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VOL. XIII. 3SJ"EW BTjOOMITIIIj3D, iPA.., TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2'3, 1871). NO. 52.
THE TIMES.
An Independent Family Newspaper,
18 PUBU8HSD BVBRY TUESDAY BT
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cation. The Battle for the Cedars.
BY ritEHSLY W. MORRIS.
CONTINUED.
BARBARA'S heart did not beat quite
bo rapidly. After all, the dog would
probably not harm her. She took hold
of the chaiu, and pulled the boat to the
shore. But just as she was on the potnt
of stepping out, the creature on the
shore sprang to his feet with a fierce
growl, his bristles erect, his tongue
out, his white fangs gleaming.
With a cry of terror Barbara sprang
toward the back part of the boat, and
fell prostrate In it. The dog leaped
toward her. By some means he missed
the object for which he sprang. Hia
huge body came in contact with the
boat, forcing it out in the stream, while
he tumbled into the water. Barbara
regained her feet, and the beast swam to
the shore. There he stood baying in
baffled rage, while the girl, seizing the
oar, held the boat out from the bank, her
face white with terror.
"Help! help 1" she screamed.
The brute came closer. He seemed to
be preparing for another leap. If he
should leap, not reaching the boat, he
would, in all possibility, overturn it.
"Help! help 1" Barbara screamed.
Suddenly a man appeared behind the
dog, in answer to Barbara's cries. He
grasped in his hands a huge club. With
one glance he took in the danger, and
then approached closer with swift but
stealthy tread. He struck a terriflo blow
and Barbara's peril was ended, for by
that blow the dog was knocked into the
stream, giving as he went a wild howl
of pain. The man drew the boat to the
shore, and springing in it lifted Barbara
out. She was very pale, and he placed
her on thegrassy bank.
" Oh, It was terrible 1" she cried.
Shortly she rose to her feet.
" I will escort you to your home," the
stranger said ; " that 1b, if you permit
me."
Barbara murmured her thanks. The
man offered his arm, which she took
gratefully, for she felt that she needed
aid.
" I am sorry to trouble you so much,"
she said, as they started off. " It is a
mile and a half to where I am stay
ing." " Do I look as though a walk of a
mile and a half would fatigue me great
ly V" said the man, with a pleasant
smile.
Certainly he did not look so, for he
was tall and powerfully built; a man
with splendid athletic figure, noble in
its proportions.
" I thiDk.after I leave these grounds,"
Barbara said, " I can get along alone."
" I shall not leave you till you are safe
at your destination," was the reply.
"You are pale and weak."
The man's voice thrilled Barbara, it
.was so rich and musical. Involuntarily
she raised her eyes, aud beheld his eyes
beaming down upon her. They were
beautiful eyes, magnetlo in their power,
telling of a brave and generous heart.
Even in this moment Barbara thought
that this stranger would be strikingly
handsome if it were not for one thing ;
and that was, that he wore a huge red
beard, which entirely concealed the
lower part of his face.
Barbara grew silent for a lime. She
shuddered as she thought of the danger
from which she had escaped. Was this
adventure ominous ? Did any monster
stand between her and her Inheritance ?
" I have not told you my name," she
suddenly said to the Uranger. " Excuse
me. It is Barbara Llndsley V"
" Thank you," he returned.
He seemed to liesitataie for a moment.
" Mine is Victor," he paid presently.
"A very suitable tiarue," Barbara
murmured, with a smile.
Mr. Victor's face Hushed ; but he Ig
nored the remark.
Barbara was beginning to feel much
better.
" That estate over which I was ram
bling belongs to a man by the name of
Cashel, I believe," Victor said.
"Yes," was the rather constrained
answer ; " Mr. Lionel Cashel is the
gentleman who possesses the property."
"How long has he been in posses
sion ? I understand that he Inherited it
from a somewhat distant relative."
" I believe that Mr. Cashel has held
the estate for some two or three years,"
Barbara said.
" I heard In Falrmount, from which
place 1 rode down this afternoon, that
there is another claimant," said Mr.
Victor in a careless tone; " and I was
told that there is to be a great lawsuit.
Have you heard anything about it ?"
" Yes," said Barbara. " Yonder Is
my destination, just In view."
Mr. Victor lifted his eyes in the direc
tion of the De Vere residence. No more
was said about the Cashel estate.
Ten minutes later, the two stood by
an iron gate close behind the house.
," Will you enter?" Barbara said to
Mr. Victor.
" Thank you, no," he replied. "I left
a horse standing a few hundred yards
away from the scene of your adventure;
and I must hasten back, Miss Llndsley."
" At any rate, Mr. Victor," said Bar
bara, " you must call soon, so that I can
suitably express my thanks for the great
Bervlce you rendered me."
"Nothanks are necessary," said the
man. " I could not have done less. I
was wandering through those grounds
when I heard your cries, was near to
you, and knocked that ugly brute into
the stream. That was all."
"Yet you saved my life," said Bar
bara, smiling up into his face.
Mr. Victor yet lingered.
" Miss Llndsley," he said abruptly,
pulling a glove from his pocket, her
glove " you dropped this by the banks
of that stream, and I picked it up."
He paused. His eyes were shining
down upon the girl.
She waited for him to continue. v
" Will It be too much of a favor to
bestow this upon meV" he said pres
ently. " Certainly not," murmured Barbara.
" If you wish it, you may keep the
glove, Mr. Victor."
Victor turned, and was gone,the glove
still in his hand.
She went to the house, aud up to her
room, the stranger's rich, musical voice
ringing in her ears, his eyes flashing be
fore her vision.
" Her face is forever fixed upon ' my
"heart," Mr. Victor said to himself as he
hastened on. " If we never meet again,
I shall not forget her. And her glove
shall be to me what his lady's guerdon
was to knight of old."
Victor soon reached the place where
his horse was fastened.
After he was mounted, he did one
thing that seemed strange. He lifted
his hand, aud shook it in the direction
of the great gray stone mansion.
"Beware of retribution, false vlllian I"
he muttered.
. '
The De Veres possessed a gentle horse
whlch Miss Lindsley rode frequently.
Oocassionally she mounted hlm,and gal
loped over the country alone.
A couple of evenings after her adven
ture, she had Sultan brought out, and,
mounting him, rode away unaccom.
panied. Along the road, through lanes,
for four five miles she went. Finally
she turned Sultan's head toward home,
with the Intention of riding thither.
A couple of miles from De Vere's resi
dence she was letting Sultan trot leisure
ly along when she head the clatter of a
horse's hoofs behind her. She did not
turn her head, but very soon the horse
and rider overtook her. It was the mas
ter of The Cedars
" Good-evening, Miss Lindsley," he
exclaimed.
Barbara returned his saluation, and
he Blackened the pace of his horse, rid
ing along beside ber.
" You are much Improved," she said.
" I am very much so," said the mas
ter of The Cedars ; "in fact, as well as
ever. However, I have not yet driven
that animal which ran away with me."
Other remarks followed. The man
rode with Barbara to De Vere's. He
assisted her to dismount. Politeness de
manded that she should ask him to en
ter ; and she did so.
"Thank you," he replied, accepting
her invitation.
Entering, Barbara ushered him into
the parlor. As It chanced, Victoria De
Vere was there ; so Barbara excused her
self for a time. In her own room the
thought presented itself to stay away.
" But I will go down," she murmured
firmly. "This man may hate me some
day. I am sure I will not take the first
step toward raising a feud between us.
No; my treatment of him shall I as
civil as I can make it."
Then she went down, the added color
that her ride had given her still In her
cheeks. The gaze of the master of The
Cedars rested upon her admiringly.
However, she did not notice thls,for she
was not looking at him.
An hour or two passed pleasantly
enough, and then Mr. Lionel Cashlel
took his leave.
But that was not the end. It became
apparent very shortly that the master of
The Cedars had come to the determina
tion of being on as friendly terms ns
possible with the De Veres and their
guest. There came a formal invitation
for them all to dine with him, the day
being set.
" I think we had better accept,"
Robert De Vere said, when the question
of accepting the invitation was being
discussed. " We shall probably be
neighbors for years; and we may as
well cultivate friendly relations with
him as not."
Then he turned to Barbara Llndsley.
" Miss Llnllsley, will you accept ?" he
asked.
" I believe I would prefer to be ex
cused," Barbara retnrned.
Then Victoria pointedly declared that
unless Barbara would go, neither would
she. Barbara was finally induced to
give her consent.
And so, on the appointed day, they all
went to The Cedars.
Barbara's emotions when she first en
tered the gray stone mansion were sim
ilar to what they had been when Bhe
first looked upon it. The apartments
were spacious, the furniture luxurious,
but rather quaint and old-fashioned.
However, this only added to the fascina
tion the place had for Barbara.
The dinner was magnificent and was
served by colored servants. Thlsiatter
item was a matter of course in a Vir
ginia mansion.
Nothing of particular Importance oc
curred previous to or during dinner. In
Bpite of herself, Barbara rather enjoyed
the occasion.
After the meal was finished, the mus
ter of The Cedars showed his guests over
a portion of the grounds. Barbara said
nothing about her adventure with the
dog. '
The visit ended at last. The guests,
accompanied by the host, were going
down a walk in front of the mansion to
their carriage, when a huge dog, fierce
and vicious-looking, ran across their
path. Barbara beheld him, and, though'
tbere was no present danger, her heart
sank in terror, and all the senatipns of
that time of great peril returned to
her, for this was the brute that had at
tacked ber. The sight of him brought
back the horror of that terrible scene.
She had thought that he was dead ; and
the thought had been a comfort to her.
Was every association of The Cedars to
be connected with this monster ? Could
his always crossing ber path be an omen
of doom ? Barbara was not given to su
perstltous thoughts, but the idea made
her shudder.
" What a terribly vicious-looking crea
ture that dog of yours is," said Robert
De Vere to the master of The Cedars.
" Yes, he is," was the careless reply.
"I keep him chained generally ; butbere
lately I allow him to run loose occasion
ally. After all, I have a kind of affec
tion for the brute."
At that moment Barbara glanced at
the man. Something in hU expression
reminded her of the tigerish-dog ; and
she shuddered again.
Only a few days after that, the mas
ter of The Cedars called at the De Vere
mansion once more. As formerly.a few
hours were spent agreeably enough. But
deeper and deeper was the Impression
growing in Barbara Llndsley'a heart
that she could never like this man.
When his calls began to be repeated fre
quently, a fear came to her that made
her sick in soul. Did he intend to make
love to her sweet friend Victoria ? Could
there be a possibility that Vlotorla might
learn to love him ? The very thought
filled her soul with a strange dread. Yet
why should it V
She had no tangible reason- for her
opinion of the master of The Cedars,sbe
knew. Nothing buttbecounsctousness,
confessed to no one but herself, that
there was something fierce, vicious, tiger
like, nbout the man; a consciousness
that would cause her to withhold from
him any one that she loved, even as she
would withhold that one from a beast of
prey.
Then came the question, what could
she do? What indeed? Should she
state to Victoria her Impressions'!1
What would that avail ? She had no
foundation for any such statement save
her own vague fears of evil. If Victoria
had aught of regard for the man, what
could it avail for her to say simply that
she believed him to be a bad man ? Love
had never been uprooted in any such
manner. Victoria was gentle and affec
tionate, it was true ; but if she loved a
man would she cling to him any the less
firmly for her gentleness? No.
Barbara was compelled to acknowl
edge to herself that she was powerless
In this matter that she could only let
aflalrs take their course. It was highly
probable that Victoria would care noth
ing for the master of The Cedars; but
Barbara believed that it was not so with
him in regard to Vlotorla.
Yet, after all, she was utterly mis
taken. Her fears for her friend were as
baseless as castle of air. Victoria filled
scarcely a thought of the master of The
Cedars.
Some Invited guests came to De Vere's.
Among them was a young man by the
name of Vincent Sherwood. He had
met Victoria before ; and she had im
pressed him strongly. Now be was evi
dently very much attracted by her, and
his attentions were rather marked.
Barbara expected to see the master of
The Cedars angry with jealousy. She
was disappointed. She saw that the
advances Vincent Sherwood was mak
ing did not affect him, aud were not re
garded. He came to De Vere's as often
as ever, and seemed to rather like Vin
cent. Barbara began to understand that she
had been mistaken, and for Victoria's
sake she rejoiced greatly ; at last she was
made fully aware that the master of The
Cedars cared naught for Victoria. ;
One afternoon he came, and, as it
happened, found her alone in the parlor.
He seated himself, and began to con
verse ; but he grew abstracted In man
ner, and seemed unable to keep up his
share of the conversation.
" Excuse me," said Barbara presently,
" and I will summon some of the fam
ily." She rose to her feet ; but the master of
The Cedars sprang before her.
" Wait, Miss Llndsley," he exclaimed ;
"it is you I wish."
Barbara's gaze sought his faceques
tioningly. His eyes were gleaming upon
her, and in an instant she read the
truth. How terribly she had been mis
taken 1 Her strength seemed to leave
her, and she sank into her seat with a
kind of sob. She lifted her hand with a
deprecatory gesture; but the man heeded
her not.
"Miss Llndsley, I love you I" he
cried. Will you be my wife?"
Suddenly strength and calmness came
to her.
"Mr. Cashel, you surprise me," she
said. "I did not dream of this."
"Tell me : do you love me ?" exclaim
ed the man.
Barbara saw that it was beat to end it
all as Boon as possible. '
" I am sorry for you, Mr. Cashel," she
eald firmly ; " but;i do not love you. I
cannot be your wife."
" You love some one else," he ex
claimed angrily.
His white teeth showed; his eyes
blazed upon her with a wicked light.
Barbara Llndsley could not but remem
ber the beast that had tried to take her
life.
" No," she returned ; "1 love no one
else." '
But a rich, musical voice echoed In
her ears, and a pair of eyes magnetic in
their power came before her for ah in
stant. She had spoken truly; yet a
possibility flashed through her mind.
Her hero, her knight, might win her
could he but have a chance.
" If you love no one else, then you
shall learn to love me," said the master
of The Cedars.
"I encourage no false hopes," said
the girl coldly. " I never can, Mr.
Cashel."'
"Why not?" he questioned, more
angrily than before. "I have no marks
upon me to make you hate me, have I ?
You speak Btrongly when you say that
in all the future there is no hope,
more strongly than the case demands."
Barbara sprang to her feet, anger in
her eyes.
"If you have finished, Mr. Cashel, you
will excuse me," she said haughtily.
" I do not choose to be insulted."
The man '8 anger cooled.
" I beg your pardon," he said, hum
bly enough. "I will go myself."
And he left Barbara's presence. She
ran to her room.
"Oh, why does he love me?"' she
cried, bursting into a passion of tears.
"Between us there is nothing in com
mon. I hate him I I hate him 1 and I
cannot help it. I have been blind, ut
terly blind ; for the possibility of this
never came to me. It fills my soul with
dismay. Oh, why does he love me?"
The master of The Cedars ceased to
come to the De Vere residence. Once
when Barbara was out riding he passed
her. As he did so, he gave her merely
a cold glance.
The first of August approached. Bar
bara made an announcement to the De
Veres.
"I am going to Baltimore," she said.
"You don't mean that," Victoria
said. "I thought you were going to re
main with us till winter."
" I positively must go In a week,"
Barbara replied seriously ; "but, Vic
toria, I will try to return by the middle
of August." ,
" You will try !" exclaimed Victoria.
"One would suppose that it might be
Impossible. Barbara, I will never for
give you if you not come back and re
main until Christmas. Unless you
promise me that, I will not let you go at
all."
" I promise to return ; "but"
"I want no conditions," interrupted
Victoria imperatively. " Promise in
full."
" I will return ; but after that we will
decide how long I am to remain," per
sisted Barbara.
One pleasant summer afternoon, late
in July, Robert De Vere drove Barbara
over to the station. The train rushed
up, and she found herself on board.
Then she was away.
Several hours passed. Night came
down on earth. The train plunged on
through the darkness.
All of the Incidents that had occur
red while she was at the De Vere's
passed before Barbara's memory, from
the adventure with the vicious dog to
the declaration of the master of The
Cedars. The great gray stone mansion,
to think of which always thrilled her,
because she knew it should have been
her borne, rose up before her Imagina
tion. It pleased her to think of The
Cedars, and caused her to shudder to re
member the possessor of the estate.
Barbara became wearied. Nature as
serted herself, and the girl fell Into a
slight doze. She had a terrible dream.
She imagined that the master of The
Cedars was pursuing her, face hideous
and distorted, she fleeing before him in
dread. Suddenly her flight was stopped
by coming to a steep precipice. She
glanced down into the yawning gulf be
fore her feet, and beheld his fierce, ir
cous-looking dog, bis red mouth open,
his white, cruel fangs gleaming.
With a wild scream she threw herself
from the precipice, thinking that the
monster below could not be more cruel
than the pne above. There was an
answering scream, and then Barbara
awoke She found herself standing erect,
cold chills of terror running over her.
The shriek of the locomotive had awak
ed her. There was a fierce grating sound
beneath her feet, and In an instant there
came a terriflo crash. Darkness seemed
to envelop Barbara, and Bhe became un
conscious. To be continued.