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VOL. X1X.-JIU. #J]. THE SUNNY SOUTH, ATLANTA, GA„ NOVEMBER 12, 1892. IT.lCE: 82.00 A fEAB.
XT TMB EfeBVElTM M@MR.
A STORY OF LIFE IN THE SOUTH, AND OF ADVENTURES IN NEW YORK CITY.
By Mary E. Bryan.
[Written exclusively for Thk Sunny 8outh,
by Mrs. Bryan, who has been regularly engaged
fur this paper.]
SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING CHAPTERS.
The story opens at Lakewood, a village which
has lately developed a ‘'boom.'’ A large invited
party—land speculators aud members of the
press—are expected to come from the city, of
^.Icamoat (tea miles oil) to attend a barbecue,
etc. Among the Lakewood people assembled
at tne station to receive them are the young
mayor, Ouarley Carroll; dybii Andrews, tne
orpnan daughter oc his step-mother, aud Sybil s
cousins-italu aud Claude Asutou; the former
supposed to be engaged to young Carroll. The
excursion party arrive and are conveyed in
waiting carriages out to tue Bara, tne mineral
springs and tne “Twin Lakes’’—Sunset aud
Mystic, .innong the guests are Coluuei Stanley,
chief editorial writer on tue “Altamout Ad
vance.” Katharine Karl, who is also employed
ou tue paper, aud tlugu Graham, a well known
writer ana lecturer—reputed to be a “man's
uiau,” but lately much attracted to handsome,
dashing Miss Karle. sine loves him passion
ately, but uer tunst for admiration lias led her
»oto a sentimental flirtation with Colonel Stan
ley. it is suspected by his wife, whose suspi
cion is today oounrined by her nudiug a letter
written uy natuarlue to her husband, which
Min Karle nan dropped from her uouaet hue
reads tuns letter to Graham, Wuose Uaif-devel-
opea love for Katharine is turned to co«. tempt,
auiss jutrie reproacnes him for ms coldness, he
repels her, but does not tell her of the letter,
bhe recklessly sets herself to att act young
Carroll, who sue snows to be tne love, of Kutu I
ash ton, though ttuth s uuty to her dissipated
old father postpones the marriage, in the even
ing a gypsy scene is part of the eutertaiumeut.
Graham is muon attiacted by tue beauty aud
sweet siugiug of ay bn as tbe gypsy countess.
He is com Uer pathetic story, luat she is the
Oauguter of amriey Andrews, wuo committed
suicide after having been Convicted for kiliiug
a nun uaiitar, who uaa insulten nio wife Kath-
arute refuses to nave her tortuue lold by the
mock gypsies, anu goes off uedautly with Coi
nnei acaniey to nnu tue “Hermit,’' a strange olU
ma.i wuo lives ou a tiny island in ysuo Lake.
bUe is toid ne uas tue gift of leaning tue future.
They Una mm in ms nut in tne swamp—a tall,
bent figure wnu long gray hair. He refuses to
Mil her any thing, say ing he is no wizard, but
beiure she leaves fans into a brief trance auU
lotetens that uer coming nere is ill-fated, aud
that sue win wieca. herself anu all couuected
witu uer. on their retain they find „rs. suui-
ley and youug ca. 1011 just landing on the
ishtuu, having come in seatcu of tueitt. Mrs.
btan.ey tattoo tvatnative aside, teiis her Of the
lector, auu asouros uer that it she dares to re
turn to Ai taut out, she Will oitng public U1S-
graee u*ou u«.r and dismissal iuiu Her posi
tion. as ntis. otauiey -utus olf to join her hus
band in the boat, she aiveo Ha that me tile lialf-
mocaing an vice to stay at mike wood auu marry
its young mavor.
Hatuatiuo, teft on the island with Carroll,
gives way to uer despair. He believes ill her
avuwat or muocence, auu carried away uy pity
and passion, begs uer to stay note as Ids father s
guest auu to many him tomorrow, ohe con
sents; and they are mamed lu the village
cuurcu next nay by Carroll s father, by bn is
bitterty rumgunut because ot ttutn, who, how
ever, reassutes uer, auu though her own heart
is cruelty pieic-u, begs oyou for Charley s sake
to countenance tne marriage—in or uer to pre
vent lamina comment, the two girls stand
besiue the mine wueu she is married. The
nun-rut a proves unhappy. Katharine still loves
G a«.aiii and she is passionately jealous of by bil,
Whom sue dec. ares ue shall ue«er marry. Par Uy
to divert herseif, partly to hurt iluth aud byhil,
she sets net sett to lascinate young Claude *sh-
ton, wuo fails ceeply in love with her. bhe hulls
his poetic homage Very soothing to her vanity.
He annual lives at Jttyslic kouge. Carroll, look
ing on him as a boy and a “woman’s pet,” sus
pects nothing, by ou remonstrates withClauue,
but outy witu the result of estrauging nim auu
increasing Katharine s hatied ot her. bybil
contracts typhotd lever through nursing a pout
woman, Un tne night of tne crisis, Kuth is
called away to her paraiy zed lather, anil Katha
rine contrives to rid net sell of the nurse and to
be tne only watoner by the unconscious girl. A
terrible temptation assails her. if she uoes not
give tne nieuicine aud the treatment urgently
enjoined by the doctor, bybil win die. u she
dies, not only wui a hated rival be removed
from her iKauiariue’sj sight, hut she wui come
into command of money which she craves in
order tuat she may reave Lakewood aud live
elsewhere, by bu is heir; by her grandmother's
will, to valuable property, which ieverts to her
guardian iCaxroL; if she dies before coining ol
This money is a great temptation to Kath
erine; so she decides she will not give the med
icine that the doctor has left loi bybil. The
sick girl lay moaning in pain with the very
Demon of lever ui inking ner breath of life.
But Katherine, hearing a slight noise, turueu
hei head, and there in the uoorway stood tin.
Hermit ot Mystic xatke. “Has the vision come
too im«? is she passed beyond my help?” he
murmured. With his long bony linger in
pointed to the half-open uoor aud Kauteriug
staggered towards it auu Red u> ner loom. ’Ik
Hermit hastily prepared »ud administered th
long neglected lueuiclne, and by bil fell into *>
peaceful sleep, kuuth auu a fine vitality heipec
bybil to regain her strength, bhe sad Huge
Graham soon became engaged. Ruth wrote
Katherine a letter begging uer to make Claud
Jeaye the place. Katherine would not ao so,
but used mure arts to blind her husband a
crisis came at last. Charley returned home
eariier than usual one day. and heard Claud
singing a most impassioned love song to nis
wife. He urove him Horn the house; but Katn-
eriue met him elsewhere. ->ybii found this out
and determined to hasten ner owu marriage
aud leave her once pieasaut home, tuat, had
now become so hateful to her.
Oue night, three days be’ore Sybil is ',to .be
married, she and Ruth are at the *iu -w tuuc c
whose daugh'er had just died of black measles,
i’he neighbors iuiagiiie it is suiaii-pox, auu
there is no oue to keep watch over the dead anu
uurse the living but the two girls—until od ai
las Green comes in, Ruth is obliged to go home
sybil says she must stay until tire hermit btiug?
the coffin, Ruth meets Charley and teds him to
S o to the cottage aud take Rum home as it in
ark. This he does; but when half way home,
Claude and Ruth reluctantly take her to his
room* He has not seen Katherine for weeks,
during wnich time he has become almost a
melancholic.
Katharine’s reception is largely attended,bnt
fads of its object. People look at her with cold
uiagust. Claude tries to sustain himself, but
is overcome with agitation on hearing recited a
poem portraying the anguish of a haunted
spirits. Katharine sees he cannot bear .he strain
of his life here and she advises him to go away,
The warm fire, the cup of smoking tea,
with its appetizing .accompaniments
wrought a wonderful change in Ruth’s
spirits. She put on a warm lined
dressing gown, and sat before the fire,
looking into the coals, and trying to
, „ decide how she should set about find-
“1 cannot go alone,"ne says,and she answers ,you , . ... . . . .,
shad not go alone. The next day Claude takes ing Claude m this great, crowded city,
leaveof ms sister, and the day fodowing Cuar- tx in hpr K ppa c* anf i
lej brings Kutn a letter from Katharine, mailed [ -* 10 P e » rew again in ner urease, anu
in Altamout, in which she says s ie has left him gh e went to bed determined to lose no
forever, aud expres.ed sorrow at having olight-I . .
ed his me. in his trials, Charley turns to Ruth ? time in the morning in carrying out
as of old, She gives him ooruiai sympathy,.but the rather vague plan she had formed.
repeiB any warmer feeling. He plunges iute the vinp nVlnrlr npxt, mornine- found
excitement of a political campaign. Hid speeches , •« 1 “® ,° Ci £? K ™ or “ in 5 iou nu
goau his opposers into bringing up anu vnaiiz- her in the office of a Detective Agency
mg the oiu suspicion that he has somehow des- Q f which she had obtained the address.
j The bland, good-looking personage in
mades several attempts upon Carroll’s life. One charge of the office, on hearing her
night, he waylays him in a lonely hollow by tne j business invited her into a cozy little
roadside, to shoot him as he tides home. Ruth i L..U i-otvm whupp a Blpunv-uvuii men
iruatrates this, risking ner life to do it. Carroll! back room, wnere a sieepy ey eu man
is tunned wiiii joy to duti by that bhe still loves l salt at a desk, with a cat oil his hnecs*
mm. One day Ruth is amazed to receive an en-! He hardly looked up as Kuth entered
velope postmarked London, and addressed in onii Bunfuii hpr^plf in thp hi it cushion—
J bn’s writing The envelope comauis a card ana seaceu nersen in tne Dig CUsnion
on which is penciued, “You have put me out of ed leather chair, placed lor her by th
your heart, but 1 have not forgotten you.” She pleasaut-faced persouage, who took
.s oveiJoyed, but her hopes are cruehed a lew seat opposite to her and poked th
her to ope
days later, samp white hunting squirrels, has - . ,
r..11mi in the hoUowof a tree,Sybil’s well-known ; fire wlilie he waited for
She Threw Herself Face Downward Upon The Floor.
he returns to tbe cottage with a message from
Sybil, leaving her waiting in the path, besides
his horse. v» hen he returns the horse is still
there, but Sybil is gone. He thinks until next
day, that she is with Rath, but she has disap
peared. She is sought for everywhere. Gra
ham is sent for, and deep anxiety prevails,
Next day brings a letter mailed in Altomont in
which Sybil writes to Charley that she has left
home, because she has found she cannot love
the man she is about to marry, Graham doubts
the genuineness of this; and an expert confirms
his belief that it is a forgery. Graham is then
sure that Sybil has been murdered. He has the
lakes dragged and offers a large reward for the
recovery of the body. Meanwhile detectives
are engaged on the ease. Katharine laughs
scornfully at Graham’s search for the body of a
girl she says is alive. Kuth does not know what
to think, but one night three weeks after the
disappearance she wakes up and seee or thinks
she sees sybil standing m the window. The
figure vanishes at once, but Ruth finds on her
pulow a curl of golden hair. When she shows
t hin to Claude, he i» overcome with terror. He
dec hues it is the spirit of Sybil—that she is
dead. Ruth connects his terror and his wild
words with the circumstance, that on tho night
of Sybil’s disappearance Claude came home at
midnight in the storm fearfully agitated and
exhausted, a vague dreaoful suspicion
aejaes upon Ruth. Meanwhile many of the
neighbors refuse to believe that Sybil has gone
away of her own accord. There are cart whis
pers among them which Katharine hears. She
determines to g>ve a reception and invite all cf
her husband’s old fi lends, among them Claude
and Ruth in order to silence gossip. She visits
Bath and begs her to come. She asks to see
ebony comb and a bloody handkerchief. He
takes these to Graham, who at once has toe
ground about the tree dug up. A body is found
which it identified as Sybil’s and the jury of in
quest renders a verdict that results in the arrest
of Chailey Carroll for the murder of his ward.
CHAPTER XXI.
BOTH VISITS A DETECTIVE AGENCY.
“Sure I am, you’re just tired out
and homesick, Miss. I know how it is
myself,” said the pleasant-faced, mat
ronly woman-—the head chambermaid
on the fifth floor, whose knock on the
door had surprised Ruth on her kees.
She had risen quickly, but the tears in
her eyes and her pale, weary little
face moved the ready sympathy of the
Irish heart.
“I’ll have that lazy Peter to make
you a fire and bring you a cup of tea
and some hot rolls and a bit of chop.
Then you go right to bed and you’ll
feel better in the morning.”
Biddy’s prescription was a good one*
her businesss. She did this^atonoe, and
without tbe embarrassment, she had
feared she would experience. She
stated clearly and briefly her wish to
find a young man—her brother, who
she had reason to think, was living in
New York.
“Alone?” asked the courteous voice,
while the gray eyes were fixed intent
ly, but respectfully on her face.
“No” Ruth answered, coloring
slightly. “He is probably not alone.
There is reason to believe that he was
accompanied here by a woman—older
than himself—who—who—1”
“Who was not his wife, but perhaps
the wife of some one else?”
Ruth bowed her bead.
“I can give you no help towards
finding these persons,” she presently
said, except these photographs of them
and a description of their appearance,
as graphic as I can make it.”
Also of their dispositions and tastes
if you please.” The low, dry voice
came from the man at the desk.
As Ruth went on to give a minute
picture of the figure, coloring, expres
sion manner and habits of her broth*
er and of Katharine as well she no
ticed that the sleepy-looking man in
the corner was taking rapid notes
with his left hand, while his right lay
caressingly on the soft fur of his cat.
When she had ended the small man
shut his eyes and seemed to go to
sleep, the tall blonde man stroked his
reddish mustache, reflectively.
“It is not a very promising case”
he said at length. The young man
would, of course, change his name and
cut off the golden curls that gave him
individuality at home. It is likely
he might darken his hair as well; the
woman would suggest that. She would
dress unobtrusively; wear a veil in
the street and be wholly unremarka
ble in a city where women of her
style are plentiful. She has been a
journalist in the South, then, as their
money would soon melt away, she
would probably try to get work on the
newspapers here. She would grow
disheartened over her poor success
unless she has extraordinary
pluck and self-assertion with energy
to boot. Talent counts for but little
in this line in New York. j$he has
probably haunted the different news
papers offices until some of the at
taches may know her, but she has not
let them find out where she lives. The
young man probably stavs at home
auu doessotue kind of 'fight, poorly-
paid artistic work, which she has pro
cured for him. They are pretty sure
not to be in any hotel or boarding
house—more likely ihey are living
in rented rooms. The chance of find
ing them seem- to be incoming across
them in the street-, or walking in the
park, or the squares in the evenings
atdu-k. Personals add resell to them
through the papers would do no good,
only frighten t hem away. They are
here to hide themselves in this big
wilderness of brick and mortar. If I
understand you rightly, they, the wo
man particularly—have more than
one reason to sink their identity and
become lost to those who have known
them before People that want to
hide, can conceal themselves in New
York for a long time.”
And I can not wait a long time. It
is necessary that £ find them soon—
you will do your best for me. “Wont
you?” said Ruth, appealing through
some instinct to the dull-eyed, shabby
little man at the desk. He half-opened
bis eyes, and, upon the chief asking:
“Have you any questions to ask this
lady, Pottles?” He drawled an affirma
tive, and turning to Ruth, inquired:
“Did the parties possess any arti
cles they’d be likely to put up the
spout 1”
“Put up the spout?” repeated Ruth,
puzzled.
“Yes, the pawn-broker’s, you know.”
She reflected.
“ The only article of value my
brother possessed was a watch,” she
said at length. “He would not part
with that, I am sure. It was our
mother’s—a beautiful, unique thing.”
“Describe it, please.”
Ruth described the exquisite little
time-piece—its case of fine, chased
gold, with the initials of her mother’s
girlhood name, “A. R.,” wrought upon
it in blue enamel.
“But I am sure he would not part
with it,” she repeated.
The small man slightly elevated his
sleepy eyelids.
“Hunger knocks the bottom out of
sentiment,” he said. A swift vision of
Claude destitute—dying for want of
nourishing food and pure air, came
before Ruth.
“Oh, for pity’s sake try to find him!”
sti6 cried.
“We’ll try,” responded the large
man cheerfully. “We’ll go right to
work. Yon’ll hear from us whenever
we find a clew.”
The small man said nothing—only
nodded his head. Somehow the nod
did more to comfort Ruth than the
other’s cheerful assurance. She went
away hopefully, after she had left in
the hands of the superintendent a re
taining fee that cut quite a slice from
her little hoard.
| CONTINUED OS SECOND FAGS.]