MORNA DALE; OR, The Guardian's Forgery.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 201, 30 April 1887, Page 11

MORNA DALE ; OR, The Guardian's Forgery.

[We here give a synopsis of thai portion of "Morna Dale" which luis already been published, so that new readers of the Star tan begin with this instalment and understand the story just the same ac though they had read it all from the beginning : The heroine, Morna Dale, is the only daughter of Dr. Lawrence Dale, and is betrothed to Dr. Ralph Ashmore, a young physician of great promise, who has a fortune of eighty thousand pounds. Dr. Dale's brother, Sir William Dale, is ill in India, where he holds a high government appointment, and has sent for the doctor to visit him as speedily us possible. Dr Dale resolves to go to his brother, and to leave his affairs in the hands of Jonas Crandal, who is Sir William's business manager. Ralph And Morna both distrusted and disliked Crandal, and did , not want to have him -le-ft in charge of the | estate, but Doctor Dale was immovable on ; that point. In his last interview with Dp. Dale, Crandal mannjred to get possession of a sheet of paper on which the doctor's full name was written near the bottom, which paper he carefully concealed. Several weeks after Dr. Bale sailed for India, Tom Crandal, the only 'son of Jonas, camekome. He was a sailor and a pirate, and veixdy for any villainous work. He told his fcither that wkile he was at Cape Town he learned thsfc Sir William Dale had died, and that theship— the Rognlus— ;in which Dr Palo A\a« voyaging to India, had been lost in a eydkme, with every soul on board. Jonas then told his son about Ttalph At>hmore and '$Lorna Dale, and hint-ul if Ralph were out *of the way he {Totr. Crandal), might mo fry the heiress. Tom at once said he would '"have Ralph put out -of the way, and made arrangements for that purpose. Ralph v-as one of the physicians ot the< Marine at Walliugham, not manj miles fri-in the Grange, vrher-e \Morna lived. On -th<i Tuesday evening after Tons Crandiffs return, Ralph, -with the permission of his old friend and superintendent, T>r. Imybrook, set out to visit Morna. He was kidnapped on the way hy Tom Crau-dal .and.t\ro accomplices, tak«; to the coast, carried several miles out ito sea, and-kft afloat, in an open boat, at tlao dead of nisS:t, whale a violent rainstorm aces raging. .The ho&i was scuttled by Tomdrandal, jusfcibefore'he left it, by pullijag at plug fromahe bottom. Ralph had been left with his hands bound, but, by a lucky <chance, he freed Mmself from his bondf , -».nd prepared to battle with the elements ier his life. Sow he.euceeded is told in the chapter wibich follows. ]