The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

, | ance, termination: to see for yourself who ©. intruder might be, and what : re his intentions. Leaving my sister at Branksome, and: sumpmon- dng Seth Jamieson, an old man-o- "s-man, and ane of the stoutest of the fishermefi, Tset off across the moor with him through the gather- laine t uid nap I Tt a got a guid name after dark, ow» : 1odeart remarked' my companion, slackening his pace per- 88-1 explained Le him the of our errand. .°' t him wha "who hat po fears about going into > 'said I, pointing to the great light which I had observed from sea was moving backward and for- ward past the .: floor windows, the shutters of 'which had been re- moved. I could now see that a sec- . ond "fainter light followed a few paces behind the other. Evidently two individuals, the one with a lamp and the other with a candle or rushlight, were making a care- ful examination of the building. 'Let ilka man blaw his ain par- ritch,"' said Seth Jamieson dogged- ly, coming to a dead stop. "What is it tae us if a wraith or a bogle chooses tae tak' a fancy tae Cloom- ber? It's no canny tae meddle wi' such things." "Why, man," I cried, "you don't suppose a wraith came here in a gig! What are those lights away yonder by the avenue gates?' "The lamps o' a gig, spre enougli!"' exclimed my companion in a less lugubrious voice. "Let's steer fog it, Master West, and spec; e . - where she hails frae By ms tinie night had closed in save for a single long, narrow slit in the westward. Stumbling across the moor together, we made our way into the Wigtown Road, at the point where the high stone pillars mark the entrance to the Cloomber avenue. A tall dog-cart stood irr front of the gateway, the grass which skirted the road. "It's a' richt!"" said Jamieson, taking a close look at the deserted vehicle. "I ken it weel. It be- longs tae Maister McNeil, the fac- tor body frae Wigtown--him who keeps the keys." "Then we may as well have speech constitution a bit. chill, Seth, my lad, and * Jie ' e on a lengthy stay; Whilst I wa# talking 1 COX scious that the new tenant of Clam. Suet irae ihe Anca an 1 close 8,5 concluded hé hretehed out a long tremulous arm and turned the gig- lamp in such & way as to throw a flood 'of light upon my face. "Good gracious; ' McNeil!" he cried in- the same frightenéd voice as before, "the fellow's ag brown'as chocolate | e's nof an English- man. 'You're not an En; you, gir" : "Pm "a 'Beédtchman, born and retired with- the rank of 3 eral' Ju this other column Sobrusn, 1848, Indian Mutiny reduction of Oudh. Five times n tio in dispatches." I think, dears, that we have cause to be er." - bred," said +1, with an" inclination ft ito laugh which was only checked 'my new acquaintance's ebvious , Beth, there is some one | ro: - a sigh of relief. ays: ~ You mubt excuse me, Mr --Mr. West. I'm nervous, infernal- ly nervous. Come along, ~ Mc- Neil ; we must be back in Wigtown in less than an hour. Good night, gentlemen, good night!" The two clambered into their places; the fac- tor cracked his whip, and the high dog-cart clattered away . through the darkness, casting a brilliant tunnel of yellow lightwon either side of it, until the rumble of its wheels died away in the distance. '""What do you think.of our new neighbor, Jamieson?' 1 asked after a long silence. "Deed, Mr. West, he seems, as he says himself, to be vera nervous. Maybe his conscience is oot o' or- d er." "His liver, more likely,"' said I. '""He looks as if he had tried his But it's blowing both of us were indoors, my coffipanion good ~ night, and {struck across the cnéery rudy light which marked the rs for the parlor windows of Branksome. CHAPTER III. There was, as may well be imag- ined, much stir among our small community at the news that the Hall was to be inhabited ohce more, and considerable speculation as to the new tenants and their objects in i horse | choosing this particular part of the browsing upon the thin border of country for ae a : : speedily became apparent that, to his wife, 'allow me to introducé their residence. It whatever their motives might be, they had definitely determined up: for relays of plumbers and of joiners came down from Wigtown, and there was ham. mering and repairing going on from | morning till night. 'out his hand to me. It was surpris- | wer-| x, ATA FR .| his "A Scotchman, eh?" said he with {ation s "It's all one now- |i ight, might." = ; All our doubts, however, upon this head "were very 'soon set at rest, for on the very day that repairing and the furnishing been 'completed I had oceasion ride into Wigtown, 'and I met up the way a carriage which was bear- ing General Heatherstone and his family to their new home. An eld- erly lafly, worn and sickly looking, was by his side, and opposite him sat a young fellow about my own age and a girl who appeared to be a couple of years younger. I raised my hat, and was about to pass them, when the general shouted to his cogohman to pull up, and held I could see now in the daylight that his face, although harsh and stern, was ca pable of assuming a nat unkindly. expression. - te 'How "ate you, Mr. Fothergill West?' he cried. "I must -apolo- gize to you ¥ I was a little brusqiie the other night--you will excuse an old soldier 'who has spent the best part-of his life in harness; All the same you 'must confess that you are rather dark-skinned for a Scotch man.' A '"We have, a Spanish strain in our blood,'" said. ¥, wondering at his re- | feede currence to the topic. "That would, of Sourse, account for it,"' he remarked. -"My dear," Mr. Fothergill West to you. This is my son and my daughter. We have come here in search of rest, Mr. West--complete rest." are of i: i i Ht [REEL tt k of 2 if fl 3 OF A i | i | | do in milk 1 imitate these summer far as possible throughout the ainder of the careful dairyman and results li :| 'And you could not possibly have come to a better place," said I. 'Oh, you think so?" he answer- with him now that we are here," |ing how quick the signs of the wind | ©d: "I suppose it is very quiet in- I answered. _ "They -are coming and weather were effaced, until the eed, and very lonely. You might down, if I am not mistaken."" As I great square-set house was all as|W2!k through these country lanes spoke we heard the slam of the heavy door, and within a few min- utes two figures, the one tall and | le e angular, the other short and thick, [was no consideration to General |3fter derk," I said. spick-and-span been erected as though yesterday, it had were abundant signs that money | There | & oul, eh? at night, I dare say, and never meet 23 "Well, there are not many about Paw, Ww a Ae aan par SE A ie. a. came toward us through the dark- | Heatherstone, and that it was not ness. They were talking so ear-|on the score of retrenchment that nestly that they did not observe us he had taken up his abode among until they had passed through the jus. , 3 avenue gate. "It may be that he is devoted to "Good evening, Mr. McNeil," |study,"' suggested my father, as we said I, steping forward and address- | discussed the question at the break- ing the Wigtown factor, with whom fast table. 'Perhaps he has chosen I had seme slight acquaintance. The | this secluded spot to finish some smatter of the two turned his face | magnum opus upon which he is en. '"'And you are not much troubled! . with 'vagrants or wandering beg-| 00%. Wilk gars, eh? ~ Not many tinkers or : tramps or ragcally gyosies--no ver- | min of that sort about?" bat it-rather cold," said M: Heatherstone, Ww i . sealskin figure: = "We are West, 100.77" "aq hen fow. me as I spoke, and showed me that I was not mistaken in hig| identity, but his taller companion sprang back and showed every sign of violent agitation. - *"What is this, McNeil V"" I heard gaged. If that is the case, I should be happy to let him have the run of my library." Esther and I laughed at the gran- diloquent manner in which he spoke of the. two . potato-sacks full of s him say, in a gasping, choking voice. | book "Is this your promise! What is the meaning of it?' "It may be as you say," said I, "Bo we are, my déar, so we are.| Drive on, coachman, Good day Mr. West." The carriage rattled] « away toward the hall, and I trotted thoughtfully onward to the little] county metropolis. (To bé continued.) Ns "'but the general did not strike me during our short interview as be- ing a man who was likely to have "Don't be alarmed, general! Don't be alarmed!" said the little fat factor in a soothing fashion, as |any very pronounced literary tastes. |" one might speak to a frightened If I might hazard a guess, I should child. *'This is young Mr. Fother-!say that he is here upon medical gill West, of Branksome, though | advice, in the hopes that the eom- what brings him up here to-night is | plete quiet 'and the fresh air may more than I can understand. How- | restore his shattered nervous EyS- - ever, as you are to be neighbors, Litem. If yop had seen how he glar- can't do better than take the op-|ed at me, and the twitching of his .. portunity to introduce you to each fingers, you would have thought it 4 other. Mr. West, this is General! needed some restoring."" ; : who is about to take| 'I do wonder whether he has a mber Hall," . = |wife and A Tamil? maid sister.