Ije Stimc0, New Blaomftclir, JJa. 4- UNCLE WINTHROP'S WATCH. CONTINUED. I SHOULD not hesitate to take my oath in a court of justice that they were his." " The semblance was certainly very striking" said Miss Weston, "but of course it was only a semblance." "I am not so positive on that point," re marked Pcrham. " Are you sure that your uncle was not on one of the trains at the time of the disaster?" " I am not absolutely certain. He wrote me from Rockport, stating that he would await my arrival there." " He may have been called away ; you know that he is not unfrequcntly subject to sudden business calls." " It is possible, but still very improb able," said Miss Weston, a slight expres sion of alarm in her tones. " If he had been on the train ours run into, should we not have met with him if alive, or have found him among the wounded or the dead?" " He certainly was not among those who escaped," was Perham's reply. "My in jured foot prevented me from doing any thing in the way of clearing the wreck and rescuing the sufferers, and your attention was principally devoted to the women ; therefore, we may not have noticod him' in the general confusion that prevailed." " If what you suggest is correct, ond un cle was on the train, what has that to do with the watch in question ? asked Miss Weston. " Very much. You very well know, or have read, that on all occasions of this kind there are plenty of men ready to take advantage of them, and make the pretence of assisting a cover for plundering the sufferers." (: " And you suspect that our late fellow passenger to be one of those vilo charac ters, those fiends in humau shape ?" asked Miss Weston, with not a little warmth. , . "If," rejoined Perham, "mind yoii I say , your uncle . was unfortunately in the train, and if the watch we saw was his, to what other conclusion can we arrive?" "If and if! What a contemptible pol troon la that if, Mr. Perham l", exclaimed the lady, with spirit, rovealing an entirely new phase of character to her astonished . auditor. " I say to you, if all your sup. positions should prove correct, nothing but bis own acknowledgment would, convince me that the gentleman would be! guilty of such an act !" . ' ., "You have great faith iu ono who is an entire stranger to you, Miss Weston,',', said her companion, ironically. " I have undoubted confidence in him." said Miss Weston, ingenuously, her - face slightly flushing as she made the admission. "But do you not see," she added, with much acuteness, " that you are making him put a fool as well as a knave ?" " How so, pray ?" asked Mr. Perhain. " Would it not be the very height of folly in a man who had robbed another, to open ly display bis plunder in the very neigh borhood of his criminal act, thus courting detection?' lie mignt nave mauo me exposure unwittingly," was the ready rejoinder. " But here we are at the hotel," he added, looking out of the carriage window, " and in a short time our suspicions will be strengthened or set at rest." "'' " Tour supicions are not ours," was the pointed remark of Miss Weston, as the car riage drew up at the ladies' entrance. On entering the hotel, Miss Weston im mediately sought Information of her uncle. She had experienced an increasing anxiety in regard to him since the watch had ;been the object of conversation, and the sug gestion been made that possibly he might have been on the train at the time of the disaster. She bad fully expected that he . would have been in waiting for her at the station ; still, as she knew that he was aware of her having an escort, his absence had not much surprised her. He - would surely, she thought, for he was very punc tilious in such matters, be at . the hotel to receive her. But he was not there, and it was with a mind filled with painful appre hensions that she mode inquiries in. regard to him. v i , : ; ; . i The servant whom she had sent to the office for that purpose had not been long absent when the landlord made his appear ance. Tbey were well acquainted, Miss Weston being an old guest of bis. , 1 "A telegram regarding your uncle, Miss Weston," he said,tendor1ngheran envelop, " Itegaiding my uncle I lie is not here then ?" exclaimed Miss Weston, as, ' with trembling hands and pallid chock, she hastened to open the despatch. ... . i ' It was dated that moruing, and contained but few words. The message read as ' fol lows : - ' ' : " Mr. Winthrop' has Just been brought home severely wounded. Ho is not con Kidered in immediate danger. Hutu iu at once." !..-, .., ,. , i . " When does the next train pass through for New York ?'' asked Miss Weston of the landlord, as she passed the telegram to her friend MiM Leigh ton. , .. , . . "Then is one due at midnight," replied the host. ' , . '' :4. ', i Li .. " Please have a carriage in readiness, Mr. Jones, to take me to the station in season to meet it," said the young lady, with surprising degree of calmness. " My doar Clara, you will not think of starting to-night," said Miss Loigliton. " Why not remain until morning? There is an early train." ' , i "I must go by the first train, Annio; nothing would induce me to miss it.' " But you cannot go alone," persisted her friend. "If Miss Weston will permit mo to ac company her " Mr. Perham commenced saying, when the lady hastened to inter rupt him: J .'.:,'.. f', V v i.i . "You are very kind, Mr. Perham, but I cannot think of imposing such a tank on you. I have been accustomed to travel alone, and I have no fears but that I shall get along very well."' " There is a gentleman stopping at the hotel who will take the midnight train," said the host, "and who will, I doubt not, be glad to receive Miss Weston under his protection. He is a perfectly reliable gentleman." " Thank you, Mr. Jones. Be kind enough to mention the subject to him. I will en deavor not to incommode him." : i" The time intervening before the train would be due seemed to Miss Weston in terminable.'1 Her impatience to be on her homeward way, her ' suspense respecting the condition of bet unclq absorbed her entire boing.: It was with difficulty her friends persuaded ltor to partBke of the needed nourishment to sustain her on her journey. ' Miss Leightori tried to induce her to take a little rest,, but she declared that, sleep was out of the question, and that her only relief was in motion. There was no paper published iu Rock port, but the passing trains brought the journals from the distant cities. The papers received that evening were eagerly scanned by our party. They contained telegraphic reports of the disaster, and in the list of the injured Miss Weston : read, "Charles Winthrop, New York, seriously." That was all. ' It afforded her no more informa tion, nothing more satisfactory than her own telegram, and for a moment there was a feeling of vexation at the mcagreness of the accounts. ' An " especial" to one of the journals gave a few incidents relating to the disaster, but there was nothing having reference to her uncle. This par agraph,1 however, caught her eye and riv eted her attention : " " ! :,: ' : " Great credit is due to a young gentle man, Henry Peabody, who, though suffer ing from a1 painful wound, by his self possession and energetio efforts rendered eflioieut aid in removing the dead and re lieving the sufferings of the injured." Miss Lelghton called Mr. Perham's at tention to the paragraph, on which he sneeringly remarked i , " Relieved the sufferings of the injured I Yes, and , undoubtedly relieved them of their purses and watches, tool" , Miss Weston, who bod been pacing the apartment slowly to and fro with: a nerv ous restlessness, paused in her - walk , in front of the speaker, and , said, with re strained vehemence : . , i "Mr. , Perham, your insinuation .is as ungenerous as it is unjust, and I must add, unbecoming, in its fullest sense, of a " , . By an ovidont effort she checked herself, and left the sentence , unfinished. . ; The sharpness of the rebuke brought the , blood to the young man's brow.. . , .;. ,.! ".You are severe, . Miss , Weston,',' he said, with a smile which poorly concealed his mortification. ,t , , i, The moment the words escaped Clara's lips, she, regretted their utterance, Al though, with her convictions,' she believed the reproof was well merited, was she called upon to administer it? At another time sbo would not, perhaps, have been betrayed into it, but just then she was in a peculiar frame of mind. The suspense and auxicty to which she was a prey had so,' wrought upon her nerves as to render her' morbidly sensitive.' ' Naturally she was of a remark ably placid disposition, and was very cir cumspect in her regaid for the feelings of others. Had the relations in which the two stood towards each other been different, in faot, she would have shrunk - from ex pressing herself so unreservedly j but their nature was such as to excuse, in a measure, her freedom of speech.' A brother of her uncle Charles Winthrop had man-led a widow lady, and Edward Perham was her child by her first husband. Henco, though there was no consanguinity between Clara Weston and Edward Perham, a sort of cousinly familiarity existed. ' ' ' Until a comparatively recent period their intercourse had not been marked by the reserve of foimality that now characterized it. They had been accustomed to address each other by their given names, but now " Clara" and "Edward" had given place to the more chilling 1 and ceremonious "Miss" and " Mr." The cause of the es trangement it implied we will speak of more particularly further along, ' ' ' The midnight hour' for which Clara hod so impatiently awaited at last arrived, and accompanied by the gentleman who had so kindly taken her in charge', she' started on her homoward journey. Her home was with her uncle,one of the merchant princes of Nw York. The orphan child of a de ceased sister, Mr. Winthrop bud adopted her at an early age ' from nearly infancy she had been a' member of tils family, and, being childless, he bad come to bestow upon ber all the wealth of his parental af fection. She, too, with ber growing years, cherished for her aunt and uncle the full measure of filial devotion. , Fuom them sho received ail the-tendcr car and solicltudo of parental lovoin the enjoyment of which, and the ; many 'advantages, bestowed by Wealth, she grew up to womanhood. ' The death of her aunt, when sho was in her seventeenth year, was the first groat sorrow that befell her, that of her mother occurring at too early an age to leave" a lasting impression. After her aunt's death the assumed the control of domestio affairs, and, fortunately, she had received such culture from Mrs. Winthrop as to. eminent ly fit her, for the position she was now call ed upon to fill ; for among all her ncquirod accomplishments; thoso of ft housewifely nature had received a due share of her at tention. .,' As was very natural from their quasi cousinshift a close degree of 'intimacy ex isted between Edward Perham and Clara. In their younger years lie had the " ran of the house," dropping in at all hours tan teremonit. And yet, .notwithstanding their close companionship, Perham was never a special favorite of hers. In many respects they presented a marked dissimilitude of character.' Clara's disposition .'was very genial, his was' cold and impassive ; ' her tastes were highly refined, his cast' in a coarser mould ; she was affable and unas suming, ho cynical and supercilious. ' Iu a word, all lier instincts reached to a higher altitude than his were capable of attaining. ' As they grew older' this dissimilarity became more decided, or more apparent to Clara,' and her regard for him consequently diminished. But as she ' developed "into the bloom of womanhood, Perham became more devoted and ardent in his attentions, and finally he openly aspired to her affec tions, in which ho was. encouraged ly his Own family. ; Reluctant to wound his feel ings, Clara affected not to fathom his inten tion, but so persistent did he at last be come, despite of the discouragements Clara took good care in a quiet way to offer as checks, that she began to dread his appear ance, while a growing feeling of aversion began to gain ' ascendency in ber mind, which she manifested with a studied cold ness and reserve pf manner toward him. She had not the least faith in the sincerity of his love. She, Clara Weston, was not the object' be sought to win, but the pros pective heiress' of Charles' Winthrop was the prize that allured him. '' ' ' 1 1 ' i There was one annoyance to which she was subjected, and which at last, from the mortification it occasioned her, awoke her resentment. This was his ridiculous as- sum pt ion that he alone was entitled to her favors; that any little civilities or courtesies she might bestow on other gentlemen were an encroachment on his prerogative. On all such occasions he was wont to manifest his displeasure by ; a sullenness of de meanor, and not unfrequcntly by discourt eous treatment of those ' who appeared to have won the good graces of Clara. Hence the ill-humor he betrayed in the , cars be cause of the friendly interest' at ontfe es tablished between Clara ' and Henry Pea body. On that occasion his manners were more offensively supercillious than usual. Hitherto Clara had borne these imperti nences without remark, but when Perham sought to cast a doubt on the character of Peabody, it aroused her as Perham had never before seen her aroused. This only nettled him the more, ' and led him to dcery Peabody in severer terms. ' By so doing bo ' betrayed a sad lack of wisdom. He had not the shrewdness to perceive thai in placing Clara in tbo atti tude of defender of the accused, he was only the more strongly enlisting her in terest in his behalf. The scathingwords wrung from Clara in the room Of the hotel cut deeply, but he was wise enough hot to reply to thorn. ' He resolved, however, that he would leave no means untried to prove to her that the' suspicions lis enter tained against Peabody we're well founded. During t her homeward journey, Clara had ample time to think over all that bad lately transpired. Although filled with anx iety on her uncle's account, the subject of Peabody and the watch constantly obtiud ed on her thoughts, She would soon learn whothor or not' ber uncle's watch was missing. ' If it should prove that it was, three was no doubt but that it was in Pea body's possession.' What thou? Did it necessarily J follow that Perham's conjec ture was ' correct that the former had stolon it ? ; And yet,' after all, were his sus picious unreasonable? 1 As Clara leaned back in her scat ponder ing these questions, ft vague doubt swept across her mind. ' But as she summoned before her mental vision the imago of the stranger, as she scanned anew the features bocring the impress of truth and probity, and in imagination caught the tones of his genial voice, her wavering faith was rees tablished. It seem almost like sacrilege to associate him with those who prowl amidst scenos of disaster, preying ghostlike among tbo dead and the wounded. No, no ; she would rely on her instincts she would believe bim-lnnooont until,' as she had said to Perham, his owu confession extorted conviction." ' 1 ., J . On the afternoon of the second duy Clara arrived home, completely exhausted iu body and mind. At the station inquiries hod been made by the gentleman who ac companied her as to the nature of her uncle's injures. lie, infoimod ber that though they were severe, from ; what he Could learn they were far from ' being Con sidered fatal. , This was a great .relief to hor, for she'had anticipated the worst. On reaching the house, she found that her uncle was suffering from a compound fracture of one of his limbs, and from othor injuries received at the time of the) col lision. He had received all the care and attention that the most eminent of the medical and surgical profession could ren der, one of whom was then present. Clara's first impulse was to vist her uncle, but the physician-; informed hor jtlint he had just administered an opiate, and that it was absolutely necessary he should .remain un disturbed. He did not make known that the patient just then ws laboring under a high fever, and that his wandering mind rendered him' incapable of recognizing those around him. .-.-...... As there was realjy nothing then requir ing Clara's services,' she was recommended by the physician to seek that rest so much required before she took her place as nurse by hor uncle's bedside,' as it was her ex pressed determination to do. Rest she indeed required. For ' the last four or five days she had been, with brief intermissions, travelling in the cars ; sha had passed through the horrors and excitement of a railway disaster, and for the two previous nights she bad been able to obtain but little if any sleep. Nature demandod re pose, and although , she fain would have resisted, she was reluctantly compelled to yield to it.' . . Whon Clara the next morning visited the patient's bedsido, she could hardly recog nize in the haggard fever-stricken face that she gazed upon, the pleasant features of one from whom shcjliad but recently part ed,. The prostrate helpless form, the ban daged head, the wild and vacant look, presented aj'spectacle that brought tears to her eyes. ; .;u , - .,. But sho was not one to permit fooling to incapacitate lier for the duty in hand., At the time of the disaster, she had won by her coolness the favorable notice of Pea body amid ' scones calculated to ' try the stoutest nerves, , and now, as then,' she ex hibited the same traits. ' Suppressing all signs of outward emstion, she at once gave her , attention to' the duties of the sick chamber.! Forgthese one had been engagod; but Clara well, knew that there were mani fold trifling services, so grateful to the patient, that affection would ' bo prompt to render, but which a professional ' nurse would be very likely to overlook. .' The housokecper that' morning bad in formed hor that her uncle's watch was not to be found when he was brought home, anu ma condition was such she could not question him in regard to it. Knowing what Miss Weston'did, it may well be sup posed that the fact she had learned was of peculiar interest,' , '''"'," All tjhrpugh the day, burdened as it was with other matters, the subject of the miss ing watch was constantly recurring to her mind., On one occasion . in particular, it was, pressed upon her attention with re doubled force. Frequently in nis delirium Mr; Wiuthrop would indulge in a rambling incoherent discourse, principally relating to business matters; ' On one occasion he seemed to be holding a disoussion on some branch of : political economy with a fellow merchant, in ; the course of which he re marked, with a good deal of animation: " You very well know, my friend, that if you would find the absolute strength of a cable, you must seek for it in the weakost link. Now, thon, the excess of our im portations over exportations, and the pla cing of our bonds abroad, form the ' weak link in our chain,' as will be demonstrated to our sorrow wheu the tost is applied. But, bless me, I shall lose tlfo train !" What's the time ? My watch is gone 1 ' Tho last sentence sounded in Clara's ears with startling emphasis" My watch it gone!" How gone? Into whose hands had it fallen? Of that she had but little doubt. How camo he by it? This question staggered her. If she could but fix for a moment the wandering mind of her uncle to the subject could elicit the slightest information that would afford a clew by which sho could unravel the mystery in which the missing watch was involved, the perplexing doubts that how agitated her would, ono way or the othor, be sot at rest, to the great relief of her mlndi Acting ou tho thought, she went to the bedside and said: ' !-." - What has become of uncle?" ' your watch, There was a momentary gleam of sanity in the eyes of Mr. Winthrop as be turned thorn ou his niece, while he promptly said : "My watoli? I gave it to the young man the noble follow who saved my life." The noxt moment his mind was all adrift again. " But I shall lose the train if I sfay talking here," he said, hurriedly.' "I shall see you again soon. Good-by, good-by !" He gave It to the young mani the noble fellow who saved his life ! What a cloud was lifted from the Bpirits of Clara Weston as these words fell upon her cars I She comprehended It all now. Her confidence had not been misplaced her instincts had proved trustworthy. ', The smile pf satisfac tion that lighted up hor features gave to her faco an expression akin to angelic beauty. ' ' ,'''' But why this deep Interest in one almost a stranger the acquaintance of but a day ? Ah, but the experiences of years, how often are they concentrated in a single day, in a briofhourl How rapidly fate weaves her spells I In a day, in an hour, ties are knit and tiosjare broken, estrangements caused and estrangements healed, in thoso limited periods events have their birth which give a coloring to all the after-life. - Little dreamed Henry Peabody, as he pursued his lonely journey, of the unjust suspicions attached to him, aud of the deep Interest, "at least, i.i one heart,' which he had awakened. Had he been cognizant of them, we may fairly suppose that he would not have exhibited that tranquility of mind which be did. He bad felt for a time a little low-spirited after parting with his late fair fellow-passenger, but cheerfulness rather than sadness was the normal condi tion of his mind, and he very soon threw off the slight feeling of depression. His was a sanguine temperament, and hope whispered to him of many fond possibilities in the future. ' ' , 1 ' i ;; - y , , ' As yet he had not determined on his career in life. Ho had graduated at an unusually early age at ono of our highest institutions of learning, ranking well in his class. He had, also, gone through the regular course at the law-school, although he had not decided to become a disciple of Coke and Blackstone. He believed that a knowledge of jurisprudence, and the disci pline of mind to which he would be sub jected in its acquirement, could not fail to be of benefit to him in whatever calling he should elect to' pursue.'"" At present his rnind gravitated between the legal profes sion and mercantile-" pursuits. ' Having youth, energy, a good constitution, and well-grounded principles, his chances of Buccess were favorable in whatever under taking he should resolve upon. When the accident ocourrcd he was on his way to the West, where, with a limited inheritance carefully husbanded as a "nest egg," be proposed to look about him, ready to take advantage of Biich opportunities as might offer- Fortunately the injuries he had received did not rotaid his journey. Had ho been of a superstitious or despon dent mood, he might have looked upon that acoident, at the very outset of his career, as an augury of evil, but be was neither. It was simply an accident, whioh, as he laugh ingly observed to a fellow-passenger, " all railroad 'travellers, . in these break-neck days, (should regard as a matter of course." Oftentimes Henry regretted that he had not ascertained the name af the gentleman who had persisted in bis taking the- watch, literally forcing it, upon him. In the con fusion incident to the disaster, the oppor tunity, was not aflbrdod him indeed, , he had no 'particular : reason for seeking it. When the watoh waa pressed upon him ho was on the point of requesting it, but the sudden starting of the train prevented. Also be regretted that he was ignorant of the place of residence of his tete-a-tete in the cars. She had informed him that sho intended to spend the summer in Rockport, but had given no hint in regard to her home. He knew that it was somewhere in the East; that was all. He breathed some thing like a sigh as be thought of the slight chance of their ever again meeting; still,, he had. a feeling, born of hope, that their parting was not final. But when, whore, and under what circumstances would be their noxt meeting were altogether beyond his divination. , About this time there prevailed what was styled the Western fever" in several localities. All olasses and ages wers affect ed by it ' The great West was regarded as the famed Eldorado, and scores of young men flocked thither filled with golden dreams, too many of which, it is feared have proved, or will prove, but little better, if not, indeed, much worse than leaden re alities. Peabody had taken the disease in a mild form, under the influence of . which he started for, ond, as we have mentioned. was now on his way - to this1, wonderful region.. ; i. . We do not propose to follow him through out his route. Ho visited cities that is, cities which snramr into existence well alouir in the ninoteenth cen turyand embryo citios, and finally select ed. Chicago as the most promising place in which to pitch his taut. , Before doing this, however, it became necessary, iu order to perfoct his plans, to visit New York, iu which city be found himself some fivo or six months after tho reader's first acquain tance with him. , .. Late one evening, as Henry was return ing to his. hotel from a call on a oollego mate, not being familiar with tho locality, be became involved iu a labyrinth of streets all of which seemed strange to him. Paus ing a moment, he selected one of four or five which divorced from a Bnial) onenimr. supposing it tp be his oorredt' route. ' The Higni was ciarx, ana tne gas lamps far apart,: There-were no open shops ou the street hi whioh. he 'could ask: directions. , Blocks pf tall houses aroso I on either side, Intersected by gloomy courtsor dark nar row alleys leading to unknown regions. Now and then an underground saloon, emitted a dim light through its' dingy curtained window, whence came the sound, of drunken revelry. Couchlded next week. , t3T Ladies traveling acrowi thV plains, carry their hair in I heir pockots'to avoid being scalped. .
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers