Ills '
VOL. XIII.
NEW BLOOMFIELD, PA., TUESDAY, MARCH
187D.
AO. 13
THE TIMES.
An Independent family A'ewspaper,
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cation. For TlIK BLOOMFIELD TlMKS.
A STRANGE FRAUD;
on,
A Mystery of New York City.
BY F. DELAC'Y.
LILIAN WALDRON nt the time our
Btory begins was seventeen, and
was budding into lovely womanhood.
Ever since she could remember she Lad
lived at Green Point, in sight of New
York and although she had often en
treated her father's permission, he had
always refused his consent for her to vis
it that city.
This refusal only made her desire the
stronger, and so one fine June day,
meeting a young friend who was on her
way there, she accepted the invitation to
accompany her.
A short, pleasant sail brought them to
the New York shore, and they soon were
in such a rushing crowd, as Can only be
found at a New York ferry.
Lilian, was soon separated by the pres
sure from her companion and drifted
helplessly along with the multitude un
til reaching Broadway, when the con
tinuous roar of the omnibuses and the
fast hurrying crowd, made her pause,
amazed and bewildered.
She could see nothing of her friend,
and shrinking behind an apple-stand,
she tried to collect her thoughts and
remember her way back to the ferry.
The apple-vendor a pale, pleasant
faced woman, with the appearance of
having seen better days, observed the
the beautiful but perplexed face of the
young girl with evident curlosity.whlle
her features seemed to work as though
Lilian's appearance had aroused some
painful thoughts.
At lost she asked :
" Have you lost yourself V" while her
voice, though pleasant, had a slight
accent, which betrayed Irish descent.
"Yes, please," answered Lilian, irre
sistibly drawn towards the kind moth
erly voice and the sad, pale face.
"Where do you live?" asked the
woman, with heightened interest.
"Over at Green Point," answered
Lilian. " Though I have lived there all
my life, strange to say, I have never vis
ited New York before this day. I came
over with a companion : we got separa
ted in the crowd, and I really do not
know which way to turn to reach the
ferry again."
" O, you are not far out of your way,"
cried the woman, pleasantly. " Walk
straight down this street and it will
bring you to the ferry."
"It is so singular," said the woman,
absently.
" What is so singular i"' naked Lilian,
in surprise.
" Your face," answered the wo
man, gazing at her with a, long, yearn
ing look.
" In what way J" as,ked Lilian, curl
ously. " The resemblance so like something
I have seen, I can scarcely say where.
It is one of the faint memories of my
early life, when times were different.
Ah I yes my little one, my Lily, as we
used to call her with her blue eyes and
golden hair-."
" Lily 1" exclaimed her hearer; "why,
that is my name. Did you nave a little
girl called Lilian "'
" No, not Lilian Lily ; we never
called her anything else."
" Did she die V" asked Lilian quietly.
" We never knew what became of
her," answered the woman, mournfully,
" that was the worst of it. She wan
dered out in the streets one day when
she wus three years old, ' and we never
seen her afterwards. We lived near the
water then, and we think she must have
got down on the pier, fell overboard and
was swept away by the tide. Poor John,
it was a sad blow to him he took to
drink, and went from back to worse till
he got badly hurt unloading a vessel,
one day. He was taken to the hospital,
and died there. You see what I've come
to in order get a living. I often think
it would have been different If our Lily
had lived."
" You think she Is dead, then 5"' said
Lilian.
"Oh, yes; or we would have heard
something of her before now. Had she
lived and grown up she would have
been the very image of you, only she
would have been much plainer dressed,
aud without the genteel air that you
have. Ah ! she would have been a beau
tyjust like you t"
Lilian blushed at the woman's home
ly compliment ; she knew it was hon
est and outspoken, aud Buch words are
not unpleasant to hear. .
"Tell me your name," continued the
woman, earnestly.
"Lilian Waldron," answered the
girl, readily. " My father is John Wal
dron, and he has an ofllce Bomewhereon
Wall Street."
" O, yes, I know where it is," said
the woman ; " do you want to go to his
ofllce?" , '
"P, no," answered Lilian, quickly.
" Very well, then go straight down
the street till you come to the water.aud
then any one can point out the ferry to
you."
Lilian thanked her and then commit
ted herself once more to the human
tide. As she came in view of the water
and was looking about for the ferry, a
man in the garb of a sailor, suddenly
accosted her.
" Why, holloa, Nance !" he cried, ex
tending his huge handin a very friendly
manner. " How are you V Give us
your hand."
" Sir I" cried Lilian, in bewilderment,
" I don't know you nor is my name
Nance."
"No, by jingo 1" he returned, evl
ly astonished himself; "you can't be
her, for she must be forty by this time,
and you are not twenty. I was forget
ting how time has slipped away, but
you are the very image of what she was
when she married John Burke.
" That was the worst cut I ever had
it drove me to sea and a wandering life.
Why, I've been round the world in
these last ten years. O," he continued,
with a sudden thought, "you're her
daughter the one that Mas lost aud
she found you again ?".
Lilian was very much embarrassed by
this persistent recollectiou of the un
couth stranger.
" I do not know what you mean," she
exclaimed, hastily ; " I am not the per
son you take me for my name is Lilian
Waldron, my father is a broker on Wall
Street we live at Green Point."
A young gentleman coming down the
street, observing the annoyance and
alarm depicted upon her face, approach
ed her and said:,
" If I can be of any assistance to you,
pray command me."
The one shy glance that Lilian cast
into the frank, manly face was enough
to assure her of the character of its
owner.
" O," she cried, " if you would be so
kind as to Bhow me the way to the
Green Point ferry."
"With pleasure," returned the gen
tleman. "This way, if you please."
He offered his arm, she accepted it
with a glad 6ense of protection, and they
passed on together. Thus began Lilian
Waldrou's acquaintance with Sidney
Gray. We shall see what that ac
quaintance led to. LTpon such triflles
does a life's destiny turn.
The sailor touched his hat with a
mumbled " beg pardon, miss, if I of
fended you," aud watched them until
they were out of sight, talking to him
self all the while.
" A queer reckoning.this," so his first
words ran ; " first day In port, after a
five years' cruise. I was just thinking
of hunting up Nance, seeing if they still
lived, when across my very bows comes
this trim cutter with Nance's figure
head, Just as she looked twenty years
ago. How I loved that woman 1 and
she preferred that snip of a Johu Burke
to me because he was honest, she said,
and she was afraid I wasnt ; but what's
the odds, I had the most money, and
that made things slide easy, no mat
ter how you come by it. What did the
gal say her name was V O-ali-Llly-yan
Waldron lives at Green Point.
" Let me see I remember something
odd that happened at Green Point go
ing on fourteen years now. I reuiein
her what I fouud burled there, on that
gentleman's grounds. He don't know
it ; though thought I might turn it to
account some day I wonder who he
was? I had to cut and run just then,
and couldn't stop to find out. I've been
intending to look it up for some time
there may be money in it. I've been
gone so long that there can't be any
body on the lookout for me now. I
will fix up a bit and then take sound
ings." All this indistinctly to himself, as he
proceeded on his way.
Sidney Gray and Lilian Waldron
were not long in becoming intimate.
She was as Ingenuous and simple as a
child of six, Instead of seventeen, and
what could he do but return her confi
dence. There was a charm in this very
simplicity that attracted him towards
her, for though but twenty-two, Gray,
from his position In life, being the only
son of a wealthy merchant, had seen
much of the world's society. He was a
student of Yale, home for the vacation.
His residence was in Brooklyn.
He not only escorted Lilian to the fer
ry, but accompanied her on the boat
and bore her company to her very door,
leaving her there with a reluctance he
could not conquer. He declined to en
ter, as he had promised to be home at
dinner to meet some relatives, but a
glance at the handsome mansion and
grounds showed that Lilian's father pos
sessed wealth and position. Promising
to call on the next day and be introduc
ed to Mr. Waldon, he tore himself away
from those blue eyes and sunny tresses.
" My time's come," he confessed to
himself, as he strode buoyantly away.
" I'll marry that girl If she'll only have
me."
A safe reservation ; but do you think
he had doubt of it ?
When Mr. Waldron come home to
dinner, Lilian, much as sheNlreaded his
displeasure, could not refrain from re
counting her day's adventure. The
circumstance of the two strange recog
nitions had much perplexed her mind.
The resemblance which had been recog
nized by two persons so dissimilar puz
zled her much. But if it had surprls
ed.her, the effect of her narration upon
her father was still more surprising ; he
actually grew livid at her words. Never
had she seen him in such an excited
state, for he had ever been grave, sedate
and gentle in his manner towards her.
He reprimanded her almost fiercely, for
her indiscretion, as he termed it.
" Why, child," he exclaimed, pas
sionately, " this act, trifling as it may
appear to you, might have caused my
ruin!"
He paused abruptly, conscious that
his emotion had made him utter incau
tious words.
" How caused your ruin, father V" she
asked, terrified by his words, which
seemed to hint at some unknown and
hidden danger. " How can that be pos
sible V"
" No matter you are too young to
comprehend," was the unsatisfactory
reply.
He was silent for a few moments, and
then suddenly began to question her
eagerly about the apple-woman what
she said, how she looked, her dress, her
manner, extracting every Item' that
Lilian ould give him in way of infor
mation with the ardor and keenness of
a .cross-examining luwyer. Having
gleaned that subject threadbare, he com
menced upon the man in exactly the
same manner, until the poor girl's mind
was quite bewildered, and she almost
began to fancy that she had, uncon
sciously, committed some great crime.
" I can understand about the wom
an," he said, musingly, and uncon
sciously uttering his thoughts in an
audible tone of voice ; " but the man
is beyond my comprehension."
" They are both beyond my compre
hension," remarked Lilian ; " but the
fright they have .occasioned me has
taught me a lesson, and I Bhall never
venture into New York 'again without
a proper escort, I can assure you."
This simple assurance seemed to grat
ify Mr. Waldon greatly, and the cloud
of care began to slowly fade from his
face.
" Right, my child," he cried, pleas
antly. " After all, It was but a stupid
affair. A poor woman, who lost a child
years ago, fancies she traces a resem
blance to her lost darling in your face,
because, possibly your eyes and hair are
same color. History has many records
of strange results therefrom. Do not
let these circumstances bewilder your
mind; remember you are my daughter,
Lilian Waldron : that your mother,
daughter of Judge Farrell, died when
you were but three years."
"Who doubts it, father?" Lilian
asked, surprised at his earnestness.
" My child, there are people in the
world who are silly enough to doubt
anything and everything, even the ex
istence of the Supreme Ruler of the
universe."
There the conversation dropped, and
John Waldron never referred to the
subject again with his daughter.
The day after this conversation a man
neatly dressed paused in front of the
Waldron mansion, and took a careful
survey of the premises. You would
scarcely have recognized in this clean
shaven and respectable looking person
the sailor who had so frightened Lilian
the day before. A broad grin flushed
his swarthy features as his glance fol
lowed the fence down to the water's
edge.
"The very place, by jingo I" he
chuckled and then indulged in a low
whistle of satisfaction. " I begin to un
derstand the resemblance now but why,
why V That's what beats me. I'd like
to inqnlre into the early history of Mr.
John Waldron. There was a grocery
store at the corner ; perhaps the man
man have kept here for years let's try
him."
He sauntered on leisurely to the cor
ner and went in. His keen eye selected
the proprietor at once, a little plump
Englishman.
Our cosmopolite detected the accent at
once, as he asked for a good cigar, and
the groceryman replied that he could
Bell him as good a one as he could get in
New York. The sailor lit it and pulled
away leisurely.
" A real Havana," he said.
" Ah 1 you know a good cigar when
you get one," cried the shopman.
" O I I've smoked the real article In
Havana itself V"
" Ah 1 you have been there thought
you had a kind of seafaring look."
"You're an Englishman.: I've been
there, too."
"I'm proud to say lam. Can't dis
guise the fact, you know, though I've
been twenty years In this country ;
naturalized and got my papers."
It was a warm, dull afternoon, and
the shopman was disposed to be sociable
The sailor, leaning against the counter
lazily smoking his cigar, commenced to
extract the information he sought.
" Kept this shop long ?"
" About five years."
The sailor shifted from one leg to the
other ; be began to fear, as he would
have expressed it, that he was on the
" wrong tack."
" Ah ! thought you'd been here some
time."
" So I have," answered the other,
"but not in this shop. I kept one
nearer the ferry, thirteen years, until I
moved here."
" Know about everybody in the place,
eh V"
, "Yes."
The sailor became quite absorbed in
bin cigar for a few moments.
"Nice place that above here beautiful
house and grounds."
" O, yes ; you mean the 'Farrell es
tate V"
The sailor took his cigar out of his
mouth, and knocked the while ashes oif
the end.
"No," he said, "I don't mean that,
I mean where Mr. John Waldron
lives."
" Why, bless you ! that Is the Farrell
estate."
" Ah, indeed !'.' ejaculated the sailor
absently.
" O, yes. It belonged to old Judge
Farrell ; Mr. Waldron married his only
daughter, and so came into the estate.
That is to say, It belongs to Miss Lilian,
who inherited it from her mother, her
father being her guardian."
By jingo !" cried the sailor, " I've
got soundings now."
" Eh V" asked the shopman, in sur
prise. " Oh, I see how it is," he con
tinued, "you've heard something of
this before or, may be, you've been
away a long time at sea, and don't
know what has happened while you've
been gone."
" Just so," answered the sailor, anx-
oua to wipe away the Impression of the
unguarded exclamation Into which ho
had been betrayed.
" It's quite a little romance," contin
ued the shopman, who was only too
anxious to tell all he knew. Judge
Farrell, you must know, was one of our
richest men ; in fact, that very estate
had been in his family since the first set
tlement of the country or rather since
we came over and conquered the Dutch
men, who had it first, you know and
he was very proud of It. They say he
took it much to heart when his two
sons died, one after the other, leaving ;
only a puny girl to inherit the family '
acres. She was the apple of the Judge's
eye he fairly doated on her, and spoilt
her, as it always happens in such cases.
She was a beauty Miss Lilian is not a
bit like her, strange to say it has often
been remarked though she is a9 hand
some as her mother was ; but then it is
a different style of beauty. Lilian Far-,
rell mother and daughter both named
alike, you see was queenly, proud and
haughty,with gray eyes and dark brown
hair, while Lilian Waldron is"
" I've seen her," interpolated the ,
sailor.
" Ah I then I needn't tell you what
she is like. Lilian Farrell had suitors
in abundance wealthy ones, too but
with the capriclousness of her nature,
and contrary to her father's wishes, she
passed them all to bestow her hand up
on John Waldron, who was then only
a poor clerk in a broker's office but he
was a splendid looking fellow, a fine
looking man to this day, sir, and Bhe
loved him, and wouldn't have anybody
else, and so the old Judge was at last
obliged to give his consent ; he couldn't
refuse her anything ; but it went very
much against his grain, though, and he
did it Very reluctantly. He alwayB had
the idea, and he never got over it to his
dying day, sir, that Waldron had taken
advantage of his good looks to win his
daughter's heart, not for herself, but for
her money ; but I think the old Judge
wronged him there, for there never was
a more dovoted or better husband than
he made. '
" The old Judge made his will and set
tled the estate upon Lilian and her chil
dren, and tied It up in such a way that
Waldron could never get hold of it.even
If his wife wished to pass it over to
him ; but for all hla doubts, he set him
up In business and took him home,, for
he could not bear the idea of being sep
arated from his daughter. They had a
happy household, and the old man must
have seen that his daughter never re
gretted her choice ; but he was quite old
going on to seventy and only two years
after the marriage just long enough to
fondle his grandchild a little.
" They do say, but I will not vouch
for the truth of this, that when he was
sinking fast, he called Mr. Waldron to ,
his bedside and thus addressed him:
" ' It may be, John, that I have
wronged you I am going now where
all will be made clear to me. Wealth is
a great temptation ; men M ill do most
anything for money. Treat her well.for
without her you will have nothing. It
all goes to Lilian and her children.'
"So the old man died with his preju
dice against Waldron unchanged." .
Concluded next week. ?
A Singular Case.
A singular case of endurance by a
horse is reported from Montgomery, Ala.
A man from the country came to the
city and bought a horse and buggy, bat
on going home the horse threw him out
and ran and could not be found again.
After a-search, which was vigorously
prosecuted for ten days, the horse and
buggy were found In a swamp, so wedg
ed in among the trees that the animal
could not stir. Here the unfortunate
beast had stood during all that period,
without food or water, but, though em
aciated and feeble, he was drlveu home
without being taken from the buggy.
V.
r