CHAPTER VII.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 269, 2 June 1888, Page 6

CHAPTER VII.

h>ii,\u> km.v (hat Ci-.^'tly would be at- | ilu utliu .it. about, eight in the morning, md ih.ii In- would diM'over the Kiel of hi,«~ al>-,toii(.m<4 by nine. Till then he would !><• N-ifc on the tram P>u\ he tool; no Mich chance^-, llow.i^ inuliled .so th.it the conductor did not know him. and ho paid his fan- loi onl\ some twenty or thirty mile.s, leti\ni<4 the train at a Mnall, ob.scuic .station, lie did not hire com eyance theie, but quiHly struck otl through the woods and ovi-r i,ho hillr* to a point on another load, .some twenty miles dr-tant, where he took another tr.un, on which he made lu> waj to the nc.uest larj;^ city, in which he hni iotl himself. .John Ci-y-idy, of (oniMj. attemuted to lind him. He did not make any public domonsUation, for it would do him no <i - ood to do that/ unless he could yet his hand.s on his man. His object win- to hold Pollanl in rc-tuunt to iiupribon hin)-— to tiehis hands, and all the f>hei ill's proclamations in the wo i ld would not do that while he was at liut he instituted the strictest po.sfeiblc st-aieh. lie put private cletccLi\es> on his l-iaek, who weie promised \ery liberal lewaids for the discovery of his whereabouts. roll. ml was uppiised of thi.s cllbrt, and he laughed at it. ILo had Ined (lu^s kind ol a life before, and he knew all its outs and m.s. Lie was where no detective could find him, unless he was betrayed, and he snapped his lingers at 'Ja.ssidy and his detectives. Cashidy after a week 01 two abandoned the .search, for he .saw it was useless. Should he abandon Mary Blucy a.s well ? He supposed, up to this time, thub he had suf-

ficient control over himself bo do even this, but ho found, when he attempted ifc, that he could not. His passion for her amounted almost to madness. Ho could not dismiss her fiom his mind, and the more ho atfcornpLod ib, the more impossible ho found | it. # j Swept on by a passion he could not resist, , ho determined to risk hi.s all upon one bold move, lie would spring his trap and catch his frame if possible. He went bo the house now occupied by the Elseys, and his eye gleamed with a strange light as he saw the well cared- for (lower bod-, the tasteful ornamentation that had been added, and the thousand and one indications ot a refined taste that he .saw about it. He stepped to the hall door and rang. A neat servant Girl answered tho bell, and, as the door swung open, he saw within the same evidence of taste and failure, and he felt .sure that this girl, so torn! as she was of luxury and reiincment, would make any saeriiiee rather than abandon it. liis caul was taken in, to which a speedy answer came : ' Miss El&ey cannot, sec you, sii.' 'Tell Miss Hlsey,' said Cassidy, 'that I must sec hei, or rather that she must wo iiii>. It is a mat tor of importance to her.' The giil returned, saving simply, 'Miss Klsey will '-co you.' lie was usheied into a room richly and Ustefull.v iurnished. It was evidently M.uy's piivate loom, tor in it was ovciything she took any special delight in. Hero stood her piano, there her books, and on an en-el was a water-colour just commenced, and all about the 100 m were scattered evidences, not only of aielined tu*lo, but of luid work in tho diiection of developnu'tit. Mill .v tiKcv stood in the rentie of the loom a- John (\-i— idy entered it, with a look ol dctoi initiation m hei fate. She did not ask him to be seated ; as he entered .-he inuiely exclaimed :- • Well, sir '' Cassuly, foi a moment, lost his seli-pos \e-sion, but it w;b only for a moment. The vet> pie-eneo of the radiant, woman ga\e him the nerve to make the (inal eilort for the possession of her. How beautiful — how glorious she was ' Beautiful as -he had boeu in poveit\, .-he was inlinitely greater heie The diamond had now it- appropriate setting. ' Well, sir v 1 I am heie, Mary, once more to ollei to make you my wife.' ' \ ou lm\e done thi- betoic' ' I ha\e ' ' Did I gi\ c vouanv encouragement any hope of final -uceess ''' ' None ' ' Then why. do you foi cc yourself upon me ayain '' Why annoy me with this potsi'-tent pui-uil, when the pui-uit Use.lt is an ingulf' ' N on decline to < ou-ider meat all, do > ou ' '1 do 1 tell you once for all, that, under no conceivable i ncuin.-tance-. could 1 ever think ot mai lying \ou It l- impossible, and ean ne\er be. '1 expected thi- an-wcr, but you will chan"e \our mind, ncvei thole.--.' ' Ne\ci '" ' Maiv Kl-ey, thai J lo\e >ou, \ou know : (hat I would piefei \ou to many me of youi own ticc will, is hue. But yon wili not do this Yeiywcll- yon shall man }me ,ill thi. s'lnc. Air \ou happ) heie .' You need not an-wei, tot 1 know >ou aie Excuse me foi taking a seat, lor this con ieienee is likely to be souicu hat long. \ou doubtle-- forgot, to ask me to sit. Were you happy in your old home on the farm v \\ould )ou be willing to go back lo that home '' Would you be willing to lake your biothei- and -i-teir, from the schools in wlr.rh the> arc placed? Would xou be willing to give uj) this beautiful horne — these elegant surroundings, your book-. >oui piano, your }>ietuie- —all the luxunewhich you ha\e hcic, and go back to the life you led on the hill- v ' ' U hat do \ou n'can b\ these ab^uid question- '' '1 mean, M.u\ l-lse}, lh.it having e\-hau-ted i'\ei\ otlici way ot |ios-,essing jou, 1 give mi the choice of aect pting me as )u\n luishand, oi going back, not to your old life, but ,i -till woi -e one.' ' Again, man, what do you mean ' ' 1 v\ ill lei! you. our lather has no tille tooi ownei-lup in Elscy Faim. Klsex Farm l- ' In dod - name, whose ''" ' Mine ' ' N oui -- ' 1 Ye-, mine. I own Klsc\ Farm. Lown the well— l own cvciy diop of oil that haflow n tiomit. You are trespasser^. \ ov\ doubt it ' Heie is the deed 1 See the names. )oh>) Else), Margaiet Elscy, piope'-ly signed, piopeily %\itne-sed, and ])roperly -tamped ,\ov\, Man VA*C} ,it i^ for you io(hoo-e -m) h.tnd, or the -trcet for you and youi.-. ' In an ab-haetcd way, as one walks in sleep, Maty Elscy took the deed in hci hand and looked at it and the signatuics. In a moment all ot PolLnd's warnings came to hei. Thi- was the danger with which she v\as threatened : this was what Pollard leteiicd to when he said, 'No mattei what John Cassidy has, or may do.' But, right | oi wrong — Lhcie it A\as in black or white; and as the thought of this cruel change in her condition came to her, she fell fainting to the llooi . Ca^sidy left the hou-o at. once. ' It will be well,' muttered he to himself, ' tor her to hear, immediately, of the death ot Paul Bates.' And the next mail cai ned to the camp of Gol Mackintosh's legiment an envelope addio—ed to John Mo—, Co (' There was nothing inside of it. It was simply an envelope -<> addressed. But he to whom it was addic-sed knew very well whit it meant. It was the death-warrant of I an! B.itcs.