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Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 273, 16 June 1888, Page 6

M 1 Ml^ IMI It MM II X Oi ) X \JMo\- Ol ,ldli v i Whin lului \lu-- r>poke oi joining hand* ) u Uli Pollaid 10 injuu Ca— id> , bo did it at ', landom : !ui lie had no idea oi the kind j liv(, alt. t he leit < n--ad), the i<(ui gained lon him tie had been ("iiicetued with j I'oll.uti m mallei-, \o<u,» lu>toie. ..ml had lan admnai ion lot him. i'ollaid hadaceiI lam mdac a\ , quickiu -- and lt-ouice that I went a long way m a lite Mieh a^ Mo-^ led, and a- he wa-> not awaie lhal he had in any wa\ thanked, U inclined to him that, a paitiiLiihip wiih -o a<_LOinpli-hed a io«ne ,iI'olliud had been, wuuld be a s^ood tiling. i>e-ide-< tin-, he haled v'a-Mily eordialh, and he dc-ued to «_;c t -it the bottom oi his matter, with a \ lew to Mi ther bleedings. lie did iio'u hold elo-e to absolute ti nth, wlitn !.e '-aid lv knew wheie Pollaul \vu<, but he euuld ea il\ iuu! him. It is. a 11H^ tovtune \\ ith men who li\e ouUide the htw t li.it. t ho> .nc compelled to lune contcdcialo, Kind th.it. a llunji' as mdcpendenL at tioii ]-> imp';-- .ilill. »So Mi Mo--^el jnm-elf abouL the work jotj ot di-eo\enu;_; the w llOlcabout^ oi I'ollaid, , that, he mi^ht inters ie.\\ him with iciorv nee to Mr Ca— u'y It Ma- not, -o easily done a-> he had Mippot-ed, lor Poliaid had made in- ananueim nt- with tolerable hkill, and hi- hidmu i)lace \\.'u- kno\\n to but two })eople in the woild. A day or two was w.'-kd in di.-co\eiin^ him, and another in liettinj; at lum, but ho tuuilly aecomplifchcd it. Thej met in a humble roadside U^crn not hu ii om his ludinu;-plaee. Pollaul unb tati'-hed that no tieaclieiy wa« intended him, and he wa-> willing e\cn to take homo chance.- to leai n .-omeLliiu<; dehnite of the moUiodh ot Mi Ua-^sidy irom t-o experienced a man as John Mo I^. I'ollaid unbo-omed himsclt ircely to hie old conn fide, tie told him Junv Ca^itidy lias tiapped him, how adioitcly ho had destioyed the c\ idencc against him, and how ; ho had escaped by a luur. i\Josb, on Jii^ part, con tided to Pollard the bargain lie had n.ado ;i& to the putting out of the way ot iSuigcon r»ate«. '1 knew that wa» your \\o)k," interrupted I'ollard, ' when 1 heard of the matter/ ' Ye?, but — L'aul Bates is not dead.' ' What i' * No more Hum you or I." I explained that to (Jassidy, and made a laisc fioin him by agreeing- not to go to .Miry Elbey >\ith intoi million until after the wedding.' ' But you killed him.' ' Bui. 1 did not Lilt him ' 1 intended to, but a lucky turn oi his body saved him,' ' And he is alive now f I ' Natmally, as he i&n't dead.' ! ' What did you come to mo foi, I\losh?' 'Nothing in paiticular, and everything in general. 1 thought that an interview ' will, you might probably lead to something in the way ot business, or at lcaj-b, it might enable mo to discover some new way of bleeding Ca^dy, a work X lovo as 1 do nothing else in this world. That i& all, I knew that you know everything about him." ' Can you yet word to Paul Bates within a week of the situation of allairs in Brovmhohn ?' 'Nothing easier. lam a deserter from both armies, but L know every foot of the country, and can go through the lines oi both.' 'John MotsH, bring me the acknowledgment, irom {Surgeon Bates, dated not movo

bliari ton days from to-day, that he knows what I have before told you concerning John Ciissidy and Mary Elsey, and I will give you iivo thousand dollars, which will raako twenty thousand you have made out of a surgeon—ten thousand for killing him, tive for killing him, and five for restoring to him what is his. Will you do it ?' ' How can you pay Jive thousand dollars ?' ' Never mind that — you know my word is good — I never promised anything yet that I did not fulfil. If you can do it, do it, and the money .shall be forthcoming. Tell him the whole story— how she heard of his death, how nhe consented to marry Cassidy on condition of the deeding of the farm. Toll him ho mint move heaven and earth to be released on paiolc, and that he must get to mo hero before the 10th of next month. Tell him T am watching his interests as best I can, hobbled as J am ; hub nothing eaithly mu-t Mop his. return. Will you engage to do tlin ?' 'Do it '! Of con lso i will. Igo now, and in two weeks I will be back with Paul liates\ acknowledgment and — the five thousand ?' 'You shill have it, I pledge you my void. But go at once. If you hurry you can oalob a h lin at Helknap'o .Station and sa\c fi\e houi.s Minute-* count now. ( 'nod-bye k (sood-bvv, Pollnul : you shall hcai from we.' And the ad\entuici disappeared. Alter ho had gone, Polbud sat for an hour hi deep thought.. What, should he do '! It Paul lotuined in time to prevent the marna<_ r e. Miii v would, of coui.sc, give back to vJa-^idy the t.uni. Ifo knew her well enough (d know that, iiaudulent as was his po-H."v*ion, n-» she iiad piomised to marry him on condition of his deeding to her the farn>, sue would cither marry him or give up tho consideration. Would not her piomi-e compel her to many him, c\en i£ she knew lie?- lo\cr was living ? She had a na'uio capable of that. If che did not marry him, Elsey Farm, with its millions gushing horn it*; bosom, would remain with Ca.v and if J kites returned and he should u. jt be able to retain and hold him, ho would p) event the marriage. lie almost lcgrcttod sending Moss on the minion, but. he was- gone and could not be lccalled. Bc-ide-, it was prob.ible Mr Bates would in some way hoai of the situation and take action without him, in w hicli ca-o the plan which he had formed would mi-cairy. Alter all, it wa-; better as il wa^. Kates would come to him hrst, and lie could hold him till hi- pmpo&c was executed. I!c (bew a long sigh, and with a face pale as snow he said to himself : ' There is but one way out of i . Bates must not Ho ho 1 , hoi mus' &he know Bates is Ihing, toi she n l'-'iinaii^ Casfjdy. And then — ' What, follow ed in his mind he did not gn o w aid-- to. Mi Moss m the meantime, was as good as hi- woid. lie e..n>.;ht the ti.'iin at the station and w.i- w hnled &oiil"hw;ud as fast as Mraui could cam him. he had gone to Lht end of his journey he tanicd lor a few houis until he had -ecmed a horse, and then, with some alterations in his person, which weie enough to transform him into quite unoiiioi man, he lode away. He had nni( h tiouble befoie him, but he took it eheeiiulL, fur he was accustomed to it. He was tit thcpi tn Icla^s. fciie li\ eliest in .stormy w Latin i Ie ie]oieed in trouble, and wa-, oul\ happy u hen in the hottest of hot watei. He finally ,-fiuck the line of the rebel pickei-, lie told the lies and made the re-pie-enUtious th.it passed him through them all oi which he had arranged beforehand, he leachod the camp as he had designed, and made his \uij to the hospital in which Suigeon Bates was lying. The meet in': was a \ery .singular one. Mi Moss -bowed the wounded man his credentials iiom Poil.ud, and then deliberately told him, as though it was something to be proud oi. that he was, the very man who -hot him ! And then he went on and told him i he whole fetoij ol the adventure, of the -ii nation Mary El-ey was in, of the lact that -ho was to nuury Cas&idy on the 10th ut the ne\t mouth, unless he could reach Poilcud in time to stop the sacrifice; in -hoit, ho i old the suigeon everything connetiidwith Jici hisioi^, of all of which, isolated n<~ he had been, he knew nothing. ' The lOlh h the day hved/ said tlie surgeon, pacing the floor in agony, ' and it ia a thousand chances to one it it were possible foi vie to icach Pollard in time to have to go tin out; h the ioimality of a rule. J\Jy wound is not suiheiently healed yet, nor will it be for two weeks." He turned to Mo-. ' Can you g;o back as easily as you came?' ' Certainly, I can. 1 can go anywhere.' ' Wid you take a letter from me to Mary Etaoy ':' 1 .No. I don't care to visit Brownhclm iu-t now, toi ic.tbona entiiely sufficient to mj.-elf. But I will take one to Jim PolI'iut, w Inch w ill do as well, for he is in communication with her.' ' That will answer." And the suigeon sat down and wiote the lettei. He instructed Pollard to write to Mai} that he was living 1 ; that she .should refuse to cany out, the bargain ; to rather ghoup Elsey Kami, and cveiythhg else ; thar he would be in Biownhelm' the moment it wa- possible toi him to tiavel and he could get a parole, and sealing it, he handed it to Moss, with the exclamation: 'Now go. Kide as if your life depended upon it. hi aie neither hoi so nor money to get this, to Pollard in the shortest possible time, toi o\ci\ thing depends upon it. do.' And JNloss went. But the letter never ieai lied its destination. He rode gaily (Inough the forest road, depending upon tiie pas- lie had for safety, till he reached the lehel lines. He passed the rebels, but he did not pass the bushwhackeis'. A mai.uuler, who plundered under the rebel Hag when it' was eomenient, and the Union flag w hen it suited him better, or, as was generally the ease, under neither, was lying in wait like a tiger, in a clump of bushes by the road. He saw a man in the dress of a ei\ llian iid ing by on a valuable horse. Now, thi- bushwhacker would kill a man for as little as would Moss, and he was never Known to let a good horse pass him. As Moss was riding by, there was a short, qiuek leport of a rifle, and John Moss plunged forward and fell in the dust of the road. His glazing eyqs, saw the form of a man over him— -he made one convulsive eiiort, pulled the letter from his breast pocket, as if to implore his murderer to forward it, and died. The bu&hwhackcr coolly tore up the letter, robbed the corpse of everything of value on it, mounted the horse and rode away. John Moss lay dead in the dusty road, w ith the fragments of the precious letter that was nc\cr to be read, scattered about him. Paul Bates was chafing like a caged lion in his prison, waiting tho healing of his wound, and his parole, that he might fly to his love. John Qassidy sat in his ollicc morose and savage, conscious of having paid a great prico for an uncertainty. Mary Elsey, with a great grief gnawing at her heart, sat in a deep stupor, waiting the day for her sacrifice, and James Pollard, in whose hands the threads that moved them all were held, was quiet in his retreat in the mountains, confident and calm, waiting till the time should come for him to do hi& final work in the drama. Tho end way near. {To be XJontiiiucil.

metal broken by contract <md put down, us the road prronfly needed repair*. Cr Williams <= a i » l thoro were plenty of pood men who would bo only too glad to nbi.-.in voik at (^ a d.v. Cr Goul 1 . <*.ud it w i* nonsense io say men could not be £rot who would ■work for (is a day. There were- any number of mc-n who would bo only too pleased to get the chance to do *o these dull times ; when such numbers were out of employment.. ]Vfr r\uiti -aid lie would ask permission to lei the work by contract; and $r»i 1 if Ik 1 could q-^ (o a man and tell him be would u!\o so much f.i do so much moilc. ho could qA it lone, but c;ood men voulil nof v. otic o '-or thoio at (!^ a day. On the motion of tlie Chairman it was rosoi\ed \\v\i til*" 1 Engineer be empowered to Im ve the ueci'*«firy work done by contract as he ha ! requested. Notice of Motion : In necordnmv with notice of motion ijiven at la^t liieet-nir Ci ")lu:phy moved that the rnsineer be i'lstiuctel t(^ survey the nn-urveyed poition of the load in Patot -P" 1 lx ; linii', f'M the con -triKHion of v^hlch .£l5OO hal Ken borrowed. Account^: — Accounts a.uountin^ 1 (o £\oi \iU l('d were passed for payment. Riilwfty Fnci'itie? :— The Clotk was instructed to write to th< i Traftic Man.itror of the Auckbiad Uailways, requesting: tint facilities be afforded for loa-Jinpf and union ling; tnetion engine", thrashing machines, etc., at stations in Wuikato.