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SECOND PART.
tKOW TIKST
iSERIESOF SHORT STORIES
By J. Marsden Sutcliffe,
entitled
JBHE EOMMCE OF M MSUBAtfGE OFFICE,
Betko Passages ik the Expedience op Me. AUGUSTUS "WlLliIAM WEB
' BEE, Formerly General Manager of the Universal Insurance Company.
ALL SIGHTS
SfhE Wey of the World.
The scene is the beautiful churchyard of
Harrow on the Hill, which commands one
of the finest landscape views to be seen in
broad England a spot dear to the worship
ers of Byron's genius, as a favored retreat
of the poet in his boyish days, and immor
talized by him in pathetic verse. Here,
tradition records, Byron would often come
to escape the din and commotion of the
playground attached to the great public
school, where so many of the most famous
of English worthies statesmen, warriors,
poets, thinkers were trained and taught,
and having carved their names deep in the
oak of the school benches, went forth to
write their names deeper still upon English
memories and English hearts. Here that
proud spirit held his earlier communings
with nature, on whose ample bosom he may
have found repose, and an influence to
charm away the fretful turbulence of his
spirit, about which, even in those early
days, the shadows which finally clothed
him round had already begun to gather.
It is the last dav of summer term 60 years
ago. Speech day is over, and the last vis
itor has long since departed. Three strap
ping youths, the silken down just showing
on their upper lips, are idly lounging on
the tomb traditionally assigned as the scene
of the poet's reveries. t
It is not only the last day of the term for
these three, but their last day of school life.
To-morrow, when "the tooting horn"
wakes the echoes in the still sleeping village,
the coach will bear them away from the
scene which, for nine long years, has been
their common home, and carry them hence,
each to tread his own path in the world.
They have been firm friends hitherto, and
before they separate will breathe mutual
vows of eternal constancy; but who shall
say what may betide them when the un
sealed book of the future shall have opened
its pages?
Charles Lowndes, the sturdiest of the
three, with limbs like a well-trained ath
lete, is destined "food for powder." His
father died, fighting in one of the Indian
frontier wars, and powerful interest has
been employed by one who held the father
dear to secure a commission for the son in
the th, and generally to forward his pros
pects in his self-chosen career. The th is
under orders to sail for Bombay, and Lown
des has received instructions to join his
regiment immediately. He will barelv have
time to learn the goose-step and get
initiated into some of his new duties, before
the Nabob troopship gets under weigh and
spreads her white wings to the breeze. He
looks, every inch of him, a soldier, worthy
to bear the commission ot the then maiden
Queen, and one to be depended upon to
bring-faonor to the colors he is to carry. Bis
frank,open face proclaims him honest as the
day and true as steel.
There is something sardonic in the face of
Mark "Westlake, the second of the trio;
-something hard and cruel about the lines of
the month, round which a curious smile,
half-amused and half cynical, is wont to
play, and which the passion thatnow sleeps'
ana anon names lortn irom ms nasning
dark eyes does nothing to belie. He has some
thing of the poet's temperament in his com
position, fervid in love and fierce in hate;
and you would jndge him to be endowed
with a nature which would make him an
implacable enemy but a fast friend when
affection or interest inclined him. 'West
lake has his holidays cut out for him.
Nigh by the Yale of Llangollen a maiden
aunt, who has burdened her slender means
with the care of his orphanage, has her
home. The next three months will find
him in "Wales busy with rod and line, a
deadly foe to the trout which are sporting
and leaping in mountain stream and tarn
all unsuspicious of their impending fate.
In October he journeys to London to Degin
his studies at Guy's, for "Westlake has de
cided to adopt surgery as his profession and
has dreams of rivaling the fame of John
Hunter.
The third of the group, with laughing
blue eyes, and the retreating chin which is
ever the sign of weakness of character, is in
other respects a handsome lad, and good
natured to a fault. But let the Pates deal
kindly with Pierce "Wharton, for he is the
sort to go under if beaten hard by the stern
wind of circumstance. He is destined for
the Stock Exchange. His uncle, to whose
care his mother, the widow of a clergyman,
bequeathed him, and who is a sharebroker,
means to introduce him to his own profes
sion, and he has only this brother of his
dead mother and his own honest endeavors
to look to in order to make his way in the
world.
All three lads are orphans. Their com
mon sorrow may have been the bond which
in the first instance drew them together on
the day when they were severally launched
on the great world of school. But whatever
was the attraction in the first instance, there
was enough of identity in their tastes (or
shall we say dissimilarity?) slowly to weld
together the links ot the friendship which
had grown stronger with each succeeding
term, until the three became inseparable,
and were ironically dubbed "The Three
Graces."
"I wonder when we shall meet again,"
Pierce "Wharton exclaimed sentimentally,
breaking a long silence which had reigned
among them.
"Yes, I wonder too," "Westlake replied.
' "We have been 'comrades in friendship and
in mischief allied,' " quoting aline from his
favorite poet "But here comes the end of
it all. "What a pity it is school days don't
last 1" he added, with a discontented air.
"Don't say that," cried Lowndes, thirst
ing for the life or action, and dreaming al
ready of "seeking the bubble reputation
even in the cannon's mouth." 'Tor my
part, he went on "I am glad to have done
with Latin and Greek, and all the classical
stuff. I never had the head for it. And
then to be a soldier as my father was!"
"Yes, and to be run through with a lance
by one of those blackguardly blackskins as
' your father was," "Westlake bluntly re
torted. "Pleasant prospect, I must say."
The blunt home thrust from Westlake's
mocking tongue told upon Lowndes, who
1 held his father's name in reverent recollec
, tion, and was not a little proud that Ms
J parent had died a soldier's death. A dark
, shadow crossed his face as he thought of
i, him now, lying in his bloody grave in that
- far-off land whither his own steps would
. soon be bent.
f "Isn't that a little brttW, Westlake?"
asked Pierce "Wharton, in a remonstrating
tone. "Tne fact is, Charlie, old boy, "West
lake here is so fhll of carviite other people's
quivering fleiih with tools of another sort, I
manity, as he says, that he cannot appre
ciate the romance and the sacrifice of 'gfori-
' ous war.' "
" SBut after alL" Lowndes nnieklv replied.
pawing oywnarton's apologetio expiana-
.wb - .. wv.tM.t, a miiwimrroro t.u.u.,
can a man act more nobly than giving
IH?Jtow
i&Z&TF
THE
POBLIbHED.J
RESERVE J.
his life for his country and his Queen at the
call of duty?"
"Exactly so," said "Wharton. "1 am of
Horatius' mind:
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds.
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of bis Gods?"
"Horatins was an old Pagan," "Westlake
replied, sententiously; and then murmured
to himself, "strange that mankind should
find delight in butchery."
"How horridly you talk," cried "Whar
ton, warmly. "Butchery indeed!" And
then he began to troll forth in rebuke the
old song, "Ye Gentlemen of England."
"Do shut up that caterwaulling," "West
lake said irritably. "See the rooks are off
to bed. It's enough to make them return to
join the concert for very envy."
"Come, no more of this," Lowndes said
in an authoritative tone. "Our"!friendship
will be handed down to future Harrovians
as a kind of sacred tradition. I won't have
it spoiled by a jarring note the last night
we shall spend together till heaven knows
when."
"Heigho!" cried "Westlake, "that brings
us back to the point whence we started.
'When shall we three meet again?' Kow,
Pierce, none of your stale quotation" he
added, with a good-natured, but menacing
look, as "Wharton, who had risen irom the
tombstone on which they were sitting,
struck an attitude which threatened a con
tinuation of the witches' dialogue in
"Macbeth."
"All right, old fellow, you shall have a
monopoly oi quotation for to-night, then."
"And I will take you at your word,"
"Westlake replied. And forthwith he be
gan in a rich, musical voice, trembling with
scarcely suppressed emotion, to repeat the
lines written by Lord Byron on the spot
where they were gathered, beginning witn
Ye scenes of my childhood, whoso loved recol
lection Embitters the present, compared with the
past,
"Where science first dawn'd on the powers of
reflection.
And friendships were form'd too romantic to
last.
The eyes of all three were moist when
"Westlake concluded his recitation, which
he delivered with exquisite feeling and ef
fect The past, as in a moment, was light
ed up in the memories of each: the future,
so unknown, oppressed them with its min
gled hopes ana fears. Only consider their
situation. The long happy years which
they had passed together, the warmth of
their friendship, the close of school life and
the near approach of the hour for their sep
aration, the uncertainty of their meeting
again, the unknown possibilities of good or
evil lying within the reach of them, the
pathetic lines they had iust listened to. re
peated with a passion oi fondness and re
gret which vibrated in every tone of a finely
modulated voice, the softly dying lieht of
a summer evening, the sleeping dead be
neath their feet; and, having considered all
this, do not charge these lads with being
sentimental; un-English, or unmanly it,
before they turned away from the place
consecrated by so many touching memories,
they took oath and swore that, though seas
should hereafter roll between them, and
many years slip by ere they met again,
come good fortune or ill-luck, they would
be true to the memories of the past and
loyal in friendship to the very end of life.
The moon rose fair in the heaveas and
filled the plains below with her soft, shim
mering light, before they quitted the vener
able churchyard; and, ere they went, they
bound themselves by a tolemn vow, sealing
their compact by strong hand-clasps, that
they would note the hour when each suc
ceeding moon would reach her fall, take
out their watches and wait for it, and then
they would think of each other, and of
this last night of their school-life spent
together in the churchyard of Harrow on
the Hill.
"Was theirs an instance where
Friendships were formed too remantio to
last?
IL
It was the year of the Indian mutiny.
Twenty years had come and gone since "the
solemn league and covenant" of eternal
friendship in Harrow Churchyard, and the
years had brought with them many changes.
Lowndes was a sun-bnrnt warrior in the tar
East who had seen much service, gained
some renown, and reaped little benefit to
himself. If promotion had gone by merit,
he would long since have received "the col
onelcy of his regiment As it was he had
to put up with the rank of cantain and ad
jutant of the th. The iriend whose
patronage had procured lor him his commis
sion, and who promised to push his inter
terests in the service, for his dead father's
sake, died soon afterthe young ensign sailed
for Bombay. Lowndes' fate by no means
an uncommon one, witness Havelock had
been to see striplings with powerful friends
behind them promoted over his head, so
that while the hard work fell to his share
the plums were dropped into other months.
A great disappointment had overtaken
Pierce "Wharton. His uncle, who was
childless, though married in the old Har
row days, lost his wile and took to himself
another mate, many years vounger than
himself, who presented him with a numer
ous progeny. Mr. "Wharton the elder con
sidered that alter disbursing the cost of his
nephew's education and providing him with
a stool in his office; he had paid his debts in
full to Mr. Wharton the younger". Pierce
stayed on with his uncle, earning a modest
salary until he was 30, when the return of
Mark "Westlake to his native land, from
which he had long been absent in the hum
ble capacity of a ship's surgeon, altered'his
whole prospects.
"You had better marry my sister, "Whar
ton, he said; "she has a snug little fortune
of her own a matter of 3,000 or 4,000
and leave 'mine uncle' to fend for himself."
Westlake made this suggestion more in
jest than earnest, but it so fell out that soon
afterward Pierce Wharton and Alice "West
lake met, and Wharton's suggestion proved
an unconscious prophecy. They were mar
ried, after a brief courtship, and having
taken a snug little house at Brixton, "Whar
ton obtaineda suite of offices and set up for
himself at a stock and sharebroker. His
first client was his old school friend, Charlie
Lowndes, who forwarded to him his little
savings from time to time to invest at bis
own discretion.
Mark "Westlake had passed through a
more checkered career. He ran through a
successtul and brilliant course at Guy's,
and then went to Paris to continue his
studies there. Later he accepted a suc
cession of appointments as snip's surgeon,
less in the interests of his profession than to
gratify his tastes as a naturalist, employing'
his time at every foreign port in adding to
his biographical specimens. After his re
turn, when he had succeeded in getting his
sister off his hands, he returned to Paris,
where he gave himself up to the study of
nervous diseases. Next, returning to En
gland, he invested his lortune in purchas
ing a lunacy practice, and settled down in
a gloomy, barrack-like building on the Nor
folk coast The practice was a paying one,
and for some time Westlake made money;
but his ( tastes if ere expensive, and the
money disappeared as fast as it was earned.
The special subject to which he had de
voted his life possessed for him a singular
PITTSBURG
PITTSBTJBG,
fascination and charm. Indeed, it may be
said to have amounted to an infatuation of
6o overmastering a kind, that he had no
hesitation in setting aside every scruple
that would have been acknowledged by a
less infatuated student, whenever a moral
obstacle stood in the way of the advance
ment of the interests of science.
If report may be trusted, Westlake was a
vivisectioniit long before the term vivisec
tion fell on the startled ears of a humane
world. Certainly an incredible number of
live rabbits, cats and dogs found their way
to the "Eetreat" as his place was called,
which set the minds of the Norfolk rustics
wondering "what Doctor "Westlake could
want with all that live stock." But the
bucolics of Norfolk never penetrated the
secrets of the Eetreat If any belated trav
eler passing near the. asylum after nightfall
chanced to be startled by agonizing cries as
irom living creatures-in torment, ft was set
down to "those poor bodies who were kept
inside to have their reason mended." "
Certain it is that Doctor "Westlake was
often employed in his laboratory in pursuit
of his occult studies at the expense of some
poor quivering animal, when his attention
might have been better employed in the
supervision of his agents, and particularly
of a brute named Howgate whose cruelty
cost his master dear. Howgate was a fiend
in human shape who delighted in the inflic
tion of pain.
One night when his master was employed
below, in torturing dumb animals in the in
terests ot science, Howgate was engaged in
one of the wards above in torturing a poor
half-witted creature who died under the
treatment "Westlake interfered, but he
was too late. He could not repair the
broken ribs nor heal the lacerated lung.
The former, might have been within the
scope oi his skill, if the injury had stood
alone. The latter was not "Westlake
would have covered up the affair if he
could, but the friends of the patient were
startled by the suddenness of his death, and
when they came down, bringing a medical
friend with them, "Westlake was quick
enough to perceive that the truth must be
told. An inquest was held, and though by
his evidence "Westlake endeavored to
screen Howcate, an incensed Norfolk jury
insisted on sending Howgate tor trial to an
swer a charge of manslaughter. But Dr.
"Westlake's testimony told with better effect
on the minds of the jury who adjudicated
upou the case at the following Norwich As
sizes, and Howgate was acquitted and re
leased after a sharp reprimand from the
judge.
Notwithstanding his barbaritv the man
was valuable and Westlake took him back7
into his service. But the esclandre worked
irreparable mischief on "Westlake's pros
pects. His practice fell off. Such clients
as still availed themselves of his services
were of the least reputable class, who had
sinister ends of their own to gain, by risk
ing their relatives to Howgate's tender
mercies.
Matters were in this state at the com
mencement of the year 1857, when a clond
arose in Pierce "Wharton's sky. He was
seated one morning in his office, in the
month of March, going through his corre
spondence, when his eye fell upon a letter
bearing the Indian postmark. There was
something in that letter that should have
stirred the best feelings in the breast of an
honest man, although it blanched the cheek
of Fierce Wharton when he recognized the
handwriting, and a chill feeling of dismay
smote his heart as soon as he had mastered
its contents.
It was a letter from his old school friend
Charlie Lowndes. Its pages were filled
with chatty gossip of the regimental mess
and the station. It breathed throughout
the language of affection and confidence, so
that Pierce Wharton's brow became less
clouded as be read on. Toward the close,
however, the letter went on to say that
Lowndes had obtained his majority at last
and was looking forward at no distant day
to planting his feet on English soil after
20 years absence. The th were expecting
to be ordered home immediately, and in
three or four months time he expected they
would be sailing gaily up Southampton
water. The letter, after expressing the
joy with which Major Lowndes was look
ing forward to meeting his old chums once
more, concluded by requesting Wharton to
release the securities he held for Lowndes'
benefit and bank the sum in his name.
If the information that Lowndes' return
was close at hand caused a palpable tremor
to pass through Pierce Wharton's frame, an
emotion more intense and visible was pro
duced when he read the instruction requir
ing him to sell out the shares he held in
Lowndes' behalf. Those shares had been
disposed of months ago to relieve Wharton
from the sharp pressure ot necessity, and
cold though the weather was, thick beads of
perspiration stood upon his pale brow as he
found the obligation suddenly imposed
upon him to bank several thousand pounds'
in the name of Major Lowndes before that
officer arrivecTat Southampton.
His plain, downright robbery of his friend
he clothed in the euphemistic term a tem
porary loan; aphrase that had helped him
to plav juggling tricks with his conscience
when he stooped to the base transaction,
and which went a long way in concealing
from himself the true nature of his offense.
He overlooked the trifling fact that he had
obtained this temporary loan without the
consent ot the lender. It is always the
same, every-ready excuse of weak and
sorely-tempted men for malfeasance. The
clerk who "borrows" from his unconscious
employer, the fraudulent trustee who "bor
rows from tne wiaow ana orpnan, tne om
cial who "borrows" from the. company that
honors him with its confidence, and all the
gang of nefarious scoundrels who abuse
their positions of trust 'show little fertility
in excuses for their thefts. They all sing
the same refrain to the praises of "a tem
porary loan." The world, however, looks
on these transactions with a colder and
sterner eye, and calls these loans, obtained
without consent of the lenders, by the ugly
and uncompromising name of embezzle
ment, and society is judicially and execu
tively organized to see that this class of bor
rowers receives thejr due. i
The punishment looked very real and for
midable to Pierce Wharton as he sat with
the Indian letter before him. Where was
he to obtain the money wherewith to make
good the wrong he had done his friend?
Not from his uncle. The elder Mr. Whar
ton, even if inclined to advance so large a
sum to his nephew, would require ample
security, and "Wharton had none to give,
More than that "Uncle Ted" would be
guilty of the offense of manifesting an in
ordinate curiosity about the reasons which
justified his nephew in asking for so largefa
loan; and Pierce Wharton did not see his
way clear to gratifying "Uncle Ted's" curi
osity. For one thing, no other reason than
the truereason would go down for a mo
ment with that sharp man of business, and
Pierce Wharton knew that his noble would
scarcely advance him 6,000 pence to keep
him out of prison and shield him from the
inst eonseauences of dishonesty.
" Where theri was'he to obtain, the money? J
SATTJKDAT, MAUCH
The time at his disposal, was short. That
morning's Times confirmed the information
contained in Major Lowndes' letter. The
th were expecting orders to return by
every mail, and it was concluded that mid
summer at furthest would see the famous
regiment onoe more in England. Pierce
"Wharton sat ruminating oyer the dilemma
in which his frand had placed him without
seeing any means of extrication. At last a
glimmering of light seemed to dawn upon
his somber reflections, and he hastily dis
patched one of his clerks with the following
telegram;
Vrom To
Pierce Wharton, Dr. Westlake,
Loughborough road, The Retreat
Brixton. Gorllngton,Norfolk.
Send dog cart to meet me at Norwich station
at 5 o'clock. Important
ni.
Gorlington is a small village on the Nor
folk coast, standing high on the cliff, over
looking the German Ocean. It numbers
some 400 inhabitants, principally of the
fishing class, and is situated nearly equi
distant from Norwich and Yarmouth. The
village consists of two or three short tortu
ous streets, built In a fashion that would
provoke a smile from a city surveyor, but
was justified in the experience of the Gor
lingtonians by the capacity of the little vil
lage, so built, to withstand the fierce gales
which bldw on that stormy coast 'In the
center of the village stands the church,
built of squared flint, which, with the natu
ral polish of its surlace, gives the building
the appearance of a mosaic of grey time
stained marble. Beyond the village, half a
mile away, stands the 'Sylum, as the rustics
term the Eetreat, whose gloomy appearance
is less due perhaps to auy idea on the part
of the architect to erect a structure as for
bidding as architectural rules permittedt as
to the necessity of the building possessing
strength sufficient to defy the fury of winter
tempests that beat with appalling fury upon
that exposed situation.
The nearest railway station was 14 miles
away; Norwich was further still. But Dr.
"Westlake's patients were usually conveyed
to Gorlington via Norwich, and Pierce
"Wharton had chosen to reach Gorlington by
the same route, because an examination of
the time tables had shown him that he
could do some necessary business on the
Stock Exchange and still arrive at Gorling-
ton in time for dinner; whereas, by the
alternate route, he must either sacrifice the
day's business or put up with the incon
veniences of a tedious journey by a slow
train and a late arrival.
When the train steamed into Norwich
station Wharton saw his brother-in-law
standing on the platform. Dr. Westlake's
sardonic face, grown more sardonic than
ever since we saw him last, and with a look
of cynical hardness upon it that it had. not
before, lighted!, up with pleasure as Pierce
Wharton stepped from the train and saluted
him.
"Well," he exclaimed, " 'it is an ill wind
that blows nobody any good,' I was just
thirsting for a little society when yonr tele
gram came."
"It is awfully good of you to put your
self about by coming for me yourself,"
Wharton replied.
"Not a bit of it. The drive to and fro
will do me good. And besides," he added
after a pause, "I had to come."
The dog-cart, drawn by a spirited blood
mare, was waiting outside the station in
charge of a groom from the Maid's Head.
It was opened behind to receive a large
sqnare basket, securely fastened upon the
seat behind.
"I hope you do not object to the basket,"
Westlake remarked as he lighted his cigar,
and the groom stood aside from the horse's
head.
"Not in the least. What have you in
side?" "The Gorlington Puzzle." And then,
smiling grimly at his companion's look of
astonishment, he added: "I have a score of
rabbits here. I call it the Gorlington
Puzzle because it puzzles the natives
there to know what I do with lll my live
stock. I fancy they think I fees my patients
on rabbit pie at most times, with a fricassee
of cat and a ragout of dog just to vary the
monotony."
"You are still experimenting with the
pcor beasts?" Wharton inquired.
"And shall be as long as my eyesight
lasts."
"I should think you have destroyed as
many lives as Samson."
"More!" was the laconic reply.
The "City of Churches" was left behind,
before conversation was again renewed. But
when once the mare's head was fairly set
toward Gorlington, Dr. Westlake bean
.again.
"How is JUiceY"
"Very well, but her spine is still weak."
"And always will be, I fear."
Doctor Westlake knew that nothing but
the excellent constitution of his sister had
held at bay that progressive paralysis which
was her inevitable doom. Shortly after the
birth of her first and only child, Marcia,
she had missed her footing in descending
the stairs, and received serious injuries to
her head. Concussion of the brain was the
result and attention being exclusively
given to this, the physicians overlooked the
trivial injury she had received In the spine.
Trivial then! for if it had been detected at
the time and attended to, the mischief could
have been remedied; but the injury had not
been discovered until the eyil 'had pro
gressed too far, and rendered everything ex
cept a palliative treatment useless. Mrs.
Wharton was able to get about, though
only with difficulty". But she had her bad
bouts when she remained a prisoner to her
sofa for days together, racked with excru
ciating headaches. At other times no
stranger who saw her comely face with the
bloom of apparent health upon her cheeks,
and her plump, shapely figure, "would im
agine that the fiat had gone forth against
her.
"And how is -Marcia, my little name
sake?" Doctor' Westlake went on, pursuing
his inquiries .
"She grows bonnier every day," Wharton
answered.
"We must have them both down here in
thesummer. Our seabreezes will do Alice
good, though nothing can arrest the mis
chief ton great pots in town failed to find
out o&til ft was to late to cure. And now,
Wh.rton. old man. wake no and tell mn
t brings you to Norfolk at this time of
yar. Not for pleasure: I know that very
ell. Take vonr crates 'with a clean rash.
man, ana out witn It.
"Wharton, "on this hint" it was broad
enough ''spake." He told Westlake the
whole miserable story, commencing with
the rise of his difficulties, from which he
had won for himself a temporary respite at
the price of honor, down to the reception of
Major Xowndes'letter, and the despair that
had prompted the telegram and this visit to
Norfolk.
Dr. Westlake heard the whole story
through without interruption and withont
betraying by the slightest sign that the
shameful confession had engaged his atten
j r ... ?. ..
DISPATCH.
16, 1889.
tion At its close he quietly remarked,
"Well, I have never' kept up that friend
ship of ours that began at school, but if
I remember truly, you have; which makes
this business of yours ever so much worse.
I could not treat a man so, who trusted in
me, as you will find, Wharton."
"What do you mean?" Wharton asked,
querulously.
"I mean that I will pull you through
this, but in my own way, and on my own
conditions, mind; for Alloa's sake and
Marcia's, and for the sake of 'auld lang
syne,' and because you trust me. I do not
think that .you have gone on the same
principle with Lowndes, poor fellow. He
trusted von. and von have deceived him.
You have trusted me, and I will pull you
o?t oi tne mess, a'nat is wnat x mean.
"I knew von would help me if you could."
Wharton said; passing by the rebuke; "but
j. aian'tsee how you couia."
"Neither do I," replied Westlake, dryly.
"I see no W3y out of it just yet Have an
other cigar and leave me to think it out"
Silence now fell between the two men.
broken only by the sound of the flying
wheels and the quick' step of the mare,
while Dr. Westlake pondered over the
knotty problem. Evidently he did not find
the solution of the difficulty an easy matter.
lor ne remained in a brown stuay until tne
horse, answering to the rein, slackened
speed as they passed through the narrow
streets of Gorlington, and bowled along the
road that led to the "Eetreat" that stood
out from the darkness like a frowning prison
beneath the star-lit sky. '
The sound of advancing wheels was heard
within the porter's lodge; for as they
reached the entrance gates they flew open as
if by magfc and clanged to again without
necessitating any check upon rein, and in
another moment Wharton was standing in
the well-lighted hall of the Eetreat The
doctor's reflections had evidently brought
lortn pleasant Iruit, for on joining Whar
ton, after giving some instructions to his
groom, his tones were cordial, and buoyant
even, as he bade Wharton stand on no cere
mony about dressing.
"Your room is ready, and you will find a
-good fire burning' there. Wash quickly and
come down to dinner at once."
Once.seated at dinner the incubus of black
care fell off Wharton's .shoulders. His
brother-in-law chatted gaily and told him
his most amusing stories, so that Wharton
thawed under the bonhomie of his host, and
forgot the existence of Major Lowndes, and
the errand that had carried him down to
Norfolk.
After dinner they adjourned to the
doctor's ',den" a large room, half study
and half museum. On the shelves fixed
against the walls were rows of bottles con
taining lizards and other reptiles and
curious Crustacea; preserved in spirits,
There were birds too, of every variety of
piumage, mountea on stanas against the
wall. Cabinets filled with priceless con-
chological and entomological rarities, and
many other curious collections, occupied the
cenur oi tne apartment, ail. furnishing evi
dence of the traveled man and the scientist.
In one corner of the room there was a stand
of books on medical subjects, many of them
French and German works treating of mind
and nervous diseases. Near this stand was
a table with drawers and pigeon-holes, with
a large easy chair comfortably placed to
catch the heat from a brightly burning fire.
On the opposite side of the fireplace was
another easy chair, to which Doctor West-
lake invited his brother-in-law, while ,on a
table near he placed the spirit-stand and a
box of fine Trabucos. After the two men
were comfortably settled, the doctor opened
fire.
"This is the toughest job I have taken in
hand for many a long day, but I think I see
my way through it. To begin with, just to
clear the' ground a little, you understand I
cannot nnd this money myself. Things
have been going from bad to worse with me
since Howgate brought a 'Crowner's Quest'
down upon us, and I have had serious
thoughts of selling the practice and starting
in France, where they are not so deucedly
particular, auwever, iuab is uy tne way.
I cannot find the money myse'f."
"I scarcely expected you would," Whar
ton replied.
"That being so," the doctor resumed, "the
next question comes, 'Where is it to be
found?' I can see my way to that, if yon
have enough of the devil in you to like the
plan."
"I am deep enough in the mire; I do not
want to get any deeper, U I can help it
"Bah! man, what stuff you talk. You
will have to 'take a hair of the dog that bit
you.' In short it is my plan or Dartmoor.
If you do not mean to break my sister's
heart and send her earlier to the grave, for
which she is already marked, poor girl "
"Hush, stop 1 Don't bring Alice's name
into the discussion," Wharton cried in a
tone oi anguisn.
"If. beside that." .the doctor went on
ruthlessly, "if you do not mean little Mar
cia to grow up to know that she is a con
vict s daughter, you must let me pull you
out of the mess in my own way."
"Agreed 1 You have said enough. Tell
me vour plan."
"Stop a bit," said the doctor, "there's no
need for you to rush your fences in that
that alarming manner. Better wait and
hear my conditions."
"Go on."
"First, a fee for me of 5,000."
"What." shouted Wharton, half rising
from his chair in vexed astonishment
"Or shall we say ten?" the doctor mused
reflectively, as though.he had not heard his
guest's startled exclamation. "Yes, on
second consideration we will say 10,000. It
has a better sound with it, and it will ena
ble me to get rid of this place and transport
myself to France. We will say 10,000."
"What are youtalking about,"WestIake?"
asked Wharton, looking at the doctor in a
bewildered way, as if he' were not quite
sure whether the doctor had not performed
some mesmerio trick upon himself and ex
changed his personality for one of his
lunatic patients upstairs.
"I am talking about my fee, if you would
attend better and not interrupt me. That
is settled then; 10,000. We won't say
guineas, tt ough that would be more profes
sional. Tben'there is Lowndes to be consid
ered; 5,000, that is 15. Then there is your
self. I suppose you cannot manage with less
than another 10,000, or, wewill say 15 for
von. Yes, that is the thing to a T. Twice
15 is 30. Jnst 30,000. The thing is worth
doing for 30,000. Now for my secord
condition implicit obedience from the
first step to the last Do you agree?"
"Eeally, Mark, old man." Wharton
answered, grimly "this is, indeed, 'a retreat
for the insane,' bnt I did not think you
would be bitten with the plague."
"I suppose that is meant far satire," the
doctor replied.
"Not a bit of it; but either you are mad
or I am getting so; where In, the world is
5,000 to be got, let alone the 30,000 yon
are romancing about."
"That is my affair. I will help you to
30,000; 10,000 for me. 15,000 for yon,
and 5,000 you owe to Charlie Lowndes to
make good his loss, the only condition being
thai you'bind yourself to obey orders."
"Look here, Westlake," said Wharton,
"I don't think yon would mock me in my
trouble; God knows it's bad enough. I
consent Only show me the way, for at
present I am quite in the dark. You seem
to be speaking in parables."
"No parables at all. My plan will un
fold itself to your imagination, step by
step, as you obey me. My first instruction
is: no qualms. Now mind that, there must
be no qualms. You cannot afford to have a
conscience. My second Instruction is,
Strip."
"Strip?" asked Wharton. "What do you
mean Vr
"Why I What does s'trip mean? Takeoff
your cfbthes. T want to see what nerves you
have got."
Wharton, notwithstanding his growing
mystification, complieH with this instruc
tion, and stood up bare to his waist. Some
time was spent by Dr. Westlake in conduct
inga a careful medical examination of his
patient. There "were tappings here and
pokings there. First he was put into this
position, and' then into that Then the doctor
tapped again and listened with great intent
ness. "
"Take'a long breath. There, that will do.
You are In excellent health: stund' as a
bell."
.. "Yes, there is nothing the matter with
me," Wharton replied, as the examination
concluded, "bnt I do not 'see where "all this
ttods."" M '
"It tends in this direction," Westlake re-
Sliedy "that before .next July you will be a
ead man."
'Good,heavensl" exclaimed Wharton, "T,
am in a madhouse with a vengeance."
"There's not a bit of doubt about that,"
said the doctor, sardonically, "and here you
will die and be buried comfortably next
July or earlier, if the th leaves Aurnuga
bad before we expect That's a. nice little
graveyard in the village. I don't know
whether you noticed it as we came through.
It is a pity if you didn't, for there is six
feet of earth waiting for you there. I prom
ise you that when Charlie Lowndes returns
he shall see the spot Look here, Wharton,
have a drop of whisky, you have gone quite
white."
"It is enough to make any man go whte
to hear his death calculated upon in that
cold-blooded way."
"So it Is," said Wsstlake, "but there Js
no help for it A dead man you will be
next July, and I take a fee of 10,000 for
killing you."
"Tell "me what you mean?" Wharton cried
imploringly;
"I undertake .to kill you, and after a
desent interval, I bring you to life again
the method is quite scientific, I do assure
you ray off your little debt to Lowndes,
present you with 15,000 pounds to begin
straight again, and reward, myself with the
remainder of 30,000 for my trouble."
"You talk like a conjurer. How is it to
be done?" "
"Wait and see."
To be continued next Saturday.
INGEES0LL ON AN INF0BMEE.
The Champion Infidel Sams Up the Boodler
Kerr Testimony.
ISFXCULZTZLXOBAXTO TBI DISPATCH. 1
Ne-w Yoebt, March 15. The desire to
hear Colonel Ingersoll and Colonel Eellows
sum up brought a crowd to the court room
at the Boodler Kerr trial to-day. Among
other things, Colonel Ingersoll, in his
speech forthe defendant, said: .
For some cause or other, as soon as a man f s
indicted people are convinced that he most be
guilty. It is the same as though a man were
snspected of insanity. Let a man be so sus
pected and every action will be looked upon as
In sane. Half a dozen men met In a rear office,
and everyone winks his eye and concludes that
something is wrong. If they meet in the front
office, in sight and hearing; of anyone, you can
conclude that they are a little more hardened
than those who meet In the rear office.
When he came toFulIgraff, he said:
Let me say right here that if FullgrafFs evi
dence is not true, that ends this case. If be
has sworn falsely, then he has dnc the grave of
the prosecution, so far as this case is con
cerned. I don't want to say anything cruel
about this man, it would be like striking tha
face of the dead. When a man who has gone
wrongrepents and confesses he has my sympathy
and respect. The moment that he repents is holy.
The tears of repentance jewel the cheek of
shame. When a man tarns his back on the
darkness of falsehood and wrong, and faces the
sunlight of truth he sbonld win the sympathy
of everybody. Such a man I could throw my arms
around and say to him: "Here, I will believe in
you, and I will protect you and help you,though
all the world Is against yon." That Is the sort
of a man I am. But how different it is when a
man is hunted, caught collared and confronted
with a confession of Duffy's, and then oilers to
make a bargain to put other men in prison, so
that he may himself go free. Such a man de
serves the scorn and contempt of every honest
man.
Colonel Fellows began the summing up
for the prosecution, but didn't finish to-day.
I0WEE CALIFORNIA QUIET.
The Mexican Government Has Ko Fears of
Laslne It.
City op Mexico, March 15. Lower
California is entirely quiet now. Governor
Toorres has sufficient troops to preserve
order in case they are wanted. Conserva
tive papers insist that Mexico will lose
Lower California, and the inference is that
the United States will absorb it The Gov
ernment, however, says there is no proba
bility of losing Lower California.
Bich copper and silver mines have been
discovered on the Bamierez Varela conces
sion, in the State of Guerrero. General
Diaz de Vega has been released after eight
months' imprisonment and on payment of a
fine of ?1,000.
Those Awfnl Train Bobbers.
Magistrate Brokaw yesterday gave the
eight men a hearing who were arrested for
assaulting Brakeman Mike Cleary, of the
Pittsburg and Lake Erie railroad, near
Shannopin, Wednesday night. Three of
the men, John Sullivan, Joseph Douds and
H. B. Boss, were discharged. Sam Little,
T. Lynch, F. H. Little and J. Thompson
were sent 60 days each to the workhouse.
Louis Goldstein was held for court
RFAIITV i6etcrtbedby Evelyn Malcolm
Ubnu l I in tonorrow't Dispatch, to
gether with teieral suggestions for preserving
it and increasing the fairness of a woman's
face.
Gents' Spring Neckwear.
New four-in-hand, 25 to 50c; new satin
scarfs, 25, 35 and 50c; beautiful patterns
just opened atEosenbaum & Co.'s, 27 Fifth
avenue. ihs
( Carpets, Lace Cnrtalns.
New styles and colors inmoquette, wilton,
velvet, body brussels, tapestry, ingrain and
low-priced carpets. The Chelsea carpet at
12MC per yard, sold usually at 20c; but a
few pieces left Our lace curtains at $1 a
pair are worth examining, as they will com
pare with $1 50 quality sold elsewhere.
Geoboe W. Snahajt, .
ihssu 136 federal street, Allegheny.
Kid Gloves! Kid Gloves!
The greatest bargains ever offered in Amer
ica; 5 and 7 hook lacing gloves, odd sizes,
44 cents, worth $1.00. Our $1.50 finest
French, real kid, embroidered backs, now
89 cents a pair, tan shades only. Our new
dollar gloves, all shades, at 75 cents; white
4 B dollar gloves at 35 cents, misses fine
kid gloves, 4 B, 45c, at Hosenbaum & Co.'s.
The People's Store.
We are still doing business at our tempo
rary quarters, 531 and 533 Wood st
On and after Thursday, March 21, come
to the new store on the old stand, 83, 85, 87
and 89 Fifth ave. That we shall show you
a stock worth looking at goes withont say
ing. Camfbklij & Dick, s
Wall Paper.
As this is our first season in this line, our
stock is entirely new and fresh, and our
prices are below anything you have ever
known. All grades from 5c a holt to finest
gold, select your paper now.
Aethtjb, Schondelmyeb & Co.,
tts 68 and 70 Ohio st, Allegheny.
Spring Dtllllnery Goods.
All the new shapes inhata and bonnets,
and new ribbons and flowers in greatest va
riety at Bosenbaum 8s Co.'s. Th3
Physicians recommend Klein's Silver
Age as the most efficient stimulant
Genu' Flannel Shirts,
New goods, 50c to $3, at Bosenbaum & Co.'s.
ihs
Visit Steinmann's. 107 Federal St.. for
greatest bargains in watohes.-
PnrK. bine and ecra' ribbed vm1s 20 and
25c, worth double, at Bosenbaum & Co.'s.
"ths . ,,,
Fejk, ClAbk&Flaog's walklnggloves.
JAMZ3 H.'ATKBS & Co., 100 Filth aye.
PAGES 9 TO 12. V
.?.
!j
A DESERTED DIAMOHD
The Old Haunts of the Sports Are Kow
Sad, Mournful and Lone."
A CHANGE FROM MOUTHS AGO.
"Sho .Famous 4Q0 Probably Bcattered All
Oyer the World.
THE BEWSBOrS TENDER LAMENT
THE fame of
the Diamond
has fled, and it
seems, never to
return.. For
eight months
the familiar
places have
been closed, and
the change was
something mar
velous, and un
less another
change is made
A Last Year's Nest. the contrast be
tween the last and the present summer
around the Diamond will make old timers
weep.
A famous writer's solemn deserted village,
never looked more sombre, more quiet, or
melancholy, than Diamond street yesterday.
A street that one year ago flashed and shone
with the gay dress of 1,000 professional
gamblers, and 10,000, no less expert ama
teurs, appeared like a tombstone, and the
hollow laugh of an example of the survival
of the fittest, a lone policeman, re-echoed
from one building to the other, but found
not one answering shout
THK LONE WATCHMAir.
Of the thousands of bright, keen, cheery
faces usually about the poolrooms, not one
was visible. All had disappeared as if
swallowed by an earthquake, and the lonely
watchman at Central station sighed, and
smoked, and slept, and wondered what had
become of all the good fellows in the world.
They are all missed, grievously missed, by
business and sporting men alike.
Beform is sometimes a two-edged sword,
and some are found who bewail the change.
"Acirculationofnearly?25,000weeklywas
taken right out of the city," said a gentle
man yesterday, "and it went to enrich oth
er places. The average gambler will not
stop gamblingany more than the average
drinker will stop drinking, and it would
have been far better to have allowed them
to continue their pursuit of a comparatively
piarmless sort of gambling than to have
driven them
into the
places they
now attend.
Do you want
to know
what has be
come of
them all? I
can tell you.
They are fre
quenting poker and
faro rooms,
private and
professional
I will bet
$500 that 200
gambling
roooms are
open in the
two cities,
nearly all
private o f
course, and
thelaw can't
get at them
because they
are out of
reach.
"I am chief "No More Quarter Shines."
mourner," said Billy , the favorite
manager of the restaurant in the room form
erly occupied by H. O. Price & Co., "and
no wonder. The boys were all cash cus
tomers, paid .for what they ordered, and that
was generally the very best However they
may all be b ick again."
The Western Union lost about $2,000 a
week paid to them for operators, wires and
messages by the owners of the pool rooms,
and a well-known official of that company
was not at all slow in exjressinghis opinion
of the gambling fraternity in general.
"They were our very best customers with
out doubt," said he. "They paid high rates,
and paid promptly, and if our bankers,
brokers and even business men treated us
half so fairly as they did, we would have no
trouble at the end of the month. With all
of their private wires and intricate business,
they went on from one year's end to an
other without a single complaint, and I
would only know they were there when they
appeared to promptly pay bills when due."
The Only Four-Time Winner.
Nearly150 men were employed in and
about the rooms, and the boarding house
blocks near the Diamond for awhile went
begging for roomers to take the places of
those either going or gone, as it is safe to
say that at least 500 of the players roomed
on or as near the Diamond as they could,
get
WHEBE THE GBIEVANCE LAVv
But the most doleful howl, the most piti
ful yell of indignation came from the
newsies and bootblacks. There were no more
fancy prices for shines, no more
"Here's a quarter, Jimmy, lor luck,"
no more dimes fpr a coveted morning paper,
and no more windfalls for taking a note, a
telegram, or an order around the corner.
Not a shiner or a newsie could be found on
the Diamond yesterday. There was no trade
there, and "Slobs" O Donnell's opinion of ,
the whole affair found vent in Na mournful
sigh as he laid this tribute upon the graves
of his departed customers. "Dey knowed
what it was to be busted demselves."
Objected to a Word.
Messrs. Sproul, Mustin and Arter re
turned from Harrisbnrg yesterday. They
went there to protest against a section of
the revenue bill, which provides that a 2
per cent tax be levied on the gross receipts
of private bankers and brokers. They want
the word "net" inserted for gross. The
committee believe the change will be made.
UVP goes a-shojrping m New York, views
I t the inauguration and draws up a set
of rules to govern the guests of the model Amem
icon hotel. tSeeto-morroufiviaVATCS.
TS
-u.'
3
2u.l.s
SEESSSS