares that she must leave his house. Utterly worn out, the poor girl retreats to the sewing-room, where she falls asleep behind a big screen in the corner of the room,' to be awakened later by the sound of voices in heated conversation. It is Mr. Campbell demanding of his wife the Instant dismissal of Edrie. That same night, when the master of Hollyhurst is in the library, he is surprised by the visit of a man whom he calls Skale. ft appears -that the latter has had In his keeping some one whom Mr. Campbell wishes out of the way. Skale informs his employer that the man has escaped. They arrange details for his recapture, and after the keeper’s departure Mr. Campbell is stupified by hearing a voice at the window say, "Let me in, Daniel Campbell ! After eighteen years it is my turn now !" The owner of the voice is Edward Richards, whom Campbell had caused to be shut up in a private madhouse, after which he confiscated his fortune, at the same time giving out that the man had died. Richards demands justice, and gives Campbell until noon on the morrow to make restitution. Edrie’s flight from Hollyhurst is described in the next chapter, and we find her in the train on her way to New York. That same morning Mr., Campbell is found dead in his -chair in the library, having died from the effects of poison. Edrie is suspected by the police of being the perpetrator of the crime, but the inmates of Hollyhurst will not sanction such a belief. A week after the burial of the millionaire Mr. Richards calls on Mrs. Campbell, and relates how her late husband had 'caused him to be shut up in a private madhouse, and how, after eighteen years, he had managed to make his escape. PART B—CHAP. Xll.—(Continued.) "Campbell’s plan was to conceal this knowledge from me, make me think I was going to die, if I should have a lucid interval—and they did not think I would ever be well again —and induce me to make a will, giving all my property unconditionally to my -wife ; only Daniel Campbell’s name was to be inserted in every place where Mrs. Richards’ should appear. If I should rally—which no one believed I would do—l was to be retained in the institution as a permanent patient, Skale was to receive ten thousand dollars down and two thousand a year as long as I lived. All this was successfully carried out, Another, patient died about that time, and my name was handed In to the authorities Instead of his, and Daniel Campbell burlefd his 'dear friend,’ with ' every outward appearance of grief and respect, and set up a costly monument to mark the spot In one of the city cemeteries. Madam, I have visited my own grave, and read the epitaph inscribed upon the marble column to my memory.” The man paused a moment; and wiped the perspiration from his forehead ; it was a severe tax upon the nerves to live over this dreadful past, even. though he was now free from the terrible bondage he had so long suffered. Mrs. Campbell rr-iiher moved nor spoke. She seom.d frozen, congealed, or like some sable-draped statue carved from purest marble. . "It was a fearful plot,” Edward Richards went on after a moment, "and perhaps you can imagine how it would be likely to affect me. I can scarcely think of it now without my brain reeling, and I believe if I could have met Daniel then I should not have hesitated to kill him. As it was, I boldly confronted that wretch Skale, and charged him with it the very next time he paid me a professional visit. The look of blank amazement and dismay that swept over his face confirmed my belief in the truth of the attendant’s confession, even before his reply assured me of it. “ ’Are you man or devil,’ he ques-

tioned, with pale and faltering lips, ‘to have conceived such an idea ?’ " T am a sane, well man,’ replied, ‘and I command you to release mo from this jlen, where you have kept me these' fifteen years.’

" ‘You are not a fit subject to be set at liberty,’ he replied, recovering himsell somewhat ; ‘your very language proves that, and you will need even more careful attention than you have hitherto received,’ he concluded, significantly, and then he turned to leave me.

" 'Where is myi wife ?’ I demanded. I had begun to think they had deceived me about her, with all their other plotting. " ‘She is dead,' he told me.

" 'How, am I to know ? Doubtless you have told her that I am dead. Great Heaven 1’ I cried, as a terrible thought smote me, ‘have you consigned jher also to a living death, that you and your accomplice might enjoy your ill-gotten gains ?’ - " ‘No ; she is dead, I tell you,’ he said, gravely ;, and I was convinced. "After that, for more than two years, I was kept in close confinement, until my health began to suffer seriously from being denied proper exercise, and Skale began to be frightened lest he should lose me. You can readily understand that he would be loath to part with a patient that brought him two thousand a year, so he ‘ began to nurse me Up again, and tb grant me more liberty. !■ was allowed the freedom of the grounds once more ; I had good, nourishing food, and was also supplied with plenty of reading matter to employ my mind, "One day I was walking about the buildings, meditating upon l some plan of escape—for I was determined that I would get away, hunt Daniel Campbell- down, and bring him to justice for bis treachery—when an envelope was. blown from a window above me. I stealthily secured it, and at once recognised the handwriting. It was Campbell’s, and it was post-marked ‘Boston, Mass,’ "This circumstance greatly encouraged me ; I had learned where my enemy was located. Let me but get out of that vile den, and it would not take me long to find him. But how should I escape ? I was closely watched, and there seemed not the slightest chance for me. At last I resolved to take into my confidence the attendant who had told me of the plot. I did so. I told him my whole story, and promised to give him five thousand dollars if he would assist me in eluding Skale, telling him also that if I succeeded we should have the man so in our power that we could make any terms we chose with him, and he need never fear him again.

"The poor follow eagerly seized upon the hope of releasing himself from the bondage, of his unprincipled uncle, and consented to aid me. He had saved a little money that was given to him by visitors from time to time ; he said that I should have this, and he finally succeeded in obtaining a duplicate key of one of the gates, which would enable me to get out of the enclosure. "I improved my first opportunity, you may be sure. One evening, just at dusk, I concealed myself in the midst of a fir tree, as the patients, were returning from their exercise, and then, armed with my key, slipped out of the grounds, made my way directly to the railway station, took the first eastward-bound train, and came with all speed directly to Boston. "I met a friend on the way from New York to Boston whom I had known in college ; he is now an eminent lawyer in the latter city. I told him my story, and found that he knew my enemy very well ; and he has thrown his whole heart into the work of helping me to regain my property, and vowed that he would leave no stone unturned to bring Daniel Campbell to justice, although he was greatly surprised to learn that he was such a man. "I easily discovered that Campbell was one of the magnates of this vicinity, and that he was reputed to be worth millions. "On Christmas night I came out here, just to see how he was living on the money which he had stolen from me eighteen years ago. I happened to reach the house just as a young lady was singing a little song to please the children, and I was so delighted with it, and attracted by her, that I pressed, up to one of your drawing-room windows and looked in upon the charming scene, forgetting myself entirely, and that I was liable to be seen and taken for a disreputable character. All at once' I looked up from the young lady to find the gaze of Daniel Campbell fixed full upon my face. He immediately left the house and began to search for me : but, as once before, I escaped detection by'crawling into the midst of a fir tree, where I remained until after the lights were nearly all out, and I thought the household had retired. I was about to creep from my hiding-place, when I saw some one else coming up the avenue leading to the house. I shrank back among the heavy branches, and the man passed so near to me that I could have touched him. You can perhaps imagine rny feelings when I discovered him to be no other than my former keeper, Skale. "He made his way directly to the house, stepped lightly upon the verandah, and tapped on that window yonder. In another minute it was raised, and he was admitted to this very room.” CHAPTER XIII. "•Impossible ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Campbell, looking both amazed and sceptical. "It is true," replied Mr, Richards,

"I followed him, and stood outside watching both men, for only the lace draperies were drawn ‘over the window. They were in earnest consultation for perhaps half an hour ; of course I was the subject of it. Then Mr. Campbell went to his desk and took out some bills which he gave to Skale, who Immediately took his departure, leaving by the same way that he had entered.

"Mr. Campbell watched him out of sight ; then, as he attempted to close the window, I stepped from behind a blind and confronted him. You can, perhaps, imagine his astonishment and dismay. I entered the room, drawing the curtains quite close, that Skale might not see me if he should return, and then I told Daniel Campbell that at last I had come to demand justice, and that meant a full confession, In writing, cf the crime he had committed against me, and the restitution, with interest, of the fortune he had stolen from me.'

"He. was so enraged and desperate that he would have killed mo with yonder poker if I had not assured him that my lawyer knew where I was and what I had come for, and would therefore know to whom to call to account if I failed to make my ‘ appearance at his office the next morning. I told him I would give him until noon on the following day to do as .1 required ; then he might go free—leave the country if he chose. If he refused, I would not spare him ; a felon’s doom and, cell should be his. I thought when I left him that he would come to my terms. I never dreamed that he would try to outwit me by committing suicide”—— "Suicide 1 Then you think he took his own life ?" interposed Mrs. Campbell, eagerly.

"Certainly ; I have not a doubt about the matter.” "But you know that a young girl whom I have been educating, and whom Mr. Campbell for some reason disliked, has disappeared in a mysterious way, and is accused of having poisoned him. The papers have been full of the story.’’ "Yes, I have read the reports, but nothing could be further from the truth, I feel convinced ; and if that girl be found and arraigned for the crime, I shall do my utmost to save her, even though I have no personal interest in her. I am very sure that Daniel Campbell committed suicide to escape punishment and exposure, and thus outwit me,” Mr. Richards replied. "He was too proud and obstinate," he continued, "to yield to my demands and live ; he could ■never face ‘the disgrace and scandal which an open trial would have entailed, and to run away to escape it, relinguishing all his ill-gotten wealth and being obliged to toil for a living, was a lot which he could not contsmplate after the luxury of the past eighteen years. God knows that I did not wish—that I had not a thought of driving him to such a deed ; but I did intend that he should be made to suffer and atone,’ in a measure, for the crimes he bad committed.” "Mr. Richards, your story is a remarkable one,” Mrs. Campbell observed, after an oppressive pause, upon the conclusion of his narrative while regarding him earnestly, as if to read his inmost thoughts.

"Do you doubt • the truth of it, madam ?"

"It seems almost incredibly,” she said, thoughtfully. "I have never known Mr. Campbell to do- a really dishonourable act ; he has been regarded as a man of integrity in business circles ; he was always kind to me and generous with his family.' "Very likely, madam. When a man has an unlimited income it is easy to be honest and generous what I have told you is absolutely true in every particular, notwithstanding.” "Why have you come to me ? Why did you not go to my lawyer ?” Mrs. Campbell asked, regarding him with some suspicion. He lifted his head and met her eyes with a steady yet respectful look.

"I thought perhaps it would seem kinder to you to make it a strictly confidential matter. I did not wish to wound you by revealing these facts to others, who might think it wise to lake legal action with reference to them, without first consulting your wishes. If, however, you refer me to your lawyer, I will trouble you no further,” he concluded, with the utmost politeness. Mrs. Campbell flushed. She saw that he had been prompted by delicate consideration for her, and she was really grateful to him for it ; yet it galled her proud spirit almost beyond endurance to learn that she had been the wife of such a deeply-dyed villain to discover that all these years she had been supported by money which had been obtained by fraud of the grossest nature, and she would have been only too glad if her suspicions could have been proved true—that this story was all a fabrication to intimidate her into giving up the large fortune which her husband's will', made a few_ years previous, had given unreservedly to her. "How will you prove it to me?" she asked, not wholly convinced yet. Mr. Richards smiled. "First, I will prove my identity, which I can easily do, as men with whom I had business relations in New York before my imprisonment will readily recognise me. Second, I will prove that after my supposed death Daniel Campbell, by presenting a bogus will, secured the large fortune belonging to me. Then I will bring forward the attendant who helped me to escape, and who overheard Mr. Campbell and Skale plotting my ruin, and who was also one

of the witnesses of the bogus will. By the way,” he added, "L wonder if that document may not bo in existence oven now, Allow me to ask if your husband’s papers have been examined ?”

"No," Mrs. Campbell re’pliecl. "My son and my lawyer were to attend to that matter this week." "It is very likely that he may have destroyed it before he took that deadly drug, hoping/ thus to wipe out all evidence of his crime. If that should be found, however, you could hardly doubt the truth of my statements, even though I could bring forward no other proof." "No, I could not doubt it,” Mrs. Campbell said, looking very pale and miserable, but speaking proudly. "And you may rest assured, Mr. Richards, that from the moment I receive absolute proof of what you have told me I shall cease to appropriate even a single dollar of the wealth which you claim.” Mr. Richards arose and stood respectfully before her. "Believe me, madan,” he said, "I regret more than I can tell you having been obliged to wound you in this way ; but I feel that the right should prevail. lam far older than my years, when I should be just in my prime, for the best of my life has been rendered worse than useless and my health is broken from long confinement. I am absolutely penniless, and have no means for future support unless my property is restored to me. I should be glad to have this matter settled in a quiet and friendly way, if possible, and I assure you I have no intention of being extortionate or unreasonable ; but if my claim is contested I shall be forced to appeal to the courts for a settlement.”

Mrs. Campbell now arose also, remarking : "I will consult with my son at once, and ffie will communicate further with you at an early date, if you will kindly leave me your address.”

She was white to her lips, and it was only by a mighty effort that she was enabled to maintain her selfcontrol.

Mr. Richards drew forth a card bearing the name of his lawyer, and writing his own upon this, he handed it to her, "A letter will reach me addressed to my friend’s office, or I can be found there personally, for the present, between the hours of nine and four,” he said, and then courteously bowed himself out. Who shall describe the struggle that Mrs. Campbell had with her proud heart when left once more to herself ?

The tale to which she had just listened seemed too terrible, too monstrous, to be true, and she was filled with horror and loathing as she reviewed the crimes of which her husband had been guilty, to secure the wealth which. she had shared and so lavishly spent during the past eighteen years. She thought of that poor man shut into d den of madmen—of his long years of suffering and des’pair ; of the young wife who had been deceived and wronged and crushed. Perhaps she was not dead,, after ail—that may have been a lie on a par with those others ; she might be living, even now, in poverty and hardship, mourning the loss of the kind and generous young husband who hod been her all in life. ‘‘lf she is dead, where did she die, and bow ?” the suffering woman asked herself. "She could not have died there in Denver, or be—they would have buried her beside the man they pretended was her husband. It drives me to distraction to think that I have been appropriating what belonged to her ; I have been living here, amid all this elegance, where she should have lived ; I have worn the clothing, the jewels that should have been hers ; my children have enjoyed the advantages and luxuries which should have been their children’s. Then, to think how he cheated me !”- she continued, pacing excitedly the length of the room, a crimson spot now' burning on each cheek. I thought at least an honest man. I believed he made his money in a legitimate way—in Western railroad speculations, as he said. He has always seemed honourable in ail business transactions, os far as I have known. He has been kind to the poor ; he has given liberally to various objects of charity. I never dreamed that he had stolen this for-tune-cheated a man at the point of death into signing a bogus will ! It is dreadful I I cannot bear it 1 I will never touch another dollar of his money if this wretched story proves to be true, and I am afraid that it will. Oh, why did I ever sell myself for his miserable gold ? Better a thousand times, have struggled with poverty, to have toiled patiently and honestly with these hands, which he covered with jewels, rather than suffer such degradation as this. "And yet,” she went on, with a shiver of dread, as the other side of the picture presented itself, "how ■can I give up all these luxuries when they have become almost necessities to me ? How can I bear to see Helena poor and struggling with hardship ? How can I deprive' Harold of the many advantages that I have planned for him? But”—with firm-ly-compressed lips and a glittering eye _“it will have to be. I will resolutely turn my back upon my beautiful home, and upon every other good thing. If Mr. Richards’ claim proves an honest one, I will never contest it ; I will not perpetuate a wrong.” She made herself really ill with anxiety, with remorse, and self-accu-sation and humiliation. She had thought the -disgrace of being the wife of a suicide was al-

most more than she could endure ; but this terrible fraud, in which she had been a sharer, though an innocent one, was a hundred-fold worse. She telegraphed for Harold to come to her at once, and he was with her within a few hours. He was amazed at what she told him, and at first indignantly refused to give any credence whatever to it. But as they went over the facts, one by one, they became too to be doubted, and they felt sure that the very worst could be proved.

Harold would not confer with their ■lawyer, though Mrs. Campbell was of the opinion it would be wiser to do so.

“No,” he said, with a stern, white face, “if this thing is titue we will keep it to ourselves ; we will assure ourselves of it at first, and then we will give up everything and go away somewhere, where no one will know us, or suspect the horrible truth. No further shame shall ever rest upon you, my mother, than the simple knowledge of it.”

Alone he undertook the (task of Backing over Mr. Campbell’s pa'pers, seeking for that bogus will and other evidences of his guilt. It was no light task, for the man’s business transactions in the past had been multifarious. But at last he found it—the will. It was in an old pocket-book, hidden away in the back of one of the pigeon-holes of his safe.

The shock, when he finally unearthed it, and realised that at last he held the evidence of a terrible crime in his hands, almost unmanned him.

“What a skeleton this must have been to him, haunting him continually !" he muttered, shuddering as he looked upon it ; “and yet I suppose he did not dare destroy it lest his title to Mr. Richards’ fortune should some time be contested.”

He read it carefully through, and found it correct, as far as he knew, in every form, and marked the signature at the bottom.

That was genuine, at ali events, for it was the exact counterpart of the writing upon the card which Mr. Richards had given his mother the day before, only it looked a little tremulous, as if the hand that had traced it had mot been quite strong and steady. “This is the bitterest blow of all,” he said, through tightly-locked teeth. "The disgrace of suicide is nothing compared with the knowledge that we have been living upon stolen property during the best portion of our lives—that I owe my education and all the pleasure I have enjoyed to it. That my mother sold herself for it ; that my sister owes her accomplishments to it, and has figured as a belle in society upon it. I feel humiliated, dishonoured ; and now all that remains for us is poverty and seclusion. Poor mother, with her culture, her large heart, and her indomitable pride ! Poor Helena, with her beauty, with life all before her, and all her future prospects perhaps blighted ! “As for me,” he continued, gloomily, after a moment of thought, “it does not matter much, for I am a man. I can work my own way in the world, and not mind its scorn and hard knocks. How fortunate”— with a deep sigh—“that I never succeeded in declaring myself to Edrie—dear, dear child ! I wonder where she can be ! At all events, this clears her from all suspicion of having been concerned in any way with the man’s death.” He started as this thought occurred to him, for he realised that all this story, which he was too anxious to conceal, for the sake of his mother and sister, would have to come out if Edrie should be arrested and brought to trial ; and yet how could her innocence be proved without making it public ? He knew that detectives were seeking for her, believing her guilty. .Was it not his duty to tell the whole truth, and thus remove suspicion from her ? It was a hard matter ; and between his desire to shield Mrs. Camp.bell and Helena from aught that would wound their delicacy and pride, and his love for and desire to exonerate Edrie, be was very wretched.

CHAPTER XIV. THE SETTLEMENT OF DANIEL CAMPBELL’S ESTATE. The next morning Harold went directly to the office of Sr. Richards' lawyer, taking the bogus will with him. He bad a long talk with both gentlemen, and he was fully convinced of the justice of Mr. Richards’ claim, and of the villainy and baseness of the man to whom he had been indebted for his subsistence for so many years. At the conclusion of their conference he remarked, in a straightforward, manly way : “My mother has commissioned me to say, in case I was convinced of the advisability of so doing, that she is willing to renounce all right and title to the property of the late Mr. Campbell indeed, sir, she would scorn to use another dollar, or to occupy, for even a day longer than was absolutely necessary, the estate which was obtained by such fraudulent means. We all regret that we have usurped your rights for so many years, and we will endeavour to vacate • the premises by the end of another week, if that will suit you.” This was said with the utmost courtesy, without a vestige of anger or malice, but rather with an air of conviction of what was simply right and just. Mr. Richards regarded the young man admiringly, and a wistful look shot into his eyes as he replied : “Mr. Sturtevant, you are an honour to your mother, who *• also an

honour to her sex, and I deeply regret having been instrumental in adding to the trouble which you have already suffered. But I have rights which I must assert to a certain extent, and yet I know that I have not a right to all the property which Daniel Campbell left. To be sure, he made his money on my capital, but he spent his own time and energy in increasing it, and his heirs ought to reap the benefit of his labours."

"I do not know just what the man was worth,” Harold replied, "but I can readily understand, .if he stole more than, a million from you, that that amount, with compound interest—to which you are justly entitled —added, would make sad inroads into a very large fortune.’i “Mr. Richards smiled.

"My young friend, if you will allow me to use the term, we will estimate this property, and then I moan to do the square thing with you, I must have my own back, with a fair amount of interest; but I shall relinguish all claim to what remains, feeling that it belongs to Mrs. Campbell."

Young Sturtevant flushed to his temples.

He was very proud, and, for himself, he would have refused to touch even a penny of Daniel Campbell’s ill-gotten wealth. At the same time, he could but acknowledge that what Mr. Richards had said was fair and honourable, as well as generous, and for his mother’s sake he was grateful to him for being so considerate when he could easily have made so much trouble for them all. "I thank you, sir, for your consideration,” he replied, "and I am at your service whenever you choose to begin your investigations." He went back to his mother and told her the result of his interview. At first her pride arose in arms at the thought of accepting the slightest concession on the part of Mr. Richards, while she shrank from making use of money which had been so dishonourably obtained. "I will not touch a coin of it, Harold !” cried Mrs. Campbell, with a gesture of loathing. "I have degraded myself sufficiently already by selling myself to and living for years with a man for whom I had not & particle of love during his life, and whose memory, in view of these revelations I now abhor. Let me live on a crust, so that I come by it honestly ; I will not share the spoils of dishonour." But of course this was a morbid way of regarding it, and Harold finally convinced her that a portion of Daniel Campbell’s great fortune did rightfully belong to her, and he begged her, for Helena’s sake, not to reject Mr. Richards’ generous proposal. An early day was named for the settlement of the dead man’s affairs, and as his lawyer had been named executor of his will, it was thought best to take him into their confidence, particularly as he had advised the man regarding many of his investments. ,

Everything that Mr. Campbell was supposed to own was appraised, and he was found to have been worth much more than most people supposed, which showed that he had been a shrewd man of business, and knew how to make the most of each transaction.

Every one recognised the fact that most of this ought to go to the man whom 'he had so deeply wronged ; but Mr. Richards made a proposition which surprised them all, and won both the gratitude and admiration ■of Harold and Mr. Converse, his lawyer.

“Youngi man,” he said, turning cordially to Harold, “I propose that we share equally in this business. The fortune is large enough to divide and give us each an ample income. I shall be entirely satisfied with such an arrangement, and I trust that Mrs. Campbell will be also.'*

Harold looked amazed, and for a moment he could not reply.

‘‘You are very magnanimous, air,'* he at length found voice to say; ‘‘but the half is ?ar more than we have any right'to expect or to take. I am sure that my mother would be better satisfied with much less.”

“I have no wish to burden any one with wealth,” the gentleman returnted, with a genial smile ; “but, If you please, we will let that arrangement stand. I am only one, and you number three, so we will end the discussion here, and settle up accounts as soon as possible.” He would listen to no other proposition, and so they proceeded at oose to a division of the property. The beautiful estate of Hollyhnrst was settled, unconditionally, upon Mrs. Campbell, together with bank stock and other property that would yield her a handsome income and enable! ' her to continue her. present style of living. Mr. Richards took bank add railroad stock, with some bonds, for his portion, as be said he contemplated going abroad soon, and these would be more easy to manipulate than real estate, while his health was still too delicate to admit of his having very much care. (To be Continued.)