CHAPTER VII. UNKNOWN. UNKNOWN.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 267, 26 May 1888, Page 5

CHAPTER VII. UNKNOWN. UNKNOWN.

Mft John Cvsnii>\ was entirely satisfied with the work done during his absence. He had a\oidcd a meeting with the Elt-eys, m hiuh was a j>roat point gained; he had collected the evidence on winch hib clerk, Pollaid, could be biou^ht to book whene\er it should suit his eomenicnoc to do it ; lie liad anAn^ed foi (he disposal ot tfurjreon Paul Hate.>- in a way entirely isati&factory, and, he trusted, entirely .sate to himand he had permitted EUoy to Ullimjxo ha\ fvvmil^y »i- '-lie tle--\ie<J, autl, what was move to hi^ purpo&c, had hoi' many and delightful drauoht^ of pleaMue.s, which, once tasted, became nece.--.it ie* instead of luxurips. And thu.s far aion», Mv Cassidy felt inbdant. Only one impediment in his? way —l'ollaid. Ife did not seem quite safe ho ionL; ab Pollard uas at lar^c, tor I'ollard, dissolute and dissipated as he was, had friend" who believed in him, and who \\ould take his word. Pollard Mas popular —Cassidy wib not. So John C'absidy one day, about a week after hib roturn, determined on a bold move, lie determined to throw Pollard into the hands of the officers, and them the pi oof that he had collected, which was sullicient to ensure conviction. By this he made Mr Pollard's oath o-ood tor nothing-, for no iury nor judge would take the testimony of a convicted felon, no matter how truly ho testified, or how much ho \wib belic\ed. lie was ready

to explode his mine. He was aware that the whole countryside would believe that his possession of Elsey Farm was a swindle — that he had tricked John Elsey out of it, and that he would be execrated by everybody ; but he cared little for that. He never courted public opinion, his only care was to be safe within the law, and that assured, he regarded these howlings no more than he would the whistling of the wind. He finally determined upon laying Mr Pollard by the heels one morning, on his way to the office. That morning he reached the office, but to his astonishment Pollard was not there. Had he been drinking, he would have thought nothing of it, but the man had been sober for some time, which, by the way, was the cause of this newly-found fear of him. He stepped to a closet in which Pollard kept his overcoat, and that was gone. Alarmed at this indication of a prolonged absence, he stepped to the tavern at which he boarded, and found that he had not been there since the night before. ' Does he owe you anything?' said Cas&idy to the landlord. ' No, he paid his bill last niffhfc, and told me he should want his room no longer.' ' What time did he leave the house ?' ' At a quarter to nine.' ' The train east passes here at half-past nine ?' 'Yes.' Mr Cassidy went to his office in dire perplexity. Pollard had evidently taken alarm and absconded. What could have decided him ? On the desk of the absent man, he saw an envelope, and he examined it. It was postmarked Philadelphia, and was addressed in wretched caligraphy, ' Mr James Pollaid, Brownhelm, Pa. 5 On the iloor wove infinitesimal bits of paper, as of a letter carefully torn. Mr Ca&sidy gathered up these bits of torn paper, and patiently arrranged them. He had it. He got together enough to read as follows : ' Take care uv yoorself. Hawks is after yoo. I coodent help it. Boss.' Everything was plain to Mr Cassidy now. ' Boss ' was the trade name of the thief, once a partner of Pollard, from whom he had extracted the evidence with which ho intended to crush him. He had forced ' Boss ' to the giving up of the necessary proofs, for, only by doing it, could he cave himself ; but there is honour among thieves. ' Boss ' took an easy method of making Mr Gashidy's information valueless by warning the ku bject thereof, who had very promptly put himself out of his reach. Mr Cassidy gnashed his teeth as he read the epistle, and cursed himself for not acting more promptly. But cursing availed but little. Pollard was gone, where he knew not, and possibly, now that he was driven to desperation, it was not impossible that he would meet somewhere among the desperate men with whom he was compelled to herd, someone who knew more of John Cassidy than would be comfortable to iii\'Q to the public. It is the misfortune of roguery that it cannot be guarded at all points. Dishonesty is a tortuous path — once in it a man is apt to double on himself very frequently. The .speculating thief is very often brought face to face with his pat-t. But he Mould ha"\e cursed with more vehemence at Pollard had he known of a letter which that worthy deposited in the post ollice the last thing before stepping on the curs. It wa.x addiessed to Miss Mary Ekey, and lead as follows : ' On no acrount forget what 1 said to \ou when la-fc I .<-aw you. I am compelled to \cn\ c Brownhelm and go into hiding ; but I shall be where I can hear of you, and when the time comos I will be with you. l\ r o matter what John Cassidy does, stead-fa-tl\ refuse to marry him. He will threaten — defy him.' Theie was no ->ignatuie to this, but Mary EL-ej knew from whom it came ; and while it in.spiied her with terror, it also strengthened her. She did not know what the secret danger was that threatened her, but \vhate\er it was, *he trusted the assurance ot Pollard that he could avert it, and she had unlimited faith in him. She believed in him. Pollaid left Brownhelm, as Cassidy had supposed, on the night train. ( To be continued.)